The first time I met them was their first year in middle school. It was my second year as a security guard for my folks, who had been running the New York Natural History Museum for five. It was a school field trip that day, all the grades were there and it was raining like crazy. To make matters worse, the morning traffic was a nightmare. I managed to finally get to the museum, but the curbs are full of buses, so I had to park a couple of blocks away. I'm just thankful I brought my umbrella.

I walk into the museum and see this thuggish looking blond kid picking on this one shorter kid with a bad green dye job. Standin' by his side and obviously wantin' to pound him was an African American girl who looked a little athletic and this freckled kid who looked only half there. I shake the umbrella and my black trench coat on me dry very loud so I can get their attention to get the thug to stop botherin' Green Head. This got the attention of my folks and the teacher they were talking to.

"Ach, you must be ze security head, yes?" The teacher said in a thick German accent, not even checkin' on the students being picked on. He obviously can't read faces; otherwise his tone wouldn't have been so jolly. "But vhy arh't you in uniform?" He asked, commenting on the fact that I was in a black trench coat, with matchin' pants and a yin-yang symbol on the back, and the T-shirt to match.

"I tend to dress casual for my job." I say faking sincerity. My folks gave me the look where they know I'm mad, and should tone it down, but they know I won't… at least, not yet. "Jason Argo, head of security of the Museum of Natural History." I extended my hand which he proudly shook.

"I am Hans Rottwood." The man said with pride, a bit too much if you ask me. "And these are the students of Fillmore Middle School." I look the kids over and I start walking looking them over, as is the policy of field trip groups.

"Ok kids, listen up," I say with authority, "you will be assigned into different groups with a tour guide. Ya are to follow this guide and above all else, not touch anything. Other than that, enjoy yourselves." As soon as I finish, I find myself right in front of the thug.

"Hey, you don't need to worry about the Bradster." The kid says. "I'll keep the widdle trouble mak--"

WHAM

"OH! I'm sorry! This thing, its spring action and its broken and from time to time, it just keeps goin' off!" I say shortly after my umbrella hits him in the stomach. The teachers there rush to his aid, some of which give me a look that convinces me they don't believe it's an accident, and some just give me a look that said they wished I aimed lower. He then stumbles back into his group and I see who gets assigned and personally make sure that the jerk doesn't end up with the people he picked on. They all then go off in their respectable directions, and as soon as the green haired kid and his friends look back, I hold up the umbrella, back in its closed and ready position and wink. My folks then come up to me and once everybody was gone smile at my actions.


A few hours later, the tour came to an end and all the students met at the entrance. The thug, wisely, kept his distance from me and the three kids.

"Now zen, class, what do we say to the Argos?" Rottwood said, causing the class to turn around before me and my family.

"Thank you for letting us tour the museum." The students say. My family gives their welcomes and we say our good byes. I didn't think I would see some of them again, as the only reason kids that age, unless they are into history, come here is family outings, but I was wrong.

"Those kids were nice, save for that brutish looking one." My dad said. My dad looked like a typical archeologist, complete with glasses, a graying mustache, and a graying short hair cut. However, his look was that of a professional as he wore a red tie with a white button shirt and black slacks and matching dress shoes.

"Yes, shame though your umbrella 'accidentally' went off on him, hope he's not hurt too much." My mom said with a knowing grin. I get my red hair from her side of the family. Some say my attitude, but I've seen moments where my dad exhibited similar behavior, so I think I got the best of both. Don't know about the fashion sense though, as like my old man, she's dressed professionally only in a woman's power suit with matching skirt. Me, I'm the most casual, and constantly dressed out of my family, particularly my trench coat, but they know the reason why I wear this. It was a gift from a friend and Argos never return or exchange gifts from friends or family.


Two weeks later, I'm at my desk looking over security footage and invoices to make sure nothing is missing, when I look up and see a cop talking to the green haired kid and his friends from the field trip. I leave the desk to see if I can intervene. However, the minute I go outside…

"C'mon man! This is America, we weren't hurtin' nobody!"

...I hear the sounds of the legal system at work from the mouth of a middle school student. I knew what was coming next because I've seen a few of my friends busted by the cops. They're gonna call his family and they have to pay the fine and the kid'll get yelled at just for skating. Not today.

"There you three are, I can't believe this." I say, pretending that I know these kids. "I told ya guys that you can do this provided there were no other people and after an hour of learning history, not before!"

"You know this guy Argo?" The cops at the station know me by name, seeing as my sister is actually one of the best cops on the force. The thing about my blood line is that, for lack of a better term, is divided. Half go out to save the world, the other half learn and preserve its history. So far, I'm the enigma as what I've done is protect the world's history from thieves, treasure hunters, and even criminals. Been doing it since I went to my parents dig the first time when I was in high school.

"Of course I do." I say to the cop. I don't recognize him but he knows me because, like I said, most of the cops know me by name. Whenever my sister tells about my family and she gets to me, they don't know if she's makin' it up, or been watchin' too many fights involvin' superpowers. I then point to the green haired kid and I remembered his name from when the teachers announced it. Plus, kinda tough to forget a kid with a green flame for a head. "This here is Jake Long and his friends, Trixie and Spud." I say as I point to each kid as I say the name. "I told 'em that since they thought this was a primo place to grind they could, IF and only if they spent an hour in here learning something first." I say pointin' to the museum entrance. "And provided there were nobody around."

"Ok, ok, fine, but if I have to come back again…"

"Relax man, ya don't have too. Tell sis I said hi." The cop nods as he leaves and I see three kids smilin' back at me.

"Hey, thanks for covering for us… Jason, wasn't it?" Jake asks while shaking my hand.

"Yeah, Jason Argo. And before ya ask, I remember ya names from the attendance the teachers took." I reply before they even thought the question.

"Yeah, your mouth got our butts out of trouble." Trixie said as I shook her hand.

"Totally, I really don't want to explain to pop that he has to pay a huge fine. I used the 'Oh, elephants stampeded through the peanut butter isle' excuse last week." The minute that came out of Spud's mouth, I just had this look that was a mix of concern, and curiosity. Curiosity as in if he got into some special brownies.

"Uh… is he…?" I whisper to Jake so I didn't offend.

"Spud? Oh, he's ok; he just doesn't want to appear smart so the pressure doesn't get to him."

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight." I said with some skepticism.

"Well, anyway," Trix said as the three picked up their boards, "we'll be going now and thanks."

"Hold it." I said just before they could leave. They turned around and saw a smirk on my face and my arms folded. "Now unless ya wanna make me a lair to the cops and my sister AND my family, ya get yer butts in that museum and not leave for an hour."

"What!?" Trix and Jake said, while Spud just smiled and walked right in.

"Cool man, free Dino bones." The 12 year old said as he walked in.

"But… but… Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww man." Both Jake and Trixie said before marching in.


Two years. This fall, it'll be three and their final years. Jake and his friends would grind the rail and curb with my supervision and for an hour, they'd learn something. I'd quiz them on it and their parents actually liked that idea… although, Lao was reluctant with this for some odd reason. If they still wanna do it, the deal stands. I better remind 'em this summer. Of course, I might wanna revise it, since Jake seems to keep failing history… maybe an hour grinding and TWO in the museum for the thr--

CRASH

WHAT THE HELL!? Okay… giant lizards just cr-- no, wait… not lizards, dragons! And with them…

"Well, well Mr. Argo, it seems we--"

"If you say something about 'destined' and 'meet,' I'll hurt ya worse." I tell skull dude as I get ready ta fight. I haven't seen this dork for the last few digs, and now he's here… what magical thing is he after now? "Take yer fightin' friends and get the hell outta h--"

ZAP

YEOW! His weird glowy staff thingy nearly zapped me, somethin' set him off.

"NEVER assume I am friends with these foul creatures!"

That answered that. Ok, gotta take down this dork and--

WHAM

…or maybe the one with the red tail that just hit skull dork is on my side.

"Leave them to me! Get out of here!" The dragon shouted in a voice that sounds familiar. I won-- holy crap, its him! I d-- hey, where's skull dork? Crap, I gotta find him!


"At last, another Azt--"

WHAM

"OOF!" He slides on the floor pretty far; I kicked/surprised him but good.

"Go near that again, and I'll show ya what this guard can do on his home turf!" Oh yeah, I'm really ready to kick ass!

"Insolent whelp!" He zaps his staff again and I dodge easily. Fighting this guy for a few years on various digs have pretty much got me readin' this dork like a book. After he zapped his thingy, he started marchin' to the Aztec display. "You have no idea the power of what you have on display, but I on the other hand do and it will be--"

WHAM

One round house to the face shut him up. What the hell is he talkin' ab--wait… he's grabbin' the glass skull! Gotta think fast… no time! I jump and grab the back of him...

WHAM

…only to have his weapon swat me away like an incomin' baseball. This is not good, if only I had a steel chair or a bat like the good ol' days, or some sort of… weapon! The hall of swords! There has to be something I can… BINGO! I only hope mom and dad don't get too mad for this.

CRASH

Or mind that they're missing a chair and a glass case.

"At last," I heard a confident voice finally yell as skull boy is holding up what appears to be a crystal skull with peach colored jeweled eyes. "The skill is--" He's silenced by something swirling in the air and the hammer of it hittin' his hand, causin' him to drop the skull, which didn't shatter. The blade comes back at I catch it with no problems, which I have no time to dwell on how so because I got two mooks who wanna mess up my museum to deal with.

"Skull head's staff, meet the Boomerang Blade!" I hope I look more threatening than I think I am.

"The Boomerang Blade in your hands!? Impossible!" WHOA! Struck a nerve on that one, barley dodged his staff as it hits the floor after I moved out of the way. The time for talk is over, as we keep hittin' our weapons together, never givin' an inch and lookin' for an opening up until the fifth clash.

"The hell ya want with the skull!? Ya got one on yer head already!"

"But this one can grant me my--"

WHAM

Sucker punch for the sucker. He then gets up as I deliver a sidekick that sends him flying into a nearby wall, knockin' him out. I take the skull and about to hide it when I remember the two dragons and run off. Just in time too because I'm seein' the red one about to get stomped by the dark one.

"Say good bye American D--"

No way I'm lettin' this mook finish. I jump him and use the BB to hold on to his head as he starts tryin' to shake me off like crazy.

"YIPPIE KAE-YAE-YAY MOTHER FU--AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

CRASH

Ooooooooooooooh… why did that witch make it so that I won't break anythin' as long as I wear the coat, but I still feel the pain? Uh-oh--

STOMP

STOMP

"Any last words human?" The creature bellowed.

"Yeah..." I said as I struggled to get up. "Watch yer back."

WHAM

Guess that red tail to his back'll convince him ta listen ta me.

"You ok dude?" The red dragon asked in concern.

"I'm good." I say still ready to fight as I draw the blade. "This walkin' car insurance mascot reject on the other hand...!"

"No… you have the blade!" He says as he causes a pile of dark smoke to come out of his lips. When it clears up we see that he's long gone. The dragon and I make a quick check of the Aztec display and see skull boy's gone too. I then check the hiddin' place for that crystal skull… good, still at my desk. Minute I take it out, I see a look of recognition on the dragon's face.

"Thanks for the help sir." The dragon says in a fake deep voice. I let him have his fun for a little bit. "Now if you would be so kind to give me the skull for safe keeping." I smirk, knowin' now, I have him.

"I don't know…" I smirk while tossing the skull like it was a juggler's ball in my hands, "that wasn't the deal we had for you and ya friends ta grind."

"I know, but I need that sk-- I mean-- uh--"

"Gotcha." This time, it was a full smile.

"Awwwwwwwwwww man." The red dragon wined, thus givin' me my conformation.


After my folks talked to Jake and Lao, we concluded it was best for the skull to remain with Jake and Lao in his shop. After I told them about the blade… well… they said I should keep it because it activated when I grabbed it, meanin' it choose me for somethin', but wh-- wait a tic… that's the sound of a cape blowin' in the wind… I turn to see where it's coming from and see, up on the museum roof with me, is a giant bald guy with a toga and a blue cape. I guess while I was reflectin', he snuck up on me. I'd freak out, but all the stuff I've been through, a giant bald guy doesn't surprise me.

"I supposed you're wonderin' why I'm not screamin' 'Giant' right now? Well, after all I've been through, a giant guy in a toga doesn't surprise me… though I hope the wind stays down, don't wanna see the male equivalent of The Seven Year Itch." Nothing. "I don't supposed ya hear for the skull?" Still nothing. "The Boomerang Blade?" His looks changes slightly, I'm on to something. "I knew it, ya here for somethin' that has ta do with this thing! Well, what?" He doesn't answer, but just points at me. "Ok… I'm the one that activated, yes, but wh--" I hear what sounds like two people landin' on the other side of the roof, distractin' me for a moment. When I looked back, baldy was gone.

"Huh… I'll ask one of the Avengers or the FF later… meantime, I wonder who crashed the party?"

I head up to the commotion and I see two certain stooges tryin' to break in to the museum… probably tryin' ta get some artifacts Skullhead's organization's been after fer years, most of which is in the vault.

"Well, well, 88 and 89," I said gettin' out my blade, glad that I finally knew who their organization was thanks to Jake revealin' he was the American Dragon. "I was hopin' to get some comedy." Needless to say, the fight didn't even last 5 minutes.


Unbeknownst to any of the humans in the mortal world, in the realm of magic, in the home of the Oracle Twins…

CRASH

"Sara!" Kara said with some anger. "I keep telling you, if you insist on doing the dishes to stop br--"

"It's… its coming…" The woman who usually looked on the bright side said. "It's coming!"

"Calm down and look on the bright side like you al--" But before the pessimistic sister can finish her tired sounding statement, the normally optimistic one grabbed her by the collar.

"THERE IS NO BRIGHT SIDE!" She shouted in an emotion that she rarely has shown if at all: Pure fear. "The blade… the blade has been found… and the end is coming…"

TO BE CONTINUED…

NEXT TIME: The first month of Jason having the Boomerang Blade has just begun. Other than trying to convince his parents to let Jake keep the skull, what other challenges will Jason face between now and Civil War? Find out as month 1 continues.

DISCLAIMER: All I own is Jason, his family, and the Boomerang Blade. Everything else in this fic belongs to their respective owners, Marvel and Disney.

You can find the original fic right here.

/s/3468110/1/CivilWarTheThirdSideoftheCoin