Enter: The Jackal, Chapter 3
By Kevin Jackson
1:22am, Saturday morning. The Titans have brought Jackal back to Titans Tower to recuperate, and plan for the next course of action in this situation involving the Necronomicon. They all sit at the den table to talk about what's going on. Raven brings Jackal a cup of herbal tea, setting it in front of him as she cannot help but wonder why Jackal chose not to harm her.
"Thank you", says Jackal as he lifts the teacup to his lips for a drink.
Robin sits across from Jackal, intent on speaking with him as if they are part of a discussion panel. "So tell us, Jackal", he says. "What's the story on this thing that was stolen?"
Jackal sets down cup with a sigh. "...It's a book...called the Necronomicon."
Beast Boy scratches his head. "Nikker…nummi…corn??", he says confusedly.
Cyborg shakes his head at Beast Boy. "No, dude. Necronomicon", he says.
"Right", says Beast Boy as he nods in response. "That's what I said: Nikkernummicorn."
"NE-CRO-NO-MI-CON!", says an annoyed Cyborg.
Beast Boy tries again while scratching his head. "Ok. Ne...kker...what??"
Cyborg, now aggravated, stops Beast Boy. "Tell ya what. How bout we just call it "the good book"?"
Beast Boy blinks in confusion. "But I thought the Bible was the good book", he says.
"Fine!", yells Cyborg. "The Bible's the good book, ok?!"
"Right", Beast Boy responds, "so what book are WE talking about?"
"The NECRONOMICON!", yells Cyborg in rage.
Beast Boy scratches head once more. "...Nikkernummi-what??" As a result, the other Titans fall over animé-style.
Robin gets back to his feet. "Beast Boy, that's enough", he sighs.
Jackal continues with his story. "Anyway, the Necronomicon is the ancient book of the dead. It contains scriptures and rituals used for a variety of things, from raising the dead to opening the gates of the underworld.
Robin scratches his chin. "And judging by what we've seen so far, we're faced with someone who wants to do just that. But who would do something like this?"
"Perhaps Slade?", asks Starfire.
Robin shakes his head. "Nah. I doubt it", he says. "I'm sure he learned his lesson after dealing with Trigon."
"Trigon?", asks Jackal. "Who is Trig-?"
Cyborg cuts him off. "Trust me! You don't wanna know! Raven, don't tell him! Ya shouldn't have told us, but ya did! Anyway, bottom line: YOU DON'T WANNA KNOW!"
Jackal blinks with an animé-style sweatdrop on his forehead. "Forget I asked."
"Anyway", says Beast Boy, "what's the deal with those robot dudes that just handed our butts to us? They gotta be workin' for somebody, right?"
Jackal nods. "They do. They are minions to a powerful sorcerer known by the name of Lord Xanth."
"Xanth?", asks Robin. "I don't think I've heard that name before. Is he another one of those major criminal masterminds?"
Jackal shakes his head at Robin. "Not really. You might not have heard of him because he likes to keep himself and his operations underground. He's not a petty thief, like most of the villains you've probably dealt with. He's a powerful sorcerer whose only life goal is to become an omnipotent force on the planet. He uses an array of spells for purposes including forcefields, shockwaves, teleportation, and his most dangerous spell - power neutralization.
"Neutralization?", asks Robin. "As in depleting somebody's powers?"
Jackal nods. "Pretty much. This Neutrabeam, as he calls it, can deplete its target's energy and powers for a certain amount of time, depending on how long he holds his victim in the beam."
"Wow", says Beast Boy. "Yeah, he's definitely not from around here."
Cyborg cannot help but ask the question. "So let me get this straight. We're dealing with a sorcerer who has a whole lot of freaky power, can neutralized powers, and wants total domination. I already don't like him, but how's he supposed to be taking over the entire world??"
"Well", says Jackal, "as I stated earlier, the Necronomicon can be used to open the gates of the underworld. With this ritual, he plans to summon forth a powerful demonic hellspawn by the name of Shiir-Kov.
"Shiir-Kov?", asks Robin.
Jackal continues his story with a near angered look on his face. "He is a powerful hellspawn demon whose sole purpose is to dominate the Earth and the universe. To my knowledge, his power is unmatched. As is, I am barely a match for him, and his power makes Xanth look like a butterfly."
An animé-like sweatdropflows down Beast Boy's face. "Wow. That powerful, huh?", says a near frightened Beast Boy.
"Shiir-Kov is a true incarnate of pure evil", says Jackal, "which suits his location of origin. If Xanth were to be successful in this ritual, I'm not sure if I would ever be able to defeat Shiir-Kov."
Starfire steps up to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You do not have to fight him alone. We will assist you."
Beast Boy smiles. "Yeah, we can handle anyone, especially after facing off against Tri-"
Cyborg quickly covers Beast Boy's mouth. "Uh uh, BB. Let's never speak of that again, ok?"
Jackal calmly turns them down, not wanting to see them be harmed for his sake. "Please, you don't have to concern yourselves. This is my problem. As a demon hunter, it's my duty to combat and defeat threats of this nature. I'm the one they'll want in the end anyway. I don't want to drag anyone else into this battle."
Robin gives a comforting smile. "Don't worry. It's our duty to keep the world safe anyway, so we're happy to help."
Beast Boy stands with a sign of confidence. "Yeah! Besides, we can't just let some crazy nut try to take over OUR world without going through us first, no matter if it's an interdimensional demon or a midget with a butcher knife!"
Astounded by their enthusiasm, he hesitantly nods. …Thank you.
Robin interjects. "Just one other thing, Jackal. From what we just saw, and from what you just told us, it seems like these guys spend a lot of time and energy just to take you down." Robin curiously folds his arms while pondering his thoughts. "So,…I hope you don't mind me asking but,…what's your connection to all of this?"
"Yes", adds Starfire, as she is also very curious. "Why are Mr. Xanth and the Shiir-Kov demon so interested in you?"
Jackal looks down at the floor, worried about their possible reaction to his answer. "Well,...I don't think you'll find the reason to be very comforting."
Beast Boy practically brushes off Jackal's response. "Oh pssh, We can deal with it. So spit it out, already. What's the deal?"
Jackal hesitantly breaks his silence. "…Shiir-Kov is my father."
The Titans' eyes practically pop out in shock as they all yell, "WHAT?!?!"
*COMMERCIAL*
Two teenage African-American boys are standing in the middle of a basketball court caged off by a steel fence. A large crowd is surrounding the fence. Apparently, the boys are in a mama joke competition with a large audience cheering each one on.
The taller and thinner of the two, Darnell, gives his joke. "Yo mama so fat, she's on BOTH sides of the family!" He gets a loud reaction from the crowd.
Donald, the shorter and heavier of the two, makes his comeback. "Yo mama so dumb, she got offered Raising Cane's when she was hungry and said 'No thanks'."
Darnell is speechless, as is most of the crowd at this point. "Aw, why you had to go there, man?"
A narrator's voice is heard. "Popeye's. ...Yeah, it's that good."
*BACK TO THE SHOW*
Beast Boy walks paces around, disturbed at what Jackal has told them. "Alright alright, so you mean to tell us that this Sheer-Coffee, er, whatever his name is, is your dad, and he's a hellspawn?"
Jackal nods. "Correct", he says.
Beast boy continues on. "So that means that...YOU'RE hellspawn?? I don't get it."
"You mean you never noticed?", says Jackal with a raised eyebrow.
Beast Boy stops and looks on with confusion. "Noticed what??"
Jackal's eyes glow red and he lets out a loud demonic roar, almost making it appear as if he's gonna lunge out at Beast Boy. While the rest of the team is startled from the surprise, Beast Boy screams like a little girl and leaps into Starfire's arms, cradles into the fetal position.
Cyborg starts sweating. "Dude..."
Jackal's eyes stop glowing as he relaxes himself. "Forgive me,...but it's true. I am a hellspawn. The true extent of my power is unknown, but I have been known to go ballistic and frenzy when I get really mad. It's a rare occasion, but it has happened." Raven has a look of disbelief and sympathy on her face, knowing that Jackal's descriptions to this point are all similar to herself. She listens on to his story. "I'm only half-hellspawn, though", says Jackal. "The other half of my bloodline is from my human Earth mother."
Starfire has a warm smile on her face. "Really?", she says as she forces Beast Boy off of her. "Please, do tell us more about her. What is she like?"
Jackal looks down at the table, growling under his breathe. "…I'd rather not discuss it right now."
Starfire covers her mouth as she lightly gasps. "Oh. I am sorry", she says. "I did not realize it was a sensitive issue."
Jackal shakes his head. "Don't be sorry. It's an issue that I….can't freely talk about."
"Well then", adds Robin, "let's get off the topic and back to this ritual. What else does Xanth need at this point?"
Jackal thinks for a moment. "...To my knowledge, all that's left is 'the blood of an untainted maiden'. Only then will he have all the tools he needs."
"Untainted maiden?", asks Robin. "Where would he find someone like that?"
Jackal sighs a disappointing answer. "I don't know, but I have to be on the lookout in case his minions show up again, because this could lead to an innocent being hurt for their cause."
Beast Boy raises his hand. "Ok, I have a question. Now…what's an untainted maiden??"
Cyborg answers, "Know any girls who haven't been with a guy? Basically, they are considered untainted."
Beast Boy snaps his finger. "Ooohhhh, I get it! So that must mean that Raven is-" Raven has an animé-like reaction, appearing three times her size with lightning in the background and her angry flaming eyes are pointed directly at a scared Beast Boy, who is shedding drops of sweat like a rainforest. "Uuuhhh, the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world??", he says as he starts slowly inching behind Cyborg. "Heheheheheh."
Jackal raises an eyebrow at the display. Cyborg says, "Oh don't worry. They're like this everyday. It's how they get along."
"Oh", says Jackal.
Robin stands and looks at Jackal. "Well you're welcome to stay here, at least until we can help you get this situation under control. If you need anything at all, just let one of us know."
Jackal nods. "I will", he says. "Thank you."
It's now hours later, the time being 3:54am. Raven's tossing and turning in her sleep, constantly getting images of the impending threat from Shiir-Kov, and continuously thinking about Jackal and the beast within him. She jumps out of her sleep, breathing hard and sweating profusely. After wiping the sweat from her face, she looks out her window to see the moon at peak in the sky. She crawls out of bed, puts on her boots and cloak and makes her way to the roof of Titans Tower, where she unofficially claimed as a "thinking spot". When she gets through the rooftop door, a kick of cold wind hits her and she starts to shiver a little. Just then, she sees Jackal sitting Indian-style near the roof's edge. She walks over to see him.
Jackal's eyes closed in meditation. Just as Raven gets behind him, he speaks. "What're you doing up?"
Raven pauses in surprise that he knew she was there, then continues to step next to him. "I can ask you the same thing", she says.
Jackal opens eyes, looking out into the city. "I don't sleep much. Too much on my mind."
"That makes two of us", says Raven as she sits beside him in Indian-style. She wraps herself in her cloak, still slightly shivering from the cold breeze. "Aren't you cold?"
Jackal shakes his head. "I don't get cold. One of my abilities is to generate heat into whatever I want, including myself. When the weather gets like this, I keep my body temperature high enough so that I don't freeze."
Raven has a slight look of disbelief. "I see", she says before going into a moment of silence. She looks out into the city, as if trying to figure out what to say to him. "…I'm Raven."
Jackal looks over at her. "Hm. Raven, huh?"
Raven sighs. "Sorry. ...Never got to introduce myself."
"Don't apologize", says Jackal with a sigh as he looks back out into the city. "It's not your fault. It's just been one of those days."
Raven nestles herself tighter into her cloak. "Tell me about it."
Jackal ponders something to say while looking out into the city. "...Let me to ask you something. ...Why are you guys helping me? I mean, everyone knows what the Teen Titans are all about, but it wasn't even a half-day ago when you all attacked me, assuming I was a criminal. And now you're helping me. My father's no pushover, and yet you all are still willing to fight at my side. ...Why?"
Raven sighs. "...Well as much as I hate to admit it, I agree with Beast Boy. The Titans wouldn't just stand idly by while someone's preparing to overrun our world, and attacking you was a big misunderstanding. ...It's water under the bridge anyway, but we defend the world at all costs, including taking on this Shiir-Kov."
Jackal listens to her words as he closes his eyes and ponders over those words, still amazed at the enthusiasm being shown. "I appreciate it, but...Shiir-Kov is very dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt."
Raven shakes her head. "The last thing the Titans worry about is getting hurt", she says, "so don't concern yourself about us. We can-"
Jackal cuts her off. "I'm not concerned about the Titans getting hurt." He looks over at her. "...I don't want YOU to get hurt."
Raven lightly gasps and looks up at him wide-eyed, also remembering what he did to protect her from the falling wall hours earlier. She looks away for a few moments, then turns toward him. "Jackal, listen. I-" She stops as she realizes that she subconsciously placed her hand on his. She pulls it away and turns from him again, this time blushing lightly while slightly looking annoyed.
Jackal looks down at his hand, then back at her. "What's wrong?", he says.
Raven maintains her posture while avoiding eye contact. "…Nothing." She stands back up as she turns around to leave. "I should go." She wraps herself in her cloak before she would leave.
Jackal grabs her cloak to stop her. "Wait.", he says.
Raven stops and turns back around, wondering what is on Jackal's mind. Jackal positions his hands around her ankles, then his hands glow a light red. He slowly eases his hands up her body, from her feet to her neck, heating her blood with his power. She gasps lightly when she starts to feel a tingly heated sensation in her blood, lightly moaning under her breathe with her eyes closed as he works his magic.
"W-w-what're you doing?", Raven stutters.
"I'm heating your blood", Jackal says. "I know it feels funny, but this is the same effect I use on myself when it gets cold. It takes some getting used to, I know. ...There", he says as he finishes. "That should keep you warm for the rest of the night."
Raven opens her eyes and unwraps her body from her cloak. "…It….feels good", she says as she feels much warmer, even in the cool wind. "…Thanks."
Jackal nods. "No problem."
As Raven turns to walk back to the doorway, Jackal turns back to his meditation. Raven stops at the doorway and somewhat peeks back at him with a light smile on her face. When she turns back to open the door, her hand is grabbed by one of the masked minions, then she's grabbed by two more minions. One of them covers her mouth as she tries to scream, but Jackal catches the sound and immediately turns around. He roars as he hurls a fireball straight into the head of a minion holding her arm. Once free, Raven uses her powers to propel the other two off of her. Jackal rushes up to her.
"Are you alright?", says Jackal as he intently checks to see if she was hurt.
Raven yells out, "Look out!"
Raven waves her hand and slices an advancing minion in half with her powers, destroying it before it could attack Jackal. At that point, they are surrounded by a legion of minions. Jackal takes a defensive stance while Raven turns over her hood in preparation. They both attack their opponents, Jackal taking each of his half down one by one with his powerful strikes, and Raven demolishing numerous minions at a time with a simple wave of her hand. After cleaning off a large number of minions, Raven is suddenly shot and held in place by a bright yellow beam, making her scream in pain.
Jackal turns immediately. "RAVEN!", he yells as he runs to her. Suddenly, he himself is stopped in his tracks by another yellow beam, causing him to roar in pain as well.
Xanth levitates down onto the roof, holding both Raven and Jackal with the yellow beams being shot from his hands. "Easy there, children", he says with a smirk. "No need for roughhousing."
Jackal struggles to get to his feet as he guages Xanth's presense. "Ungh. ...XANTH!!!"
The shockwave from Xanth's beams sets off an alarm in Titans Tower, waking up each of the sleeping Titans. They each get ready to respond to the alarm.
"Let's make this quick", says Xanth as he releases his beam from Raven. He continues to hold Jackal in his attack. "You be a good boy and stay right there while my Neutrabeam dissolves your powers."
Raven sees Jackal trying to move, but to no avail. She turns to Xanth angrily. "So you're Xanth!"
"That I am", Xanth replies.
Raven wastes no time. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!!", she yells as she waves out her hands, but nothing happens. She gasps. "My powers."
"Hm. Nice try", says Xanth. "Hold her." Four of his minions immobilize Raven and rip open her sleeve over her inner upper left wrist. Xanth pulls out a needle with a one-inch-diameter syringe. "Now hold still", he says.
Raven struggles to get free. "Ungh! NO!!" She shrieks when the needle is jabbed into her upper wrist.
"There", says Xanth as he extracts her blood. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" He pulls out the needle, completely filled with Raven's blood. "Now we have everything we need." He releases Jackal from his beam, letting his minions grab onto Jackal. "You'll be coming with us, Jackal." He smirks at Jackal. "Your father will be delighted to see you." He then turns to Raven. "As for you, my dear, your services are no longer required."
Xanth sends out a shockwave into the sky. It opens a vortex-like portal – almost like a black hole – which sucks in its victims to be transported to a random location. Xanth's minions release Raven, allowing the portal to suck her in.
Jackal ferociously fights off the minions that hold him down. "NOOO!", he yells as he leaps up after Raven* RAVEEEENNN!!!"
"No!", yells Xanth. "Get back here!!"
Xanth creates a razor-like dark energy discus measuring a foot in diameter – this is very similar to Kuririn's Destructo Disc on DragonBall Z – and hurls it up towards Jackal. The disc manages to slash at Jackal's right shoulder and Raven's left thigh, but the two still manage to lock hands and go into the portal together.
Xanth is now angered. "Blast!!" He turns to his minions. "After him! Do what you wish with the girl, but bring Jackal back ALIVE!!"
The minions leap into the vortex, which Xanth closes afterwards. Just before he closes it completely, the Titans reach to rooftop and bear witness to the last few seconds.
Robin looks up at the black hole just before it closes, then spots Xanth. "What's going on here?! Who are you?!"
Starfire observes Xanth. "He does not appear to be a hellspawn demon."
Beast Boy points at the syringe of blood. "Dude, he's got blood!"
Xanth smirks at the Titans. "You must be friends of Jackal and the girl in blue", he says as he hooks the syringe into his side. "So I finally make your acquaintences."
"Girl in blue?", asks Robin as he looks at the syringe. "Then that's gotta be her blood! What did you do with Raven and Jackal?!" Xanth's only response is maniacal laughter. This angers Robin to the point of violence. "Titans! GO!"
They all rush at Xanth, who just stands with his hands down at each side and his head dipped down to where his eyes are covered by his hood. Robin leaps in the air and hurls five blast caps at Xanth, exploding around Xanth and blanketing out smoke in the process. Cyborg and Starfire both fire their respective energy beams at Xanth, also exploding and creating more smoke. Beast Boy then turns into a lion and attempts to pounce on Xanth, but instead lands on top of the smoke, seemingly to have landed on something covering Xanth. Once the smoke cleared, Xanth is shown concentrating his power to create a forcefield around his body, which took the impact of everything that the Titans threw at him.
Xanth snickers. "Pathetic."
Xanth sends out a huge and powerful shockwave, propelling Beast Boy from his forcefield and plowing him into the rest of the Titans and laying them all out. Just then, Shiir-Kov's astral projection appears in front of Xanth.
"Xanth", Shiir-Kov says, "forget these delinquents. You must rest. You'll need all of your energy to perform the ritual."
Xanth nods. "Understood", he says as Shiir-Kov's projection disappears, then Xanth turns his attention to the Titans. "How disappointing it is to find that the legendary Teen Titans are so inferior that they can't put up a worthy fight. Jackal gives me a much better workout than this. I must say, though, you've all got spirit, but that will not even help you for what is to come." He turns and starts walking to the edge of the roof. "Until next time", he says as he walks into a small portal and disappears.
Beast Boy staggers to his feet. "What the heck was that?! What the heck just happened?!"
Starfire stands and immediately opens up her communicator. "Raven. Raven, can you hear me?" She hears nothing but static. "Raven, please answer." She only hears more static as she closes her communicator. "Why does she not respond?", she says as she turns to her teammates.
"Her signal must be scrambled", says Robin as he tries his own communicator.
Cyborg stands in aggravation. "This is just great! He's got the grail, the book, AND the blood! He's got everything he needs to bring that Shiir-Kov guy over, and who knows that he's done with Jackal and Raven!!"
Robin puts his communicator away. "Don't worry. We'll find them, and we'll start looking immediately. From what I just heard, it seems as though we have time before the ritual, but we can't spare any, either. Follow me."
Robin leads the crew back into the tower to begin planning a search and rescue mission for Raven and Jackal.
TO BE CONTINUED
