Fanfic / Out of the Corner of the Eye

Out of the Corner of the Eye is a crossover fanfic by wondertown9 that merges Jackie Chan Adventures with the Cthulhu Mythos.

Four years after JCA's Grand Finale, their world is discovered by the Outer Gods and Great Old Ones. Having long since awakened and reduced their own universe to chaos, the Old Ones have since grown bored. Seeing the opportunities presented by this newly found reality, they superimpose their own on it, retroactively inserting themselves into it. Now, the Chan Clan and their allies will face threats unlike anything they've ever seen, and this time they may not be able to win...

It can be found here, but as of December 2023 has unfortunately been declared a Dead Fic by the author.

Tropes found in this story:

• Abandoned Warehouse: The gang that the Ice Crew are trying to join when they first show up is based in one of these. Valmont later takes it as his own.
• Above Good and Evil: Francis White claims he and the other cultists are this.
• Adaptational Villainy: In the actual Mythos, characters like Randolph Carter and Robert Pickman were guilty of at worst being hedonists, who abandoned Earth to live out their fantasies in the Dreamlands. Here, they actively serve the Outer Gods and are working on awakening them.
• After the End: The Outer Gods and Great Old Ones have long since awakened and reduced their reality to chaos, destroying humanity and Earth as a side effect.
• The Alcatraz: The Pacific Compound built by Section 13 and its allied organizations is an artificial island built literally in the middle of the Pacific, with the prison sections underwater.
• The Alliance: Section 13 is now sharing resources with other magic-fighting organizations from around the world. Currently, this means the European Union (represented by France), Russia, China, and Japan.
• An Arm and a Leg:
  • White is missing his right arm. It's later revealed it was torn off by an angry dog.
  • Captain Black loses his left arm fighting the Shoggoth.
• And I Must Scream: Francis' first journal entry after being flayed depicts his absolute agony, made worse by his inability to die.
• Anti-Magic: All Mythos-related creatures are absent of chi, and thus aren't affected by it. And when in the presence of Dagon and Hydra, the Chans find their magic completely suppressed.
• Anti-Magical Faction: Section 13 has been rebuilt as this since Drago's defeat, while other nations are creating their own.
• Apocalypse Maiden: Jade is apparently the "Herald", who is key to the Awakening of the Old Ones.
• Arranged Marriage: Barnabas Marsh the Second and Bai Tza have a political marriage, in order to secure the latter's newfound allegiance to the Deep Ones.
• Artificial Limbs: Captain Black gets a robotic arm to replace the one he lost
• Bait-and-Switch: The story presents a couple of overweight women who might be Po Kong's host, who are both then eaten by the very thin woman who actually is.
• Battle in the Center of the Mind: Po Kong's spirit and the Shoggoth's mind, after she lets it eat her host. She fights it to a standstill, but is exorcised before she can outright win. Then Valmont's absorbed mind steps in and finishes the job.
• Beam-O-War: Tchang Zu and Uncle get into one, which the demon only loses when he distracts himself by thinking about Hastur.
• Benevolent Boss: Guerra is a sadistic, psychopathic assassin with a fundamentalist streak. But shortly after escaping prison, he provides his long-term henchmen with enough money to comfortably retire, getting them out of harm's way.
• Berserk Button:
  • Jade is furious when Paco suggests some people deserve to die. She also doesn't take being lied to well, especially by family.
  • White finds Christianity offensive, stating that his gods are not as weak.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: After being granted immortality by Nyarlathotep, Francis White asked for proof of it. Nyarlathotep demonstrated by flaying Francis alive, which he of course survived.
• Big "WHAT?!": Viper, when Mr. Boggs mistakes her and Jackie for a couple.
• Brain in a Jar: Ephraim Waite, courtesy of the Mi-Go. He's quite happy with the set-up.
• Broken Masquerade: The recent supernatural incidents, like the Shadowkhan attack on San Francisco and Drago's attack, have led to people being more willing to accept the idea of magic, and several nations are creating Anti Magical Factions.
• Brought Down to Normal: As a side effect of the Mind Rape Drago suffers at Hastur's hands, all the demon chi he's absorbed is stripped away, returning him to normal. Shendu comments that this shouldn't be possible.
• Brown Note: Even the Demon Sorcerers can't look directly at Hastur or say his name without pain.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: When Paco tells Guerra that he killed Paco's parents, Guerra says that he has to be more specific.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Repeatedly during the Massachusetts Arc, the Mythos entities and cultists have to restrain themselves from causing permanent harm to the Chans, since they're still needed for the Outer Gods' plans. Jackie and Viper realize this trope's in effect during a fight with the Deep Ones and try to take advantage of it, knowing that the Deep Ones will hold back. This works, until Francis shows up to deal with them.
• Chekhov's Gunman: In Chapter 2, Jackie sets up a meeting with a Mr. Banski, who wants to make use of his archaeological skills. In Chapter 8, the meeting occurs, and he reveals he wants Jackie to find him an original copy of the Necronomicon, which sends the Chans to Dunwich. Banski is actually Randolph Carter, and this is part of the Outer Gods' plan.
• Cosmic Horror Story: As to be expected from half the source material, though it's of the slow-burn variety. Lampshaded when it becomes a more dominant aspect.
  Ephraim: The universe cannot care about you, it never did, it never will.
• Cult: The Dunwich witches, the Order of Dagon, and it's implied others, are all organized under the banner of the Whateley Project, operating out of the network of tunnels beneath Miskatonic University.
• Cut Lex Luthor a Check: After gaining Lovecraftian Superpowers from the Shoggoth, Valmont averts any desire to try and Take Over the World. He just wants to regain the wealth and power he lost ever since the series started.
• Dark Secret: Uncle is implied to have one regarding his two brothers and a "good man" he apparently let die.
• Dead Fic: Last updated in May 2017, an announcement posted to the author's profile page in December 2023 listed it among other stories that have been abandoned due to losing interest in them.
• Deal with the Devil: Demons can offer things to potential hosts in exchange for use of their bodies, rather than simply take them by force. In this setup, once the demon's upheld their end of the bargain, spirit and host will be fused together. This is the kind of deal Guerra and Dai Gua have as do Paco and Hsi Wu.
• Death Seeker: Francis is in constant agony from having been flayed, and while going insane has helped him cope with it, it appears that deep down all he really wants is to die.
• Determinator: Valmont, through sheer force of will, keeps his mind intact once absorbed by the Shoggoth, and later takes control of its body for himself.
• Did Not Think This Through: Jade accues Tchang Zu of this when he admits he possessed the first weak-willed human he could find, leaving him with a host that's not much of a physical threat.
• Dream Land: The Dreamlands from Lovecraft's Dream Cycle are present. Shendu's learned to travel them in his astral form.
• Enemy Civil War: Shendu and Drago's fight from the JCA finale has since evolved to this, with the other Demon Sorcerers picking sides between them (Tso Lan, Tchang Zu, Bai Tza, and Xiao Fung ally with Shendu, while Dai Gua, Po Kong, and Hsi Wu side with Drago). This comes to a screeching halt when Hastur appears.
• Enemy Mine:
  • Shendu is trying to ally with Jackie and the others against the Outer Gods/Old Ones. As he puts it, he gets revenge for what was done to his son, and eliminates potential competition, while the Chans get to protect their world, so everyone wins.
  • The Chans and Section 13 fight alongside Po Kong against the Shoggoth. Po Kong betrays them by trying to steal the Shoggoth's power, but gets exorcised for her troubles.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
  • While he won't admit to actually caring about Drago, Shendu is infuriated by the Mind Rape his son suffered, and it's part of the reason he wants to fight the Great Old Ones.
  • As insane and nihilistic as they all are, the various cultists in service to the Outer Gods are still capable of feeling love for each other.
• Evil Duo: Ephraim Waite and Francis White, a pair of Old One worshippers who are always working together to advance the overall agenda of unleashing them onto the world.
• Eviler than Thou: The Demon Sorcerers can't even compare to the Outer Gods, and are actually scared of them.
• Exact Words: Hastur offers to help the Demon Sorcerers escape the Netherworld. When they all accept (except for Shendu, who realizes what's happening), he disintegrates their bodies, freeing their spirits to travel to Earth and take new hosts.
• Face–Heel Turn: Paco voluntarily plays host to Hsi Wu in exchange for revenge on Guerra, and ends up fusing into a new being with him.
• Faux Affably Evil: White presents a jovial and friendly exterior, but his own grandmother states that he's unable to care for anyone.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Finn offhandedly mentions that Ratso's got a job at Miskatonic University. When the Chans head there later, of course they run into him.
  • In hindsight, there's quite a bit towards the Chan family's connection to the Whateley Project, especially Jade's branch of the family.
• For Science!: Ephraim Waite claims this as his motivation for joining the Whateley Project.
• For Want Of A Nail: As a result of the Merged Reality, Marcus Malone/Francis White meets and marries Lavinia Whateley, preempting her becoming the consort of Yog-Sothoth. As such, Wilbur Whateley and his twin aren't born, but instead it's Lavinia and Francis' daughter Wilma who births Yog-Sothoth's twin children (Joseph and Jonathan).
• Freudian Excuse: The reason Jackie doesn't want to get married is because he's worried that with his dangerous life, he'll get killed and leave any children he has parentless, like happened to him as a young boy.
• Fusion Dance: The end result of a voluntary Demonic Possession is the possessing spirit and the host merging together into a new being with both their memories and personalities. This ends up happening to Paco and Hsi Wu.
• Genre Savvy: When the Chans show up at Miskatonic, Ratso immediately knows that there must be an end of the world type situation going on.
• Half-Human Hybrid: As normal for the Mythos, there's plenty of examples:
  • Joseph and Jonathan White are children of Yog-Sothoth.
  • Richard Pickman had several human/ghoul children.
  • The Whateley Project was dedicated to breeding these, to help bring about the coming of the Outer Gods.
  • And of course, there's the Marsh family, and pretty much everyone else in Innsmouth, due to generations of breeding with the Deep Ones.
  • Jade is actually a Thousand Young in human form, engineered by the Whateley Project.
• Hellhole Prison: Topo Chico prison, where Guerra was locked up, is apparently this.
• Hero-Worshipper: Jade's friend Stephanie is this for Jackie.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: Valmont is still in the awful living conditions he was in when last seen on the show. But then he gains the power of a Shoggoth...
• I Call It "Vera": Kepler calls the missile launcher in Black's robot arm "Michelle", after his ex-wife. Black finds this a little disturbing.
• Imagination-Based Superpower: Jade has this in the Dreamlands. Shendu is surprised, as it's supposed to be something only experienced dreamers can do.
• Landmarking the Hidden Base: The Whateley Project is based in the hidden tunnels beneath Miskatonic University.
• Latex Perfection: Viper's disguise while trailing the Chans in Arkham.
• Loophole Abuse: As the Ice Crew's lawyer points out, there's not any law against being servants of a demon/human hybrid who wants to collect demon chi. Combined with good behavior and time served for minor crimes committed while working for Drago, they walk free.
• Lovecraft Country: As to be expected. The Massachusetts Arc is dedicated to taking the Chans on the grand tour of it — Dunwich, Arkham, and Innsmouth.
• Lovecraftian Superpower:
  • Valmont gains this after taking over a Shoggoth from within.
  • He later has the Ice Crew given them by the Mi-Go as well — Strikemaster Ice gets bone blades in his arms that can shoot Frickin' Laser Beams, DJ Fist can twist his arms around fast enough to create tornadoes, and MC Cobra gets external blood vessels that shoot out acidic blood.
• Magic A Is Magic A: Averted. The Mythos entities operate on a separate level from the chi magic the Chans are used to. White finds chi limited by comparison.
• Mind Rape: Hastur sorts through Drago's mind for information on the JCA universe, rendering him insane.
• Merged Reality: Yog-Sothoth and Daoloth impose the Mythos reality on the JCA one, merging them together and retroactively inserting everything Mythos related into the timeline.
• Meaningful Rename: After Paco and Hsi Wu fuse together, the resulting being eventually settles on the name "Mara", after the the demon who supposedly tempted Buddha.
• Mole in Charge: Director Joseph White is Captain Black's superior and the guy in charge of both Section 13's administration and its psychological division. He also happens to be a servant of the Outer Gods (revealed to be a member of the Whateley family) and is manipulating the Chans and their allies to his goals.
• My Eyes Are Up Here: While she doesn't say it, Jade is clearly upset when Paco is looking her over and lets his gaze settle on her chest.
• Mysterious Watcher: One is keeping an eye on Jackie and Jade in Chapter 6. Chapter 7 reveals it to be Viper.
• Noodle Incident:
  • Shendu apparently once temporarily regained the Sheep talisman and used it to possess Frederich Nietzsche. He didn't find it a pleasant experience.
  • It's established that Jackie and Viper dated for a while, but broke up after something happened between them during a trip to Rome. In Chapter 12, we find out that Viper proposed, and Jackie said no.
• Older Than They Look: Asenath Waite looks half her age. This is thanks to Mi-Go tampering.
• Once an Episode: Every chapter opens with a journal entry from Marcus Malone, a man who encountered the Necronomicon and related horrors in the years following World War II.
• Outside-Context Problem: The Mythos entities, even the ones relatively closer to humanity's level, are like nothing the Chans have ever dealt with before.
• Psycho Lesbian: Asenath Waite is a homicidal madwoman who also happens to be gay.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!:
  • Jade, when Paco sneaks along on the mission to take down Guerra:
  "What. Are you. Doing HERE?!"
  • Shendu, when Jade trolls him by forcing him to repeatedly admit he needs their help.
  "I. Need. Your. Help."
  • When Francis is electroshocking Jackie and Viper, a Deep One reminds him that they're wanted alive.
  "Alive! Doesn't mean! Unpunished!
• Rape as Drama: Jackie is magically coerced by Wilma White into partaking in an orgy, impregnating one of her cultists. And then makes him write it off as a dream.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: Dragunov thinks that Niu Lin was appointed to represent China at the Compound just to get rid of her.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Guerra, upon gaining Dai Gua's powers, begins hunting down and killing all the cartel bosses who betrayed him.
• Rouge Angles of Satin: The author is a native Spanish speaker writing in English. As such, there are numerous spelling and grammatical errors throughout the story, though not to the level that it makes it unreadable.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
  • Upon learning of the horrors hidden in Miskatonic University, Ratso quits his job and joins the Chans in fleeing Arkham.
  • After coming into his new powers and gaining a significant financial base, Valmont flees for a remote part of Russia, in order to safely sit out the coming end of the world.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Uncle devises a new container to hold the spirits of the Demon Sorcerers.
• Shipper on Deck: Stephanie is this for Jade/Paco.
• Shock and Awe: Francis and Wilma White both have the ability to do this.
• Shout-Out:
  • Hastur's description of how the Demon Sorcerers' bodies are disintegrating sounds a lot like Davros' description of the Reality Bomb's effects.
  • When Dai Gua is exorcised from Guerra and sealed, Jade quips "Who you gonna call?"
  • When receiving fire powers, Jade sarcastically reassures a worried Jackie that she's not going to become the next Fire Lord.
  • Nyarlathotep's appearance before Randolph Carter is based on the Abyss.
  • Wilma White is stated by the author to be an Expy of Nerissa.
  • When Francis White reappears in the main story, he's now skinless and known as "Uncle Frank".
  • Chapter 11 is full of references to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
• Shower Scene: Jade is having one when first appearing in the story.
• Squick: In-Universe, this is Jade's reaction to learning about voluntary human/Deep One mating. And more so when watching Barnabas and Bai Tza making out while their mouths are still wet with the blood of the human heart they just ate.
• Starfish Aliens: The Mi-Go and Elder Things both appear.
• Straw Nihilist: All the human members of the Whateley Project (an organized movement of Old One cultists) see humanity as utterly insignificant, and are dedicated to aiding the end of the world, since to them it's inevitable anyway.
• Super-Empowering:
  • As an olive branch to try and cement a new alliance between the two of them, Shendu grants Jackie the inherent magic of the Talisman of his choice (in this case, the Rabbit's Super-Speed) to use in his fight with the Shoggoth.
  • He later does this with the others, allowing Jade, Tohru, and Uncle to respectfully take the Dragon, Pig, and Horse. As he notes, they're specifically taking the powers that make him the most dangerous.
• Tangled Family Tree: Hastur is both Cthulhu's half-brother and uncle.
• Time Skip: The story starts out four years after the JCA Grand Finale.
• Tome of Eldritch Lore: As a Mythos-based story, of course the Necronomicon plays a role.
• Took a Level in Badass: Jade, since the show ended, has been training as a Section 13 agent. After four years of it, she's a One-Man Army on level with Jackie himself.
• Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: Po Kong lets the Shoggoth eat her host, so she can possess it and its power. She then fights its mind to a standstill until being exorcised and sealed, leaving its mind weak enough for Valmont to destroy, leaving him in control of its body.
• Underwater City: The Deep One city of Y'ha-nthlei, off the coast of Innsmouth, appears during the Massachusetts Arc.
• Unwitting Pawn: The Chans and their friends and allies are being totally played by the Outer Gods and their servants.
• Victory Is Boring: The Mythos entities who were closest to humanity (Cthulhu, Hastur, Nyarlathotep) have grown bored since wiping them out. It's part of the reason why they eagerly merge realities to have another go at things. And according to Dagon, they've altered their grand design so that humans won't all be wiped out this time around.
• Villain in a White Suit: Francis, one half of the resident Evil Duo and one of the Outer Gods' chief agents, wears an all white suit. Though the effect is ruined somewhat by the amount of his blood it's stained with.
• Villain Team-Up:
  • White has forged an alliance with several of the Demon Sorcerers as part of his larger plans.
  • Bai Tza forges an alliance with the Deep Ones, marrying into the Marsh family to seal the deal.
• Void Between the Worlds: Hastur moves between it easily, which is how he finds the JCA reality.
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter 5 has Shendu first reach out to Jackie to try and form an alliance. More importantly, in the final scenes, Paco reveals he's cut a deal with Hsi Wu for revenge on Guerra; upon its completion, Paco and Hsi Wu are fused together into a new being.
  • Chapter 12 reveals that Uncle's brother Jie (Jade's grandfather) was involved in the Whateley Project, and also that Bai Tza has allied with the Deep Ones.
  • Chapter 13 hints that Uncle's Dark Secret has something to do with his brothers. The Chan Clan are forced to witness Barnabas and Bai Tza's wedding, giving them a taste of just what they're up against. And in the final scene, Nyarlathotep reveals that Jade is actually a human/Thousand Young hybrid.
• What the Hell Are You?: The mob boss that Valmont overpowers asks this of him after getting a taste of his new powers.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Jade is furious when she finds out Paco intends to kill Guerra to avenge his parents.
  • She's equally angry when she finds out the reason Jackie and Viper broke up is that Jackie turned down Viper's marriage proposal.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Jade's reaction to discovering that Bai Tza is in Innsmouth.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: A nun in service to the Order of Dagon is sacrificed against her will as part of Barnabas and Bai Tza's wedding ceremony.
• You Killed My Father: Guerra killed Paco's parents. When he learns this, Paco is so obsessed with revenge that he voluntarily plays host to Hsi Wu in exchange for Hsi Wu killing Guerra for him.