I do not own "Jackie Chan Adventures".
Chapter 2: Leader of the Pack
"They prepared a forgery in preparation," Shendu said at the sight of the fake Dog Totem. "It would seem the Zodiac are already learning. Valmont, are your men hard of hearing? Or did they deliberately ignore the warning I gave them in regards to the Zodiac."
"Why's the boss taking a gut from a statue?" Ratso asked.
"Cause it talks," Finn answered.
"Now, if my promise to you of unspoiled riches were as faults as that Totem…"
"Rest assured, Shendu," Valmont replied. "You will have your Totem. And I will ensure that the Zodiac never again interferes with the Dark Hand…ever."
-/-
"This?" Scruffy asked. "THIS is the place you recommend for us?"
The Zodiac were currently looking for a place to call home. Much as they appreciated Section 13 offering them a place to stay, they did not want to feal like they lived in a cage. For that reason, Jade was showing them a place they could live in. Which was why they were currently at a Chinese restaurant. Granted it was abandoned, so no one would come snooping around the place. The only problem was it was a complete mess.
"Wow. This place is a dump," said Jamyang.
"Well, it certainly could use some tidying up," said Royal.
"Great idea. Let's start by rebuilding the whole place," Haiku joked.
"What? The Chinese Zodiac is, you know, Chinese," Jade said. "Then again, I did just move here from Hong Kong. Anyone want some Tex-Mex?"
"Jade, we are looking for a place where we may stay, not a place for takeout," DaLong responded.
"Mexican doesn't sound too bad, though," Mordecai said.
"If we are done," came a voice. They all turned to see Uncle had arrived and was carrying the Dog Totem.
"Done? We've just been given a disaster area to live in and we haven't even started cleaning," Royal complained.
"I don't know. It doesn't seem so bad to me," Mickey stated.
"Mickey, love, no offence, but you're a rat."
Uncle seemed to ignore this banter though and walked up to Scruffy.
"Scruffy, you and your new brethren possess enormous powers now."
"What kind of powers?" Jade asked.
"Jade," Neha said as she placed her hands on the girl's shoulders.
"Ancient legends speak of your ancestors. The twelve animals of the original Chinese Zodiac. Each possessing a different magic. Magic that has now been passed on to all of you."
"What kind of magic?" Jade asked.
"Aacharan, Jade. Mannersss," Neha repeated.
"But legends also says that the Totems were created and used by an ancient evil to steal the magic from the Zodiac, and that to prevent them from being used against it, had them scattered to the four corners of the globe. Such as the Dog Totem, which we now have. If this or any Totem should fall into evil hands…"
"Scruffy and the others will give them a smack down with their lightning fists of steal!" Jade said arrogantly. "Hey, speaking of which, when are you guys gonna teach me some of your moves?"
"Excuse me?" Sasha asked.
"You know, teach me how whoop butt, like you guys!"
"How 'bout some patience first, lassie?" Bob said with a grin. Though Jade responded with a huff.
"Chan, are you really saying this little statue will allow some ancient evil to steal my new magic?" Scruffy asked as he looked at the Totem. The response he got was a finger whack to the head. "Ow."
"Does that answer your question?"
"You guys, check me out," came Jade's voice, gaining their attention. "I got the moves."
She started moving around, trying to copy what Scruffy and the others did yesterday, nearly losing her balance while doing so. It led to her accidently kicking one of the old chairs, causing a chain reaction of knocking over an old table, sending a soup bowl that was still there flying, shattering against the wall upon impact, cracking said wall which later crumbled away, creating a new hole.
"Yikes. T-time, slugger. We're supposed to be cleaning a mess, not making a mess," Lucky said.
"I am such a dork," she said.
"Only if that means you're clumsy," Sasha commented.
"I was just trying to get you guys to teach me," Jade said to defend herself.
"Chinese proverb," DaLong said. "The wise seek power within themselves, while the foolish seek it within others. Until you harness the power within yourself, háizi, we cannot teach you."
"…Huh?"
"It means no self-discipline, no kick-butt lessons."
"Power within. Got it."
"Hey, guys," Mordecai called out. "Check this out." He walked in with Aryan, carrying a large box with him. When he placed it down, he opened it to reveal it was full of fortune cookies.
"Our kawan, Mordy here, found us some nice eats," Aryan spoke up.
"Ooh, early dessert." Jade looked eager as she made her way over to the box, only to be snatched up by Neha, who wrapped her up in her tail.
"Don't even think about it, navayuvatee," the snake said.
"Some eats?" asked Sasha. "Come on, guys. These cookies have been here for how long? There's no way they're still good."
"Want good cookies? Find restaurant that still in business," Uncle added.
"Oh, come on. We were eating who knows what two days ago," Mordecai stated. "Now you guys are being picky?" To prove his point, the pig reached down and took a cookie. He cracked it open and looked at the fortune inside. "Hey, check it out. We can read now too. Look. Danger looms in your future," he read aloud.
"We must be very cautious," said Uncle.
"Oh, come on, Chan," Scruffy said. "Magic's one thing, but you're gonna listen to a who-knows-how-old cookie?"
"Evening, Zodiac."
Upon hearing the voice, they all turned to see Finn standing at the ruined entrance with Ratso and Chow.
"Never mock the cookie," Uncle stated.
"The Totem?" Finn asked.
Scruffy narrowed his eyes to them, but before he could say anything, Mordecai walked up to them.
"Alright pal. What do you say we make this easy?" the pig said. "You walk right on out of here, and we won't clobber ya?"
"Uh, Mordy?" Scruffy tried to say.
He couldn't finish though when Ratso started throwing punches at the pig. Mordecai dodged the fists and responded by grabbing hold of him and throwing him with a shoulder toss. Unfortunately, doing so resulted in accidentally tossing Ratso right onto Royal. Causing the pour horse to fall to the ground with a startled neigh.
"Mordecai!" she cried.
"Whoops. Ha, sorry."
Chow tried his luck next by charging in and grabbing Mordecai from behind. Aryan came in to help by kicking the man, only to accidently knock the hammy friend down to.
"Ooh. Maaf, Mordy."
"To be fair, I deserved that," he said as he got up.
"What's going on?" Jade asked.
"Learning," Uncle replied.
Finn grabbed a chair and tried to swing it at Mickey, but the rat ducked down and swept his tail beneath him. Falling the man to the floor. When the two got up, Finn pulled a gun out from his suit. Mickey managed to kick it out of his hand before he could pull the trigger. It flew towards Jade and Uncle until Neha swatted it away with her tail.
"Nahin. Nahin. Very much, nahin," she said as Mickey knocked Finn down with a kick to the chest.
Chow got back in when he pulled out two short retractable staffs. He attacked Haiku with them, but the monkey jumped up and landed on his shoulders. He then went on to grip him with his feet and through a somersault, throw him away. Except, the thrown Dark Hand thug was heading right for Sasha. Fortunately, the magic cat was able to catch him.
"Come on, guys! This is ridiculous!" the tiger exclaimed as she threw Chow right into Ratso.
"Gomen."
Ratso was able to get back up and charged back in. Seeing this from the sidelines, Jade saw an old broom discarded on the floor and hurried to pick it up. Upon grabbing it, she stuck out the pole end, causing Ratso to trip and fall over it. Jade was happy about this, until Uncle took the broom out of her hands and Neha placed her hands on her shoulders.
"Jade, bachcha, you mussstn't get involved in thisss," the motherly serpent said.
"Neha is right. Leave the rough stuff to the Zodiac," Uncle added.
As soon as he said that he jabbed the broom's pole end into the recovering Ratso's stomach, causing him to fall again. He spun the broom like a staff with a display of skill before settling it down.
"Go Uncle," Jade said impressed.
As the Zodiac were tripping over each other with Chow and Ratso, Finn saw that Uncle had placed the Dog Totem down when he helped Jade. While no one was looking, he went and made a grab for it and took off.
"Chow! Ratso! We're splittin'!" he said, causing the other two to run after him.
"Thanks for dinning with us!" Mordecai yelled after them in a laugh. His laughter stopped though when he saw that no one else was laughing. "There something wrong, guys?"
"Something wrong? Look around you." Scruffy was gesturing to the mess that was made from the fight. The tables and chairs were broken even more, and the walls and floor were cracked even more.
"So we made a bit of a mess. So what?"
"It's not just that, Mordy. We all saw that fight. We were littering tripping each other up and nocking ourselves down. You threw a goon into Royal." The horse in question glared at Mordecai upon remembering this.
"Okay, yeah. That one's on me."
"I feel like I saw that mess up before," Lucky spoke up. "That was a team with no strategy to win. And no one to call out strategy changes on the fly. If we wanna prevent a foul play like that from happening again, where gonna need a team captain."
"You mean…a leader?" DaLong asked. This mention of a team leader caught the attention of the rest of the Zodiac.
"That's the one!" the rabbit confirmed.
"An' who da ya suggest handin' the rains to?" Bob asked. At this, Mordecai walked up with his chest puffed out.
"Well, if you ask me-"
"It should be Scruffy," Jade interrupted the pig.
"What?" asked everyone. Scruffy especially looked surprised by this.
"Me? Leader?"
"Sounds good to me," Sasha approved.
"Tóngyì. You were the first to step forward when Uncle was in danger," DaLong stated.
"You did seem to take charge during that whole ordeal," Royal stated.
Everyone else gave their own approval at the idea. Scruffy, though, still had his hesitations about it. As did Mordecai.
"Now hold on-"
"Uh, guys," Jamyang spoke up. "Where's the Totem?"
This caused everyone to stop talking and look around.
"Uh, Chan? Wasn't it passed to you?" Lucky asked.
"Yes. And Uncle placed it down to help with Jade."
"Where? Where did you place it down?" Scruffy asked.
"Right there," Uncle gestured to the now empty spot.
Everyone turned towards the exit where the Dark Hand trio went.
"Those three grabbed it before running off," Mickey stated.
"An' we were all too busy crippling each other like a pack of dunderheids ta notice," Bob grimaced.
"Come on! We can catch them!" Jade started running only for Neha to use her tail to catch her and drag her back.
"Ssstay with Uncle," she said as the Zodiac ran out after the thieves. Jade pouted as Uncle walked up to her.
"You know this is right, Jade," he said. Jade had other thoughts though as she looked behind Uncle's back.
"Gasp The police! They must have heard the fight! They look very angry."
"Where?" Uncle took a quick look behind him to see not a single officer. When he turned back, he saw Jade was gone and he was alone. "Aiya."
With the Enforcers:
Feeling sore yet also happy, Finn took out his video phone and placed a call to Valmont.
"Mr. Valmont, sir. We have good news and bad news."
"Regale me."
"Well, the bad news is the Zodiac kicked our butts."
"Yeah. That rat hits hard," Ratso added.
"But the good news is we got this." Finn held up the Dog Totem to the screen for Valmont to see.
Dark Hand HQ:
"Excellent. Return it here at ounce." Valmont hung up with that without another word.
"I find your lack of hindsight concerning Valmont," Shendu said. "Do you believe your henchmen capable of keeping ahold of the Dog Totem long enough for them to bring it here?"
"Hm. True. Could it be possible for you Shadowkhan friends to lend us their aid ounce more?"
"I believe that can be arranged."
With the Enforcers:
Before they could go anywhere though, they heard someone clearing their throat. They turned around and cowered at the sight of the Zodiac.
"You know, you guys probably shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch," Aryan said. "It's just gonna make it worse when you show up empty handed."
The Enforcers didn't stick around for long and began running with the Zodiac giving chase after them. What none of them knew was that Jade was hiding behind a building in the shadows, following them.
"Stay with Uncle? Psh And miss out on this?"
The Enforcers managed to hurry into a car they had stashed.
"Who has the keys?" Finn asked.
"I thought you had them?" Chow responded.
"They're coming," Ratso panicked. Finn managed to find the car keys in his suit pocket. Unfortunately, they couldn't get the car started before the Zodiac had them surrounded.
"Uh…hey guys," Finn said with an awkward smile. It was met with him, Chow, and Ratso getting pulled out of the car by Scruffy, DaLong, and Sasha respectively.
"Don't do something stupid, you three," Scruffy said. "You know what we want."
"Sumimasen," Haiku stated as he peaked inside the car and pulled out the Dog Totem. "I think this is what we're looking for."
"Looks like you three get off easy for today," Sasha said.
The three Zodiac members threw the crooks aside in an alleyway where they landed in a dumpster or the piles of trash surrounding it.
"There, see? We got the Totem back. Crises averted," Mordecai stated.
"This time," DaLong spoke up. "We must ensure this never happens again."
As they were talking, Neha had a feeling they were being watched. She turned to look down the street where they came from but saw nothing and no one.
"Neha? Everything ok?" Jamyang asked her.
"I…believe ssso, haan."
Silently though, she gestured to the others that they were being followed. Scruffy nodded at this and directed everyone to follow him. As they walked, Jade came out from a corner and followed them, unaware of the fact that the Shadowkhan were following her. She lost sight of the Zodiac as they rounded a corner. Before she could turn around said corner, a scaly tail grabbed and lifted her up with a yelp.
"What's the big…Oh. Uh, high."
"Again, Jade?" Neha sighed. "What do you hear when I ssspeak?"
"Uh, Neha?" Sasha spoke up.
"Ek pal, Sssasha. Hear my wordsss, Jade. Thisss isss dangerousss."
"Yeah, no kidding," Sasha said, grasping the snake woman's shoulder to get her attention. She pointed back towards the Shadowkhan that were approaching them.
"Sssee? What did I sssay?"
-/-
The Zodiac and Jade prepared themselves as the Shadowkhan approached them.
"Everyone, turn tail! We're leaving!" Scruffy gave the order.
Mordecai voiced his confusion as Neha took Jade into her arms and followed the others as they ran. As they did, the Shadowkhan were right behind them.
"Hey, fearless leader! You mind telling me why we're running?" Mordecai asked.
"Yeah, aren't you gonna womp them?" Jade asked.
"We're trying to protect the Totem from getting stolen. Not fight every battle we come across," the leader responded. "Just give me a minute to think of something."
As they ran, they didn't notice that Tohru was also watching from the shadows.
"Alright. Mordy, you and me, we're taking Jade and the Totem and keeping them safe. Everyone else, distract these ninjas and hold them off!"
"We're on it!" Sasha responded.
Neha handed Jade over to Scruffy while Haiku tossed the Dog Totem to Mordecai. The dog and pig continued running while the other ten stayed back and began to do battle with the ninjas.
"Come on. Why can't I stay behind?" Jade whined.
"Have you not been paying attention?" Scruffy asked.
"Hey, rover!" Mordecai called. The dog turned to see the pig had climbed into a large, old, abandoned tour bus and waving for them to come over. Once they got in, they saw Mordecai messing with the wires, trying to hotwire the vehicle.
"Mordy, what are you doing?" Scruffy asked his comrade.
"Trying to hotwire this thing and start it back up, what's it look like?"
"You know how to hotwire?" Jade asked.
"Eh. You see an old farmer do it to his tractor enough times, you pick up a thing or two."
"Look Mordy, no offence, but it would take a miracle to get this old hunk of rust rolling," Scruffy voiced his doubt.
As if just to spite him as soon as he finished saying that, the engine of the bus suddenly roared to life. Mordecai smiled as he got into the driver's seat.
"Buckle up, you two," the proud pig said as he slammed his pig-toed foot on the gas pedal. The old tour bus responded and began driving down the street.
"Well…Hallelujah," Scruffy said in disbelief.
"Who needs a flying pig when you've got a driving pig," Jade said.
"You said it, kid," Mordecai responded. "Speaking of which, where am I driving this thing to?"
"Section 13," Scruffy answered. "Right now, that's probably the safest place where we can hide the Dog Totem."
"Uh, might wanna rethink that plan," Jade said as she looked behind them, out the rear window. The other two looked behind them to see a group of cars driving up behind them. Cars that had Dark Hand thugs climbing out the windows onto their roofs. Ready to jump onto the moving bus.
"Aw, woof me," Scruffy said to this.
"Great. The rest of the Zodiac's off dealing with ninjas, and where outnumbered in a car chase at night in the streets of San Francisco," Mordecai complained. "Any other bright ideas, fearless leader?"
"Actually yes. New plan. Mordy, we're gonna lead these guys to the Golden Gate Bridge. Away from Section 13. We can't risk leading them to it."
"Alright. Next stop, Golden Gate Bridge."
Scruffy then pulled out a phone that Capt. Black gave him and tossed it to Jade.
"Jade, call the others. Tell them to meet us there at the bridge when they're done with those ninjas."
"What about you?" Jade asked.
"Some thugs have decided to hitch a ride on our new bus without paying. I'm gonna go escort them off," Scruffy said as he climbed up to the bus's open roof second floor.
When he got up there, he noticed the entire second floor of the old bus had been devoid of any seats and the roof was gone. Giving the dog plenty of room to fight. Speaking of which, the Dark Hand thugs had begun climbing up to the second floor and charged at him. Scruffy managed to duck one of them punching and countered with an uppercut to the jaw and delivered a sidekick that knocked him back into his friends.
With the rest of the Zodiac:
Sasha managed to catch a ninja's punch before pulling them in and delivering on of her own right to their face. As the rest of the Zodiac continued to battle around her, her new phone began ringing.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Sasha? That you?"
"Jade?"
"Can't talk for long. Liston, we're being chased by a hoard of Dark Hand goons, and we've only got two Zodiacs here to fend them off while protecting the Totem."
"Oh, come on. This isn't funny," she said fending off another ninja.
"Tell me about it. Scruffy says to meet us at the Golden Gate Bridge ASAP!"
"Alright, we'll see you there." Sasha hung up before addressing the others. "There's been a change of plans, everyone! We need to finish up here and fast!"
With Scruffy:
Scruffy elbowed a Dark Hand thugs punch away and then kicked him off the moving bus.
They eventually managed to reach the Golden Gate Bridge, but realized their troubles were increasing when Mordecai ran over a sign that read 'Work Ahead'. Jade wasn't paying attention to this though as she watched Scruffy fighting from below.
"Scruffy, you rule!"
"Uh, bigger problems, kid," Mordecai stated looking ahead. Jade looked as well and saw the construction work ahead and the workers doing said construction.
"Uh oh."
Mordecai began swerving, trying to dodge the panicking workers. Doing this made things very unstable for the fighters on top of the bus though. During this intense driving, the Dog Totem inevitably fell to the bus floor and slid all the way to the back, hiding itself. Mordecai eventually had to stomp on the brakes, skidding the bus into the side of the bridge and tipping it. The bus was spared from falling, but all the fighters on top of it were not so lucky and could only scream as they fell below.
"SCRUFFY!" Jade and Mordecai screamed in unison as the noble dog fell to his doom.
Nobody noticed that as they fell, the Zodiac sign of the Dog began to glow yellow in Scruffy's eyes. Even he didn't notice as he and the unlucky thugs hit the water.
Jade and Mordecai ran out of the bus and looked over the edge to the water where they fell.
"…Scruffy…" Jade asked in disbelief.
"…You don't…really think he's…" Mordecai tried to say. He couldn't finish though when a hand placed itself on his shoulder and gripped the pig into unconsciousness. Jade gasped and looked up at the one responsible.
"What do you know. It works on humans and livestock," said Tohru. "Now then, the Totem."
"I don't have it," Jade said in fear. Tohru then grabbed her by the leg and lifted her up into the air.
Later, at the Helm's Fish Cannery:
"The dog fell to his doom, and we have captured the pig and the girl, but were unable to locate the Totem," Tohru said into the phone.
"Well, the remainder of the Zodiac seam rather fond of this girl," Valmont responded. "And I'm sure they'll know we won't fall for the counterfeit Totem move again. Just hold the girl hostage and see to it that they hand over the Totem in exchange for her."
"I understand."
"And while you're at it, eliminate the pig."
-/-
The rest of the Zodiac arrived at the bridge where they saw the accident.
"Yikes. Like the driver slipped on a banana peel," Haiku commented on the scene.
"Sasha, you are sure this is where Scruffy told us to meat them?" Mickey asked.
"Yes. This was the place," the tiger responded.
"But where are they?" Neha asked. "And where isss Jade?"
As they searched the area, Lucky happened to look over the edge and see a familiar sight down in the water.
"Uh, team?! We've got a dog overboard!"
The animals came over as well and saw Scruffy lying motionless in the water.
"Scruffy!" Sasha yelled in concern.
"I will retrieve him," DaLong said as he flew down. He lifted his canine companion out upon reaching him and flew him back up to the others. He laid the dog down and they surrounded him in worry.
"Scruffy? Scruffy?!" Sasha tried.
"Wǒ de péngyǒu, please wake," DaLong spoke up.
"Come on, anjing," Aryan spoke up.
After a brief moment, Scruffy was surrounded by a yellow light, surprising the animals. When the light faded, Scruffy's eyes opened, and he sat up.
"What the?" he asked as Sasha hugged him in relief.
"Thank heavens," Royal sighed.
"Gave us quite the unpleasant Jings there, friend," Bob said.
"Are you well?" Neha asked.
Scruffy got back up and checked himself for any injuries, only to not find any. "I'm…completely fine. But how? I fell from way up here. Even if I fell into the water, I should've at least gotten some injuries. Wait." Scruffy looked around the area. "Where are Jade and Mordecai?"
"We thought you would know," DaLong answered. "And the Totem?"
Scruffy ran back onto the bus. Sniffing the air, he could tell that Jade and Mordecai weren't there anymore but sniffed out the Dog Totem hidden in the shadowy back of the bus.
"Well, the Totem's still here," he said walking out with the dog statue. "But I don't-" He was interrupted by the sound of a ringing phone. They all turned to see Scruffy's phone on the ground. "Oh, that's not good," he stated as he handed the Totem over to Mickey. He ran over and picked up the phone, putting it on speaker for everyone to hear. "Hello?"
"Scruffy."
"Chan?"
"Yes. Uncle has finished translating inscriptions."
"Inscriptions? What inscriptions?"
"The ones on bottom of Totem."
Mickey checked beneath the dog's stand to find the mentioned ancient writing.
"Look here. It's as he says," the rat said.
"Yes. They tell of the Zodiac Dog's powers. The Dog is best friend to man. It restores youthful energy and grants eternal life in battle. Scruffy, you have gained the power of immortality."
"I have?!"
"He has?!"
The Zodiac was surprised to hear this. Immortality was something most people in the world had only dreamed of. And now it has been shown to be a reality. In the paws of a dog no less.
"Well, that explains it. No wounder I'm fine after a fall like that."
"One more thing. Have you seen Jade?"
"She ended up following us." Scruffy sniffed the air to try and gain information before continuing. "And from the smell of things, that Tohru guy showed up and captured both her and our pig."
"Those goons must've thought to use 'em as bait," Bod said.
"Aiya! You must save them!"
"That's the plan," Scruffy said before hanging up. He then immediately started dialing someone else.
"Who you calling now?" Aryan asked.
"Capt. Black. We need someone to come get the Totem and deliver it to Section 13 for safety. We've got other matters to attend to.
The Helm's Fish Cannery:
"Hello?! Let me out of here!" Jade cried out as she was strapped down to a table. "I mean it! Just wait until the porkinator comes too! You guys are gonna get so creamed!"
"Jade?" Mordecai asked as he came to.
"Porkinator?"
Mordecai stood up and saw he had been handcuffed to a pipe. A ding from the elevator caught their attention, showing that Tohru had arrived. Mordecai began to sweat when Tohru pulled out a scimitar. He walked over to a grindstone and began sharpening it.
"Don't suppose the rest of the team's on their way?" Jade asked.
"Not likely kid," the pig answered.
As if to prove him wrong, the three of them heard the noise of someone driving. The noise got louder and eventually, the wall to the cannery exploded inward. Knocking Tohru back into a crate of fish and knocked out. The bus doors opened, and the rest of the Zodiac walked out.
"Not exactly Mordy's driving, Bob, but good enough," Scruffy commented.
"I'll take that as a compliment," the sheep responded.
"Scruffy!" Jade cheered in joy at the sight of the dog.
"You're alright?!" Mordecai asked in equal joy. "I mean, not that I'm complaining."
"I'll explain later. For now, let's get you two out of here."
Sasha walked up to the table Jade was tied to. She barred her claws which gleamed for a moment before swiping them. With great ease, the straps binding the girl were shredded.
"Wow. Nice slice," Jade said.
"Tiger claws. No magic required." Once she was freed, Neha immediately slithered over and brought the girl into her arms.
"Alright, we are going to have a ssseriousss talk," she said. Jade chuckled awkwardly in response to that.
Meanwhile, Royal walked up to Mordecai and saw his cuffs.
"Hold still," she said as she got into stance. Mordecai closed his eyes in anticipation. When Royal finally swung, her hoof completely destroyed cuffs, freeing the pig.
"Well, I'll be," the pig said in amazement. "Thanks, RM. And, uh, sorry again for…You know, back at the restaurant."
"Apology accepted," Royal said with a smile.
The elevator dinged though, and opened to reveal Finn, Ratso and Chow.
"Yo, Big T, what's all the racket d-" Finn stopped talking when the scene before him gave him his answer. "Oh mama," he said in fear.
"Let's choose to make this simpler," Scruffy said. "This time, so there won't be any tripping over each other, one on one for each of them."
The Zodiac looked at him in perplexion.
"So, we're not ganging up on them?" Jamyang asked.
"Do we even need to?" Scruffy asked back.
"Hm. He's not wrong," Lucky stated.
"Alright then. Haiku, you take Finn. Mickey, you take Ratso. And Lucky, you're on Chow. Everyone else, stand back and watch the show."
They all nodded as the monkey, sheep, and rabbit walked up.
"They're making fun of us?" Finn stated in disbelief.
"Well, it is funny seeing you guys get it handed to you," Haiku said before laughing.
Finn gritted his teeth at this. "No chimp's gonna make a monkey outa me!"
He ran forward threw a punch which Haiku ducked under. "Missed." He punched again and Haiku ducked again. "Missed again." Another punch, but this time after ducking, Haiku kicked Finn in the rear, sending him to the floor. "Strike three, you're out." Finn got up and saw a chained hook hanging from the ceiling and threw in at Haiku. The monkey jumped up and grabbed ahold of it. It took him to the wall which he bounced off. Using the chain given to him like a vine, he swung towards Finn. This is when Finn realized he messed up. Haiku brought his foot forward and Finn in the face away. "Oyasumi," he said to the unconscious man.
Mickey was having Ratso chase him around. He led the man straight to a wall where he back flipped over him and kicked the criminal right into the wall. The man turned around and tried to jump onto the rat, but he spun around and swatted Ratso away with his tail, sending him into a pile of crates.
Lucky and Chow were staring each other down. Waiting for the other to make the first move. When Chow charged forward, Lucky knocked his arms out of the way and delivered a strong kick to the man's face. Sending him back into a steel beam and knocking him out.
"That was…actually quite entertaining," DaLong said.
"Wish we had popcorn," Jade added.
The three animals that had fought high-fived each other for a job well done.
"Not a bad plan, Scruffy," Haiku said.
"What can I say. Best not to have too many chefs in one kitchen."
The good mood was ruined when they heard Tohru emerge from the fish pile.
"I hate fish," he said angerly.
"And in this case?" Jade asked.
Scruffy looked at their surroundings and came up with a plan.
"Everyone, huddle up," he said. Everyone came close and listened to the plan quietly so not to tip Tohru off. "Everyone got it."
"We understand," Sasha confirmed.
"Leave it to us, rover," Mordecai confirmed.
The rest of the Zodiac backed up while Scruffy walked up to face Tohru. The sumo glared at the dog lunged at him. Scruffy ducked and snuck behind him. Tohru reached behind and was able to grab hold of Scruffy, throwing him across the room. He was able to get back up in time to see Tohru charging him. He jumped over him and this time send the sumo to the floor. As Tohru got up, Scruffy retreated back a bit.
"Everyone ready?" he asked. Tohru was confused at first but looked around to see the entire Zodiac had encircled around him.
"We're ready," Jamyang said.
"NOW!"
With that, they all drove their fists into the wooden floor at once. Cracks began to form and made their way towards Tohru. By the time the sumo realized what was happening it was too late as the floor beneath him gave way to his great weight. Tohru fell through multiple floors before finally falling through the dock and into the water beneath.
"I say, good show, Scruffy," Royal stated.
"Yeah, fido. Not bad," Sasha said with a smile which Scruffy returned.
At Section 13, the following day:
The Zodiac were at Section 13, talking with Black about what had transpired the previous night.
"So, you're telling me Scruffy's the first one of us to get his power, and he's immortal?" Mordecai asked. "That's the last time I worry about you."
"Aw. Good to know you care," Scruffy said with a smile.
"Guess he's got that power within DaLong was talking about," Jade commented.
"That's not what I meant," DaLong responded.
"It's a start," Black said. "Looks like the Zodiac have chosen a good leader."
"I hope so," Scruffy said. "I'll just keep leading the best I can."
"That's all we can ask for," Sasha said.
"Now, what's say you all get some sleep?" Black said.
"Black," Neha started, "we've been over thisss. We are grateful for the offer, but-"
"Don't worry, Neha. Section 13 has already seen to it that you all get a real place to stay."
At the Zodiac's new home:
"This place again?" Aryan asked as they were back at the old abandoned Chinese restaurant.
"Told you guys this place would work," Jade said.
"It's still a dump," Jamyang stated.
"Only on the outside, big fella," Black said as he walked in.
The Zodiac followed him in and didn't see much difference. Until Black walked up to the back wall and revealed a secret panel where his handprint was scanned.
"Recognized: Captain Black. Access granted," came a feminine computer voice.
The floor beneath them slid open and an elevator panel big enough for all of them came up.
"Ok. That's new," Haiku stated.
"Oh, it gets better," Black said as he and the Zodiac got onboard.
When he pressed a button, the elevator moved downward, taking them underground and the floor closing back up. When it stopped the elevator doors before them opened to reveal a sight that took their breaths away.
"Zodiac, welcome to the Jade Palace."
Before them was a giant jade-green room with a huge screen tv on the far wall before a large curving sofa before it. Big enough for all twelve of them. In front of said sofa was a large circular coffee table. Next to them, in the back left corner was a large kitchen and dining area. On the right and left sides were hallways leading outwards.
"Bow wow," Scruffy said in amazement.
"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Mordecai said in excitement as they all ran in.
"This here is the common room which also doubles as a meeting room," Black explained. "And as you can see, it comes with kitchen and dining area. Down the two hallways you'll find your rooms and bathrooms. Second floor below, you'll find a training room where you can practice your fighting."
"Ay caramba. This place just keeps getting better," Mickey said.
"This is exactly what they need," Jade said, looking like a kid in the candy store. "Their own secret superhero headquarters!"
"There's more. We got you all a little gift."
Black pointed to the coffee table where the Zodiac saw twelve boxes, each one with one of their Zodiac signs on it. They opened them and smiled at what they saw.
"We figured you all might want to where some real cloths rather than those put together rags you're all wearing."
The Zodiac quickly changed into their new clothes. They were now wearing uniforms that looked like they were modeled after Chinese kung fu uniforms and had the symbol of the Chinese Zodiac on the back. The pants even had holes in them for their tails. Each one a different color. Scruffy was yellow, Bob aqua, Mickey black, Haiku brown, Lucky purple, DaLong red, Royal lavender, Jamyang blue, Mordecai pink, Neha green, Sasha white, and Aryan orange.
"Looking good, gang," Jade said.
"I hope this place can come to feal like home for you all," Black stated. "And that we can continue to count on your help in taking down the Dark Hand."
"You can count on us, Capt. Black," Scruffy said as he shook the captain's hand.
"Uh, quick question. What's all this?" Aryan asked as he gestured over to a pile of stuff that looked like it came out of a kid's room.
"Hey! That's all my stuff!" Jade said.
"You're stuff?" Scruffy asked.
"Until we can take down the Dark Hand, it's safer for her here. Don't worry, we made sure to build her a room of her own during construction." Jade gasped in joy at this.
"Since when are we babysitters?" Sasha asked.
"It would be safer for her if we keep an eye on her," Neha chuckled as Jade ran into her and hugged the snake woman, which she returned in kind.
"But, what about Uncle?" Jamyang asked.
At Uncle's Rare Finds:
"Good magic is stronger than bad magic," Uncle said as he walked around his shop, throwing orange powder in the air.
At the Jade Palace:
"He refused to move," Black said. "Something about messing up his feng shui or something."
"The old man is wise," DaLong commented.
"He's also more stubborn than me di," Bob added.
"I trust you all will keep the girl in check?" Black asked.
"We'll try," Scruffy said.
"Scruffy, Neha, does this mean I'm a secret agent?!"
"No," the two Zodiacs and Black all said in unison.
"Aw."
-Reposted. Leave a review and tell me what you think.-