HL: Chapter 25

Jackie hadta say, even with the Old Man taking him out back and trying to beat a lesson into him, this was going pretty great as far as family reunions went. Honestly, the fact that his Old Man'd had no living folks to have a reunion with, and that his Ma hadn't told him about her folks till his Old Man'd croaked, probably had more to do with that than anything. Still, aside from the brief excursion to the lawn, things were going great.

He'd learned a bit more about his folks than he'd thought he would, anyway. Seems like the Old Man was a fan of music. Not contemporary stuff, but Big Band, Swing, and Classical, the sorta stuff you heard in old radio serials about the JSA. Probably had something to do with being Older than Dirt. Anyway, his Uncle Li and Uncle Chen'd vehemently opposed the Old Man's taste in Music, though for different reasons. Apparently, his Uncle Li was a fan of Rock Music, while his Uncle Chen was more into Pop. They were clashing with each other over that just as much as they were with the Old Man.

His Uncles Wen and Lu, meanwhile, don't seem to give a shit about any of that. Both were in some kinda private discussion about Magic since his Uncle Lu was the Expert and his Uncle Wen seemed to be close to pushing through the Plateau that separated a Master of Alchemy from an Archmage of Alchemy. Lu was trying to talk him through it. Honestly, Jackie was pretty sure they had the right idea, cause the music argument was getting heated as it was.

"I'm telling you, Old Man, Led Zeppelin's where it's at! You want storytelling? They've got it! Complex Sounds? They've got that too!" Insisted Jackie's Uncle Li.

"Perhaps. But then, Perhaps I simply appreciate the Classics." Scoffed the Old Man.

"Li, it's the nineties. Nobody cares about Led Zeppelin anymore. These days it's all about the it factor." Chided Jackie's Uncle Chen.

"It factor? You mean whatever some corporate suit thinks they can get a quick buck out of?" Sneered Jackie's Uncle Li.

"Madonna has a Grammy, Li. How many of those does Led Zeppelin have? Oh wait, they lost the only nomination they ever got!" Snarked Jackie's Uncle Chen.

"And what was Madonna's Grammy for? A Long Form Music Video? You know that doesn't count!" Retorted Jackie's Uncle Li.

"Please, those awards are pointless. They're nothing more than an excuse for people to drink and put on a show. They have little bearing on artistic merit or musical talent, everyone knows that." Insisted the Old Man.

"You butt out of this, Old Man!" Exclaimed Jackie's Uncle Li.

"Yeah, just cause there's no Grammy Category for Swing or Big Band doesn't mean you need to go talking Sour Grapes!" Added Jackie's Uncle Chen.

Then Jackie's two Uncles glared at each other like neither of 'em liked the fact they'd just agreed with each other. Jackie could only grin and shake his head. His Uncles Wen and Lu definitely had the right idea. Jackie was just gonna focus on his noodles for a sec. That's the ticket, no need to get dragged into whatever that was.

"Is it always like this?" Questioned Steph.

"Sometimes it's worse, dear." Answered Jackie's Ma.

"Starting to think Uncle Lu and Uncle Wen've got the right idea here." Chuckled Jackie.

"But shouldn't we stop them? Like, what if they get so pissed off they blow up the house?" Queried Steph.

"Just eat your noodles, dear." Advised Jackie's Ma.

"But. . ." Began Steph.

"Just do it, Steph. I'm sure my Ma knows what she's talking about. They're her Brothers, yeah?" Pressed Jackie, cutting Steph off.

"Fine. But if they blow up my Room, I'm taking over yours and you can sleep on the couch." Warned Steph.

"Noted." Nodded Jackie.

As Jackie's Uncles and Grandad argued over music, and Jackie, Steph, and his Ma ignored the three of 'em in favor of finishing their noodles, Jackie's Uncle Wen slapped his bald-ass head like he'd just figured some shit out. He bolted upright like a shot and headed for the basement where the Mansion's Magic Lab was. Jackie's Uncle Lu, just chuckled, shaking his head, and made his way over to where Jackie, Steph, and his Ma were busy ignoring the argument.

"Are they still going with that?" Asked Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"It could be worse." Shrugged Jackie's Ma.

"Indeed. It could be the Great Movie Battle of Seventy-Four." Smirked Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"What's that?" Questioned Jackie.

"Yeah! And how was it worse?" Queried Steph.

"It happened when I was sixteen, I'd just started seeing your father, mind you, so your grandfather was already in a bad mood to begin with. Your Uncles Li and Chen were in town and had won some radio contest for free movie tickets being hosted by the Monarch Theatre, this was a couple years before the incident with the Waynes caused the Monarch enough bad publicity to shut down, mind you and they used to do things like that all the time. Well, your Uncle Chen wanted to go see Blazing Saddles, but your Uncle Li wanted to see the Street Fighter. They couldn't compromise, it was a mess." Began Jackie's Ma.

"Mess is an understatement. Chen and Li almost started a literal fight over it twice. That week was nothing but annoying, and of course, Your Mother had to call me up at College to Complain about it. Long-distance calls back then weren't great for that sort of thing, you know." Smirked Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"Who else was I going to talk to, Lu? Cai and Wen had families of their own, and the only other people I could talk to were either involved or sick of hearing about it." Shrugged Jackie's Ma.

"You could have tried your Boyfriend at the time." Retorted Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"Yeah, I dunno if that woulda been a good idea, Unc. My Old Man ain't ever been one for touchy-feely shit. Even back then, I gotta think." Pointed out Jackie.

"Michael Guzzo was a lot of things, but a stable shoulder to cry on wasn't one of them." Admitted Jackie's Ma.

"And you still married him?" Asked Steph.

"It was a different time, Dear. People weren't as in touch with their feelings as they are now." Insisted Jackie's Ma.

"At any rate, after a week of arguments, The Old Man intervened and kicked both Chen and Li out of the House. Literally from what I heard." Continued Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"That's true. He threw them both in the Gotham River, then took the tickets for himself to go see Chinatown once Chen and Li had forgotten all about it." Nodded Jackie's Ma.

"Damn, that's cold." Huffed Jackie.

"Good choice in movie, though. Chinatown's a Classic." Added Steph.

"Sure. It's no Excalibur, but few movies are." Shrugged Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"You like Excalibur?" Questioned Steph.

"I do. Why?" Queried Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"'Cause Steph is into Nerd Shit. Or maybe she's just into Nerds." Smirked Jackie.

"Oh? Is there someone special you've got your eye on, dear?" Asked Jackie's Ma.

That segued into fifteen minutes of razzing Steph, but honestly, Jackie was just happy she found someone and ain't fucked it up yet. Sebastian seemed to be good for her and Jackie wanted someone in this family not to fuck up their first real relationship. Gods knew he'd fucked up what he'd had with Babs. They were still friends, but even so, that sorta shit hurt, you know? He didn't want his adopted Kid Sister to haveta go through that. If she was anything like him, she'd hit the bottle hard. It'd be hard to fall off the wagon harder than he had, though. Still not good.

By the end of the night, Jackie'd felt like he'd gotten a pretty good handle on most of his relatives, even the Old Man, who was inscrutable as ever. It was a good feeling to have folks who cared about you and have 'em be around. Hell, his Uncle Wen'd even come back upstairs with a vial of Jade and Gold Refining Solution, which Jackie knew for a fact was an Archmage-Level bit of Alchemy. That'd meant that not only had he passed the Old Man's Test, not only was the House Full of Family, but his Uncle Wen was officially an Archmage Alchemist to go with being a Boddhisatva Cultivator. All in all, Jackie figured it was a good day.

And Jackie was looking forward to what tomorrow would bring. . .

XXXX

Bixi had, after being berated by several rude mortals, realized just how out of date his information on the Mortal World had become. He had needed to change his clothing and his approach, something that he accomplished by commandeering the attire of a man who was in desperate need of saving from a few Roughians. Said Roughians had been wielding blades and demanding payment for some sort of protection that the Man had benefited from. Bixi had intervened, and though the Roughians put up a fierce front, it had all been bluster. They were no hardier than the average Mortal of his time.

That was when the Man, a Store Owner named Fu Zemin had invited Bixi into his home and explained the situation. Those Roughians were members of the Local Triad, a group of Criminals that plagued the neighborhood using their stronghold, which took the form of a local restaurant, as a base. These Criminals, the Wu Ren Triad, had plenty of local currency that could be used to barter passage on an Aeroplane, which was apparently some form of Mortal Flying Machine that ran off of technology rather than magic. Bixi's divine nature allowed him to grasp concepts swiftly, so after a few days of staying at Fu Zemin's Home and studying the modern world, he had borrowed modern clothing from the beleaguered shopkeeper and headed out into the night to challenge the Wu Ren Triad.

He found that this restaurant, the Lucky Pheasant Inn, was a wretched hive of villainy, home to the sort of Scum that would threaten an honest and upright store owner for money they were too lazy to earn properly. After they closed, he had found the entire Triad sitting at tables, smoking an herb that Bixi had learned from his studies was an intoxicant called Tobacco, and gambling all while drinking what seemed to be an entire alehouse's worth of Baijiu. The defense they attempted to put up against him was laughable, and even those strange modern weapons, the firearms, he had learned they were called, did little against his Pussiant Divine Form.

He slaughtered them, taking for himself their ill-gotten stacks of currency. With that, he was able to barter passage on a ship, forgoing the Aeroplane, that was heading to somewhere that Fu Zemin's Tomes of Knowledge, Encyclopaedias he believed they had been called, claimed was called California in a Country called America. While aboard the ship, he listened to the crew, listening to their stories. Apparently, there were still Sorcerers and Cultivators in this world, though they called themselves Superheroes these days. A term had recently been invented for them, Metahuman. Apparently, this place the Ship was headed toward, this Coast City, was home to one such being. A Celestial Town Guardsman going by the name of Green Lantern with a Magic Ring.

Bixi frowned at that, it sounded an awful lot like the So-Called Dragon Lord Jong Li, from back in the century prior to the one he had gone to sleep in. He had been the chief architect of the Tuyuhun Pretender's attempt on the throne. The Child had been the supposed son of a lesser Concubine of the Last Emperor of the Sui Dynasty, Jade Moon. During the instability of the Fall of the Sui and the Rise of the Tang, the So-Called Dragon Lord had propped the Tuyuhun Pretender up as a rival for power, somehow helping the Boy to seize power in the Xianbei-ruled Tuyuhun Khaganate to use as a power base. As Bixi recalled, it had been the doing of Sun Wukong that had seen the Tuyuhun Pretender vanquished the So-Called Dragon Lord driven off beyond the horizon.

If this Green Lantern was anything like Jong Li had been, perhaps it might be best for Bixi to remain in disguise as he arrived in this Country of America. He would never admit it out loud, but he was not as powerful as Sun Wukong was. His Father might have been, in his prime, but that had been long ago. Only Erlang Shen currently had the power to truly go toe-to-toe with that Monkey. If it took someone of that level of power to drive off such a warrior, well, Bixi would rather not chance it if he did not have to.

Once he arrived in this Country of America, he would exchange his money at the local Moneylender, or Bank, and head east to where he knew the disturbance had been. If he did not meet with misfortune, the local Iron Chariots, or Automobiles, as he had learned they were called, should get him to his destination in less than a single week.

Once there, his search for the pair of Boddhisatvas would begin in earnest. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. Some more Character interaction between Jackie and his family, and a bit more Bixi's Journey to Gotham. Notably, Bixi has encountered a Green Lantern before. Jong Li, the Dragon Lord, was retconned into Post-Crisis Continuity in the early two-thousands as a Chinese Monk who had found a Green Lantern Ring in seventh-century China and got involved with a Concubine of the Emperor and her son. I remembered reading that miniseries back in the day and realized there was no real reason not to put it in once I had Bixi's arrival pegged as Coast City.

At any rate, the next chapter will be Jackie training in some of the new techniques that his Grandad wants him to learn while Bixi gets closer to Gotham in the Background. Then we'll have one more chapter before Bixi's Arrival.

Stay tuned. . .