Chapter 15: Aliens and Basketballs

In this chapter, Omi actually gets some slang right. Granted, it's from the nineties, so it's not very modern, but still. Points to him.

Also, the head injury described in this chapter is what I've gleamed from books and some information from the internet. I'm pretty sure I got the aftereffects right, but please don't quote me on anything.

Anyway, on with the story!

The hallway was darkly lit, water reaching up to her ankles. Her wine red dancing shoes were soaked, turning her feet into ice cubes. The hem of her heavy dress was dripping wet.

Valerie was back in the nightmare.

"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered.

Instead of walking like last time, she stood still, back leaned against the wall. A lantern was just above her head, creating a pocket of light in the darkness. It hurt her eyes, but at least now she could see properly.

Valerie slumped against the wall, mind at full alert. There was NO WAY she was going to walk towards the Sapphire Dragon. She would just stand here and wait for it to get her. Or until she woke up from her nightmare. One was bound to happen eventually.

And so Valerie waited, and waited…and waited. Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours, and her eyes drooped from exhaustion. She was slumping farther down the wall, nearly sitting in the water. Her eyes were closing on her-there was no harm in resting for a few minutes-

The light of the lantern went out and Valerie's eyes snapped open. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, but it wasn't the euphoric kind sky diving gave her. This version made her ill: sweat was beading on her forehead, chills were dancing up and down her spine, and she was shaking like a leaf.

Indigo smoke wafted around her, the blue light illuminating the water. Panicked gasps jumped out of Valerie's throat. Oh dear God, it was coming, the Sapphire Dragon was coming for her, it was going to eat her-

But where was the scraping of blue scales? Where was the deafening sound of a monster breathing? It can't have just disappeared. The blue smoke indicated otherwise.

And then the water in front of her exploded, crashing waves smothering her. Valerie opened her eyes to see the Sapphire Dragon jutting out of the floor, its glowing blue eyes glaring at her.

Valerie stared at it in fright, the mesmerizing eyes distracting her from its open maw. She was forced to look at it now, the maleficent monster was glaring at her, and it wanted to kill her-

The Sapphire Dragon opened its mouth and she screamed-

"So, it just popped out of the water?" Eric's tinny voice rang out over the phone. "Is it bad that it kind of reminds me of that one scene in Alien?"

Valerie, who had been sobbing again, hiccupped out a laugh. "That scene was so gross."

"And yet you're laughing about it."

"Because it's so funny!" Valerie laughed, the dry tears on her cheeks stretching out painfully.

"Feel better?" Eric asked her. She gave him a happy "mmm-hmmm."

Suddenly she was reminded of something. "Eric, how did you become my guardian?"

"I knew your dad in college. We were pretty close at the time, and he knew I was good with kids, so after you were born he called me up."

"Couldn't have been bothered to take care of me himself, huh?" Valerie said bitterly.

"Val, your dad is busy with work and your mom's helping him," Eric said. "They'd be with you if they could."

She gave a short bark of laughter. "It's been ten years since I've last seen them, Eric. That lie won't work on me anymore."

"Hey, I'm just the messenger," Eric swiftly pointed out. "I'm just telling you what they tell me."

"Tell them that they're liars," Valerie said stonily. "And that I'm tired of hearing the same excuse for so long."

Later that day

"Ooh, who is that lady?" Omi asked as he peered through the sightseeing goggles.

"That's the Statue of Liberty, Omi," Kimiko said knowingly. Indeed it was: the green lady of hope herself was standing on Ellis Island for all to see.

"She must have been a great Xiaolin Warrior to get a statue that big," Omi said solemnly. And then he shrieked and covered his eyes. "AH! I AM BLINDED!"

Valerie rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Dude, open your eyes. The timer just went out." Omi peeled off his hands and blinked bemusedly.

Kimiko got a coin out of her change purse. "Here's another quarter."

"Oh, thank you Kimiko," Omi said with a bow. He took the coin and immediately put it in the slot for the tourist-trap binoculars. "Ah, it is working again. Perhaps this will be useful in locating the Shen Gong Wu."

"Good luck," Dojo scoffed. He was draped over Clay's shoulder: the other three boys were on the ground staring at the open Ancient Scroll. "The Serpent's Tail is always moving."

"Even through solid objects if I'm readin' that right," Clay said, scratching his head.

"Let me see," Valerie said as she walked over. She peered at the blue circle in the middle of the paper. A stick figure holding a serpent talisman was flying through solid walls. "Yep, you're reading that right."

"Great, we're looking for the Shen Gong Wu that never stops," Raimundo said with a smile.

Kimiko bounced over to them, her brown dreadlocks bouncing after her. "In the city that never sleeps! New York is my kind of town." She held up a bunch of brochures and took one out. "Anyone wanna catch a show tonight?"

"After we catch the Wu, of course," Valerie said dryly. Dojo chose that exact moment to start vibrating.

"Don't buy those tickets yet! That Serpent's Tail is close. Walk that way." The reptile pointed to the left and everyone followed after Clay. Well, almost everyone. Omi was bounding ahead slightly, happily taking in the sights.

Valerie yawned; it was the third night in a row that she had that nightmare. Once again she had woken up before everyone else. The water in the shower had been freezing-it should have woken her up, but the cold barely affected her. And the remnants of the fear-inducing nightmare were constantly clinging to her, making sure she could never be completely calm.

Not to mention last night's conversation with Eric had ended so poorly. Valerie should never have asked how Eric got his job as her guardian. Her family opened up a world of hurt that she refused to acknowledge.

Valerie noticed that she was losing the others so she picked up the pace. She glowered slightly as her skirt tangled around her legs. Kimiko just had to pick today of all days to dress Valerie up like a doll. She was wearing the light blue dress she had bought on her day off, a spaghetti strapped number with a sweetheart neckline and with a hem that went to just above her knees. It was cute, Valerie had to admit, but it didn't seem like her. So with Kimiko's approval she paired it with a long sleeved black shirt, her blue black tights, and her brown moccasins. Her hair was loose, the waves rippling slightly in the sunlight as it covered her blue backpack with the Ghost Scythe in it.

Valerie had to admit she looked good. Unfortunately, she probably couldn't fight in this outfit. And the amber necklace beating against her collarbone was distracting her. It was a simple design: amber from the Baltic Sea cut into the square, the corners rounded until they were smooth. It was glued to a silver plate with a silver chain to match. It was pretty, but it seemed awfully heavy all of a sudden.

Eric would have loved to see her dressed to pretty though. He would have smiled and taken pictures because it was just so rare to see Valerie dress girly. She resolved to make up with Eric later.

"So many buildings, so many people!" Omi exclaimed. From where Valerie was standing, he looked vaguely like Pacman. "How do they all know where they are going?"

"I recommend GPS," Kimiko said, looking every bit the tech savvy girl in her pink beanie with black band encircling it, a black t-shirt that revealed her midriff, tan pants and converse sneakers.

"Definitely don't wanna get lost here, that's for sure," Clay said, holding Dojo in his gloved hands.

"Yeah, one wrong turn and you're a headline," Raimundo said worriedly. "'Monk Mashed in Manhattan.'" Omi gave a start, panic flitting over his features.

Valerie could vaguely see Dojo acting as a vibrator. And then he suddenly slackened. "What's wrong Dojo?" she asked concerned.

He turned around and shrieked, "I lost track of the Serpent's Tail!"

"Maybe it can go through solid objects, but we can see through this." Kimiko held the Falcon's Eye in her hand. "Falcon's Eye!" she cried and put it over her eye. It attached to her skin, becoming a monocle of sorts. She turned her head around, looking in every possible direction for the talisman. And then she shuddered and said, "Ew, that's just sick and wrong."

Valerie really didn't want to know what Kimiko saw, so she had no reservations when Omi asked to try out the Falcon's Eye.

Omi put it on and cheered. "Ooh, I can see through walls and buildings and cars and garbage cans and trees!" He pointed to the sidewalk. "And I can see underground too."

Dojo was vibrating again. "It's back!"

Omi pointed out in front of him. "The Serpent's Tail is underground!" And he was off like a shot with the others running after him. They could see the little yellow monk politely but firmly pushing through the throng of people to get to the Serpent's Tail.

Omi came up to a crosswalk. The sign wasn't on and the busy street was full of cars. That didn't stop him from jumping headfirst into the madness.

"Ai-ai-ai, that guy's gonna get squished!" Raimundo cried.

"Omi!" Kimiko yelled out worriedly, but it was hopeless. The monk was jumping on car roofs and hoods, solely focused on retrieving the Serpent's Tail. He didn't even notice the angry words and rude gestures the New Yorkers on the street were giving him.

As soon as the crosswalk turned to the walking man, the Xiaolin monks ran after him. But by the time they got to the other side of the street, Omi was running out of their sights.

"This way!" Raimundo shouted, leading the way to Omi. He ran left down the block. Valerie could barely see the little guy ahead of them; it was usually rather hard to miss that bulbous yellow head, but for once they couldn't see him. Suddenly he turned right and by the time the others turned right as well, he was nowhere to be seen.

"I can still sense the Serpent's Tail," Dojo reassured them all. "If we find it, we'll find Omi." He pointed to the right. "This way!" They ran across the crosswalk to the next block. "N-no, it's this way!" He pointed left to where they started. "No, no, it's, uh….I lost it."

"And Omi too," Clay said softly. Valerie sagged dejectedly with the others. Naïve, gullible Omi lost in New York City? The boy didn't have one iota of common sense.

Until the others found him, he was royally screwed.

The search for Omi began immediately. The four monks scanned the crowds for the boy, since he was rather hard to miss even in New York City. Dojo clung onto Clay's hat, chomping on his claws worriedly.

"Master Fung should never have left me in charge of watching him," he moaned. "Guarding a scroll, that's what I can do. Scrolls don't go running around in Manhattan!"

"We'll find him Dojo," Kimiko said confidently. "I'm not exactly sure how, but we'll find him."

"Yeah, that's reassuring," Valerie muttered under her breath.

"Maybe Dojo should fly us around to look for Omi," Raimundo suggested.

"There are eight million people in this city, Rai," Kimiko pointed out. "It's gonna be pretty tough to spot him from the sky."

"With that bald head? The reflection from the sun should make it easy," Raimundo scoffed.

"I hate to say it, but I think we just got spotted ourselves." Clay pointed out in front of him to reveal a bronze flying saucer riding towards them. The people on the street screamed and ran away quickly, a feat since New York was a densely packed city. Nevertheless, the block was soon cleared of all life.

"A flying saucer?" Valerie deadpanned. "What, did Jack run out of ways to make his ride seem more evil?"

"Well, well, well," Jack Spicer sneered from atop his flying saucer, "If it isn't the Xiaolin Show-Offs. Hey, where's Opie?"

"Omi," Kimiko enunciated, "is-"

"Moments away from getting the Serpent's Tail!" Raimundo yelled, shaking a giant fist at Spicer. Valerie was surprised; considering all the pranks he pulled on Omi, she had the inkling that Raimundo didn't like him. Or maybe that was just friendly rivalry. Valerie didn't really get boys.

"No way!" Jack grinned. "You lost him, didn't you? HAHAHAHA-Is Val wearing a dress?"

Valerie face palmed as everyone else smiled. "Way to put me in the spotlight, Jack."

Wuya suddenly shot up out of her seat in the hovercraft. Her eyes glowed a strange yellow color. "The Shen Gong Wu is near."

Dojo was vibrating. "Like the hag said."

"Well, I'd love to stay and mock, but I got a Tail to catch. I don't want you to miss me though, so I'll leave you with this." Jack-Bots started appearing out of nowhere, blades spinning out of their shoulder blades.

"Jack-Bots, ATTACK!" The boy genius howled with laughter as he took his flying saucer to the nearest underground subway station.

Everyone crowded around with their backs to each other. Valerie glared at the nearest Jack-Bot like it insulted Eric.

"I'm really not in the mood for this," Kimiko growled before shouting, "FIRE!" With a flying fist she pounded a robot into scrap metal. A Jack-Bot glided over to her, but with a well-placed kick she sent it careening into a building. It exploded on impact.

"EARTH!" Clay grabbed a Jack-Bot and threw it at another Jack-Bot. It exploded.

"WIND!" Raimundo kicked a robot, making loud screeching noises. His foot was kicking the robot so quickly bits of its metal armor fell off. When it became nothing more than a copper stick, he poked it, sending it rolling to another Jack-Bot. It fell apart.

The Jack-Bot looked at Raimundo. Clay glared at it. It looked to Valerie.

"AETHER!" She jumped kicked the robot, sending it careening into a building. It exploded on impact.

Dojo pointed to the closed stairs leading to the subway station. "Spicer went down there!"

"After him!" Raimundo shouted as he led the way.

"No you don't." Something slammed into him, sending the Brazilian boy into Clay. Both boys fell down in a heap. Dojo slithered up to Kimiko's shoulders and stayed there as she and Valerie surveyed the scene.

"What hit Raimundo?" Valerie asked rhetorically.

"That would be me-are you wearing a dress?"

"Yes, I'm wearing a dress. Would you all stop pointing it out?" Valerie cried, embarrassed. She could hear Raimundo snickering behind her.

"It's a rare occurrence, so no; we will not stop pointing it out." Theo shimmered in the air beside her, his body suddenly becoming corporeal. He was holding an ornate bronze mask with red fur outlining the eye holes. Six curled, golden spokes crowned the mask, the color matching the fangs.

"Theo? Working alone?" Clay snarled as he and Raimundo got into fighting positions.

"Nope." A shadow passed over the boys. A blade struck between them, sending them jumping away. Hazel appeared out of the shadows, a Cheshire cat grin stretched over her face.

"Ninja Sash!" she suddenly shouted, referring to the green and black belt on her waist. A fuzzy light appeared beside her, stretching out until it became humanoid, wearing a pink corset dress with matching pink boots.

Hazel had cloned herself with the Shen Gong Wu.

Both Hazels' had a Komori Sword. With identical movements they swung the blades at the boys. Raimundo was the only one brave enough to retaliate. Clay, being the perpetual gentleman that he was, merely dodged.

Theo turned to the girls, who were glaring at him. "I'm going to do the honorable thing and only fight you one at a time." He held up his mask.

"I got this." Valerie got out the Ghost Scythe from her backpack and put herself in a fighting stance.

"Mask of Rio!" Theo shouted, and he instantly blended into the surroundings. It was almost like the Shroud of Shadows, except the Mask didn't turn you invisible.

Walking around slightly, Valerie tuned her ears to any sudden movements. She was gripping the Scythe tightly, her knuckles turning white. She suddenly turned her head-was that a scuffle?

A heavy fist hit her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She fell back a ways, bending sideways as she was sent through the air. She landed painfully, wheezing as air was shot out of her lungs. The Ghost Scythe lay at her side, one hand on it.

A kick was sent at her head; the pain exploded at her temple. She could see stars against a black backdrop. Another kick was sent at her back, sending her forward. The Scythe fell from her hands. She lay there, trying to get up, exhaustion wrecking havoc with her nerves, she was spitting up something-

"Ghost Scythe!" Kimiko yelled slashing the air violently. The Mask of Rio cluttered to the ground, Theo's body falling with it. His eyes were open, his mouth slightly agape. He looked every bit the dead person.

…Except for the gray spirit hovering over his body. It was Theo, moving his mouth angrily. No sound was coming out though his lips. He was pounding against something, his fists hitting solid air.

One of the Hazels' had a blade to Clay's throat. The other had her sword trapped between Raimundo's hands. But both stopped what they were doing when they saw Theo's disembodied spirit. They screamed and ran up to him.

"What did you do to him?" they said in unison. Their faces contorted into ugly masks. "CHANGE HIM BACK!"

"He'll be back to normal in a little while," Dojo said dismissively. "Right now we gotta go after Spicer."

Someone gently grabbed Valerie's arms and brought her up. She was too disoriented to see who though. Whoever it was threw her over his shoulder and ran down the stairs with the others, into the dank darkness.

A disgusting smell hit her nostrils, and the stars clouding Valerie's eyes instantly disappeared. Her surroundings sharpened until she could see through the blackness. The person carrying her was wearing green cargo pants and a white top-Raimundo.

She groaned and pushed off him, struggling to be put down. He complied, setting her down gently. She waved a hand over her face. "What stinks?"

"I don't even want to speculate," Kimiko said with an eye roll. "More importantly, how are you doing? You got hit pretty badly."

Valerie's head buzzed loudly and everything seemed to waver. She stared at her friends' concerned faces, their faces stretching out until there was three of each of them. She shook her head, making her woozy, and forced her eyes to sharpen.

"I'll be fine."

"Uh, Val, Theo kicked you pretty hard," Clay pointed out. "You might have a concussion."

"I'll have the Temple check me out later," she dismissed regretfully. "Right now we have to go after Jack."

"But what about Omi?" Kimiko asked worriedly.

"He's tough; he'll hold out until we find him," Valerie said confidently even though she felt anything but. All she wanted to do was go to sleep-the filthy floor seemed pretty enticing right now. Little sleep, nightmares, and a head injury could do that.

"Gotcha!" Clay said, holding her steady. Valerie blinked, the woozy feeling temporarily subsiding. Had she been falling? She hadn't even noticed.

And then she saw it, a slithery green thing heading down the subway tunnel. Valerie rubbed her eyes hard. Nope, it was still heading towards them. She pointed it out. "Am I hallucinating that?"

Dojo began to vibrate again just as the slithery green Serpent's Tail flew past them down the deep, black tunnel. Everyone gasped and Clay tipped his hat in shock. "Woo-wee! That thing moved faster than a turkey on Thanksgiving day."

Dojo slithered down towards the track. "Yeah, that thing was really truckin'."

"Dojo, don't go down there," Kimiko warned in a watery voice.

"Yeah, we already have one injured person here," Raimundo pointed out. Valerie tried to narrow her eyes at him, but it hurt to move her head too much.

Dojo waved his hand and made a dismissive sound. "Relax, this station's obviously closed. There are no trains runnin' down here."

Just them the subway station rumbled. The sound of wheels on metal sounded through the air. Two lights could be seen at the end of the tunnel, and they were getting bigger with each passing second.

Dojo stood there, eyes wide. He screamed in fear, his voice nearly drowned by the train. Clay got out a lasso and threw it at Dojo. It clung around his waist and tightened. The reptile didn't seem to notice he was being lifted to safety until he was dangling from the rope.

The train flew by, and Valerie blinked again. This time there was no mistaking it. The train looked like a giant mechanical version of Jack Spicer. The front vaguely looked like his face, with red paint for hair and white paint for the face. The rest of the body was a sleek black. How Jack Spicer came up with the time to create the thing was a mystery.

"Was that the express?" Dojo said woozily from the floor. "Or was it the local?"

"Jack and Wuya were on that train!" Raimundo cried.

"I thought it looked evil," Clay said seriously.

"Dojo, anything you can do here?" Kimiko asked nearly panicking.

"Uh, gee guys, I'm not big on trains," Dojo said, "and that third rail really chafes…"

"DOJO!"

"Okay, okay!" Dojo shied away from the angry Asian and once again slithered over to the tracks. He grunted and rapidly grew bigger and bigger until he was the size of a train. Valerie could still see the green scales and the red tufts of hair jutting out of the top. He was sleek, almost like a bullet train.

A side door opened, revealing the gooey pink inside. It was Dojo intestines-Valerie shuddered at the thought. Raimundo grabbed her wrist and quickly led her inside with the others. Valerie instantly sat down, gripping the damp seats as the others stayed standing up.

As soon as they were clinging onto a safety wire, Dojo sped off. He was going at a reasonable speed, not unlike a real train. It was quite soothing actually, the sound of the rails as they sped past. Valerie closed her eyes for a second…

"Val! VAL!" Someone was shaking her awake. Little yellow birds circled around her head as she woke up. She blinked them away and stared into Raimundo's panicked face.

"Girl, you can't sleep now!" he was saying. "You have a head injury."

"Besides, we just found the Serpent's Tail," Clay said with an easygoing smile. "You don't want to miss what happens next."

"You're not fighting though," Kimiko said sternly.

Valerie groaned as the buzzing in her ears turned to a soft ringing. "No arguments there."

"Changing back into a dragon!" Dojo warned, his voice resounding through the train. He twisted suddenly, his pink innards quickly turning green. No, they weren't green-they were suddenly outside of him.

Before Valerie could wrap her mind around that impossibility, she was flung through the dank tunnel. And then, just as suddenly, she was back on Dojo's back. He was flying through the subways of Manhattan like he was flying through the sky like normal.

Valerie shifted around until she was facing Raimundo. "What just happened?"

"I have no idea," he admitted slowly. "Dojo, what are you doing?!" Valerie turned around to see the dragon's head lift up towards the tunnel.

"Next stop, Queens!" he shouted before he burst through the concrete. Sharp sunlight flooded the tunnel, sweet air rushing through. The direct light hurt Valerie eyes, but when she opened them she was no longer in the tunnel.

Instead she was on a basketball court in a derelict part of town. A giant transforming robot that looked suspiciously like Jack loomed over the place. Dojo slammed his head against its chest and flew away just as it landed on its rump. The Serpent's tail clutched in its hand flew away.

Dojo skidded to the stop on the court, shifting back into his usual tiny self. An African American boy around Omi's size asked, "That's a…dragon?"

"Got that right!" Valerie piped up before taking a better look at him. He had a curly black afro with matching black eyes against brown skin. He was wearing a purple jersey with a red number seven on the chest and white sleeves. He had matching red cargo pants and white trainers. And then she spied Omi, who wasn't wearing his Xiaolin robes for once. Instead he was wearing a blue hoodie with matching pants and shoes. A blue beanie was also covering his bald head.

Dojo was rubbing his flaming stomach as he shrunk to normal size. "Ow, ow, ow! Told ya it chafed!"

Raimundo ran up to Omi and lifted him up into a bear hug. "You're alive!" he cheered. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"Aww, Rai, you do care!" Valerie trilled as she walked ran over. Raimundo blushed furiously even though he was smiling.

"What? I was worried."

"Hello!" Dojo yelled. Everyone turned to see him barely holding onto the Serpent's Tail as it tried to fly away. "Does anyone want to grab this Shen Gong Wu?"

"I couldn't agree more!" Jack said as he walked out of the destroyed robot.

Instantly the others tried to grab the Wu; Clay even tried his lasso. Dojo slithered into Valerie's arms as they watched everyone try and fail to catch the Wu.

"Why aren't you helping?" the African boy asked her.

Valerie shrugged her head unusually heavy. "Head injury." The boy looked at her before jumping into the fray himself. Like the others he fell before he could catch the Wu.

Just then Omi grabbed onto it just as Jack did. "Omi, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown," Jack sneered.

Omi groaned. "Jack Spicer, why are you always up in my busy-ness?"

"Business," Valerie corrected him loudly.

"Basketball," Jack said suddenly. "Ten minutes, one on one. My Jetbootsu against your Mantis Flip Coin."

"But I do not know how to play this game of baskets and balls," Omi said nervously.

"I do," the African American boy said, holding a basketball. "Throw me in the game."

"Who's this guy?" Clay asked the others.

"No clue," Kimiko said.

"I think he's one of Omi's new friends," Valerie said.

"No way!" Jack said stubbornly. "I challenge you, Omi, not this kid!"

"Aw, you afraid of gettin' whooped little boy?" the African kid jeered.

"Hey, I like this guy!" Raimundo said.

"Jack Spicer is right," Omi said sadly. "Only I can accept the challenge. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Jack asked, arching an eyebrow.

Omi smirked. "Unless I challenge you to a Shen Yi Bu Dare! Me and Jermaine against you and…"

"Who?" Jack turned to Wuya.

"Uh, no hands," the purple squid lady said.

"And no game," Jack pointed out. "But don't worry I got the answer." He pressed a button on his watch and the giant transforming robot picked itself up.

"Wasn't that partially destroyed earlier?" Valerie piped up. "Or was I hallucinating that?"

"I am not feeling all that and a bag of chips anymore," Omi said, actually getting some modern slang right.

"Did Omi just say something from the nineties?" Valerie asked out loud, "And he got it right?"

"Yeah, I think he did," Dojo agreed. Everyone stared at Omi in shock. He didn't notice.

Jack Spicer went on with the Showdown. "Okay, so my Jetbootsu and Ring of Nine Dragons against your..."

"I only have the Falcon's Eye." Omi held up the artifact.

"Fine by me," Jack sneered.

"Anyone else worried?" Clay asked his friends.

"Yup." Raimundo.

"Totally." Kimiko.

"Good. I didn't want to be the only one," Clay said before turning back to the battle.

To be honest, Valerie was worried about the Showdown. This Jermaine kid talked a good game, but she didn't know if he had the skills to back it up. And then there were the black spots that were dancing around in Valerie's eyes. Her eyelids felt extremely heavy. Why couldn't she just go to sleep…?

"LET'S GO: XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!" Jack and Omi screamed and bright light washed over everything. It blinded Valerie, forcing her to close her eyes. The black spots disappeared, replaced with overwhelming darkness. The heavy feeling in her head was fading, replaced with an unbearable pressure as the battlefield went up, up-probably to space. She fell to the ground and it felt so nice…

I've actually been to New York City, and let me tell you it is HEAVILY populated. For one area to suddenly clear out would have taken at least ten to twenty minutes. And if the people were frightened and stampeding away from something, there would a lot more injured people. But since Xiaolin Showdown is a cartoon, it'd make sense for the creators not to show that.

So, thoughts?