No Going Back

Marcus stirred, the faint sound of his doorbell ringing barely registering in his half-asleep state. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table and, seeing it was two a.m., he sat upright. His lifestyle meant that visitors this late into the night were rarely mundane, and so he immediately grabbed the gun resting on his bedside table and cautiously walked towards the front door. Peering through the peephole, he saw someone holding up his wallet as if to hide their identity from him. Marcus remembered losing it during one of his work visits, but why would someone return it now?

He was unsure of what to make of it but still needed his stuff back so he asked the stranger, "Who are you? What do you want?"

A thin voice replied, "Found this wallet outside, sir. There's no money inside but...well, you seem like a good person so I thought you might donate something? Ha ha."

The man's laugh seemed forced and rehearsed, almost as if he were reciting from a script. Marcus considered the fact that he could be a homeless drug addict hoping for some cash for his next hit.

He slowly opened the door, his hand gripping the handle of his gun tightly. He was going to grab the wallet and tell the man to screw off but something strange happened. His vision changed suddenly, now he was on the ground in his own house, where a dull throb emanated from his abdomen - like he'd been kicked by an invisible assailant. Before he had time to process what had happened, he heard the voice again - but this time it had a different tone.

"How long are you going to sit there on your ass? Get up already."

The voice came from behind Marcus, prompting him to stand up and turn around. To his surprise, the homeless man looked younger than he had expected and oddly familiar. As realization hit him, Marcus exclaimed, "You are that woman's son! what the fuck are you doing here?"

The boy raised his eyebrows in response.

"You recognize me? Why would you remember the family of some random grift?"

Marcus felt exposed as he realized that he had given away information he shouldn't have and clicked his tongue.

"I am good with faces, even the ones as unremarkable as yours" he barked, advancing on the boy threateningly to use his height for intimidation. The boy stood his ground though and seemed unimpressed. He began to look around the room, taking in the expensive furniture and décor.

"How much of this is from the people you extorted?" he said with anger in his voice.

"All of it? What the hell does it matter to you? You gonna leave or should I beat your ass up?" Marcus was getting annoyed as he needed to meet Victor's friends early in the morning and was losing sleep over this.

The boy turned around with a face that showed a hint of surprise.

"Do you not realize what just happened? Are you that slow to process information?"

"You mean your weak ass kick? If you think being fast makes you tough then I will show you what a real man can do." Marcus still wasn't sure how the boy was able to move so quickly but he was used to being hit way harder than that. Having the gun with him also gave him confidence — no matter how fast someone could move, bullets were always faster.

"That wasn't a kick," The boy replied. "I just gave you a slight push."

Marcus's brows furrowed in confusion, he didn't understand why the boy was lying, it was definitely a kick. The boy was way smaller than him after all, there was no way he could push him down so easily. He took a step forward with the intention of teaching the idiot a lesson. But suddenly, intense pain ripped through his abdomen, stealing his breath and making him double over. It was like being hit with a five-hundred-pound hammer; it could not be remotely compared to how it felt earlier. Gasping for breath, he coughed up a mixture of blood and what remained of his dinner.

He opened his eyes to find himself several feet away from where he had been standing. He had smashed through the furniture and into the wall with enough force to embed splinters of wood and shards of glass in his back. He glanced up to see the boy standing in the same spot.

'That was a kick.' he said in a demonic voice.

He slowly inched closer to Marcus and whispered something incomprehensible under his breath.

"Hmm, so stacking attacks does work."

Marcus felt panic rise within him as it seemed like there was no escape and death was inevitable - until his gaze fell on the gun close by.

Dan had thought about it after his intense fight where he had to flee. He had realized he needed more firepower beyond what his stats offered. He was still a few steps away from where the thug had crashed when he saw a vision of a really fast-moving object hit him. He let foresight move him away and then instantly activated time dilation.

"You fucking...monster, I will fucki...kill you", the thug didn't stop firing until his gun was empty. But Dan nimbly dodged each bullet with minimal movement.

"What...the hell..." the thug said in a trembling voice when he saw Dan still standing in front of him unscathed.

Dan stepped closer and said, his voice gradually turning colder, "I have some questions for you and I need right answers, understand?"

The thug stared into Dan's eyes for a few seconds before nodding slowly.

"You work for the same people who gave money to my father, right?"

"Ye...Yes, yes. Boss had loaned him a lot of money"

"Didn't we already clear the debt? Why are you still demanding money from my mother?" Anger began to creep into Dan's voice as he waited for an answer.

Marcus fell silent as he couldn't disclose anything. If he said that he was just doing it as an easy score, then the boy would definitely kill him. But telling the whole truth wouldn't help him either. Suddenly an idea came to him but before he could put it into effect, the boy grabbed his throat and started lifting him up with terrifying strength. He tried to struggle against this iron grip, but it was no use; Marcus felt like a rag doll in the hands of a machine.

"You are taking too long to answer. You should think about your safety in this moment and not what will happen later."

With a swift jerk, Dan threw the thug down on the couch, forcing an audible grunt from his lips. The thug groaned, trying to stand up with shaky legs before eventually leaning back against the couch for support. He heaved heavily until he mustered enough courage to speak.

"Okay... I'll talk," he stammered. "I was just given orders to pay your family a visit a few times a month by boss but all I know is that there was a deal made with some kind of big company."

Dan's attention was instantly drawn to the word - company. He grabbed the thug by the collar and demanded, "What company? Who made the deal?"

The thug spoke as fast as he could, "I don't know…I was just following orders."

Dan let him go and thought for a while before saying, "Take me to him then, the one who orders you around."

Marcus was still rooted in his place, trying to weigh his options when Dan raised his voice, "Let's go, we will take your car, don't waste my time."

Marcus scrambled to find his keys and then under Dan's close watch, he climbed into the driver's seat.

"You know what I am capable of, so if you try anything stupid, remember that I will come for you first" Dan threatened him as he sat in the passenger seat.

After an hour of driving, they arrived at their destination - a famous night club. Marcus parked the car with a screech and hurried around to the back of the building. He knocked on the door and spoke to someone inside. As they inched their way into the club, Dan surveyed the room warily; there were various shady men leering at him from every corner. Surprisingly, no one seemed to pay attention to the numerous bruises and cuts that littered Marcus's body. They eventually arrived at the stage from which the floor of the club could be seen, with pulsating lights and blaring music all around. They then proceeded to a particular area on the side, where there was a doorway leading to a large chamber with a wall overlooking the dance floor built out of glass. Many hulking figures stood guard outside of this entrance, they even towered over Marcus. The man closest to them gave them a questioning look as they approached, prompting Marcus to give some explanation.

"I need to see him, got some business to talk about" Marcus said in a surprisingly calm voice.

"He is busy." came a quick response.

Marcus took a step closer and lowered his voice, "He is a client and a guest."

After taking one more long glance at Dan, he asked "You sure?"

"Yeah, very." Marcus answered with a nod.

After a few moments, the man went inside while the other men came closer to take his place. Taking his eyes off them for a moment, Dan could take in his surroundings—lavishly decorated with expensive objects and intoxicated men and women mingling together. He could smell alcohol mixed with expensive perfume and something else he assumed must be other drugs. Although closed off from the main room, muffled music still emanated from below. Even in his wildest imaginations, Dan hadn't thought he would step inside a place like this, especially under such strange circumstances.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when the guard came out and gestured Marcus with his head. He then patted down both of them for weapons.

"Okay, let's go then" Marcus said in a low voice as he slowly walked forward, towards the opened door. The room they walked into was even more lavish than the outside area; it was lit by warm, yellow lighting and on the right was an imposing bar counter stocked with high-end liquor bottles. At the end of the wall were two flights of stairs, each leading to a second floor visible through the railing. Dan looked up and noticed that it was divided into two sections, one had a seating area and the other an office-like space that held a figure lounging in a sofa, looking down at them. Dan assumed this must be the boss, based on how many people were standing around him like guards. He followed Marcus as they climbed the stairs until finally coming face to face with the man who held answers for him.

The boss looked younger than Dan had expected, he seemed to be his in early thirties. He had an impeccable physique under a designer suit and jet-black hair that casually fell to the sides of his face. He had the perfect facial structure; high cheekbones, sharp jawline and well chiselled chin. His eyes were sharp and intense and seemed to pierce through anyone looking at him, for a moment Dan thought it was some model acting in the place of the real boss. But he gave off an air of confidence and power as Marcus kneeled before him, Dan was surprised by it as it looked like he was showing genuine loyalty and respect.

"Marcus, you should take more rest," the boss said in an accent that Dan couldn't place; it almost sounded fake. "You have a meeting with one of our friends in a few hours, don't you?"

Marcus stood up before replying, " Yes, sir. Just that this..."

The boss raised his hand to silence him and examined Dan from head to toe.

"Looking at Marcus's injuries," he began with a hint of curiosity in his voice, "you seem to have a talent for violence. He's one of my toughest fighters and would die before accepting defeat in a fight. And yet, here he is able to walk normally so I'm rather interested to know what you did to him."

Dan from few days ago would have buckled under such intense scrutiny with dozens of pairs of eyes drilling into him but now he didn't even notice the other people in the room.

"Maybe he's just a coward who can only threaten women way smaller than him." Dan said, his voice full of scorn as he glanced around the room looking for a reaction from either the boss or someone else.

The boss only gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. "I have known Marcus for a long time," he said with an air of authority. "He isn't so frail. Plus, you came walking in here alone without any weapons. I'm guessing you're either insane or extremely confident. Looking at the state he is in, I am leaning towards the latter."

A slight shrug was Dan's response before he continued. "Whatever you're assuming doesn't matter. I want answers to my questions." He spat out each word like it was a challenge and finally succeeded in getting some sort of reaction. But surprisingly, it was from Marcus. The man trembled slightly, as if trying to restrain himself, but held back whatever had the potential to erupt out of him.

"Hmm," the boss replied slowly, still maintaining his demeanour, "I don't usually disclose information about my friends to random kids who just barge into my place. What do you have to offer me in exchange?".

Dan sighed and took a step forward. "What about not beating the shit out of you and ruining your face?" Some of the guards stepped closer at this, tensing up slightly as they anticipated violence.

The boss smirked. "Oh? You know what, I will tell you everything and more if you are able to touch me." He leaned back and took a completely relaxed pose while one of the men came closer, trying to grab Dan.

He rolled his eyes and looked over at the other man who was now wearing something shiny on his knuckles. Marcus stepped away to the side with sweat visible on his face.

Suddenly, everything was bathed in an eerie blue light while the distant sound of music took on the form of a constant buzzing hum. Dan launched himself at the man with the weapon first and punched him multiple times in the stomach and face before kicking him and cancelling his power. As time started to flow normally again, the man travelled a great distance and crashed into the railing before his body plummeted to the floor below.

Everyone stood still like a statue, utterly shocked at what had just transpired. Dan had somehow teleported to the spot where the man was standing previously while he was launched off like a ragdoll in a videogame. He was still alive, screaming and writhing on the floor, drawing attention from those below who quickly rushed upstairs. But the boss only leaned forward slightly, his eyebrows furrowed in curiosity before a slight smile crept across his lips.

"What...happened?" the man who was going to grab Dan finally opened his mouth.

"He can move really fast!" Marcus screamed, backing away even more in terror.

Hearing that, all the guards instantly whipped out their guns, without wasting any time. They aimed at Dan who was now surrounded on all sides with no escape. The people who had run up from the first floor also joined in, they didn't give him anymore time and fired all at once.

Dan's foresight had already kicked in and he activated time dilation again. He didn't want to overuse its maximum effect as he didn't know how many men they still had. So, he used weaker version instead but it was still enough for him to dodge most bullets that were flying around. As they unloaded their clips onto him, he kept dodging with utmost focus but some bullets still scratched him. There were numerous scrapes and cuts all over his body through which blood was oozing out.

Some of the guards even changed magazines so fast that Dan had no choice but to keep pushing himself. He expected some of their bullets to hit each other during crossfire but that didn't happen, they seemed to be very well trained. Finally, after two endless minutes of barrage, the shooting stopped, they had given up. Dan was relieved as the constant sound of gunfire was even more difficult to bear in dilated time, especially from up close.

They looked at each other with defeated faces, not knowing what else to do. Before they could come up with a new plan, Dan moved. Some of them had their knees and arms broken, some were thrown into the walls and some were clutching their genitals and screaming loudly in pain. Marcus watched in horror, rooted in place and afraid of being targeted if he ran. It only took few seconds for over a dozen men to go down, they were so utterly beaten that they wouldn't stand up for a while.

Dan was not unaffected by it; he was panting heavily and his breaths came out in short gasps. This was the most intense fight he had fought. Although, he felt closer to death in the previous one, guns really did complicate matters here, leading to him being more tired. But he realized something strange, he felt his stamina returning and he was feeling better by the second.

"Is it the effect of recovery stat as well?" Dan thought to himself and slowly moved towards the boss who still seemed unfazed by the situation.

"It was pretty entertaining," he said, "but you know this cost me millions, right? Even if I sell your poor family into prostitution for decades, they still won't be able to cover it."

Dan's fury ignited anew as he reached out and grabbed the boss by the collar, lifting him off the ground. "How are you still this calm?" he was angry but also curious to see if the boss had some kind of trump card.

Although, Dan was handling him roughly, his tone didn't change.

"Hmm? You are definitely some monster freak in human form and I am curious to know what exactly are you. A vampire or a werewolf maybe?" he chuckled to himself before continuing, "But that still doesn't mean you can touch me."

"And why is that?" Dan asked in confusion.

The boss's voice now changed to that of mocking. "Because I am still above you, even you should know the consequences of messing with my family."

Even when he was at such a disadvantage, he was still looking down at Dan.

"People like you can struggle all you want and get in a few punches, but in the end, you are destined to die in the sewers," he brought his face close to Dan's before continuing, "I really hate when someone messes with my people so I will pay your family a visit soon, you should look forward to it. I would like to watch your reaction as they slowly bleed to death in front of your eyes."

Dan's rage boiled over but something strange happened, the boss's image overlapped with someone else entirely and made him lose all reason. His fist connected squarely with the boss's jaw and sent him flying like a broken doll, crashing face first onto the ground.

The impact left the boss coughing up blood as he struggled to his feet.

"You...cough...asshole, do you know who you are messing with?" he pushed out the words in an attempt to regain control over the situation. But Dan was past reasoning, his eyes filled with a wildness that spoke of untold depths of sorrow and anger. He scrambled atop of the boss and unleashed his wrath in violent blows, each one harder than the last.

'Where is she? Where did you take her?' He demanded in a voice strange and unrecognizable.

"Wha...what?" The boss was unable to comprehend in between blows that nearly ripped his face apart.

As Dan continued to strike, blood dripped from the boss's broken nose and laced his swollen lips, he could feel broken teeth in his mouth and throat which made it harder to breathe. One of his cheek bones had caved in and his eyes were so swollen that he could barely open them. No one had ever been this violent towards him and it made him break down completely. He tearfully gasped for breath, spitting out shards of broken teeth mixed with desperate pleas for mercy, "Please...stop, I vill tehl you eberythingg...please".

The sound of desperation snapped Dan out of his trance-like fury. He was shocked to see what he had done. Looking down, he noticed his hands were covered in blood - they began trembling uncontrollably as he closed his eyes and mustered strength to calm himself down. Lifting the battered boss up, Dan laid him onto the couch. His once handsome face now looked like something that came out of a horror movie.

He bent down and asked him what he had come here to know, "Who made the deal with you about my family?"

The boss mumbled something inaudible so he bent down further and put his ear to the man's lips. His eyes widened in surprise as he heard the name. He clenched his fists and was reminded of his old friend, Brad.

"Will you come after my family again?" he inquired before getting up.

The boss forced himself up, and spoke with as much strength as his body would allow him, "No...I vond't...pleeise swear me."

His words were barely intelligible but Dan understood that he was too scared of him to try anything again.

He raced wildly outside, heart pounding in his chest, gasping for air to calm himself. He glanced at his hands and tried to wipe the blood off on his clothes but it seemed to seep into the fabric instead of coming off.

'You shouldn't have left them alive, people like him always come back for revenge' he heard the stranger talking to him but his attention was still on his hands.

'Go back and finish the job' the stranger continued, not bothered by what Dan was trying to do.

"Did you not see what I did?" Dan finally snapped and shouted, "I lost control and became something else!"

'So? You are still alive and that's what matters', replied the stranger calmly, unfazed by Dan's words, 'Stop wasting time and go back'

"No...I am not going to take lives", Dan replied, shaking his head, "I can't just kill people."

'You think your enemies will show you the same mercy? They will definitely come for your family next.' the stranger countered.

"But...but he said he will not do it. He was really afraid of me too." Dan said, desperately trying to convince the stranger as much as himself.

'He was just saying that to save his skin. You...' before the stranger could continue, Dan spoke, "No I can't, I won't."

With that, he walked away ending their conversation. He eventually reached home and got inside while using time dilation. He warily glanced towards his mother's room and felt a wave of guilt crash over him as images of him beating up the boss replayed in his mind. He shook away those thoughts before entering his own room, walking straight into the bathroom to wash off the traces of blood on his hands. After scrubbing for what felt like ages, he changed into fresh clothes before collapsing onto his bed in hopes of forgetting the events of the night.