Danikt’s Page

Hero’s Journey

Dante’s life has always been hard; he was kind of a lone wolf. His only friend is Brian a complete whiz on computers. His mom died when he was three years old and the only family he had left is his dad. His dad, Tom Splinter has always said “that even if the world is cruel to you, you should still help out because it makes you a better person and some people could even call you a hero.”

On Dante’s 18^th birthday his dad took him hiking in a huge mountain range. Dante liked all kinds of adventures; rock climbing, motorcycling and other sports. They could go all day if they wanted, because Dante and his dad were in great shape. As they neared a campsite, his dad slipped and fell through a hole. Dante reacted quickly. He pulled out a rope tied it to a tree and jumped down the hole. Using his flashlight, he saw that it was at least 50 feet deep. Dante’s stomach twisted thinking about his dad. As he got deeper, Dante saw that it was a cavern and not just a hole. Dante landed on to the ground and started looking around. He saw his dad lying about 20 feet away. Dante’s imagination got the better of him; he started to think of life without his dad. It would be unfair because he already lost his mom. Dante didn’t know what to do. His dad was unconscious and Dante didn’t know how badly hurt he was. Then something caught his eye. The wall behind his dad had words written on it. Dante came closer to see what they said. He started to read them in his mind.” When you read this and if you are worthy, the power will be yours”. All of a sudden a bright light started to glow out of the words, then the light came straight at Dante, and it was gone. Dante felt a new strength inside him and he knew his life had changed forever.

His dad’s funeral was sad, and a lot of people showed up. All the people kept coming up to Dante to shake his hand and telling Dante how great a man he was. Dante thought it was unfair for anybody to lose both of their parents before they see you graduate, or get married. Dante decided to help people in need.

Dante told his friend about his powers but he didn’t believe that Dante could pick up something as heavy as a truck especially at his age and then Dante showed him. Brian’s eye literally rolled out of their eye sockets and his mouth was open with astonishment.

“Holy cow!” Cried out Brian, “ what else can you do?”

“Well, I think I can run faster than a speeding bullet but I haven’t tried it yet,” said Dante.

“So why don’t you?” suggested Brian.

“Alright,” said Dante.

Dante concentrated about running faster than a speeding bullet, and things started to move faster and faster. Suddenly Dante found himself on a road in the middle of nowhere. He didn’t know where he was nor which direction was home. He saw a road and decided to follow it to the next town. Dante returned to his house about five hours later; his friend Brian was sleeping on his couch.

Dante woke him up and said to him, “Guess where I have been”.

“I don’t know, you have been gone a long time. I was sure you were a goner,” Brian said with a worried face.

“I ran all the way to the Canadian Border,” Dante said with a chuckle.

“Now that’s pretty funny alright, and that’s a long way from Florida,” laughed Brian. “So you can run way faster than a bullet. What else can you do?” finished Brian.

“ I don’t know what else I can do. But I think It might be too much responsibility, because I can’t control my powers,” Dante said with worry in his eyes.

Brian said good night and left, now Dante was all alone and he couldn’t fall asleep because Dante kept thinking of the future and what he was going to do next. Dante’s eyes opened and it was morning. Dante thought about going to class but then decided against it. He was going to just stay home and get the hang of his powers. The faster he gained control, the faster he could get back into his life.

At 4 pm Brian walked into Dante’s house. “Yo, where are you?” Asked Brian “you weren’t in school, why is that?” The whole house was messy and from Brian’s eyes it looked like something must have gone wrong.

“Right here,” said Dante.

“What happened?” asked Brain.

“Well, I wanted to stay home until I learned to control my powers, and so that’s what I have been doing the whole day,” said Dante.

“So what happed to the house?” asked Brian.

“Well, first it was hard to control my super strength, I kept throwing things too far and smashing them but when I got the hang of it I started to use super speed. Every time I would try to run from one place to another I would smash into a wall,” said Dante.

“Did you get the hang of it yet?” asked Brian.

“Yeah, I’m getting there and I’m thinking after I learn to control my powers we can do some good. I’m going to need your help to do that,” said Dante.

“That’s cool, I’m in for whatever you have planned,” said Brian.

Dante and Brian started helping people right after their graduation. Dante and Brian moved into an apartment in Miami and made it their headquarters. Brian located crimes in progress and Dante stopped them without anybody getting hurt. This went on for months. One day Dante ran into a robbery in progress. He was about to stop the robbers, when all of a sudden, he saw a black flash and all the robbers were tied up on the floor. Dante started running after the black flash, the person was fast but Dante managed to catch up to him.  “Hey, who are you?” asked Dante.

“How did you follow me?” asked the unknown man a little confused that somebody could actually follow him.

“When I saw you take out the robbers, I thought you were like me. That’s why I followed you until you stopped,” answered Dante.

“You think you’re just like me?” said the unknown man. Before Dante could react, the unknown man pulled out a gun and fired at Dante. Dante didn’t know what just happened, but a bullet was coming straight at him. Dante tried to side step the bullet, but was not fast enough and the bullet hit him square in the shoulder. Dante started to scream but then noticed that the bullet ricocheted of his shoulder and dropped to the ground.

“What was that for?!” yelled Dante. “You could have killed me!”

“But I didn’t, did I? My name is Mars and I guess we are similar in some ways. How did you end up super powered?”

“When my dad and I were jogging up a mountain and he fell into a hole. I went after him, but he didn’t survive. In the cave, I saw letters that said when you read this you will get super powers but it didn’t say what kind of super powers. All I knew about was super strength, super speed, and now I know am invincible. How did you get your powers?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, let’s just say the same as you,” said Mars with a troubled face “Hey, can you also hear better than before?”

“A little, why, is that another power?” asked Dante.

“Maybe, we shall see,” he replied.

“Where do we go from here?” asked Dante.

“Looks like I’m going to have to show you the ropes,” said Mars with a grin.

It has been six months since Dante and Mars met. Mars has shown a lot to Dante and Dante was grateful for Mar’s help in teaching him everything that he knew. Dante thought about how Mars has helped him with his abilities and how the both of them have defeated one bad situation after another. They had become close, the three of them fighting crime after crime. The world had given them a name, The Saints, three angels that looked after the world. One day on patrol, in Florida, Dante heard someone yelling for help. Dante flashed over and saw a man standing over a woman. She was yelling for help and the man was laughing. He kept saying that no one was coming to help her.

Dante walked out of the shadow and said, “You, in the coat, get away from the lady and pick on somebody your own size.”

“You did come help,” said the man.

“What is that supposed to mean? Do you know me?” asked Dante.

“I do know who you are. You’re one of the Saints that supposedly go around and save people. Now that is a lie!” exclaimed the man.

“Who are you? And what does that supposed to mean? I do save people, “said Dante

“My name is Johnny Battles and you didn’t save my wife and daughter when they were crying for help,” cried Johnny.

The only person that truly hated the Saints was Johnny Battles. The reason he hated them was because he cursed them for not coming to his wife and daughter’s help. His wife and daughter were driving home and got hit by a truck. They were thrown over a dam and died after being in the water for two hours. This was two months ago but to Johnny it felt like it was just yesterday. Johnny had always thought it was unfair that everybody else had their families saved but not his. Johnny was an archeologist, who found a strange artifact in old civilizations such as Maya or Aztec. On one of these digs, Johnny found a strange medallion that he thought at the time was just an artifact, but recently Johnny learned that the medallion might hold a strange power that will make him unstoppable. Johnny had tried everything to turn it on somehow but with failed attempts.

“It was the last straw,” Johnny thought as Johnny saw The Saints save a family of four from falling into a dam. “I think it’s time I teach them a lesson for not saving my family, even if I have to die in the process,” thought Johnny. Just as Johnny had said it a darkness started to come out of the medallion and started to take over him. Johnny’s eyes were pure black, strength had come over him like a wave, and Johnny felt new power within him. It was the unstoppable power he was looking for and Johnny was going to use all the power at his disposal to rid the world of these fake heroes.

“Well, I am sorry for not saving your family but I didn’t know they were in trouble,” said Dante.

“Then say your good byes because you’re meeting God tonight!” laughed Johnny angrily.

Before Dante could react, a fist hit him like a truck hitting a rabbit. Dante knew it was going to be a long night and that he had to find a way of defeating Johnny. Dante jumped over Johnny and hit him from the back; Johnny turned around and slammed his fist into Dante’s stomach. Dante fell over with pain. He knew he had to fight on and try to defeat Johnny. Johnny kept saying to join him in darkness and Dante didn’t know what that meant.

“Join me in Darkness!!!” yelled a much deeper voice than Johnny’s “We could rule the world.”

“Why do you keep talking about darkness?” asked Dante. Then Johnny’s eyes turned pure black.

“Because I am the darkness, and if you join me I will have ultimate power,” said Johnny. “I know I can turn you, it’s just a matter of when. Every human carries darkness inside them.”

“You will not turn me! I will defeat you because every human also carries hope. I will use that to defeat you,” said Dante. Johnny and Dante went at it for hours, hitting and punching each other. Dante used whatever was at his disposal but it didn’t make a difference. Johnny just kept coming after him. Dante was getting tired and it started to hurt. The only thing he had left was to run away. Dante had to go and find Mars because he can’t defeat Johnny without him. Dante took a punch into the gut and went flying through a wall. That was the last straw. Dante stood up and flashed away.

“Hey, you can’t do that!” yelled Johnny. “I’m not finished with you!”

Dante flashed back to his apartment to ask Brian something. Dante walked inside the apartment and saw Brian but before he could say anything, Brian turned around and Dante saw that Brian’s eyes were pure black.

“Join us,” said Brian with a deep voice. Dante didn’t know what to do. How did this happen and how did the darkness find their headquarters?

“I know everything about you,” said a voice from a corner. Dante turned and saw that it was Johnny.

“What do you mean?” asked Dante.

“Let me tell you a story, when Johnny opened my prison I felt like I owed him for setting me free. So I decided to help him get revenge for his family. I started tracking your movements. For five months I tracked you until one day I caught up to you. He was no match for me and I had him under control in minutes. After that, his mind told me everything, where to find you, where to find your friend and your headquarters,” finished Johnny with a chuckle.

“Where is Mars!?” yelled Dante.

“Ah, he’s right behind you,” said Johnny. Before Dante could turn around, something hit him hard right in his back and Dante went flying into a wall.

“Now you will never defeat me,” laughed Johnny.

“Hey, Mars, don’t do this, resist it,” said Dante. “Mentor, please this is not you, fight it!” Mars smiled at him and said nothing.

“Hey, we both know that you can defeat this monster, believe in yourself,” said Mars in a weak voice but then it changed back into the deep voice again. It seemed as if Mars’s voice had come from inside of him.

“What are you waiting for? Get him, you idiots!” said Johnny.

Dante knew he had to fight them and it wouldn’t easy. It was three against one. Brian came after him first and with the darkness in him, he had extra power and speed. Dante zoomed around and kicked him. Brian flew through three walls before falling to the ground unconscious. Next, Mars came after him with speed jabs. One after the other, Mars fists hit Dante, every fist hurt more than the other. Dante tried to dodge the hits but with no luck at all. Mars stopped for no apparent reason and fell to his knees. Dante looked at Mars and saw that his eyes were saying, “Please stop me.” Dante zoomed around him and hit him as hard as he could right in the back of the head. Mars stood there for a little while and then fell over.

“I guess it’s just you and me left,” Johnny said with amusement.

“You’re an evil person who makes somebody hurt his own friends!” yelled Dante, “I will kill you even if it kills me in the process.” Blood dripping from his face, heart pounding, Dante looked at Johnny with murder in his eyes.

“Perfect, now I will consume you and I will rule this planet,” laughed Johnny.

Right then, the darkness flew out of Johnny’s eyes and came straight at Dante. Dante didn’t know what to do because he was out of strength and didn’t know how to fight this darkness. The darkness came at Dante with full strength and it went into Dante. Dante had never felt this much evil before in his life and just then Dante’s whole life flashed before his eyes. Dante saw his mother. He could have never thought of seeing her again and it was beautiful. Then Dante saw his dad come up to his mom and they were smiling.

“Hey, champ, how have you been?” asked Tom.

“I’m lost and I don’t know what to do,” said Dante.

“I know, I left you too early but it was my time and you know how much I missed your mom.” Said Tom. “Hey, I believe in you even if you don’t, but I need you to start  believing in yourself because that’s the only way you will defeat this monster.”

“But…how?” Asked Dante confused.

“Believe in yourself, my son,” said Tom far away voice. Dante was brought back to reality by Johnny’s deep voice.

“Hey, don’t pass out on me yet, I need to consume you first,” laughed Johnny. Dante knew that he needed to do something about the darkness before it consumed him and he was lost forever. In the back of Dante’s head, he could still hear his dad’s voice saying that he believed in me and my dad knew that I could defeat this monster.

Out of nowhere, the darkness started to fly out of Dante’s eye’s and back into Johnny’s body. The darkness hit Johnny with such force, it sent him flying into the wall.

“How is this possible? I already had you consumed!” yelled Johnny.

“I guess I’m just invincible,” said Dante.

“No, you can’t be pure of heart, there is no way a human is pure of heart!” screamed Johnny. Dante smiled at him and grabbed him.

“Time for your ride!” said Dante. Before Johnny knew it they were 20 feet in the air and climbing higher.

“How is this possible? No human can fly and be pure of heart,” said Johnny.

“Anything is possible, if you put your mind to it,” said Dante, “This is your last stop.” They were floating in space and for some reason Dante could breathe but Johnny couldn’t.  Dante started to swirl around faster and faster. Dante took in all his strength and threw Johnny into space. Dante looked at the small dot that used to be Johnny. With space being so cold, the body froze and the Darkness couldn’t escape from his body.

Mars and Brian went back to their normal selves after Dante defeated the Darkness. Dante’s powers grew exponentially after becoming pure of heart and Mars thought he should start helping the whole universe because now he could breathe in space. Dante couldn’t imagine what lay in store for him in the universe and how it was going to affect his destiny, but he still wanted to find out. Dante knew things were going to change around here and some were going to be good but some are also going to be bad. Even if they did defeat the Darkness Dante knew that worse things were probably out there and they were just waiting to get clobbered. Dante felt certain that he could defeat anything that was sent their way because he had his friends to back him up. Dante had never imagined that his life was going to change so much but what Dante didn’t know was that his life was just getting started.