The Ticking Contingent: The Countdown vo.2

Dark Shadow

Po and the masters looked at Zhen in confusion, seeing a look of terror and fury mixed on her face.

"Are you quite alright, dear?" Mrs. Jun asked gently. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Zhen stood there breathing heavily for a second. Her eyes were fixated on Mrs. Jun, but she didn't say anything. After a moment of standing still and breathing in terror, she quickly left the Sacred Hall of Warriors. Po was equally confused. "Could you guys stay here while I check up on her?" he asked.

"If she's that spooked, perhaps we should give her a minute to regain her computer," Mrs. Jun corrected. "Agitation does not bring peace. And clearly I remind her of someone. I hope no one terrible, but judging from that reaction, I'm afraid to ask."

"She does have problems with authority figures," Monkey said. "Maybe she knew a sheep emperor or something."

Mrs. Jun chuckled. "Now that would be nice," she stated thoughtfully. "But the only place I've lived is on a farm in the country. No royal jewels for me." She walked over to her desk in the corner of the Sacred Hall of Warriors and picked up a few scrolls and handed it to Po. "I take it you're in here for notes and clues," she guessed correctly to Po. "And judging from the few people here with you, I figured something went wrong?"

"Somebody attacked the village with a weapon we haven't seen in almost six years," Po explained. "And then Tigress got attacked by an old foe we met...we want to see if there's something unusual we missed."

"Hmm.... Let's see..."

Mrs. Jun headed over to her desk and stared looking through her notes while Po paced around the sacred hall of warriors. She suddenly pulled out a peace of paper with a triumphant expression, only to catch a staff that had been hurled at her head. The masters gasped in shock and relief.

"Drop something, dear?" Mrs. Jun asked cooly, still holding the staff.

"You....." Zhen hissed from behind her. "Why are you here?!"

Mrs. Jun flung the staff back and kept looking through the paperwork. "You must have me confused for someone else," she said.

"Oh really?" Zhen asked. "You're good at what you do, but I will never get those eyes out of my head. I know those bright baby blues aren't really yours, Chameleon!"

Mrs. Jun turned to look at her. "That's a harsh accusation," she noted. "And pretty risky. You just threw a staff at a frail old lady."

"And you nearly killed me! I'll never forget you as long as I live! You think you can just stroll in here and shape shift into a random civilian and get away with whatever crime you're plotting?! Over my dead body!"

Looking at the masters, Mrs. Jun sighed, shrugged and, then grinned. "I guess you want to go again," she mocked, and immediately began to shrink and transform from a gentle sheep into a scaly and slender chameleon with a long jade dress and a bejeweled headpiece. The masters all stepped back.

"What the-?!" Mantis exclaimed.

"What is happening?!" Po finished.

The chameleon looked at him and made a long sigh. "Well," she admitted. "I was trying finish the next phase of my plan," she admitted. Then grinned a very sharp and malicious smile. "But I suppose while I'm still here...."

Her eyes glowed bright green and she sent a blast hurtling at the Five, and then in Po's direction. The startled panda tried to block it, but found himself thrown into a pillar and dropped his staff in the process. Chameleon ran towards it, but Zhen ran faster and beat her to it.