Chapter 7: X-Files and Jack the Ripper
Wow, I haven't updated in, what, a month? I'd apologize, but I already explained why I would be absent. And I did say sorry about four times already.
Also, I just created a brand new adventure. There's no mention of this anywhere in the show, though the Shen Gong Wu is part of the trading card game. Either way, it's a break from canon.
Also, I put a lot of research into this chapter. I triple checked all my facts so it should be accurate. Though if you find anything wrong, PLEASE tell me so I can go back and fix it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown, I only own my OCs. Even the new ones.
Valerie did okay in math, but in all honesty, if she had to choose, she'd scrap it in favor of English or another language. Foreign language simply made more sense to her, due to its simple logic. It was currently after classes, where the warriors would normally finish up their studies and prepare for training. The last class of the day was always math, a chore Valerie especially disliked. At least it was over for the day.
As a continuation of their afternoon ritual, the kids were now at the training ground with Master Fung, who was standing in front of a massive square maze made completely out of hedges with branches taller than even Clay. From Valerie's vantage point, the entire thing made up a quarter of a mile. Funny how no one noticed it before.
"Today's exercise is to advance your sense of direction and trust your instincts," Master Fung explained as he stood in front of the entrance. "Your goal is to simply find the Shen Gong Wu in the middle and exit the maze with it. You must be careful, for there are traps that will hinder you from your goal and your fellow Dragons can steal the Shen Gong Wu in your moment of weakness."
"Well that don't sound too hard," said Clay.
"It may seem easy, but you can never be sure whether someone is trying to help you or secretly plotting against you."
"How wise, Master Fung," Omi said reverently.
"Yeah, for once what you said actually made sense," Valerie quipped.
"I'm so glad you do. Now would you like to start the exercise, Valerie?" Master Fung stood to the side so Valerie could go in. She was about to run in when he stopped her with, "You only have ten seconds to pick a path before the others follow. Choose wisely, all of you." Fung looked at the other monks.
"Got it," everyone chirped as Valerie sprinted into the maze.
The maze reminded Valerie of that castle garden in Poland she and Eric had visited when she was younger. The hedge maze there was much larger than this one, going a full mile in a spiral pattern around the medieval castle, but the effect was the same; Valerie was lost within seconds. She had taken the left route since she was left handed but now she could see that maybe choosing on a whim may not have been the smartest decision.
Oh well. Valerie could figure out a way to the center of the maze. All she had to do was stay calm and think positive, just like Eric taught her.
And then her foot sank into the ground slightly, and Valerie could feel the top of a spring on the sole of her foot. She jumped back, but the trap had already sprung. Two hidden wooden arrows flew out of the side of the hedge. Valerie jumped back just in time to miss the first, but the tip of the second arrow grazed the back of her wrist just before plunging headfirst into the other side of the hedge. She grabbed her wrist in pain and staggered, trying not to wince as she looked at the wound.
It could've been worse. The arrow had ripped apart some of the sleeve, but the cut was clean, not even half-inch in width. The blood oozing out of it was a problem though. The red liquid was dripping onto the ground. Valerie tore off the loose cloth of her uniform and tied it as best she could around the wound, using her uninjured hand and teeth to tighten the knot. The bandage was awful, but it temporarily stemmed the flow.
Valerie turned right at the opening, trying not to let the pain from her wrist cloud her judgment. She had faced worse pain before; she couldn't count how many bumps and scrapes and bruises she received playing sports when she was younger. The wound from the arrow was no different. At least, that's what she told herself.
Valerie was more careful and quicker this time. She wondered where the others were and how they were faring.
"AH!" That scream sounded like Raimundo.
"HI-YAH!" That was definitely Kimiko.
The sounds of arrows hitting a stump sounded through the air. "Take that, arrow!" Omi cried out.
Valerie quickened her pace. Her friends sounded much closer to the goal than she was. And then she felt her foot step on a rope. She did a one handed back flip just as the rope snare snapped together and lifted itself up high in the hedge from a strong branch.
Valerie sighed in relief. She ran to the right and continued straight and bumped right into the white pedestal with the Eye of Dashi resting on it. The pedestal tilted from the impact and the Shen Gong Wu clattered to the ground, right at Clay's feet.
The cowboy picked it up and tilted his hat. "Sorry, Val, but it looks like I win."
Valerie stood up and dusted herself off. "You forget that you have to leave the maze with the Shen Gong Wu to win." She kicked the tilting pedestal at Clay, watching it topple over the cowboy. Clay instinctively put his hands forward to catch it, letting go of the Eye of Dashi. Valerie sprinted to the side and slid on the grass and caught the Eye before it hit the ground. And then she ran as fast as she could out of the middle of the maze.
Valerie dodged to the left and slammed right into Kimiko. Both girls fell to the ground, grabbing their aching heads. Valerie let go of the Eye and it fell in between them. Both girls looked at it, then looked at each other, and were both on their feet instantly.
They eyed each other, muscles tense. And then Kimiko dove for the Shen Gong Wu. Valerie ran to it and dropped to the ground, winding her legs in a sweeping motion. With a well placed kick the Eye soared right through the edge, and on the other side of the wall, Omi cried out, "OW!"
Valerie stood up and did a front flip over the wall right behind Omi, who was rubbing the bump on his head and holding the Eye of Dashi. Omi looked at her bewildered just as Kimiko did a front flip over the wall in front of Omi.
Before the little guy could react, a tan hand snatched the Eye right out of his hands. "Too slow," Raimundo taunted as he swung his legs over a branch. For some reason he was covered in rose thorns. He flipped himself over and flew through the air before landing a few feet away from them. He blew them a raspberry as he ran away.
All three of them caught up to him and landed on top of him, punching and kicking and-in Omi's case-biting each other for the Shen Gong Wu. In the middle of the tumble, Valerie could make out the exit just a few feet away.
"Congratulations on winning, Clay," Master Fung said loudly, making the other monks stop fighting and look at their teacher in bewilderment. Right next to him was Clay, holding the Eye of Dashi. Everyone snapped back to Raimundo, who was no longer holding the Eye.
"How did he get it?" Raimundo asked in shock.
"It fell out towards me while y'all was fightin'," Clay explained, tilting his hat.
"Of course it did," Valerie mumbled under her breath.
"Now that the exercise is over, I hope you all learned that even friends can turn on each other for something as simple as a prize," Master Fung said wisely. "Now I suggest all of you to go to the infirmary. We don't want any infections from those cuts."
Valerie looked at the others: Omi was sporting a large bruise on his head, the hem of Kimiko's skirt was ripped up and there was a cut oozing blood on her knee, Raimundo was still covered in thorns, and the wound on Valerie's wrist had bled through the makeshift bandage and was smarting really bad. Clay, the lucky bastard, was the only one unharmed.
In the infirmary
"You have no idea how to bandage a wound, do you?" Chan clucked. The woman who had picked Valerie up at the airport to go to the Xiaolin Temple was actually the temple's nurse. Hui was a labor hand who helped create the training grounds for the monks' exercises. It would explain why Valerie never saw them.
"This is going to sting," Chan told her as she pressed a cotton ball soaked with iodine onto Valerie's wound. She gave a yelp of pain but didn't try to wrench her hand free. Chan then bandaged it and kicked her out of the infirmary. The bandage itched like the dickens, but Valerie resisted the temptation to scratch.
She found the others hanging out outside, idly enjoying the sunshine. It was probably better that way, since at any time Master Fung could give them chores to do.
"Gang way!" Dojo slithered from under Valerie with the Ancient Scroll of the Shen Gong Wu in his arms. "We've got a hot Shen Gong Wu!"
"What is it this time?" Kimiko asked as they all crowded around the reptile. Dojo opened the scroll to reveal a pyramid inside a glass ball hanging from a rope.
"The Culver Crystal," Omi announced.
The stick figure held up the lantern in a dark cave. And then a sphere appeared in front of the figure, illuminating the dark passage.
"The Culver Crystal creates a glittering and blinding sphere of light that helps its users during escapes," Dojo stated.
"Well that's a handy Shen Gong Wu," Clay noted.
"It also makes a really cool flashlight."
"Ooh, Whitechapel!" Valerie said as she finished retying her hair into a braid. "One of the seedier places in London."
The Culver Crystal was located in East London, England, otherwise known as Whitechapel. A rather ominous resting ground if you knew the grisly history. The buildings were old, but they looked brand new in the sunlight. Locals were mixed in with tourists as they walked down the streets, and punkers stalked the place along with the artists.
From what Valerie had read about England, the weather was usually chilly no matter what time of day it was. She was glad to be wrong, since she was wearing jeans and sneakers and a black baseball cap and a black t-shirt with Pink Floyd's Over the Moon album cover on the front (the one with the triangle and the rainbow next to it). She had a small blue backpack stuffed with books and a blue jacket and the Shroud of Shadows.
"Do you think there are any brochures about the Whitechapel murders?" Valerie asked aloud. The others stopped looking for the Shen Gong Wu and turned to her.
"We don't really have the time for that now," Clay said reasonably.
"Excuse me, but what are the Whitechapel murders?" Omi asked, confused. Being closed off to just the Xiaolin Temple, the little guy had little experience of the outside world. Current events held little interest to him, but Valerie would have figured he'd at least heard of the most notorious killer ever. She decided to humor him.
"Well, back in 1888, there was a murderer called Jack the Ripper," Valerie began. "He was a seriously messed up dude who cut up women right here in Whitechapel. It went on for about two years with about eleven or so murders before he suddenly stopped. Ripper was never caught, and to this day there are guesses about his real identity."
Omi's eyes went huge and his bottom lip trembled. "What kind of person does such a thing?"
"A seriously messed up dude, that's who," Raimundo said. He turned to Valerie. "You really know a lot about this guy. Should we be worried?"
She rolled her eyes. "No, you shouldn't. True crime is one of my favorite genres to read, and Jack the Ripper comes up a lot."
"That's cool and all, but we should really be focusing on finding the Shen Gong Wu," Kimiko pointed out, holding out the Ancient Scroll. As usual, she was wearing Harajuku street fashion: this time her hair was light brown and cut in the Visual Kei style, all short and spiky. She had on an off-shoulder long sleeved white top with an acid-washed jean skirt with pink tights and black high-heeled boots. The outfit was much tamer than some of her usual outfits, but it was still fairly out there.
"Hold on, give me a minute," Dojo said from Clay's hat. He studied his surroundings for a bit before starting to shake. "Left, left!" he cried, pointing.
The warriors barreled through the crowd and veered to the left, where the street led to George Yard, a narrow place full of tourists. Tour vehicles rode down the cobblestone steps and guides talked about the second Whitechapel murder.
"It's somewhere around here!" Dojo said excitedly.
"Of course it is," Raimundo said sarcastically. "Why wouldn't the Culver Crystal be hidden at a murder site?"
"It makes a lot of poetic sense," Valerie mused. "According to the books I read, the second victim, Martha Tabram, was killed around here in the middle of the night. She was in a decrepit neighborhood full of unsavory characters, and since she was a prostitute in England society, she would have been in a situation she couldn't escape from with no light to guide her."
"Prostitute?" Omi asked, puzzled.
"I'll, uh, explain it to you later," Clay said, a faint blush on his cheeks.
"You're wrong," someone said from behind them. They all turned to see a teenage boy with blonde hair and brown eyes wearing a Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat. He had on a white t-shirt with the words, "The truth is out there" in bold black print with jeans and grungy sneakers.
"You're wrong," the boy said again. "Martha Tabram's murder is only barely linked to Jack the Ripper. She may have been murdered in Whitechapel, but she was stabbed 39 times with a short blade instead of slashed like all the later victims."
Valerie bristled. "Well, what about Emma Smith? She's considered Ripper's first victim even though she reported being attacked by three men. Hell, she even survived the encounter, unlike all the others."
"Yes, but we weren't talking about Emma Smith, now weren't we?" The boy smirked. With the hat on he looked even more ridiculous. Steam started billowing out Valerie's ears as she glared daggers at him. If there was one thing she hated, it was getting showed up on a subject she knew well.
"Learn your facts before telling other people," the boy said, twisting the knife in. As he walked past her, he tugged on Valerie's braid before running away. Fire shooting out of her mouth, she tried to grab him only to get held back by Clay and Raimundo. She struggled a bit before simmering down. Peace, calm, tranquility…Peace, calm, tranquility…
"Girl, you are scary when you're angry," Raimundo said as he prodded Valerie's arm. He was grinning mockingly at her, which made Valerie's irritation flare up.
"Let's go find the Crystal," she said through gritted teeth. "Dojo, got any leads?"
"Its super close," he said, shaking like crazy. "Like, maybe a few streets down from here."
"Lead the way, Clay," Valerie said, since the dragon was on Clay's hat. They began to walk when she felt another tug on her braid. "Hey!"
"You got something stuck in here." Kimiko dislodged a folded piece of paper from Valerie's braid and opened it. "It's a phone number from that kid!"
"What?" Valerie took the paper as looked at it with the guys crowding around her. In messy boy handwriting, the name read as Theo Armstrong. Underneath the name was, indeed, a phone number.
"That cocky prick!" Valerie blurted out angrily, crumbling the paper in her hands.
"I do not believe you should judge him so quickly, Valerie," Omi said sagely. "It would be good for you to converse with a boy who is naturally smarter than you. You will absorb more knowledge that way."
"Omi, please lose the smile before I wipe it off for you."
Omi, who had an arrogant-looking grin on his face, turned his lips into an X shape.
"Or we could prank call him," Raimundo offered, a hesitant smile on his face. "He doesn't know your number, so it'll be easy."
Valerie liked that idea. An evil grin was forming on her face, and she let out a dastardly chuckle. She held up a hand. "High-five, bro."
Before Raimundo could do just that, Clay interrupted. "Won't he expect that, though?"
Dojo nodded his head. "He riled you up so much that you'll stoop to his level. I gotta say, it's a good move."
Valerie blinked. That made too much sense. With a defeated sigh, she ripped up the note and put the pieces into the nearest rubbish bin. "Let's go find that Shen Gong Wu."
Theo Armstrong refused to take off deerstalker hat. It didn't matter if the sun beating down on him was making him sweat or if people were giving him weird looks. He was here in London, where the great Sherlock Holmes worked, and he was going to enjoy it, god damn it!
Theo veered to the left where a small café was. It was tea time, and the place was bustling with tourists. Little round tables were situated outside with open umbrellas over them to protect customers from the harsh sun. Theo climbed through the gate and made his way to the table where his sister was sitting.
Hazel Armstrong was her brother's younger twin. She had waist long blonde hair, brown eyes, and a thin body to match Theo's own. Unlike her brother though, Hazel was wearing a pink corset dress with a multilayered tulle skirt and matching pink calf-high lace up boots. A silver watch dangled from her wrist, a necklace with a pink heart pendant rested on her neck, and an ornate butterfly hairpiece hung from her hair.
"Take off that ridiculous hat, Theo," Hazel snapped as he sat down. Theo ignored her and began enjoying the spread in front of him: Earl Grey tea with milk in little fancy teacups, a plate of scones with clotted cream and jam, cucumber sandwiches, and sponge cake. As he piled on his plate, Hazel continued: "So, what are we up against?"
"Jack Spicer was right," Theo replied. "The Xiaolin Dragons are a bunch of schmucks who have no idea what they're doing. And I don't especially see why Wuya's so afraid of the Dragon of Aether. She's not smart; she's only got a half-decent memory."
"Wuya was afraid of her for a different reason," Hazel thought out loud. "Why is she so dangerous?"
"According to Greek mythology, Aether was one of the first-born elementals," Theo explained. "Aether is the embodiment of the pure upper air that the Greek gods breathe, as opposed to the air mortals breathe. According to Plato, though, it is the fifth element of the normal classical elements, known as quintessence. Aether is neither dry, wet, hot, nor cold, and is incapable of change unless it changes in place. The term was also used by medieval alchemists as a term used for substances that made up heavenly bodies. It was proposed that there was a little quintessence in everything on Earth, so if anything happened in the heavens it could affect the Earth. Later alchemists would use this quintessence in medicine, and the term is now synonymous with the philosopher's stone itself."
"Sounds like you got that from Wikipedia."
"That's because I put it there. Well, most of the information. I didn't know aether and quintessence was the same thing until recently."
"So, what you're saying is that the Dragon of Aether can control all the elements to some degree?" Hazel asked. "And that it's as powerful as the philosopher stone?"
"Not necessarily," Theo quickly corrected himself. "The philosopher's stone can cure any illness, give the user longevity, and turn normal metals into pure gold. But according to alchemy, you can already turn ordinary metal into gold. The stone itself just amplifies the user's powers to incredible levels."
"So if aether is in everything, and quintessence is the same as the philosopher's stone…" Hazel's eyes widened. "That girl can enhance the other dragons' powers like it's a steroid!"
Theo winced. "Steroids? Really?"
"That's what I'm getting here."
"But there's something else that might interest us," he said. "In the 19th century, luminiferous aether, or light-bearing aether, was a theorized medium for electromagnetic radiation."
"So she can control light as well?" Hazel pushed her teacup away from her. "Isn't that poetic? Light is almost synonymous with hope. No wonder Wuya wants her dead."
"Slight problem though," Theo pointed out. "Aether is a Greek invention. China has been around far longer than Greece has, and there's no mention of any quintessence in the Chinese elements. All of the aether theories I've said may not apply here."
"Why is a Greek element hanging around with Chinese elements, anyway?"
"According to Jack Spicer, we're up against the Dragons of Water, Earth, Fire, and Wind. Those are not only Chinese elements but Greek elements as well. It wouldn't be that weird for Aether to pop up in there."
"So we do have to worry about her."
Theo shook his head. "I don't think anyone knows what she's capable of, not even the monks at the temple. Aether is too abstract to pinpoint what her exact powers are." He looked slyly at his sister. "Of course, this is all speculation. There's no need to talk about this with anyone besides ourselves."
Hazel gave him a sly smirk back. "Of course not. Spicer's too stupid to talk to about this. Hell, he even left his trackers lying around for anyone to swipe. You got one on them?"
"Of course. Did you configure them so Jack can't trace them as well?"
"Duh. Just who do you think I am?"
Theo held his hands in surrender. "Just making sure. Do we have a lock on them?"
Hazel tapped her wristwatch and the screen instantly switched to a black grid map with a red blinking dot on it. "They're close. Let's hope the tracker doesn't come off. I still haven't figured out how to trace Shen Gong Wu on our own."
Theo sipped his now cold tea. "You're smart. You'll figure it out."
"I think someone's moving the Culver Crystal," Dojo said as the monks hurried into a dank alley. The smell of garbage permeated the air no matter how clean the ground was.
"Maybe a dumpster diver found it," Kimiko mused. "He could be on his way to sell it right now."
"Dumpster diver?" Omi asked.
"It's someone who goes through trash to find treasure," Raimundo explained. He wasn't exactly wrong.
"Yuck! Who does that?"
"It's technically easy money," Kimiko pointed out.
"If you call swimmin' in garbage easy," Clay said with an easygoing smile.
"Hello, Shen Gong Wu on the run!" Dojo suddenly cried in frustration.
"Dojo is correct. We must find it before the evil Jack Spicer does," Omi declared, since it wasn't obvious enough.
"Then where is it?" Kimiko asked.
"It's so close I can taste it!" Dojo pointed to the alley maze. "Right up ahead!"
Valerie ran into the dark maze with the others right behind her. A bright light was beckoning to them- the Culver Crystal? She made a mad dash to it-her hand outstretched-she was touching it-
And then another hand grabbed onto the Crystal at the exact time Valerie did.
"Well, well, we meet again," Theo Armstrong said as a greeting. He had abandoned his deerstalker hat and was smirking like an evil mastermind. He looked much creepier now.
Anger flared up in Valerie like a furnace. "What are you doing here?"
"Getting the Shen Gong Wu, but then you grabbed onto it too," he said with a shrug. "Now what are we going to do about it?"
With her other hand, Valerie got the Shen Gong Wu out of her backpack. "With a Xiaolin Showdown; my Shroud of Shadows against your-uh, what Wu do you have?"
"Hazel!" Theo shouted behind him. A girl in a pink corset dress with a ridiculously huge butterfly hairpin emerged from the darkness carrying a big, black sword. She tossed it to him and Theo grabbed it with his free hand.
"I wager my Komori Sword." The sword would have looked normal it there wasn't a bronze plating with a green gem in the middle of the blade. Also, the hilt was all black with bronze bat wings connected the hilt to the steel blade.
"What's the Komori Sword do?" Raimundo asked Dojo from behind Valerie.
"It lets its user hang upside down like a bat," Dojo quickly explained. "It also helps with fighting in the dark."
"Looks like we both got an advantage," Valerie said to Theo. "The game is simple: catch Jack the Ripper. Whoever can capture him wins the Showdown and all three Shen Gong Wu."
Theo shrugged. "Seems simple enough."
"Let's go; Xiaolin Showdown!" Valerie yelled, and bright light hit her right in the eyes. The ground shifted beneath her and she could feel her normal clothes morph into their Xiaolin robes. And when she opened her eyes, she was in 19th century Whitechapel, on one of the nights of the murders. The alley maze had grown exponentially, and the smell of trash permeated the night air along with the stench of death.
"Well, this wasn't a part of my calculations," Theo muttered as he held his sword. He stared at Valerie in surprise. "When did you change clothes?"
"It's part of the Showdown. I'm surprised you don't have your own special outfit." It was true; Theo was still in his white X-Files shirt and jeans. He turned to look at the rooftops, where the monks and Hazel were watching the show. Hazel was still in her overly pink outfit, and she looked just as confused as her brother.
Suddenly the Culver Crystal appeared in the air, the pyramid inside the globe shining brightly. And then it was smothered in darkness, and the shadows quickly grew arms and legs. Clothes appeared on the form, a 19th century working class outfit with brown pants, a white shirt, a patched coat and a gray newsboy cap. The figure had a leather belt on his waist with a knife sheath, and its eyes glowed red.
"That's not Jack the Ripper," Theo announced. "He's supposed to have a top hat and a Dracula-like cape."
The figure disappeared without a retort.
"GONG YI TAN PAI!" Valerie shouted. Theo looked at her, bewildered. "That means go."
"Oh."
Valerie turned on her heel and ran away from Theo, who was still standing there, somewhat in shock. She could hear him curse under his breath as he started to run in the tunnel behind him. Valerie could deal with him later. Right now she somehow had to find Ripper in this maze.
As she ran, Valerie could hear the wind whistling through the alleys, carrying the sound of laughter. Valerie, normally fearless, was getting goose bumps. Then again, it was pretty cold in the maze. It could just be that.
She veered to the left to find it was a dead end. Valerie backtracked and continued running until she heard the sounds of blades crashing. "Shroud of Shadows!" she cried. She covered the cloth over her and continued running towards the sounds.
In the clearing up ahead, Theo was evenly matched against Jack the Ripper. Valerie had never pegged the boy to be so good with a sword. Then she remembered that the Komori Sword allowed the wielder to fight well in the dark. Well, it certainly worked for Theo, who was evenly matched with the murderer.
But he was losing. Theo was panting heavily sweat pouring down his face like rain, while Ripper gave animalistic grunts and continued to fight.
Valerie crept up towards the fighters, and when Ripper slammed Theo into the opposite wall, she lashed out her fist and connected with Ripper's jaw. It felt like punching a brick wall, but the giant man staggered back, rubbing the sore spot. His red eyes searched for her, but came up with nothing.
"Get up, Theo!" Hazel shouted from the rooftops. Valerie took a moment to look over at him. He was slumped on the ground breathing heavily. She almost felt sorry for him.
And then Ripper's giant fist slammed into Valerie's shoulder. The force sent her back skidding to the ground, and she let out a cry of pain on impact. She clutched her aching shoulder, letting go of the Shroud of Shadows and leaving her wide open for an attack.
"Val!" Kimiko yelled out, her voice scared.
Ripper loomed over Valerie like the Grim Reaper, his knife glinting in the pale moonlight. She gritted her teeth and jumped up. Ripper stepped back in surprise as bright light emanated from her eyes. "Aether," she whispered as she jumped-kicked him in the gut. He doubled over and Valerie hopped on top of him, sending him to the ground.
"Got you," she said as the Showdown ended. Bright light washed over everyone, and when Valerie opened her eyes, she was holding the Komori Sword, the Culver Crystal, and the Shroud of Shadows.
"I commend you on your victory," Omi announced as her friends came over.
Kimiko lightly punched Val's good shoulder. "Never scare us like that again."
"She would have been fine," Dojo said dismissively. "There's no killing in a Xiaolin Showdown. If there was the killer would have forfeited the match and the Showdown would be over. Same goes for Shen Gong Wu. There was nothing to worry about."
"Then why were you shaking in Clay's hat for half the Showdown?" Raimundo countered, glaring at the reptile. Dojo looked away nonchalantly.
"How's your shoulder?" Kimiko asked worriedly. Valerie handed the Wu over to Clay and revealed the two-inch wide bruise on her right shoulder.
"I thought it was a lot worse than that," Valerie admitted. She covered up the bruise. "It sure felt that way."
"Nice going genius," Hazel snapped at her brother from ten feet away from them. Theo had gotten up, his hair plastered to his forehead and his shirt covered in sweat. He glanced coolly at the Xiaolin Warriors and said: "We'll meet again, Dragons."
Before he and his sister could disappear, Valerie called out, "The reason why Jack the Ripper didn't wear a top hat and a Dracula-like cape is because he didn't in real life. To stay inconspicuous, he would have worn a working class outfit. The top hat thing is just an exaggeration." And, just to twist the knife, she added, "Get your facts straight before telling other people."
Theo glowered at her before he and Hazel retreated. Raimundo clapped her once on her bad shoulder. "Nice!"
"Ow!"
"Sorry!"
Jack Spicer's evil lair was actually his parents' basement. Hazel would have laughed in Jack's face if it didn't make sense. After all, evil lairs were expensive and he was still a minor.
The evil lair in question was a large, underground haven with a garage. The walls were painted black, robot parts littered the tables and overflowed the cabinets, and a map of the world covered a single table smack dab in the middle of the room.
Jack Spicer himself was sitting behind a wooden desk, his jacket off. Wuya was hovering over his shoulder as usual. Jack clucked his tongue. "After reading your resumes, I was expecting great things from you two. Great, but evil things, obviously."
"Obviously," Theo repeated hollowly. "The Dragon of Aether had picked a very difficult theme for a Showdown. I can't say I was expecting it."
"You were in Whitechapel, home of the infamous Jack the Ripper murders." Jack narrowed his eyes at him. "You should have expected something close to that."
"Yes, but he didn't expect Ripper making an appearance," Hazel said quickly. "Would you have?"
Jack pondered that for a moment. "No I wouldn't have. But the point is you lost. I have no choice but to let you go." He turned his chair around for emphasis.
"Hold on, Jack," Wuya said. "These two have so much potential. Tell me again why you want to take over the world."
"Because it seems like fun," Theo said with a devilish grin. "Enslaving people, toppling governments, setting the world on fire… It'd be a good way to pass the time."
"We also know where the Xiaolin Temple is," Hazel said quickly. She slapped a folded map onto Jack's desk. "We were able to track them after the Showdown. Now we can steal their Wu at anytime."
"Ingenious!" Wuya cried happily. Jack unfolded the map and studied it. He slowly nodded at them. "I must say, I'm impressed. Of course, I would have eventually figured out where they lived, but you did save me a lot of trouble."
Hazel tried not to glare at the redheaded creep. His gaze lingered longer than usual on her, and she felt slimy all over. Theo must have noticed, because he was furrowing his eyes at him.
Jack seemed to notice this, because he quickly turned back to the map. "I'm willing to let you stay on probation. I'll let you know when I need you again. And if one of you is in a Showdown again and you lose, you can kiss your jobs goodbye."
Hazel had to stop from smirking. She had already figured out a way to find the Shen Gong Wu on her own. On the plane ride back home, she had turned her beloved butterfly hairpin into a Wu tracker. Even if Jack fired them, it didn't matter.
Nothing was going to stop Hazel from world domination. Nothing.
Hazel is pretty bent on world domination, but only if Theo is interested. If they can't rule together, then they can at least hinder the Xiaolin side for kicks. I'm trying to make that a part of their character.
So, what do you think? Do you like the Armstrong twins or not?