VI
Norm sighed and looked around Jack's room. Now that he was alone, he was bored.
"Geez… What to do?" He mumbled to himself. "Maybe I should have gone with him…"
A sudden flash caught Norm's attention. He glanced over at the far wall behind Jack's computer. Curious, he walked towards the flash to investigate.
"What the hell is this thing?" Norm questioned when he discovered what flashed.
It was a golden brown robot with black markings. It appeared to be off. Norm circled the robot and found the On/Off switch on its back.
Norm snickered. "He actually put an On/Off switch on this thing?" He turned the knob and the robot shuddered to life.
"INTURDER!! INTRUDER!!" The robot's mechanical voice hummed. "INTRUDER MUST BE TERMINATED!!" Its chest plate opened and a small gun pointed at Norm.
"Oops…" Norm smacked himself. "Mental note: Don't touch anything but the computer." He jumped back to dodge the laser fire that was being directed at him. Norm paused. "Hey! I'm not an intruder! Your master is letting me stay here!!" He reasoned.
"MASTER IS NOT HERE! YOU ARE AN INTRUDER! DNA UNRECOGNIZABLE!" The robot replied, firing again.
Norm managed to duck just in time. Unfortunately, his hair was singed. "Hey watch it!! I like my hair, thank you!!" He growled. "Wait… Why am I running?" Norm smacked himself again. He then snapped his fingers and the robot shut down. It had been hovering and when it landed on the ground, it broke apart.
Norm stared at it blankly for a moment. "I'm not sure I want to fix that thing… I hope Red won't be mad…"
Jack stood outside the Xiaolin Temple with Kimiko, the Dragon of Fire, and Omi, the Dragon of Water. They were waiting for Master Fung to come out.
"Well, you certainly are in high-spirited mood, Jack," the 11-year-old Omi observed.
Jack blinked. "Really? Well, that's because I found someone…" He smiled.
Kimiko squealed and hugged Jack. "You finally got a boyfriend?! Good for you!"
The albino scratched his head. "He's not my boyfriend… I guess I want him to be but… Well, he's my friend, and I'm okay with this…"
"Did ya tell him how ya feel, partner?"
Jack and the two Dragons looked up to see the Earth Dragon, Clay, walking towards them. He had spoken.
The young mechanic shook his head. "Well, kinda… But, he's not… Y'know… 'That way'… He flirts with me a lot, but I think it's out of habit. And he's not exactly human…"
A fire appeared in Kimiko's eyes. "It's not Chase, is it? After what he did?!" Although they had been enemies, Kimiko and Jack got along pretty well, and she tended to get protective.
"No, it isn't Chase. His name is Norm. He's a genie." Jack smiled.
Clay scratched the side of his head, lifting his cowboy hat slightly as he did so. "A genie? Like wish-grantin' genie?"
Jack nodded. "Yup. He's really cool. A little weird, but cool. I really like him, but he probably isn't too interested…"
"Perhaps it would be best to tell this genie your feelings before jumping to such a conclusion, young Spicer…" Master Fung said, approaching the group alongside Raimundo, who was holding a staff, and Dojo, the Temple's guardian Dragon.
Jack bowed in greeting. "Maybe…"
Raimundo walked over to Jack and handed him the staff. "You recognize this, right?" He smiled.
"The Monkey Staff? But, why would you give this to me? I'm not interested in the Wu anymore…"
Master Fung smiled knowingly. "This a token of our appreciation for assisting us with our security and a symbol of the friendship now shared between us. Please, take it. It was your favorite."
Jack felt overwhelmed with joy. "Thank you so much…" He placed his fist to his palm and bowed respectfully. "Well, Norm's waiting for me. I should head back now. Thanks again!!" He waved and walked over to his jet.
"GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!" The monks said in unison.
Jack blushed. They really were good friends. And he was glad he finally realized it.
After an hour had passed, Jack arrived home. He lowered his jet and closed the hanger. He looked around when he heard music. "My Chemical Romance? Hey, Shades! You still here?" Jack called. He glanced over at the couch. No Norm. He sighed. "Where is he?"
He walked around his lab and paused, smacking himself.
Norm was sleeping. Jack smiled. "Dork." His foot kicked something. Jack looked down and saw the remains of a Jack-Bot. He shook his head, chuckling.
Jack walked over to the couch and sat down. "I guess I'll take a nap or something…" A humming from his computer caused Jack to look up. The fat virus was back. "You again?!" He growled. He got up and walked over to the computer, pounding away on his keyboard. Jack was beginning to wonder if someone hacked his computer and infected it. The only other person who could have even managed was Kimiko. And possibly Ashley, a rich girl Jack worked with once and greatly disliked.
Twenty minutes passed and the genius erased all traces of the Tubby-Virus.
"Finally!" He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the computer desk. He glanced behind him. Norm was still asleep. "You wake up because of my alarm clock, but you don't wake up to a jet landing in the same room? You really are strange, Shades."