My name is Jacob Andrew Winchester. I’m 17, and your average highschool student. I deliver pizzas, go to the movies, and fight crime in a cape. To explain the last bit, you need to understand something. I live in a world where certain people have extraordinary powers. The abilities of animals, turned up to 11. We call ourselves totems. Some of us, such as myself, became heroes. Defending the innocents from those would abuse their power. Not all heroes do it for the right reason, some want fame and money. But, there are a few of us who do what's right, because it’s right. I have the powers of a wolf. Increased stamina, durability, senses. That means, nightvision, hearing sounds only dogs can, and I can smell pheromones released by humans, and read their emotions. I also have “super” strength. I might not be Superman or Hulk, but I can hold my own in a fight with my fists. They call me a lot of things. A myth, an urban legend, a monster. But, I call myself Fenrir the Wolf. 

I stood on a roof high above the city, and stared up at the black night sky. Ditko was a large metropolitan city. We had art, history, and science museums. Banks, and Tech Labs. There were beaches, and movie theaters. Malls, and a pizza joint on Parker Avenue with the best deep dish in the state. Ditko was nearly perfect. Nearly.

As good of a city as Ditko was, there were also the shadows that lurked within it.

Crime. There were your usual criminals, bank robbers, drug dealers etc. Then you had the smarter ones. The organized crime. In Ditko, they were a family. Run by one man by the name of Jack Valentino. He was a snake in every meaning of the word. He had killed so many people, and had hurt even more. He was a plague on this city, a leech draining what was good from the world. Valentino ran gun smuggling rings, drug deals, it seemed like he had the final word on every heist made. The worst part of it was that the law couldn’t touch him. They had no idea that the benevolent Jack Valentino was secretly Jormungandr, the most powerful crime boss in the city.

Valentino and I had squared off countless times before. Everytime he had escaped. But not tonight, tonight I would bring him to justice. He would pay for his crimes.

In our last fight, we had both been kidnapped by another totem, the Mole. Mole had wanted us both dead. He took my mask, locked us up in a death pit. Valentino and I had to work together to put a stop to his twisted plan to blow up the city. In the end, Valentino betrayed me and killed the Mole. He then told me that I would pay for taking his family away from him. That I would soon know that feeling.

It had been a month since then, and I hadn’t heard from Valentino since. Then, on my way home from school, I had gotten a text that my best friend had gotten kidnapped.

I knew right away that Valentino had taken her. And he was going to pay.

Lauren was the person in this world I trusted most. After she had figured out my identity, she screamed at me for an hour. Then, the next day, she had given me an actual costume to wear, as opposed to the crummy gear I had been using. She supported me in my journey to become a hero. In the past three years, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have by my side. 

And Valentino had taken her. What was he doing to her? Torture? Rage boiled on my veins thinking of her getting hurt by that bastard.

He was dangerous. More so than any of my other foes, that I’d squared off against in the past three years. Talon, Ox, Snow and Cloud. Mole, Fire-Ant, Angler, just to name a few. I had quite a rogue’s gallery. That didn’t even include the countless thugs and low-level totems I had locked up. Valentino fought with more than just his powers, he fought with intelligence and cold, calculated venom. He was ruthless, and was willing to do anything to stay at the top. 

My phone buzzed, it was a blocked number. Valentino, had to be. No one else had my number, or wanted to text me. He had left me a message. Telling me to meet him at the harbor. Or else Lauren would die.

` “Valentino.” My voice was low and I had to hold back a growl as I saw the slimy bastard.

Jack Valentino did not look like what you would expect a mob boss to look like. He had salt and pepper hair, slightly wrinkled tan skin. His nose was slightly crooked, indicating a fight in his youth. He had a smile on his face, and his hands in his Armani pockets. He looked more like a charitable businessman than a murderous sociopath. His eyes though. They gave him away. The cold brown, soulless eyes of an animal. A killer. Someone who got their kicks from causing pain.

“Jake. So wonderful to see you. I hope there’s no hard feelings between us.” I clenched my fists as I scanned the pier. There was no sign of Lauren. I couldn’t smell her either.

“Where is she?” Valentino gave a smile, that would have seemed warm, if not for his cold eyes. He stared off into the distance with an almost longing look in his eyes.

“Ah yes. Young love. I remember that quite well. Her name was Mary-” I didn’t have time for this. I took a pair of cuffs off my belt and opened them.

“Tell me where Lauren is, or I take you in.”

“Jake, Jake, Jake.” He let out a low chuckle and scratched his neck. “You’re in no position to make demands. Do you not understand how hostage situations work? I have something you need to keep safe. Antagonizing the man holding all the cards is not very smart.”

“I’ve always been a C student at best.” I said and he shook his head, disappointed.

“Tsk. Tsk. Must we always result in brutal violence? How about this Jake. You beat me in a game of chess, and I’ll tell you where the girl is.” He was toying with me. If Lauren was hurt... I clenched my jaw at the thought.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I don’t have time for games Valentino.” He tutted and frowned.

“I tried extending an olive branch. But you kids just want to watch the world burn.”

“I want to save it Valentino.”

“Oh, and dressing up in tights, punching the daylights out of people is how you do it? You call me the villain? I see what you Heroes really are. You’re like us. You have the same instinctive drive for violence we do. And yet, you pander to those without power! Do you truly think that will change the names they call you? Will it change that you are above them! We could be gods Jake Winchester. We are two sides of the same coin. I took Lauren because I know you. You would do anything for your family. Just. Like. Me.” I was nothing like him. I use my instincts to help people. Those that need saving from Totems who abuse their power, like Jormungandr.

After he said his piece, he pulled his hands out of his pockets, and pointed a gun at me. I raised my hands. It would be better to play along, then get the drop on the bastard.

“What happened to brutish violence Valentino?”

“My venom is very peaceful Jake. With the right dosage, you won’t know you’re dying until it’s too late.” I bounded forward, and he pulled the trigger, I rolled to the side, and tackled him. He fell to the wooden floor with a crack. I think I got one of his ribs. I kicked the gun from his hands and held a raised fist over his face.

“Where is she Jack. I’m not going to ask again.” He started laughing.

“She’s in there.” He gestured to a warehouse that had been boarded up. I could hear a faint heartbeat. He wasn’t lying.

I threw him against a brick wall, and ran to the warehouse. I kicked open the door. The heartbeat was growing weaker. She, she was dying.

“REN!” I howled. “Where are you!” My ears picked up a faint cough coming from another room. She was upstairs. I bolted up the stairs and whipped the door open. 

There was a girl, about sixteen, with fair blonde hair, and pale skin. She wore a dark green blouse and jeans, her eyes were shut and she was convulsing in pain.

“Ren.” I rushed to her side and felt her pulse. It was weak, and erratic. She needed medical attention, and she needed it asap.

I couldn’t get her there in time. Even at my top speed, the nearest hospital was ten minutes away.

“Ren, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you get mixed up in all of this. I should have been able to catch Valentino last time. I should have kept you safe.”

“Jake, it’s not your fault.”

“It is Lauren, you know that.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“Ren. Don’t give up. I’m gonna get you to a hospital.”

“I’m not going to make it Jay.”

“Ren, you are the strongest person I know. Fight this, please. I can’t do this without you.”

She was silent. No. NO. “Ren. Wake up. This isn’t funny. Wake up, please. Please. Ren.”

Her eyes blankly stared, empty and devoid of life. My finger brushed against her lids closing them.

“I’m going to make this right Ren. Valentino is going to pay.”

Rage boiled in my veins. He had crossed a line. And he would pay. I clenched my fists and let a primal roar loose and ran back outside, where Valentino was just getting up.

“Ah Jake, sorry to do-” I cut him off with a decisive jab to his kidney. He coughed and I punched him again in the gut. Blood spewed from his mouth.

“You killed her.” His eyes hardened. I would make this son of a bitch pay. He’d experience the same pain Lauren did. He would beg for his life. He. Would. Pay.

“You’re angry.” Angry? I was furious. Every nerve in my body, every instinct I had, was begging me to end him. He took from my pack. My family.

“You killed her.” He closed his eyes as I broke another rib.

“You want revenge.” I snapped his arm like a branch, and he howled in agony. I growled and pressed him against the wall. His eyes had widened like dinner plates. I could literally smell the fear rolling off the fucker. I did want revenge. I wanted nothing more than to see him hurt. To see him beg for mercy. To pray to whatever god that wasn’t listening. To make him pay.

“YOU KILLED HER!”

My knuckles connected with his ribs, giving a satisfying crunch. I let loose a barrage of attacks. My fist landed against his ribs with a satisfying crunch, I Grabbed his arm and flipped him over my shoulder, driving the heel of my boot into his chest. I picked him up again, and slammed him into a wall, again, and again. In the end Valentino was a bloody mess of bruises, but he was still breathing. I swallowed, and stared at my fist.

I could bring him in, make him pay legally. Bring him to justice.

“You don’t have what it takes to end it hero. You’re weak, pathetic. You’ll bring me to the cops. I’ll be out by breakfast tomorrow!” He spat and started cackling. Fire roared in my belly. Rage flowed through me, and all I saw was red. He had the gall to bring up Lauren? Lauren, the girl who had been there for me through it all. When my mother had died, when I first put on the mask, and when my old man had gotten sick. Every fight I had been through, she patched me up. Every time I had nightmares, she listened. Every time I needed her, Ren was there. She wanted to help people. She wanted to be a doctor. She wanted to save people with a smile and let them know it would be okay. She was what made me want to be a hero. She was the Yin to my Yang, the light to my dark, the water to my fire. We were neighbors, best friends. She was like a sister to me. I loved her. But now? Now she was dead and it was all because of him. 

Because of Valentino. A man with more power and prestige than anyone in Ditko. A two-faced serpent, who wanted nothing more than to make money. And, to hurt me. If he got locked up, he would bribe his way out in a matter of days. He would come after me again. He would kill my dad, anyone I worked with, anyone I was friends with. He would be as merciful as he was with Lauren. A slow acting poison, without a known antidote.

I had to end this. Tonight. End his reign of terror. For Ren’s sake, for my family’s. For the city. The world would be a better place without him in it right? He had killed countless, and was deemed untouchable. He thought that he could get away with whatever he pleased, just because he had money.

I stared at my palm, and Valentino’s face, bloody, bruised, disfigured.                                                                                      I wrapped my hand around his throat, and without hesitation, I squeezed.