New Kid on the Block
The team came to New York City to locate another Shen-Gong-Wu. The one they were looking for was the Serpent's Tail. This was a hard one to covet because it didn't stay in one place like the rest of the treasures the monks coveted. This one was always moving. It had the power to move through solid objects and make the user transparent with it.
Using the Falcon's Eye, Omi ran off trying too keep watch on the Serpent's Tail and keep up with it as it was moving. But he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and crashed into a building. He got back up to realize that he lost the Serpent's Tail. He also looked around and saw that he had been separated from his friends.
Omi explored the streets of the city, asking everyone he stopped by for help. But the citizens around these parts weren't very friendly or even sane. They didn't take kindly to tourists and others thought he was a steet punk. One hobo seemed kind enough to offer Omi some help, but he wasn't in his right mind as he began talking about aliens.
Emily, Kimiko, Raimundo, Clay, and Dojo weren't sure what to do. Trying to find one kid in a city as big as this was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. New York City was home to eight million people. Just when they were about to think of a plan, Dojo sensed the Serpent's Tail on the move. He led them to the underground subway. As they got down the stairs and approached the tracks, they found the Shen-Gong-Wu they were looking for with Max and Jack in hot putsuit. Jack had built a robot designed to move like a train. Dojo didn't mind letting his friends ride on his back when he was flying or even when he was turned into a boat, but he didn't like the idea of turning into a train because of the friction from the rails and tracks. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
Omi tried to get a ride on the bus, but the driver threw him off because he couldn't pay the right fare. Just then, he turned around and saw some teenagers playing basketball. It looked like fun, so Omi decided to check it out. But one of the boys mistook Omi for the ball and tossed him into the hoop. The boys were about to gang up on Omi for interrupting their game until a younger African American boy named Jermaine came by and stopped them. The boys were about to gang up on Jermaine, but Omi helped his using his martial arts skills. Omi was grateful to Jermaine for his help and figured he may have found a new friend in this rowdy town. Jermaine returned the gesture and was amazed with Omi's techniques as a fighter.
Over the next hour, Omi explained where he came from and why he was here in New York. He also explained the importance of reuniting with his friends and coveting the Serpent's Tail. It was hard for Jermaine to take in most of Omi's explanations, but he decided to go with it. After all, this is New York and strange things do happen here every day. So he wouldn't be surprised if Omi was telling the truth.
To the boys' surprise, the Serpent's Tail emerged from below the basketball court followed by Jack's robot and Dojo. Everyone was together again at last. But there was no time to celebrate. The robot manage to catch the Serpent's Tail and keep it from escaping, but just when it was about to slip free again, Jack and Omi both grabbed it.
In this Xiaolin Showdown, Jack and Omi were going to be playing basketball with a time limit of ten minutes. Whoever would score the most points would win the game. Omi didn't know how to play basketball, but Jermaine did and offered to help. To make it a tag team battle, Omi raised the stakes by calling a Shen-Yi-Bu Dare. Max refused to be Jack's partner, so he instead decided to have his robot play with him. As for the Shen-Gong-Wu being used, Jack decided to wager his Jetbootsu and Shroud of Shadows for Omi's Mantis Flip Coin and Falcon's Eye.
The stage was set and the game was ready to begin. Omi and Jermaine were already at an unfair disadvantage because of Jack's ability to fly around and turn invisible. The robot could also grab the ball and drop it into the hoop with ease. But Omi and Jermaine were going to play like a team. True, they just met and didn't know each other's gaming skills, but they weren't going to let that stop them from winning the game. They even took turns using their Shen-Gong-Wu, playing with a good offense and defense.
Through the first half of the game, Jack and his robot were in the lead, but as it was coming to a close, Omi and Jermaine were making some impressive comebacks. With less than a minute on the clock, this last score would break the tie between the two teams. The robot held Jermaine down, preventing him from getting up, but he managed to give Omi the Mantis Flip Coin. Omi was not going to let Jermaine's help end in vain. He grabbed the ball and flipped over to the other side of the court, dunking the ball and himself through the hoop. Time was up and the score stood with the Heylin team ending with twenty-eight points and the Xiaolin team ending with thirty points.
Impressed with Jermaine's skills and happy for his help and friendship, Omi asked him if he wanted to come along and join the others as a Xiaolin monk-in-training. Jermaine kindly refused. New York was his home and leaving everything behind and traveling the world seemed to be too much for him. But he promised to take the offer under consideration. For now, he gave Omi his basketball as a token of their friendship.