Inkaliber: Hello everybody! It's time for another chapter. This time we're diving into the acquisition of the Snake Talisman. The name might not sound like it fits but it does have some fun implications for another part of the chapter. Before we begin, Zem, Adran, do you have anything to say?
Adran: I'm sorry to say I didn't have much of a hand in the chapter this time. Moving takes a lot of time, unfortunately. But I'm sure Ink and Zem did an amazing job, and I still helped where I could.
Inkaliber: We did our best and you had a lot on your plate. It's all good. Zem? Anything from you?
Zemrocku: I just want all the Insects to know I did all the work. I would NEVER lie to anyone here.
Inkaliber: MHMM. In any case, let's get this party started! What better way to do that than to answer some reviews!?
Wanderingsage7- Thanks! I quite enjoy El Toro myself. Paco was fun to implement and you could say him being with Ellie is an experiment I have going pairing wise. You could say that Bumblebee is more than just a cameo due to Sari's involvement and the look on Diamondhead is the one from Alien Force/Ultimate Alien. Viper is going to be a fun character to play with here, both in her interests and her abilities.
Matheus Gabriel Pereira da Silva (Guest)- Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! Hope you haven't been waiting long for its return.
Matheus_Gabriel4455- I guess we'll just have to see how we handle Ben's Anodite heritage, won't we?
Fallenasgardian- That I can't really answer right now. You'll have to read the story to see what happens.
Some1call4MR-E- All good on forgetting Dani. It's been a while since the prior story and I did start calling her Ellie some time in between the breaks. Let's just say Agent Xi will make Viper a really interesting character. You'll just have to see how Paco uses his Arachnichimp heritage, won't you?
Reader- Ben indeed is trying harder to be more likeable and attractive as himself. Paco's alien heritage will be very fun to implement, of that I can assure you. It's less like putting Jackie in his place and more like reminding him that Jade's parents are there and they have the ultimate say in what she can and can't get involved in.
Inkaliber: That looks like everyone so let's go! 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 23, 2008
Bellwood, Pennsylvania
Jade took deep breaths, holding both the Rooster Talisman and the Ox Talisman in her hands as her eyes were closed. She was meditating on their magic, actually floating in her state as she was alone in the midst of the vault room. Objects floated around her as well, though it was clear she had a level of control to keep them from floating all over the place. Viper sped into the room, whistling to herself as she saw the objects floating around. She whispered something under her breath in an alien language before quickly looking towards the magical girl.
"Jade, your uncle Jackie's been looking for you," informed the Kineceleran hybrid. The objects slowly floated downwards to where they touched the ground once more, Jade doing so as well as she moved to a standing position. The Chinese girl's eyes open as she smiles, the blue in her eyes slowly giving way to the natural brown underneath.
"Thanks," replied the girl. She put the Talismans back in their slots before pressing a few buttons, making a forcefield that shed bright light activate. "Captain Black or Magister Tennyson really need to change the password on this thing. It's too easy to get in." Viper clicked her teeth, still smiling as she ruffled the girl's hair.
"That's because someone keeps finding out the code every time it's changed. Now hurry before your uncle has a heart attack." Jade cried out in dismay with a playful giggle attached, quickly running through the halls. She slowed down for a moment to walk past the lab just in case her father would see her running, resuming her sprint as soon as she was well past the doorway. She quickly reached the room Jackie was using, sneaking up as the man had his back turned to her.
"Where is she?" sighed the martial artist. "Shen is still here so she couldn't have-" The mischievous girl took a deep breath, a smile on her face.
"Hi Jackie." The man cried out as he turned around, patting his chest with a sigh of relief. Jade couldn't help but giggle, finding his reaction to be humorous as he pointed at her.
"Don't do that. Where have you been?" Jade rocked back and forth on her heels, an innocent smile on her face.
"Practicing magical resilience in a safe environment. Nothing unsupervised." Jackie rubbed his temples again, groaning.
"You were at the vault again. I told you-" Jade pointed back at the lab, still smiling innocently.
"Daddy said it was fine and I waved to the camera to make sure they were watching. There are cameras everywhere around here and I'm not so young that I'd take magical talismans on a joyride. Daddy would have me in my room for a month. Anyway, Viper said you were looking for me." Her uncle sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Your mother called in sick for a stomach bug. Your father wants her to rest so I'll be taking you to those gymnastics meets at school." Jade frowned at this, nodding her head.
"Dang. Hate that Mom's sick but at least you'll get to see me in action. Maybe then you'll start teaching me Kung Fu." She playfully kicked at the air a few times, making sure not to hit anything as she reached as high as she could. Jackie chuckled nervously, waving his hands a bit.
"Let's… not be too hasty. Gymnastics does not always lead to an aptitude for fighting like in Kung Fu or the martial arts." Jade rolled her eyes at this, huffing in annoyance.
"Jackie! You always-" She suddenly grabbed her head, hissing as she received images of a temple in a jungle. She sees an explorer approaching the temple, gasping as she's shaken out of the vision. Jackie was on one knee, shaking her gently.
"Jade! Are you okay!?" The girl huffed, her eyes being blue.
"I was until you interrupted the alarm spell. Get me a globe, quickly, before the magic wears off." The next thing she knew, Jade was spinning a globe with Max and Captain Black standing nearby.
"Forgive me for saying this again, Magister, but I'm still not buying the whole 'magic' thing," stated the captain. "For all we know this could be alien psionics or some kind of technology." Jade looked back at him, her frown not fitting her face.
"Be grateful it's not the Dark Hand that's investigating the temple, though I'm certain Shendu will sense the talisman's awakening soon enough. The warning spell can be traced and tracked by those who are sensitive to magical energy." Max shrugged, a small smile on his face.
"You'll learn someday, Augustus," offered the old man. "We all did." Jade finally stopped the globe, placing her finger on a particular point.
"There. That's where the Snake Temple is. I know they were scattered to the winds but I question all the Chinese talismans not being in China itself. I-" She gasped as her eyes turned back to normal, the girl taking some short breaths as a wet towel was brought to her forehead.
She sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "Well, at least I'm not blacking out or having huge headaches from doing that anymore. Still, not fun. The temple is in Brazil, and just in time for a big gymnastics competition. Of course."
Jackie could only frown in apology, knowing he couldn't really say anything at this moment. The next day, Jade sat in the lunch room poking at her plate of food with a disappointed frown. She almost seemed too entertained with the rice, Ellie sitting down on the other side of her with a smirk.
"Oh yeah," joked the halfa. "That rice looks VERY interesting." The Chinese girl shot a frown at the ghost girl, Gwen sitting beside her with an annoyed groan.
"I swear, between your uncle still keeping my book to chemistry I am having the most annoying week," sighed the redhead. She looked towards Jade, gaining a raised brow. "You look like you're not having that grand of a time either. What's going on?" The foreign girl huffed, crossing her arms in annoyance.
"Oh, nothing big," sarcastically said Jade. "Mom's sick so Jackie's having to take me to the big gymnastics competition. Now wait! There's another 'big emergency dig' that conveniently shows up and now I'm stuck here having to find a way to get to a big competition that NO ONE in my family is going to see. Oh yeah, everything's totally fine."
She stabbed a small rice ball, huffing in annoyance. "Everything's just PEACHY." Gwen and Ellie winced at each other, unsure what to say. The two girls quickly noticed Ben approaching with Paco, the Hispanic boy carrying a lunchbox clearly designed after El Toro with the bull logo on the front. The local brunette winced, looking towards the other boy.
"Your mom had that bad of a meltdown to you being found out?" questioned the Omnitrix user. "Sounds like she's not exactly thrilled about the idea of you getting involved in this." Paco sighed, looking down.
"Senor Tennyson is talking with her off and on right now," stated the boy. "At least he has talked her out of moving back to Mexico, though I cannot promise anything else." Ben rubbed the boy's shoulder, knowing the feeling of not being able to help all too well. He looked towards the group, his smile immediately falling as he saw the look on Jade's face. He quickly took his normal seat, Paco sitting beside him as Sari sat across from him.
"I'm so glad lunch came around," groaned the Cybertronian girl. "That lesson on math is SO old school and a bit out of date according to Ratchet." Ben gave her a nod before looking towards Jade, his frown becoming a look of concern.
"Everything alright, Jade?" questioned Ben. "You haven't even touched your latiao yet." Gwen looked towards him, frowning herself.
"Apparently her mom's sick and her uncle has to be out of town for 'work reasons' so she doesn't have anyone to take her to the gymnastics thing tomorrow night," revealed the redhead. "I swear this stuff always happens at the worst times possible." Jade pouted down at her lunch, sighing in disappointment.
"It's bad enough that I'm basically forced to sit here to be a compass but now it's hitting me where it counts," sighed the Chinese girl. "Guess this means I won't be able to compete." Ben immediately sat up straight, shaking his head.
"You can't back out now," denied the hero boy. "You love gymnastics. It's one of the big things you like to talk about when we're all together. That'd be like me giving up on playing Sumo Slammers ever again only a hundred times bigger." Gwen's frown turned into a deadpan look, shaking her head.
"Sumo Slammers, really?" questioned the sorceress. "Way to be mature for half a second there." Ellie rolled her eyes at the argument she knew was going to pop up, only for Jade to smile weakly towards Ben.
"Ben, you're sweet but I'd have to spend little time getting prepared and run all the way to the gym from home if I wanna get to the competition on time. I don't have anyone to drive me." Ben leaned forward, grinning a bit.
"I can ask Mom if we can take you," offered the boy. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind since you're a family friend." Ellie huffed a laugh, looking at her brother.
"'We?'" questioned the ghost girl. "Since when did YOU become interested in Gymnastics?" The boy shrugged, gesturing towards the Chinese girl.
"Jade's our friend and it's not like it's something overly girly. Even then she's our friend. If something's important to her then I'd kinda like to be there. I might poke a bit of fun here and there but-" Gwen laughed a bit, leaning forward.
"You?" questioned the cousin. "Mister 'I don't wanna go to the weirdo book club or the nerd college?'" Ben crossed his arms, huffing in annoyance.
"For your information I was ten and that was a rather life changing Summer. Besides, I can grow up and do things for my friends." Ellie looked towards him, smirking maniacally.
"Oh really?" joked the sibling. "Ben, the only boys our age that watch gymnastics are boyfriends of competitors and guys who just want to see girls in tights." Ben blushed bright red, crossing his arms with a huff.
"I-I'm being nice. Is it so wrong for me to want to be nice?" Ellie grinned, Gwen slowly starting to join her.
"Oh, I think it's alright," began Gwen. "After all, it just tells us one thing." Ben's blush turned to pale as he looked between the grinning duo.
"Don't you dare. I swear if you-" The duo leaned towards him suddenly, Ellie leaning against him.
"You like her!" teased the duo together. "Ben and Jade, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage!" Jade turned just as red as the boy, covering her face as Ben simply looked away.
'Oh great. I should have just kept my mouth shut. Now Jade's gonna think I'm weird! They are SO getting Stinkfly gunk if they don't stop.' Jade was finally able to lower her hands a bit as she peeked at Ben, watching him look back at her as his expression was one of apology and hope.
"Girls, please stop," requested the Chinese girl. She removed her hands from her face entirely, nodding her head. "If it's not too much, Ben, I guess it'd be nice to have someone there. I'd rather not go into a big competition feeling alone." Ben smiled apologetically as he nodded his head, Sari quickly nodding hers as well.
"I would love to see this gymnastics in action!" cheered the Cybertronian. "I've read that humans can be very flexible but have yet to see it in proper use." Gwen sighed, laying her head on the table.
"I'd come too but I have to write an essay for class Wednesday," sighed the redhead. "It stinks but it has to be done." Ben tilted his head, a frown on his face.
"Don't your essays take, like, ten to twenty pages to write?" questioned the boy. "Why wait until tomorrow to start on it when you can do it all in one night?" His cousin pushed herself up on her hands, glaring at him.
"There's research involved and I have to double check my sources. Not to mention I have to check for grammar mistakes, check for anything that could be marked as plagiarism, and on top of that make sure everything is written in the proper format." Ellie smirked, crossing her arms.
"Well you're the one that insists on doing extra credit all the time," joked the ghost girl. "Guess I'll be the only girl in the family making sure Lover-boy here behaves tomorrow night, aside from Mom of course." Ben sent her a glare, mouthing for her to "please stop" as he knew she could read lips. She simply grins at him, making him quickly scarf down his food to avoid her further teasing. The bell went off as he stood up, unaware that Jade was watching him with a blush.
'Ben's going to see me competing in Gymnastics,' thought the Chinese girl. 'Why does that feel kinda… exciting?' She wouldn't get her answer as she had to quickly move to get to class.
The Next Day
Amazon Jungle
Jackie wiped sweat from his brow, sighing as the sun beat down on him. He had opted to go ahead as Viper secured the boat they chartered to a strong tree, making his way up a rocky area to a waterfall. He noticed a cave behind the water feature, making his way inside as he felt the cool air of the cavern hit his skin. He pulled out a flashlight, slowly walking through the area so as to not set off potential traps. Suddenly, a huge splashing sound came from the waterfall as Bumblebee splashed through in his car form much to the hero's shock.
"Woo!" huffed the Cybertronian. "Talk about a car wash." He transformed, making Jackie quickly shush him.
"YOU ARE BEING TOO LOUD!" whispered the archeologist as loud as he could. "The Dark Hand could be here and-" Bee waved him off, scanning the area.
"I'm not picking up any vehicles or mechanical objects since we arrived here. Unless they're not packing any devices we are in the clear." Jackie groaned at this, crossing his arms.
"I almost wish it were Jade or one of the children here. He is more childish than them." He felt familiar nails rubbing his shoulders, Viper smirking at him.
"Sounds like someone's becoming more open to ideas," joked the woman. "Still, he's not wrong. Outside of that one guy who activated the spell, we're the only ones here." Jackie looked back at her to try and talk to her, only for his breath to hitch as he saw she was in the disguise form with an explorer outfit similar to his own save for the shorts that replaced the pants option. "Just relax and try to keep up with us."
She sped forward as soon as she released him, making Jackie sigh as he followed along. Bumblebee kept his arm raised as they walked along, keeping track of the area ahead as the headlights of his vehicle form were on. As they passed another part of the cave, the shadows began to darken greatly in the area. Shadowkhan popped out of the darkness, their eyes glowing red. The trio quickly found the area they were looking for, slowing their roll to keep an eye out. Jackie looked to his phone, humming in interest.
"According to what scouts in the area said, there should be a drawing right around-" He looked up, only to gasp as he saw the remnants of a cave drawing that had been destroyed. "Oh no! Whoever came through before must have destroyed it." Viper clicked her teeth at this, the tapping of her foot representing the rolling of the ball in said area.
"Figures," huffed the woman. "Either they knew what they were doing or they caused an accident." Bumblebee cleared his throat, gesturing to the ground.
"Fortunately, they didn't cover their tracks so well," stated the Autobot. "They lead up to this wall before coming to a stop. And look here." He pointed to a colored carving depicting a serpent, an attempt to mess with the symbol having not gone as successfully. Jackie examined the mark, brushing his hand over it before accidentally pushing it in to where it clicked. The wall in the area moved down several times, revealing a pathway that looked very much man made.
"Secret entrance. Not bad." The group walked in, taking note of the area around them.
"The Temple of Culebra Gigante," gasped Jackie. "Hidden away along with its history. Can you believe there are rumors of giant snakes being here? It sounds ridiculous. The last known snake to grow to huge proportions was the Titanoboa, and it went extinct hundreds of thousands of years ago." Viper placed her hands on her hips, huffing.
"You ever heard of the Anaconda? They can get rather big and that's without considering that ancient magic was used here. I wouldn't put it past those Ancient Chinese guys to trap this place and I'd rather not be swallowed. Just keep an eye out for anything that can bite you." Bee looked up, quickly pointing towards the ceiling.
"A strong energy signature is coming from up there," informed the alien. "And look what we have here." The others looked up, quickly spotting a snake statue carved into the ceiling. In the eye of the statue was a rather familiar looking stone, a green snake etched into the side. Jackie sighed, slumping his shoulders.
"Of course it's up there. Does anything else want to make this challenging?" Bee suddenly turned, his arm held out.
"We have incoming!" The duo looked towards the entrance, watching as Shadowkhan dropped from the ceiling. Finn stepped in, groaning as he popped his back.
"You guys ever hear of lumbar support?" questioned the red haired goon. "Your hands aren't exactly the most comfortable- CHAN!?" The other Enforcers and Tohru stepped into the area, the giant of the group wearing a harsh frown before he actually looked surprised at the size of Bumblebee. Jackie gave a deadpan frown as Viper glared at him.
"Bad day."
Bellwood, Pennsylvania
Jade paced back and forth on her porch, a gym bag over her shoulder so she could change in the girl's locker room at school. She was nervous about her first competition since arriving in America, both from the amount of time she took to practice and the fact that most of her friends were going to see her perform. She had done plenty of competitions in front of her mother before but these were people she called her friends, something she didn't really have a lot of back in Hong Kong. The idea of disappointing them had an almost equal weight as disappointing her father whenever he got the time to watch a competition. She looked up as a car honked, seeing Sandra in the window as she quickly ran over.
"Just in time," stated the blonde woman. "Get in, quickly." Jade slid into the back seat, shutting the door quickly as she put the seatbelt on just as fast.
"Whoa there," teased Ellie from beside her. "You look like you already did your performance." Jade sighed, slumping her shoulders.
"It's just a bit nerve wracking," admitted the Chinese girl. "It's the first time I've performed in front of friends and my first performance in the states. I didn't really have many friends who would go since Ming Hua would call them names if they went. That girl always has something against me." Ben looked back from the passenger seat, smirking.
"Well there's no Ming Who-Ha here," stated the boy. "You're gonna do great." Jade was a bit spooked to see he actually came, quickly frowning at him.
"Ben, it's Ming Hua. I know she wasn't the nicest person but saying her name wrong on purpose just brings bad luck and is rude." The boy slumped his shoulders, looking down.
"Sorry. Still getting used to the culture stuff but I'm learning." Sandra cleared her throat, making Ben return to his seated position.
"Everyone hang on," stated the mother playfully. "We're on a bit of a time crunch so I tend to be a little fast." Jade watched Ben and Ellie grab the safety bars above their heads, quickly doing the same before the vehicle quickly took off and flung her back slightly. What normally was a thirty minute drive was cut down to twenty minutes as Sandra pulled into one of the parking spots, the kids shivering a bit as she put the car in park. "And that is an example of doing as I say and not as I do."
Jade gulped, any nerves she had about the competition being nearly forgotten in the fast paced movement. She quickly ran into the locker room as soon as she checked in with the gym coach, quickly unzipping her bag as she looked over the suit inside. She smiled, pulling it out as she felt the spandex on her fingers.
"Hey there girl," joked the Chinese girl. "We've got friends watching so it's time to put on a show." The bleachers that would normally be used for basketball in the gym were lined up with family members of the kids participating, the ground being covered in protective padding to catch the performers if they fell. Ben looked over the area, intrigued by how the gym had transformed from what he'd seen of it. Sari suddenly flopped down next to him, having done so from a standing position as the bleacher shook a bit.
"I'm so excited," stated the Cybertronian. "I have never seen Gymnastics before." Ben rubbed his rear, the shaking of the metal having bothered him.
"Maybe don't flop on metal bleachers, especially when people are sitting on them," huffed the boy as quietly as possible. "That hurt and the seat is kinda trashed." Sari looked under herself, looking panicked as there was a slight dent in the metal.
"You think anyone will notice?" Ben facepalmed at this, mentally groaning at the question. The speakers in the room powered on, a slight squealing sound causing the people in the room to cover their ears for a moment.
"Is this thing on?" questioned the coach. As soon as he heard the feedback, the man cleared his throat. "Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. I'm Coach Jim and I'd like to welcome you to the first Bellwood Gymnastics meet for our school. We have some nice young ladies here to perform for points towards competing in the national tournament."
He gestured towards a table, a group of three judges sitting at it. "They'll be evaluated by a panel of judges from the tournament circuit. This is usually done at the civic center but a recent fire saw them needing to relocate to somewhere else. Let's show them some school spirit as the athletes give it their all. Now, of course, you kids still have to follow Jim's Rules."
Ben groaned in embarrassment, Ellie rubbing her temples at the same time. "No running on the mats while the girls are performing just like no running on the field during games, no pushing or fighting outside of fighting sports, and no underhanded tricks. Looking at you, Mister Murray. Don't you have an essay due tomorrow?" Cash jerked at being caught, quickly running out of the gym.
"Weirdo," huffed Ben. He looked towards Ellie, noticing the smirk she was giving him. "You've got that look on your face. What is it this time?" The sibling stretched, sighing a bit.
"Oh, you know," joked the girl. "Just enjoying the fact that you got jealous that Cash decided to show up to an event where Jade would be wearing tights." Instead of looking upset, the boy looked forward with a small frown.
"I mean, she's our friend, right? Is it wrong for me to not want a jerk like Cash checking her out?" Ellie looked slightly shocked by this response, only for their mother to quickly ruffle their hair playfully.
"No frowning, you two," ordered the woman. "And cool it down on the teasing, Elleanor. Now Ben, you don't want Jade to see you two like this. You can't stop other boys from seeing her in events like this, nor can you stop them from looking in general, but you can show her your support. Everyone has wandering eyes and the last thing Jade needs to see with hers is you frowning or policing who can look at her."
Ben looked towards his mother, seeing her casual yet serious smile. "You'll only give her the wrong message if you stop others from looking at her. She'll think you're trying to control her life and only her parents can really do that at her age. You need to be her friend, not some guard dog, if you're wanting to get anywhere with her." The boy looked forward again with a hum, Ellie leaning towards their mother.
"Isn't it kinda… weird that Ben isn't acting like a total boy right now, aside from the guard dog thing?" questioned the ghost girl. "It's freaking me out a bit." Sandra giggled, shaking her head.
"Of course he is. He's maturing and has been quite smitten with Jade. He's looking at himself and others to learn what he can do to be better. He'll figure himself out sooner or later, though it would probably help if someone with experience on both sides were there for him." The ghost girl cleared her throat, looking forward in a panic as a small blush was on her face.
"N-Neither of us really dated. I'm still learning a lot here and… Oh look! There they are!" She pointed towards where the competitors were being gathered, Ben sitting up a bit to try and get a better look.
"I can't see which one's her," stated the boy. "They all have their hair tied up and they're talking amongst each other." He sat more appropriately as soon as he noticed the coach's head turning their way, not wanting to be made to run around the gym tomorrow.
"Now that everyone is seated and the contenders are ready, let's get this show on the road," stated the man. Ben motioned to his mother and Ellie to cover their ears, the coach breathing into a whistle before realizing that this wasn't a usual sport. "...Sorry. Force of habit." A few people looked shaken by the sound, the coach quickly stepping back to allow things to go as they should.
Ben leaned forward a bit, humming as the first girl stepped up. Her name was announced but he didn't really pay attention as he was waiting to see Jade perform. As much as he wanted to see a specific person, however, he couldn't help but admit the way the gymnasts moved was rather interesting. He made a mental note to see if he could perform any of the techniques as any of his more flexible aliens later. Of course, he did fall to the pit trap of noticing the girls' forms and builds even if he didn't go out of his way to voice the appeal.
Goodness knows he couldn't let Ellie be right about this being the reason some guys like to watch gymnastics. That would be almost as embarrassing to him as being called out for an interest in a girl. He jolted as one of the girls looked like she had a close call, her hand bending to its max on the bar before she caught herself.
"What's got you all jumpy, Ben?" questioned Sari. "The maneuver was well performed from what I could tell." The boy looked towards her, shrugging with an unsure look on his face.
"I guess it just… looked a little too close for comfort," stated the boy. "Like she almost hurt her hand." His mother looked towards him, nodding her head.
"These girls train very often to learn this sport," clarified the woman. "They wouldn't be doing a competition like this if the teacher didn't think they were ready." She then hummed, looking towards the set up. "That being said accidents do happen, like misses on the balance beam." Ellie almost looked like she would tease him, only to see that he had the rare serious yet calm look on his face.
Ever since the last summer trip she had gone on with him and Gwen, she noticed the boy would sometimes have this look in his eyes that didn't exactly feel natural. His tendency to rub at the area around the Omnitrix or itch at the area if it were ever removed also started around that time, whether Ben would admit it or not. She couldn't help but look a bit concerned, clenching her hands a bit.
'Ben, what happened to you last Summer?' thought the half ghost.
Temple of Culebra Gigante, Amazon Jungle
Jackie took a few steps back, his hands brought up to the ready. Bumblebee and Viper stood in front of him while the Dark Hand and their Shadowkhan were at the entrance to the temple. He was beginning to believe the old superstitions about not tempting fate were true at this point. The Enforcers pulled small button-like devices out from their pockets, clenching their fists to turn the objects into some form of blaster that glowed at the tip. Finn raised his arm, huffing in annoyance.
"Chan, have you never heard of a holiday?" questioned Finn. "I'm already having to miss important me-time for Thanksgiving with the failures you've made us go through." Ratso raised his arm at the same time as Chow, huffing.
"Yeah!" cried the brute of the trio. "I'm missing early Thanksgiving dinner." Jackie pointed towards them, looking slightly baffled.
"It's not my fault you work for bad people," argued the archeologist. "I'm just doing my job." Tohru cracked his neck, tired of the formalities.
"The talisman, Chan," ordered the large man. The Shadowkhan took a few steps forward, their weapons already drawn. Bumblebee activated stinger-like weapons on his wrists, energy flowing into them.
"Well, Optimus didn't say anything about being careful with magic ninjas," stated the Autobot. "I can cut loose on these guys." Viper looked back towards Jackie, pushing him a bit.
"We've got these guys," stated the woman. "Go get the Talisman. You're the only one of us athletic enough to get it without causing issues." Jackie nodded his head, running for the wall as soon as the enemies launched forward. Bee swiped his arm, sending the ones in front of him flying back as they burst into smoke. He had to move out of the way as the Enforcers fired at him, bringing his other arm up as he clenched his fist.
"Gotta thank you guys for the new look. It comes with some nice toys." The machine gun from the car form popped up, the humans in the enemy group immediately ducking for cover as a barrage of bullets was fired at the shadow ninjas. Viper saw the world move slowly as she ran along the wall, striking a jumping Chow hard in the face to make him fall to the ground before she sped off. The Asian goon groaned, rubbing his cheek in pain.
"Anyone get the number of that chick?" groaned the man. "Ow." Viper rolled by, chuckling a bit.
"No, but you'll get plenty behind bars," insulted the agent. She zipped as soon as a laser blast was fired at her, Finn gritting his teeth as he tried to avoid any bullet fire that would come their way. As this was happening, Jackie carefully scaled the stone walls as the ceiling had carved out areas where someone could place their hands. A piece of the wall broke as he nearly plummeted, only to grab on to a vine and hang on for dear life. It was only when he heard the hissing that he realized the vine was rather scaly, slowly looking up to see a snake glaring at him.
"...SNAKE!" cried the martial artist. He dodged a few attempted bites before making the serpent bite its own tail, jumping to another vine. He had to quickly swing again as this was also a snake, a serpent hissing at him each time he grabbed onto one. "WHY ARE THEY ALL SNAKES!?" The Shadowkhan looked up, some acting as body shields so that the others could quickly begin climbing up the ceiling themselves.
Bumblebee soon had to stop firing the machine gun to save on bullets, instead zapping any enemy that got close to him with his stingers. Tohru roared out as he ran forward, crashing into the Autobot to make him topple over. Bee groaned as he tossed the big man off of him, huffing.
"Okay, you're a lot heavier than you look," huffed the Cybertronian. "And you're already pretty big." Tohru had to quickly step back as the iron man continued to try and grab at him, Bumblebee huffing in annoyance. Up above, Jackie soon reached the statue as the snakes reached the max length they could move to while still being coiled around the ceiling. He sighed in relief, only to scream as a few Shadowkhan tried to jump at him.
He hung from the statue's neck, forcing the enemies to run into the snakes as the serpents bit them enough times for them to turn to smoke. The archeologist carefully moved around the statue, nearing the head of the stone snake before a Shadowkhan grabbed his leg. He kicked it hard in the face, making it fall towards the ground. Jackie had to swing around as it threw shuriken at him, the shadow warrior going splat against the ground before Bumblebee stomped on it while trying to deal with Tohru. Viper looked up as she dodged some laser blasts, growling at Jackie.
"Any time now!" ordered the woman. "Now being preferable!" Jackie growls as he pulls out a pair of pliers, gripping onto the talisman before pulling with all of his might.
"Almost," huffed the archeologist. He popped it out, smiling as he looked it over. "I have i-" He gasped as the statue suddenly shook, the talisman dropping out from the pliers as he had to hold onto the stone head. The Shadowkhan leaped for it, Viper quickly speeding over to catch it before they could. The statue suddenly turned, making Jackie gasp as he had jump off and run down the wall.
He felt the temple shake a bit, making him almost tumble. "BAD-DAY-BAD-DAY-BAD-DAY!" he jumped just before gravity could take effect, grabbing an actual vine as he held on. The center of the room suddenly began to lower, taking all but Jackie and the Shadowkhan down with it. Ratso looked up as there was only one exit, shivering as he backed up.
"Does anyone else hear hissing?" questioned the brute. "Please tell me that's just me." Suddenly, a snake that was longer than Bumblebee was tall slithered out of the huge opening, raising its head high into the air as it looked down at the group. "...We have a code brown." Jackie gulped, hanging onto the vine tightly.
"Very, very, very bad day."
Bellwood, Pennsylvania
The gymnasts had come and gone one by one, Ben surprisingly looking interested as one of the girls landed a somersault to land on the mat. The more he saw the stunts, the more he wanted to incorporate some of them into what his aliens could do. At this point he barely even registered how the girls looked, save for those who were a bit more developed than the rest. He would keep his arms in his lap as long as he could, that much he could understand. Coach Jim approached his usual position, nodding his head.
"Chan you, you're up," stated the man. He palmed his forehead, huffing. "Sorry. I mean, Chan Xiaoyu to the stage please. Gotta work on getting personal names right… Any kid who points that out runs six laps tomorrow in gym."
Ben immediately sat up, a grin on his face as he tapped his toes a bit. His head flew forward a bit as he watched Jade step forward, noticing how much of her face was on display with her hair pulled up into a bun. The next thing he noticed was the design of the blue leotard, being that of a sky blue phoenix and pink swirls that resembled the wind. He couldn't even feel any shame with the last thing he noticed. As if a switch that was barely touched before was suddenly slammed upwards, he noticed her form a LOT.
The way her suit hugged her form, the way she developed, and the bare skin that was allowed to show made his face light up like a red Christmas light. He leaned as far forward as he could without looking weird, blinking multiple times. Ellie leaned towards him, a huge grin on her face.
"Aw," cooed the ghost girl teasingly. "You're blushing~... Ben? Earth to Ben." The boy's eyes were locked on Jade, his mother snorting into her hand to try and not laugh out loud.
"And there it is," giggled the woman. "There's the young man coming in." Jade glanced towards the bleachers, her body shivering as she saw the others. Her eyes eventually landed on Ben, sharing his redness as she saw the admittedly dopey look he had on his face. She looked forward, mentally screaming as she took deep breaths to calm herself.
'He's making that face, at ME!?' thought the Chinese girl to herself. She took another deep breath, her skin dying down as she looked forward with her shoulders slightly raised. 'It's no different from any other time a boy has seen you perform… even if he's totally adorkable.' What she didn't know was that she pushed her chest out even more, a sign that her confidence was rapidly increasing as well as the pride she wouldn't admit she had. Ben shivered as his hairs stood on end, Ellie leaning towards him.
"Do that any longer and you're gonna look like a creep or an idiot," whispered the ghost girl. "I can already bet that you have a little friend downstairs standing up." The boy suddenly shot up, his arms once again in his lap, a nervous smile plastered on his face.
"I-I wasn't looking her up," stated the boy. "...I said that out loud, didn't I?" Sandra cooed, rubbing the back of his head gently.
"My little boy's growing up so fast," sighed the woman. "No one's going to blame you for liking the way your crush looks nor should someone blame you for looking respectfully. It just means you'll know what to look for if you have a baby brother and he starts doing the same thing in his preteens or teens." She rubbed her baby bump, giggling to herself as she had a loving look in her eyes. Sari shook Ben, pointing towards the mat.
"She's starting," stated the Cybertronian. "She's starting!" Ben looked forward again, his eyes locking on Jade as he leaned forward slightly to get a better look. Taking one more deep breath, Jade ran up to a springboard and used it to leap up onto the balance beam. She spread her arms out as she took a few steps forward, preparing herself for the first maneuver she had planned.
Starting with a leg stretch out to ensure she reached one end of the balancing board, she flipped backwards between her feet and hands in a move known as a tumble. She landed on her feet on the other side of the beam, lowering her arms back to their prior balancing positions before moving them around in fluid ways to show that her balance was good. Then, taking a slight hop where the same leading leg was out, Jade performed a front flip in the air before landing on her feet once more upon the beam. She moved her arms and one of her legs in a bit of a stretching motion. She then performed a backflip involving a sideways spin that saw her once again landing feet first on the beam.
Every move she made, Ben's eyes followed perfectly. The way her body twisted and turned, the bends and stretches she would display, the flips and kicks she would perform. All of it drew his eye to her as he rapidly gained a greater appreciation for the sport. Jade eventually got to where she was taking a few deep yet hidden breaths, preparing herself for a finishing maneuver. She closed her eyes, her arms held out in preparation.
'No mistakes,' thought the Chinese girl. 'No errors. Just one fluid motion.' She suddenly flipped back, landing on her hands as she slowly and carefully split her legs to a full split. She carefully removed one arm, bringing it to her hip as a suspenseful gasp was heard.
Ben's jaw dropped, his eyes almost permanently glued to the sight before him. It was unbelievable to him, not even factoring in the way he had a full view of the covered area between her legs. Ellie pushed his jaw up, causing him to shiver as he blinked.
"I… I didn't even know that kind of balance existed," whispered the boy. "That's… wow~." Jade gritted her teeth, suddenly getting mental images of something going on pertaining to the Snake Talisman. Her eyes were blue as she pushed through it, instead swapping to the other arm mid stand to the cheer of the crowd. Sari frowned, looking towards the others.
"That was close," stated the Cybertronian. "She's in vision mode." Ben kept his eye on everything, watching as Jade slowly closed her legs back together and put her other arm back down. She bent her spine as she lowered her feet to the beam, earning a few more catcalls from some boys before she moved back to a standing position. With one final jump, she flips in the air a few times before landing on the mat.
She quickly gave the crowd a bow, Ben standing up immediately and being the loudest to clap while Sari covered her ears from the sudden burst of noise. Ben and Jade locked eyes, the boy watching as the girl had a sparkle of life in her eyes as she breathed heavily. The boy gulped, still grinning widely.
'Yup,' thought the boy to himself. 'I like Jade, really like her… I'm so screwed.'
Moments Earlier
Temple of Culebra Gigante, Amazon Jungle
Viper and Bumblebee took a few steps back, the Enforcers and Tohru doing the same as the giant human actually looked fearful. The massive snake still loomed over them, looking rather famished as its tongue forked out. Viper looked towards the enforcers, shivering a bit.
"Um… truce?" questioned the woman. "I'm sure no one wants to end up becoming snake food." Chow shivered, slowly nodding his head.
"Works for me," stated the Asian man. "I like not being eaten." Viper nodded her head, slowly lowering.
"Good. Anyone got a plasma sword or an idea?" Bee raised his other arm, smirking.
"I might be out of gun ammo, but I still have this," stated the Autobot. The missile launcher from the car popped up, the snake lunging at him with a monstrous hiss. Viper held up her hands, shaking her head.
"NO!" Bee fired, hitting the serpent in the head as it cried out in pain. "You idiot! You could have brought the whole place down on us if you missed! I'm asking for another Autobot next time!" Finn gulped, seeing the wrathful look in the snake's eyes.
"SCATTER!" called the groovy goon. Everyone moved out of the way as the huge serpent bit down on the ground, hissing at the group as it looked around for the next potential victim. One of its eyes was now missing, the group mostly sticking to that side as Jackie still hung on the vine up above.
"Jackie, any ideas!?" The woman sped out of the way of the snake's next attack, taking deep breaths. "We're in a bind down here and I don't think we're getting out alive by ourselves! We can't just disappear." The symbol upon the Snake Talisman suddenly glowed, Viper disappearing from sight much to the shock of the others.
"WHOA!" cried Ratso. "She disappeared!" The group quickly moved, the serpent biting down where it heard the voice.
"Just open fire!" cried Finn. The Enforcers fired their laser weapons on the serpent, only for the beast to smack Tohru with its tail in anger. "This is gonna hurt." The big man crashed into the trio, sending them all rolling down the exit way that the serpent came from. Viper looked over herself, grinning as she looked forward.
"Okay," stated the speedstress. "This is gonna be fun." The huge snake went to strike at Bumblebee, the Autobot struggling to hold it back as he was pushed against a wall.
"Guys!" cried the Cybertronian. "I may be made of metal but I can still die if my spark is damaged!" Getting an idea, Jackie swings the vine to where he catches the other end in the serpent's mouth. He then jumps down on its head, grabbing the vine on both sides and pulling it tightly to make the monster rise upwards. The man held on tight as the serpent flailed around, eventually being thrown towards the entrance they came from. He looked up, watching as the snake glared at him.
"Um… my, what a lovely eye you have," complemented Jackie nervously. "Your scales are also really nice." The giant snake nearly bit down on him, only for the beast to cry in pain once more as something rapidly and violently struck it on the back of the head.
"Bumblebee, now!" ordered Viper. She became visible as she landed beside Jackie, Bee jumping up the pit as he stabbed one of his stingers through the skull of the huge serpent. With a powerful shock and a grab of the ledge, the monster screamed out in pain before its head landed on the ledge with smoke rising from its now burnt good eye. The group took deep breaths, Bumblebee pulling himself up as he pulled his stinger out of the monster's head. Jackie looked between all of them, breathing heavily.
"Well, that's the end of that," stated the martial artist. "No further surprises." The group suddenly heard running, Bee moving to the temple entrance as someone was running down below. A slightly plump man suddenly ran out from the way the snake came in, taking deep breaths as he looked up. His eyes were wide, cupping his hands over his mouth.
"HEY!" cried the big guy. "DOWN HERE! HELP ME! PLEASE!" Jackie and Viper looked towards each other, the woman shaking her head.
"Now this is gonna be one interesting story," stated the hidden alien. "Now we get to see how willing this guy is to not share what happened here." Jackie sighed, slumping his shoulders as he didn't particularly like this part of the job.
Bellwood, Pennsylvania
Jade walked away from the girls locker room, a second place medal in her hands and her hair freshly damp from the quick shower she had. She was back in her outfit from when they arrived, her chest puffed out a bit more as she felt a confidence she hadn't felt in a long time. As much as she wanted to win, second place was much better than what she had gotten before. It still qualified her for the national championship and it showed that she earned her place amongst the competitors. Having said that, there was one more thing she earned that felt like a rather nice reward itself. She jerked as she felt a heavy arm over her shoulder, Sari grinning at her.
"That was an amazing performance!" cheered the Cybertronian. "I had no idea hu- I mean, someone could be so flexible. Your balance was also amazing. Honestly I feel like you should have won that one." Jade ran a hand through her hair, giggling a bit.
"I was a little stiff going in and the judges noticed that," stated the gymnast. "I still qualified so I can do a better job next time." Ellie whistled, looking a bit shocked.
"THAT was you being a bit stiff?" questioned the ghost girl. "You were incredible out there! You had everyone's eyes on you. Oh, and I do mean EVERYONE~." Jade blushed at this, giggling with a scratch of her cheek.
"R-Really? I was just… doing what I normally do. I mean, I MIGHT be better than the last time I did a competition but it wasn't THAT amazing. I-" She looked forward, noticing the way Ben was nervously looking at her much to Ellie's delight.
"Oh, Ben can tell you ALL about how amazing he thought it was. His jaw dropped and I'm sure he had a little situation to take care of." Ben glared at her in a way that actually spooked her a bit.
"Sleep with one eye open, EL-EA-NOR," threatened the boy. The ghost girl shivered, taking a few steps back. She looked away giggling under her breath.
"Worth it." Ben then cleared his throat as he tried to recover his mood, rubbing his hair back as if trying to make sure it wasn't too messy. Jade giggled slightly as Sari just looked confused, the boy looking towards the gymnast.
"Having said that… it really was amazing, Jade. You looked great out there and I honestly could use a few of those techniques with 'you know what'." Jade grinned at him, having an almost challenging look in her eyes.
"Oh, you wanna learn gymnastics?" questioned the Chinese girl. "There's gonna be some pain involved in that just like when I started learning." Ben raised his shoulders a bit, trying to look tough.
"I mean, it wouldn't be so bad. You made it look beautiful… I mean good.. I mean-!" He cleared his throat as the girls laughed, growling at himself as he kicked his heel. "What I was trying to say is if I can take hits from guys bigger than me then I can totally do it. After all, I'll have the cutest teacher in the school to teach me." Ellie whooped a bit in shock at that, Jade blushing a bit as she leaned forward.
"Thanks, but you are SO gonna regret those words. You're not backing out for at least a year to make sure you get the full experience. Oh, and no 'you know what' when you do it. You're also gonna need a suit. And believe me, you're gonna be sweating a LOT." Ben blinked, mentally bashing his head against a wall.
'WHY. MUST. I. RUN. MY. MOUTH!?'
Inkaliber: And that's all for this one folks! Looks like another talisman has been collected and Ben has had his first case of making a rash decision to get more attention from the girl he likes. Things will keep getting more and more interesting from here.
Zemrocku: Sorry for the late chapter, kids. Ink was suffering from not wanting to write due to Writers' block. If you ask me though I think he just was procrastinating.
Inkaliber: WAS NOT! I was having author's block and dealing with some IRL stuff. It already affected my ability to put out a third chapter for last month's story.
Zemrocku: I'm just messing you, Buddy. You know, Adran was only here at the start but that's because he's moving so we can give him slack. Not Ink though. LOL!
Inkaliber: Ha, ha, ha. Very funny. I'm ending the chapter now.
What did you guys think? Did you like how the talisman was handled? How long do you think Ben will last when it comes to him learning to do gymnastics? 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.