- Joined
- Jan 8, 2020
Asclepius jumped from rooftop to rooftop, listening, searching. Just another day in the city for the veteran hero, looking for people to save, crimes to fight. It had been a slow day so far, winding down into the late evening, the sun setting in the distance. There had been the bank robbery, several muggings, a cat stuck up a tree and the police shootout that he had already rescued people from, situations defused. He was a pro after all, he'd been doing this for almost ten years now, Asclepius, the indestructible martial artist! Okay...maybe he wasn't completely indestructible, he just healed very quickly and from almost any injury as long as he had the energy remaining to do so, but that was more than enough to keep him safe on the streets for almost a decade. He could even heal others to a certain extent by taking their damage onto himself, a skill which made him come in high demand. Damage taken that way healed much slower than injuries done directly to his body of course, a little known fact, but it didn't matter really, they all healed in the end. He didn't have a single scar on his entire body to prove it despite being cut, shot, having his limbs broken and dislocated, even just his bones fractured.
In the darkness he heard something. Below in the alleyway there was laughter and begging, screaming. Cries of pain. He stopped on the roof and looked down, barely able to see anything but what he could see sickened him. A teenage girl was fighting for her life against two rough looking men, both armed with knives. Backed into a corner she already had defensive wounds on her hands where she must have tried to grab the blade, her thigh was cut where one might have taken a swing at her and she looked to have been thrown roughly down to the ground. While they menacingly approached her he started to descend, using the fire escape and drainpipes to get down safely to the ground. Sure...if he had just jumped down he would have lived but it would have hurt like hell, he'd have been incapacitated while he healed and healing would have been draining, with only a finite amount of energy he had to be careful how he spent it and they were going slow enough that he didn't need to rush. Once his feet touched the ground he was close enough to hear them. "You heard what I said, bitch, take off your fucking clothes." His eyes narrowed...not just muggers, rapists. He cracked his knuckles loudly as he walked up behind them.
"Are you boys really so pathetic that you need to force the girl just to get some action? Haven't you ever heard of a prostitute?" He didn't have a snappy line, or a heroic pose, he didn't even need his axes for this. No, he was far more straightforward than that. As the first thug started to turn towards him he lashed out with his left leg, kicking the man in the ribs with a powerful roundhouse then following up with a brutal punch aimed at knocking him out cold. These weren't hardened criminals or villains to be sure, it looked more like a crime of opportunity than anything else. The man crumpled, the knife falling from his hand and bouncing along the floor towards the girl, sticking into her thigh. Asclepius froze, staring at her for a heartbeat as he realised what he had done. "Shit..." It was one of the things rarely seen on the superhero shows that saturated the media, sometimes victims got injured during a rescue. He reacted quickly, pivoting and delivering a strong backhand to the man still on his feet while gripping his wrist with his other hand and twisting his body to throw the man away from the girl. The whole fight had lasted just a few seconds, then he was rushing towards her, falling to his knees. "Miss! I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to get hurt there like that...fuck, is it deep?" It cost him a lot more to heal somebody else, but he couldn't just leave her like that, that wouldn't do at all. It was lucky for her that it was him that had happened along to be quite honest and not some other hero who couldn't heal.
He placed his hands over the wound and his skin started to glow softly as he took the injuries onto himself...not just the fresher knife wound he had caused himself by his clumsiness but also the injuries she had already taken before he got there. A fresh cut slowly opened up on his hand, not quite bleeding but still painful looking and he could feel his thigh take on other wounds. "It will all be okay now, don't worry...they can't hurt you anymore, not while I'm here." He smiled, his voice steady even as he could feel his energy draining away. He would sleep well tonight, after a veritable feast, that was for sure. "Tell me your name, try not to think about how it hurts, it will all be better in a moment."
In the darkness he heard something. Below in the alleyway there was laughter and begging, screaming. Cries of pain. He stopped on the roof and looked down, barely able to see anything but what he could see sickened him. A teenage girl was fighting for her life against two rough looking men, both armed with knives. Backed into a corner she already had defensive wounds on her hands where she must have tried to grab the blade, her thigh was cut where one might have taken a swing at her and she looked to have been thrown roughly down to the ground. While they menacingly approached her he started to descend, using the fire escape and drainpipes to get down safely to the ground. Sure...if he had just jumped down he would have lived but it would have hurt like hell, he'd have been incapacitated while he healed and healing would have been draining, with only a finite amount of energy he had to be careful how he spent it and they were going slow enough that he didn't need to rush. Once his feet touched the ground he was close enough to hear them. "You heard what I said, bitch, take off your fucking clothes." His eyes narrowed...not just muggers, rapists. He cracked his knuckles loudly as he walked up behind them.
"Are you boys really so pathetic that you need to force the girl just to get some action? Haven't you ever heard of a prostitute?" He didn't have a snappy line, or a heroic pose, he didn't even need his axes for this. No, he was far more straightforward than that. As the first thug started to turn towards him he lashed out with his left leg, kicking the man in the ribs with a powerful roundhouse then following up with a brutal punch aimed at knocking him out cold. These weren't hardened criminals or villains to be sure, it looked more like a crime of opportunity than anything else. The man crumpled, the knife falling from his hand and bouncing along the floor towards the girl, sticking into her thigh. Asclepius froze, staring at her for a heartbeat as he realised what he had done. "Shit..." It was one of the things rarely seen on the superhero shows that saturated the media, sometimes victims got injured during a rescue. He reacted quickly, pivoting and delivering a strong backhand to the man still on his feet while gripping his wrist with his other hand and twisting his body to throw the man away from the girl. The whole fight had lasted just a few seconds, then he was rushing towards her, falling to his knees. "Miss! I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to get hurt there like that...fuck, is it deep?" It cost him a lot more to heal somebody else, but he couldn't just leave her like that, that wouldn't do at all. It was lucky for her that it was him that had happened along to be quite honest and not some other hero who couldn't heal.
He placed his hands over the wound and his skin started to glow softly as he took the injuries onto himself...not just the fresher knife wound he had caused himself by his clumsiness but also the injuries she had already taken before he got there. A fresh cut slowly opened up on his hand, not quite bleeding but still painful looking and he could feel his thigh take on other wounds. "It will all be okay now, don't worry...they can't hurt you anymore, not while I'm here." He smiled, his voice steady even as he could feel his energy draining away. He would sleep well tonight, after a veritable feast, that was for sure. "Tell me your name, try not to think about how it hurts, it will all be better in a moment."
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