Greg ran. Greg ran fast. He had to run fast. He had to run faster than the boys who where chasing him. Failure was not an option. If he failed he would pay. He would pay in his own blood. It's a lesson he learned many times and his pursurers would be all too happy to teach him the lesson again, just in case he forgot. There is something to be said for repetition. If you repeat something enough times, you tend to not forget. Greg had been taught this lesson many times.

Greg continued to run. He ran past the old liquor store where some bum had passed out in front of. He ran past the laudramat. He ran past the dollar store. His pursurers continued to chase him. He could feel his legs starting to turn to rubber. He ran through the pain. The aching in his legs was nothing compared to the pain he would feel if he was caught. Normally if the boys didn't catch him by now they would give up, but today they didn't. They kept the chase going. Greg turned a corner and ran right into Lenny. Lenny

had doubled back and was waiting to meet Greg. Greg knocked Lenny down and before Greg could get away, Lenny grabbed one of Greg's legs and wouldn't let go. Soon the other boys caught up to Greg. It's was time for the lesson to begin. Greg attempted to defend himself. He even got a few good punches in but there were too many. Soon they had Greg restrained and the flurry of punches began. They didn't stop until Greg was caughing up blood. Satisfied with their work, the boys left Greg gasping for air.

With the feeling of humiliation hot on his mind, Greg picked himself up and slowly walked home. He didn't want his mother to see him like this again. When he got home she would baby him and that made the humiliation feel all that much worse. His dad however, had a different opinion. His father said he needed to take care of his own business. He tried to teach his son how to fight, but Greg didn't see how that would help when it was just him against 5 other boys. His father insisted that he had to stand up for himself or he would get pushed around his entire life, but Greg didn't understand, at least not yet.

When Greg got home and after his mother tried to baby him, Greg went up to his room to sulk. Bitterness and restentment had taken hold of his heart and he lamented over his afflicted state. He didn't really know what to do. His father did seem to be right about something, Greg thought, running away wasn't a permanent solution to his problem. He needed a plan. The problem was the more he thought about it, the more depressed he got. Greg thought about it all night and he went to sleep in a seething rage.

The next dat when Greg woke up he was determined. Today would be different, he didn't know what he was going to do but he was going to do something different, something unexpected. Something that even he didn't know he was going to do. As the day went by Greg got more anxious. His tormentors knew better than to start a fight on school property but they took every opportunity to let Greg know that once school had concluded, Greg was fair game.

School did conclude and Greg was off to the races. Because his tormentor's knew his route home, He decided to take a different route this time. They would still chase him but they wouldn't know where he was going so they couldn't ambush him this time. This time when Greg ran down the street he ducked into the General Hardware store. Looking frantically he saw what he was looking for, wooden bats. He grabbed a wooden bat and right before the lead pursurer could get to him, he swung for the fences. He swung with all his might and he connected cleanly with his target. He hit Lenny right on the side of his head and Lenny went down for the count. The adrenaline was pumping through Greg's body now and the rage at such a fever pitch that Greg didn't stop. He swung the bat down on Lenny again, who was at this point unconscious and unable to defend himself. Greg didn't stop. Fortunately for Lenny, Greg only got in a couple more swings before the store owner grabbed the bat away from Greg and called the cops. The other boys, seeing Lenny's fate all disbursed. They didn't want any witnesses that could help collaborate Greg's story once he gave it to the police.

When the police arrived, an ambluance was called and Lenny was taken to the hospital. Greg didn't feel any remose. He was only taking care of business. He explained to the police officer about how the boys chased him every day and gave him a beatdown. He explained how his father told him he had to take care of it or people would push him around his whole life. He explained that it seemed to him that violence was the only means of resolving the issue. The police officer took down Greg's statement and called his

parents. Since the other boys had fled the scene like rats deserting a sinking ship, there was no one there who could accuse Greg of making anything up.

When Greg's parents arrived, they were told about the icident and Greg's mother collaborated Greg's story, telling the police officer that Greg had home home many times beaten up. The police officer asked why the family never reported the attacks and Greg's father reponded that Greg needed to take care of the problem himself, or people would push him around all his life. This collaborated Greg's previous statement to the officer. Greg was released into the custody of his parents and the office said that because there were witnesses to the attack, Greg would probably have to stand trail for assault. On the way home Greg's mother cried but Greg's father wasn't upset because Greg was just doing what he had told him to do.

Once Lenny got to the hospital, it was discovered that he was hit in just such a way as to cause death. It is amazing what the human body can withstand but when it is struck in certain ways, it ceases to function and this was the case with Lenny. It was actually just dumb luck, or lack of it, that this was the case because if Lenny were struck at any other angle or just a few milimeters in either direction up or down, he would have lived.

Once Lenny died, Greg was charged with manslaughter and had to stand trial. Because he was a minor, he was tried in a court for minors. It was at this time that the history of Greg's beatdown's became public record. The prosecutor presented Greg as a vengeful troubled young man who knew exactly what he was doing while the defense presented him as a young man who was just defending himself from constant abuse and went a little too far. Lenny's parents refused to believe their son would act in the manner that Greg and the other boys had testified that he did. To protect themselves from possible retribution, the other boys threw Lenny under the bus and said that he was the one who was the mastermind behind all the attacks on Greg. Lenny's parents asked the judge to throw the book at Greg.

After dilibrating for some time, the Judge decided to send Greg to a youth detention facility for his crime. It wasn't a horrible place but there were horrible people who lived there. Once Greg arrived, one of the boys who clearly appeared to be in charge, told Greg that as long as he followed orders, his stay would be a pleasant experience. If he failed to follow orders, he might have some trouble. It was a veiled threat that really wasn't veiled all that much. Greg got a sinking feeling that he just went from the frying pan into the fire.

I’ve lost track of the days. The fighting on both sides had been fierce. The casualties are mounting and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. As we move in on the enemy position, I get cut off from my unit. The gun fire, the loud noises, the bombs going off, it all contributes to my disorientation until I am not sure where I am. This is bad. This is really bad. I look for some cover to give my self some time to get my bearings. That’s when I see her. She is wearing a military uniform and carrying a gun. Before she can see me I duck into a hole in the geography and I wait.

I had been drafted. They trained me for 3 weeks and put me in the infantry. Everybody joked that we were just cannon fodder but it was no joke. The casualty rates for the infantry were 14 times higher than for any other personel type.. The higher up’s have no problem ordering you to your death either. Whatever needs to be done to secure victory, that was what they drilled into us. We didn’t like any of it. We spent our time just trying not to die. I guess you could say that is the main goal of anyone fighting in a war. Not dying I mean. You don’t want to die for your country, you want to make the other person die for theirs. I didn’t see any honor in dying for a war that was started in the halls of government for no other reason than for greed. So far I had beaten the odds, the thing is the odds catch up with you. Numbers don’t lie and the math catches up with everybody eventually.

This woman was advancing on my position. I didn’t see a reason to kill anyone if I could help it so I was just praying to whatever diety that actually exists that she would go a different direction, but perhaps it wasn’t in their interest to answer my prayer because the woman kept coming toward me. When she got close enough I jumped her and plunged my hunting knife into her combat uniform in the place where her heart should be. The knife glanced off and she didn’t suffer any wounds. I wasn’t sure what had happened. She pulled out a revolver and fired it at me at point blank range but it didn’t go off. I guess it must have gotten jammed. So I guess we both got lucky. I put my knife away and we started to engage in hand to hand combat. We traded shots but it was strange. Nothing we did seemed to hurt the other person or give one of us the advantage.

Then it occured to me. This women must be the one. The one I had been looking for my entire life. The one who was meant to complete my life. I grabbed her head with both my hands and I kissed her. Her eyes grew wide as she finally realized what was happening. She pulled away and a look of horror filled her features. It was clear to both of us that our hand to hand combat had concluded with a draw, but another war, a more personal war was still being waged. The woman looked at me with hate in her eyes. I was the enemy. How could I be the one she was suppose to spend the rest of her life with? I could see she understood what was going on and I could see the war going on inside of her mind.

I approached her again. As I did she took step away from me. “I can’t hurt you” I said out loud. “I belong to you. I’ve always belonged to you. You know that I’m yours.”

“You’re the enemy!” she screamed, “I want to kill you. How can you possibly be the one I’m suppose to love?”

“I don’t know” I responded, “I only know it is and you know it too. I’m the only one that will make you happy. Do you want to give that up for the sake of a war that you and I are only pawns in.” She took out a pair a hand cuffs and threw them at me.

“Put these on.” she ordered, “If you want to be with me, you’ll do it as my prisoner.”

“That’s crazy. We should desert. Let them fight their war without us. Let’s go somewhere and be happy.” I protested.

“Put them on” she ordered again. I thought for a moment, is this the only way? If I became a prisoner of war, what was going to happen to me? Would I live to see the end of the fighting? If I became a prisoner, I wouldn’t have to fight anymore and the war does have to end eventualy.Would I suffer shame in my own country? Would that matter if I was dead? I could cheat the odds. I pick up the handcuffs and put them on.

She tells me to move to a certain direction and I start walking. She walks behind me. I don’t hear the fighting anymore and wonder what the state of the battle is. We pass bodies that use to be warm, but are now a tribute to the cold realities of war. It seems like we walked for a considerable distance when we reach a soldiers camp. The enemy had set up this camp as a base for nearby operations. I am taken to the officer in charge and he assigns the woman who captured me as my guard. She doesn’t seem happy with the assignment but she isn’t going to disobey orders. I can see that the brainwashing techniques of the enemy have been very effective and I can’t help but be impressed by them. I smile and I can tell she want’s to smack the smile off my face but she knows she can’t.

I’m loaded onto a truck and the woman who is the very reason for my existence is responible for taking me to a more secure location for interogation. As the driver takes us away, I whisper to her that we still had the opportunity to run away together. She reamined silent and was committed to fulfilling her duty to her country. It was admirable even if her loyalty was misplaced. Once we reached the facility, I was taken to a small room with a bright light in it. I was ordered to sit down on a small folding chair. I complied with my orders. The bright light was positioned so I couldn’t see who was asking me questions.

They asked me questions I could not even begin to understand, let alone answer so I attempted to explain to them that I was cannon fodder and that I wasn’t allowed to possess real information. I told them my last position and explained I was cut off from my unit. I was so disoriented that I didn’t know which way to go. They continued asking me questions and finally they decided that maybe I was telling them the truth. I certainly couldn’t spill the beans if I didn’t know anything.

I was put in a cell and I decided to settle in. The guard’s came by in regular intervals and after awhile I could tell what time a day it was by when the guards came around. One of the guards asked me why I looked so happy. I responded that I wasn’t walking through mud and being shot at anymore and that I considered my current situation a step up from that. The guard looked at me like I was crazy. The woman who had by this time filled my every waking thought never did come around to see me. I was hoping that she wasn’t back at the front. I wanted her to be safe so that when the war was over, we could start our magical life together.

It was true that I didn’t know anything about this woman, but if the cosmos said we were a match made in heaven, that was good enough for me. I didn’t waste a lot of time pondering the deep questions of the universe. A lot of crazy stuff happens and that’s just the way life is, trying to figure it out isn’t going to change anything. I could tell that the woman of my dreams was fighting that internal battle. She knew I was the one who would make her happy but she may be willing to give up happiness for the sake of the war. Either way I was getting 2 meals a day and I didn’t have to do nothing. Well that isn’t exactly true, They still questioned me but they didn’t put files under my fingernails or anything like that. After a while I figured they just questioned me for the sake of it, they knew I didn’t possess any real information. After spending about three weeks there, I was transfered to a prison and joined other prisoner’s of war.

It is the duty of every prisoner to escape and while there were some who felt that way. Nobody really cared to escape and go back to being pawns in a meaningless war. We were secure here. We were fed. We didn’t have to do anything and we weren’t being mistreated. I suppose in times past, the mistreatment of prisoner’s was common, but now it was unnessecary. With the mind control techniues available today, information could get extracted easily and often without the prisoner even realizing it. So there was no reason to mistreat them. We were just here taking up space waiting for the war to end.

I didn’t have a family to go back to so I wasn’t really all that upset about my current situation. The food was okay and I got regular exercise. I really didn’t need anything else except for the woman of my dreams. I just knew she would come someday. I had to hold on to that hope. I know she had to be thinking about me. In time maybe she will give in to fate and when she does, she will know where to find me.

Months pass. The enemy tells us about victory after glorious victory and that the war will soon be over with them as the winners. We realize that this is done to demoralize us but the truth is we don’t care who wins their stupid war. It doesn’t matter who is in control, the fate of the ‘little’ people is always the same. I have settled in very nicely. I have become acquainted with the other prisoners and we do our best to make a life for ourselves right where we are.

Then one day it happens. I get a visitor. My heart starts racing when I’m informed by the guard. As I’m led to a room I see her. The woman that had captured not only me but my heart as well was standing there. We sit down opposite each other. For awhile she doesn’t say anything. She just looks me over. Then she finally speaks.

“How are they treating you?” She asks nervously

“I’m treated pretty good, actually” I respond.

“I’m glad. I know you don’t get any real news in here but the war is almost over.” She informs me.

“The diplomats have all been shoved into a tiny room and have been told to figure it out” She says with a hint of disgust in her voice.

“Don’t you want peace?” I asked her

“I want victory!” She says almost screaming.

“I’ve been thinking about you all the time and I just have to ask you a question” She states.

“Okay” I respond, “Ask your question.”

“Why did you do it?” She asks.

“Why did I do what?” I ask back.

“Why did you surrender to me?” She clarifies.

“Because you are my entire reason for living. You and I are meant to be together. Without you, life doesn’t mean anything.” I state passionately.

“How could you accept that so quickly?” She follows up.

“Because it’s true and we both know it. You just have to accept it now.”

She doen’t say anything further but abruptly gets up and leaves.

Several months pass by again and we are informed that the war is over and that one of the stipulations is that all the prisoner’s from each side be returned to their own country and just like that I find myself back home. The thing is I don’t want to be home, I want to be with the one that I was meant for. I desperately search for a way to get back into the country of our former enemy but I’m told travel had been restricted.

So I go back to life as if the war had never happened, as if I never found my soulmate.

Years pass and finally travel between the two countries is allowed. I have no idea where to go, I have no idea where to look. It seems hopeless. My friends have all found their matches and everyone has started having children except for me. They all know what had happened because I had told them years ago. They all try and encourage me and tell me not to lose hope but I don’t know what to do. I don’t even have a name to try and track down. Just a face I can’t keep out of my mind.

More years pass. With my hope faded I just go through the motions of life, just existing. Whatever passion I had before had since died inside of me. My friends look at me and shake their heads. To find one’s true love but to never be united with them is a horrible weight to carry around. They feel pity for me.

One day someone comes into the place where I work, spending the remaining time I have left. They say someone is new in town and that the person has been asking about me. I feel a tiny spark ignite inside of me. A glimmer of hope arises. I asked to be taken to this person. I am led out into the street and I see her. I can hardly believe my eyes. When she sees me she runs toward me and throws her arms around me. She kisses me deeply and I start sobbing.

“It’s okay” she says, trying to comfort me,“I’ve been looking for you everywhere and now that I’m here, I won’t ever let you go.” We melt into each other and all the years of pain washes away like the dust after the rain.

Gloria sat on a park bench. It was late in the day and the clouds floated lazily by her in the sky with the sun poking it's head out from behind them every so often. Children played near by. Their laughter mocking her as her life laid decimated like a battle field after the fighting was over. Dead bodies lying everywhere, cold and lifeless.

Gloria had just been given the speech. You know what I mean, the speech where you are told that you don't meet all the requirements to continue being pursued as a person who should be desired. Where the person you have invested all your hope in informs you that they have reached that tipping point where your presence is no longer an asset but a liability. Where all the time you invested that you can never get back seems like a puff of smoke and smells just as bad.

Gloria had invested 3 years of her life into the now just defunct relationship. She had thought everything was progression smoothly and in fact she was hoping that this rendezvous at the park would result in a more permanent arrangement between her and the object of her affection but the object of her affection was not interested in making their relationship more permanent. In fact he was interested in the exact opposite which was to dissolve it as if it never existed in the first place.

Whenever an emotion bond is broken their is pain and Gloria was feeling this pain very deeply. The future she imagined was her's was in fact not her's at all. The person she thought she knew she really didn't know as well as she should have. They say love is blind and it is true that love puts up with a lot but Gloria didn't see the signs that her relationship was dying. She didn't notice that her lover was drifting away from her but she knew it now. It was all to painful now.

Gloria just sat on the park bench and cried. She didn't know what else to do. She had to take the time to process what had just happened to her. To mourn the relationship that had been murdered before her eyes. A man selling balloons passed by her and noticeing her distress gave her a baloon as a gift. Several children, sensing that she was sad, tried to coax her into playing with them and even the birds sensed something and tried to cheer her up with their beautiful songs but Gloria felt worthless right now. In time she would regain her confidence. It would take a lot of healing and help from those who cared about her but she would recover and move on with her life.

A man walks into a dark alley. He is holding a briefcase. He looks around nervously as if he is being followed. He is waiting for someone. Someone seedy. Someone who has promised a lot of money for the contents of his briefcase. Inside his briefcase is the cassified secret origin of the superhero they call Biterman. The man reaches the agreed exchange point. He looks around but no one else is there.

He hears a noise and jumps. A few moments later he sees an alley cat, rustling up some mice. He relaxes but only for a moment. Soon he hears a voice but he doesn't see anyone.

"Did you bring the information?" The voice asks.

"Did you bring the payment?" The nervous man asks in return.

"Of course." The agent of evil responds. The agent comes into the light and they exchange briefcases and the nervous man leaves.

"Don't you want to count it?" The agent of evil laughs.

"No need. I trust you." the nervous man replies as he makes a hasty retreat.

The agent of evil is pleased. He opens the case revealing a folder with the label, "Secret origins - Biterman" He smiles a very big smile. He will finally learn the secret identity of his arch rival. He retreats to a safe location and begins to read.

Secret Origins - Biterman.

Fred Jones was a regular guy. A dentist by trade. He had a wife and a child and life was good. He was putting in his time and realizing the American dream. That dream that if you work hard, provide value for your fellow man that you will be rewarded in kind.

One night after closing up his business, he walked home taking the usual route when he was jumped by some muscle enlarged goons. They grabbed Dr. Jones and took him to an abandoned warehouse.

'You should have paid back the boss' the larger goon said.

'I have no idea what you are talking about' Fred protested 'I don't owe anybody any money.'

'Are you Fred Jones?' the goon asked

'Yeah' Fred responded

'Then your the right guy, do you have any last words?" The first goon asked

'There must be at least 20 guys in the city with the name Fred Jones. The guy you are after is one of them not me.' Fred reasoned.

'The boss don't pay me to think.' the goon answered.

'I can see that' Dr. Jones observed.

'Are you being smart with me? I don't like people who are smart' The goon retorted. 'Let's see how smart you are after you meet my fist."

With that the goon adorned his knuckles with brass enhancements and proceeded to knock some sense out of the good doctor.

The doctor hit the floor and when the goon saw that he might actually have killed Dr. Jones, he left him there for dead.

Dr. Jones was in fact not dead. He woke up alone with a throbbing headache. His mouth felt strange and he realized the good had knocked all his teeth out. Dazed and confused, Dr. Jones managed to stumble back to his place of residence. His wife was very concerned and his child recoiled in horror at the sight of him. After checking the bathroom mirror, which broke shortly after he gazed upon it, told him all he needed to know.

Dr. Jones sent his family away and took a sabatical. He designed a special set of jaws to replace the teeth that has been so mercilessly denied him. Made from the strongest alloy known to man, These teeth cut bite through anything the cold city could offer. Once these were installed, he learned how to fight.

After two years of intense training. Biterman, I mean Dr. Jones returned to the city he loved. He donned a cool uniform and one fatefull night revealed himeself to the city by thwarting a bank robbery. When the police arrived on the scene, the would be thiefs had already been apprehended. They tried to explain what happened to them but they didn't make any sense. A man showed up dressed in a strange costume and had a vice like bite. They were taken to the loony bin for examination and a legend was born.

The agent of evil closed the briefcase. He had learn the information that he wanted to know. Soon Dr. Jones would feel the cold steel blade of revenge. But that would be another day.