Jake felt a twang of guilt.

 

 

At the last second, Jake flicked his left hand to send a construct down just as Nightwing hit the water. Moments later, Nightwing resurfaced, perched atop an unexpected vessel—a colossal, yellow rubber ducky. Jake appeared long enough to give his foe a salute, then renewed his cloaking before shooting off at a sizable fraction of the speed of sound, ~Yellow, assuming you stored those individuals' cell phones, hack into them and attempt to uncover their intentions and the purpose behind targeting these women. Keep me informed of any findings.~

 

Jake kept low, to make sure he stayed off any radar and zoomed along the shoreline. He swiftly located a concealed spot amidst the underbrush, a suitable hiding place for the container. Touching down, Ivy and Catwoman emerged from the container and looked around. Ivy spoke up, "This isn't anywhere close to our intended destination... but I can call someone for a ride."

 

~I have some phone numbers that are no longer valid. Otherwise, I don't have anything useful, Master.~

 

Jake was frozen in indecision, his mind swirling with uncertainty. Catwoman approached him cautiously, her movements were calculated and wary, treating him as one would approach a dangerous creature. She hesitated before speaking, her voice filled with concern, "Are you...?" She paused, her lip caught between her teeth, "I was going to ask if you were okay, but... you're not, are you?"

 

Jake shook his head, "I have gaps in my memory. Some of it appears to be from damage, and some of it is deliberate. I sometimes get flashes. I'm... remembering... a war. Men fighting... dying. We..." He touched the side of his head as he closed his eyes, "Didn't always win."

 

Ivy approached and spoke plainly, "Back at the warehouse. They were terrible men. Tell yourself that." As cold as her words were, it appeared that she was attempting comfort, in her own way.

 

Jake looked up, "What did they need-" He glanced at the container before continuing, "Fourteen women for, anyways?" Jake blinked and did a double take, "Hold it." He peered closer at the container, ~Yellow... medical scan. What do they all have in common?~

 

The inside of the container flared with a pulse of yellow, ~All female. All young. All post-puberty. Most quite recently. All of them are virgins. Correction. Thirteen virgins. One not. Otherwise, no genetic characteristics match. I cannot read their minds, so I am unaware if they have any memetic similarities.~

 

Jake blinked and turned back to Ivy, "Who the hell needs thirteen virgins?"

 

Catwoman blinked, "I knew they were looking for special girls, but I had no idea that the guy they were kidnapping for had that sort of fetish."

 

Jake shook his head and hit his temple with the heel of his hand, "No. No no no. This seems familiar." Abruptly his costume vanished to be replaced with his armor.

 

Ivy showed no reaction, but Selina took a step back, "Uhhh... What's with the new look?"

 

Jake ignored her and ran a hand over his pouches, "I remember... there was a book." He flipped open one pouch and pulled out a tome way too large for the container. It was a book titled 'Daemonologie, 8th edition' He flipped to the back and started checking the index, "Virgin sacrifice... Virgin sacrifice..." He clicked his tongue a few times, "Virgin sacrifice, mass. Cursing... Ah. Summoning. See page One oh two." He flipped through the book to the right page and started to read the section.

 

~You know I could just assimilate the entire book, Master.~ Yellow suggested.

 

"Like I'd trust you," Jake muttered under his breath as he quickly flipped through the pages of the book. His eyes scanned the text, searching for relevant information. "Demon summoning... thirteen for the sacrifice..." He looked up as he snapped the book shut, "One for the host." His expression remained focused as he tucked the book into a pouch. He moved towards the container, "Red, scan the women. Check for any unusual physical characteristics that might distinguish the odd one out from the others."

 

~The odd one doesn't seem to be pure human. There is some sort of xenological contamination. Most likely several generations removed.~ One of the women were highlighted with a red aura briefly to indicate which one was different.

 

"Crap."

 

Ivy followed behind, "If you honestly think this is occult in some fashion, it would explain some of the odd rumors I was hearing lately."

 

Jake returned to his regular blended Lantern outfit as he looked at Ivy, "Explain?"

 

Ivy approached with crossed arms, her gaze fixed on the peculiar individual, "I make it a point to stay connected with outsiders. Especially when there's an increase in paranormal activities. It seems like there's something unusual going on."

 

Catwoman leaned her head into the container. Her tone carried a mix of concern and remorse, "All I know is I received word that someone had placed a request for a large number of young girls. The madams in town sensed something sinister about it. It smelled of Snuff. But I never imagined it would be this horrific." She turned her gaze toward Jake, "So, you hunt demons?" Her lips curved into a sly, half-smile, "You're an actual knight in shining armor, huh?"

 

Jake responded with a smirk of his own. "Yep, complete with a holy sword and everything." However, his expression quickly shifted to a frown. "My memories are in fragments." He sighed, frustration evident on his face. "I think after the... demon lord?" He snapped his finger, "RIGHT! There... That was it. We had killed the Demon Lord. I... wait. We killed... two?" He rubbed his eyes, "Damnit! The pieces keep scattering! I was close to remembering something important. There's just... something missing." He struck his forehead with the heel of his palm in frustration. "Damn it! It was right there. I almost had it!"

 

Ivy and Catwoman looked at each other. Ivy looked back at Jake, "Normally, most people would just assume you were insane, but I've seen crazier things." Jake was about to reply to her when vehicle lights flashed over the hole in the side of the container.

 

Jake rushed out to see a large delivery truck pulling up. The back opened up and out jumped several women. All were heavily armed, except the one carrying nothing but paramedic equipment. The driver turned off the lights and greeted Ivy, "Hiya Red! We were waiting at the meet, but ya flower said ya needed help so I followed her directions here." She jogged a chin towards Jake, "Who's the stiff?"

 

Jake blinked in surprise at the driver's minstrel-like outfit and distinctive red and blue pigtails. He hesitated for a moment before turning to Ivy, "Seems like you've got everything under control here." He gestured towards the girl in the container who stood out from the others, "Keep a close watch on her. We haven't stopped the men who were after these girls, so it's likely they'll make another attempt. I'm not sure why they specifically targeted her, but I have a feeling there's something supernatural in her family tree." He glanced over his shoulder, concern etched on his face, "I doubt they have an easy replacement."

 

Ivy nodded, then slid up close to Jake to speak sweetly in a voice that seemed to carry with it a subtle threat, "You broke my arm."

 

Jake looked back at her with as flat an expression as possible, "And you tried to control my mind. Let's call it even."

 

She briefly raised an eyebrow and gave Jake a short nod before turning to talk to her team. Catwoman lingered behind, "You know, dumping Nightwing in the river is going to get Bats' attention."

 

Jake nodded and glanced at her, "Yeah yeah... The problem is, I can't just go and hide. So whatever happens, I'm just going to have to face it head-on."

 

She nodded slowly then let out a soft chuckle, "Funny. Now I know a black knight and a white knight."

 

Jake smiled, but it was a bitter one, "A tarnished knight, I'm afraid."

 

Catwoman reached out to take both of Jake's hands and lift them to eye level. She focused on his rings as she spoke, "I understand what it's like to bear a burden that you can't put down." She gave his hands a reassuring squeeze before meeting his gaze, "Thanks for helping and..." She tilted her head to the side, "It's good to know my perfect breasts saved my life."

 

Jake winced, "Uhhh... yeah. Sorry about that." He tried to pull his hands away, but she held on, "Hey. It makes you human." She squeezed one last time before letting go, "Try to hold onto that." She turned and started walking away, "Perhaps I'll see you around."

 

As she walked inside the container, Jake couldn't help but watch her behind and note that perhaps she was putting a little extra sway in her step, "Uhhh... yeah. I think I'd like that." He clenched his teeth, closed his eyes tightly, and shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Without further hesitation, he propelled himself into the air, soaring high into the night sky and headed downtown.

 

 

 

 

 

~Chasing after tail is going to be the death of me.~