Two days. It's been two days since Athena got kidnapped by some no-good scumbags who also sent my Dad to the hospital. He still hadn't regained consciousness yet. The police are now publicly involved; there was even a News segment about the kidnapping of Athena Armstrong. Gavin and Jason had not received any breakthrough, not just yet.
Though they reassure me that they will find her soon. They said that, but did nothing to ease me, not one bit. I haven't slept a wink, not even for just a moment. And it's taking its toll on me. I felt extremely exhausted like never before, even when my CE is at 100%.
Any minor conveniences pissed me off so much that I had to restrain myself physically to bury my fists into a concrete wall. Harvest Hills is a pretty small town, where everyone knows each other somehow. So it isn't any surprise when the News broadcast about Athena's kidnapping, everyone knew. So whenever I get to school, I know I get weird looks from adults and students.
It must have been entertaining to them as Harvest Hills had never experienced any kidnapping before. The adults voice their pity, which serves nothing but pisses me off, even though I knew they were just comforting me. What's worse, everyone is talking about me. How ironic, I wanted their attention for a long time now, and when they finally paid attention, it was not through my merit, but my situation.
It really pissed me off like no other. And to add salt to an already grievous wound, I can't even go out as Red Justice. Gavin prevented me from doing so. They didn't want me to get out in the field while emotionally distraught. However, that meant I did nothing but stare at the wall, like some psycho.
I already tried reading. Too distracted and angry to comprehend the story. Walking out? I had to restrain myself from flying and zooming across the country to find my sister. Instead, I sat on the couch, my school bag thrown away from the floor as my thoughts festered.
Always thinking of all the worst possibilities my sister has to go through. My thoughts drifted to what I'm going to do with the kidnappers. The ones who caused this whole mess. They're the reasons why my dad is in the hospital, they're the reasons why my Mom is in emotional distress. The ones who forced us to bring Poochie to the shelter, feeling alone or maybe even abandoned. The ones who hurt my sister.
And the cause of all these headaches for me. Atlas and Arc? I wanted to stop them, beat them to the pulp, but never had a desire to take their lives. This is the first time I'm debating it. I released a heavy sigh as I rubbed my face.
"Ben!" Gavi suddenly called out while still typing on the computer. "We got names!"
Those words were like the power button, as I went from weak and exhausted to suddenly energetic and ready to take action. I quickly tapped on my smartwatch to release my hero suit, which I quickly put on. Then I moved next to Gavin, staring at a monitor. It displayed five mugshots of rough-looking guys. If the world criminal had a face, it would have this five's appearance.
[Jack Lener]
[Age: 40]
[Frank Lee]
[Age: 36]
[Trevor Black]
[Age: 39]
[Harvey Loco]
[Age: 31]
[Adam Thompson]
[Age: 28]
"These are Athena's kidnappers?"
"Yes."
My eyes narrowed, their faces burned into my memory like a brand. Making sure I memorize every nook and cranny, every follicle in their punchable face.
"There are five of them." I tried to say calmly, but failed as it came out more like a growl.
"Yes, while there were only three on the footage, the other two most likely helped serve as the getaway driver or back-up."
I clenched my fists and tightened my jaw. I was narrowing my eyes so much that they felt the familiar heat of when I'm about to fire my optic blats.
"Where?"
Gavin didn't answer. I turned to glare at him. About to shout to stop wasting time, but he gave me this serious look. The one telling me to relax as he's not done explaining yet. I swallowed, moving back and crossing my arms, looking at him impatiently.
"Listen, Ben. Before I tell you, you need to know something. Athena's kidnapping is most likely not a separate incident."
"What do you mean?"
Gavin opened a new tab, revealing graphs and numbers that kind of overwhelmed me. The graphs date all the way back to 2010, all the way to the present, which is 2025. The graph seemed normal until a sudden spike in the year 2024, and rose slightly in 2025.
These graphs represent the number of kidnappings, specifically the kidnappings of minors. If you noticed, for some odd reason, last year and this year have had an increasing number of kidnappings. In fact, since your debut as Red Justice, it has dropped, but the number of kidnappings is still there."
I frowned, both feeling angry and sad at the state of the world. "Why? Why is this happening, and why haven't I heard about this on the news?"
"Oh, it did appear on the news, the problem is that stations mention it, before brushing it off like it's no big deal. I know the current news media and journalism in today's age is pretty rotten, but…it may be just a gut feeling. But whatever this feels…larger."
Gavin brought a hand to his chin. Seemingly lost in thought, before shaking his head.
"Either way, I believe the reason for these people to kidnap your sister has most likely got to do with the human trafficking business."
"Human Trafficking?" I repeated slowly.
Of course, I knew what that term meant. It's just hard to comprehend. When I first heard about such a thing, I almost didn't believe it. It's almost cartoonishly evil. No way, something like that could happen in real life.
But I'm listening to it right now. And it's about to happen to or already happened to my eight-year-old sister. I straightened as I released multiple breaths to calm my beating heart. My fingers clenched tightly. If it weren't for my gloves, I probably would have dug deep for blood to come out.
"Where?" I asked again, this time far more coldly.
Gavin sighed, typing the computer, which launched the GPS and location to my SEE Goggles. I turned to leave, only for Gavin's hand to grab my arm firmly.
"Ben, please don't do something you'll regret."
I didn't look at him, not for a second. I ripped my arm away from his grip and sped off. I'll talk to him later, right now? I got scumbags to fry. I fly high into the sky, reaching the clouds. I would have felt elated after not flying for the past couple of days, but the fire in my brain prevented me from enjoying the freedom of flight.
Instead, thinking of all the ways I could hurt them once I have my hands on them. It didn't take me long to find them. The five men were chilling in an abandoned warehouse. I could sense them with my Mind's Eye. My SEE Goggles went into X-Ray mode, allowing me to see what's inside. And there they were.
Despite them being in an abandoned warehouse, they seem to repurpose it as their base. They had TVs, seats, couches and even a billiard table, which they were playing. I didn't know why I didn't charge and crash in. Instead I stalked them, watching them smirk and smile.
Telling jokes, I can't hear or drink canned beer. They looked so normal. And that's what pisses me off the most. After taking my sister, after beating a man near death and probably kidnapping dozens of people, they looked like they were on top of the world. It's time to remind them that anyone who commits a crime won't know peace as long as I'm around.
I dropped onto their roof and smashed their table. They backed away in shock. Once the dust settled, I stood on top of the ruined table with a clenched fist.
"Where is Athena Armstrong?" I asked.
They all blink and jump into the action. "It's Red Justice!" They shout.
All of them are cursing. Two of them run in the opposite direction. The remaining three pulled out their pistols and started firing. As per usual, the bullets bounced off my skin as I narrowed my eyes behind the visor. I moved in front of the fleeing two, who jumped back and cried out in alarm.
I reached out to grab them before pausing. A flash of my father being kicked and beaten replayed in my memory. My face transformed to wrathful, as I grabbed one of them by the shirt.
"Please don't hurt me! We're sorry!" I threw him to the side, his body colliding with the TV.
The other one that tried to run threw a desperate punch at me, which I grabbed. With a small jerk, I twisted his arm, breaking it. He screamed as he collapsed to his knees. Then buried my fist into his solar plexus, which resulted in him throwing up before falling unconscious and lying into his own bile. The other three continued to fire at me. I moved, not blitzing them with speed. Instead walking towards them casually as they continued to spray me with bullets that did no damage.
Eventually, their guns clicked empty. I raised my hand, telegraphing the fact that I was about to backhand one of them. He lets out a primal sound of fear and then begins begging. But it didn't stop my hand from colliding with his jaw, breaking it. His jaw was quite literally hanging open.
Then with a quick jab, I sent him flying into the wall. Hurt and unconsciousness. I turned to the other two, and in particular, the biggest. According to the files, he's the one leading the crew and the oldest, Jack Lener. As I did before, I didn't rush and instead walked menacingly towards them.
The second guy, Trevor, roared at me, charging with fists raised. He threw a telegraph haymaker.
"Cute."
As I moved my head slightly, in a weak form of a headbutt. But despite that, Trevor's fist literally broke, as bits of his flesh flew out. Trevor screamed in pain and backed away. I quickly grabbed him and flung him at the other guy I had tossed at the TV a few seconds ago, who recovered and started running. Only for his buddy to be used as a baseball and collide with him.
Suffice to say, everyone here, aside from Jack Lerner, was either unconscious or too much in pain to escape. Speaking of, Jack Lener looked confident. Scared, but he seemed sure about something. I marched toward him and floated up, towering over his height.
"Where is Athena Armstrong?"
Jack Lener released a sigh, dropping his gun and grabbing a lighter and a cigarette. He placed it in his mouth, though before he could light it up, I smacked him. Not enough to kill or knock him out, but enough for him to spit out his cigarette and make his mouth bleed.
I then grabbed his throat before moving and slamming him into the wall. He starts choking and kicking his legs to try to get away.
"I'm not in the mood for your cool guy act. Where is Athena Armstrong?"
I choked him harder, only for him to grin a little.
"Can't…talk…if…can't…breathe."
I pursed my lips, gripping a bit harder before eventually letting go, making him stumble and choke on the floor violently. I know as a hero, I shouldn't find satisfaction in someone on their knees trying to regain their breath because I choked them, but I did.
"Where is Athena Armstrong?" I asked again. "And the other kids, you took."
Jack Lener swallowed hard, Adam's apple bobbing in his bruised throat. He gets up, trying to look tall and intimidating. He smiled. A cocky and arrogant one, who almost made me want to hit him on sight. Jack Lener chuckles.
"You think…I'm scared of you?" He said. "Don't get me wrong, I bet you made everyone here shit their pants."
I clenched my fists, which only made him grin even more. He crossed his arms and leaned back on the wall, trying to look cool.
"My employers are much scarier; if I talk, they'll kill me." He then brought his index finger up to shush me before I could speak. "Oh, and before you say, I'll be thrown into jail, alive and breathing. Then you have no clue who you're dealing with." He explains gleefully.
"You're strong, yeah. But that's all you are, the ones who pull the strings, that's who I'm afraid of. Just fly out here, boy. You have no idea who you're dealing-"
I zoomed straight to his face and backhanded him. This time, a tooth flew out. Jack Lener cursed. I grabbed him by the shirt.
"I didn't ask you for a bullshit and terrible villain monologue. I asked you, where are they!?" I shout, slamming his back against the wall, making Jack wince.
"Even if I tell you, you're too late, kid."
The words kept echoing in my head like a broken record. If I'm too late then-. I remembered her sweet, innocent smile. And all of a sudden, all those memories become smeared, imagining her in a horrible situation, and I, her big brother with powers, wasn't there to help her. My breathing became erratic, then I gritted my teeth so hard that I heard them crack. Only to get repaired by my healing factor. My hand shot forward and grabbed Jack by the throat again. He let out this strangled gasp, his hands instantly grabbing at my wrist.
"Where!? Where!? Where!!?" I screamed at his face. "Tell me before I kill you!"
I eased the grip on his windpipe so he could talk. Jack Lener gasped. Then, oddly, he smiled, a nervous one. But he seemed confident about something. I didn't like it one bit.
"No…you won't."
"You think I'm fucking bluffing!?"
I raised my other hand, red electricity wrapping violently around my fists. It would be easy, even a tiny force, I could punch his head clean off. He would deserve it; he's nothing more than a scumbag that needs to go! I mean, people would celebrate if I did it
"You won't," He rasped again, voice breathless. "You can't."
I gritted my teeth. "You have no idea what I'm capable of."
"Go on then, do it." He says weakly.
I pulled back, and for the first time, his cocky smirk dropped. His face turned into genuine fear. I'm going to do it. I'm going to kill him. So he can't hurt people again!
And yet something within me is stopping my ability to move my hand. Come on, do it! He deserves it! I recalled the footage. My Dad being beaten, and my sister is crying as she's taken.
The rage filled my veins with fire. The cosmic lighting around my fist became even more violent and brighter. Just one hit, just one punch. I raised it…and slowly I dropped it. The electricity is fading into nothing.
I felt disappointed in myself. I'm a superhero, and I made a promise to Noah to never be like him. To not be consumed by vengeance and anger. At the same time, I hate myself for not following through with it. I felt like a loser, a coward, just a small child playing hero.
Jack coughed, then laughed again. "Oh man," He wheezed, "You really thought you had it in you."
I said nothing. I slowly closed my eyes as Jack continued to talk smack of how much of a failure I am. My shoulders loosened. The wrath is still there, but it's not taking me over. I looked at him, which made him pause. "What? Are you-"
"You're right," I said, cutting him off. "I can't kill you."
Jack blinks in confusion, looking nervous by the second.
"I'm not built like that. Maybe I'm just stupid and naive. But…I need to rescue all those kids. I may not kill you, but you're not going to like what's going to happen."
He scoffs. "What the hell, are you-?"
I reached down and grabbed his hand. Jack immediately stiffened. His eyes shot open, wide as dinner plates, as I held his index finger. He tried to pull away desperately, but my grip on him is too tight.
"I may not kill you," I said. "But until the police get here…"
Jack's mouth quivered.
"…I'm going to break every bone in your body until you talk."
"W-What?" Jack Lener gasped. "Y-You wouldn't."
I released a shaky smile. Then I heard a crunch, and a yell of pain followed from Jack.
"Wait!"
I repeated this process with his fingers. By the minute, his right hand's finger looked like a pretzel.
"Talk."
"I can't!!"
"Have it your way," I say, reaching for his other hand.
I hated doing this. I didn't feel like a superhero. I felt like a bully. But if I want to see my sister safe and sound, I have to do this. Still, hearing bones snapping and the painful scream from my victim will haunt my dreams.
After all of his fingers were broken, Jack Lener finally relented. Told me everything. What I found out was worse than I thought.