Ven woke up with a pounding headache inside the strange house. The roof was exposed, the stars eyeing him like the loser he was.

  He remembered what happened… He thought Con-Crush was down but he cheap shotted him when he turned his back on him. He failed.

  He held his damaged head, as he examined the immense pain. Both of his ears were bleeding, like rivers of blood. He examined all of the blood that was around the vicinity. He couldn’t tell whose blood was who’s; all he knew was that he lost a lot of it. His black shirt was now torn to shreds, all he could see now was all of the cuts from hardened concrete.

  His chest sunk to his heart… If he failed… that would mean.

  “Tamu… Asha,” Ven said weakly to himself as he struggled to get to his feet. His vision was extremely blurry, it was like he was trapped in some sort of fever dream.

  Con-Crush was saying some pretty dark things like how he would end Tamu’s entire blood line. He had to get to Tamu and Asha… He had to make sure they were okay.

  He exited the destroyed house limping. Many people were gathered outside to see the aftermath of the brutal showdown. The streets looked like a land fissure happened, and about four to five houses were practically obliterated.

  As he limped towards his destination, he abruptly got on his knees and violently began to cough out of blood. He could barely see anything now, everything around him was going dark.

  I’m finally dying, aren’t I? He wanted to just lie there in call an ambulance (though it probably wouldn’t arrive in Ashton.), but he couldn’t do that. He had to fight past his own fears and find a way to Tamu’s house. Seeing all of that blood was absolutely horrifying.

  He shook his head as he audibly sighed. He rose back to his feet, now fueled with more strength. He walked towards the house, and soon, the pace of the walk gradually increased. His vision also improved little by little.

  That walk felt like an eternity. Each step made him more and more anxious. He kept thinking of the worst possibility that could happen. Were they alive?

  Finally and fearfully, Ven arrived to Tamu’s house. At first he thought nobody was there until he saw someone weeping on the front porch. It was Tamu, but she looked a lot different.

  “Tamu!” Ven called out, as he tried to force himself to run to her.

  “Ven! You’re alive! Con-Crush said he killed you.”

  “Well he was wrong, I’m—.”

  Ven froze when he stared at Tamu. He was so shocked that he felt like he was about to break down.

  “Tamu… what happened to you?”

  Tamu began to cry again before placing her hand on the blood that spilled out of her left eye. “Con-Crush came and said it was time for us to die. Asha then begged him to spare me. Con-Crush agreed as long as she let herself be sold into sex slavery. He then said he still wanted me to pay for stealing… so he picked me up… and took out my eye. Then he placed my right leg in concrete and completely shattered it… I don’t think… I’ll ever walk with it again.”

  Monster, Ven thought angrily to himself. If only he could have put him down sooner, then this nightmare would have never taken place.

  “I’m sorry Tamu, I couldn’t beat him. It’s all my fault,” said Ven somberly.

  “No, it’s not your fault, it’s my fault! If I never stole from the Cinder-Fangs, none of this would have ever happened. I’m so sorry,” said Tamu before she began to weep again.

  Ven put his hand on her head as the young girl continued to weep. He didn’t know how to comfort her, but he definitely felt his rage build more and more each second. It felt like his head was floating in flames.

  “And one of the worst things is that I checked on my Mom after he took Asha… She won’t wake up at all now. I think she’s gone.”

  Ven flinched with sadness. “I’m so sorry.” With how ill her mother looked, it was no telling that she probably would have died soon regardless. Still, it was absolutely heartbreaking.

  “Please Ven, you have to save Asha! She’s my sister and I love her! I can’t live without her. You’re a superhero, you got to save her,” wept Tamu.

  Ven gritted his teeth as the rage continued to build. “Don’t call me a superhero!” Ven yelled.

  Tamu stopped crying and looked at Ven with a perplexed eye.

  “If I was a hero, I would have stopped him the first time,” said Ven as he tried to force himself not to shed tears. “Then Asha would have never been abducted, and he would have never hurt you.”

  “Ven,” said Tamu as she tried to wipe her tears.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “You can stop making that superhero costume, because I’m not going to be a hero! I’m going to do everything I can to bring back Tamu. I’ll call every police around and every bodyguard that my mother has. He’s not going to get away with this. Tell me what direction he went in and I’ll chase after him now.”

  “First off, I’ll never stop calling you a hero. Even if he beat you, you still fought him with everything you had. You could have ran away anytime, but you never did. Only a hero would do that! And you’re still here, as if you weren’t half dead before. You still want to find Asha yourself; that also makes you a hero. You’re a superhero rather you like it or not.”

  Ven looked into the young kid’s eyes as he soaked in her mature words. “How can you say that?” He covered his face as he began to sob. “I don’t think I even have what it takes.”

  Tamu tried to hop on her foot, as her crying face met Ven’s. With only one leg, it was difficult for her. “You’re a superhero Ven, I don’t care what you feel like. You’re a hero that gets back up when he fails. You’re someone that just can’t die, you just keep going as if you were completely restored. I know you haven’t saved Asha yet, but you saved me before, so I know you can save her too. You’re a superhero Ven, your name is The Rejuvenator, because you get back up restored.”

  Ven suddenly started laughing “Man that sounds so cheesy.”

  “It sounded way cooler in my head,” said Tamu as she tried to fight the brutal pain she was in. “That’s how they say things in the magazines.”

  “Don’t worry, Tamu… I’ll bring back Asha. I’ll also get someone to look at your mother, maybe she’s still alive. Just tell me what direction they went,” said The Rejuvenator.

  “They went that way,” Tamu pointed North.

  “I’ll be right back,” said Ven as he quickly jumped into the sky with an angry hop. Now it was time to make Con-Crush pay for all that he had done.

  The Rejuvenator continually and quickly hopped pavement to pavement as he continued in the direction that Tamu pointed at. Fortunately, he was not unconscious long so they couldn’t have gotten far. He was surprised that he had so much strength now, despite coughing up blood moments ago. He was still in a ton of pain, but he had to press on. Anxiety was not his master today.

  He pulled out his phone to call emergency services, he gasped when he saw his phone was completed shattered.

  “Dammit,” Ven said to himself, as he continued jumping.

  On the bright side, the phone was still functional, however it was slow and choppy.

  He finally called the emergency line.

  “What is your emergency?”

  “The cinder-fang gang member, Con-Crush was causing trouble in Ashton. I’m not sure where he’s running but I’m tailing him now. Send everyone you can to get this guy. We got people who need ambulances too.”

  The operator then immediately hung up the phone. “Dammit!” Ven said aloud again.

  He then tried to call Mlinzi, but also no answer. He was the only bodyguard he had in his contacts. What a bummer. He then called, Nuru the limousine driver, and fortunately, he picked up.

  “Master Vendel, where have you been? Your mother has been looking for you. What has taken place to where you’re calling me at five in the morning?” asked Nuru calmly.

  “Yeah… a lot has happened. I need you to get Mlinzi or any other bodyguard to Ashton immediately. I’m in pursuit of the Cinder Fang member Con-Crush right now. He’s got a hostage that I can’t let get away.”

  “Chasing Con-Crush in Ashton? Ashton is a very dangerous place. And I hope you’re not conducting vigilante activities, that would be highly illegal.”

  Ven continued his superpowered jumps, hoping to see any sign of Con-Crush soon.

  “Well… a lot has happened. Can you also please send some sort of emergency services in the street called _Hopevale Lane?_ There’s a lot of people there that need your help, especially an injured girl and her mother.”

  “I see… That is quite the predicament. In a sector like Ashton, it is hard to get any attention from emergency services, but we will see what else we can do.”

  “Thanks Nuru! And the bodyguards?”

  “That will prove to be a lot more difficult, as many of them only want wish to guard your mother, and not Ashton. I’ll try my best.”

  “Sounds great!”

  “I’m not entirely sure what you’ve been doing out there, but be careful out there Vendel.” Nuru hung up the phone.

  Ven’s grinned quickly returned to that of an enraged bull. He needed to push himself no matter how difficult it was. He kept jumping, and jumping, each one burning his legs more. He found himself in the commercial section of Ashton again, yet still, Con-Crush was nowhere to be found.

  He noticed two people walking on the ground, they were both wearing ski masks. Wearing ski masks at five in the morning was probably a sign of criminals. They had to have been Cinder Fangs.

  Ven, bloodied and injured, walked towards the two men almost with a demanding force.

  “Are you two in Cinder Fang?” asked Ven.

  “Who’s askin’!?” one of the men yelled as he pulled out a gun on Ven. Ven quickly grabbed the weapon and crushed it with his bare hand. The only thing the gun did was make his anger swell up more.

  He lifted the guy up by his shirt and looked him dead in the eyes. “I’m not in the mood for that. Are you in Cinder Fang? If you are, tell me where Con-Crush is right now.”

  “Chill,” the other guy said. “We saw him with a woman and two of our homies go that way. Put him down!”

  Ven calmly let the guy down to his feet. He was surprised the other gang member confessed so quickly to save his friend. Perhaps not every gang member was a bad person, just in the wrong profession (if you can even call it that.).

  “Sorry for threatening you, but you left me no other choice. Thank you.”

  Ven jumped again, going in a completely different direction. Now, he would definitely find him and finally satisfy his rage.

  Just thinking about Con-Crush at that moment made him feel sick to his stomach. If he had the heart to hurt a defenseless child, then there was no telling how many other people he had hurt. Judging by how terrified Asha was when she first laid eyes on him, he had to be someone with a wicked reputation. He should no longer be allowed to run free.

  He wasn’t sure if he was going to kill Con-Crush yet, but he knew he was definitely going to hurt him. He almost couldn’t wait. He was ready to continue the battle… he was ready to unleash his anger.

  Ven traveled in a direction that left him really confused eventually. He seemed to have left the city of Amani all together now. After nearly ten minutes, of fast jumping, the landscaped eventually turned to that of a rocky desert. The endless cacti was quite a sight to see. They were all adorned with glorious flowers, that were springing to the heavens.

  Why on Earth would Con-Crush be in this environment? Where was he trying to go?

  On a dusty road with a small lake, he finally saw the man who he would make pay for hurting Tamu and trying to sell Asha to a den of perverts. He was walking with Asha and two of his other grunts.

  “Con-Crush!” yelled Ven, anger filling his lungs again.

  Con-Crush stared and looked at Ven in disbelief. He could hardly believe his eyes.

  The battle was not over, but it was now coming to an end.