Chapter 23

The Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup was kinda hard to describe. Jackie was hit with a buncha different flavors at once. Savory, Spicy, Tangy, and Sweet all wrapped up in one, big-ass package. Jackie ain't usually one for super-spicy shit, he usually preferred savory to spice, but he hadta admit this ain't bad. As the abridged Yuen Family sat around the Manor's Kitchen Table, he slurped up the last couple noodles in his bowl and nodded at his Uncle Chen.

"Damn, Unc. I know you keep going on about Showbiz, but I really think you oughtta stick with cooking." He grinned.

"Enjoyed the noodles, did you?" Smirked Jackie's Uncle Chen.

"Yeah, I mean, I ain't usually one for Spicy, but this had the right amount of savory to go along with it." Agreed Jackie.

"Not one for Spicy? Michelle, what've you been raising him on?" Demanded Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"You know my husband was Italian, yes?" Questioned Jackie's Ma from the seat next to Jackie.

"So he couldn't've switched Pasta for Noodles every once in a while?" Queried Jackie's Uncle Li.

"Michael was set in his ways." Muttered Jackie's Ma, eyes downcast.

"It's all right, Ma. I miss Dad sometimes too." Offered Jackie, putting his hand on his Ma's shoulder.

"If only he could've done what you did." Sighed Jackie's Ma.

"You know damn well that quitting the Mob ain't ever been in him. He would've gone on about Omerta or something if anyone tried to bring it up. Dad was Old School like that." Frowned Jackie.

"And he paid for that loyalty with his life." Intoned Jackie's Grandad.

He had just returned to the dining room alongside Steph. The pair of 'em had gone off about twenty minutes earlier. On seeing Jackie's Grandad start stirring shit like that, though, Steph took a sec to head to the little girl's room. She clearly ain't about to stick around for the obviously brewing argument. Instead, Steph disappeared out the side entrance to the dining room like a damn Ninja.

"That is a bit harsh, is it not?" Asked Jackie's Uncle Wen, setting his chopsticks aside as he finished his bowl. He'd primarily focused on eating instead of conversation, but Jackie gave him props for sticking up for his Old Man, even in the face of the head of the family.

"Please, everyone here knows I did not approve of Michael Guzzo. He was not a part of us, nor was he a respectable member of society." Insisted Jackie's Grandad.

"What're you trying to say, Old Man?" Scowled Jackie, standing up.

"Jackie. Don't." Pleaded Jackie's Ma.

"Your mother's right. You may have caught up to him in terms of power, but the Old Man's the Family Head for a reason. You ain't ready for that yet." Warned Jackie's Uncle Li.

"Still, you could have phrased that better, Dad." Pointed Out, Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"And right in front of Michelle, too." Huffed Jackie's Uncle Chen.

"I sometimes forget that even as adults, you are all still children compared to me. If you would let me finish, as I was going to say, while I never approved of him, I cannot deny that Michael Guzzo at least did right by Michelle while he was alive, and raised their son well. That does not mean his misplaced loyalty did not get him killed, however." Remarked Jackie's Grandad.

"What are you driving at?" Questioned Jackie.

"I am simply saying that you might seek to learn from such a failure of loyalties instead of continuing to partner with one such as the so-called Laughing Magician." Answered Jackie's Grandad.

"So what? You almost get me to throw hands because you wanted to make a dig at Constantine? You know you don't gotta do that to insult that asshole in my presence, right? We ain't friends." Queried Jackie.

"No? You could have fooled me. Your uncles tell me that you've been going on multiple little adventures with the man." Smirked Jackie's Grandad.

"He's useful. So what? It ain't like Fate's gonna let him screw me over." Scoffed Jackie.

"And that's not how we put that." Insisted Jackie's Uncle Li.

"I may have mentioned something about it." Admitted Jackie's Uncle Wen.

"Wen! Really?" Demanded Jackie's Uncle Chen.

"I don't like Constantine." Shrugged Jackie's Uncle Wen.

"Nor should you. The man has a reputation that precedes him by entire continents for a reason. However, he also is damned hard to get rid of when he's insisting on asking for a favor." Frowned Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"Regardless, your choice of company is a reflection on you as a person, Grandson. Whether or not this Constantine is on the leash of the Avatar of Nabu or not matters not at all compared to how his reputation impacts yours." Chided Jackie's Grandad.

"That's enough, Father. You did not need to disrespect my husband's memory for this." Intoned Jackie's Ma.

"Ma?" Asked Jackie.

"Your grandfather is testing you, Jackie. He wants to try and goad you into a fight so that he can gauge your progress. I've seen him do this before with your uncles." Grumbled Jackie's Ma.

"You know it doesn't work if you come out and spoil the tactic, Michelle." Sighed Jackie's Uncle Wen.

"Still, attacking his father was a low blow." Muttered Jackie's Uncle Chen.

"Yeah, Dad. You could've just asked him to show you what he's learned. You did that with Stephanie, after all." Mused Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"You been keeping a scrying spell up, Lu? Only way to hear a fight going on past the wardline." Demanded Jackie's Uncle Li.

"I hardly needed to when I could simply observe how Stephanie had returned ruffled. Did none of you notice her hairstyle had changed since they left? It had been up but when they returned it was in a ponytail." Pointed out Jackie's Uncle Lu.

"You always were observant, Lu." Nodded Jackie's Ma.

"Well, what will it be, Grandson? Are you going to show me what you've learned or will I have to keep needling at you?" Smirked Jackie's Grandad.

"You ain't gotta tell me twice. You wanna exchange pointers? You're on, Old Man!" Exclaimed Jackie.

"That's the spirit, let's see how long you can keep it." Grinned Jackie's Grandad.

Jackie's Grandad led him out to the backyard, past the wardline, and out onto the lawn. They had around ten acres of land out here, and the mansion plus the gardens only took up about an acre or so. That's about as far out as the wardline went, which meant there were nine acres free to fuck around in. Jackie passed by a person-sized crater in the turf and figured that the Old Man'd planted Steph in there like a goddamned tent peg. Well, he ain't about to go the same way. As he and the Old Man squared off, Jackie took up a standard Hung Gar stance.

"Starting with Hung Gar? Not a bad choice, but I would have thought you would want to take things fast from the start?" Questioned Jackie's Grandad.

"I ain't hasty enough for that. If this is gonna be an evaluation, then we're gonna evaluate everything, starting with the basics." Retorted Jackie.

"Fine, in that case, I suppose I'll simply have to force the next level out of you with my Seven Star Mantis Fist." Grunted Jackie's Grandad.

Immediately, Jackie's Grandad took up a Preying Mantis stance before exploding into forward motion, launching a combination front kick and extended arm straight punch. Jackie was forced to parry the punch at the wrist with the Tiger Claw fist while kicking away the front kick. That locked both combatants into a grapple with Chi Sau and Chi Geuk techniques, each trying to trip the other up or get enough leverage to throw their opponent.

Jackie hadta admit, the Old Man was better at this than he was. The struggle was even for a few moments before the Old Man tried to pin his leg to the ground with his own leg in a Chi Geuk Technique. Instead of letting the Old Man force him down to one knee like that, Jackie stepped back, only for the Old Man to reverse momentum suddenly and turn around, slamming Jackie back with his shoulders and back and sending Jackie Staggering away. Jackie just barely managed to avoid the follow-on Long Fist Punch with a wild, Wing-Chun-Style, Bil Sau parry, slapping his Grandad's fist away with the knife edge of his right hand.

His grandad tried one more time to hit him with the same technique as he had previously, but Jackie was wise now, kicking out with his front leg and stopping his Grandad's ramming shoulders with a thrust kick. The pair backed off and made space, as his Grandad grinned at him.

"Iron Mountain Leaning? That ain't gonna work twice, Old Man. I'm a quick study." Smirked Jackie.

"Indeed. It would seem so." Nodded Jackie's Grandad.

"You know what they say, fool me once and all that." Chuckled Jackie.

"Perhaps we should switch metaphors? How about a game of monkey see monkey do?" Queried Jackie's Grandad before immediately switching to Monkey Style.

Jackie's Grandad rushed forth, moving low to the ground in a zig-zag pattern as he closed, trying to throw Jackie offa his game. That ain't gonna work, though, not after having learned from Sun Wukong himself. As Jackie's Grandad leaped at him, palms flashing out to try and clap both Jackie's Ears, Jackie instead took up a Western Boxing stance, slipping the double palm strikes and hammering in a right cross that Jackie's Grandad was forced to block with a kick, his foot parrying the punch even as he landed on his back on the turf. Jackie's grandad kicked out to try and sweep Jackie's leg out from under him, but Jackie was already moving into a falling elbow strike that forced his Grandad to abort his sweep attempt and roll away.

They kipped up at the same time and Jackie moved into throwing a Muay Thai Style Push Kick that his Grandad blocked with a Karate-Style Mawashi Geri, the front thrust kick parried by the roundhouse. The force spun Jackie around and he used the momentum to launch a spinning backfist that his grandad ducked under, trying to sweep Jackie's legs once again. This time, Jackie let him do it and prepared to pull his grandad into an Arm Bar as soon as he tried to take advantage of their position on the ground. He almost managed to cinch in the Arm Bar when his Grandad countered him into a Kimura, only for Jackie to counter that into a reverse Kimura.

The two kept countering each other for a while, exchanging arm-lock counters, before Jackie hadta kick his Grandad away. Both combatants rolled to their feet and took up stances again. As they did that, Jackie noticed the rest of the family'd joined them out on the lawn, watching. Steph'd even grabbed some kinda mixed drink with a little pink umbrella in it which she raised at him in a mock salute, 'cause of course she did.

"The rest of the family seems to have joined us." Mused Jackie's Grandad.

"Seems like." Agreed Jackie.

"That being so, why not put on a show? I think I've seen enough of your mastery of basic, mundane, martial arts, after all." Offered Jackie's Grandad.

"Sure your heart can take that, Old Man?" Asked Jackie.

"I'm not in my grave yet, Grandson." Chuckled Jackie's Grandad.

And with that, the pair of 'em both unleashed their auras and prepared to really get going. Both were Boddhisatva-level cultivators right now, so just unleashing that sorta power immediately cratered the ground around 'em and kicked up a localized windstorm. Jackie would find out later that doing this sorta shit outside of the wardline hadn't been such a great idea.

His grandad and folks, however, would be long gone by the time he found that out. . .

XXXX

Meanwhile, Across the Gotham River, in the Townhouse of Jason Blood, Occultist for Hire, the former Knight of Camelot sat meditating in his sanctum when suddenly, he felt a shockwave rupture through his mystical senses. His eyes shot open as he looked out toward Bristol Township to the North across the River as if searching for something even with walls and a city in the way.

"What was that? It felt like two dragons, but that's impossible." Muttered Jason Blood.

'To Dragons, I wouldn't give good odds, perhaps you should be looking into Gods?' Came the Demon's Telepathic Voice, rhyming in the back of Jason Blood's Mind.

"What do you mean, Gods?" Demanded Jason Blood.

However, the meditative state that allowed him to commune with Etrigan while the Demon was caged inside him was already fading. Jason Blood only had time to catch the Demon's laughter before it faded away entirely and he was alone again in his own mind. He would have to regain his meditative state in order to question his infernal half more. Jason Blood did not enjoy conversing with Etrigan, the Demon had ruined his life several times over by this point. However, needs must, even if the Devil wasn't quite driving just yet.

That being so, Jason Blood sat down in his sanctum once again and attempted to regain his meditative state. . .

XXXX

At the same time, in the pocket reality which held the Tower of Fate, Kent Nelson was suddenly alerted to the heralding of a fundamental shift in the metaphysical makeup of the Mortal Plane by an ancient artifact from the Period of the Nineteenth Dynasty of the Egyptian New Kingdom, a gift from the Wizard Shazam, just in case another being of Godlike Power should manifest on Earth. Frowning, Kent Nelson turned to the Helmet of Fate, placing it on his head and drawing on the Spirit of Nabu to transform himself into Doctor Fate and gaze across the Mortal Realm in search of the disturbance. When he found it, he could not help but sigh.

"I expect this sort of thing from the Boy. He has not yet gained the wisdom of age. His grandfather ought to know better, though." Sighed Doctor Fate.

It was true. That level of power had not been seen amongst the Old Cultivation Families for hundreds of years. That there were now Two Boddhisatva-level Cultivators in the same family was a major shift in the balance of power. And if he could sense it from the Pocket Realm of the Tower of Fate, then it was likely that anyone in the Mortal Realm could sense it as well.

"I hope the Old Man knows what he's doing there. He may very well draw the kind of attention the Boy doesn't need with this little stunt." Frowned Doctor Fate.

Then again, perhaps that was necessary to push things to the next level? What he was sensing was undoubtedly powerful, yes, but neither of those powers would be enough to stand up to Darkseid on their own. Apokalips was coming, after all, and if conflict was what had to happen to push the Yuen Boy to the level he needed to be, then so be it. Hopefully, he would rise to the challenge.

And if not, perhaps what was needed was a finger on the scales of Fate to ensure he did. . .

XXXX

Meanwhile, in the Great Wall Complex in China, the Accomplished Perfect Physician and the Seven Deadly Brothers were roused from their own bureaucratic duties as Chinese Super-Functionaries by the sudden ripple across their senses. Both were Cultivators loyal to the Chinese Government, both had gained their abilities in extremely unorthodox ways, but both knew exactly what this ripple against their senses meant.

The Accomplished Perfect Physician raced for the door to his quarters, the Seven Deadly Brothers doing the same. As they both exited into the hallway in their base underneath the Great Wall, both looked at each other and a silent understanding passed between them. Two Boddhisatva-level Cultivators in the hands of the West would be catastrophic if they were ever turned against the People's Republic.

"Where is the August General In Iron?" Questioned the Seven Deadly Brothers.

"Still dealing with the unrest in Dhabar stirred by the recent Coup. Apparently, Mullah Arghulian had hired Metahuman Mercenaries to help install him. The assignment is proving more troublesome than anticipated." Admitted the Accomplished Perfect Physician.

"That's enough power that the Scribes of the Cloudy Satchel would be hard-pressed to deal with it. We need to come up with a plan for this. Can't we call them back and just let the damned Afghanis sort out Dharbar?" Queried the Seven Deadly Brothers.

"You know that's not our decision to make." Chided the Accomplished Perfect Physician.

"Well call the Central Committee and let them know so they can approve it, then! I may enjoy fighting, but without a plan, this wouldn't be a fight, just an elaborate form of suicide!" Insisted the Seven Deadly Brothers.

"I share your concerns, but for now, we can do little until the others return." Placated The Accomplished Perfect Physician.

Left unsaid was the fact that there would have to be something done. After all, such power could not be allowed to run rampant unchecked. Even if that something had to go through diplomatic channels. The Great Ten had little jurisdiction outside the Chinese Sphere of Influence, after all, and less than that even in the West. However, the United States had its own form of Metahuman Police, the Department of Extranormal Affairs. Perhaps they could be induced to act while the Great Ten could not?

It was certainly an option worth exploring, at least. . .

XXXX

Meanwhile, in a Palace in Shiruta, Mighty Adam sat reclining upon a Jeweled Throne. He had sensed the new powers rising thanks to the Wisdom of Zehuti but cared little for such things so long as they did not seek to interfere with his rule of Kahndaq. As he reclined on his throne, book in hand, he decided that so long as no one gave him a pressing reason to uncover such a power, he would not need to get involved.

"Let the Wizard's new errand boy deal with it if it proves a problem." Scoffed Teth-Adam, turning the page of his book.

In the meantime, he had thousands of years of reading to catch up on in the few moments of spare time when he was not busy ruling his people. Those moments were already precious as water in the desert, for Kahndaq had not fared well in his absence.

He had little need to fill them with pointless battle against those who had not offered any insult. . .

XXXX

All around the world, those with senses to feel or a third eye to see could tell that something had changed. Bodhisattvas had been born from cultivation for the first time in centuries, and if two could do it, then others might be able to as well. The various Cultivators of the Old Cultivation Families all instinctively grasped this and redoubled their own training in order to keep pace and hopefully catch up to the two suns currently blazing their power for all to see.

And in the ancient places of the world where things of incalculable power hid themselves away, to sleep through the rising age of man, the shock stirred awake something great and inscrutable, nestling deep under the earth. Bixi, one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon King stirred awake in his slumber from the shock of such newborn power.

And he began to tunnel his way to the surface to see for himself what powers this new age had birthed. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we see a couple of things. First off, a bit of family interaction over dinner. Secondly, Jackie's Grandad testing him to see how far he's improved. Finally, the fact that two Boddhisatva-level cultivators are going at it outside of wards has caused various interested parties to take notice. This includes people like the Great Ten, who Jackie's Family has been trying to duck for decades, but also guys who weren't mentioned by name in the update. For instance, if Doctor Fate knows, you can bet the Lords of Order and Chaos also know, which means possible Mordru Shenanigans.

At the same time, this also includes Bixi, one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon King Ao Guang. He's effectively the Dragon Version of a Demigod which means that if he decides to fight Jackie, Gotham's gonna get wrecked in the process unless something happens to change that. You can expect that to come back to bite Jackie in the ass in the near future.

At any rate, the next chapter will be the rest of Jackie's Grandad testing his progress plus more character interactions.

Stay tuned. . .