Time: Five Months Ago

Place: New York City

It feels like yesterday that I found out there’s more to magic than Thor’s hammer, Dr. Strange with his fingers, or even the guy in the top hat pulling out a rabbit. In reality, it was a month ago, and what happened yesterday was this attractive brunette asked me out on a date.

Of course, I said yes. The date went smoothly… well, as smoothly as it can get when you keep looking at your date, who’s wearing a red dress that JUST ends below the waist and shows more cleavage than a bathing suit worn by Pamela Anderson… saw a movie, went to dinner, and now we’re in an alleyway that’s next to my place. She doesn’t want to wait to get there, and frankly, neither do I. She leans back against a brick wall, lifting her left leg and putting it up against the wall, for both balance and that oh-so-seductive look you can only get from wearing red stilettos. I lean up to her to make my move and whisper in her ear…

“So, when are you and your Huntspals gonna ambush me?”

“Wha… what?”

She’s too shocked to move, so I take out my previously hidden Boomerang Blade from the back of my black trench coat, toss it, and listen to the sound of it hitting something electrical AND a man gettin’ shocked. I knew just where to toss it thanks to all those times I saw the Predator movies and that ripple effect from that invisible device. Sure enough, a Huntsthug appeared, cursing my aim as I catch the Blade.

“Very well played, Mr. Argo.” Says a voice I know all too well. I’ve fought him and his group for a few years, every time my folks found a magical artifact, really, and it's only a month ago I found out they were called The Huntsclan and he’s The Huntsman. For years, I always thought they were S&M freaks that loved shiny things (Hey, what else am I supposed to think with the leather mask, skulls on their head, and weapons in hand?). “How did you know?” I had a cocky smirk that told anybody that knew me that I’m gonna be an asshole about this.

“Well, ya see, I noticed she had the look that said ‘I have big muscles, a skull on my head, and a giant weapon to compensate for my tiny di--‘ Oh, that’s you, I am so sorry! She had the ‘I can’t do anything else in life because I don’t know what comes after one, so I kill people that’ve done nothing to me since I’m no smarter than a rich heiress’ look I’ve seen from other Huntsluts.” I see from that look in all those masks they’re good and mad. “Fellas, ladies, just because I take you away from your nightly ‘I deserve this’ meetings don’t mean ya gotta take it out on me.” That did it, judging by the fact that it looks like he got even madder from that comment than the previous...

“HUNTSCLAN, ATTACK!”

Oop, smart-ass-time over, gotta work.

CLANG

Then again, I’m also a smart-ass while I work, but I tend to concentrate more on crackin’ heads than runnin’ my mouth.

CLANG

Or in my case, crackin’ heads AND usin’ the Blade to block the staffs.

“Oh c’mon! I’m a mere mortal with a magical weapon, and ya can’t even land one punch!?”

Although today… it helps that I got these morons fightin’ me out of anger. I’m dodging these assholes left and right and so far…

WHAM

“OOF!”

…so crappy. Ok, they knocked me down and are ready to fire those damn glowing staffs; well, if I gotta go…

“WAIT! I need to pay my 250 to the head guy in the leather mask for this!”

…go a smart ass.

WHAM

POW

…or not.

“Yo, J, everythin’ ok here, man?” The red dragon who I found out a month ago was a guy I treated like a kid brother, Jake Long, said after knocking down some of the Huntsclan, givin’ me enough time ta get up and get my bearings back.

“Yeah, had ‘em on the ropes, but I can still use the help.”

“No problem.” Jake said as we were about to resume the fight, when we saw a web line snag a Huntsclan member and toss him into the wall.

“Hey, is this a private party or can anybody join this thing?” I look up and see Spider-Man, only he’s not in his usual costume. In fact, his costume looks a lot like Iron Man's. I’ll inquire later. “Who’d you annoy this time, Jason?”

“Why is it that I’M the guy at fault when there’s a dozen S&M freaks on my back?”

“Uh…” Spidey said as Jake just looked up from my comment.

“That came out wrong, didn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“How about we kick ass now and contemplate what I should’ve said later?”

“Sounds good to me.” Jake said quickly as we resumed the fight.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” I shout when I’m shot awake thanks to that dream again.

Time: 12 hours after Homecoming.

Place: Jason’s Apartment, New York City.

For the last six months… ever since I had my hand on the Boomerang Blade… every time I’ve dreamed, it’s the same. New York City is hell on Earth, and I’m with these shadows fighting other shadows and I have no idea who they are.

I wash my face with warm water, hoping to get the cold sweat off of my face. I take a look in the mirror and see another thing that’s been in my head for six months, namely what looks like a digital clock, but its stuck at what appears to be three months. My red hair, usually spiked to look like its on fire, is a mess. But I got plenty of time to get ready, which is the only bright side to the dreams. Enough time to get ready for my job: workin’ at the Museum of Natural History, makin’ sure the crooks out there don’t steal what my family dug up.

Time: Now.
Place: New York City of National History.

Another slow day, but that’s understood able this time. We just reopened apart of this place because the renovations in some spots got done early. It’ll be some time before the rest of the museum opens up again, but that’s actually the furthest thing from my mind right now.

Namely, it's this Goth reject that calls himself “Shadow”. I knew who he was the minute I looked into his eyes, but how did he get this way? Why is he here, in my time? I know he’s from the future; he has to be because the guy he once was is still here, unaltered. And what was he gonna do to those sk--

“GAH! OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!”

OW! Holy crap, the visions STILL hurt. After six months, I NEVER get used to ‘em. And this one was a doozy on top of another doozy. I just saw one of the shadows’ true forms and just realized how bad a pun that was. I pick up the phone and call the one place my family is right now, the basement.

“Guys, I’m borrowing the Hummer and punching out early.”

He was standing on a familiar street, hidden by a car that had been flipped onto its side. The road

was filled with holes from explosions. The sector of town was basically a no-man's land. Had been

for months, ever since the fighting began. Off to his left, an armored figure he knew all too well was

giving orders to his troops, while a blue-clad man with a shield crouched behind a row of dumptsters

and cars lined up across the width of the street in a makeshift barricade. Several children cowered

in fear next to his own position, their tears flowing freely. She was sitting beside them, telling them

to be silent and they would all get away together. Her kind heart and words of hope and

encouragement were what kept him going through it all. With her bright smile even under the worst

conditions, she was, pound for pound, a thousand times stronger than he was. He only fought to

protect himself and her; for all he knew, she was all he had left, and he was not going to lose her as

he had lost everyone else.

Then the attack came. The armored one's men cleared the way as another man, clad in black with

a skull on his chest, appeared. He carried with him a weapon that should have only been seen in

the hands of a military soldier on a battleground facing a foreign enemy, not being used in one's

own country against his fellow countrymen. The portable artillery cannon was raised and fired, its

explosive warhead arcing up and over the barricade, slamming into a concentration of their

opponents. Flames sprouted immediately as clothing, scraps of garbage, and people caught fire.

Men were crying out in pain, women and children screaming in fear, formerly-focused soldiers were

scattering, and it was into this confusion that one of their small group of children ran, screaming for

someone - anyone - to take him out of there.

Moving faster than he could react, she darted out after him, her small form belying her natural

speed. The child ran across the street, into a now-abandoned antique shop, and she soon followed

him, trying to calm him down and get him back to safety.

Before her older companion could even register what had happened, the second missile hit the

store.

Forgetting about the other children, forgetting about the two factions, forgetting that he was a target

for both, he ran over to the flaming rubble that had once been the shop. Tears in his eyes, he

began pulling away bits of debris, large and small, with the single-minded determination of one who

sees his last bit of hope starting to vanish before his eyes.

When he found her, he knew she was lost. Blood was pouring from her mouth, and the labored

breathing told him that she had a punctured lung. Her hair, formerly done up into an intricate pair of

pigtails he had only that morning taken the time to style for her, was loose, disheveled, and singed.

Her bright pink shirt had mostly been burned away, revealing charred flesh beneath, and her well-

worn blue jeans hadn't fared much better. He tried to speak to her, to tell her that he was sorry, but

she silenced him. "It wasn't your fault," she said. "We both knew what had to be done, and I don't

regret any of it. Just do me one favor..." Her speech was interrupted by a violent coughing fit, which

spilled even more blood from her mouth. "Don't stop fighting. Do whatever you have to...but don't

stop. You're the last one left...you have to carry on. Go on without me... br... th..." Before she

could finish, her eyes closed and her body went limp.

Shadow awoke in an alley, screaming her name. Not the first time it had happened, nor would it be

the last. He was tormented by her death every day and night. She was why he still fought, and

would continue to fight, until the last breath left his body. Standing, he realized he had only been

asleep a few minutes and was disgusted, knowing he would not be sleeping any time soon and was

still exhausted from his earlier exertions. He reached beneath his shirt and pulled out a small

locket. Inside were pictures of himself and her, from a time long gone by, when neither had had

anything to worry about."I'll be with you again someday; that much is certain. But I'm going to bring

every single last one of those bastards that murdered you with me as I possibly can, I promise." He

tucked the locket back into his shirt, left the alley, and began wandering the streets.

Place: Middleton

“Hey, Ron?” Kim said as they awkwardly made their way through Bueno Nacho’s lunch line. “Do you remember when you went Zorpox last year?”

“Yeah?” Ron said as he glanced back at his girlfriend before going back to studying the above menu.

“Do you remember the glares some of your family was giving you and me when we got back to your cousin’s wedding?” Kim asked, still glancing around the crowded fast food restaurant.

“Yeah, what about it, KP?” Ron asked, blinking in confusion.

“I’m so getting déjà vu right now…” Kim gave a tight smile.

Ron jumped slightly when the Kimmunicator on Kim’s wrist beeped.

“Saved by the Kimmunicator,” Ron said with a sigh of relief as Kim lifted her wrist.

“What’s the sitch, Wade?” Kim asked as the younger boy appeared on the screen.

“Just got a hit on the site, Kim,” Wade responded on the small LCD screen. “Monkey Fist is hitting the Upperton Zoo. Apparently he’s on a monkey ninja recruitment run.”

“No big,” Kim shrugged, “Can you fix us up with a ride?”

“Um… about that…” Wade gulped and glanced around his room. “The favors have been pulled …”

“What?” Kim asked blinking in surprise and confusion.

“All the favors, Kim, every last one of them…” Wade gave a small tight smile.

“All of them? Why?” Kim was flabbergasted, and Ron was no better at her side.

“The tragedy, Kim,” Wade explained. “Heroes have some major bad press right now. Nobody wants to associate with anyone who’s ‘fighting the good fight’.”

“Then I guess Ron and I will have to just drive up then,” Kim said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. “Let’s go, Ron,” she said, turning toward the Sloth.

“KP, I’ve got a mondo bad feeling about this one…” Ron said as he climbed into the passenger seat of Kim’s car.

“You always have a bad feeling with Monkey Fist, Ron,” Kim gave him a loving smile before moving in to kiss his cheek. “No big, we go save the day then have a nice dinner with my folks. Sound like a plan?”

Ron nodded and gave a thumbs-up as Kim sped out of the parking lot.

--

“Soon, my simian brothers,” Monkey Fist chuckled as he stood before a monkey enclosure, “You will be free and your training under me will begin. You will all make fine monkey ninjas!” he said, breaking out into a monkey-like laugh.

“I have a better idea,” Kim said as she made her presence known at the top of fence. “We put you behind bars like your so-called simian brothers.”

“Kim Possible,” Monkey Fist growled as he turned to the red head. “And where you go…” he didn’t finish his thought as he ducked the flying kick.

“Do we really wanna know how you went from a very ugly statue to being back here?” Ron asked as he stopped just before his girlfriend.

“You’d rather not know, and I’d rather not remember, thank you very much,” Monkey Fist answered with a shiver. “Now just get out of the way and let me deal with the real threat, distraction.”

“Oh, see our whole team dynamic has changed a lot since you’ve been away, Monty,” Kim said with a knowing smile.

“What do you mean?” Monkey Fist cocked an eyebrow.

“Ronnie, baby, be a dear and go Super Saiyan on his butt,” Kim said, glancing at her gloved nails.

Monkey Fist’s eyes widened as Ron took a low fighting stance before a hazy blue glow encircled him, and the unearthly sounds of monkey screams filled the statue-turned-simian-man's ears. “This is going to hurt …” was the only vocal thought Montgomery Fiske could think as Ron’s now glowing blue eyes opened and focused on him.

“Oh, yeah.” Kim drawled as she crossed her arms.

--

The police officers watched as Team Possible exited the zoo with Monkey Fist thrown over Ron’s shoulder.

“Here ya go, Officers,” Ron said as he dropped the KO’ed Monkey Fist on the hood of a squad car. “Got him all wrapped up for you.”

“Yeah, we know, we saw the video from the zoo security,” the officer said as he moved to untie the unconscious ninja.

“What are you doing?” Kim asked in confusion as another officer approached them.

“Kimberly Anne Possible, Ronald Dean Stoppable, you are under arrest, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used…”

“What? We’re the good guys, dude!” Ron gasped as they placed them in cuffs.

“The Right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” the officer continued. “You have the right to an attorney…”

“Oh, boy…” Kim muttered as the two teens looked at each other at a loss of what to do.

Time: Now. Place: New York City.

Jason Argo is not a patient man. He has parked his Hummer right outside of the Long house, knowing that Jake and Haley are not home, but he’s not waiting for them.

“Where is he… damn it, c’mon… where are…” He didn’t have to wait to long as the sound of something heavy landing on top of his Hummer was just made. He looked up and saw an angry, dark-looking dragon ready to rip the roof off, so he quickly opens the sun roof and pokes his head out. “OK! OK! No need to rip th--AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jason never got to finished as the angry-looking dragon picked up the black trenchcoat-wearing security guard by the collar of his matching shirt. “I see you’re still upset.”

“Upsssssset doesssssss not begin to cover it, human!” The dragon said, sounding more lizard than man. Jason was hoping to survive the night, but even he started to doubt it.

“What if I told ya it wasn't personal but my own belief that even heroes with that kind of power bein' a bad thing the reason why I did it?” He said with a very nervous smile. But Shadow wasn’t hearing any of it.

“You deprived me of my one chansssssssse to ssssset right the wrongssssssss that had been done to me - now, give me one good reassssssson that I ssshhhhould let you continue your pathetic life?” For two minutes, Jason says nothing, but then…

“Let me think...” This did not make Shadow happy one bit.

“WRONG ANSSSSWER!” The Dragon shouted as he picks Jason up and slams him repeatedly on the hood of the Hummer. Several dents later, Jason rolls off after the last slam and hits the ground hard. However, he somehow is still alive AND nothing broken.

“Ooooooooooh... I'm gonna thank that old witch for this trench coat. Look, Angsty, if you'll just let me explain why I tried ta find ya...”

Shadow roars, picks Jason up, puts him in his mouth...then spits him into a brick wall at high speed.

“Ugh... monster loogie!” Jason said as he tried to get all the dragon spit off of him. Shadow lets loose a burst of green mist that eats away the brick wall next to Jason. “DUDE! GET A MINT!” Jason then sees Shadow picking up his Hummer and aiming it right for him. “No… nononono! NOT THE CAR! NOT THE--" Shadow throws the Hummer at Jason, who gets out of the way just in time.

“HEY! I just modified that!” Jason shouted at the still angry Shadow as a blast of fire melts the Hummer to so much slag and scorches the soles of Jason's boots

“YEOW! Ok, ok, I'm an idiot! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!” Jason said trying to get him to stop, but to no avail as Shadow grabs Jason again and shakes him in multiple directions very quickly.

“This... WHOA! concerns... YAAAAAAAAA! Jake and Haley!” Jason managed to mutter. “Can YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA drop me before I barf!?”

Shadow throws Jason against a wall across the street, leaving an impression. Again, somehow, he winds up with only severe bruises, aches, and feeling like he’s about to die, but no broken bones. “Ooog... not what I meant but... oooog...” But just as Jason regains his bearings, Shadow flies off before Jason can say anything.

“WAIT!” Jason shouted, but Shadow just kept flying until he was out of ear shot. “That's ok... I know where ya gonna be... just gonna take me a while ta get there...” Jason said as he started walking, he also got out his cell phone. “Uh dad...? We need a new car.”

Moments later, Jason is climbing up to the top of Lao’s roof, and he’s exhausted.

Huff... huff...

“Two floors plus ten blocks...” Huff Huff “DO NOT mix.” Jason opened the door, thinking he had enough time to rest. But as he’s grabbed from behind by his collar.. “OH, CRAP, NOT AGAIN!”

WHAM

…he was wrong as he is tossed to the ground. This time, though, Shadow looks completely human. “Are ya gonna beat me up all night!?” Jason said, wondering when this was gonna stop.

“I'm finding it quite...ssssatisfying.” Shadow said, still sounding the same despite the new appearance.

“Oh, man.”

WHAM

Jason slides across the roof and Shadow picks him up, with the intent to toss, only to find Jason has a vice grip on his arm.

“NO WAY! THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY I'M GETTIN' OFF THIS ROOF AND IT AIN'T THE COYOTE/ROAD RUNNER WAY!”

“Fine.” Shadow says as he shakes his arm hard enough to slam Jason through the ceiling, causing him to fall right into Lao’s currently empty shop. All Jason had, however, was great pain.

“Oh... I'm REALLY gonna thank that witch for my trench coAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Shadow lifts Jason by the neck, ready to finish him off. Jason tries for one last plea. “THIS CONCERNS JAKE AND HALEY!”

At that moment, Jason has a vision... and sees two more faces, Jake and Haley.

“ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

However... Jason, unbeknownst to him, is feeding the same vision to Shadow, who proceeded to slam Jason to the ground.

“You had better have an explanation for what I just saw, human.” Shadow said in a cold and demanding tone.

“What you saw?” Jason said out of curiosity. “What... wait... that pain... that look in your eyes... it looks like mine after my first dre-- quick, did you suddenly see an image of Haley and Jake emerging out of the shadows?”

“Yes, that is what I saw. Now, why did I see it?”

Before Jason could answer, he popped two pills of Aspirin. “I have no clue. I'm usually the mook that gets the visions and I've only been gettin' 'em for the last six months. Hurts like hell when I do.”

“How do you get these...'visions'? Shadow asks. Jason then pulls a chair next to Shadow, so he can be comfortable talking.

“Happens at random. In fact, I just found out you're one of those I gotta recruit to make sure my nightmare stays that.

“No-one 'recruits' me for anything, human!” Shadow said defiantly.

“Then it pleases me to be the first.” Jason said lightening the mood. “Look, I'm not askin' ya ta follow what I see or I'm gonna draft ya. But for the last six months, I've been seein' New York becomin' the Seventh Circle of Hell, and I'm convinced the shadows are who I need ta stop it. Just hear what I have ta say, or my world will end up even worse.”

“I have seen Hell on Earth, mortal. Nothing you could see in your visions can possibly compare to what I have lived for the last fifteen years of my life!” Shadow said with some anger.

“New York city, in eternal fire, the Statue of Liberty decimated, humans dead in a position where they died while killing each other, and it all started when what looked like the symbols of Iron Man, Captain America, Kim Possible, and Ron Stoppable collided.” Jason said, describing the dream.

“As I said...no worse than what I have seen.” Jason had enough of this and looked at Shadow in the eye.

“I know who you are.” Jason said, causing Shadow’s eyes to flash bright red.

“You know nothing, human!” Shadow said with anger.

“I know why you protected Haley and Rose at the prom. Why you went nuts when they got hurt. Why do you think I knew to wait at the Longs or how you'd be at the shop?”

“Guesswork; nothing more.” Shadow said, still defiant. Jason whispers something that only "Shadow's" friends would know.

“Convinced?”

“No.”

“Ok, then, Angsty, how about the fact that I saw a particular look when you looked at Haley.”

“Anyone would be concerned. She is but a child - to see her life cut short at so young an age...” Shadow catches himself and pauses for a moment, obviously trying to hide something "...I do not see how you consider that proof of anything."

“That look.” Jason said with a tone of ‘Got ya’ in his voice. “It’s a look one doesn't give to a girlfriend, a best friend, or even a mom.”

That caused Shadow to become a little nervous, but he still tried to hide it, so he could throw the inquiring Jason off. “Whatever you're getting at, make your point and make it quickly! I do not have time for this!”

“My point is that it was the look of concern for a sister from a brother. And Haley only has one brother.” Shadow still wouldn’t say anything, but he started to clench both his jaw and fist. ”Jake Long. You.”

“One problem; if I was Jake Long, I'd be fourteen, not twenty-nine.” Shadow said thinking he had dodged a bullet. “And did you forget that he and I were both on that roof the other day. One cannot be in two places at the same time. Your reasoning is glaringly flawed, human.”

“You don't watch Trek that much, do you?” Jason said with a curious look combined with a smirk.

“It was a particular favorite of mine for a long time.”

“Then, bein' a nerd and all, ya should've figured I would've known about alternate dimensions. Hell, I've been to some of 'em thanks to the artifacts my family’s found.”

“So - you theorize that I am Jake Long, but from another dimension?”

“Yep. The dead giveaway is yer age.”

“You are wrong, human." Neither men say anything as the tension in the air got uncomfortably thick. Shadow then turned his head and looked like he was about to leave. “Another time.” But just before he could get out the door, Jason spoke up.

“True or false: you don't use Cupid's arrow on somebody that already loves you after you break up.” Jason said with his arms crossed confidently. Shadow then turned around and snorted at the mere question because of how idiotic that remotely sounded.

“What idiot would be stupid enough to mess with those arrows, anyway? I've never heard of such a ridiculous thing in my life!” Shadow said with some anger at the mere thought of somebody being that stupid. Jason, saying nothing, just smirks and points to the currently human dragon before him. “I did nothing of the sort.” Shadow said with a scoff. Jason then looked like the cat that ate the canary.

“There's my proof right there, Scanner Darkly!” Jason said as if he just caught the biggest fish in the late. “Jake got the arrows and thought it'd make Rose fall in love with him again.” Shadow just remained defiant and crossed his arms.

“The closest I ever got to those arrows was when I was asked to safeguard them.” The dragon said in a mater-of-fact tone of voice. “I locked them in a hidden vault, then put the bow in a separate safe, and stood guard over them until Cupid came to retrieve them. I had to miss out on a cruise to do it, but it was my duty and nothing else took priority over that.” Shadow said, thinking he won the argument.

“Jake, Trix, and Spud figured they'd be the best way to get their targets to fall for 'em. End result... well... it took a week to pry the captain of the ship off Lady Liberty's torch... then they had to clean it.” Jason said with a bit of a laugh.

“Okay - that never happened.” Shadow said bewildered. Just where did this guy get his information?

“And Rose tried to kill him.”

“Neither did that. I don't know where you get your information, but I lived those experiences and none of that ever took place.” Jason just smiled; he knew he backed this man into a corner.

“I keep tellin' ya, yer in an alternate dimension. Yer an idiot here that occasionally gets it right.” Jason said, hoping Jake or his family wasn’t anywhere near Lao’s. Still, he needed one more confirmation. “True or false, Grand Master Flex started the hip hop movement.”

“Grand Master Who?” And with those words, Jason got his confirmation.

“The Jake here not only screwed up the dance with the arrows but would've told me the answer AND verbally slammed me for asking the second question.” Even though Jason came to the conclusion who Shadow really is, he sees that the man he’s talking to still looked unconvinced. “Hold on a sec. Let me try to find somethin'...” Jason said recalling Fu stored his laptop somewhere in the back. A minute later, he pulls out Fu’s laptop computer from the back room. “Here we go. Fu recorded some of Jake's missions and saved 'em on his hard drive. Take a look.”

Jason shows Shadow some of Jake's missions, including the ones where Jake goofs up the first time, and security footage from the cupid's arrow incident. Shadow however remained unconvinced despite the evidence before him.

“Interesting use of editing equipment; but that's all it is.” Shadow said unimpressed. “This never happened. It couldn't have happened. I don't remember it, and nobody is that stupid!” He was getting fed up and was again about to leave until Jason found something marked “Jake’s moments of intelligence.” Shadow watched and was slowly starting to get more and more convinced… but there was still doubt in his eyes.

“If you don't believe me, we can ask Spud and Trix, although Spud would probably sound like he just had some special brownies...” Jason remarked, remembering a few times the closeted genius had a few ‘ideas’ about history. “If you still don't believe me, I got the rap album he tried to make.”

“Rap...album...?” Shadow said with some caution in his voice.

A minute after playing the album…

“You hear why we begged him not to go on BET or American Idol?” Jason said while covering his ears. Shadow was doing his best to block the music out, but he was failing until finally…

“Enough! Alright; you've proven your point.”

“See?” Jason said with some victory in his voice. “Ya ain't on yer Earth anymore dude.” Shadow then had a look of anger and disappointment.

“My mission has failed before it started. I sought to save my world, but instead I have been cast out from it. I have no more business here.” He turns to leave but once again, Jason stops him.

“Sure, have Jake suffer the same fate as you.” This caused Shadow to stop in his tracks to answer Jason’s statement.

“This world has already proven to be drastically different from mine. It's future will not be so bleak.” Shadow said as if he were stating a fact. This served as to only make Jason angry.

“It has NO future!” The holder of the Boomerang Blade said in anger to the man from the other reality. “You leave now, and Haley and Rose WILL die.” This caused Jason to get Shadow’s attention.

“But if I stay,” Shadow said with some assertion, “they could suffer the same fate.”

“But from what I've seen, if we don't do anything, they WILL suffer.” Jason said with a pleading tone. “Everytime I had the dream, I kept lookin' around and I saw nothing but the dead, including Jake, Haley, and Rose.” Shadow still looked unsure.

“Perhaps, then, it is you that causes their deaths. Did you ever think of that?” Jason just looked at him with a dull expression at Shadow’s question.

“Yer just a regular Mr. Sunshine, ain't ya?”

“For one such as myself, light no longer exists. I am but a shadow of who I once was; he died many years ago, and I was left to carry out his vengeance.” Shadow said with some authority, yet Jason could find a hint of sadness.

“Ok, fine, let Rusty and Flag Boy's fight end New York and yer family.” Jason simply said.

“That is happening here, as well?” This got Shadow’s attention.

“The Registration Act is bein' talked about, and there's nothin' anybody can do about it. It's a few days away from bein' passed, and we don't have much time to act on it if at all.” Jason said, knowing he had the dragon’s full attention. “In my nightmare, it’s always the same: symbols representing Cap, Tony, Kim, and Ron collide, the end result is NYC: Hell on Earth, I mean a literal, waist-deep river of blood, and I'm fightin' with a bunch of shadows to stop another bunch of shadows.”

“And you believe that I have a part in this?”

“You, Jake, and Haley. You said you came here originally to protect Haley, and here's yer chance to do it.” When Jason finished that sentence, he saw the look from Shadow’s face that said he got him.

“...I'm listening.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

NOTE FROM DIGI: Jason’s past will be explained, including a short prequel dealing with his first six months with the Blade, that’s coming soon, but ONLY if we get enough readers for this fic.