Chan in Bellwood (Remake 2)

by Inkaliber

Ben figured his life would be straightforward. Save the world, fight evil, get homework done, mess with his sister, and play some games. Now he has to hunt for magical talismans, navigate an alien civil war, and figure out why the Omnitrix is acting weird all while going to school. Knowing his luck, this was only the beginning. Ah well. At least the new neighbor is pretty cute.

3. Dawn of a New Team

Inkaliber: Hey everybody! Time for chapter 3 of this story! I know this opening has been going on for a while but I hope you all can still enjoy the story like this. This time the whole gang should be here to take part in the opening of the chapter. You fellas ready to get this party started?

Adran: As ready as I can be!

Zemrocku: And third time's the charm, seeing as we weren't allowed to end this in chapter two as planned. Well here you all go: part three.

Inkaliber: Yup. Anyway, that's enough of that. Only one thing left to do. It's review time!

Wanderingsage7- Yup. I always thought it was a fun concept to have Jackie be the actor and the character. I wanted to keep the fight as accurate to the episode as possible while still providing a bit more descriptors. Jade is indeed in for a wild ride. I'm glad that you're a fan of Sari and the reasoning for her age will seem pretty simple when you really think about why she exists here. Ellie will also be explained at some point.

Reader (Guest)- I'm glad that you enjoyed the chaos. You are correct that only time will tell, and time for that is near. It will, of course, be entertaining.

Some1call4MR-E- Don't worry! It's in my update queue so it and other queue stories will have months dedicated to them. This way things won't get lost in the shuffle. Also, other than cameos, the series that are involved are the only ones being focused on. There won't be a problem juggling the stories and everything done here is in the hopes of telling a better story for what I originally envisioned.

Inkaliber: With that out of the way, let's get started! I don't own Ben 10, Jackie Chan Adventures or any other series to appear in the story and the universe. I do own OC characters, objects, ideas and concepts unless stated otherwise.

Voices

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

"YELLING!"

"Author/Guest/High or demonic entity talking. Also, surprise at the end of a section."

"AUTHOR/GUEST/HIGH OR DEMONIC ENTITY YELLING!"

"Whispering."

"Author/Guest/High or demonic entity whispering."

[Language Indicator]

"Machine or alt communication talking/Talking in flashback."

"MACHINE OR ALT COMMUNICATION YELLING/YELLING IN FLASHBACK!"

"Machine or alt communication whispering/Whispering in flashback."

---

November 06, 2008

Bellwood, Pennsylvania

Jackie groaned as he eventually began to wake up, the memory of the fight fresh in his mind. He didn't know how he had fallen asleep, only that a gas was puffed in his face. He could swear he heard someone saying something, the reason his mind was starting to turn again. He moaned a bit as he turned to be flat on his back, the carpeted floor of a vehicle brushing against his hand. He began to open his eyes, the sound of footsteps being the first thing he registered.

"He's coming to," stated an unknown voice. Jackie soon opened his eyes, blinking as he tried to relax them. Finally releasing the strain from his face, the Kung Fu master laid eyes on a group of men. While they each seemed unique in appearance, one in particular stood out to him. In fact, the individual looked very familiar.

The apparent leader of this troupe was a tall bald man with pale skin, green eyes, and red eyebrows. He wore a red turtleneck, a black trench coat, gray pants, a black leather belt, and black loafers. The man seemed wary of Jackie, awaiting some form of reaction. The group jerked back as the Kung Fu master let out what seemed to be a battle cry.

"AUGUSTUS BLACK!" cheered Jackie. He embraced the bald man, confusing his subordinates. "What are you doing here!?" He suddenly groaned as he released the man, rubbing his forehead in discomfort. "What am I doing here?" The bald man shook his head in denial, a serious frown on his face.

"I'm afraid it's official business, my friend," denied Augustus. Jackie looked over the man in confusion. He then looked to the subordinates behind him.

"I didn't think these would be your backup singers." The two men looked between each other, unsure how to react to this cover. The Kung Fu master sent his friend a slight scowl, crossing his arms. "Where have you been? I don't hear from you for six years, and then BOOM!"

He stretched out his arms for emphasis, shocking the other men once more. "You're here in Bellwood saving my butt." He groaned before anyone could answer, rubbing the back of his head. "Those thugs must have knocked me out before you got there." Augustus chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Actually, that was me. Sorry." Jackie said nothing as he looked the man in the eye. The black van came to a stop behind a set of buildings, just in time for the former star to throw the doors open.

"Why would you do that!?" He hopped out of the vehicle before anyone could stop him. Augustus stood at the exit of the vehicle as the man walked towards a phonebooth.

"Jackie…" The Kung Fu master paid his old friend no attention as he continued to approach the communicator. He then turned as he noticed the bald man's shadow approach him.

"I thought we were friends!" The man said nothing as he let Jackie take a few deep breaths. He smirked as he crossed his arms.

"We are, and always have been. We couldn't let anyone know about our location, so I had to follow company policy." The Kung Fu master feigned understanding as he gestured to a few piles of trash.

"Oh, yes. I can see that this is some very special garbage the studio doesn't want anyone knowing about." He turned his back to his old friend as he reached out for the door to the phone booth. "Maybe when I see you in another six years, you'll learn how to treat people better!" Augustus sounded off his concern as he reached out for the man.

"Jackie I wouldn't…" His pleads fell on deaf ears as the former star began to punch in a phone number. Imagine the shock on Jackie's face when the sliding door closed all by itself.

"What?" He suddenly felt himself being pulled forward as a door opened in front of the booth. Augustus winced as his friend was pulled through the path, screaming in terror. The other men approached him as he rubbed his temples.

"I probably should've explained what happened before I told him about the gas. Guess we're taking the stairs." The other bald member of his group sounded off his distaste as the group followed their leader. Jackie continued to scream inside the elevator, bashing around as there seemed to be no end in sight. The fake booth finally began to slow down, causing the man to sigh as he leaned against the door.

A moment was all he got, however, as the elevator began to plummet towards the ground. Jackie screamed once more as he held onto the sides of the booth, not wanting to fall through. Everything came to a sudden stop, forcing Jackie to faceplant into the door once more. The device slid open as a ding rang through the air, allowing the Kung Fu master to fall to the floor. The door closed behind him as it awaited the next usage.

"What was with that phone booth?" He opened his eyes, seeing two unknown creatures that looked like frogs running towards him. They then jumped over him as if he didn't just fall, looking over the elevator.

"The elevator is malfunctioning again!" cried the creature. "I told you we should have oiled it properly!" The skinny one of the duo crossed his arms, huffing.

"No you didn't," argued the creature. Jackie slowly looked back, his eyes widening. The more rotund one of them put his hands on his hips, huffing.

"Did too."

"Did not." Jackie turned on his back as he backed away quickly, bumping his back against the wall as he watched the creatures argue. He breathed deeply, only to hear a sigh as he saw a blue scaled leg with a ball between the toes. He slowly looked up, seeing that it was attached to a humanoid velociraptor-like creature, the anatomy of the creature being much like a human female as she wore a white and gray armor that had red detailing. The woman sighed, helping him to his feet.

"First time?" joked the creature. "I found him, Captain Black. Bringing him in now. I'd hold your breath." Jackie suddenly felt his body being jerked, holding his breath as he was suddenly dashed through a building at a speed that seemed unreal for a living creature.

His eyes widened as he thought he saw strange aircrafts with rockets, blurs that looked like inhuman shapes passing them by. They eventually skidded to a stop outside an open door, Jackie blinking as his body shook. "Name's Xi by the way. Love the human's movies about themselves but your alien movies suck. See you around, hot shot."

She blitzed away, Jackie stumbling into the room as Augustus could be seen straightening his jacket. The man turned around, immediately seeing the incoming signs. He pressed a button as the sliding door shut, holding his hands up.

"Jackie, don't freak out," requested the man. "Just take deep breaths." Jackie smiled, puffing a bit as he waved a hand in the air.

"Freak out?" questioned the man. "Why would I be freaking out? I saw two talking frogs argue about a phone booth that just happens to be an elevator, get carried through a hangar with planes with rockets by a dinosaur woman, and have a crick in my back. Nothing is wrong… HOW COULD I NOT FREAK OUT!?"

He gestured towards the door, his eyes wide. "WHAT WAS THAT!?" Captain Black sighed, holding a hand to his forehead.

"Why do I always get the first timers?" questioned the man. He pressed a button on the table, clearing his throat. "Someone get maintenance on that elevator… maintenance that isn't Blukic and Driba. Thank you. Follow me, Jackie."

He pressed the button from earlier, opening the door to where Jackie turned with a jerk. The captain walked out of the room, his guest quickly following after him. "There's a lot of explaining on both our ends so I'll try to keep this brief. As you've already experienced, they weren't kidding when they said we aren't alone in this universe. Within our galaxy alone there are around one million known alien races that have intelligence, and not all of them are friendly."

They reached the hangar that Jackie had been carried through, stopping at a handrail. "That's where we come in. Welcome, Jackie, to the Plumber Earth Division: Section 13." Jackie looked over the area, his eyes widening as he saw several different kinds of creatures walking around. There were humans like himself and the captain yet there were also fish people, blob people, people with red skin or blue skin, and even a crab person or two.

Captain Black nodded his head, looking over the scene himself as one of the space ships took off into the sky. "While the Plumbers operations tend to be top secret, we are known to work with governments across every world in our ranks. My division handles crimes here on Earth that Humanity's governments aren't ready to handle. We also have some of the best agents in the world found here." Jackie pointed towards the people, his eyes looking widely at the man.

"You're a spy?" He then moved his attention to the various people around him. "They're spies? All of them?" The head agent shook his head in response.

"Law enforcement Jackie. Elite special forces, along with a few top of the line scientists for R and D." The Kung Fu master shrugged as his longtime friend walked past him.

"So why give me the big tour? Why bring me into this?" Augustus looked towards him, his scowl deepening slightly.

"We recently learned that you acquired a rare artifact in Bavaria." The Kung Fu master groaned as he rolled his eyes. He spread out his arms as Augustus gave him a raised brow.

"How come everyone knows about this!? It was supposed to be a private dig!" The head agent gave his friend a deep scowl, waiting for an explanation. "You are the second person to approach me about the shield today." Augustus sighed as he rubbed his chin.

"As I feared. They moved first." The Kung Fu master crossed his arms in response to the realization.

"Want to fill me in? I would like to know why there is a target on my back." Augustus nodded his head as he walked over to a computer. He quickly began to type away, quickly scanning through an interface.

"We're currently dealing with a group called the Dark Hand. Think of them as the Kingpins of the Earth's Black Market, as well as the beginning of many gangs around the globe. They even have their hands in organizations like the Mafia of Italy and the Yakuza in Japan. Their leader, Valmont, is the head of the biggest crime syndicate on Earth. He recently became part of our jurisdiction when he stuck his hands into the Intergalactic Black Market, though he has lately taken an interest in collecting rare artifacts here on Earth."

He pulled out a Plasma Sword, one of the weapons used against Jackie. "This is a mark seven Plasma Blade: a level six weapon that uses helium to create the blade. Humanity has only reached tier two, meaning that this shouldn't even exist on this planet. These men are highly dangerous, and you just appear out of nowhere to them and manage to handle them with windshield wipers. That will definitely hurt their pride."

Jackie narrowed his eyes as he took in the appearance of the syndicate head. He was a tan skinned man of average height with long white hair that was pulled back into a low tail and blue eyes. He wore a green business suit, a black dress shirt, a yellow tie, gold earrings, and black shoes. He could tell that something was definitely off about this man, especially with the deceptive smile he seemed to be wearing in a few of the photos. He would remember this man.

---

Xiaoling Industries

San Francisco, California

The building had a dark and ominous aura about it, especially for a place as sunny and cheery as San Francisco. It was known as one of the leading tech companies in the world, pumping out products that would baffle the mind. The symbol of a huge golden dragon head adorned the top of the building. The stones of the building were dyed a dark purple hue, matching the gold aesthetic. Within the top floor, one would find a room with a red carpeted floor.

Valmont stood in front of a screen, tapping his cane on the ground a bit. A hologram of the three goons that attacked Jackie stood on his desk, the men looking nervous. He narrowed his eyes, his calm fury being felt through the call.

"You are telling me that one man stopped you?" questioned the head villain. The goons looked at each other, the worry growing on their faces. Finn sounded off his concern as he shook his head.

"Yes, but he…" began the disco man. He was cut off by the stamping of his employer's cane. Valmont leveled a glare at the trio, disappointment written on his face.

"Three of my enforcers- armed with high tech weaponry that is beyond anything produced on Earth- were defeated by an archeologist with windshield wipers? Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?" The redhead tilted his head a bit, trying to think of what to say.

"Did we mention he was Jackie Chan?" This only served to deepen the scowl on Valmont's face. The man tapped his cane again, huffing.

"I don't care if he was Hercules. You are my top enforcers and yet you couldn't do one job. Do you realize how much it costs to replace Plasma Blades? If you lost one on every mission, I would be in debt. State of the art technology, gone."

He then snapped his fingers, shaking his head. "Luckily, I sent someone to ensure you learned your lesson. Tohru." Loud footsteps could be heard on the other side as the trio froze in place. A large shadow encased them entirely, a sight that brought a chill to their spines.

The trio slowly turned around to face the unknown arrival. They gasped at the sight of the giant before them. The large man was of Japanese descent, having black hair that he pulled up into a traditional style and eyes of a matching hue. He wore a simple white t-shirt, black overalls, and brown Japanese sandals. He towered over the group with a sinister glare, his large stomach portraying his strength.

He picked up the trio no problem as he brought them into a crushing bearhug. Valmont took another sip of his drink as the Enforcers grunted in pain. Finn huffed a bit, his face looking paler than usual.

"Tohru! Can't… breathe!" In spite of this plea, the Japanese giant continued to constrain the trio. He had been given an order, and he would not stop unless told to. Valmont seemed to become annoyed by the grunting, placing his cup on the counter behind him.

"Enough." At that command, Tohru released the Enforcers. They fell on top of each other one by one, gasping for air as they grabbed at their sides. The large man looked to his employer with a softer glare than usual, awaiting the next command. Valmont seemed to contemplate this next action as he rubbed the top of his cane.

He looked up to meet his guard dog's eyes, tapping his cane lightly against the ground. "Tohru, bring me the shield." The Japanese giant nodded his head in acceptance, turning to make his way out. Before he could do so, a low hissing sound filled the air. Valmont looked to his left, knowing full well where this noise came from.

"Your Tohru is impressive, Valmont," stated a new voice. A set of glowing red eyes came to life in the nearby darkness. The lights turned on to reveal the owner of the glowing set, the golden dragon statue that had been passed down through Valmont's family for generations. Purple smoke came from the beast's mouth as its focus remained unclear. "In the event that he too should fail, however, it might be wise to enlist the aid of my own enforcers."

Upon the utterance of the statue's advice, the shadows in the room began to grow in volume. The darkness even reached out into the well-lit areas of the room, though they stopped before they could extend beyond their boundaries. Without any warning, shapes began to rise from the shadows. The shapes took the form of blue skinned humanoids that bore the same colored eyes as the statue and wore a black shinobi suit with a red sash running around their waist. "The Shadowkhan; an elite squadron of shadow warriors, ready to complete any task given to them." Valmont nodded his head as he looked away from the golden statue.

"As you wish, Shendu." The ninjas returned to the shadows as the black mist began to fade from the dragon's mouth. Tohru sent an unreadable frown at the statue, not fond of the feeling it gave him. The figure seemed to emit evil intent with its very presence, making his instincts scream to get rid of it. Nevertheless, the giant would see to it that Valmont's orders were fulfilled by any means necessary.

---

Section 13

Bellwood, Pennsylvania

Jackie watched as Augustus shut down the computer, having shown enough visuals for the moment. The head agent got up from his seat as he turned to his longtime friend. Not much time had passed since the information dump of Dark Hand intel. The former star got the gist of it all, even if he didn't understand a few of their motives. The bald man, seeing the understanding on his audience's face, rolled his shoulders a bit.

"As I said, we recently learned that the Dark Hand has gained an interest in retrieving certain historical artifacts," continued Augustus. It was here that Jackie began to understand the level of involvement this information had placed him in. Being an archeologist, it made sense that a syndicate would be interested in what he does. He shook his head as he looked the head agent in the eye.

"Why?" questioned Jackie. "The shield didn't seem particularly valuable, aside from historical importance." Augustus shook his head in response.

"Unknown. It's always been difficult to track their movements. In any case, with this new development in mind, Section 13 could use an archeologist. It just so happens that you are an expert in your field." Jackie shook his head in response, embarrassment well hidden behind a serious frown.

"I wouldn't call myself an expert. I'm really just an amateur." Black smirked as he tilted his head slightly.

"A wise and intelligent amateur." He placed his hand on the former star's shoulder. "You're the only one I can trust with this job, Jackie." The Kung Fu master shook his head once more, apprehension visible on his face.

"But my museum work. I can't just…" Augustus frowned as he released the man's shoulder.

"It wouldn't be full time and you'd be paid for it. All we need is someone to help with research so we can stay one step ahead of Valmont." Jackie looked down as he began to think over his options. While he was not fond of the idea, he wasn't one to leave his friends in situations like this. He sighed as he returned his gaze forward.

"I will consider it." Before anything else could be said, the sound of footsteps filled the air. Jackie looked towards the noise, his eyes widening as he saw Max. "M-Mr. Tennyson! Why are you-" Max chuckled, shaking his head.

"I heard there was level six technology found and it's my job to be involved in this," stated the old man. "I see you've brought in your expert, Captain. I heard about the incident in Bavaria. You said he escaped the castle's traps unscathed, right?" The bald man turned around, nodding his head.

"And he just forced the elites of the Dark Hand to retreat," stated the man. "All while using windshield wipers against that level six technology we brought in." Max looked at Jackie, humming in surprise.

"I guess Ben was right: you really do perform your own stunts." Jackie rubbed the back of his head, swearing that he would never escape that detail. He suddenly blinked again, looking towards the old man.

"Hang on… Shen had you and your family over for dinner. Does he- Is he a-" Max chuckled, shaking his head.

"I knew Shen hadn't told you yet. Most of the time when I meet families that do know, they tend to ask me all sorts of questions about my line of work." Shen walked out of one of the rooms, groaning as he had a cup of coffee in hand.

"[Mandarin] I swear, this day could not get any more complicated," groaned the man. He turned as he took a sip of coffee, only to nearly choke on it as he saw Jackie. "K-KONG SANG! YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!" Jackie turned around, his eyes narrowing.

"[Mandarin] Why am I the only one that doesn't seem to know about this," huffed the man. "What are YOU doing here then?" Shen, realizing that his cousin was freaking out, simply adjusted his lab coat.

"[Mandarin] My job, as requested of my Teacher. Captain, I apologize for my cousin's intrusion." Captain Black shook his head, smirking.

"There's no need for apologies, Mr. Chan," reassured the captain. "I was the one who brought him in for our little artifact case." Shen's eyes widened, a hint of fear in them.

"My family cannot be brought into this. I separated them from my work life for a reason. Only Ai knows as she had once been here before her retirement. If Xiaoyu were to find out-" Jackie looked baffled, his eyes widening.

"YOU AND AI KNEW!? How-why-when-EXPLAIN!" Shen sighed again, figuring that there was no going back.

"Before Ai and I met, she was an ambassador for the Andromeda Galaxy. She negotiated with several peoples before her retirement. She wished to stay at home after becoming pregnant with our child, so she trained someone to replace her. We wanted to give Xiaoyu a normal life, which is why I have done everything I could to keep her safe and in school. She has had no contact with nothing I could not explain as an experiment in the lab."

Max looked away, knowing how long things tended to NOT stay normal in Bellwood. "I will respect the decision of the Captain, but you can NOT tell anyone about this. Not even Uncle. If this were to get out there would not only be international panic, but we may lose grace with the main branch and worse for my case: Xiaoyu will undoubtedly want to become involved in all of this."

The man looked down, clenching his hands. "I have been accused of being distant by some, but I know my child. First she will freak out, then she will want an explanation, then she will want to dive in head first. She is too much like myself and Ai to not become involved in something that excites her. It is literally in her blood, shown by her focus on her extracurricular activities. I do not want my line of work to be the end of my child, Kong-Sang." Jackie sighed at this, nodding his head.

"Not like anyone would believe me if I tried," reasoned the martial artist. "I would be seen as insane if I tried to say that aliens… exist." He grabbed his head, groaning. "Now I sound like Uncle with magic." Max sweated a bit at this, only to be saved by a ringing as Jackie looked towards his phone.

He gasped, seeing the number. "It's Uncle. I have to explain my absence. Excuse me." He walked away from the group, his ear being assaulted by a yell before he could even say anything.

"JACKIE!" roared Uncle. "Hotel boy bring up bags and jostle canned octopus! The mung beans are soggy! Told you no canned mung beans! Where are you?" Jackie looked back before cupping his hand over the phone.

"I ran into Cousin Shen and he offered to show me his office. We are… having coffee." He heard Uncle sigh, making him relieved as it was one of his happy sighs.

"Good to hear you two get along. Less pain on Uncle! One more thing, I have been doing research on shield from Bavaria. I have found the meaning of the markings."

Jackie brought the phone closer to his ear, listening in. "They are incantations." He blinked, looking back at the group.

"Um… incantations? So it was used in rituals of some kind?" He heard a harrumph on the other end, signaling Uncle's denial.

"The incantations themselves are magic. Very powerful but shield not important." Jackie gained an incredulous look on his face as he looked at his phone.

"Of course the shield is important! Everyone I have met today wants the shield!" He took a deep breath as he reigned in his emotions, not wanting to have an outburst. Uncle, oblivious to this battle, decided to keep going.

"No. Shield not important. In fact-" Jackie sighed as he shook his head. He was about to correct the old man, when he heard a yelp on the other end of the line. His eyes widened as he brought the phone back to his ear.

"Uncle?" No answer, save for the swaying of a dangling landline. "Uncle!? Is everything alright!?" He then heard a heavy breathing pattern on the other end of the line.

"Your uncle is fine for now, Mr. Chan," stated a new voice. "However, every hour I do not possess the shield is a moment closer to that statement being false. Bring the shield to the Chinese Tower and tell no one, or there will be no Uncle." The line hung up, Jackie's eyes widening in fear. Captain Black approached the martial artist, looking concerned.

"Everything alright?" questioned the head agent. "Sounds like something happened." The former actor shook his head in response, putting his former profession to good use.

"Uncle just realized that he didn't have his medicines. I'm going to pick them up real quick and bring them to him." The captain nodded his head, pressing his finger against his ear.

"Agent Xi, report to me immediately." The woman suddenly slid into view, Jackie jerking a bit. "We have a situation. I need you to ensure that everything is alright at Mr. Chan's hotel. It appears the Dark Hand may have struck." The martial artist winced, his eyes widening.

"I-I said it was just medicine. He-" Augustus smirked, shaking his head.

"Ten years of dealing with hostage situations, Jackie. You're not pulling a fast one on me. Agent Xi, equip a DNA mask. And remember, no heroics." Agent Xi smirked, nodding her head.

"I'll do my best, Captain," stated the woman. She pulled out a mask similar to a human face, planting it on her own. Jackie's eyes widened as a hologram formed over the woman, replacing her with a human that had tan skin, brown eyes, and long black hair. She looked like she just came from a party as she wore a black dress, high heels, and a sun hat. "Let's bounce, hot shot."

Jackie cried out as he was picked up, the two of them zipping away. Max heard his communicator go off, pulling it out. He smiled, nodding to the others.

"I have to take this," stated the man. "Captain, keep an ear open on the Chan situation. Shen, return to work. Hopefully this will be done soon." Shen sighed as he walked over to the coffee machine, hoping the day wouldn't get any more "exciting".

Max opened his communicator, holding it to his ear. "Ellie, not the best time sweetheart." He heard a nervous giggle, causing him to sigh. "What happened?" This brought about a sigh.

"WEEEEELL, you know how today was Xiaoyu's first day at school?" began the girl. "Funny story… She knows about aliens because an alien girl attended school today trying to learn about humans. The girl called herself a cyba…cyber… Sari, what were your people called again?" Max's brow tweaked as he heard a nervous hum on the other end.

"C-Cybertronian," stated a voice Max didn't recognize. "I still don't think Optimus would be happy about this." Max blinked multiple times, his body shaking. This had Shen spew out his coffee that he just took a sip of, actually choking as he dropped the cup. He took a deep breath, looking towards Max.

"XIAOYU MET A WHAT!?" cried the scientist. Max facepalmed, feeling his hairs turn more gray than usual. He knew, somewhere, somehow, someone had jinxed this day.

---

Tennyson Residence, Ben's Home

Jade sat cross legged, not blinking as she processed everything that she was hearing and that she had learned this day. One: magic exists, as in REALLY exists. She couldn't deny that the talisman made the basketball float, not to mention she tried it out to get a bag to breathe into so she wouldn't hyperventilate at one point. Two: aliens also exist. Sari was clearly an example of this. After all, she looked rather alien in her true form.

The Cybertronian now sat before Jade as her skin had broken apart to show a metal-like skin underneath. Her dress had turned into a form of metallic armor and she had joints where her elbows used to be. Her boots condensed into a more compact and metallic form, short wings popping up on her back. The center of her chest had a glowing light in the center, her eyes became blue lights, a symbol depicting a face appeared on her shoulder, and her pigtails turned into blade-like antennae as a helmet covered her hair. Jade finally blinked, gulping a bit as she held her hands tightly together.

"L-let me see if I've got this right," requested the foreign girl. "You're telling me that magic exists, and this little relic has REAL magic in it." She held the stone in her hand, twisting it back and forth. "Not ONLY that, but aliens exist and there are ones actually made of metal that's as elastic and malleable as human skin. And your folks can transform into vehicles?" Sari nodded her head, wincing.

"Yes, and I thank you for not using the term 'robot'," stated the metal girl. "Almost every other race seems to do that just because we can transform into vehicles. We're not Galvanic Mechamorphs. We can turn into technology but we aren't technology ourselves. We're just… iron-based life forms." Ben crossed his arms, looking jealous.

"Iron-based life forms that can have mopeds," huffed the Omnitrix wielder. "Some aliens get all the luck." Jade then looked towards the boy and the others, narrowing her eyes at them.

"And ALL OF YOU knew about this. That's why none of it freaked you out." Ben chuckled nervously, shrugging.

"I mean, would you have believed us?" questioned the boy. "My first experience with aliens was a summer road trip and I totally freaked out." Gwen narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh yes," snarked the redhead. "You TOTALLY freaked out as you played with alien technology like it was a new game." Her cousin narrowed his eyes, huffing.

"Were you there when I found the alien tech? I freaked out but I was still curious. You can't say you weren't curious either. You're just jealous because I got the hang of it and you couldn't." Ellie pushed the two of them apart, rolling her eyes.

"Can we not fight right now?" requested the girl. "You're like an old married couple with how you two always fight and that's not a good look for cousins." The duo jerked apart, sounding disgusted.

"EW!" cried Gwen. "TOO FAR, ELLIE! Don't put that image in my head! Are you gonna tell us what Grandpa said or are you gonna fly up to your room and stop grossing me out?" Jade blinked, slowly looking over.

"...Fly?" questioned the foreign girl. " YOU CAN FLY!?" Ellie sighed, shaking her head.

"You and Ben are TERRIBLE at keeping secrets," groaned the girl. "It's complicated, Jade. Anyway, Grandpa said he'd be here in fifteen minutes. He sounded scared when Sari mentioned what she is." Sari looked down, looking nervous again.

"I-I mean, my kind have been in a civil war for millions of years now," stated the metal girl. "There's not a lot of us left. Me and Bumblebee are the youngest. Bee was born a few thousand years ago and I already told you how Primus made me himself twelve years ago." Jade's eyes began to sparkle as she looked around the room.

"So… you guys know a lot about aliens and magic," began the Chinese girl. "C-can you tell me more? What kind of magic is real? How many aliens are out there? Can I learn to do magic?"

The local group looked towards each other as the questions kept coming, Jade almost turning into a different person with how intent she was on learning everything she could. Ben shrugged as Gwen gave him a look that he knew meant she was blaming him, not sure what to say. She sighed, deciding to make Jade stop talking as she held up a hand.

"Magic isn't exactly something you so much teach as you have," stated the redhead. "If you don't have the ability to use it at birth, the only way you could use it is through relics that already have magic. Even then you're limited to what those relics can do. I was kinda surprised myself when I learned I could use magic and-" Jade had her hands on the arm of the couch as she pushed herself up, looking even more excited.

"You can use magic!? I knew there had to be a reason you thought the talisman was magical!" Gwen coughed into her hand, feeling a bit nervous.

"I-I know about magic and use it but I'm not a master at it. I don't think I could teach you anything." Jade sat down while crossing her arms, huffing with a disappointed look.

"No fair. I wanna put some focus in some hocus." Ben snickered at how adorable he thought Jade was being, his cousin not enjoying it so much.

"It's not that easy. You have to actually know the spells, the words to say, and know if there are any components needed. It's not something you can just do. If you mess it up, it can literally blow up in your face." Ellie giggled, gaining a snarky look.

"Oh I remember THAT," teased the girl. "Someone thought it would be funny to turn Ben into a girl and-" Ben waved his arms, a panicked look on his face.

"HEY!" cried the boy. "YOU SWORE YOU WOULDN'T TELL ANYONE ABOUT THAT! NOT IN FRONT OF JADE!" Ellie laughed maniacally, her brother hiding his face in his hands. "You're the worst." His sister huffed at him, rolling her eyes.

"Oh grow up Mr. 'I can change into any alien I want.' I mean, what's so wrong with being a girl. I thought you were cute as Jen when… And I just pulled a you and Gwen, didn't I?" Jade was back on the arm of the couch, her eyes widening.

"I'm sorry WHAT!?" cried the excited girl. "Is this magic too!?" Gwen rolled her eyes, smirking in a mocking tone.

"You expect Mr. C in history to be able to know magic?" huffed the redhead. "If you're talking about him becoming a girl, that was AN ACCIDENT that I fixed in a few weeks. Trust me, having 'Cousin Jen' around wasn't so fun either. You can thank that little watch on his wrist for the alien thing." Jade looked towards Ben, wiggling a bit.

"Can you show me? Please, please, please." Ben chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm… not allowed to do it in the house after I almost burnt it down once… and then almost broke through the roof… and that one time Stinkfly's snot goo made it reek. I don't really use it unless there's trouble." Gwen nodded her head, looking towards the foreign girl.

"The Omnitrix isn't a toy, Jade," corrected the magical girl. "Even if Ben treats it like one. It's among the highest grades of tech out there, more advanced than anything in the galaxy. Azmuth was the first to make level 20 technology and it lives up to that number." Sari suddenly jumped up, jerking a bit.

"I've never heard of tech that high a level," stated the metal girl. "That's higher than some of the technology back on Cybertron." Ben looked towards her, humming.

"Really?" questioned the boy. "What's your tech like?" The robot girl scratched her cheek, looking away.

"Well, Ratchet says Cybertron has a range of tier fifteen to tier eighteen technology. The only technology we can't categorize is the Allspark and Cybertron itself. I haven't really seen Cybertron since Optimus found me here two years after their ship crashed on Earth. The Autobots, they've told me everything I know about a world that's supposed to be my home." Ben nodded his head in interest, only to blush as Jade suddenly got up in his face.

"Enough sad stuff," begged the girl. "I don't want today to end badly. Could you guys PLEASE show me what you can do. I'll make you all the latiao and oolong tea you want when I can work with my mother.." Gwen was about to remind them of Grandpa Max's arrival time, only for Ben to scratch his cheek a bit.

"WE~LL, there is one place that might work," nervously chuckled the boy. "It's a place you gotta promise you won't show anyone." Jade nodded eagerly, a grin on her face. Gwen knew without a shadow of a doubt that things would end badly. Ellie simply pulled out her communicator for the second time today.

---

Elsewhere

Jackie stopped screaming as he and Agent Xi stopped in a back alley behind the hotel he and Uncle were staying at. He patted his chest as he tried to grab his breath, eventually leaning over as he placed his hands on his knees. The dinosaur woman grabbed the human ears of her disguise as she groaned, clearly not fond of all the screaming. Jackie eventually stood up with a sigh, feeling like this day would never end. The agent walked up beside him, giving him a raised brow.

"Loud and heavy," huffed the woman. "Great start to my first official mission." The man watched her walk forward, ignoring that his eyes were on her rear for a moment as he looked up with his arms stretched out.

"This is your first time!?" cried the man. "What about-" Xi looked back, smirking a bit.

"Please, I'm not a total amateur. I shadowed my boss for the past twenty or so missions. This is just my first solo… plus a civilian. Just don't blow my cover and we'll get this done quickly." Jackie sighed as he followed along, leading her up to the hotel room.

The hotel door was intact, though the lock was crushed. They opened the door, finding the place in a mess. Agent Xi picked up one of the cans off the ground, humming. "Canned Octopus?" Jackie looked around, frowning.

"Don't ask. We have to find the shield. They would not have taken Uncle hostage if they found it. That or they still believe I donated it to a museum." The dinosaur woman skated over as she looked like she was using heelies, looking around the room.

"So Jackie Chan can lie. Never thought I'd hear that one." She then noticed the shield on a shelf with a lot of stuff piled on top of it, hearing Jackie chuckle in embarrassment.

"I would have been a lousy actor if I could not put on a performance. Now, help me find-" Xi pulled on the shield in an attempt to grab it, accidentally sending the stuff on top of it all over Jackie as he screamed.

"My bad. Found it." Jackie pushed himself up from the pile, grabbing the shield from her.

"Thank you. I have to go and trade it for-" He only got a few steps before she zoomed in front of him.

"You're just going to give them the shield? That'd just be letting them win." Jackie shook his head, his face being serious.

"I can't risk Uncle being hurt or worse. I do not know who or how many are holding him hostage and I am just one man." The woman rolled her eyes, crossing her arms under her chest.

"Expert actor, amateur negotiator. You can't seriously be that dumb. The Dark Hand doesn't just hand over hostages. You'd have to have the devil's luck and a snowball's chance in Hell. Besides, it's not just one." Jackie looked down, sighing.

"They said to come alone. If I arrive with anyone, there would be no hope." He gasped as a small column of wind breezed around him before Xi held the shield on her head like a hat.

"I don't think I've shown you just how fast I can be. Besides, I can't call the mission done until both of you are safe. Face it, Mr. Chan. You're stuck with me." The martial artist slumped again, having a bad feeling about this.

---

Meanwhile

Ben made sure no one was looking before he used a strange key to unlock a padlock on a fence. He quickly ushered the others inside the space, closing the gate back as the lock automatically reactivated. They traveled for a bit longer before finding themselves in an abandoned parking garage, a hole going through a few floors to allow sunlight in from above. Jade was a bit creeped out by the state of this spot, noticing how there looked to be broken pieces of wood and smashed targets in the area. Ben looked back at her, chuckling.

"Don't worry," reassured the boy. "It only looks bad on the outside." He looked towards Gwen and Ellie, noticing their slow scowls. "Before you two get onto me, Grandpa told me to tell no one about this back before Gwen started working as Lucky Girl again." He pushed in a brick with a huff, making the elevator that was supposed to be inactive slowly open.

Jade found herself smushed a bit in the group, blushing as she was close to Ben. She was unaware that the boy was blushing too, given that the uncomfortable shoving that Gwen was doing pushed the object of his attraction into his back. He was thankful that the doors opened, allowing the girls to filter out ahead of him. Jade looked around the hall, humming as she felt slightly underwhelmed. As soon as the lights came on in the area ahead, her eyes sparkling in excitement.

"Oh… my… GOSH!" cried the girl. The room was illuminated by a massive ceiling dome overhead, revealing the sky from the hole in the center of the above garage. Different pieces of equipment could be seen around the area, most of them looking rather advanced. "I could fit an entire Gymnasium in here and not even fill half the room!" Ben rubbed his nose a bit, his head leaning back.

"You'd have to run it by Grandpa but I MIGHT not mind sharing all this space with a girl. Given how much you want to know, I have a feeling that you'll somehow get involved in anything you can." The Chinese girl looked towards him, her hands on her hips as she smirked.

"I could show you a few things if you're flexible enough. If we're lucky, I can get you to do the splits." Ben smirked at the challenge, only for Gwen to clear her throat with a deadpan look.

"As cute as this is, I have a question," stated the redhead human. "Ben, were you ever going to tell me WE HAD A PRIVATE TRAINING GROUND AND YOU HAVE THE KEY!?" Ben sweated a bit, shrugging.

"Um… Maybe," stated the boy. "Grandpa sounded serious about not telling anyone about this place and he KINDA used you as an example." Gwen smiled, Ben gulping as he recognized the family "danger smile".

"REALLY? I'll have to ask Grandpa just to be sure someone wasn't trying to make a NO GIRLS personal training room." Ellie pushed past her cousin, grinning as Gwen cried out in anger.

"Who cares!?" cried the sibling. "This place rocks! I wanna try everything out! Maybe I can work on some new moves." She jumped suddenly, Jade giggling as she bounced on her toes.

White rings formed above and below the floating girl, slowly moving towards each other. Ellie's hair turned white, glowing brightly as the tips were purple. Her hoodie disappeared to reveal a gray long sleeve top that hugged tightly to her, black and white claw-mark icons on the sides. Her shorts were replaced by black tights, white rings on the knees as gray cracks ran along the material. Her shoes soon scattered as they turned into black boots with gray soles and a white cuff on the top that connected them to the tights. Her eyes changed to be purple in color as white gloves with gray bands formed on her hands, the girl spiraling in place as her legs suddenly turned into a gray tail with black and purple stripes.

Jade gawked as the girl flew around with a cheer, soaring through the sky as if it were the easiest thing in the world. "I COULD FLY UP HERE FOR HOURS AND NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SOMEONE SEEING ME!" The Chinese girl looked towards Gwen, holding her hands together.

"G-Gwen," began Jade. "Ellie is-is she- d-d-d-" Gwen sighed, shaking her head.

"Dead?" finished the redhead. "Yes… and no. It's weird, even by our standards. She's just-" Jade looked forward, shivering a bit as her unseen eyes looked slightly blue.

"Caught on the barrier between life and death, teetering over whichever end she wishes without ever going too far in one direction. Her soul essentially possesses her own body but she still lives." Ben looked towards the girl, her eyes being brown again before he saw them.

"That… about sums it up," stated the boy. "How'd you come up with that so fast?" Jade shrugged, looking like she would go back into freakout mode.

"Don't ask me. It just… popped into my head." Gwen narrowed her eyes at this, only to jerk a bit as Jade turned towards her with a grin. "Do you have a magical girl transformation like her!? There's gotta be something for that and-" The magical girl groaned at this, facepalming.

"Magic doesn't work like in those anime and cartoons," huffed the redhead. "There's no big sequence or anything unless someone's just showing off." Ben looked away, clearing his throat.

"SHE-SAYS-AS-SHE-TRIES-TO-MAKE-A-SAILOR-MOON-TRANSFORMATION," cleared the boy. He cried out as a rock was thrown at his head, grabbing the area as he imagined a huge whelp there. Gwen blushed as she crossed her arms, looking away.

"SHUT UP! I'LL FIGURE IT OUT EVENTUALLY!" The boy grumbled at this, rubbing the area.

"Why'd I ever invite her?" He cleared his throat again as he stood straight, doing his best to make it look like he wasn't hurt. "So, time for the main event. Let's see who I can show off that'll look cool." Jade jolted as she watched the core of the watch pop up, Sari looking towards it.

"Whoa!" cried the girl. "I felt that. Maybe don't use that for long right now. You never know if a Decepticon is around." Ben quirked his brow, trying not to laugh.

"'Decepticon?' Isn't that just deception with an extra 'c'? What loser names themselves that?... Why is no one else seeing this as funny?" Sari crossed her arms, frowning.

"The Autobots have been battling the Decepticons for around ten thousand years. They're nothing to joke around about." Gwen smirked teasingly, crossing her arms.

"Way to insult thousands of years of culture, Doofus," snarked the magical girl. Jade frowned at this, finding both actions to be rather rude. Ben was about to comment, only for the back of his head to buzz a bit. "What's with that look on your face?" The boy shook his head, walking over to a control panel.

"Just… taking a precaution." This earned him a confused look as he pressed a few buttons, making a metal door slowly close to cover the massive dome above them. Ben took a minute to feel things out after the door closed, eventually sighing. "Okay. Now that's done."

He cleared his throat as he looked towards the Omnitrix again, backing away from the panel as Gwen continued to frown at him. "Where was I? Right. This should be easy to process." He turned the dial a few times, finding what he wanted before pushing it down.

A bright flash nearly blinded Jade, the girl opening her eyes again as she saw a new creature where Ben was. The creature actually stood at a height smaller than her as it had white skin, a black and white head and face, black shoulders, large hands with four digits and feet which were merely stubs. The alien also had three fin-like growths on his head, and gem-like extended sensory nodes on his arms and waist. His attire consisted of a black unitard suit that displayed the gems on his body yet didn't fully cover the arms or his shoulders. He held his hands out, grinning.

"TADAA!" cheered the alien in a nasal voice. "Meet Ditto!... Jade?" He gasped as he was suddenly picked up, blushing madly as his head was sandwiched into her growing bosom. Jade squealed as she rocked around with him, cooing at him.

"CUTE!" cried the Chinese girl. "You're like a little teddy bear! I could just dress you up and give you cookies!" Gwen looked mortified, her hands shaking a bit. Ellie floated above, giggling as she had a mischievous look on her face.

"My, my, Jade," began the ghost girl. "I didn't know you were so forward. I mean, putting a boy's head there of all places." Jade stuck her tongue out, slowly sliding it back in as she processed the other girl's words. She looked down as Ditto's blush covered all of his visible skin, suddenly screaming with a blush of her own as she dropped him.

"I-I DIDN'T… I MEAN… I-I-I-" Ellie floated on her back as she laughed, holding her gut as the Chinese girl held her face in her hands. "Please no one tell my father about this. I'm dead if he finds out." Sari looked confused by the whole situation, just wondering when the others were going to show off.

"So… what does it actually do?" questioned the metal girl. "Just turn you into a little huggable thing?" Ditto rubbed his face as he stumbled a bit, trying to gather his bearings.

"I-I-I-I can duplicate at will," answered the creature. He did just that, doing so three times. "The only problem is every clone feels the same pain and I'll all be dragged back together when I turn back. Great for distractions but definitely not good in a fight." Jade resisted the urge to hug him again, the adorable appearance of the creature driving her nuts.

"Hey Doofus," huffed Gwen. "Maybe you should choose a different one so that Jade doesn't make herself look like a floozy again." The Chinese girl glared at her, huffing a bit.

"Rude," whispered the Chinese girl. Ben hummed as he thought over what to do, the other two clones going back into him. He then snapped his fingers, nodding his head.

"I got it!" He twisted the dial on his head before tapping it, a green light flashing yet again. Jade opened her eyes, looking at where the little alien was before slowly looking up.

"[Mandarin] Oh my." The new alien was a humanoid alien that stood thirteen feet tall. He had well-developed muscles, two pairs of four-fingered arms, and red skin. A black stripe fell from his chin to his lower lip, and he had four eyes: a main pair and a smaller pair below them, while he lacked ears or nose. He had whisker-like spikes on each forearm and black pants with a strap on each foot that revealed his two toes and the back of each foot.

His attire consisted of a white T-shirt with a black line going down it, black pants, and black fingerless gloves. He wore the original Omnitrix symbol on his upper left shoulder. The big guy flexed his muscles a bit, grinning.

"Four Arms is pretty straight forward," stated the big guy in a scratchy deep voice. "Two times the arms, ten times the strength of a body builder man, one hundred percent awesome. I can bench press a car with this one. I- Why are you looking at me like that?" Jade continued to look him up and down, blushing again.

"C-Can I feel that?" Ben watched her point towards one of his biceps, feeling embarrassed as he lowered down for her to hug at the muscle. "It's bigger than my head. I could nap on this." Gwen facepalmed as Ellie sounded like she was dying of laughter, Sari looking like her brain would malfunction from how lost she was.

"Ben, you are either the smoothest player or the biggest moron," growled Gwen. "Pick something she can't hug or I swear I'll turn you into Jen again!" The big guy jerked in fear, Jade moaning in disappointment as she hung from his arm.

"No! I like the big muscle guy!" Gwen tapped her foot in impatience, pulling out her spell book as she looked towards Ellie.

"ELLEANOR TENNYSON! If you don't stop laughing and do something I will turn YOU into a boy." Ellie rubbed a tear from her eyes, sighing as she grinned.

"Alright~," giggled the ghost girl. "Go right ahead. I'd like to hear you listen to me talk about what it's like to have boy parts ALL week. Maybe I'll even show you what it looks like if you wanna have a guy so badly?" Gwen blushed at this, throwing her book onto the ground as she screamed.

"WHY IS MY FAMILY SO WEIRD!? I'M THE ONLY NORMAL PERSON IN THIS TOWN!" The ghost girl picked up the book, waving it teasingly.

"Normal? You can cast magic and can't even get a boyfriend because your nose is stuck in this book." She immediately flew up when Gwen tried to grab it, laughing again as she flew around with it.

"GET BACK HERE! I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU STAY DEAD!" Sari sighed, shaking her head.

"CAN WE PLEASE ALL CALM THE FRAG DOWN!?" roared the metal girl. "If we don't get done with this in time, Optimus is going to come looking for me. Then I'll really never be able to see you guys again so PLEASE! I just want to see what you guys can do, show off what I can do, and all be friends by the end of it." Four Arms pried a groaning Jade off his lower left arm, the Chinese girl flailing her limbs in annoyance.

"I think we all need to just calm down," stated the big guy. "Gwen, Ellie, knock it off. Dweeb, you know Ellie told us that talking bad about someone is rude in Jade's culture. Ellie, quit baiting Gwen and just give her back the book." Ellie held up her hands, dropping the spell book into Gwen's annoyed hands.

A jingle suddenly filled the air, Ben putting Jade down before another green flash filled the air. The Chinese girl saw the original boy again, seeing the apologetic look on his face. The boy cleared his throat, looking around.

"And that is the Omnitrix turning me back before it starts actually affecting me," stated the boy. "It'll be on genetic cooldown for a while but I can basically turn into anything the Omnitrix has inside it. I have to unlock something before I can actually use it but I can also get new aliens when it comes into physical contact with a new sample." This had Sari's eyes light up literally, the girl holding her hand up.

"I WANNA TOUCH IT!" cried the metal girl. "I wanna see what the little thingy can do!" Gwen groaned into her hands, Ellie snorting a bit.

"S-Sari-Sari, my girl," wheezed Ellie. "Word of advice, never say it like that." Sari approached the Omnitrix, her hair twitching as if acting like antenna. She slowly reached out for the device, her finger morphing to look like a collection of wires and chips used in a circuit. The boy held out his free hand, shaking it.

"SARI WAIT!" cried the boy. His cry fell on deaf ears as the two of them jittered a bit as the Omnitrix shook, Sari's eyes glowing brighter and brighter. The device began to morph and shift as Sari's pigtails stood straight up. A large wave of pressure separated the two of them, Jade almost instinctively grabbing the Rooster Talisman from Gwen's bag as she held it up. The duo floated in the air as she focused intently, Sari's finger smoking a bit while the Omnitrix continued to wriggle.

"...Ow. Not doing that again." Sari and Ben were both lowered to the ground, the boy grabbing at his arm as the faceplate blinked blue and yellow for a few moments before going back to gray. Ben finally gasped as he laid out flat on the ground, blinking multiple times.

"...Oh no." He sat up, repeatedly tapping it. "Please tell me I didn't break it. If I knew you were gonna try to actually do something to it, I never would have let you touch it. You don't just try to connect with the most advanced piece of tech in the entire galaxy!" The faceplate lit up again, having the blue marker.

"Buffering," stated the voice. "Unexpected variable: encountered. Sending incident code to Creator. DNA collection: on hold. Sample moved to inactivity queue until further notice. Creator key needed to exit standby mode." Ben grabbed his head, groaning in annoyance.

"I'm so dead. Azmuth is never going to let me use the Omnitrix ever again. It can't get any worse than this." The elevator opened, Max walking into the room. Jade was in the midst of levitating a weight with the power of the Rooster Talisman, dropping said object in shock at seeing the old man.

"H-Hi Mr. Tennyson," greeted the girl. "...Please don't tell my father." Max closed his eyes, mentally groaning.

"All of you in the Rustbucket," sighed the man. "Now." Ben dropped his head into his hands, moaning as he knew it was all over.

---

Chinese Tower, Downtown Bellwood

Jackie stood before the building with the shield in hand, a determined look on his face. The building represented one of the old Chinese temples, hence the name. He frowned as he looked up to the top floor, the destination of his meeting. He caught the appearance of a figure at the top, most likely the kidnapper. He ran into the building as the figure vanished from view.

A tune played throughout the room as it rose through the tower. Jackie carefully held the shield, not wanting to be caught off guard. He couldn't help but hum to the beat of the jingle, his eyes going back and forth as he bobbed his head side to side. He could've swore he heard the band somewhere in public, probably at a mall or something. His thoughts were cut off as the device came to a stop.

The elevator let out a jingle, signaling its arrival. The Kung Fu master stepped out of the room, holding the shield up defensively. He looked around the area a few times, checking if the coast was clear. He soon caught sight of his targets, the rather large kidnapper and his uncle. The mountain of a man squeezed uncle's shoulder harder, reminding Jackie of his threat.

"The shield," ordered Tohru. Jackie kept the shield raised, ready for anything. He sent the Japanese giant a heavy scowl.

"Why does your employer want it!?" questioned the archeologist. "What makes it so special!?" Tohru remained stoic as he glared down at his target.

"That is none of your concern. My patience wears thin, Mr. Chan." The two stared each other down, trying to size the other up. Jackie adjusted the shield a bit as the goliath of an enemy clenched his fist. The average sized man then smirked, nodding his head.

"Okey-dokey! You want the shield? Catch!" He threw the artifact like a frisbee, causing the large man's eyes to widen. He reached up to catch the item, only to miss by a hair as Uncle's gasp and the sudden breeze went unnoticed.

The shield seemed to do a roundabout as it sailed right back the way it came. Tohru moved to catch the object once more. He missed the object once again, allowing it to soar right by. Jackie caught it out of the air, readying it once more. The Japanese giant was finally able to regain his composure as he turned to the hero.

"FOOL! SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR UNCLE!" He turned to deliver a crushing blow to the old man, only to falter as there was no one there. "Where did he…" He then glared at Jackie, the warrior saluting him.

"I bet I run faster than you!" Jackie turned to run away, only to slow down as he heard a loud plop to his side. He began to pick up the pace once more, only to come to a stop as five more followed the first one. He turned around, only to find himself surrounded by the Shadowkhan. His eyes widened in shock as the mysterious creatures stood in waiting, menacingly glaring at him.

He looked around a few times, trying to find a way through the crowd. He brought the shield up once more, still unsure about his next course of action. "Um… come and get it." Upon that half-hearted taunt, the villainous shinobi rushed towards him. He blocked a few strikes from one opponent, quickly turning on a dime to block a flying kick from another.

Uncle cried out down below, looking dizzy as he stumbled a bit. Agent Xi stood nearby, looking up as she heard the commotion above. She narrowed her eyes, clicking her claws as the human hands on the outside clenched.

"Definitely sounds like more than one," huffed the woman. She then brought a hand to her ear, tapping a communicator. "Agent Xi to base. I need immediate backup at the Chinese Tower." Uncle turned towards her, pushing his glasses up.

"Who are you?" questioned the old man. "Where did you come from? Uncle not saying anything! Plead the fifth!" Xi rolled her eyes, huffing.

"Just perfect." She turned towards Uncle, crossing her arms. "The backup is for the sumo wrestler up there, not you." She then heard her earpiece go off, bringing her hand to it again.

"Reinforcements five minutes out," stated the voice of Captain Black. "Just hold out until we get there." The woman nodded, looking towards the building.

"Copy that. Agent Xi out." Uncle looked up the tower, frowning.

"Jackie must hand over shield," stated the man. "Shield not important. Missing piece is. They do not know it is missing." Agent Xi stretched a bit, shaking her head.

"We don't give the enemy what they want. Regardless, unless they come down here, your safety is my mission." Back up above, Jackie flipped over a few ninjas as he tried to find a way out of the situation. Tohru tried to charge at him, the little guy leaping over him by bouncing off a ninja. He then used the man as a springboard to get even higher, using the shield to block throwing stars that were launched at him.

Tohru came to a stop at the edge of the tower, seeing Uncle and Agent Xi down below. He narrowed his eyes, leaving the Shadowkhan to deal with Jackie as he took the elevator down. He too found himself humming the tune of the elevator. It was a surprisingly catchy toon. Jackie raised the shield just in time to block a volley of strikes, scooting back a bit from the force.

The Kung Fu master leapt backwards, attempting to evade the villainous forces. He ran across the roof siding, the Shadowkhan quickly leaping to follow. Xi narrowed her eyes as she heard stomping inside of the ground floor, watching as Tohru stepped out of the front door. "Shoot. This is gonna be difficult."

She reached for her hip as soon as the man took a step forward, bringing out a small energy pistol as she aimed it at the man. "Don't move! Proton blaster, tier four technology. I know your organization is familiar with tech like this so let's make this nice and-" She did not expect the sound of metal bending, watching as the gun was crushed by the man's large hand.

She then sighed, letting the handle go as she lifted her hands. "Right. Hard way it is." She suddenly disappeared to his eyes, looking like a blur as she suddenly came at him with a hard kick to the face. Tohru stumbled back from the hit, looking more annoyed than pained.

Jackie continued to block weapon hits from the enemy, the shield having slight scratches on it at this point. Xi hit Tohru in the face again, only to be grabbed by her foot and dangled upside down. "LET ME GO YOU BRUTE! YOU HANDLE YOUR MOTHER LIKE THIS!?" She screamed into his hand as he held her by her face, her legs dangling.

"You talk too much." Agent Xi flailed her legs a bit, feeling helpless as her hidden tail also flailed around. Jackie looked down as he was caught at the edge of the shingles, his eyes widening. "I hope you've said your goodbyes." The martial artist sighed, shaking his head.

"WAIT!" cried the man. Tohru looked up, raising a brow at him. Jackie then dropped the shield, Tohru letting Xi go as he caught it. The Shadowkhan abandoned Jackie, clouding around the big guy as they made him vanish with them. The sound of a helicopter running filled the air, the group looking up as said type of vehicle approached. Captain Black stood in the open doorway of the vehicle, hanging onto the side as he saw Jackie.

"It's a research position!" cried the agent. "Honest!" Jackie looked down, sighing as he saw Agent Xi cough a bit. The man was soon back on the ground as Xi was pushing herself up, grabbing her head. She moaned, shaking a bit.

"That's going to be a headache for a good few days," huffed the woman. "Any more and he might have cracked my skull." She then looked towards Jackie, her frown being soft yet stern. "Thanks, even if you gave the enemy what they wanted." Captain Black approached them, shaking his head.

"You performed your mission," stated the captain. "This won't mess up your record." Jackie looked away, rubbing his arm.

"I knew this wouldn't work," sighed the martial artist. "I should have given them the shield to begin with." He then cried out as he received one of Uncle's signature slaps, his eyes narrowed.

"SHIELD NOT IMPORTANT!" roared Uncle. He smiled as he held his index finger up. "The talisman that was in the center of the shield is. That is where the magic lies." Captain Black furrowed his brow, not entirely sure whether to take the old man seriously or not.

"Magic?" began the man. "Really?" Uncle then huffed, crossing his arms.

"The inscriptions tell of a talisman marked with the Rooster, one of twelve noble animals depicted on the Chinese Zodiac. This means that there is the same number of talismans, thus eleven more remain at large. The shield told of the talismans being scattered to the four corners of the globe, beyond the maps of ancient China. Explains ancient Mandarin written on artifact in Bavaria." Captain Black suddenly got a call, pulling out his communicator as Jackie sighed.

"Meaning we would need to search all over the globe to find them," stated the archeologist. "All while trying to search for the missing one from the shield and keeping this from Xiaoyu." Captain Black closed the device, clearing his throat.

"Yeah," began the captain in an awkward manner. "About that… Doctor Chan would like to speak with you in his office. It's urgent." Jackie's face became deadpanned, his brow twitching.

---

Section 13

Ben sat with his arm in the machine that scanned the Omnitrix once again, his face resting in his palm as he looked annoyed and bored at the same time. The Omnitrix slid off his wrist as he pulled his arm out, the boy rubbing the area as his anxiety slowly began to rise. He didn't like it before when the Omnitrix was acting normal, but now it felt even worse. Doctor Shen could be seen at the monitor, humming as he looked over the data. He sighed, looking down.

"You are lucky that it is not too damaged," stated the man. "Otherwise, Teacher would never bestow it upon you again. That is if he allows you to keep hold of it. This is a serious matter." Ben remained respectful, looking down with a sigh.

"I didn't know Sari was going to try and connect to it," stated the boy. "I tried to stop her when I realized what was going to happen." The hologram disk was active on Shen's desk, Azmuth's hologram seen in a sitting position.

"This once I will advise not going too hard on Tennyson, Apprentice," stated the amphibian. "Not much is known about Cybertronians and the Omnitrix simply acted on its protective measures. Add to that the fact that he is a child and it was an inevitable recipe for chaos. It will be a mere few hours to reactivate the Omnitrix and decipher the Cybertronian DNA. Count yourself lucky, Tennyson, that I have been meaning to catalog Cybertronians for some time now." Ben nodded his head, looking towards the hologram.

"H-How many hours?" questioned the boy. Azmuth observed the boy's mannerisms for himself, humming as he narrowed his eyes. He stood up, his hands once again behind his back.

"That is surprisingly hard to determine at the moment. The earliest estimate could be as little as five Earth hours or as long as half an Earth day. The damage that has been done is unknown but the core remains intact. In fact… Never mind."

Ben rubbed his wrist a bit more as Azmuth continued. "The Matrix has taken the brunt of the damage, which is perhaps the easiest yet longest part." The boy looked down again, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, Azmuth. If I knew-" The Galvan huffed a bit of a laugh, shaking his head.

"An actual apology from you? You've grown since last I saw you. The Omnitrix will be fine. Use this time to be a human child and leave the Omnitrix in the hands of my Apprentice. The most it should take is a week, which is more than I could say if it was the Core that took the damage."

Ben's body shivered a bit at the thought of being without the watch for an entire week, mentally praying that it didn't come to that. "I must be off. I assume you have important matters of your own to discuss, Apprentice. I hope this is the last incident I am contacted for tonight." The device turned off, Shen sighing as he shook his head.

"The one thing I did not wish to be reminded of," stated the man. "How do you do it? Teacher would have scolded me if I were the one to do this. It could not have been the Cybertronian DNA alone." Ben rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously.

"That's a bit… complicated," admitted the boy. "When we met I thought his Wildvine pets had ate my cousin and barged into his lab, wrecking things as I tried to get him to fix the watch. He later said that I proved to be the best choice but he just wanted to get rid of it for all the trouble it caused him. I thought I heard him whisper that he was starting to like me before he left the barren planet behind." Shen chuckled at this, shaking his head.

"I will never be able to understand that man, though he was right about one thing. I cannot blame you for many things, given that you are a child. It was not your intention for my daughter to come to know about life beyond Earth. You may leave and send Xiaoyu in on your way out." The boy gulped as he felt the pressure in the air drop, shuffling out the door while still holding his wrist.

"Is Jade out here? The Doc asked to see her." Gwen looked towards Jade, the girl looking confused.

"Really?" questioned the girl. "Why would a random doctor want to see me?" Ben held his hands up, wincing a bit.

"I'm saying nothing. Let's just say you really don't want to keep him waiting." Jade looked towards a nearby room, frowning.

"I'm waiting for Mr. Tennyson and Sari to come out of that room. I can't just-" Gwen sighed, shaking her head.

"We'll be out here for her," reassured the redhead. "Trust us. You'd be in more trouble if you didn't." Ellie kept her eyes on the hall, whistling as she chose to say nothing at all. The Chinese girl pushed herself out of her seat, huffing a bit.

[Language: Mandarin]

"What kind of weirdo alien doctor wants to see me?" She pushed the door open with a bit of a huff, looking at the ground. "It's not like I have anything he'd…" She saw a familiar pair of shoes, her body stiffening as she slowly looked up. "...H-Hi Daddy."

She immediately shook her head before clapping her cheeks, looking into the man's eyes. "Wait… What are you-are you-when did you… Huh!?" Shen smiled nervously, shaking his head.

"I understand this is confusing," stated the man. "I've worked for my Teacher for a long time, working for the Plumber organization since before you were born." Jade blinked a few times, processing her father's words.

"...You knew about all this? Why didn't you tell me? Were you ever gonna tell me? Is this why I was never allowed to watch alien movies?" Shen chuckled a bit, amused by where his child's mind went.

"I couldn't have you thinking the worst of the galaxy when all those movies do is make life beyond Earth into villainous monsters. There are, of course, criminals out there, but it is just as easy to find good people just like here on Earth. I had hoped you would never learn about any of this. This life, the world outside, can be more chaotic and dangerous than anything you have ever known. It was my hope that you could live a normal life, have a few children, and thrive in a life of ease."

Jade relaxed a bit as she let her father continue, knowing full well that she had no business interrupting him. "Perhaps I should have seen the signs, such as the change in Kong Sang and Uncle's artifact that I assumed was my mind making things up. I had undergone a long night that day. Even before then, I should have expected this would happen when I saw the boy with the Omnitrix." The girl slowly crossed her arms, tilting her head.

"Hang on. You know what the watch is?" Shen looked towards the machine that scanned it, not seeing a glitch in the machinery as he looked towards Jade again.

"How could I not when I helped in the creation of its prototype? I helped Teacher to create the matrix band. He only needed an outside opinion, though it was enough for him to take interest in my knowledge. In fact, I was actually the first to wear it for a brief moment. I dared not use it as its functions were still very experimental and I was told to not toy with it."

He then looked more serious, looking down at her. "As a matter of fact, I must ask you to ensure the boy never takes it off in the event that the core is ever removed. It could kill him, jumbling his genetics until he is nothing more than a wad of meat and bones." Jade sounded her disgust at the analogy, shivering as she rubbed her arms. "I apologize for the unsightly image, but the warning must be taken seriously."

The girl nodded her head, causing her father to sigh. "Now that you're aware of aliens, I will leave it to your mother to teach you what you would need to know. It would be embarrassing and dishonorable to accidentally insult another species and, as a former ambassador, she will be capable of telling you everything." Jade's brow twitched as she tried to keep her cool, her foot fidgeting a bit.

"Mom knows about this too!? You two have been keeping secrets from me my whole life." Shen nodded his head, not denying it.

"To protect you, Xiaoyu. You are a child, our child. As a child, you are rather talkative. We had no reason to believe you would need to know. If the world around us knew about the existence of extraterrestrial life, they would panic."

The man turned away from his daughter, sighing. "I do not wish for you to attempt to become involved in this." Jade looked distraught, shaking her head.

"But Daddy, I want to know more. I've never experienced anything like this before. Besides, this sounds like a family business. I have to honor that tradition if I can." Shen rolled his eyes before glancing back at his daughter.

"Xiaoyu, I know you are smarter than that. We have not even done this for a single generation." Jade held her hands together, a pleading look on her face.

"Every tradition starts with one generation. I know I can really help. Not just you but Gwen, Ben, Ellie, and even Sari if her father doesn't make her stay underground. I can read the back of the talisman we found even though it's in ancient Mandarin and-" Shen immediately turned around, a brow raised.

"What did you say? And since when were you on a personal name basis with a boy?" Jade blushed at this, rubbing her arm.

"I mean… using personal names is just normal amongst children here in the States. Plus he has the same last name as Ellie and Gwen so it would be really confusing if I just called them all Tennyson." Shen narrowed his eyes, humming.

"True. However, it is still not proper to use one's personal name unless they are close friends or relatives." Jade looked down, kicking her foot around a bit.

"I mean, they call almost everyone by their personal names around here and they haven't corrected me yet. I know this would normally be bad behavior but everyone here is so casual with their personal names unless they really do not care for someone. To me it looks like the opposite is the case here: that last names are reserved for professional settings or a disdain." Shen looked her in the eye, humming as he tried to discern what exactly she was saying. He sighed, nodding his head.

"Very well, but you will only speak the given names of those you call your friends. Now, I do believe you are stalling from my first question." Jade rubbed the back of her head as she giggled nervously, only for Sari to push the door open.

[Language: English]

"WOW!" cried the Cybertronian. "I didn't think humans would be around such advanced technology! What's this do? And this?" Shen looked fearful of the girl getting her hands on something, only for a sturdy hand from Max and a chuckle to stop the girl.

"Let's not repeat the Omnitrix situation," stated the man. "You're still under supervision so don't get too far." Sari looked up at him, tilting her head.

"Aw! But I didn't do anything bad… on purpose." Max nodded his head with a smile.

"I know, but this is a base that's supposed to be secure. We can't have unknown children running around." Sari huffed like the child she was as she crossed her arms, her pigtails twitching around as she huffed. He then looked towards Jade, nodding his head. "So, word is that you can read the back of this talisman."

Max held up the stone, a shiver running through Shen's back as he saw it. "Mind telling me what it says?" He passed it to the girl, the change of her eyes from brown to blue finally being noticed by those around her.

"It says 'The Rooster has the power to lift with the mind what the body cannot hold,'" read the Chinese girl. "It's how Gwen found out what it does so fast. It has the power of levitation, telekinesis to be exact. As long as you're strong of mind, you can lift almost anything including yourself if you need to. There's eleven others like this one, the remaining eleven noble animals of the Zodiac."

She then hummed, acting like she was trying to think back. "I…I think they were scattered all around the world. At least that's what I told…" Her eyes went brown again as she held her head, huffing a bit. "How did I know all that?"

She fell backwards a bit, her father catching her as she looked rather tired. "I'm sleepy." Sari looked over her, looking confused.

"Her vital signs appear to be normal and she was perfectly fine earlier," informed the metal girl. "She does have a lot of mental activity right now, as if her processor was being overloaded." Shen had his eyes wide as he heard Jade mumble a bit, Max sighing as he shook his head.

"Magic," huffed the old man. "Why is it always magic? Sorry, Shen, but it looks like Xiaoyu might end up being involved in something out of our control. This talisman was in the shield Jackie, Kong Sang, brought back from Bavaria." The doctor rubbed Jade's face, looking distraught.

"Not my Precious Gem," stressed the man. "She is far too young to… But if the Dark Hand were to ever find out… There is no point where I can keep her out of this life, is there?" Max sighed, nodding his head.

"Not unless you want to send her to the depths of the Null Void. I understand what you're feeling, Shen. When Ben found the Omnitrix, I felt like I had to get him to Mt Rushmore to hide him away from Vilgax. After that Gwen began to learn how to use magic, which caused a whole new level of anxiety on my part. Then Ellie awakened ghost powers and made me realize that a Plumber's life can never be normal, nor can his family's life always be peaceful."

He rubbed the man's shoulder, hearing him sigh as he continued. "The best thing we can do is roll with it and prepare them for the things they can't avoid. It's why I push Ben to be better than the day he was before, why I don't keep magic away from Gwen unless it's clear she's not ready for something, and I'm sure something spiritual will happen with Ellie where I can't do anything but support her. We're in the very rare position where we have the power to do something for their future: to prepare them for the things we never could." Shen sighed at this, nodding his head.

"Very well. Ai is going to kill me for this." He kept Jade in his arms as he walked out of the room, looking towards the trio outside. "I want to know EVERYTHING that happened the past two days, and anything I need to be aware of." Gwen stood up immediately, ignoring the fact that Ben did the same.

"Is she alright!?" cried the redhead. "She didn't look exhausted or anything earlier." Shen nodded his head, his eyes still narrowed.

"She will be fine. I'll be taking her home, then we can discuss the answers I seek." The man walked past them, Ben sighing in relief as he rubbed his bare wrist. Max soon exited the lab with Sari in tow, suddenly shivering as his old Plumber gut told him he was in trouble. He looked towards Gwen as the redhead revealed her dangerous smile.

"Hey Grandpa," sweetly greeted the magical girl. "Mind telling me why you let Ben have a training room ALL to himself?" The old man chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well… at the time the equipment wasn't built to handle anything magical," offered the man. "I haven't had the time to see if R and D has discovered anything that could be used." The old man knew very well that he was lying through his teeth about this little detail. He couldn't tell them that he had completely forgotten about Ben's training area. He had a feeling he would be making it up to both of his nieces, and soon.

---

Xiaoling Industries

San Francisco, California

Valmont watched as the shadows converged in the middle of the room, sighing at a job well done. Tohru appeared from the shadows, the Enforcers following behind him with a few bruises on them. In the big man's hands was the shield, the first step in their master plans. The head of the organization knew he had made the right call in sending the behemoth, given his track record. Tohru got on one knee as he bowed his head, presenting the artifact.

"The shield," offered the sumo man. Valmont looked at the object, only for his eyes to widen as he saw that the slot where the Talisman had been was empty. He frowned, Shendu puffing smoke out of his nose.

"Tohru," growled Valmont. Said goon looked up, looking between his master and the shield. He had a confused look on his face, his eyes wide as he had only one thing on his mind.

"What?"

---

Inkaliber: Chapter 3 out of the way. Agent Xi also becomes a bit of a staple character, but that's for later. Jade also gets to have a spot on the team, her father forced to abide by it due to her importance in all of it. To top it all off, we get to see that Ellie in fact has ghost powers. NOW we can get to more talismans.

Adran: And was almost chapter 2, but chapter two was getting... really long. And still wasn't done yet. And went even longer in this third chapter than I expected.

Zemrocku: LOL to be fair we don't stop until it feels complete you should see our other projects

Adran: I've seen some things that make me shudder at how long you guys make them.

Inkaliber: Okay! Haha. We get it. Very funny. Anyway, gotta end the chapter. EHEM!

What did you, my lovely readers, think about this chapter? Did you like the kids showing off some? How about Jade learning just how deep her family is into this aliens and magic business? Let me know what you think down below and I'll try to respond ASAP, next chapter at the latest. This is Inkaliber, signing out.