NOTE: This is set AFTER the three-episode series "The End".

Enter: The Jackal, Chapter 1

By Kevin Jackson

It's 9pm, Friday night. The Titans are at home enjoying a stay-home pizza and game night. Already eating through most of the pizza, they've completed a number of board and card games, including Trivial Pursuit (in which Cyborg swamped the competition), Charades (where Beast Boy shined), Forces of Nature (I'm assuming that's the name of the card game they played in the episode "Winner Take All"; anyway, Robin won), and Monopoly (where Starfire carelessly bought everything she landed on, and ironically ended up winning because people constantly landed on her properties). They are now playing the final and most interesting game of the night: Truth Or Dare.

With a smirk on his face, Cyborg points out Beast Boy. "Ok, BB. Your turn. Truth or dare?"

Without hesitation, Beast Boy responds excitedly. "I'm ALL dare! Bring it on, Cy! I ain't afraid to go to the limits!"

Cyborg looks around while rubbing his chin. "Alright! Hmm…" He looks at Starfire. "…I got it. Star, is your room unlocked?"

With a confused look, Starfire responds. "I believe so. Why do you ask?"

"Ok, then", Cyborg says. "You wanna go the limits? Then I dare you to play the rest of game night wearing one of STARFIRE'S UNIFORMS!"

Beast Boy laughs at the idea. "WHAT?!"

"He is to wear my clothes??", says Starfire while scratching her head.

With a light smirk, Raven mutters, "This I gotta see."

Starfire leads Beast Boy to her bedroom to give him a set of her uniform. Ten minutes later, Starfire returns.

"Well, where is he?", says Robin with a smile on his face.

Starfire giggles. "Friends, I wish to present to you the new and improved BEAST BOY!"

Beast Boy struts through the door in Starfire's uniform as if walking down a catwalk. He shouts "TA DA!" while striking a pose.

Everyone in the room falls over laughing at the sight. Even Raven couldn't help but to let out a few giggles under her breathe.

Cyborg rolls around while laughing hard. "Oh wow he's SOOOO cute!"

"Yeah! Nice figure!", yells Robin while clenching his gut in laughter.

Beast Boy sits back down with the group, letting out a few snickers of his own. "Hey, don't hate me cuz I'm beautiful!"

"Ravishing", says Raven while covering up her last few feint giggles.

Cyborg sits back up while wiping tears from eyes. "Oh man! Remind me to get a picture of this!"

Robin wipes tears from eyes while still letting out a few giggles. "Ok ok. Your turn to choose, Beast Boy."

With little hesitation, Beast Boy responds. "Alright. I choose Starfire."

"Oh. Am I to put on your clothing now?", says Starfire with a curious look on her face.

While others giggle at that idea, Beast Boy gets a mental picture her in his uniform. "Hmm…Actually, you wouldn't look that bad, but first thing's first. Truth or dare?"

"Uhm…dare?", says Starfire while curiously scratching her head.

"Dare? Ok, then. I dare you to…" Beast Boy thinks hard, then looks at Robin, who sits directly next to Starfire and sipping on some cola. With a devious grin, Beast Boy says, "I dare you to smooch with Robin!"

Robin spits cola in reaction, coughing and nearly choking. "W-W-WAIT A MINUTE, WHAT?!"

A puzzled Starfire says, "Smooch?? What is smooch?? Is it painful? I do not wish to hurt Robin."

Cyborg says with a snicker, "No no, a smooch is a kiss, Star."

Starfire's eyes light up. "Oh! You are referring to k'sheeshee! [invented word; Tamaranian for "passionate kiss"] Ok! With a smile on her facve, she turns to Robin, who starts slowly inching away from her.

"N-n-n-now wait a second, Star", says Robin as he puts his hand out to keep her at bay. "This isn't right. We don't have to-"

Starfire grasps his head with both hands and pulls him toward her, her superhuman strength preventing him from getting away. It doesn't take her long to connect her lips to his and lock in a passionate kiss. Robin stops squirming and turns completely red, practically melting in Starfire's hands. The mouths of the others drop as they kiss, and Beast Boy pulls a flash camera out of nowhere and snaps a picture of it. Starfire then lets him go, blushing and giggling as he falls over.

Beast Boy and Cyborg yell "SCORE!" as they high five one another.

"Boys", sighs Raven.

Starfire sits back up in Indian-style. "Is it my turn to initiate a truth or dare?"

Cyborg nods. "Take it away, Star."

"Ok." Starfire thinks about it for a few seconds before making her decision. "Raven, do you wish to truth, or dare?"

Raven ponders calmly. "Hmm…Truth."

With a smile, Starfire claps her hands together. "Very good." With a confused look on her face, she asks, "…What do I do next?"

Beast Boy responds, "Ask her any question you want, and she HAS to tell the truth", then with a devious grin, "or suffer the consequences."

When Beast Boy mentioned the consequences, Raven thought back to a past Truth Or Dare game where Starfire didn't fulfill her dare, resulting in her getting tied down Y-form to a table, boots removed and tickled by the group on her armpits, belly and feet.

Raven shuddered at the thought of being tickle-tortured. "Not gonna happen."

"Alright, Raven", says Starfire as she thinks hard about a question to ask. "…Have you ever done k'sheeshee?"

Raven raises an eyebrow. "Done what??"

Beast Boy has a smirk on his face. "Yeah, Ray. You know, what she just did with Robin."

Raven's eyes widen slightly. Realizing now what Starfire's getting at, she silently looks away from the team with what seems to be an almost embarrassed look on her face, trying her best to avoid giving an answer.

Starfire leans over to try and make eye contact. "Well?"

Beast Boy's grin seems to get bigger and bigger as he taunts Raven. "Yeah. Spit it out, Ray."

Raven still avoids eye contact. She now shuts her eyes, as if in disappointment. "…I…um…"

The intense interrogation is interrupted by the sound of the Titans Tower alarm. A map is automatically put up on the big screen, shining red dots at a particular location in the city where a disturbance has ocurred. Cyborg is the first to stand.

"It'll have to wait. We gotta move!", says Cyborg with authority. As they all rush out, Cyborg spots Robin on the floor, still red and in a trance from Starfire's kiss. "C'mon, lover boy", he says as he grabs Robin on their way out.

The scene switches to an ancient artifacts museum, which shares a similar exhibit and size to that of the Smithsonian. Here, a silent alarm had been tripped. It seemed as though the theft had already happened and the thief left the scene, but another figure drops from the ceiling into the main showroom. The shadowy figure is dressed in a black and blood red sleevelss top, black forearm guards with various throwing weapons concealed within, fingerless hand guards, a blood red sash tied around his waste, black cargo-style pants with more weapons in each cargo pocket, and black stealth-like boots. His skin is a darkened tan complexion. He has shoulder-length black hair freely draped over his eyes, and his face is concealed under a worn, blood red sash from the nose down. He appears to be a shinobi. He steps up to an empty glass case which used to house an ancient relic; however, evidence of a hole cut into the glass shows that it was recently broken into. The placard on the case reads "Hades' Grail", and has supporting information on the relic. Before he could read up on it, he notices the flashing red lights on each corner of the showroom, indicating that an alarm had been tripped. He then turns suddenly when an armored security team of three guards shows up, armed with plasma rifles.

The Squad Leader immediately responds with authority. "THERE! TAKE HIM DOWN!"

They open fire as the strange figure dodges and eludes them with quick reflexes. As the chase continues, they eventually lose sight of him and begin to look around. Then suddenly, four white balls drop from an air vent in the ceiling and explode as they hit the floor, releasing knockout gas and dropping all three guards. The figure was hiding in that air vent when the guard lost sight of him. After he knocks them out, he creeps through the vents and emerges on the roof of the museum, where his getaway is interrupted by the presence of the Teen Titans.

Robin speaks with a tone of intimidation. "Exhibit's closed. You're coming with us." His intimidation tactics do not shake the shinobi's psychy as he takes a defensive stance, ready to fight the Titans. "Titans! GO!", yells Robin as he leads them into battle.

As the Titans leapt into action, Robin attacks first with his staff. Each swing was dodged almost easily before the shinobi disarms Robin. Robin then begins swinging kicks and punches, all dodged or blocked until the shinobi catches Robin's fist and throws him hard into the ground. Next is Beast Boy, attacking in the form of a giant gorilla and swinging punch after punch, none of which are connecting. The shinobi notices Beast Boy's careless fighting tactics and uses this against him. After Beast Boy's last swing, the shonibi dodges and ends up behind Beast Boy, conjures fire in the palm of his hand, then lites a fire on Beast Boy's butt.

Beast Boy instantly turns back to human form, running around and yelling like a classic cartoon character. "AAAAHHHHHH! HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOOOOOTTTTT!"

While Beast Boy is still running around, the shinobi peeks back to see a huge sonic beam shot right at him. He suddenly teleports out of the beam's path right before it hits, leaving a shocked and confused Cyborg looking on in awe.

"What?!", says Cyborg, looking around with a confused look on his face. "Wait a minute! How did he-"

The shinobi reappears in front of Cyborg, leering at hiim silently. With little hesitation, Cyborg swings a huge punch, which the shinobi swiftly ducks; then, in a single combo, he sweep kicks Cyborg off his feet, swings an upwards kick to launch Cyborg in the air, then leaps and grasps Cyborg in a power bomb hold and power bombs him back down onto the roof of the museum, leaving a slight body imprint. Cyborg is out cold. It is the girls' turn.

Raven is the first to strike as she chants her spell. "Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!"

Two pieces of the concrete in the roof lift up. Raven claps her hands together once, the two pieces to start closing in fast on the shinobi. He kneels and grasps onto Cyborg just before the two concrete fragments collide.

Starfire suddenly shrieks in fear. "Raven!", she yells. "What about Cyborg?!"

Raven gasps with a look of concern as she splits the concrete apart, only to find Cyborg and the shinobi have mysteriously vanished. Both she and Starfire are puzzled at the sight.

Starfire gazes on with widened eyes. "You...made them vanish??", she asks in confusion.

A sweatdrop trickles down Raven's face as she responds. "I didn't...I don't think I did."

At that moment, Cyborg drops out of a dark vortex cloud onto his back right in front of the girls, startling them with gasps.

A concerned Starfire rushes to his side. "Cyborg!"

Raven cannot help but wonder, "I don't get it. He…saved him??"

Without warning, the shinobi reappears behind Raven, grabs her cloak and wraps it around her arms tightly before tieing it off with her hood. He does this to avoid causing harm to her. Raven clumsily stumbles around, fighting to free herself from her bondage until she finally falls over onto her side. Starfire sends a barrage of star bolts at the shinobi, who chooses not to budge from his spot. All of the energy attacks hit everything except the shinobi, who merely shakes his head at Starfire as if to say "You're trying too hard." Growing impatient, Starfire flies in to swing a punch, but the shinobi disappears again. Landing to her feet, Starfire frantically looks around for her opponent. The expression on her face shows worry and fear as she can only imagine what he would do when he reappears. Suddenly, she feels the shinobi's hand covering her mouth from behind. Before she could react, he taps a pressure point in her neck with a knife-edge chop, instantly putting her to sleep. He gently places her limp body down on the surface of the roof. Then, out of nowhere,…

"GET AWAY FROM HER!", yells Robin as she rushes in with a flying jump kick. His attack hits the shinobi with much force, sending him into a side wall and knocking the sash from his face. Robin immediately tends to Starfire. "Star, you ok?", he says as he rubs her face in concern. "Say something."

The shinobi rubs bare face, revealing the appearance of a young boy who looks no older than fifteen years old. His eyes glaze a hue of black as he leers at Robin, and letting out a deep demonic growl under his breathe.

A sweatdrop trickles down Robin's face as the growl starts to creep him out. "…Who are you??", asks the puzzled Robin.

The shinobi takes a defensive stance as he calmly responds. "Fight me…and find out."

Robin takes a defensive stance, baiting easily into a one-on-one fight with the shinobi. He rushes to him as they begin intense hand-to-hand combat. Both are exchanging swing after vicious swing, none of which are connecting. After a few moments of continued battling, the two of them stop and regain defensive stances, each breathing hard.

Knowing that it's rare that many warriors give him such a good fight, the shinobi cannot help but compliment Robin. "…You're good. I'm enjoying this."

"...That makes two of us", replies Robin with a smirk on his face.

They rush in and begin round two. Other than a repeat of the previos round, the shinobi avoids most of Robin's blows and ends up distancing himself. Seeing this as a chance for a ranged shot, Robin hurls two of his red bird shurikens at the shinobi, who quickly catches them between his fingers.

Robin is shocked at the shinobi's reflexes. "What?? No way!"

The shinobi drops red birds, then immediately pulls eight throwing blades from the compartments on his wrist guards and throws them at Robin, pinning him against the side wall. Two knives pin each of Robin's gloves, one on each of his upper pant legs and one on each of his boot ankles. Robin struggles to free himself, but to no avail.

The shinobi calmly steps up to Robin. "Good fight", he says. "We should do it again sometime."

Robin struggles to get free. "What is it you want?", he asks. "Why are you here?"

Beast Boy stands up about ten feet away, finally putting out the fire on his butt. "Ah, relief", he says with a relaxing sigh until the shinobi suddenly lights more fire on his butt. "AAAAAHHHH!", he yells as she starts running around again. "WHY ME?!?! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Turning his attention to Robin once again, the shinobi responds to his inquiry. "I'm here for the same reasons you all are. Nothing more."

"Quit lying!", yells Robin with aggravation. "We're here to help the museum. You're here to rob it! Now what did you take, and what've you done with it?!"

The shinobi lets out a sigh of annoyance. "I know about you, Robin. You were trained by Batman himself, right? You also fight like him. I commend you on that. But there's one difference in tactics between the two of you: Batman does his research before he starts pointing fingers."

"Huh??", says Robin, confused at the shinobi's words.

The shinobi turns and starts walking away. He then suddenly stops in midstep. "Oh, and to answer your earlier question,…" He peeks over his shoulder Robin. "…It's Jackal." The shinobi, now identified as Jackal, teleports away from the scene.

Robin is left pinned to the wall with a slight frown on his face, left only to mutter a single word to himself. "…Jackal."

TO BE CONTINUED