Chapter 13 Making a Deal

Ezekiel did a double take. What? Were these guys pulling his leg? Were they lying their teeth off? He didn't know, and therefore was a little on the cautious side in terms of the emotional spectrum.

And yet…he was also interested. These guys were offering him something that he had been wanting his whole life. If what they were saying was to be believed, if it was actually true…

Wait, who was he kidding? Bringing someone back from the dead was impossible! No person in the history of Jump City…heck, no person in the history of the WORLD managed to pull it off! This was a ludicrous claim! These guys seriously wanted Ezekiel to believe that they held the keys to death itself, that they could help anyone they like rise from the grave? That was insane! It was stupid! It was…it was…

Jared let out a tiny chuckle. "I sense that you are skeptical."

Ezekiel sharply exhaled. "No shit I'm skeptical!" He scanned over the trio, his incredulity meter rising at least a degree every second. "It's impossible! You can't bring someone back from the dead!"

Jesse smiled, the gesture meant to look as warm and endearing as humanly possible (or possible for whatever species these guys were). "Who said anything about bringing someone back from the dead?"

Ezekiel blinked. It took him a minute to comprehend what he had just implied. Once he did, his jaw dropped. "Wait. You mean…my mother is alive?"

Jason nodded. "Yes."

Ezekiel shook his head. "How…"

"Well, you are right that she isn't alive in the traditional sense," said Jared. "She doesn't have a body that she can control."

"But she does have a soul, a soul that is still alive and fighting," said Jesse. He took a step closer. "The problem that your mother is faced with right now is that she doesn't have a proper body to pilot. She is just wandering aimlessly through the cosmos in the form of a rogue spirit."

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. He had already known this, or at the very least guessed it. While the Titans hadn't been so sure, ever since he heard about the circumstances of his birth, he had guessed that his mother's soul self was wandering the cosmos. But while that may be the case, he was still not one hundred percent sure of that idea because his mother's soul self had never returned to Earth. In his mind, he was one hundred percent certain that her soul had faded away years ago.

But, at the same time, this new possibility that she was still out there did make him interested. Sure, he still had no idea why she hadn't returned to Earth. But…if there was some sort of explanation, then perhaps he could aid his mom with returning?

"Go on," he said.

Jason took a step forward, smiling as he did. "Without a proper body, your mother is in no condition to return to Earth," he said. "So…what we are suggesting is that you aid us in building a body for her."

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. "Building a body?"

"Of course," said Jared. "It'a a long forgotten art in the world in which you live. However, those who know how to do it, as few as they may be, can still teach others of the process."

"And luckily for you," Jesse said with a glimmer in his eyes, "we know how to do it."

Ezekiel looked at the trio. This…was an interesting scenario to say the least. On the one hand, his gut instinct was telling him that he shouldn't trust these guys, that he should run as far away from them as possible. After all, when they first appeared before him, they looked like monsters, ready to do terrible things to him. But, another part of him, the inner child that still believed that a sliver of hope could be found in any situation, wanted to trust these guys. They held answers that he seeked. They had knowledge that he wanted to get his hands on. Even if they were lying their asses off, that still held true. Even if these guys weren't being sincere, Ezekiel could still pry some valuable information out of them.

He allowed his shoulders to relax. "Can you guys teach me this art?"

Jared beamed. "We would be happy to!"

"Unfortunately," said Jason, "doing so in this pocket dimension would be nearly impossible. We need to be brought into the real world."

"The real world?" Ezekiel asked. Curiosity morphed into questioning. "How exactly could you get into the real world?"

Jared chuckled. "I'm glad you asked, MidKnight. You see, there is an old spellbook hidden in the bookshelf in your room. It has a dark purple cover, and on page one hundred twenty three, there is a spell that will bring us into your realm."

Ezekiel slowly nodded. "Okay…"

"I wouldn't recommend casting it in the Tower though," said Jared. "You need to be somewhere more…remote."

"It would prevent you from potentially making a mess," Jesse said with a mischievous grin and a half joking tone.

Ezekiel put his hand to his chin. He was going to do this. He didn't even have to consider his options anymore. Of course, he knew that transactions like this meant that the other party wanted something from him. Realizing this, he looked at the trio seriously.

"Okay. If I do this, what would you guys want in return?" He felt a little jittery once he asked that. What if they wanted his soul, or wanted him to take the life of someone else?

Jared laughed. "What we want is simple." He stepped closer. "There are many treasures of unearthly origin in your mother's room. We would be most grateful if you could deliver them to us."

Ezekiel took a step back. "I…I can't give you those! Those belong to her!"

Jesse took a step forward. "You don't have to be frightened. We aren't going to use these treasures to harm anyone."

"We just want them as a form of payment," said Jason.

Ezekiel pressed his lips together in a serious line. Should he be doing this? He knew that some of his mother's treasures contained great power. If they got into the wrong hands, things would definitely going south for a lot of people. And these guys still hadn't gained his trust completely…

"How about this," said Jared. "I see you're still a little skeptical, so why don't we have the first treasure you bring to us be a crystal ball? It's only purpose is helping the user gaze into and contact the spirit world. We won't have much opportunity to abuse it."

Ezekiel thought about this, weighing his options back and forth. Eventually, he nodded. "You guys have got yourselves a deal." They did speak the truth; a crystal ball wouldn't be that big or much of a dangerous price to pay.

"Good!" Jared exclaimed, clapping his hands together in satisfaction. "We'll see you in the real world!"

With that, the surroundings cleared away until Ezekiel was back in his room.