Standard reviews and disclaimers apply. Really lots of connected one shots

My knowledge of canon is a wee bit sketchy due to time erosion. Any corrections would be appreciated. Am taking alternative story titles, if anyone can think of a better one.

Ben Shui Limits.

Here's the thing: sometimes, Chosen Ones come in smaller-than-average packages.

Jade is thirteen years old when he gets the letter (written on parchment and wax sealed, no less).

It's from the Ben Shui Monastery, which is further away and further back in time now (or at least it feels that way) than he'd like to have to recall. Just another one of countless insane missions that very nearly ended in disaster. For them to be sending letters through the mail (how exactly did they get the Section Thirteen Address anyway?) is... somewhat bizarre.

But what they have to say to him – what the letter tells him, is even stranger.

Things start to get a little peculiar from there on in. Or at least, peculiar in a way that's different to their usual.

Here's the thing: Jackie Chan doesn't just go looking for trouble. It just has a habit of finding him. Trouble is usually three point eight feet tall with black hair, a taste for crawling through air ducts and ignoring every possible attempt to get her to stay put.

Her problem had always been patience.

She didn't want to have to wait. For anything. Period.

Maybe it was just as well, then, that she seemed to pick things up so quickly. That even though he only started teaching her anything at the age of twelve, she already knows a lot of the actions he does.

Which... would be more pleasing if she understood the necessity of control and meditation to back up your abilities. Being able to punch through rock and run down exploding buildings is one thing, but these strengths can turn inward, turn sour and cold and proud if you don't keep a close eye on them.

He doesn't want Jade to have to learn that "pride comes before a fall" the same way he did. Even if, thanks to the time travel incident, he doesn't have the scar to show for his mistakes anymore.

Here's another thing: Patience is a virtue, but not everyone learns at the same speed. Jade just happens to be a quick learner when she's interested in the subject.

The realisation that "oh, god, I think it's starting" comes early one afternoon when Jackie decides it might be a good time to teach her the not-entirely-ancient art of nunchaku.

It's the day after her sixteenth birthday, so it counts as a second gift, technically. Or really, more of an admittance that she's as ready to handle such weaponry as she'll ever be. He still draws the line at teaching her the samurai sword. Jade thinks that's cool, for now. She says the nunchaku are pretty neat anyway.

It takes her five minutes to get the basics down, another twenty five to master them.

It took Jackie eight years to do things she starts doing within an hour.

Jackie thinks he does a surprisingly good job of not looking totally flabbergasted, considering...

Here's something else. Sometimes your relatives worry too much about protecting you from the things they can't see. That's when the good old factor of Hostility Transfer comes into play.

Something's wrong.

He's... quieter these days. And less patient with her. And he moves about a lot more than he used to. Sometimes she gets the feeling that he's actually keeping both eyes on her, as opposed to just a single, surreptitious one.

And he fights more. That's the weirdest thing, and it's something she didn't realise until the incident with the purse snatcher they ran into at the Hoover dam (don't ask her what they were doing on the Hoover Dam, she can't even remember). Normally he'd try negotiation first. Try to get around them with words, delay until the police could arrive, whatever...

But one second she sees the flash of the blade coming towards her, and the next the thief is on the floor with blood and shock all over his face.

She made a quip that maybe they should rename it "Hoover Damn", with an "n" on the end. Jackie didn't laugh. In fact, he didn't even get mad at her for putting herself in danger.

She remembers him being like that a couple of times before; and it always means bad stuff; like that time the dark hand had put Captain Black in the hospital, or that time Shendu took over his body. It kind of creeps her out, but she doesn't say anything about it. It kind of dawns on her that that isn't really like her (whoever got answers by not asking questions? Well, Jackie, obviously, but then she's starting to think trouble follows him around or something, rather than her.)

Here's the annoying thing: Captain Black didn't actually give her a job in section thirteen. He says he won't let her join until she's at least eighteen. Which is a bummer but whatever; she can find other ways to fight for justice in the meantime. And it's not like Jackie can watch her all the time...

...Right?

When Jade was thirteen she had thought it'd be a good idea to go into the superhero business, borrow the talismans and use them to patrol the streets of San Francisco at night, righting wrongs and ending injustices after school hours.

Things went a little wrong when she dropped the Rabbit talisman while running after a Biker Gang and ended up in casualty; with her superhero costume all messed up and bruises on her ribs.

She expected... she didn't know. To be grounded, maybe? To lose her allowance for a few weeks? To have to put up with his "you-couldhave-been-killed-and-I-am-very-disappointed-in-you-really-this-time" face for a month or so?

None of that, though. What she actually gets is a small chuckle, and a comment about how "looking silly is her right, he supposes".

Typical. Nothing puts a superhero off quite like a mentor that doesn't take them seriously.

Hey, what can she say? She was thirteen years old. If she tried to do it now, she'd tell the bad guys to do something other than "hit the gutter or prepare to meet my wrath, evil doers."

Here's something for you to remember.

Jade has never responded very well to anyone who told her "no". That isn't going to change just because she got a little bit more powerful, and has to deal with the responsibility that comes with it.

Yesterday, she beat him.

Seriously. No joke. She beat Jackie Chan. In a fair fight with no holds barred. Well, okay, maybe not a totally real fight, because Jackie wouldn't do that to her, but he was definitely falling over a lot more than he usually did. And there was this one trick she pulled which involves running several feet back up the wall, using his shoulders and momentum to drag him down to the floor and crack something which sounds like a collarbone but later turns out to just be rib. By that point it's too late for her to go back and undo the damage.

'I didn't teach you that one,' is all he can say, and someone Jade has the feeling that he's more surprised by this fact than he lets on.

No wonder. She's a little surprised herself. And a lot concerned.

Here's the thing: sometimes things require a woman's touch. Especially when you're dealing with teenage girls.

'Ngh... hello?'

'Viper?'

'...Jackie?

'Yes, it's me. Is this a bad time?

'Urgh. Not that I'm not thrilled to hear your voice, but its four fifteen in the morning so yes, I'd say that constitutes as a bad time.'

'Oh... Sorry, I guess I forgot about the time difference. I'll call back at a more reasonable—'

'No, no. Whatever. You're here now. To what do I owe the interruption of the much required sleep of a security consultant (who is very much out of the crook industry, by the way)?'

'You're never going to let me forget about that, are you?'

'Not on your life, babyface. So why are you calling at this ridiculous hour anyway?'

'Well it's about Jade.'

'Jade? You're calling me about your fifteen year old niece?'

'Actually she's sixteen now, it was her birthday last week.'

'Really? Why didn't you tell me, I would've called. Have you taught her to drive yet?'

'Ah— NoA thousand times, no.'

'You should, the kid needs her freedom. So why, exactly out of all the hundreds of people in the world who know more than me on this subject, did you decide to call up the ex-thief who you've always considered to be a very bad influence on her?'

'...We know few women?'

'Why don't I believe that?'

'Well you still fit the profile better than I do. I'm not entirely sure how to deal with this, and I thought perhaps someone else she trusted...'

'Should I be flattered?'

'It might make this conversation easier if you were.'

'Sigh. At three a.m., babyface? There's no such thing as an easy conversation. Okay, fine. What'd she do?'

'I've been teaching her the nunchaku.'

'Oh really? Good for her, that's a nice piece of weaponry for self defence.'

'You're familiar with them?'

'Fairly, though I have no idea why a martial arts expert feels the need to call me up concerning those kind of—'

'Viper, Jade has hardly ever handled nunchaku before in her life. I just taught her for the first time last Tuesday. It took twenty five minutes.'

'...Oh. Wow. That doesn't sound entirely normal.'

'It's not.'

'Well, we are talking about Jade, here, maybe she just has a knack with metal sticks that you can swing at people really hard.'

'She also broke my rib.'

'Excuse me?'

'My rib. She broke it. I didn't even see it coming.'

'Jade? Why the hell would she do that?'

'Not deliberately. It was supposed to happen, Viper.'

'Your rib breaking was supposed to happen?'

'No, not that, it... I didn't think it would be this soon. I thought I'd have more time, more to teach her, but now she's learning faster than I ever did and...'

'Wait, go back a sentence or two. What was supposed to happen?'

'...'

'Jackie? What was supposed to happen? What're you talking about?'

'The Ben Shui Order, it...Can I just take the easy route of explaining this and blame Tohru? I'm fairly certain it all started with Tohru.'

'I'd like to say yes, but I have a feeling the short version of this –no doubt insane– tale won't cut it. Better go with the longer version.'

...It's a complicated story. But it all comes back to Jade. Everything comes back to her...'

'Wonderful. Start telling me that story while I try to work out where the percolator is.'

Here's the first lesson Jackie ever taught Jade Chan: Patience is everything. This is also the last rule. Wait, watch for the moment, and expect it when it comes but never be the one to throw the first punch. Having witnesses always helps. This saves a lot of trouble later on when they're trying to work out whose fault it is.

Don't ever let it be your fault. Don't ask for trouble, but be prepared for it should it ever knock.

The next time Jade gets a taste of just how powerful she's becoming, she ends up stopping a store hold-up.

She's pretty sure the gun is a fake, which is why she risked jumping the guy from behind and just pushing him away in the first place. She's not stupid, she knows that you can't just punch through a fired bullet. And when the mugger, relieved of his fake-weaponry, punches back, Jade blocks it. Her fist sends him right into a stack of tinned peas. On the other side of the store.

The next thing she knows she's looking at really smashed up general store, about fifteen thousand dollars worth of damage and two, bright flashing blue lights.

She thinks it's entirely understandable that she's a little confused when they start slapping the hand cuffs on her too, and going through all that using "you have the right to remain silent anything you do say yadda yadda yadda" that is supposed to be reserved for the bad guys.

She also knows that she's about to get grounded, big time.

Still at least she stopped the thief... that almost makes being grounded worth it. The criminal record? Not so much.

Here's the thing.

Jackie doesn't like to show off his abilities in public if he can help it. There is a reason for that.

Five hours.

She was in the police waiting room, with nothing to do, for an Entire. Four.Hours. And then in the statement room for another two and with a child psychologist for another forty five minutes (figured. They probably expected people to go crazy after all that time they spent in the waiting room). By the end of it, a part of Jade is almost ready to confess to the theft of the Mona Lisa, or something, but the other part of her, the stronger part, forces her to keep her mouth shut. It's not like she's done anything wrong, after all. They did say that she had the right to remain silent.

By the time she gets out, she's full to bursting with vending machine water, has a nasty looking blotch of her permanent record, and its way too late for her to even think about starting to do the geometry homework that's due in tomorrow morning.

Plus, Jackie's mad at her again. This really sucks.

All of a sudden, it's starting to make sense why Jackie never likes to do this stuff in the open unless the bad guys make him do it.

Here's the second thing Jackie ever taught her: do what works, not what looks the coolest.

Side swipes and open handed techniques are not usually nearly as efficient as they seem to be in the movies. When in doubt, running is usually an option.

It's official. He's actually starting to scare her.

Actually, she's starting to scare herself, and he's just making the situation worse. Because Jade's not stupid –she knows how long it takes people to work out how you use martial arts weapons of any kind. She knows these things just don't come from instinct, and normally they don't come from magic either, as much as she would like them to.

She knows that what she's doing is not normal and...

Well. He fights her properly, these days. One day he came into the training room (this being before the rib incident) and just... suggested it. 'No holding back,' he said. 'Give me everything you've got.' And Jade had sniggered, and then laughed out loud because seriously –what was up with him? And then she realised Jackie wasn't smiling. That he was serious.

So she sparred with him. And she didn't hold back.

She knew where to punch, and she knew where to block, and she knew where not to do either. And sure, a lot of it is what he taught her to do four years ago, but she's thinking faster than she used to anyway, carrying out the moves she just learned, everything falling into place.

Jade's a little frightened by that. She's confused by how easy it is to understand the things he's been telling her for years.

Here's the thing.

Talking with Tohru can get a little dicey where his small friend Jade Chan is concerned.

'Tohru? Can I... have a word with you about something?'

'Oh dear, not again... Is this going to be about the Ben-Shui order, Jackie?'

'What? No. Well, yes, I mean... how do you know about that?'

'Jade was questioning me on the Ben-Shui order just this morning. She had many questions, most of which I couldn't answer. I thought we'd dealt with that Chosen One Business.'

'Well... we had. In a way. I thought we had. With your end of the issue, anyway.'

'Then what precisely is this letter she found that she keeps talking about?'

'...What letter?'

'The letter from the Ben-Shui order which asked you not to tell her they had sent it or mention anything to her about it in the interests of her own preservation.'

'...Oh.'

'Bad Day?'

'I was going to say "oh, damn, she wasn't supposed to see that yet", but yes, "Bad Day" works.'

'Jade mentioned that the letter seemed very... insistent. About her. About a situation she has no awareness of. She only managed to glimpse a single page, but she believes it has something to do with why you're being so "insanely overprotective city" of her recently.'

'"Insanely Overprotective City"?'

'Her choice of words.'

'I figured, Tohru, but... I am not being overprotective.'

'Jackie, the mugger from the Hoover Dam attended court yesterday with a broken collarbone.'

'...Badly executed open-hand?'

'You wouldn't make that kind of mistake. I should know.'

'...'

'Jade is my friend also. I believe she may be getting old enough to believe she knows how to handle her own life. This is why I discuss it with you now as opposed to keeping her counsel. Luckily, I made no promises to her. Do you honestly believe this should be kept from her?'

'I don't know. It's what they asked me to do... to keep her out of danger.'

'That always struck me as being your task anyway. But I don't think in our line of work, danger is something we can ever avoid. And Jade has a rather peculiar talent for seeking it out, with or without our assistance. I'd truly rather she did so "with" it as opposed to alone.'

'You're right. Prophecies, magic, demons... Not exactly what you'd call a safe world anyhow.'

'So you will tell her about the rest of the letter?'

'...I'll think about it.'

'Sorry, I have the feeling that you came here to question me, not the other way around.'

'Tohru, I... Never mind. Forget I said anything, we'll, as Jade might say "deal with that demon when we banish it". Right?'

'Jackie.'

'What?'

'Setting Jade aside, maybe it would be wise if we did not allow Sensei to work this whole thing out on his own, either.'

'Hm. Good point. Though if I know Uncle, he's probably figured it out by now.'

Here's the thing.

Jade Chan is small, and considerably scrawny, but you don't screw with her. Because she knows how to fight, and she knows how to take a punch and keep coming back over and over, just like they said to in that movieRocky, or whatever it's called.

So she's a little girl. Big deal.It's just the same as Uncle being an old man and Tohru being too large to get through bus doors easily and Jackie secretly being a bit of a geekSo what? Let that be the opponent's weakness, not theirs

'...I will not be the one explaining that to her parents when the forces of evil get to her!'

'Uncle, it is her life we're taking about here.'

'Exactly! So there should be no argument! Magic must defeat magic.'

'Is this really the time for that?'

'It's always the time for that. Because magic came with her into the world, it shall follow her out of it. Magic will defeat magic, she does not have enough of her own yet to balance out the chi. Do you want her to end up as demon chow before she can legally drive on city roads?'

'No, but—'

'Then it is settled. Jade will know nothing of this. Not until she is old enough to stop racing into things like talisman powered jack rabbit...'

'...If you're sure.'

'Uncle is always sure. One more thing. Tohru isn't to say anything about it to Jade either. So he can stop hiding behind the open door!'

'...Um. Hello.'

'Oiya... the people in this family, sometimes you give uncle more migraines than he can count.'

Here's the thing.

Jade isn't stupid. Sooner or later, she'll work things out all on her own.

'So, let me get this straight. First she's beating you in a fair fight and breaking bones most people can't touch, then she's getting involved in high street muggings, and now she's getting herself arrested?

'That's... basically it.'

'Well, I can completely see why you brought me in on this.'

'Please, Viper, no jokes. Not today. I just got out of a police station.'

'Sorry, criminal records must sting, tough not as much as broken ribs, kicked in by a sixteen year old.'

'Very funny.'

'You're really worried about her aren't you?

'Yes. And normally...'

'Normally you'd have at least a vague idea of how to deal with it better than you are now. You've dealt with the end of the world, though, you realise that?'

'I do realise it. But this is different. Whatever's happening to her now, she's still a sixteen year old girl, not a demon spirit... I think I might be driving her crazy. She's just about stopped listening.'

'Then maybe you should stop worrying about her so much. She's a tough kid; she can take care of herself.'

'No, she can't. Nobody can take care of themselves alone where something like this is concerned.I am talking about the Chosen One of the Ben-Shui order here, prophecies that go back farther in time than Shendu's lifespan. Uncle's books barely cover it.'

'I still don't see what help I'm going to be. If anyone can teach her how to control this then it's you.'

'She doesn't need training right now, Viper. She needs a friend. By which I mean a female friend, who understands and remembers being a sixteen year old girl, if not one who's developing supernatural abilities... and who isn't three feet bigger and two tonnes heavier than her... or related to her.'

'Ah. Yeah. So I can understand that part. All of a sudden it makes total sense why I'm on this train at seven in the morning heading for San Francisco thank you very much, Mister Chan.'

'Heh. Glad to be of help.'

'In twenty four hours you'll be saying that to me, babyface. Now let me hang up, I'm low on credit.'

Here's the thing.

Viper is still just as cool now as she was when Jade was twelve years old. She just seems a little shorter now than she was back then, that's all.

'So you came here from California. Like, all the way, nonstop?'

'Well the train switched over halfway here, but otherwise, yes.'

Jade doesn't seem to believe her. 'Because Jackie asked you to.'

'Because he asked me to.'

'Seriously?'

'Seriously.'

'...Wow. So in other words he hasn't totally given up on me? Or else he has and you're the only alternative to direct contact.'

Given up on you? I don't think Jackie could give up on you even if he wanted to. Which he doesn't, for the record.'

'Why? Because he's been ascribed legal guardianship status?'

'I was going to say because he loves you and he's concerned about your wellbeing,' Jade gives her a look which suggests that she already knows all this. She already knows what's going through Jackie's head. Which is just as well, because Viper doesn't have a damn clue about that man's head herself.

'Something weird's happening. I mean to me, Viper. I'm not sure I like it as much as I could. And I'm not sure I like what it's doing to... everyone else.'

'How other people respond to you is not your problem, Jade.'

Jade shuffles on the park bench; in a disturbing imitating of the child she had been four years earlier. 'Maybe problem's not the right word for it at all, then. I mean, it's cool, right? I beat Jackie. Nobody can do that, and I did.'

'Really? Doesn't sound like you think that's all that cool to me.'

'It is. It's just that I shouldn't be able to. I know I always wanted to be able to do all the stuff he does but...'

'But it's happened too quickly, and suddenly you aren't sure if it's right or possible.'

'...'

'Come on, Jade, spill. It's me you're talking to here, not the FBI.'

'Meh; security, FBI, what's the diff?'

'Oh, typical, from ex-con to federal agent. I move straight from one stereotype in that teenaged brain of yours, to another.'

'You were pretty cool for a thief. Just cooler when you're not breaking the law is all.'

'Heh. So he really has rubbed off on you...'

'Riiight. Should I be flattered or—'

'Flattered. Let's just go with flattered for now. It's easier for all involved and means we stray less from the subject. Jade... I didn't travel right across the state to give you a pep talk. You're a tough enough girl without me having to ram any of that over enthusiastic pump up session down your throat. And I didn't come here to train you or to try and offer any kind of guidance about what's going on, or anything along those lines. Because let's face it, I don't know squat about the world of magic in comparison to you.'

'Okay, then why are you here?'

'Because you need a friend who isn't connected to your immediate family, isn't in some kind of authority position over you, and doesn't think you need to calm down and think a little more about things. I hope I qualify for that position. J Team, remember?'

'Oh, man, the twelve year old me came up with some dumb names, didn't she?'

Viper smiles. 'Yeah, I guess she did. But it still fits. Are we cool with that?'

'...Yeah. We're cool.'

Here's the big thing.

If you'd told Jade seven years ago that she was going to become a Chosen One, she would've thought it was pretty cool.

Nowadays, however... she kind of knows better. Because now it means something more than it ever did in the Mighty Antler comic books.

She's eighteen. And today she got her first taste of exactly what it means to be powerful and sought after.

It's not like anything she's seen before. Or anything they've fought before. The Chosen One of the Ben Shui Order –this particular sector of it, and one day, when she thinks she'll actually get a straight answer, she'll have to ask them exactly how that works, because how can you even have more than one order of the same religious organization like that without everyone getting confused as hell...? – has duties that go beyond anything they ever expected Tohru to do. She's not sure what those duties are exactly and, just like they had predicted, there are beings out there (she thinks they're demons but they don't look like any demons she's ever fought before) who want to stop her from ever finding out.

They tracked her down to San Francisco, and everything just got worse from there on out.

And she's seen Jackie go slamming into walls before –she really has– but she's never heard a crack like that in the process.

She's never seen Tohru get thrown about like he's the same size as she was when she was twelve. She never imagined that she could out move something going that fast but not be able to counter attack. She's never seen one of Uncle's spells break so badly that the pufferfish disintegrates.

For some weird reason, that's almost as terrifying as the cracking noise was.

Ghosts. Creepy, killer ghosts that made the Shadow Kahn look pretty.

She's been across a lot of freaky things, but she's not sure if these things even qualify enough as regular ghosts to be counted amongst that. She can't fight them because she can't touch them, and she can't fight the buildings because the buildings were too big. And, basically, if Uncle hadn't had the foresight to set up the world's most elaborate and complex chi network he could think of across half of San Francisco, they would all be so dead.

She remembers being thirteen years old. She remembers Jackie chuckling at her idea of being a superhero. She wishes things were that simple now.

Here's the thing

Jade knows what's expected of her. She wishes she had a choice in that, but she doesn't. Sometimes people –grown up people – don't have the liberties children have.

She's an adult now. And her destiny doesn't like at Section Thirteen. Not yet, anyway. And it's not about destiny or what's "preordained", because Jade doesn't swing with things like that. It's about doing what you know is right.

Jade's been learning what is right for the last seven years of her life. She finally thinks she's worked it out.

'I'm sorry.'

'You shouldn't be. None of this is your fault, Jade.'

'They came out of nowhere; I didn't know it was going to be like that. I was expecting... I dunno; Shadowkahn-like things, or... or creepy dragons or massive hulking demon monsters not... not living building's and ghosts that kill you by touching you!'

'That said, Jade, Uncle fixed the issue.'

'Yeah.. .how long did it take him to set that chi-infused area up anyway, it must've covered the whole city!'

'Let's just say he's been wandering around the city for a couple of weeks, confusing the locals.'

'Huh. Good job he did, or else we probably all would've been dog chow. I thought I was supposed to be good at this stuff. I thought it was supposed to be my destiny, or something. Screw destiny. What good is punching really fast if your fists just go through the thing you're punching at.'

'Jade... maybe we should explain that to you properly.'

'You don't have to. The Chosen One, right? Just like the Ben-Shui said about Tohru, only... different. In fact, just like half the movies in Hong Kong Cinema. That's me. And it took you until I was seventeen years old before you'd even explain even that little bit of it to me... I knew before then, you know. Bits of it anyway. I found that letter in the drawer again. I read more of it.'

'...I know.'

'You do? Aw, man, I can't keep anything quiet.'

'I imagine it would be difficult for you to keep your mouth closed for extended periods of time.'

'Well yeah but... heeey!'

'Heh.'

'Look I'm not saying it's all my fault, I never asked them to follow me here. And just so we're clear this whole destiny thing? It sucks. It was so much more fun when I was thirteen and wasn't assured a place in Section Thirteen once I leave High School. And when I could trick myself into thinking my toy moose was real by using the right Talisman combo or believe that you'd always be faster.'

'Destiny is an unsure thing, Jade. It tends to lead to trouble. The decision of whether you follow it or not... well, that's entirely up to you.'

'Oh-kay who are you and what've you done with my uncle? Seriously, whatever happened to the... the...'

'Over Protective City" act?'

'Yes! That! You've been pulling it on me for...'

'The last five years?'

'Pretty much. You know Viper never treated me like I was some kid needing to be wrapped up in cotton wool.'

'Viper also used the fact that you were twelve years old and... A little inexperienced about the workings of the real world to convince you to go into a deal for a fake talisman. No honour amongst thieves.'

'Yeah, whatever, that's all in the past, let it go already. I know you don't mean it anyway. You really like her.'

'Jade—'

'I still say she'd make a great Aunt.'

'That's just your inner twelve year old talking.'

'No, my inner twelve year old is thinking she should've just stuck around here instead of gone back to California and that boring old security job. You wanted her around, and we could've used her out there tonight anyway. And what's with the not-over-protective-city thing? I figured you'd be trying to work out whether I was too old for grounding.'

'You will never be too old for grounding.'

'Jackieee!'

'I'm trying to put things in perspective, Jade. An hour ago my back was broken and you could have died because we tried to stave off an inevitable confrontation. Now neither is true. And you were braver than I've ever seen you before. More than you've ever seemed...'

'Neat as that sounds, Jackie, it still broke your back. If we didn't have the horse talisman... Maybe you should consider it lucky that I go rooting through those rooms, Jackie. I mean if I hadn't then I wouldn't have known the Talismans were there. Why the heck didn't you tell me that the monastery sent them back?'

'For the same reason I don't give you my credit card and drop you off at the mall.'

'...Ha ha.'

'But we did. None if this is your fault, Jade. And I get the feeling I'm ignoring my usual morality where Talisman use, demons and magic in general are concerned. I won't say anything to Captain Black if you don't.'

'Desperate times, right? And this also means that the next time I want to use the Rabbit Talisman to speed write an essay...'

'I won't say a word, I promise.'

'...You know what else I read in that letter? I read that they want me to go there. Back to the monastery so they can teach me how to do this all properly, somewhere where all the demonic creatures that are gonna be following me around from now on aren't likely to go insane on everyone I care about.'

'I know.'

'When?'

'As soon as you're of an age when you can make your own decisions. They said to leave it to our judgement.'

'Oh, great. If you're gonna be the judge of my maturity then they probably won't see me until my hair turns grey.'

'Actually, I think you were probably ready for it a long time ago. I simply wasn't prepared to acknowledge that. Perhaps it's time you made your choice. You don't have to go if that isn't what you want.'

'Actually I think I kinda do... I mean, if those ghosts come after me again, I'd rather not be here, around you, I mean.'

'Whatever comes, we can deal with. It was always you who assured me of that, remember? It's your decision, in the end. We both know fate is not set in stone.'

'Nah. It's set in paper, on a great big ancient Book of Ages. Still... all the way to Tibet. That's a long way.'

'No further than the distance between Hong Kong and San Francisco.'

'I guess so. Or the difference between San Fran and California, so what I was thinking is, we tell Viper—'

'Oh, Jade...'

Here's the thing.

Our choices are the things make us who we are. Not our circumstances.

And Jade Chan has always been prone to choosing the road less travelled.

The group standing in Boarding Room Thirteen (ha!) of the San Francisco airport must look like the weirdest assembly ever.

Paco had called her up last night. Kept talking to her about all the prophecies he read about in comics as a child and how it was all so different to this and how Tibet had really never been mentioned in anything like that and whether he could visit, so she could show him how strong she really was and...

...Yeah. He'd kept talking like that for a while. At a very high speed. Which had been kind of funny and kept her sniggering under her pillow until three am.

He's still pronouncing her name wrong too, though he's really working on getting the hang of that "J". Sweet kid really, in an awkward kind of way. Jade knows that she'd miss him too, if she'd ever had more time to spend around him.

But she has Jackie here. And Tohru, and Uncle, and Viper. And the Monks have promised to meet her when she lands in Tibet. In a place which probably doesn't have satellite. Or for that matter any TV at all. Maybe not even a radio. No post boxes, no junk food, no taxi services...

Tibet.

Holy crap, this is really happening, isn't it?

Jade hasn't stopped talking since they got here, but now, there is silence for the entire ten minutes before the boarding time, until Tohru speaks. 'We shouldn't be here.'

'What do you mean, you're gonna see me off, remember?'

'Of course.' Tohru still looks suspicious. 'But I'm starting to think these places are all about bad karma where we are concerned.'

'What're you talking about, Tohru? It's just an airport.'

'True. But every time in the past when we've been in such places, we're either coming back from a situation involving demonic spirits, ancient forces and life and death, or we're about to walk into one.'

'Hm... Big guy's got a point, kiddo. Maybe we should've brought the Talismans.'

'We did, remember? Jade pats her shoulder bag and resists rolling her eyes. 'And hey, trouble follows us everywhere, remember? I don't think the airport really matters. Don't stress, big guy, we've got it covered.'

'Just don't get that sack full of magical energy lost on the plane,' Jackie comments

'Should have let Section Thirteen transfer them over,' Uncle still looks shirty. Which is weird, considering he's probably the one out of all of them who thinks she's being the most sensible. 'They are not to be touched until you arrive with the Monk's company, understand?'

'Understood, yup, totally, got it.'

'One more thing –you are not to use Talisman magic without due course. Magic is unstable enough around you now; do not go making it worse!'

Oh boy, here we go. Uncle's going on a 'one more thing' spree. And Jackie seems to have developed a strange interest in flight schedules which have nothing to do with them all of a sudden, so he's no help either.

'One more thing –you are not to do anything dangerous unless necessary. There will be no attempts at saving world as we know it until powers are working correctly. No breaking ribs.'

'No more broken ribs, gotcha.'

'One more thing- our number is in the book in your bag. Uncle put it in there himself so do not pretend you don't know where it is. You are to call us as regularly as you can access public phone box. No answering machine! Uncle cannot stand it..'

'I figured. I'll call every chance I get, cross my heart and hope to—'

'Aiiya!'

'...And hope to not die, in any way whatsoever.'

Uncle seems content with that, but only for a second. 'One more thing. You are to behave and do everything the Monks tell you. We do not want to be hearing about you blowing up any temples. Or anyone inside of temples!

'Gotcha, Uncle. No blowing up buildings, I guess that must mean no blowing them up with the dragon or the pig, no blowing up any people, no disobeying orders, no looking for trouble, no using magic unless in a contained environment, in general I'm not allowed to do anything except possibly scratch my nose.'

'One more thing! No nose scratching in public either; it is considered uncouth amongst the order.'

'...None of that either. Great.'

'One more thing!'

Jade stifles a sigh and waits. There's a pause, and then a strangely soft smile appears on an old and normally hard lined face. '...Uncle has run out of one more things.'

'Hallelujah,' Viper mutters. 'Only took him ten years, too.'

Jade opens her mouth, closes it again. Smiles. 'I'll be home for New Years. I'll try not to bring anything evil with me.'

'They might follow you anyway. We'll get rid of them, no problem,' Uncle waves a hand dismissively, and Jade thinks this would be a good time for a hug. So what if there's still ten minutes until boarding? She's going to Tibet she can so hug her uncle before she goes.

'Ah! One more thing! You shall bow upon introduction. No high-fiving with the followers of the ancient order.'

'I'll miss you too, uncle.'

And now...

Now she's looking right at Jackie, who is still staring at an unrelated flight-information board just a little too intently, and there's nowhere else for her to turn.

Except, that is, at Viper, who takes the hint, and coughs just a little too loudly. 'So. Uncle. Big Guy. Since, if my previous airport experiences are anything to go by, we're going to be here for a while, you could always help me vanquish another evil of my own... Uh, put the pufferfish away, Uncle, I'm talking about the sludge that cafe tries to pass off as coffee.' I got up at three in the morning for this.

Uncle paused, then stuck the aforementioned dried spiked object back in the bag on the chair, shrugging at Jade with a last attempt at dignity. 'Why did she not say so?'

Viper casts her a glimpse. Jade shrugs. 'I'd say this is because he thinks I'm calling on the evil things, but I think you probably already know he was like this when I was twelve.'

'You two want anything?'

'Not unless they do doughnuts.'

'Somehow I think that might be a distinct possibility,' Viper smiles, and then she's gone, dragging uncle and Tohru with her, and Jade is alone with Jackie.

She's pretty sure she felt the atmosphere changing, right there.

Here's the thing.

Jade Chan has lived in San Francisco for the last six years. It was supposed to be one, but she kind of kept getting time extensions. Thus, it has become a common joke amongst her America-dwelling family to ask for "another year's extension", every time the time comes for her to return to Hong Kong.

The same line, every year, on the dot. The same sentence.

'...So, how about we put this off for another year?'

Yeah. Awkward.

'What is that, anyway? You planning on stowing a way in the cargo hold? That's supposed to be my tack.'

Jade gasps before she can stop herself. 'Mighty Moose!'

Oh, man, she did not just squeak. She did not. But she does take the plush toy from him and squeeze it. 'Where did you get Mighty Moose? He totally shouldn't be here.'

'Found him on the stairs at the Antique Shop. You must have forgotten him.'

'I didn't forget,' Jade shuffles. Wonders whether her shoes are appropriate attire for the Tibetan mountains.

She's fairly sure his surprise now is genuine. 'You left without Mighty Moose? On purpose? Mighty Moose?'

'Oh come on, do you think the Chosen One of the Ben-Shui Order is gonna look good if she shows up with a cuddly toy?! Jeeze, Jackie, I'm eighteen years old!'

Jackie gives her that look (she hates that look, he's been doing it for years but it's only really started cutting in the last six months or so) and holds out a hand. 'Well if that's the way you feel I'll take him back.'

Jade winces, looking down at the toy in her hands. Cool toy. Fought a few good wars... literally. A little loose around where the antler came off once, and he's losing fur in a couple of places. '...Oh, fine, put me on the spot.'

And then she stuffs Mighty Moose into her holdall and pretends to ignore the fact that Jackie has an almost smug look on his face.

Then the silence comes back. It's not as awkward as it was before but it's still kind of weird. Quiets like this, you don't know what to say or do. How do you sum up six whole years in one go? How do you do that?

'One more thing.' Jackie says, resignedly. Still smiling. Still not entirely meaning it. 'Captain Black said to mention. There's a place for you at Section Thirteen when you return. Provided you're prepared to do your desk duty rotation like everyone else.'

Jade looks at him.

Seriously she just looks, because he did not just say that. Except that he did, and he's smiling when he says it. 'You tell me this... like five minutes before I'm about to fly halfway round the world for god knows how long?!'

'It seemed an appropriate time. He also wanted to point out, that he may need to do a bit of reworking to what he called 'an unfair blemish on a permanent record.'

'...No fair. So very much not fair! You're telling me he's wiping out the black mark? If I knew Section Thirteen had that kind of power I would've stuck around longer!' ...except that she wouldn't have. She knows that.

Now would be a very good time to sulk, but Jade's not going to do that. She hugs him instead. Which he doesn't expect, so takes a couple of moments to respond to. Big deal. It's an airport; people do things like that in airports. And... There's a lot of other people around, now, filing through the doors, and she thinks she might have heard the first call. Maybe the others won't get back in time for her boarding.

'Tibet isn't so bad. Maybe you'll learn

'Pft. Yeah and maybe you'll rent out my room.'

'You think anyone else would fit in there?'

'Probably not. I left a lot of stuff.'

'But not Mighty Moose.'

'Nah, I guess he's coming along,' Jade grinned in spite of herself. 'Got to take one little slice of normalcy with me, huh?'

'Of your idea of normal is a superhero cartoon moose.'

'Comic book first, Jackie, comic book first...'

'If you say so. And Jade? Stay out of trouble.'

'Don't I always?'

Here's one more thing.

Destiny is what you make it into.

Some peoples destinies simply involve a lot more explosions than others do.

Fin.