Omi's Eleven, Chapter Three

[lonewolfprincess]

Mia laughed as Clay pulled her into another spin on the second chorus. His lead at first had been simple, deliberate, taking stock of the song and how Mia followed before that gentle power burst forth in more complex moves.

“Not bad, Tex, not bad.”

Clay grinned. “Usually, I’m more of a square dancer than a ballroom one, but I’d like to think I know my way around a waltz at least.”

He’d have to remind himself to write his ma a thank-you note for all the dance lessons growing up.

Mia nodded approvingly, although… even if he had two left feet, her heart would probably still race as hard as it was now.

“We should take you guys back up to Portland sometime. West Coast Swing’s pretty popular up there, and our dad’s a jazz enthusiast so he taught us a ton of older dances.”

Clay’s eyes lit up at the idea as he pulled her into another spin.

“That’d be mighty ni—ah!”

Clay stopped in his tracks as he yelped in pain, Mia’s eyes widening.

“You okay, Tex?” Oh no, did she step on his foot?

“Y-Yeah, just… hand got a little close to the Fang is all.” He pointed to the charm-sized dagger on the loosely wrapped black cord around her wrist, before clutching his own wrist to soothe the phantom bite. He tried to smile at her through the wince. “Good to know the bite’s still full-sized.”

Mia was far from calmed, and she held her wrist up to point a finger at it.

“You behave,” she growled firmly in wolf. “Clay’s part of our pack now, you don’t need to go biting my friends.”

Clay blinked… and then couldn’t help a bemused chuckle.

“Did you just scold a Shen Gong Wu?”

“I…” Mia faltered, blushing so hard her ears were turning red. “It’s… is that weird…?”

“What, no!” Clay blurted out, a bit surprised how quickly she shrank into herself. “It makes sense, given your bond. I just thought it was…” … was ‘cute’ too much? It was probably too much, so he settled with “amusing is all. And, well…” don’t say ‘cute’ don’t say ‘cute’ don’t say ‘cute’ “it’s nice that y’all are working things out.”

Mia finally relaxed a bit. It… felt so weird, but so right, having anyone besides Tori and her family accept all her quirks and instances of magic. Her smile softened more than she meant it to.

“You are… ridiculously kind, you know that?”

Clay blinked at that, and after a second, shook his head.

“I don’t know about that. Just trying to do the best I can is all.”

Mia softly shook her head. “It’s… still more than I’ve gotten outside my family, before I met you guys.”

Oh… His heart broke at that. What kind of life did she used to lead, that a drop of basic understanding was as precious to her as water in the desert?

Very gently, his hands reached out to pull her back into the closed position, not moving his feet just yet.

“You deserved a lot more,” he said, firm as the ground on a warm spring day.

Mia let in a breath just shy of a gasp, taking in his resolute face, his warm hands.

“Clay…” She struggled for words to say, or something to do…

When the ballroom was plunged into darkness, their startled yelps joining the screams of the crowd, the slipping shriek and discordant slams of the violin and piano.

“What in tarnation…?!” Clay tried to look around in the dark, but his eyes were slow to adjust, and the noise of the crowded ballroom made it even harder to get his bearings.

Mia, however, could see in the deep shadows almost instantly. She heard a dozen confused conversations, staff trying to remember emergency training so they could guide the guests… And a whisper at the edge of the crowd, from one oddly calm waitress.

“Rubis de Ramsès…!”



Jack’s girly scream joined the multitude, and lasted a good while after Tori’s yelp died.

“Mommy!”

Tori darted her gaze around the pitch black in vain, before calming down and closing her eyes. An even mix of completely ordinary voids and creative stars, including the one in Jack’s chest… silhouettes of bright silver and rich green standing together… and in one corner of the room, a bright red star held aloft, reaching out rays of light to envelop the art displays in that ruby glow, hoisting everything from small figurines to giant statues aloft.

She gasped, turning to Jack grabbing his wrist. “Someone’s using magic to steal the art, I think it’s a Shen Gong Wu!”

“What?! No fair, I was gonna—whoa!”

Once again, Tori yanked Jack’s arm to flail behind her as she ducked and wove through the crowd with her eyes closed.

“Excuse us! Sorry! Scusa! Let us through!”



“Come on, Tex, we’ve gotta move!”

Mia clasped the cowboy’s hand tightly, dodging the panic crowd like the defensive line in a football game. Clay did his best to keep up with her- glad she was holding his hand with the one not bearing the Crescent Fang- apologizing whenever a bump past someone was unavoidable.



“You won’t get away that easily, Cat Litter!” Raimundo called out as they all chased Katnappe back up the stairs, the army of kittens still hot on their heels.

The thief merely focused on pushing the ground-floor door back open where… ah, right on time! She grabbed her partner’s free hand, fingers laced as they hauled the sack, the floating art, and the Shen Gong Wu out into the street, Dragons and kittens and an evil boy genius ragdoll all charging after them.

“Longhorn Taurus! Wudai Crater, Earth!”

It took a surprising amount of effort, but as the gauntlet’s plates locked over the arm of his tuxedo jacket, Clay was able to connect to the sand and limestone in the concrete slab of sidewalk in the thieves’ path to pull it upright, far enough ahead that the young women wouldn’t hurt themselves too badly if they smacked into it.

The duo stopped just shy of hitting the block, turning to give the do-gooders (and tagalong evil boy genius, and Wuya now that she found it safe to come out of Jack’s pocket watch) matching sneers.

“We’ve got you surrounded, Katnappe!” Raimundo shouted, pointing heroically… and then faltered as he took in Katnappe’s accomplice. “And… who are you?”

Tori gasped as she stopped behind Raimundo. “Noooo not the cute waitress!”

Katnappe just snickered. “Oh, right.” She turned to the waitress with a surprisingly soft smirk. “We still need to do your intro. Babe?”

The waitress grinned back, hazel eyes shining deviously, and with a wave of her hand, she ripped away her waitress uniform to reveal a dark gray jumpsuit to match Katnappe’s, the only differences being a thinner tail and- in lieu of cat ears- holes to let the two small, round buns at the top of her head poke through… like mouse ears.

“Enchantée,” she said with a light, sardonic bow and a soft accent. “Ma tigresse has told me much about you all. You may call me Ma Souris.”

Everyone except Tori groaned.

“Oh great, now there’s two of them…” Jack grumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“As if we needed more French villains…” Kimiko said, eyes rolling skyward.

“You’re spoken for?!” Tori wailed, before hiding her face in her hands. “Just my luck…”

Mia rolled her eyes- but not without a comforting pat to her sister’s sparkly shoulder- before crossing her arms and leveling the duo a glare.

“Well, you’re not the only ones with a team upgrade.” She jerked her chin up defiantly. “My sister and I are the Xiaolin Dragons of the Sun and the Moon. And you’re seriously outnumbered right now.”

“That is right!” Omi pointed at the duo. “You dared to steal from an institute dedicated to scholarship and the preservation of history, on a night dedicated to aiding this city’s youth pursue their artistic dreams!”

“Seriously, at least steal from the British Museum instead!” Dojo piped up. At everyone’s looks, he shrugged… “Trust me, that place makes these guys look like angels.”

“In any case,” Clay interrupted before they got too far off track. “We ain’t letting y’all get away with this! Hand over the Shen Gong Wu and the art peaceful-like!”

“Or what?” Katnappe chuckled. “You’ll try to hug me to death again, cowboy?”

Clay took a breath to retort—

“What…?” Mia asked, low and deep, leveling Katnappe with a dark glare. Everyone around her froze expecting a dark aura to rise up around her and make her wavy ponytail rise like a torch flame.

Clay’s eyes popped out of their sockets, and he brought up hasty jazz hands.

“I-it ain’t like that, I swear!”

The duo of thieves just rolled their eyes; this was too easy.

“Rubis de Ramsès!”

A harsh shove of telekinetic magic pushed the whole group nearly to the other end of the block.

“What the—you raided my vault?!” Jack called out from the tangle of Dragons. “No fair, get your own Wu, you hacks!”

“Not our fault you won’t change your locks, Robo-Freak,” Katnappe crooned snidely. “Kitties, attack!”

The horde of kittens leapt from the sidelines where they were waiting on standby, ready to maim and maul and—

A harsh feline hiss rose out of Mia’s mouth- far beyond what Katnappe could ever manage- and the cats stopped in their tracks. The Moon Dragon followed up with a sliding closed-mouth growl, eyes narrowed, and the kittens all crouched down on the ground, shoulders hunched back and ears flat in submission.

Katnappe and Ma Souris shared a look. Huh, maybe the rookie Dragons were something to sneeze at after all. But no matter; that had been enough time to Chopsticks the auction art and swipe it into the bag with the rest of their loot.

“Brush of Ma Liang!”

The Dragons were frozen in horror from their pile on the ground as Katnappe drew a hasty sketch on the upended concrete block. A few more strokes and… there!

The good news was it wasn’t a weapon. The bad news… it was a cherry red 1960 DeVille, with the tail fins brought up front and a long tail attached to the rear bumper.

A Cat-illac.

Raimundo blinked. “Huh. Kinda surprised she didn’t go for a Jaguar or a Puma.”

The ladies didn’t bother answering the quip before hopping into the already-running car, tires squealing as they dove into San Francisco traffic, cackling into the night.

The Dragons finally disentangled enough to rise to their feet.

“We must stop them!” Omi exclaimed, pointing after the fleeing bandits.

“Got it covered,” Raimundo said with a smirk, pulling a Shen Gong Wu from his jumpsuit. “Speaking of Pumas… Crouching Cougar!”

The bronze statuette glowed, and with a flash of light and a yowl, the Cougar transformed. Raimundo and Kimiko found themselves in the Cougar’s seats, while everyone else was squeezed into the bronze chariot behind.

Jack managed to sit up just enough that he could activate his heli-pack and pop free, destroying his tuxedo jacket in the process, which he saw as a plus. He had rightfully stolen Shen Gong Wu to steal back!

Raimundo and Kimiko took the Cougar’s controls, and the Shen Gong Wu surged forward, warm night wind whipping all their hair as they sped after the Cat-illac. Omi, Clay, Tori, and Dojo all clung to the sides of the chariot to keep from flying out. Mia, on the other hand, grinned like a madwoman, one hand freeing her hair from its ponytail to fly in the wild winds while the other punched the air above her.

“WHOOHOOHOO!”

Dojo clung to Clay’s shoulders for dear life, still cranky from his congestion and now seconds away from carsickness.

“I’m glad one of us is having fun…!”

The whoop rang out through the city streets as both vehicles bobbed and weaved through honking cars on the narrow, hilly city streets.

“Dang, that car’s fast…!” Raimundo muttered through a grimace… before an idea came to him. “But we can go faster! Crouching Cougar, Wind!”

The plating of the Cougar lit up with sky blue cheetah spots, and the already blazing-fast vehicle doubled its speed, the chariot swinging wildly as the giant metal cat zig-zagged past all the ordinary cars in pursuit of its prey.

“Haha, yes, Raimundo! Put the flowers to the steel!”

“‘Pedal to the metal!’” Mia corrected warmly, still too thrilled at the high-speed chase. Honestly, though, “flowers to the steel” sounded hardcore, she’d have to remember that one.

Ma Souris twisted around in the shotgun seat to see the monks still hot on their tail, Jack only slightly lagging behind them on his heli-pack as Wuya flew beside him.

“They’re gaining on us, chérie!”

Katnappe barely gave her rear-view mirror a glance before smirking.

“Already on it.”

Katnappe pushed the big red button in the dash and within seconds, slim red wings and afterburners deployed. As they reached the top of one more hill, the Cat-illac kept flying up and up and up over the peak, launching into the sky over the Golden Gate strait.

Everyone watching- dragon, Dragons, boy genius, ghost, and civilian- gaped at the sight.

“Dojo, hurry, we gotta catch up!” Raimundo shouted with a brief glance back.

The little dragon’s form budged, but only barely.

“Ugh, I’d love to, but this stupid sinus headache…”

Tori gasped. “Wait wait wait, I’ve got it! Raimundo, you’re already giving it Wind chi, right?! Kimiko, you should add your Fire chi, maybe that’ll give us rocket boosters too or something!”

“WHAT?!” Everyone but Mia shouted at once.

“That’s crazy, we’ve never combined elements with the same Shen Gong Wu before!” Raimundo protested.

Tori and Mia shared a puzzled glance before turning it to Raimundo and Kimiko.

“Why not?!” Mia asked over the wind.

“Yeah, it sounds awesome!”

“I…” Raimundo trailed off, and the others paused to think too. Why hadn’t they done that before? “Hey DJ, we’re not gonna explode ourselves or the Wu, right?!”

To everyone’s horror, Dojo just shrugged. “No idea!”

Raimundo shared a concerned look with Kimiko… and then took a deep breath.

“Well, only one way to find out! You ready, Kimiko?”

Kimiko nodded firmly. She had no idea whether this would work either, but… she trusted Raimundo, just as much as he trusted her to set up almost everything on this mission.

“Ready!”

Raimundo spared a split second to give her a warm smile before they set their hands on the controls, his fingers landing on top of hers.

“Crouching Cougar!” they shouted as one. “Wind!” “Fire!”



Katnappe and Ma Souris cackled as the Cat-illac reached a cruising altitude just higher than the Golden Gate Bridge. Katnappe set the flying car to autopilot so she could lean back in her seat, arms folded behind her head, the super-kittens sleeping in a giant heap in the backseat.

“Well, Ma Souris, I think that went purrrfectly.”

Ma Souris giggled daintily; unlike most of Katnappe’s enemies and evil cohorts, she found the cat puns witty and charming.

“You could say a… squeaky clean getaway, non?”

Katnappe laughed back heartily. “Nice one!”

Ma Souris grinned as she pulled out a PDA. A good fence moved carefully; a great fence also moved quickly, and she loved how the millennium’s new technology kicked up that speed.

“It looks like we already have quite a few buyers lining up. Monsieur PandaBubba especially is interested in the one ink painting; he’s already promising fifteen percent more than our market estimate.”

“Figures.” Of course the crime lord would want more panda-themed art. “That sounds promising though; maybe we should wait a bit and see if anyone’s dumb enough to start a bidding war with him.”

“Perhaps. Mais… must we sell everything?” She batted hazel eyes at her paramour. “I think the cat-made paintings would be charming in the kitchen, non?”

Ashley flashed Sylvie a smirk before her smile softened.

“You read my mind, ma belle.”

The two leaned in to share a sweet, simple kiss, quickly threatening to become more passionate as Katnappe’s paws came up to cup Ma Souris’s cheeks—

A roar from behind startled them apart with a scream, and Katnappe twisted in her seat.

“What the—?!”

There was the Crouching Cougar again, hundreds of feet above the ground. The outline of the Shen Gong Wu was almost impossible to see through the glow of sky-blue spots and coal-red tiger stripes lighting up the bronze frame, the feet of the cat blazing with white-hot jet flames. Unfortunately, aside from some G-force protection, neither flavor of chi added any safety modifications to the chariot, so while Raimundo and Kimiko gave determined glares, all the Dragons in the back (save for adrenaline junkie Mia) were screaming as they held on for dear life.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Katnappe yelled.

Ma Souris could only stare in utterly baffled panic. She’d heard stories of the Xiaolin Warriors from her work as a fence even before meeting her partner, but she hadn’t expected them to be so persistent!

“Hand over the Wu and the art, girls!” Raimundo shouted over the wind and the roar of the Cougar’s engines, standing in his seat to pitch his voice.

A growl rose in Katnappe’s throat. Think think think… ah! …. Well, this was going to suck if they called the bluff, but if it got the Xiaolin Losers off their tail, they could at least make off with the Shen Gong Wu.

Katnappe sneered, grabbing the sack of shrunken art and holding it over the side of the car.

“Let us go or I drop it!”

The Dragons all gasped. All those treasures, and all the money the auction art could earn for those kids, smashed against the bridge or the water below?

They all shared a worried glance… and then Omi nodded firmly. The senior Dragons’ faces grew firmer as they nodded back, and Raimundo turned back to the thieves with a smirk. Tori and Mia looked puzzled, but it looked like they had something in mind at least.

“Go for it!” Raimundo yelled over the racket. “We’re still not giving up, Tom and Jerry!”

Katnappe scowled, steeled herself… and let go of the loot.

The others barely had time to blink as Omi scrambled out and onto the edge of the chariot, crouched down… and leapt through the air towards the falling sack!

The Sun and Moon Dragons gasped in horror; even as a Xiaolin Warrior, there was no way the little monk could survive a fall from this high up.

“Omi, no!” Mia called out, panicking and preparing to jump after him—

Clay set anchoring hands on both girls’ shoulders.

“Don’t worry, ladies, he’s got this!”

Omi closed his eyes as he fell, the dots on his forehead glowing.

“Kaijin Charm!” The elemental Shen Gong Wu snaked down his arm, spikes arcing with raw elemental power as he pointed his hand down. “Wudai Neptune, Water!”

Deep below, the surface of the strait bulged… before shooting up in a round-topped geyser! As Omi somersaulted and his path connected with the sack and his little arms wrapped around it, his feet found soft, solid water, and he stood on it as easily as a landing pad!

The girls gaped for a few seconds… before joining everyone else’s round of cheers!

Katnappe growled a curse under her breath. She’d seen the Xiaolin Warriors fight in that big battle a month or two ago, knew they’d gotten stronger, but she didn’t know they’d gotten this good.

Turning forward again, Katnappe slammed her foot against the gas, the afterburners sparking blue as the Cat-illac shot forward in the sky.

Kimiko scowled, standing up in her seat. The lab coat felt too heavy, and she pulled it off to let it fly away in the wind, revealing what was supposed to be her second disguise: a garnet red silk dress, black chiffon flames rising from the knee-length hem to her hips, edged with red and gold and black glass beads and fluttering like real fire in the harsh winds. Everyone in the Cougar stared at the beautiful outfit and her flying black silk hair, and Raimundo, Tori, and Clay couldn’t help blushes rising to their cheeks.

“Rai! Get ready to catch, and for a Showdown!”

Raimundo nodded, guessing what she had in mind.

“Cat’s Eye Draco! Wudai Mars, Fire!”

Kimiko’s body flooded with Fire as the bands of the Cat’s Eye Draco twined down her arm, and as she leapt up out of the Cougar, jets of flame ignited under her ballet flats and she sped towards the Cat-illac.

Unfortunately, that meant the Cougar lost its source of Fire chi, and the glowing red tiger stripes faded as the Shen Gong Wu began to fall, everyone yelping at the sensation.

“Crest of the Condor!” As the gauntlet’s plates slid down his arm, Raimundo pulled out his blue-crystal sword. “Blade of the Nebula, Wind!”

The blade disappeared as the handle separated, unleashing a tornado column of wind down beneath the Cougar until it connected with the water below, stopping the vehicle’s descent.

Kimiko, meanwhile, kept flying towards, hurtling like a comic towards the Cat-illac until she was just above the car. Dismissing the jet flames, Kimiko used the momentum to somersault on top of the windshield’s frame!

Katnappe hissed as Kimiko’s hand snapped down to reach for the Brush of Ma Liang sitting on the dashboard. Katnappe’s sharp claws landed on top of Kimiko’s hand, and the jade paintbrush began to glow gold.

“Katnappe, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown! My Tangle Web Comb against your Third Arm Sash!”

Katnappe hissed again, but she stopped as Ma Souris placed a hand on top of hers, eyes widening in surprise, and then soft pride.

“Let us make it a… comment dit-on? A Showdown Trio?” Ma Souris held up the gray-scale cloak. “I will wager the Voile d’Ombres!”

Kimiko smirked; she’d hoped they’d raise the stakes.

“You know what, let’s make it a Shen Yi Bu All In! Raimundo’ll join me with the Falcon’s Eye!” He spared a look to Raimundo, who gave her a big thumbs up from the still-aloft Crouching Cougar. And taking a page from the rookies’ book… “And if we win, not only do we get all your Wu, all the art you stole will go back to its rightful place at the museum, unharmed!”

“Hey!” Jack finally caught up on his straining heli-pack to see and hear what the heck was going on, and he shook his fist at the wager. “Those are my Wu you’re wagering!”

All the girls- everyone in the vicinity, really- ignored him with a chorus of eye rolls.

“Fine, fine. But if we win, we get to keep all your Shen Gong Wu and every piece of art still left in the museum!”

“What?!” Okay, maybe the wagering was getting out of hand… but she couldn’t back down now. Kimiko rolled her eyes as she centered herself. They’d just have to win then. “Okay, fine! As for the challenge…” She took in the bright city and the glowing Golden Gate Bridge below them. “A race across the bridge! First team to make it to the other side wins!”

Katnappe and Ma Souris nodded firmly, smirking as they accepted the challenge.

“Let’s Go, Xiaolin Showdown!”



The cables of the Golden Gate Bridge snapped and shot out, multiplied, wove together like cat’s cradle strings over and diagonally, creating a chaotic spider web of sunset orange cords. The previously calm waters of the strait rose up and churned, tidal waves crashing over the bridge’s road with perfect blue water and white foam like The Great Wave off Kanagawa. The Showdown’s teams stood at each of the bridge’s anchors, the thieves still in their jumpsuits while Kimiko and Raimundo were now in their Showdown Armor. The spectators were set on surprisingly tangible clouds level with the peaks of the bridge’s towers, the white forms faintly outlined with swirls of the faintest slate blue… almost like ink-washed lines in a painting.

“Gong Yi Tanpai!”

All four combatants raced up the sloping main cables, no longer a perfectly smooth path with so many secondary cables criss-crossing between them. The dash upward was simple at first, race along the gentle curve of the cable, hop over or onto the other lines’ attachments, exercises both the Xiaolin Warriors and at least Katnappe had honed for years. Ma Souris’s moves weren’t as effortless and much more straightforward than her girlfriend’s, but she wasn’t any slouch.

Then, however, the main cables’ climb towards the towers steepened sharply; the connection points provided tiny footholds, but only someone as athletic as a magical martial artist or a journeywoman thief could accomplish.

Katnappe thought as she ran… then scooped Ma Souris up by the waist, the mousy thief wrapping her arms around her tigresse.

“Third Arm Sash!”

The hand of the sash shot out, grabbing a high, horizontal cable before contracting like a grappling hook, Katnappe holding tight and keeping her balance as she settled, taking a quick second to scan the rest of the course.

Kimiko spared the evil duo a glance as she sprinted too.

“Four can play that game! Tangle Web Comb!”

Raimundo watched as Kimiko grappled with a much higher line than the girls… and left him behind.

“What am I, chopped liver?!”

Kimiko gave him an “apologetic” smile from her new perch.

“You’re a head taller than me, and you’re the Shoku Dragon of the Wind! You’ll live!”

Raimundo rolled his eyes before he began high, bouncing leaps from cable to cable to catch up to Kimiko’s continued grappling with the Comb. She had good points… but maybe he was jealous that Katnappe’s love life was going better than his.

Katnappe, meanwhile, grabbed another line farther up with the Third Arm Sash. And another, and another, still holding Ma Souris tightly with her real arms until they reached the final line stretching between the highest points of the tower… seconds before Kimiko did, Raimundo following right behind.

Ma Souris hummed in thought… before snapping her fingers.

“Allow me, ma chérie,” she said with a light lilt, before pulling out the Shroud of Shadows. “Voile d’Ombres!”

The Shroud glowed and Ma Souris vanished.

“Falcon’s Eye!”

Raimundo set the glowing garnet monocle in his eye, he and Kimiko hastily scanning the bridge… only for Raimundo to spot her swinging from below them, ready to strike at—

“Kimiko, below you!”

Kimiko leapt up high, flipping through the air as she landed on one of the lines connected to the main cables’ descent.

Raimundo was relieved. Unfortunately, he was so focused on her safe landing, that he forgot about the invisible mouse. His foot rose and threw him off-balance, and after a few flailing seconds he found himself falling towards the wave-swept road below.

“Raimundo!”

Kimiko called upon the Tangle Web Comb again, the hairy tines shooting out to wrap about the Dragon of the Wind’s waist, gently swinging him forward to ease some of the momentum before he stopped.

“Phew!” Raimundo wiped his brow dramatically before looking up, giving his savior a thumbs up. “Told you that you could carry me!”

Kimiko rolled her eyes, ignoring the blush burning across her face.

“Grab a line before I drop you, doofus!” Really though, she didn’t want to lose focus before Raimundo found his purchase again.

“Okay, okay!” Raimundo shook his head and chuckled before he hoisted himself up onto one of the other cables.

“Zut alors…” Ma Souris muttered as she reappeared at Katnappe’s side. “I thought I had them.”

“Aw, don’t worry, babe,” Katnappe said, taking her hand and squeezing it. “At least you distracted them for a bit. Now we’ve just gotta catitalize on it! Third Arm Sash!”

The Sash shot out and latched onto another wire, and the duo began their downswing towards the center of the bridge… and towards the waves, the only path available to them.

Kimiko hopped down to join Raimundo on his line.

“Shame we can’t just walk over to the next tower…” Kimiko mused. Unfortunately there weren’t any tightropes connecting the tops of the two sets of towers; that would’ve been too easy.

Raimundo scanned the bridge below them, the sides, the waves… and smirked, holding out a hand to the Dragon of Fire.

“Come on, I’ve got an idea!” Once Kimiko grabbed his hand, he led her with graceful leaps back up to the top of the tower. Kimiko gave him a puzzled look, but he just smirked as he wrapped an arm around her. “Whatever you do, don’t let go.”

“Okay…?” What was he up to—

Raimundo called on the Wind, just enough to lift their feet above the cables’ anchor points, watched the waves… and then suddenly leaned forward to slide down the main cable, lightly crouching his body for balance as he heard the others whoops and cheers over the wind and crashing water.

Kimiko screamed as they flew down the line, clinging for dear life.

“Raimundo, what are you doing?!”

“Wind surfing, duh!” He leaned in deeper as the dive leveled out. “Get ready to use the Comb!”

The thieves’ eyes bugged out as the Dragons careened past them.

“Come on, we’ve gotta catch up!”

Katnappe grabbed Ma Souris tightly with the Third Arm Sash before slicing a cable within reach with her claws, swinging down the line like Tarzan and landing them at the trough of the cable right in front of the still-sliding Dragons, hoping they’d scramble and try to avoid hitting them or some heroic nonsense.

“End of the line, Xiaolin Dweebs!”

Raimundo just smirked as they kept sliding, his free hand pointing out towards the bay, Kimiko’s eyes widening as they followed.

“You sure about that?”

Both thieves dared to look… and their eyes bugged out!

“AH—!” They barely had time to yell before a tidal wave slammed into them, washing them off the wire across the road!

Raimundo, meanwhile, boosted the wind beneath his feet just in time to leap over the cresting wave, and as he felt the descent…

“Now, Kim!”

“Tangle Web Comb!”

The hairy ropes latched onto a wire high above the waves, the two Dragons zipping upwards for a free-point landing, turned quickly into spring for more acrobatic leaps up, the two zig-zagging each other as they climbed almost like a dance.

Down below, Katnappe and Ma Souris had barely managed to cling to a cable for dear life, mere feet away from being swept off the bridge into the bay. Katnappe sulked as she tried to wipe off as much seawater as possible, while Ma Souris pouted that her perfect mouse ear buns were now messy and sticky and half-untied.

Katnappe looked up to see the Xiaolin Warriors were almost to the top of the next set of towers.

“Fine… if they’re taking the high road…” she flashed Ma Souris a smirk as she offered her paw, “we can take the low one.”

The two sprinted together, hoping for a straight shot to the end of the bridge while Raimundo and Kimiko were busy traveling up and down.

Speaking of which, the two Dragons looked down as they reached the top of the tower.

“Dangit, they’re catching up…” Raimundo muttered.

Kimiko scowled downwards too… before she gave Raimundo a calm smile and nod.

“Leave it to me.”

The two thieves kept running as fast as they could over the damp, slick pavement, legs burning but they couldn’t stop now, this heist was going to put them in the history books—

“Tangle Web Comb…” The thieves turned just in time to see Kimiko surfing down with Raimundo again, one arm wrapped around his waist… while the other pointed the Shen Gong Wu out towards the opposite anchor. “Fire!”

Instead of all the ropes shooting out towards one target, they split off in random directions, curling and waving as flames lit up along them like gas-soaked fuses!

“AH!” The thieves screeched to a halt, landing on their butts in front of the web of flames.

Katnappe took in the web- ignoring Raimundo and Kimiko’s so mature raspberries as they slid down the wire (okay, maybe only mostly ignoring)- and then she spotted a gap between the pavement and the flaming ropes, just big enough for two lithe women to crawl through.

“Come on!”

Kimiko and Raimundo, meanwhile, dismounted from the final anchor, just one more stretch down the road until they reached land.

“What do you say, Kim,” Raimundo asked with a mischievous smirk, “wanna do this quickly, or with style?”

Kimiko smiled back; it was good to see this playful side of him coming back tonight.

“Why not both? Wudai Mars, Fire!” The Fire Dragon called on the jet flames beneath her feet again, hovering over the soaked pavement.

Raimundo grinned back. “Shoku Feilian, Wind!”

The two Dragons leaned forward as they surged ahead, the coat of water and puddles dancing beneath their gusts and flames as they stayed low. Raimundo ducked right and Kimiko, catching his drift, steered left, their flight trails braiding together as they added spins and rolls to the routine.

Katnappe snarled as she rose from the grueling crawl she and Ma Souris just endured, the Xiaolin Warriors so far ahead now.

“Allow me,” Ma Souris said, uncharacteristically grim as she wrapped her arms around Katnappe. These jerks should not have messed with her girlfriend, her loot, or her hair! Foregoing the French in favor of the much-faster English… “Third Arm Sash!”

The Sash latched onto the last anchor, constricting and sending the thieves skating across the slick ground like they were water skiing! Once they reached the anchor, Ma Souris made the Sash let go, catapulting them both towards the flying Dragons!

They were gaining… yards… meters… feet… inches…! Raimundo and Kimiko called on their Elements, urging them faster…!

A crack of lighting shot out as all four of them made it to the end of the bridge. The spectators were all set safely on the ground, the Golden Gate Bridge restored and dried…

And Kimiko and Raimundo stood victorious, both of them holding the Brush of Ma Liang, with all the rest of the Shen Gong Wu split between them. The sack of stolen art had disappeared, as agreed.

Omi, Clay, Tori, Mia, and Dojo all ran up to the duo with delighted shrieks, pulling them into a bouncing group hug!

“That was killer!” Mia shouted.

“No kidding!” Tori gasped, eyes shining. “Man, I can’t wait to get to Apprentice level, I want to try the elemental combos yesterday!”

Raimundo chuckled. “You will, someday.” He turned his gaze to Kimiko, still smirking but eyes softening. “You kicked major butt tonight, girl.”

Kimiko kept her smile casual, stubbornly ignoring her racing heart and chalking it up to adrenaline.

“Thanks. Couldn’t have done it without you, Rai.”

Dojo cleared his throat. “Um, guys…?” He pointed down the bridge, where Katnappe and Ma Souris were trying to sneak off to their miraculously-still-intact Cat-illac.

Kimiko rolled her eyes. “Tangle Web Comb.”

The two thieves fell to the ground, thoroughly trussed and smelling like wet fur and burning hair.