THE AWAKENING

Metro City was a city of vast technology and scientific discovery. This was where the greatest scientists and engineers flocked to develop their most ingenious ideas. Below the skyscrapers and towering factories lay an entirely different world. A world of gloom, ruled by terror, governed by fear. One man took a stand against it all; a man who had taken the darkness of the city into himself, and used it against those who would harm the innocent. He is the protector of the night. He is darkness. He is the Knight Hawk...

As darkness fell upon the city, a dark figure loomed upon the skyline. "Sitting here, watching over the city," he reminisced, "I can remember when the darkness first took over me." He thought back to a teenage boy about to celebrate with his family at a banquet . . .

"Tony, would you stop worrying, we are going to get there on time," laughed Tony Smith’s father, Benjamin Smith.

Benjamin was an entrepreneur in Metro City, his claim to fame being the discovery of new uses of bioengineering and robotics. He became a wealthy bachelor and raised his two boys, Tony and Bret, alone. With all his riches, however, nothing came before his two children. Tony, the eldest, was always inquisitive, constantly looking to discover something new. His brother Bret, however, was very different. He would much rather party and take full advantage of his family’s riches whenever he could.

"I’m sorry, Dad," Tony apologized, "but I’m just a little nervous. I never thought that they would make such a big deal out of this."

"Well, you did discover a new species of birds," his father replied.

"Oh yippee, another bird. Whoopee. I don’t see what the big deal is," Bret added sarcastically.

"Quiet Bret. If you were more like your brother, you’d probably get things like this too."

They arrived at the banquet an hour later, but no one would have guessed what was to follow. A gang of kidnappers interrupted the banquet.

"All right, nobody moves, nobody gets hurt," cried one of the thugs.

Another of them took the stage and pointed at Benjamin, "You, come here, now." Benjamin approached the stage. "So you are Benjamin Smith. You are about to make me a very rich man," he grinned as he snickered at Benjamin. The thugs tied him up and headed out of the building. The leader then turned around and shouted, "You all continue to have a good time now. Don’t stop your party because of us. And have a good evening."

Everyone started to panic as the kidnappers left, and tried to contact the authorities. Bret, being the rambunctious kid that he was, went in pursuit of the kidnappers. Tony, worried about his brother and father, followed him. They found two of the kidnappers in an alley with their father. Bret caught one of the thugs off guard and tackled him to the ground, then got up and kicked the gun out of the other’s hand and pushed him over. Tony, meanwhile, untied his father, who proceeded to get Bret away from the kidnappers. One of the kidnappers, the leader, picked up the gun and aimed it at Bret. "Ok, ok, that’s enough. This ends now," he growled.

"Please, leave my kids out of this," Benjamin pleaded. Bret, with another burst of energy charged at the leader.

"Jake!" the other kidnapper called out. Jake knocked Bret out with the gun. Benjamin lunged forward and Jake shot him twice in the chest. Tony was left standing in awe of the carnage that had taken place. Jake then turned the gun to Tony and Bret who had crawled over near his brother. "Tell me something boys. Are you ready for that big ride with the Devil through his dark, hot, hell?" Jake asked.

Police sirens could be heard coming toward the alley. The other kidnapper called for Jake and they began to run off. The police sergeant returned Tony and Bret to Smith Estates, where Jeffrey, their butler, brought them in. Jeffrey wrapped the distraught boys in blankets and gave them a hot cup of cocoa. "Are you all right, sirs?" Jeffrey asked in as comforting a tone as he could.

Tony answered, "I will never forget his face Jeffrey. Never."

"I WILL never forget his face, " asserted the dark figure, "NEVER."

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, an unsuspecting couple wandered through the streets of Metro.

"Don’t worry dear," the man reassured his mate, "we’ll just cut through a couple of these alleys and we’ll make up some time to get to the show."

The woman looked around the dark streets and mumbled, "Please let’s just try and get a taxi. I don’t mind being a little late." He ignored her and they continued toward the alley. Two street thugs spotted them from afar and lay in wait for them.

As the couple entered the alley, one of the thieves bumped into the woman. "Excuse me, ma’am," he said, slowly turning around. Angered, the man started toward the street thief. As he approached that thief, another appeared from behind them.

"I don’t think you wanna do that, Bub," he snarled. "Hand over the wallet and the purse and everything will be fine."

The man reluctantly handed over his wallet and the woman unwillingly gave up her purse. The two thieves ran off laughing as the woman shrieked in terror. They stopped in an alley a couple of blocks down to split their loot.

"Do you really think we should just sit out in the open like this, Joe?" asked the first thug.

"What’s with you Bobby?" Joe yelled. "Do you want your cut or not?"

Bobby frantically looked up and down the alley. "I don’t know man. It’s just that everyone is talking about this giant bird flying around at night. It gives me the creeps."

Joe looked at him in anger. "That don’t make no sense. Now, I said, do you want your cut or not?"

Unbeknownst to Joe and Bobby, a dark figure loomed over them atop the building. A booming voice shouted down at them, "I don’t think that belongs to you."

Joe and Bobby turned and looked up to see a bird-like figure with its wings outstretched. They started to run in terror. The man bird took off in flight and landed between Joe and Bobby, stopping Bobby in his tracks. Bobby stood in awe of the shadowy figure in front of him. He looked, in horror, into what appeared to be the eyes of the mysterious shadowy figure. The winged vigilante delivered a swift sidekick to Bobby, causing him to stumble into a wall. Bobby’s head hit the wall, leaving him unconscious. The bird like man again took off into flight after Joe. Soaring over the city, his night vision allowed him to easily track Joe. He finally spotted Joe below him and swooped down, retractable hawk-like talons projecting from his feet. He grabbed Joe and lifted him up into the night sky.

"Please don’t drop me, please man, please!" Joe begged, screaming in terror. The winged man continued to fly in silence. He carried Joe to the rooftop of an abandoned building and dropped him.

The winged vigilante landed and quickly approached Joe and lifted him up by his collar. "I’m not going to kill you. I want you to do me a favor."

"Sure man anything," Joe answered with tears in his eyes.

"I want you to go out and tell all your fellow thugs that the crime wave in Metro ends now. Justice has taken a darker form,"

"Anything, man, just tell me, who are you."

The eyes on the winged vigilante’s visor began to glow, "Tell them, I am the Knight Hawk." He tossed Joe to the other side of the roof and turned back to the skyline of the city. He spread his wings and dove off the roof. Joe crawled to the edge of the roof and rolled over with exhaustion as he watched the Knight Hawk fly away.

* * * * *

Elliot Smalls, ace reporter for the Metro Chronicle, had a busy day at the Metro Police station the next day. "Come on," he cajoled, "tell me where the sergeant is. I know that Sergeant Thompson has some knowledge on this Knight Hawk story. You are obstructing the people’s right to know about what’s going on in their fair city."

"Lay off, Smalls," Officer Jackson responded, "the Sarge doesn’t believe in this giant bird mumbo jumbo. In fact, you are the only person in Metro who keeps stirring this stuff up. Go find something else to write about. The sergeant has much better things to do than follow some lame story about a giant bird."

If only the officer knew how right he was. The truth was, Sgt. George Thompson was doing something more important than following the story of the giant bird. Thompson was on his way to meet the bird at that very moment.

"I can’t believe this," Thompson mumbled. "I’m supposed to be the sound mind in all this madness of Metro, and I’m consorting with the biggest, craziest story ever to come through this city."

The Knight Hawk’s first encounter was not with Metro’s criminal element, but with the most esteemed and untouchable policeman in Metro. He sought out Sgt. Thompson as a link to the criminal element of Metro. He needed someone he could trust to help him zero in on the heart of Metro’s problem. The sergeant was that someone. The sergeant had to allow himself to accept this dark, new figure in Metro. Could his new acquaintance be more of a detriment than a help to the city?

He arrived at a vacant park and started to look around. "Well, I’m here. Just like you asked," he called out seemingly into the wind.

Suddenly a voice answered from nowhere, "I’m here. Didn’t you think that I’d show?" the Knight Hawk asked.

"Well, yes. You just never seem to show yourself. I have to check. You were a little sloppy last night," the sarge continued. "You let that mugger get a good look at you. Elliot’s been trying to get his teeth into you. The mugger gave him everything he needed to know to put a picture in everyone’s head of you. I thought you were supposed to be Metro’s secret weapon. That’s the only reason I agreed to this."

"I understand, but it is time. We have to take on the core of the criminal element. That mugger will be my message to all who would threaten to place their villainous clutches on the innocent citizens of Metro."

"Well, we can start with Jake Hardcastle; the force has been trying to get a hold of him for months. He’s probably the biggest crime boss in Metro. So, what do you think?" He waited for an answer, but there was no answer from the Knight Hawk. He had gone just as quickly as he came. "I think this guy, if he does help save the city, is going to drive me crazy," Thompson mused.

Back at The Chronicle, Elliot walked through a barrage of taunts and jokes about his bird story. "Ok, guys, very funny. Hey, I get any messages yesterday?" he yelled out to his staff.

"Yeah," one of them replied, "Vivica is back in town, said she wanted to stop by and talk to you." They all began to laugh as Elliot started to scramble around frantically.

"Why didn’t anyone tell me about this? When did she call? I’ve got to get home and take a shower, fix up my apartment, clean my car . . . " He stopped talking as he focused on his desk.

"Good evening Elliot." A smooth female voice emerged from behind a newspaper. "As paranoid as usual I see."

"I didn’t expect to see you again, Vivica, when did you get here?" Elliot asked excitedly.

"Well," Vivica began, "I just came back to see how things are going here in Metro, and . . . to find out about your giant bird."

Elliot half turned. "Ok, who put you up to this? Can’t get enough of this can you?" he yelled back at his staff.

"No, Elliot," she pleaded, "I needed to get back with the Chronicle, and your giant bird will be my perfect chance. Think about it, you and me, working together again. It’d be great, don’t you think?" she questioned.

"Ok, at least you believe in me. For starters, we need to get in touch with Sgt. Thompson. He knows something about this bird thing that he’s not letting on."

"Well, he should be at the big homecoming party for Tony Smith, shouldn’t he?"

"Well, yeah, but I unfortunately didn’t get an invitation."

"Don’t worry, " she smiled adding, "I can get us in."

"Oh really," Elliot snickered, "Well, let’s just see about that."

Later that afternoon, Mayor Dale Harris announced Thomas Michaels as the new district attorney for Metro City. His primary goal, as stated by Mayor Harris, was to end the crime wave that had engulfed the city. One man listened to this announcement and frowned on this new development. "Well boys, we’ve got another Boy Scout in town, another goodie-goodie to hold Thompson’s hand and wipe Harris’ nose for him," taunted a tall and haunting man.

"This guy doesn’t scare you does he Jake?" asked one of Jake’s henchmen.

"No, Bob," he began, "he just annoys me. With this guy helping Thompson we lose an edge on the majority of the city that we’ve bought. He adds a fresh face, another untouchable. It’s not good for business Bob." He paced around his lavish penthouse apartment, shuffling a deck of cards. His name was Jake Hardcastle. Hardcastle was the virtual kingpin of Metro City. There wasn’t a thing that happened in Metro that Hardcastle didn’t know about. He controlled not only the biggest crime ring in Metro, but also had most of the city officials and law enforcement of Metro on his payroll. "You see, this Michaels can help Thompson put heat on our organization. So, we need to hit Ace labs. It houses a lot of our contraband weapons and a lot of our incriminating documents. Therefore, I will be leading this little outing."

All of his men turned and looked at him in awe. "But boss," Bob countered, "you haven’t gone out on any of the dirty work for quite a while, you sure you wanna do this?"

"It’s no problem Bob. I have everything under control."

That night, the cream of Metro was out to welcome back Tony Smith from his ten-year absence. An all out party was being held at Smith Estates to welcome back Metro’s golden child.

"Are you sure you’re going to be able to get us in?" Elliot questioned.

"Trust me, I know Tony from way back, this won’t be a problem." Vivica replied.

"Yeah, ok."

Vivica and Elliot arrived at Smith Estates to find one of the biggest galas to occur in Metro for quite sometime. They approached the entrance and were immediately stopped.

"I’m sorry, Ma’am, but you don’t appear to be on the guest list." The guard informed them.

"Listen, I’m a personal friend of Mr. Smith. If you just call up Mr. Smith, he will approve my entry."

"Vivica, let’s just go, we can’t get in," Elliot rejoined.

"No, wait. Would you call up Jeffrey Beaumont? He knows who I am."

"One moment, Ma’am," the guard turned to the phone on the console. "Mr. Beaumont, we have a Vivica Jones at the gate sir. Should I let her in?"

"Oh, of course," Jeffrey joyously replied, "send her in immediately."

"You are clear to enter, Ma’am. Sorry for the delay."

"Thank you, and no problem," smiled Vivica as she drove off.

The mansion was packed with people. The mayor, Sgt. Thompson, and the rest of Metro’s city officials were all in attendance. There were also many other corporate CEOs and friends of the Smith family who had been invited to the grand gala. There was food from all manner of ethnic groups. Music and gambling had been provided for the added enjoyment of the guests. Vivica and Elliot arrived at the party; Elliot a little impressed at the grand appearance of the Smith mansion. They decided that they would have a better chance of locating the sergeant if they split up, so they took separate ends of the mansion. They searched for about an hour without any luck. They met in an enormous music room.

"I guess you didn’t have any luck either," Elliot breathed.

"None at all, Elliot. I haven’t even seen Tony."

"Yeah I know. You’d think that this guy would be present at his own party."

"Well, I’m not really that much of a party goer. This is more for Metro’s citizens than for me. It’s also a good networking tool," a strange voice answered Elliot.

"And who are you?" Elliot asks.

"Oh, I’m sorry." The man shook Elliot’s hand. "I’m Tony Smith. This is kinda my party," he said in an amused tone.

"Well, I see you’ve developed a sense of humor," Vivica stated haughtily.

"Traveling the world adds a little flavor to your common Joe."

"Excuse me," Elliot interrupts, "how do you two know each other?"

"Oh," Vivica started, "Tony and I used to be high school sweethearts. He chose a very rude means of breaking up with me though. He left the country."

"I didn’t break up with you, I just . . . "

Tony was interrupted by an anxious Jeffrey, "Excuse me sir, but Sergeant Thompson has left rather abruptly, maybe you should find out why he has chosen to vacate our marvelous party."

"Uh, Jeffrey is right. Vivica, why don’t we get together later and talk. Elliot, it was nice meeting you. Oh, and by the way, I love your bird story."

Tony retreated to a room separate from the rest of the house. He pressed a button on his replica of the night hawk he discovered as a child. A secret door slid open from behind a portrait of his father. He entered an elevator and began to ascend a winding tube at a tremendous speed. He arrived in a vast cave full of small birds. Most of the species of birds that he classified ‘night hawks’ inhabited this cave. This was also the lair of The Knight Hawk. Tony sat down at his monitor in the cave and reviewed the happenings from the last hour in the mansion. He learned that the Metro police had apprehended one of Hardcastle’s men. Tony also discovered that the police planned to catch Hardcastle at his genetics lab, where he intended to destroy all evidence that had been filed there that could possibly incriminate him.

"It’s time to go to work."

A few hours later, Sergeant Thompson and his men surrounded Ace Genetics. They awaited the sarge’s order to move in.

"Is everything in place?" asked Thompson.

"Yes, sir. We’re waiting for you," replied one of his officers

Thompson knew that the Knight Hawk would be there, but when would he show himself to the sergeant?

"Sarge, are we ready?" a voice came seemingly from thin air.

"What took you so long? We have him surrounded, and the men are waiting on my call. I didn’t want to do anything without . . . you," Thompson realized he was alone, "One of these days I’ll learn."

Thompson started to move his men into the lab. Meanwhile, Jake and his men were trying to gather the documents that they needed. Jake heard the police entering the lab.

"We’ve gotta move it outta here boys, be careful," he commanded them.

Jake and his men began to carefully move through the lab.

"Give up Jake," Thompson warned, "we have you surrounded."

The police and Jake’s mob opened fire on each other. The Knight Hawk entered the lab from the roof. He glided down to the first floor of the lab. He found a scene of utter chaos. He calmly started to make his way through the first floor of the lab. He spotted a pair of Jake’s men coming his way. He positioned himself behind a large machine and waited for them. As they came around the machine, the Knight Hawk delivered an elbow to the stomach of the first man, quickly followed by a jab to the face knocking the man unconscious. He turned his attention to the other man and pulled a bola from a compartment on his belt behind him and tossed it at the other man. It caught up to the other crook and wrapped around him bringing him to the ground. The Knight Hawk then leaped up to the second floor. One of Jake’s other henchman bumped into him and stepped back in astonishment unable to say a word. The Knight Hawk simply grabbed him by the collar and spun him around, tossing him into the wall. The Knight Hawk then looked across the lab and noticed Hardcastle making his way to the exit on the third floor. As he made his way up the building, Jake set off several machines in hopes of making his escape a little easier. However, he had also set off a series of explosions, which soon would demolish the building. The Knight Hawk took a running leap off the second floor and soared over to the other side of the lab. Meanwhile, Jake felt he had succeeded in his escape, but caught a glimpse of the sergeant on the first floor. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at the sergeant.

"Sergeant Thompson, get ready to meet your maker," he yelled down at the sergeant.

The sergeant looked up in astonishment. The Knight Hawk landed a few feet from Hardcastle and rushed over and kicked the gun out of Hardcastle’s hands. Then he grabbed Hardcastle and pinned him up against the wall.

"My god, " shrieked Hardcastle, "you’re real!"

"Let him go, Bird Man, or Thompson is history," Bob screamed from below.

The Knight Hawk took a long look at Hardcastle, and backed slowly away from him. Hardcastle made his way back over to his gun. He began to shine it. "You know, you are a very interesting specimen. Maybe with time my lab here could have come up with something like you. Too bad I’m going to have to make you extinct." He aimed his gun at the spot the Knight Hawk had occupied but found that he had vanished. He turned his attention back over to the sergeant. He again took aim at him as the sergeant started out of the lab.

"Come on, Jake, this place is going to blow!" Jake ignored the warning from his men and tried to concentrate on shooting the sergeant. Jake looked out the corner of his eye and saw the Knight Hawk standing there watching him. He turned and fired at the Knight Hawk. The Knight Hawk sidestepped the bullet and spun around, pulled a dart from his belt and threw it at the Jackal. It hit Jake and he stumbled into the stair rail, flipping over it. The Knight Hawk rushed over and caught his hand.

"Hang on."

"I can’t . . . hold . . . on."

Jake tumbled into a vat of his own mutagen mixture. The police opened fire on the Knight Hawk and he made an abrupt exit. The sergeant ordered his men to exit the lab because of the impending explosion. They all regrouped outside the building.

"The explosion seems to have taken care of Hardcastle, sergeant. We can’t find any sign of him," one of the officers reported.

"I know. Let’s make one more sweep though. We need to be sure." The sergeant made his way back into the darkness and waited for the Knight Hawk.

"I tried to save him . . . but," the Knight Hawk started.

"I know. Things like that happen. It’s going to be difficult keeping you a secret now though. I can order my men to keep this undercover, but as you know, they all aren’t loyal officers. For the right price, they’d give up the story."

"I know. That’s not important though. Once your men clear out, I’ll get back inside of the lab. There has got to be some remnant of evidence left to use against the rest of Hardcastle’s people. I’ll keep in touch."

* * * * *

The next morning at Smith Estates, Tony and Vivica had a big breakfast. Jeffrey watched from the wings in hopes that his mournful master could find solace in his old love. Jeffrey was the only person who knew that Tony was the Knight Hawk. He still remembered how animate and distraught Tony was after his father’s death. Tony left immediately after his high school graduation to set off and learn the various forms of combat and study under the greatest minds of the time. Jeffrey pleaded with his master, and then ward, not to go but the boy had made up his mind. He needed to do something to save the city, and to do as he wished he needed his mind and body to be honed to near perfection. So he traveled the world to learn. Now, back in Metro, he had started his fight against the horrors of Metro. Jeffrey had faith in his master, but worried about him each night he went out. He hoped that the return of his true love would help him see that he didn’t have to risk his life to help the city.

"So tell me," Tony asked Vivica, "what you’ve been doing with yourself."

"Well, I’ve been working abroad, freelancing for different papers and magazines. I’ve come back to help Elliot with his giant bird story. We worked together once I graduated from high school. He took me on as an intern while I was in college majoring in journalism. He has been a big help for me."

"Well, it seems to me he’s interested in more than your career in journalism. It seems he has a little crush on you."

"Well, I guess . . . wait a minute. That’s not what I want to talk about. Let’s talk about you and how terrible it was for you to take off and leave me like that," she started angrily. "I thought we had something going."

"We did," he began. "I just had to get away from Metro. I had to clear my mind. You wouldn’t have understood."

"You didn’t give me a chance to understand. I loved you. You could have talked to me about what was going on. And, and, you mean that you needed ten years to clear your mind. Bret moved on easily. He didn’t have to leave."

"Well, as you well know, Bret and I are two totally different people. I just felt that I should have done something, which Bret did. I felt lost and had to find myself. You just wouldn’t understand." He began a sigh and took a breath. "Listen, I want to go to Sgt. Thompson’s press conference, would you like to accompany me?"

"I’d love to, but I have to meet Elliot there. We’re covering the conference too."

"Then I guess I’ll probably see you there. We should get together at another time."

They part in what Jeffrey feels is a start — considering their prior relationship. Tony and Vivica were never quite the couple you would expect them to be even though they were very much in love. Jeffrey hoped that she could bring back the old Tony Smith from long ago.

Later that day, Sergeant Thompson and a few of his men prepared for their press conference. The night before, the Knight Hawk had dropped off the files that they expected to catch Jake Hardcastle with. The press conference was the mayor’s idea to inform the people of Metro that the city officials had the city under control once again. Elliot and Vivica arrived at the conference just as it began.

"This press conference has been called to present to the people of Metro that we have in our possession hard evidence which will put an end to the crime spree that has run rampant in our fair city," the sergeant started. "We will use this evidence to bring down all of Jake Hardcastle’s businesses and locate any other criminal organizations prevalent in Metro."

"Excuse me, Sergeant Thompson," Elliot interrupted, "but is it not true that in your sting last night, not only did you get this information, but you also had in your grasp Hardcastle himself?"

"Well . . . we," the sergeant began.

"...And that you lost him to the infamous Knight Hawk, who dropped Mr. Hardcastle into a vat of his own mutagen?"

"Well . . . "

"Sergeant Thompson, do we have another menace on our hands here? Is the Knight Hawk real? If he is, can he be trusted? Could it be that this Knight Hawk is another crime boss, merely out to take the city for himself?"

"All that you say is true, my friend," a voice shouted from within the crowd. A man stood, turned and made his way to the center of the room. He was a terribly scarred man. His face seemed misshapen. His nose and mouth formed almost a snout. He was covered with light hair over the visible parts of his skin. It was Jake Hardcastle himself. "My poor dear friend Jake did do a little wrong here and there. But should we prosecute him for doing things that we all have done? Let’s face it, the only crime that Jake has done is get caught and the rest of this godforsaken city hasn’t," he started to grin. "Now this winged freak of Metro has taken Jake’s life, and you want to persecute Jake. Well I think that is absurd."

"Pardon me sir, but exactly who are you?" asked Elliot.

"Me, I’m just a man who has seen a lot in his time and helped out his old friend by acquiring his businesses. Let’s just say that I’m a man who has ventured down the highway to hell and taken it for himself. Who am I you ask? You may call me . . . The Jackal."

As the Jackal turned, his men started to fire into the air. The sergeant tried to make his way through the crowd with his box of evidence. The Jackal saw him and rushed over to the sergeant. Tony stood in awe of what he witnessed taking place. He watched helplessly as the Jackal’s army unleashed chaos. Elliot and Vivica tried to clear themselves of the onslaught. Vivica noticed that Tony was somewhat in a daze and ran over to him.

"Come on Tony. We’ve got to get out of here."

"Go on. I’ll meet up with you later," Tony ordered. Elliot grabbed Vivica and headed out of the melee. Tony, however, moved closer to where the Jackal was. The Jackal caught the sergeant with the box of evidence.

"I don’t think you’ll be needing this now. So let me take this off your hands." He snatched the box from the sergeant and dashed to a parked car that was waiting for him. As he reached the car Tony gazed deeply at the Jackal, as if he noticed something about him. The Jackal simply smiled at him and waved goodbye.

Tony hurried home. He had Jeffrey pull up his files on Jake Hardcastle and the old articles about the night of his father’s death. "Jeffrey, I’m going to have to be out for a while. Let me know when you get that information together for me."

"And what will you be doing, Sir?"

"I have to go see the sergeant. Something is very wrong about Hardcastle’s apparent death."

"You seem to have forgotten about Ms. Jones, sir. When will you tend to that matter?"

"I don’t have time for that right now, Jeffrey," he paused for a minute," "I do miss her though."

The Knight Hawk met Thompson at their usual spot.

"What is it this time?" Thompson inquired.

"I think that Hardcastle is still alive. The Jackal incident today, something wasn’t right."

"Yeah, you didn’t show up. I know you enjoy the cover of night, but if you’re going to help, it shouldn’t have made any difference."

"It had nothing to do with the time of day. I would have liked to help, but I couldn’t be there at that time. Not as myself anyway." The Knight Hawk’s visor began to glow.

"I guess I understand. So what now?"

"Just be patient. I’ll let you know."

Meanwhile, in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Metro, the Jackal sat back with his gang and thought out their next move.

"You see, Bob. Everything is going to be just fine. The mutation made me stronger, faster, smarter, heh, better looking. We do, however, have to deal with this infernal bird. I need some bird seed to catch this bird brain."

"What about that reporter lady, we could use her for bait."

"Eureka, I know. I’ll use that reporter lady, Ms. Jones. She’ll be perfect live bait. Ha, ha, I’m a genius."

"But boss, I just . . . "

"Never mind that, Bob," he interrupted, "we have a show to put together." He set up cameras and prepared his presentation to Metro City. He had Bob get a false message out to Vivica to have her meet ‘Tony’ at a small time news studio in Metro to talk about putting together a news station for her and Elliot. The trap was set.

That evening, Vivica called and asked Jeffrey to inform Tony that she would be late for the meeting she thought she was having with him. The Knight Hawk was on his way home when he got the call.

"Jeffrey, I’m on my way back to Hawk Mountain. Are there any messages for me?" the Knight Hawk asked.

"No sir. Wait, there is a message from Ms. Jones. She said that she would be a little late for your meeting tonight. I’ve already prepared your attire for the night."

"Ok Jeffrey, thank you. Wait a minute. I don’t have a meeting with her."

THE CONSCIOUSNESS

Jeffrey explained to the Knight Hawk how Vivica was expecting to meet him at an abandoned studio to discuss fixing up the studio and funding the station for her and Elliot. The Knight Hawk got the address of the old news studio from Jeffrey and headed for the station. Meanwhile, the Jackal set up the studio for his own purposes. He intended to use it as a platform to let the citizens of Metro City know of his presence. His idea was to have Vivica interview him live and maybe declare her his bride. Vivica arrived shortly after the Jackal and his men finished setting up. She wandered around and pondered exactly what was going on. The lights suddenly turned on and the Jackal stepped out of the shadows.

"Hello there, my dear. You’re just in time for Malice T.V."

"What?" she asked, stunned at the Jackal’s appearance.

"Come now, dear, take your place. Boys, powder her up. We don’t want you shining on the tube now." The Jackal’s men started moving Vivica over to her position on the stage. They powdered her up as the Jackal asked and cleared away. The Jackal handed her a mike and took his seat beside her.

"Ok dear. Just introduce me and I’ll take care of the rest," he said. The Jackal and Vivica then began their impromptu interview. After she introduced him, the Jackal began to tell the citizens of Metro his intentions.

"Dear citizens of Metro, I come to you with a message of great importance. I’m a man of theater and art. And in honor of my love for art and theater, I have declared that it is time for a renaissance in Metro. I call it, the Age of Chaos. Now there’s no need to applaud me, just sit back and enjoy the first show. Yes, I know you’re all asking yourselves, ‘How do I get to one of these fabulous showings of chaos and mayhem?’ Well I’m a man of equal opportunity so all shows will be perfectly free and open to the public. In Metro square, I’ve strategically placed several bombs. So, those of you who happen to be at home right now do not despair. Just sit back and enjoy the fireworks, I’ll be committing acts of malice soon at a location near you." He ended his transmission and turned his attention to Vivica. She looked at him in disbelief and got up, backing away from him.

"You’re a mad man."

"No, I’m carnivorous."

"You can’t do that. There will be thousands of people killed in that explosion!"

"So there’ll be a few casualties. It’s all in the name of chaos," he retorted jovially.

As the Knight Hawk neared the location of the studio, he received a call from Jeffrey.

"Sir, did you hear the news?" Jeffrey asked.

"Yes, Jeffrey. This is going to be pushing it, but I have to get Vivica first."

"Good luck, sir."

The Jackal continued to chase Vivica around the station, his men laughing in merriment.

"Come now, I’m in the mood for love," he crooned, "simply because you’re near me."

"Get away from me you creep!" Vivica began to run, but the Jackal caught her by the arm and pulled her to him. Suddenly there was a grumbling noise from in front of the building. Startled, the Jackal turned toward the sound. Vivica stopped struggling and looked toward the front also. A loud crash followed as the Knight Hawk’s car, the Midnight Racer, tore through the station.

As it made its stop, the car’s top sliding doors opened and sprung the Knight Hawk into the air. He spun down and landed in the middle of six of the Jackal’s men. He prepared himself for the ensuing fight. As they attempted to collapse upon him, the Knight Hawk executed a spinning roundhouse kick and cleared them all away, knocking them unconscious. He rushed to the platform where Vivica and the Jackal were standing. Two more of the Jackal’s men met him, from behind and in front. He dodged a punch by the first, grabbing the crook’s arm as it went by. The Knight Hawk flung him into two oncoming thugs to his right. The man behind him continued his pursuit. The Knight Hawk reached in his belt and pulled out a ball and threw it at the crook. As it approached the crook, it burst open and a net wrapped around the crook. The force pushed him back into a wall and imprisoned him there. As the Knight Hawk turned and continued to the platform, four more felons approached him. He again reached into his belt and pulled out three small pellets. He tossed them at the feet of the men and the balls emitted a gas that immediately subdued the felons.

The Knight Hawk then got a running start and took off into flight. He glided over to the Jackal and Vivica as they watched him fly towards them. The Knight Hawk lowered his talons and grabbed Vivica as he flew by. As he angled himself up toward the ceiling, he dove down, making a U-turn and flying back toward the Jackal. The Jackal watched on with a big smile upon his face. As the Knight Hawk approached the Jackal, his talons rotated up to his chest, securing Vivica closer to him. He swooped over the Jackal and flew through the skylight in the ceiling, dropping a handful of smoke pellets in his wake. The Jackal rushed over to the opening where the Knight Hawk flew out.

"Now that’s an entrance and exit for ya," started the Jackal, "A little sloppy on the entrance, but oh what an exit. And those props, I’ve gotta find out who’s his prop man. Oh, yeah this is gonna be fun." As the Jackal’s men approached the Midnight Racer, it shifted into gear and backed out. It continued down a path toward Metro Square.

As his car made its way to the square, the Knight Hawk also soared toward the site, with Vivica holding on tightly to him. He directed the car to drive under him. As it approached under him, he flew lower to enter the car. As the car’s door opened up, he lowered Vivica in as he hovered above. He then let himself into the car. As he settled into his seat, he turned and saw a large truck crossing the street that he was on. He hit a switch in the car and it leaped over the truck, continuing on his way to Metro Square.

"How long till the bombs go off?" He spoke into a hidden mike in his helmet. Vivica watched him as though he had just lost his mind.

"You have approximately five minutes, sir."

"Can you get a location on each bomb, and a count?"

"Already ahead of you, sir, there are twelve. The square is hexagonal; he has placed a bomb on each side and on each corner."

"Ok, lock in the coordinates of each of the bombs to the Racer’s computer."

"Yes, sir."

"Are you all right?" Vivica asked concernedly.

"Fine," he answered staidly.

The Knight Hawk reached the square with three minutes remaining. He parked the Midnight Racer in the center of the square and fired twelve grapples out at the locations of the bombs. All twelve grapples clasped the bombs and reeled them in to the Midnight Racer. The Knight Hawk gathered the small bombs together and activated an eject button in the Midnight Racer. It propelled him high into the air, where he unleashed booster rockets from his boots to propel him higher into the air. He then reached into his belt and pulled out a gun-like weapon with a cable attached to it. He tied the bombs to the cable and fired the gun, launching the bombs into the night air. He then spread his wings and glided back toward the city. An explosion soon followed. The city was saved.

The Jackal had seen all that the Knight Hawk had done from his hidden cameras that he had place within the square to watch his handiwork. He sat back and smiled thinking about what had happened.

"You know, Bob, every age of the prior Renaissances had a theme. I have decided upon my theme, and it is the Knight Hawk. He handled this all with flair and panache. A good show, eh, Bob?"

"If you say so boss. But are you saying that you ain’t gonna rub out the bird?"

"Oh, no. Murder is too easy. Chaos is the way to go. He shall be the subject of all my endeavors in malice. It will be delightful to watch him try and stop me. The game is now afoot."

The Knight Hawk arrived at Hawk Mountain with Vivica, who was a little astonished about what had happened. He had her follow him over to his computer lab. She looked around the lab noticing the rare birds that the Knight Hawk kept there.

"Your aviary houses very rare birds. Unusual, since it’s in a large cave like this."

"They are called night hawks. A rare species of bird, as you say. They are wondrous animals. Smaller than most birds, yet they hunt prey much larger than themselves. They are one of only a few classes of nocturnal birds."

"I know. A friend of mine discovered them a long time ago."

"Interesting."

"So what do you want with me? Or are you trying to impress me with your little pad?"

"I have some information for you to get to Mr. Smalls for The Chronicle. I think this will help prove that the Jackal and Jake Hardcastle are one in the same. The mutagen he fell into seems to have caused some genetic change in him. That’s why he looks different. I also have copies of the information he stole from Sergeant Thompson. This will help to bring down the Jackal’s businesses and give grounds to charge him if we ever get our hands on him again."

"Well I’m sure you could have delivered this yourself."

"No," he said regretfully, "I don’t have that kind of credibility with the citizens of Metro at this time."

"Well think about it," she responded, "The Jackal may be a true mutant, but to everyone else you are just as much a mutant as he is. I mean, you fly around at night. You look like a giant metallic bird. You shroud yourself in secrecy. You can’t expect too much else from the public."

"Understood. It is time for you to go though." He placed his hand over her mouth and put her to sleep with a sleeping agent. He carried her, along with the information on the Jackal, back to her apartment. The next morning, Vivica called Elliot up and let him know about the information she had gotten from the Knight Hawk. They ran the article in the paper as a special edition. She also got the copies to Sergeant Thompson. When the Jackal got the paper, he was disgusted.

"This is preposterous. Now they’re going to be able to link all of my businesses together. This bird is getting on my nerves. He’s wearing the thread of life I’ve allowed him to have very thin."

"So what now, boss?"

"Well Bob, its time this stuck up little town had a big party to wake it up."

THE COMMITMENT

Vivica sat in the Chronicle’s record room and read over the information that she got from the Knight Hawk. She thought back on the vast cave with the expansive hardware that the mysterious man had in his possession. She was more intrigued, however, by the birds that he kept. As far as she could remember, the only person who knew exactly where to find the rare night hawk variety of birds was Tony Smith. She took a look at the pictures of the Jackal and Jake Hardcastle and noticed a distinguishing scar across his jaw. She started out of the room, but stopped when she saw the broadcast on television. It was the Jackal.

"Friends, enemies, lend me an ear. Now I’ll have to admit. The emergence of my new form was rather brash and uncalled for. I needed a new start though. I’d gone to heaven and they didn’t want me, and the denizens of hell were afraid I’d take over. So to Metro City I returned. And I’d like to make it up to you all. In return for the trouble I’ve caused you all, I’d like to give you all a festival . . . on me," he smiled gloriously, "Don’t worry about how I’ll fund it; I’ll take care of that. There’ll be food, fun and games. And for the main event, I’ll have a genuine freak show of genetic wonders quite like myself. So, please, come out tonight. And Knight Hawk, you are much welcome to come to the show. You and I got off to a bad start, but you can never have too many monsters in your pocket. So I say to you all, party the night away."

Vivica left the office in disgust, and headed to Smith Estates. Meanwhile Tony stared at a frozen frame of the Jackal after his broadcast. He looked attentively at the insidious smile of the Jackal, and noticed a deep scar across the Jackal’s jaw. He gritted his teeth in anger.

"Something wrong, sir? " Jeffrey implored.

"I’ve found my father’s murderer. This scar on the Jackal’s face was there when he was Hardcastle also," Tony said angrily.

"I don’t understand sir."

"That scar is an impression from my brother Bret’s tailor-made ring. The same impression he put on the thug who shot my father. The Jackal killed my father."

"Sir, please calm down. If you go after the Jackal tonight, you must go with a clear head."

"I will." He left for Hawk Mountain in a somewhat disoriented state.

Shortly after Tony left, Vivica arrived at the door. Jeffrey let her in and she explained to him what she had figured out. She knew that the Knight Hawk and Tony were one in the same. The night hawks that the Knight Hawk kept, his knowledge of the birds, Tony’s hidden anger all lead her to that conclusion. Jeffrey confirmed her suspicions and told her of his journey to master the arts and hone his body and mind to perfection. She told Jeffrey that she wanted to see Tony and he led her to Hawk Mountain. She saw Tony at his computer, deeply in thought.

"What do you think you are doing?" Vivica demanded of the Knight Hawk.

"I have a better question, what are you doing here?" Tony asked angrily.

"No. You’ve gotta stop this. You’ve had your fun and now it’s time to put away your little toys and come back to reality before you get yourself killed."

"I told you before, you don’t understand. He killed my father, and I must take him out."

"Oh, you’re the big bad Knight Hawk now. You don’t have to kill yourself. That’s not going to bring back your father."

"That’s true, but all my life I’ve talked about what’s wrong with the world and what should be done. I never took the initiative to actually do anything about the problems of our city or the world. That changes now, and if I die in the process, so be it. There will, however, never be another innocent citizen of Metro to fall at the hands of the villains of this city."

"Then what about us? I still love you, Tony, and I don’t want to see you killed out there," she began to cry, "So tell me, are we going to try and work this out?"

"Honestly, Vivica, I’d love to be with you again because my heart still longs for you. I’ve missed you dearly while I was gone. But there’s a monster in the city, and it’s time for some action." Tony began to get dressed for his showdown with the Jackal. He donned his dark blue and gray armor, strapped on his utility belt and stared deeply into the night sky. His time of reckoning had come. The Jackal, meanwhile, had set up a festival just as promised for the citizens of Metro. There was, however, a surprise in store.

"Boss," Bob asked the Jackal, "where are you going to be getting these mutants from?"

"From the same place I came from. I’ve prepared a mutagen bath for some of my best men, including you Bob."

"But boss, I don’t wanna be a mutant."

"Oh, don’t be so wishy-washy Bob. It will be wonderful to have you as my right-hand mutant. We’d be like birds of a feather, cackling together. Besides, I’m gonna need someone to head up my Mutates and who better than my number one guy?" Bob reluctantly agreed to lead the Jackal’s Mutates.

They arrived at one of the Jackal’s labs and entered a secret basement. Bob saw the containment units bubbling over with a greenish liquid. He and four other men entered the units. The Jackal flipped a switch and the process began. He smiled, rubbing his hands together and anticipating his creations. The machines stopped churning and five new individuals exited the containment units. The Jackal looked upon his minions and inspected each of them. There was an ape, a bear, a lizard, an alligator, and a wolf. The Jackal dubbed them Simeon, Grizzlor, Hiss, Gator and Fang, respectively. Bob led the Mutates as Fang. They gathered together and headed for the festival.

The festival was a smash just as the Jackal had promised. Everyone was partying and dancing and having a wonderful time. The Knight Hawk, meanwhile, was headed to the lab where the Jackal created his Mutates. He crashed through the front door of the lab and began an assault on the members of the Jackal’s army that were left behind. He then dispensed of the mutagen that remained from the Jackal’s experiments. Unbeknownst to the Knight Hawk, however, the Jackal had already taken what he needed. The Jackal had planned to mutate everyone at the festival with a concentrated dosage of the mutagen, which would grossly disfigure the citizens of Metro. He made his way to the arena where the festival was being held. Time was running out.

The Jackal gathered everyone into the main arena to view his mutant creations. He had his men fill the sprinkler systems with his mutagen so that when he gave the signal, the mutagen would shower the citizens with mutagen and transform them.

"Welcome all to the greatest show in Metro. Now what we have here folks is a spectacle of sheer genius. Imagine, man and beast combined as one. I give you, the Mutates."

He opened a curtain and in glass casings he had his Mutates in view for all to see. The crowd stood in amazement at the sight of these freaks of nature. The Knight Hawk arrived shortly after the Mutates were unveiled. The Jackal announced the Mutates as the marvels that his money laundering and any other profit bearing deals he may have entered into funded. The Knight Hawk made his way to the roof of the arena and attempted to disconnect the mutagen tanks from the sprinkler systems. The Jackal prepared to unleash his mutagen upon the crowd. The Knight Hawk however had put a twist to his plans.

"Well, fair citizens of Metro. As I said to you when I announced this great gala. This town needs a change. And where better to make that change than with each one of you. So now, I end your boring, normal lives, but remember, beauty is only skin deep." He looked up and expected to find a shower of mutagen fall upon the crowd, but instead saw a shower of confetti. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. The Jackal growled in anger.

"Who replaced my mutagen with confetti?" he screamed. As he looked around, angry about what had happened, he heard the roof crash in from above. The Knight Hawk was gliding down to the floor of the arena. The crowd dispersed in chaos. The Knight Hawk spiraled down, landing in the middle of the room.

"This ends now Jackal," the Knight Hawk shouted vehemently at the Jackal.

"Well now, the inevitable contest arises. The dog-faced gremlin to do battle with the bird of prey," he sarcastically retorted. "But now is not quite our time. You see, this drama requires a grand fight before the climax. Mutates, please, retire the bird."

He released the Mutates and they made their way to the Knight Hawk. The crowd began to flee from the building. The Knight Hawk stood ready for the attack of the Mutates. Simian was the first to attack. He rushed the Knight Hawk, pushing him into a row of chairs. As they fell, the Knight Hawk flipped Simian over him and jumped to his feet. He stepped back to regain his composure and backed into Grizzlor. Grizzlor grabbed him and crushed him in a bear hug. As Grizzlor squeezed tighter around him, crushing his ribs, the Knight Hawk noticed that Simian had started to recover and had begun to make his way to the Knight Hawk. The Knight Hawk knew he needed to free himself from Grizzlor before Simian got there. He reached into his belt and pulled a stun dart out and jammed it into Grizzlor’s side. Grizzlor dropped him and stumbled back. The Knight Hawk didn’t recover fast enough, however, to dodge Simian. Simian lifted him high over his head and tossed him to the side. The Knight Hawk balled himself up to brace his fall and rolled to his feet after he landed. The Knight Hawk was swept off his feet by Hiss’s tail as he stood. He looked up to find Simian charging at him. Simian attempted to crush him with his two large fists. The Knight Hawk rolled out of the way and sprang himself over to another row of chairs. He turned and saw Gator tearing through the chairs trying to reach him. Gator tried to bite the Knight Hawk, but the Knight Hawk was able to grab Gator’s massive jaws and flip him over. The Knight Hawk jumped up to regroup himself and saw, standing to his right, the Jackal’s right-hand man, Fang, formerly Bob. Fang snarled at him and shoulder rammed him into the middle of the arena. The Jackal watched all this from off in the distant aisles, but turned and noticed Vivica on her way out with the rest of the crowd. He went over and grabbed her arm.

"Leaving so soon, dear?" he asked Vivica.

"Let her go, you monster!" shouted Elliot.

"Back off butt-head. Your dance is over. The lady needs a real man. Quit being a card, better yet, have a card." He tossed a razor sharp card at Elliot. It hit him, embedding itself in his shoulder as he fell. The Jackal jerked Vivica’s arm, pulling her to him.

"Now, if I remember correctly, the last time we were together, I was a man doing extremely well. Then that beak-faced freak comes to mooch in on my action. So, we must start over by consummating our new relationship in chaos. Come with me my dear."

"Kniiiiigggghht Hhhhaaawwwkk!!!!!" Vivica screamed out for her hero.

The Knight Hawk turned and saw the Jackal dragging her away. His visor glowed in anger. The Knight Hawk turned and crouched, facing the Mutates. The Mutates approached the Knight Hawk slowly. The Knight Hawk reached into his belt and pulled out several smoke pellets. He threw the pellets at the Mutates’ feet. A suffocating smoke surrounded the Mutates. The Knight Hawk then made his move. He rushed to Simian first, and kicked him with a somersault kick. He then reached into his belt and pulled out his net balls and hurled them at Hiss and Gator. The force pushed them into the wall and imprisoned them there. The smoke didn’t as easily affect Grizzlor, being a little larger than the others. He squinted and saw the Knight Hawk, and rumbled over to him. The Knight Hawk saw him coming and grabbed his cable gun and fired it at Grizzlor. The cable wrapped around him and tied him up, bringing him to the ground. Fang’s eyes were more adept to seeing through the smoke, being a wolf, and he charged the Knight Hawk as he finished off Grizzlor. The Knight Hawk saw him coming out of the corner of his eye. He pulled out one of his darts from his belt and flung it at Fang. It wrapped around Fang’s mouth like a muzzle. The Knight Hawk reeled him in and side kicked Fang in the chest. As the smoke cleared, the Knight Hawk looked up and saw the Jackal taking Vivica to the upper arena press box area. He got up, stumbling, and groggily made his way after them.

"You know. I wonder if the old bird has ever played 52 pick-up?" the Jackal asked smiling. He started placing cards strategically throughout the upper deck of the press box. Vivica attempted to pull away from the Jackal all the way to the top. The Knight Hawk stumbled through the stadium seats trying to make his way to Vivica. After he placed the cards around the press box, the Jackal held Vivica, waiting for the Knight Hawk. He hoped to detain the Knight Hawk long enough for his exploding cards to go off.

"You know, I really don’t know what you see in that fake. He doesn’t even have real wings, or even feathers. Me, on the other hand, I’m a real beast of a man."

"You disgust me," she snarled at him.

"Really? I’ve had worse comments. You are waiting on your knight in shining feathers to arrive though, aren’t you? Don’t worry, he will come, we both know that. I’ll have a true bust hand for him when he arrives though."

"What . . . "

The Knight Hawk finally arrived at the press box area. The Jackal saw him come up and prepared to take his prey.

"We can truly say that Metro City is most definitely a jungle now. You know, a different time, a different jungle, maybe we’d have been fellow predators. Nah, I can’t stand down wind of birds. Your kind tends to have accidents."

"I don’t think so Jackal. You’ve taken my city, you’ve taken my father, and you’ve taken my girl. This is your time to fall."

"Oh, come now, I killed your father. Must have been an accident, but you, ha ha, you purposely dropped me in that vat of mutagen. No harm done though. I love the new me." He spun around to show off his new form. He pulled his left arm from under his coat to reveal a large cannon mounted on his arm. He smiled at the Knight Hawk.

"It’s show time bird boy." He fired at the Knight Hawk. The Knight Hawk leaped out of the path of the blast, and rushed behind a pillar for cover. The Jackal fired at the pillar and blew off the top, right above the Knight Hawk’s head.

"I’ve really got you fired up now, eh bird brain. Here, take a card, oh, take the whole deck." He started flinging his exploding cards at the Knight Hawk. The Knight Hawk began to jump and dance around the exploding cards.

"How do you like my fireworks feather head? They’re a real blast, huh. I kill me, I’m such a card, aren’t I?"

The Knight Hawk leaped behind a row of benches. He pulled a few smoke pellets from his belt, and tossed them at the Jackal. Vivica started to run from the Jackal as he coughed and stumbled in the smoke. The Knight Hawk grabbed one of his discs and threw it at the Jackal’s cannon and jammed the barrel. The Jackal ran off into the shadows.

"Give it up Jackal. It’s over. You can’t win."

"Ok, ok, ok. Let’s talk this over now. Let’s say you and I go out, have a drink, talk about old times, and then I’ll kill you?" He vaulted up and threw four exploding cards at the Knight Hawk. The Knight Hawk sprang into the air, dodging the cards, and pounced on the Jackal. He lifted the Jackal up and tossed him into a row of chairs. As the Jackal attempted to get up, the Knight Hawk grabbed him and punched him in the stomach. The Jackal buckled over and the Knight Hawk kicked him in the chin, knocking him over backward. The Knight Hawk walked over and pulled the Jackal to his feet and rammed him into a nearby wall. The Knight Hawk pushed the Jackal’s head into the wall. He then backs away from the Jackal, and stares at him. The Jackal stood there, trying to collect himself.

"I knew it bird brain. You don’t have it in you. Ha, all you do-gooders are the same. Your morals get in the way."

"That’s where you’re wrong Jackal," the Knight Hawk interjected. "You see, you killed my father. I’ve had to bear the weight of dealing with his death for a long time. It’s time for you to pay. I don’t follow the same code of conduct as the law. I am the dark hand of justice, the necessary evil. So you see, killing you will not be a problem." The Knight Hawk reached into his belt and pulled out a spear gun he made especially for the Jackal. He had planned, if he ever caught his father’s killer, to kill him with this gun. He wanted to watch it drill its way into the murderers cold heart.

"Knight Hawk, NO!!" Vivica screamed out. "If you kill the Jackal, then you become just what he is. Don’t do this."

She slowly approached the Knight Hawk. He stood there, gun in hand, staring at the Jackal. The Jackal watched the Knight Hawk with an insidious grimace on his face. The Jackal’s recent state left him fearless of all things, including death. The Knight Hawk lowered the gun and dropped his head. Vivica walked over to him and placed her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. The Jackal took advantage of the moment and grabbed four of his cards and tossed them at the unsuspecting couple. The Knight Hawk spotted the cards coming their way and pulled himself and Vivica clear. As they fell over, he threw a ball at the Jackal, which exploded into three large darts, and knocked the Jackal out of the press box area. The Knight Hawk lifted Vivica to her feet and held her close to him.

"I guess I should thank you for helping me make the right decision."

"It’s ok. That’s what friends are for."

"I hope we can start over and become more than friends."

"Why certainly my hero." At that moment Vivica remembered what the Jackal had told her before the Knight Hawk arrived. The press box was going to explode. She told the Knight Hawk and he began to look around for the exploding cards. He saw, scattered around the room, glowing cards everywhere. The Knight Hawk grabbed Vivica and ran over to the window. He put his arm around her waist and pulled out his grapple gun. He fired it at the top of the arena at the other side and swung from the press box. As they swung away, the press box exploded. They made their way down to the bottom of the arena and started to search for the Jackal’s body. They found what appeared to be the Jackal’s body. When they got to the body, they realized that it wasn’t the Jackal at all. It was a cackling replica of him. The police had started to arrive and the Knight Hawk knew that he had to leave.

"So what will you do now?" Vivica asked him.

"I’ve realized something now, Vivica. I can’t just do this for me, I have to do this for the innocent citizens of Metro City."

"But what about the people of Metro City? They don’t trust you. How can you protect them if they are afraid of you?"

"I’ll have to act undercover. Sgt. Thompson will continue to be my link to the city. One day, maybe the city will understand and accept me as their guardian. Until then, however, I must fight from within the shadows. I’ll see you later tonight."