Marvel Crossover Universe One-shots (Part 1)

Runaway Demon

 In the busy afternoon on Los Angeles streets, there was a group of armed men roaming around the streets and chasing everyone. Some triggered their bullets to shoot anyone. Some of them fell down as the others were running away.

Suddenly, darkness engulfed the whole place when the terrorists became terrified and confused. They frantically yelled like a frenzied chimp which they found it too extraordinary. Then, a young Hispanic man appeared from nowhere. He was dressed in black and green. He maliciously grinned when he took his enormous machine gun from his back.

" Wait, who the heck is that?" the man in an obscure animal mask asked.

" He must be one of those Inhumans!" the younger man exclaimed.

" No, he's not! He's some sort of a demon, " the older one cried. " He's using darkness to scare us away! Everyone, shoot him!"

The armed men began shooting at the young man. He was also shooting them when they were bleeding and falling down. The older man quickly escaped from the tremendous ambush. He ran as he could and sought for a lighted place. Being halted, he surprisingly saw the same young man who started this powerful black out. He felt jittery and thought of fleeing again.

" You're not going anywhere, Señor!" the Hispanic teenager said when he took his sword.

" Who are you? What do you want from me? Why did you kill my buddies?"

" You ask too many questions, ese," he laughed. " The name is Jackal. You killed all the innocent people, here! I won't give you any chances." Jackal shrugged. " Anyway, I knew you're from the Watchdogs and putting anyone into their misery. You're gonna pay for what you've done!"

" No, please don't hurt me!" the Watchdog man cried when he saw the young man transformed into a demon. Suddenly, there were flashes of fire and bullets ceased Jackal's obscure ability. He looked behind as he saw his friends coming.

" John! " the voices from afar called his real name. " Stop doing it!" The young Hispanic man recognized them as he ran away. His friends were about to after him. The Watchdog man stood up and escaped until someone caught him. The other men were finding him, but he was nowhere in sight.

" Armando, it's too late," the Native American archer sighed. " He's having his troubles."

" Michael, he's my best friend," Armanhammer replied. " I want him to be back in our team."

" He has his own reasons why, " the other armored man named Zenofall answered. " At least, we caught this Watchdog."

" Okay, I hope he's going back someday," Armanhammer replied and turned to his team. " Let's go back to the HQ guys."

Johnathan or Jackal had been running away for several weeks into months. Something had changed him when all of his friends signed for the Sokovia Accords. That new regulation about being a registered enhanced person had frustrated him. For him, that law was like a 13th century tyrant who oppressed and manipulated the villagers from their freedom. Perhaps, he was unhappy for it reminded him of his past. He never wanted to be taken by law enforcers and interrogated by them. All he wanted was to fight crime and punish evil men by his own justice. But his friends decided to submit to the United Nations' requirement, they believed being enhanced should be responsible in their actions with the accordance to the law. From that time, he argued and confronted his friend Armanhammer. His friend convinced him to sign. Jackal was angry and leaving his teammate's base. That had started his life as a vigilante.

Several days later, Jackal spent his life on his van. That morning, he woke up from his sleep. He went to the convenience store to buy his breakfast. Looking at the newspaper stand, he saw a news article featuring Quake's seismic bank robbery and Ghost Rider's murderous exploits. Jackal was intently looking at the newspaper when he took it. Paying his expenses, he turned to his head to the store's TV screen. It featured a debate between Senator Ellen Nadeer and SHIELD Director Jeffrey Mace. The customers were attentively watching as the store manager pressed the remote control to increase its volume. Jackal fixed his eyes on the program when Mace revealed himself as an Inhuman. The crowd were surprised to hear from his response.

" That foolish lady gives me the creeps," the elderly man sighed and paid his groceries. " When will she ever learn?"

" Yeah, Señor, " Jackal smiled and nodded. " Inhumans are people, too."

" Well, the New Avenger is also one of them. That's why he left the superhero team. Maybe, he's scared of being bullied by those anti-Inhuman mafia. Perhaps, he never wanted to sign the Sokovia Accords just like Captain America and the others did."

" Tell me, who is he? I want to meet him."

" I forgot his name, son," the man wryly smiled. " But all I know he wears black. He's the ladies' favorite Avenger, a very good looking and an intelligent one. By the way, if you're looking for a girl. Why don't you try dating Quake!"

" Señor, I already have a girlfriend," Jackal nervously answered.

" I just get carried away, young man!" he laughed. " I better go. I need to check on the other hot sheets!

" Yeet! It's nice talking to you. Muchas Gracias! " Jackal gave him a salute and waved goodbye. He left the store when he entered his vehicle. Jackal ate his breakfast and kept reading the pages. He was curiously wondering about the Inhumans and the other enhanced people mentioned in the article. Jackal eyed in the Watchdogs' terror attacks when he remembered his attack against them.

Using his instincts, he sensed another trouble coming. He quickly moved the car-keys as the engine ignited. He immediately turned his steering wheel. His van was roaming on the road and speeding up. He knew the Watchdogs had more plans to destroy anyone. He thought of raiding them with a surprise ambush. But someone had hindered him when a Red Corvette followed his vehicle. Jackal steered to the left and avoided it. Then, some large black SUVs prevented him from escaping.

Jackal ceased driving and parked his vehicle. The man from the Corvette stepped out with his partner. They approached him when the young Hispanic man turned his head.

" I'm Philip Coulson of SHIELD," the brunette man in his fifties smiled and he introduced his companion. " This is my associate, Agent Alphonse Mackenzie. We're here to talk."

" What do you want to talk about?" Jackal indignantly asked.

" It has something to do with natural black-out incident," Mack answered. " We won't arrest you. We need more answers."

" Are you sure you won't put me into somewhere?"

" No, Director Mace needs you," Coulson calmly replied.

" Listen ese, I better go..."

" You won't leave. We need some answers."

" Okay, it looks like I've been caught for hunting the Watchdogs," Jackal sarcastically answered.

" Nope, " Mack crossed. " Someone also needs to see you."

" Someone?"

Coulson and Mack invited the young man into the SHIELD base. For him, the place seemed like a law enforcement office. Jackal turned his head to and fro. He was so amazed to see some interesting equipment and other supplies.

" Hey, ese! " Jackal beamed. " This place is cooler than my friend's HQ! You've got more awesome people working with you!"

" You'll find out more when you become a SHIELD agent," Coulson replied.

" Yeah, there will be a lot of things to do," Mack added. " We used to work with some Inhumans, before. Now, Yoyo and Pyrrha were remaining here."

" Hey, I'm no Inhuman! I'm just one of those enhanced people. Like Ghost Rider, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch."

" That's why we're here to interrogate you," a tall muscular man stood in front of them. " I'm Director Jeffrey Mace."

" I-interrogate?"

" Yes."

" You should stay away..."

" Calm down," Coulson seriously said. " We just need some answers. Please we need to gain trust from people like you."

" You don't know what you're saying, Señor! You're going to force me to register in that worthless regulation!"

" I understood your hatred," the SHIELD agent replied. " One of my subordinates had left this organization because of a certain tragedy and that code. She's my trusted and closest friend in my team. This time, you need to cooperate with us. Just give us some time to fix your issue."

Jackal felt deeply moved from Coulson's words. Mackenzie and Mace were attentively listening. He went to the interrogation room with them. The spotlight gave him a nervous outlook. The three men sat across him it was like a police scene. Jackal gulped and cleared his throat. This confrontation would lead him to face his fear of being interrogated.

" Jackal or Johnathan," Mace calmly spoke. " How should we address you?"

" My friends call me John," he replied. " You can call me, Jackal, Señor Mace."

" We studied your background very well," the director continued. " What made you to have superhuman abilities?"

" Something had changed me when my friends deserted me after the terrible fight. I was turning 17 when I was alone in Mexico. I was about to die when something weird happened. I saw the devil and I met him. He took my soul in exchange for my powers. He asked me to take revenge on my friend, but I decided to use it for good. I was able to use and control darkness. I transformed into a half-demon when I was fighting the terrorists in that country. Now, I'm able to hunt the Watchdogs without anyone's help."

" It's Ghost Rider related then," Mack nodded.

" Why did you leave your friends?" Coulson asked.

" They signed the Sokovia Accords. I'm against it because we don't have a chance to protect people with freedom. Yeah, in your eyes, I have violated every rule from it. You can arrest me, right now. " he humbly answered.

" No, we won't let you," Director Mace directly said. " This is not right to let you get imprisoned."

Coulson and Mack were amazed to hear from their superior's words. They couldn't believe in what he had said.

" What do you mean, Señor Mace? No te entiendo."

" I'll give you a chance to do crime fighting with your friends with SHIELD's assistance. We have both common enemies as I have learned from your teammates. I hope you can understand why they have signed the Accords. It's the only way to neutralyze themselves without hurting anyone. The Great Battle of Manhattan and the Fall of Sokovia had lead Secretary Ross to initiate this law."

" Please ,this is for your own benefit," Coulson added. " This is for the civilians' sake. We realized how important it is to protect people." Someone rapped on the door as Mack opened it. It was his friend Armanhammer who entered the room.

" Jackal, your friend needs you," Mack said with a concern. " This will lead you to reconcile."

" Armando?" he said in shock.

" I asked them to talk to you. " Armanhammer calmly replied. " We followed you when you're hunting those bad guys, but you quickly ran away. I'm sorry about what happened before. We both ended up with a fight. Then, we got worried about you. You made your own raidings by yourself. That's why we asked SHIELD for help. John, they're not gonna arrest you. They just want to fix this mess. Gema is also worried about you. She keeps crying and asking you to come back. She misses you very much. I can't stand to see your girlfriend crying, dude. Please, this is the only way to end our problems." He took his tablet and presented a document with the United Nations Insignia. " I'm sorry, John. This will help us to be more responsible than before."

Jackal carefully handed the tablet as he took a long time to read every article from top to bottom. He studied and analyzed it.

" Okay, I get it," he said and turned to the SHIELD people. " But you're going to help us to find more scums. We fight outlaws from another dimension and real-life criminals."

" Yes," Mace nodded. " Aside from SHIELD, the other allies will be dealing with you in your future missions."

" Allies, like the Avengers or some other secret organization or factions like us?"

" Affirmative," Mack smiled. " You'll be dealing with them as you protect the civilians. The important thing is to control your powers. But you have to be careful, because the government is expecting you to be more responsible as soon as you can without harming the innocent."

" I see!" Jackal nodded as he registered himself to the law. " Yeet! I'm in. Thank you for letting me understand this."

" You're welcome," Coulson smiled. " If you need any help, we're here to work with you. " Jackal shook his hands with them as his friend was pleased.

" Hey! You'll never run away, again!" Armanhammer joked and laughed.

" Sure, mi compadre! It's good to be back in the team again!"

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Few months later, Jackal was on the Streets of Los Angeles again as he went patrolling. His teammates assigned him to check the area for any possible threat. Parking his motorbike, he received a call from his best friend and picked up his phone.

" Yo, Armando! What's up?" he greeted.

" I got a message from Agent Johnson." Armanhammer replied.

" You mean, Señorita Quake?"

" Yeah, her team from SHIELD and some people in black suits are looking for an Inhuman who burns like a dragon. John, he's a half-Asian guy and an inch taller than you. He dresses in black. By the way, he's raiding some bad guys and space aliens. You gotta take him easy. He's too powerful and intelligent. Don't you ever kill him!"

" Hey, I always like to fight with some extremely super-powered people. It's part of the job." Jackal laughed and saw the Inhuman who they were talking about. He was scorching fire from his hands. His eyes reddened in anger as Jackal saw him.

" Armando, I think it's him. I get this!"