Daniel sat with a special someone in Kent Park in the early morning.

  "And now you know my story, and if you don't believe me—"

  Daniel picked up a large tree branch from the ground and broke it in two with little effort, placing the pieces before the other person.

  "All I ever wanted to be was a winner. But I see now that I didn't have a prayer.” Daniel ran his hand through his hair. “And after what Pop told me I just didn’t have it in me to string together the truth for Ben and Charity. But one thing I know for sure. I'll live honorably starting today. So I came to you, the person I trust most."

  The person Daniel trusted the most gazed at him in fear, her eyes red. Karen trembled like a leaf.

  "T—there is life beyond the heavens?" Karen asked, glancing at the sky.

  "Karen, please keep up." Daniel snapped his fingers repeatedly infront of her face. "That was the first thing I told you."

  "W—why are you telling me all this? What do you want from me?" Karen shouted.

  "Well, I'm going to clean up the human garbage in this town, and I could use help from a friend.” Daniel chuckled. “I mean, Karen, my family would think I'm loony and try to stop me."

  Karen's look of fear swiftly disappeared, becoming a blank expression devoid of emotion. However, slowly her features hardened as she ground her teeth.

  "You legitimately thought I would entertain this madness."

  Quickly, Karen rose from her seat, hitting Daniel's head with one of the branch pieces. But he didn’t react in the slightest, showing no pain.

  "Now see here, Daniel Jones. I have tolerated your selfishness for years, but today, no more."

  Karen threw the branch pieces at Daniel's head. But Daniel still didn’t show pain. However, as Karen marched off, he chased after her.

  "Selfishness? Did you not hear me? Karen, I don't want to be selfish anymore."

  "So you don't think entrusting only me with this information is selfish?" Karen stopped marching, glaring at Daniel. "What if you die in this mad campaign? Who do you think will have to explain it to your family?"

  As Daniel heard her, his arm shook vigorously, and he got on his knees. "Karen, I’m willing to beg. Just help me once, and you can go."

  "Why do you even need my help? If memory serves, you already know how to handle a scrap."

  "Yeah, but that was before I got these crazy powers. Karen, I'm going to war, so I need training. The kind your Pop put you through for the military. Make me a soldier, please."

  Karen began marching again. But as she glanced at Daniel she stopped once more. Try as she did, Karen couldn’t turn away from the sight of her former lover, sad, alone, and on his knees. She fought her legs to keep moving, but they refused her demands, finally, bellowing a scream.

  "If nothing else, he could use discipline, direction and perhaps h—" Karen thought.

  Karen punched herself on the forehead. "Fine, I will make a soldier out of you. But fair warning, men die young in this profession."

  ***

  Daniel and Karen stood in a junkyard of fifteen acres in the blazing heat of the afternoon sun.

  "I'm a woman of my word, so let's begin basic. Fortunately, he'll break before the day is done," Karen thought.

  "Alright, soldier, time for basic training. And you won't see battle until you pass all my tests," Karen said out loud.

  Drawing upon her knowledge of basic training from the military, Karen knew what Daniel needed to become battle-ready. Becoming a soldier would be immensely grueling for most civilians. For Daniel, she constructed a uniquely taxing training regimen.

  She didn’t want to admit it, but she still cared for him enough to fear for his life. The young woman was confident she could force Daniel back into old habits, taking the easy way in the face of the hellish exercises she had prepared. "There." Karen pointed at two abandoned school buses, each forty-five feet long. And as Daniel saw them, terror swept his face.

  Daniel dragged the buses at a snail's pace through the junkyard, pulling them forward on chains that were attatched to their front bumpers. And Karen watched him struggle and sweat, sitting comfortably on a large tire with a grin.

  "Come on, Danny boy. It's just thirty more times around the yard. Pick up the pace," Karen shouted.

  Later, Daniel sweated a storm, breathing heavily, and dropped onto the ground. But Karen gazed at him, looking down on Daniel with no sympathy.

  "Okay, soldier, now that we've assessed our level of firepower, we need to know how to aim it.” Karen pointed towards a metal sheet on the ground. “Pick up that metal and punch it without making a hole."

  Daniel picked up the sheet and punched it. However, he made a gaping hole in it, and as Karen saw, she grew a sinister grin.

  "How unfortunate.” Karen pointed over to a giant pile of scrap. “Now you'll have to practice for hours and hours until you get it right."

  As Daniel saw it, his face went pale white as he dropped to his knees.

  Later still, Karen carried a bag of lunch for her and Daniel. However, she dropped it as she saw an unbelievable sight. Daniel pulled the two school buses at a much faster rate. As he stopped, he took a metal sheet off the ground and punched it, still leaving a dent. Still, it was undeniable he was improving.

  “My word.” Karen covered her mouth with her free hand.

  Karen was sure he would have yielded long ago. The Daniel she knew would have, at least. She began to wonder if there was some truth to his claims of being a changed man. But still, she was far from ready to admit defeat.

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  "Rather impressive, I must admit, Daniel Jones. But the day isn't over yet," Karen thought.

  ***

  A month quickly passed as Karen continued Daniel’s training. Repeatedly, she intensified his exercises as he continued surpassing his limits. And more and more, she was left without words.

  He could now pull four or even five of the buses across the yard with little effort. His control of his strength had become near-flawless as he could apply pressure to objects of varying densities without breaking or damaging them. The truth had become abundantly clear. She couldn’t deny it any longer. He was more than battle-ready.

  A few hours later, the sun set over the city. Karen gazed at Daniel doing one-armed pushups with a large truck on his back.

  "Oh, well. A deal is a deal I suppose. In any case, I'll just leave him after today. He'll be alone, in pain, and—" Karen thought.

  ”I have to stop this,” Karen said out loud, and swallowed.

  As Daniel was finished, he sat on a pile of junk, watching the sun go down, enjoying the fruits of his labor. But as Karen saw him, she took a deep breath and walked over.

  “You've done quite well for a new cadet. However, don't get cocky.” Karen gasped, placing her hand over her mouth. “I mean, good heavens, the things I hear that the santinis do to their enemies. And please don't let me start on the Asian gangs or the Russian mob."

  “I won’t. Since I know what you're doing.”

  “Pardon?”

  “I’m not that big of an idiot, Karen. Daniel, the thug and the coward, is long gone, my friend."

  “Oh, for God's sake. I beg you, stop this.” Karen gripped Daniel’s shoulders, shaking him. “If you want to atone, get a job, and donate to the police, anything but this madness.”

  “Funny that you mention jobs. I got turned down so many times when I tried to get one. All because they knew my kind.” Daniel ran his hand over his face. “Karen, why can’t you understand?”

  “Understand what? Fighting in an unwinnable war?” Karen shouted.

  Daniel took a deep breath, glancing at the city for the briefest moment, nodding to Karen's question.

  "What do you hope to gain from all this?" Karen asked.

  "Whether the war is winnable or not, I'll fight it. I found what I truly want, true meaning, a way to contribute to the world that only I can do. Its more valuable to me than all the money I earned as a gangster. And no one, not even you, Karen, will take it from me."

  “I hate you, Daniel. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.” Karen released Daniel, wiping tears from her eyes. “You always drag me into these mad situations.”

  “I said you could leave.”

  Karen bawled her eyes out as she heard Daniel, sending him jumping to his feet.

  “I can’t, I just can’t.”

  “Karen.”

  “I thought I could, but I can’t stomach you going through this pain alone.”

  Daniel readied to say something, but Karen grabbed his hand, looking him in the eye, cracking a smile through her tears.

  “We will be soldiers together in an eternal war, solitary in this cause.”

  Daniel's heart skipped a beat as he heard Karen, looking at her beautiful face. “T—thank you, my friend.”

  Daniel glanced over at the city, and he saw the night coming.

  “It's getting late. We should pack it up for today. I’ll walk you home, okay?”

  Swiftly, Karen glanced down, realizing her hand was still tightly gripping Daniel's like a vice, making her leap away from him.

  “What is it?” Daniel asked.

  “Nothing, let's go.”

  ***

  Daniel gave Karen his jacket for cover as the rain started to pour. The two soon tried hailing transportation. But an approaching taxi drove past Karen, splashing her with puddle water. And as Daniel witnessed the act, he chased after it.

  “Hey, you son of a bitch,” Daniel shouted.

  It quickly stopped for Daniel, and Karen walked over, giggling. However, as Karen was about to open the door, Daniel opened it for her. She looked at Daniel in shock. It was a simple gesture of respect. Still, even that was an astronomical feat for Daniel, or at least, the one Karen knew.

  Karen and Daniel drove through the city in the taxi's backseat. Karen gazed at Daniel as her cheeks turned red, and her heart pounded. She slowly moved her hand over to his. She placed it on top, proceeding to grip it tightly. She was in love again and didn’t attempt to deny it. She again felt what she believed was the mythic true love. A love not for the man he was before but for the one he was now.

  "I know its foolish, perhaps even mad, but I simply can't bring myself to care," Karen thought.

  Daniel noticed, feeling her grip on him and seeing her happy smile, but nervously pulling his hand away.

  Daniel soon walked Karen home. As he got close enough to her apartment building, he waved goodbye, leaving. But Karen chased after him, dragging him with her. As Daniel realized what she was about to do, he stopped her.

  "Karen, no."

  "You don't want me anymore?"

  "I—I would be lying if I said no."

  "Then what's the matter?"

  "Y—you were right the first time. We don't work together. I would probably m—"

  "Good lord, man," Karen interrupted.

  She kissed him, her familiar, immaculate taste calming his worries. The two continued toward her apartment building, holding hands. And once inside, Karen's pleasure-filled moans cascaded through her home.

  The next day, the newly reunited couple awakened in Karen’s bed after a night of making love. The two happily gripped each other tightly as they cuddled in bed, Karen resting her head on Daniel's chest.

  “God, I forgot how good it feels to be in love with you,” Karen said.

  Daniel gazed at Karen, perplexed, scanning the room.

  “What is it, love?” Karen asked.

  “I’m waiting to wake up.”

  “Pardon?”

  “All of this just has to be a dream. It’s too good.”

  “I assure you you’re awake.” Karen kissed Daniel.

  “Let’s just say I believe you,” Daniel said, cracking a smile.

  “Divine. But shall I lay out some ground rules?”

  “Shoot.”

  “Firstly, this goes without saying, but we’re going to remain fully committed to one another.”

  Daniel happily nodded.

  “Secondly, we’re not going to pretend everything from before didn’t happen. We’ll acknowledge that we had problems and work towards fixing them.”

  Daniel happily nodded.

  “Lastly, concerning everything else, I promise not to hold anything against you. Clean slate.”

  “Thanks, angel. I don’t deserve it.”

  “However, should you renege on our agreement—“ Karen swiftly, tightly squeezed Daniel’s...sensitive material, sending a painful jolt through his body. “It’ll be rather costly.”

  “Now that was just low,” Daniel shouted.

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  Daniel cracked a sinister grin, gazing at Karen. He turned Karen onto her back, lying on top of her, and quickly had his way.

  ***

  Karen lay on her living room couch, watching Daniel try on a suit of armor of brilliant white and a long cape, like those of noble knights of legend. However, as he donned it, the armor was too baggy for his body.

  "Where did you get that thing?" Karen asked.

  "Before you woke up, I went to the property Pop left me. I found this in a locked chest labeled Mementos."

  "You know, love, I hadn't noticed until now, but your father truly was a muscular fellow."

  "Tell me about it, but I have got to get this on.”

  “Why?”

  “I prefer that people don't know what I look like."

  “Of course.” Karen slapped her forehead. “Where’s my head? Your identity would give away a massive tactical advantage.”

  “Exactly,” Daniel said, and chuckled.

  Suddenly, the armor released a sea of blinding light.

  "Genetic signature verified. Armor modifying to fit the new body type of the honorable knight," The armor said.

  The armor modified itself to fit Daniel perfectly. But in fright, Karen jumped out of her seat, seeing it bend and twist around him.

  "Love, are you okay?" Karen shouted.

  "Yeah, this feels pretty good. So what do you think? Am I ready to fight crime?"

  "No, you still need one last thing."

  Karen walked up to Daniel, only inches from his face. "Good luck." Kissing him, and he reciprocated with spirit.

  At night, Daniel patrolled the shipping docks in full armor. His helmet concealed his face as he had broken up several attempted muggings. But he was still on the hunt for a much greater prize.

  He drew upon his knowledge of the criminal underworld to aid his first crusade. Daniel could still remember him and his gang helping in the transportation of seas of illegal goods. Unbeknownst to law enforcement, many of the shippers and warehouse owners had ties to various mobs and even terrorist groups. As he scanned the area, he found that even six years later, many of the names he knew were still alive and thriving.

  "If my memory is correct. A lot of the shippers here have ties to the Russian mob."

  Daniel was eager to engage in his first battle. But he had to choose his target carefully. He needed to be sure he could catch the criminals in the act. The ones in the area had years of experience eluding justice. A misfire now would only force them to double their efforts, making it all the harder to apprehend them. However, finally, Daniel fixed his gaze on one, preparing to take a chance. Swiftly, Daniel booked towards the Curry warehouse, ready for battle.