Enter: The Jackal, Chapter 2

By Kevin Jackson

It's now 11:15pm, Friday night. The scene now is what looks like the inside of an ancient shrine, similar to those of feudal Japan. A large man sits on a throne in a room lit with candles. He wears a silver hooded robe [similar to that worn by Organization XIII in "Kingdom Hearts II"], baggy black pants and silver mage-like boots. His face is mostly hidden beneath the shadow of his hood, only revealing a thin mustache and goatee. A masked minion – wearing a silver hooded top with black pants and boots, a full-head black mask, and standing about five feet tall – steps into this room, kneels before the robed man and presents him the Hades' Grail.

"Glorious", says the hooded man with a smile on his face. He stands and takes the grail, studying it in amazement. "You have done well. Seems like it was too easy. Did you attract the attention of our friend?"

The masked minion nods silently.

The hooded man nods as if that was the answer he was looking for. "As expected. Now, begone", he says as he walks to an alter on the side of the room. When the masked minion leaves, he places the grail on the alter, then sits back down on his throne, looking out in front of him with a satisfying grin on his face. "…Lord Shiir-Kov. It is I – Xanth. I have the grail, as you requested."

A holographic image of a hellish-looking man appears in front of Xanth. He looks like a man in his late 40's, dark tan complexion and a thick mustache and goatee. He speaks with a deep, yet authorative tone. "Well done, Xanth. Your service has been most appreciated."

"I have collected this relic for you", Xanth replies. "Now I wish to claim my reward for my services."

Shiir-Kov replies calmly. "Patience, Xanth. Good things shall come in due time. Besides, the grail was only phase one. More must be done before our goals can be met."

Xanth stands aggressively, speaking out in frustration. "You mean YOUR goals! My only goal is to be omnipotent, and to claim complete domination, all of which I can accomplish WITHOUT your assistance!"

"Perhaps", Shiir-Kov replies with a calm not, "but know this. Without the proper tools for the ritual, I cannot escape the confinements of the Underworld; and without me, you cannot have your army of darkness to aid you in your quest. So if you want my services, you have no choice but to provide yours."

Xanth shows aggravation in his face, knowing that Shiir-Kov is right. He sits back down, leaning back in his chair with his chin resting on his fist. "…Very well, then."

Shiir-Kov smirks. "That's the spirit, Xanth. Now, our next step is acquiring the Necronomicon."

Xanth looks up with a raised eyebrow. "The what?"

"The ancient 'Book of the Dead'", Shiir-Kov replies. "It contains the scriptures needed to awaken the dead and open the rifts between Earth and the underworld realms. Get it, and you shall be one step closer to having your army."

Xanth shows a bit of concern in his face as he lowers his fist from his chin. "You should know that Jackal showed up soon after my minion fled the scene. Who's to say he won't try to interfere again?"

Shiir-Kov snickers. "Ah yes. Jackal. I know how predictable he can be, so I monitored the ordeal. Seems as though he's taking the blame for this little incident, not to mention an altercation involving him battling the Teen Titans."

Xanth can't help but let out a sarcastic laugh. "Ha. Teen Titans. That group of delinquents does not concern me."

"Nor I", says Shiir-Kov as his smirk remains in tact, "but as long as they continue to pursue Jackal like they did, he'll act as a decoy while we continue to collect the necessary tools. Wouldn't you agree?"

Xanth nods as he rubs his chin. "Hm. Indeed. But what if Jackal, or these so-called 'Titans', comes on to us?"

Shiir-Kov's smirk starts to fade away as he replies. "As far as these Titans are concerned, they are expendable. As for Jackal, do what you must to complete your objectives, but do not destroy him under any circumstances."

Xanth speaks with disgust in his voice. "Spare him?? Why should I spare his life, after he has caused us so much trouble already? What significance does he possibly have to you?"

Shiir-Kov sighs. "...Because he reminds me so much of…me, and I wish to confront him myself once I cross over." A smirk returns to Shiir-Kov's face. "After all, any father would seize the opportunity to see his long-lost son."

Xanth is left with a puzzled look on his face. "Son??", he says.

The image of Shiir-Kov disappears from the room, leaving the puzzled Lord Xanth to ponder over Shiir-Kov's words. Meanwhile, The Titans have returned to Titans Tower after engaging in battle with the mysterious shinobi from the museum who has now identified himself to Robin as Jackal. While no harm at all came upon the girls during the fight, the boys return home sore and worn out.

Beast Boy rubbs his butt, which is now covered with burn marks. "Oww. Dude, what the heck just happened?!"

Cyborg, sitting down in front of computer, answers with disgust in his voice. "What happened?? We got our butts handed to us! That's what happened!"

"Right now, if you're truly my friend, please refrain from using the word 'butt' around me", says Beast Boy as tries to sit down. He immediately hops back to his feet in pain, shrieking in pain. "Yow!"

Starfire walks to Beast Boy with a pillow in her hands. "Here, Beast Boy", she says as she puts the pillow down in a chair.

Beast Boy sits down gently on pillow, melting into relaxation. "Aahhh, that's Heaven. Thanks, Star."

Cyborg tries performing searches on the computer, trying to find records of their opponent. "Man, I've gone up against Slade, Cinder Block, Plasmus, Dr. Light, even Batman during an old training session he and Robin put together. I even fought Trigon on two separate occasions [once in Raven's head and once during "The End"], but I've NEVER fought anybody with moves like that!", he yells with annoyance. He turns toward his teammates. "Who was that guy?!"

Robin leans against a side wall, still pondering over what was said to him. "...Jackal."

The team looks over at Robin. "What?", says Cyborg.

Robin replies, "...His name is Jackal."

Raven raises an eyebrow. "Jackal?? You mean like the animal?"

Beast Boy can't help but scratch his chin in curiosity. "Hmm. You know something? After what I just saw, that totally makes sense."

Cyborg is annoyed, yet confused. "Dude, what does a scrawny wolf hafta do with this guy??"

Beast Boy stands. "Ok, time out. You just owned us in Trivial Pursuit, but you don't know anything about a jackal??"

Cyborg has a blank look on his face. "What're you talking about?"

Beast Boy starts sitting back down. "Hello??" He hops back up as his butt still stings a bit. "Eep!" He gently sits back down onto his pillow. "Ah. First of all, jackals aren't wolves, just relatives of wolves. Second, jackals are slender and fast, mostly active at night, and great at concealment, all of which is why they're very similar to wolves. The only difference is that jackals are smaller and have a different colored coat because they live in different habitats than wolves."

Cyborg cuts him off. "Ok ok, I did't ask for a National Geographic special, BB."

"Dude, you're talkin' to a guy with a handbag of animal forms", says Beast Boy with confidence. "I know these things."

Robin can't help but side with Beast Boy. "Believe it or not, Beast Boy's right", he says. "Every physical trait he just described sounds exactly like who we just fought. It makes sense"

Raven speaks as she ponders about Jackal. "Not only that,...I sensed a strange aura from him."

Starfire replies curiously. "In what way, Raven?"

"His powers don't seem like those of a typical ninja sorcerer", says Raven, "and even though he had me tied up and I couldn't see, I heard the way he growled. It's as if he's a demon, or something not of this world, but...I can't quite put my finger on it."

Cyborg punches his palm. "Sounds like a good suspect to me", he says with a tone of determination. "He makes Slade look like a Cabbage Patch Kid."

Robin thinks back to what Jackal said to him before they parted ways. He quickly speaks out. "Hold on. Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. ...I don't think he's a thief."

Beast Boy explodes. "What?! Dude, have you lost it?! This guy roasted my buns like a slab of prime rib!"

"And like Raven said," Cyborg adds, "he seemed pretty shady."

Beast Boy's rant continues. "I mean dude! You don't do that to my buns! What did my buns ever do to him?! When was the last time I was at his house and totally ripped one in front of-"

Robin cuts him off with a huge sweatdrop on his head. "Alright alright, we get it Beast Boy. Hear me out, though. Everything in that museum is priceless, right?

Cyborg replies. "Well yeah, the only affordable stuff is in the gift shop. Even Bill Gates has to take out a loan to buy the cheapest relic in there."

"Exactly", confirms Robin, "so if Jackal really robbed the museum, he wouldn't have stayed there as long as he did just to fight us. And he obviously has teleportation abilities, so he would've ported out of there the second he saw us."

Starfire gasps. "That is true. Even Slade always tried to elude us when he stole valuable technology."

"That's right", says Robin. He stops himself for a brief moment. "Which reminds me." He turns to Cyborg. "Cyborg, can you pull up any records of what was stolen from the museum?"

Cyborg immediately begins pulling up a police report on the computer. Finding what he is looking for, he skins the information for a moment. "Let's see. ...According to the museum owner's report he filed to the cops, the relic is called 'Hades' Grail'".

"Hades?", asks Robin intuitively. "As in Hades, the Greek god of the underworld?

Raven gasps. "No", she says with an expression of shock in her eyes.

"What?", asks Robin.

Raven's few seconds of silence is broken by her explanation. "...I remember going to that exhibit when it opened. Legend has it that Hades' Grail was used in ancient ceremonial rituals to open a rift between the world we know and the underworld, allowing Hades and his minions to walk among man and terrorize all as we know it."

Beast Boy is confused by her words, but tries to understand. "…O-k, so what you're telling me is this brings Hell on Earth?"

Raven nods.

Beast Boy suddenly freaks out, running around the room in a panic. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! WE'RE DOOMED!! IT'S TRIGON ALL OVER AGAIN, DUDES!!!" He tugs on Robin's shirt. "WHAT DO WE DO?! WHAT DO WE DO?!"

Robin smacks Beast Boy across the face to calm him down. "Get a grip, Beast Boy!"

With that smack to the face, Beast Boy snaps out of his frenzy and shakes it off. "...Ok. I'm cool." He then gets smacked upside his head by Cyborg. "Ow!" He turns to Cyborg in anger. "I said I was ok!"

Cyborg looks at him with annoyance. "I know. That one was for being stupid."

Beast Boy morphs into a grizzly bear and locks eyes with Cyborg as if the two were about to fight. Their staredown is immediately broken up by Robin.

"Ok, take it easy, you two", Robin says to calm them down. Beast Boy morphs to human form shortly after. "We're not gonna let something like that happen again. Now I don't know who robbed that museum, but it couldn't have been Jackal. When we ran into him, he wasn't carrying any items on him or any bags, and look at the size of the grail."

Cyborg examines the photograph on the computer. "Wow!", he replies. "That thing's huge! I can drink three cans of root beer out of that thing."

"See?", Robin replies. "There's no way we could've concealed that thing in his clothes without us seeing it. All I'm saying is that he didn't have it at all. And judging by how stealthy he is, there's no way he could've tripped the alarm, which means he couldn't have stolen it."

Starfire's curiosity comes into play again. "Then, if he did not steal it,...who did?"

Robin rubs his chin as he thinks about the situation. "…I'm not sure", he says, "but I think I know where we can start."

"Where?", asks Cyborg.

Robin has a flashback to Jackal's words. "I'm here for the same reasons you all are. Nothing more." With that, he realizes what they can do. "...We start wherever Jackal ends up next.

The team raises an eyebrow at Robin, realizing his suggestion that they search for Jackal.

*invented commercial*

Standing ten feet away from a trampoline is Steve-O, wearing a fresh pair of Sneaux shoes. "Hi! I'm Steve O, and Sneaux shoes are so righteous, you can leap tall piles of manure in a single bound." [NOTE: Don't try this at home!] He runs toward the trampoline, which lies near a twenty-foot-high mountain of manure with a bullseye marked on the other side. Steve O jumps off of the trampoline in an attempt to leap over the tall manure pile only to end up slamming directly into it and rolling down the side, ending up on the ground and completely covered in manure. Steve O find himself laughing and grossed out at the same time. "Well, it's a darn good shoe", he says before cutting to a close-up of a clean Sneaux shoe sitting on the sidelines.

*now back to the story*

12:26am, Saturday morning. The scene is a high-security storage facility designed to house new archeological findings. Here, discoveries are refined, cleaned and stored while respective museums prepare their own storage and/or exhibits for these items. These things are stored behind a digital cipher-locked door, which his guarded by two armed guards, each with a plasma rifle. As the guards stand their normal patrols, the facility's alarm goes off, and they stand ready with their rifles. The guards' comm links beep in a transmission. "ALL UNITS, THIS IS ALPHA 1! THE FACILITY IS UNDER ATTACK! REPEAT – THE FACILITY IS UNDER ATTACK! EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION AND—AAAAAHHH!!" The transmission is suddenly cut. As the guards cock their plasma rifles in anticipation of an attack, one of the guards steps out to get a forward advancement on the impending threat. As they both look around, they hear what almost sounds like an echoed pin drop.

"Did you hear that?", says the guard who stepped out.

The guard still in the doorway replies. "I heard something, but I don't see-" He suddenly gets knocked out by a masked minion who jump kicks him out of nowhere.

The first guard turns around abruptly, yelling "HOLD IT!" as he takes aim. A second minion drops from the ceiling and lands on his rifle, causing the guard to fire at the floor because of the weight. "What-" His words barely leave his mouth before he gets knocked out when the minion roundhouse kicks the side of his head.

Both minions stand after easily taking out the security outside the vault. Moments later, the vault door opens. Another guard steps out.

"You guys ok?", he says before he sees the minions. "WHAT THE?!" He points his rifle, but a third minion swoops out of nowhere and snatches the rifle from his grasp. "HEY!"

At that moment, a fourth minion dashes out and clotheslines his legs to take him off his feet and lean him forward. Once he was off his feet, a fifth minion drops from the ceiling and stomps down on the back of his head, driving his face into the floor and knocking him out cold. All five minions stand victorious, one still holding the rifle that he snatched. The minion that tripped the guard took a security access card from the guard's belt. The other minion drops the rifle as all five enter the vault and close the door behind them.

Inside, they each search the vault for the Necronomicon. They're mostly finding marked cases and drawers, and tables with archeological findings that were either being studied or cleaned during daytime hours. One of the minions finds a metal storage container – about the size of a large treasure chest – sitting at the end of the table. This container is locked by a digital keypad with a cardswipe connected to it. The minion waves over his comrades when he finds it, and the minion with the keycard swipes it on the keypad to open it. Once opened, they find what looks like a book wrapped in a smooth-material cloth. One of the minions picks it up and removes the cloth to reveal a leather-clad book with a demon's face on the cover, locked by a special lock that only a coin-shaped object can open, and wrapped by a thin chain with a coin-shaped object hanging from the chain. They have found the Necronomicon. Just as they confirmed their find, they hear a card swipe outside the vault door. They all dash from view as the door opens.

Five more armed guards enter the room. The leader of the team signals for them to spread out within the vault as he locked the door back. They slowly inch around the vault to make sure nothing was tampered with or missing. One of the guards sees the opened container that used to house the Necronomicon.

The guard gasps, then runs to the opened container. "Sir! The book! It's gone!"

The security leader turns abruptly. "Gone?!" At that moment, he hears the door opening. He turns to see the minions making their escape. "THERE! THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!"

The guards open fire, but the minions make it out the door, shutting it behind them. Once they're all outside, the one carrying the book hurls a throwing star into the keypad to disable it, preventing the door from being opened on either side. The minion carrying the keycard crushes it as they all make their escape from the facility.

Once outside, they dash through the woods behind the facility. While making their way through the woods, they hear the echo of a demonic monster's growl. They stop in their tracks. Surveying the area, the minions are being very cautious as to what might be following them. After moments of silence, Jackal drops down from a tree branch. Using swift kicks and strong punches, he takes out four of them in three seconds. When the fifth minion with the Necronomicon attempts a reversal attack, Jackal ducks it and back elbows the minion to the ground, then jumps near him.

"That's far enough!", he says in an authorative demonic tone.

One of the minions dropkicks Jackal from behind, knocking him onto the ground. When Jackal regains his stance, four of the minions engage in battle with him while the fifth minion attempts to escape with the Necronomicon. Jackal fights off the other four minions as quickly as he can, then teleports into the path of the escaping minion and straight palms him straight in the nose, dropping him instantly and allowing Jackal to retrieve the Necronomicon. The other minions attempted regain control of their stolen item, but Jackal manages to fight them off one at a time. One attempt at an attack ended up with Jackal catching the minion's leg, roaring aggressively in his face, and then throwing him head first into a tree, causing the minion to crack open his head and sparks flying out of his head.

Jackal looks on, surprised at the sight. "Machines??"

While distracted, a minion tosses white balls on the ground that release a thick smokescreen. A few seconds later, another minion sneaks up and kicks Jackal across the head, dropping him to the ground and allowing them to retrieve the Necronomicon, then they make a break for it. While Jackal regains his composure, he lets out a deep growl before getting back up and following them.

The minions manage to get back onto the city streets. They end up stopping in their tracks once Jackal reappears ten feet in front of them, growling and flaming up his hands. After a short stare down, about six white balls drop in front of Jackal and explode in front of him, propelling him hard into a side wall. He then shakes it off and looks up and sees the rooftops swarmed with more minions. They all leap down – looks like two dozen total – and surround Jackal. Just when it looked like Jackal was outnumbered, a large proton beam takes out at least ten of them. Then everyone's attention turns to an approaching blue/silver cruiser with a proton cannon sticking out of the roof. It stops on a dime and the Teen Titans emerge from the vehicle.

"BOOYAH!", yells Cyborg excitdly. "Gotta love my baby's proton cannon!"

While somewhat caught off guard by their presence, Jackal mutters to himself. "Them again?"

As the minions advance on the Titans, Robin gives his command. "Titans! GO!"

Everyone engages in battle. Jackal keeps his eyes on the minion who's in possession of the Necronomicon. When the minion tries to make its escape, Jackal hurls a fireball at it, causing it to drop the book. Robin retrieves it.

"Got it!", shouts Robin. "…Whatever it is." He gets kicked in the back and drops it, allowing another minion to retrieve it and make its getaway.

Beast Boy sees the minion attempting to escape. "No, I got it!", he yells as he turns into a falcon. He snatches the book in his talons and takes to the sky. Before he gets far, a minion tosses a flash ball at Beast Boy and blinds him, causing him to drop the book and allowing another minion to retrieve it.

Growing impatient, Jackal teleports in front of the escaping minion, snatches the Necronomicon, and then bats the minion into a side wall, crushing its internal circuitry. Just as Jackal turns around, a minion perched on a short rooftop hurls an eight-inch blade straight into Jackal's left shoulder, making him fall and roar a demonic roar of pain and allowing the minion to retrieve the book. Raven hears Jackal's loud demonic roar of pain after she dispatches a few more minions, then stops the one with the book. She ports in front of it and holds it in place with a wave of her hand, then she waves her other hand to levitate the book into her grasp.

"This doesn't belong to you", she says as she breaks the minion apart with her powers. She looks at the book and is shocked beyond belief when she realizes what it is. "No. The Necronomi-"

At that second, she gets tied up from head to toe by another minion. When she drops the book, she gets kicked down to her back. When the minion retrieves the book, it throws a few white explosive balls at a tall, bare wall that sits over Raven's body. When they explode, the fifty-foot wall begins to tip over onto Raven. As Jackal is still on the ground in pain, he sees that Raven is about to be crushed. Not wanting to see her hurt, he teleports over her body and catches the wall with his back. As he holds the wall up, he roars in pain with the knife still embedded in his shoulder, great amounts of pressure being applied to the wound. He doesn't care, however. His only concern is Raven's safety. Raven looks up at him in disbelief that he's putting himself through so much torture for her well-being.

Finally regaining his vision, Beast Boy notices Jackal's struggle. "DUDE!" He turns into a bull and tries to help Jackal push the wall back to the building.

Cyborg catches view of what's happening after dealing with a few minions. He gasps as he rushes to their aid. "Hang on! I got your back!"

Cyborg positions himself opposite of Beast Boy and assists in holding up the wall. Taking advantage of that opportunity, Robin swoops in and grabs Raven, taking her away from the falling wall.

"Raven, you ok?", asks Robin as he starts cutting her restraints.

Raven is still speechless. "…Yeah…thanks to him."

Once she's free, she waves her hand and psychically pushes the wall back in place with little effort. As she holds it up, Starfire flies over and uses her star beams to weld the wall back in place. Once there, the boys let go, and Jackal drops to a seated position against the wall. During the entire ordeal, the minions have already made their escape.

Beast Boy morphs back to human form, leaning against the wall exhausted. "Whew, that was too close", he says with a sigh of relief.

Starfire shotus with concern. "The Jackal! He is hurt!"

Robin runs up and sees the embedded knife. "Don't move. We're here to help." With that said, he turns to Raven. "Raven, can you heal him?"

Raven nods. "I can try", she says as she starts to concentrate her power.

Jackal cuts her off immediately. "No. Ungh!"

"Hm??", responds Raven with a confused look.

"...No need", Jackal replies.

He pulls the knife from his shoulder while shrieking in pain. He then drops the knife and rips open the clothing over his shoulder to let the wound get some air. Moments later, he lets out a deep growl as the wound glows a fiery red glow and heals itself.

Beast Boy is freaked out at the sight, as are his teammates. "Whoa! Ok, you guys saw that too, right??"

"You can...heal yourself??", asks a confused Robin.

Jackal is now breathing hard and a bit dazed. "...I can", he says as he wipes the blood away. "...But it requires...a lot of energy...to do so." He looks around, surveying the area. "The Necronomicon. ...Did they..."

Cyborg nods. "They got away."

Aggravated, Jackal growls and slams his fist into the ground, cracking it. "Darn it!"

Beast Boy puts his hands out. "Whoa whoa whoa, take it easy, dude", he pleads to avoid more bodily pain.

Starfire kneels over to Jackal with a look of worry in her eyes. "Are you in need of assistance?", she asks.

"...I'll be fine", says Jackal as he stands and shakes off the daze. "...I've been through worse."

Robin steps up to Jackal. "Listen, Jackal …We wanna apologize about earlier. ...See, we thought you were-"

Jackal cuts him off. "Don't worry about it", he says. "I'm used to it. ...After all, I have a history of being misunderstood."

With a look of sympathy, Raven thinks in her mind, "You're not the only one."

Robin continues. "Listen, we're taking your advice from earlier, and we're…'doing our research'. Would you mind telling us what's going on?"

Looking around at the Titans, Jackal hesitantly responds. "…Not at all."

Meanwhile, at Lord Xanth's lair, a masked minion walks into Xanth's throne room and presents him the Necronomicon. Xanth takes the book with a strong sense of accomplishment.

"Marvelous!", says Xanth with glee. "Phase two completed."

Shiir-Kov's presence is in the throne room through astral projection. "Excellent", he says with a grin. "Your minions managed to elude both Jackal and those meddlesome Titans." He rubs his chin as he assesses the situation a bit more. "Hmm...And it seems like Jackal has a new infatuation developing. This is getting more and more interesting by the moment."

Xanth laughs at the thought. "Are you telling me Jackal's in love? Aww. How sweet", he says sarcastically.

Shiir-Kov snickers at xanth's remark. He soon shifts back to a more serious tone. "On another note, she would be the perfect aid for our goal. The last thing needed for the ritual is the blood of an untainted maiden." [NOTE: "untainted" means "virgin"]

"Oh?", says Xanth curiously. "I see. But why her, if I may ask?"

Shiir-Kov responds with a sadistic smile. "Because if Jackal's truly infatuated with her, obtaining her will lead him right to us."

Realizing the idea of this plan, Xanth lets out a sadistic laugh. "Yes!"

TO BE CONTINUED