Dragon Hatchlings

"... cannot understand a single one of his Southern phrases. ... And see her? She's Kimiko; the Dragon of Fire. I used to have a thing for her, but something about having every last bone in my body obliterated in her fiery rage just turns me off. ... That little bald guy is Omi; the Dragon of Water. Li'l dude may be suckish with slang, but he's the only one with any real, moral fiber. I bet the only reason I'm not dead yet is thanks to him."

Spicer was laying back on his bed, surrounded by mussed photo books. Many pictures had been yanked from their plastic sleeves and arranged, stacked into a sort of biographical slideshow for his youngest. When Tyke had curled up on his chest so willingly, Jack had bent his left leg up and crossed the other over so the ankle rested on his knee. His guessed his new motherly-conscience felt that this closed position was more shielding.

Jack slid the top photo onto the bottom, then lowered the new photo so Tyke could see.

"That's Raimundo; he's the Dragon of Wind, and technically the monks' leader. I don't like him because he acts on impulse – a bullying impulse, might I add – which gets me punched and tossed around worse than a volley ball. I think Omi's ego is rubbing off on him too, because he gets cockier all the time."

Tyke's beady black eyes opened and studied the picture. Jack had quickly noticed that Tyke didn't look at photo paper with a glazed-over glance like most animals, but instead with a naïve curiosity at what was actually in the photograph. That this little dragon was somewhat intelligent really pleased him.

Tyke made a high-pitched cry and spat a puff of smoke at Raimundo's picture. Jack laughed, but had to stifle it because Tyke didn't appreciate the bouncing.

"You're funny, Tyke; just as long as you don't ever actually spew spoke at him."

Tyke purred and wiggled back into a warm, cozy ball.

Jack's head tilted to the side, studying the baby. Then he put the pictures aside and swung an arm behind his head. The other hand gently laid over Tyke as a blanket, which earned a pleased chirp from him.

The teen grinned at the ceiling. Being a mom wasn't so bad. At least, Jack didn't know what his mom was bitching about. It was nice to have a little guy curl up near you after a hard day's work.

It wasn't long before Jack and Tyke dozed off.

I*~*I—I*~*I

"Good lord, I'm going to puke!"

Chase sneered and waved his Eye-Spy Orb away. "Then you'd better not get anything on me or my floor, woman."

"A baby dragon!? In Jack Spicer's care!?" Wuya shouted. "Have you gone mad, Chase?"

"Frankly, Wuya, after having to put up with your incessant rants and advances for five months, who wouldn't go a little crazy?"

The witch scowled and stomped her foot. "Chase, you know what that—"

"Yes, Of course I know what that hatchling will become."

"And you know that he will be in complete control of it?"

"No, I don't know. Which is why I let him keep the egg; to see if Spicer has the ability to take care of something so delicate, intelligent, and eventually deadly."

"But Chase, this is Jack Spicer we're talking about! He's a buffoon of the lowest intelligence! Why would you waste such power on him?"

"As opposed to what, Wuya? Wasting that dragon on you?"

The witch balked and snarled, but said nothing.

"As for Jack's intelligence, he is not as idiotic as you think. The boy is a technological genius; he can do extraordinary things when given the right tools. What he lacks is common sense."

"And you still think he will be able to raise this hatchling?"

"I hope, Wuya. I don't think he will, but I hope."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Such a waste."

Something in his mind snapped abruptly and he glared at her with fury brewing in the depths.

"If I want your thoughts on my decisions, Wuya, I'll ask you for them. Other than that, do me and my warriors a favor and shut up."

Wuya balked again and considered snapping at him, but she then saw the liquid fire boiling in his eyes. His inner dragon was coming close to the surface. That alone was what made Wuya bite her tongue.

Before her eyes flashed white and her hair reared up. "Aaaaah! A new Shen Gong Wu has just revealed itself!"

Chase's anger subsided just enough for him to raise an eyebrow.

"The Silver Kudzu," the witch hissed in her trance. "Gives one the ability to speed up time, but only time surrounding certain objects."

"An isolated time warp... like the Golden Finger..." Chase mused. A smirk creased his lips. "I remember the Silver Kudzu now."

Wuya's sixth sense subsided, but she did not. "We must hurry, Chase! We don't want the monks getting to this Shen Gong Wu!"

"'We?' You're not going anywhere, Wuya."

She growled at him, but could do no more than that.

Chase just smirked and strode past her. "I will go for the fight, and if you're good while I'm gone I may bring you back the Silver Kudzu."

"Really?"

"Only if you behave yourself. And bribing my crows to be quiet with grapes won't work; you should know me better than that."

She scowled. "You still remember that."

"I'm Chase Young. I don't forget."

She stuck out her tongue, but only because she knew he couldn't see. When he teleported away, the witch huffed and sat on the top step of his Throne level.

"If only I could get out of this place, I could find a way to get that hatchling away from Jack. Chase knows that he's wasting that power. It would be so much better if someone like me had that dragon."

Silently, she wished Chase could be her dragon. It wasn't entirely impossible; with some skilled seduction, she could win any man over, really. But Chase was a wild dragon. No amount of power could tame him, and Wuya's  inner woman loved that. Her inner witch, however, hungered for power, and that power could only be had if she stole Jack's dragon hatchling.

A crow landed on the step beside her, pretending to pay her no mind.

Wuya narrowed her eyes at it. "What are you looking at?"

It cawed at her and batted its wings.

If I'm going to get out of here, I can't let any of his minions know what I'm up to. I'll have to use stealth.