The Alta Heroes (J.F.)

Reaching Towards the Storm

  "So, that's what happened?" Asks Starsis in a rather disappointed tone. The team, in regards to their feelings towards the situation, look towards the light entity with guilt written all over their faces. They want to explain themselves, but they don't wanna make excuses. Starsis rubs his temple in frustration as he and the teens talk more about the situation.
  "I can't believe it. You let them get away with the shard?!" Starsis snaps as his anger takes over.
  "Do you have any idea what might happen if they get all the shards?! What if they stole the shard from the backpack?! Were you so focused on kids some wizards and witches could've saved themselves that you forgot about the multiverse you're trying to protect?!" The team's guilt reaches new heights they've felt too many times. This chastising would've continued if not for the sudden awakening of the Mistress.
  "Mommy!" The daughter of that said woman yells as she bawls her young eyes into her mother's shoulder. Using a hand gesture, the woman orders her servants present to aid other magicians in cleaning up the wreckage from the assault. The mother happily embraces her baby girl whilst she feels the urge to sob her eyes out herself. However, her calm and collected presence are needed now. She'll be, however, crying her eyes out when she's done helping clean up her village. Lifting her slightly tear-stained face from her adorable daughter's shoulder, the two powerful entities look toward each other with glances that could kill.
"You two know each other?" The vigilante asks in a casual yet cautious manner.
"We have history," The two entities say in unison, the woman's child held onto her lap. The teens don't question this due to them not wanting to reopen old wounds between the two.
"Who is this man, Mommy?" The little girl asks in the heat of the moment. Feeling her motherly instincts take over, the woman kisses her daughter's forehead before whispering into her ear.
"I'll make you a cake after we clean up, Darling," The woman says with a smile as she hands her darling angel off to one of her servants and gives the little girl one more cheek kiss before they teleport away to the daughter's training room. The Mistress walks toward the hologram the entity appeared through with fierce abandon.
"So, you were the one who sent them here?" The woman questions coldly.
"Yes. And this journey I sent them on is for the multiverse's stake. They just happened to arrive here due to these monsters destroying the Village you were appointed to protect." The Mistress can't help being enraged over that statement.
"I honestly don't know why you were appointed as the entity of light!" The woman snaps, leading to Starsis snapping back.
"Maybe because it chose me!"
The Mistress roared, "Well, obviously, it chose wrong!" Jayden's stress starts up again with the team taking notice of it. However, they don't know what to do.
Starsis remarks as Jayden stresses, "Like the ones who appointed you the Mistress of Magic!"
The Mistress yells, "Ohh, are you that angry you've had to deal with your brother for centuries that you allowed three of my students to die at the hands of his demons?!"
"That was his doing and you know it!" Starsis defends.
"This was your doing, you foolish-" Jayden can't watch this anymore. So, Jayden turns the device's transmission off immediately. Even the Mistress of Magic herself finds that sudden movement surprising and concerning. Jayden, after a deep breath, turns around to look at the woman of authority. The team does not question this knee-jerk reaction because it's not appropriate right now. So, they look towards the woman as well, only for the woman to give them a huge bear hug with her strong arms.
"Thank you so much," The woman says, trying her hardest to hold back her tears. The team, although they're shocked, accepts this gesture by hugging her back. This is nice. The woman just straight up hugged them for saving the kids she adored so much. The hug lasts for about a good minute before it ends with the group igniting a conversation with the authority figure.
Cheerfully, the Mistress says, "Don't think you've done the wrong thing. You saved my students and my daughter. And for that, I'm eternally grateful."
"It's no problem, ma'am," Jayden says more confidently. He's not happy, however, due to that reminder of his past crashing onto him.
"We're just glad everyone is ok, we hope," Ashley says as her gaze turns towards someone being carried by two magicians. He's not dead, but he appears at death's door.
The Mistress says in comfort, "Don't worry about us. We can take care of ourselves. You five continue your mission." The woman goes to her followers to try and aid them. The teens see the students studying magic helping each other out. Some carry heavy objects for others, a group of girls using poles to carry a box full of equipment, two boys come to lead some scared children to their parents, and the Mistress herself uses her magic to help some children peacefully levitate down from the tall buildings they've scurried themselves into to hide from the monsters attacking them. The teen group focuses their gaze from the wreckage the citizens casually repair to the task at hand. The leader of the group and his teammates see the locations that are in front of them. Only one of them appears to be of interest to the leader. Although he doesn't want anymore fights, Jayden doesn't care at this point.
Jayden orders, "We're gonna do the Blasphemous Scorcher."
"Hold on, don't-" Ashley's attempt at going to bat for a location is rebounded by Jayden scowling at her like a parent too angry at their kid's stupid actions to hear their explanation. Ashley, Shadow Bird, Aubrey, and Asori can't help cringing at this reaction from their leader. With that, the team warps away to their next location. The brothers of darkness find themselves in a world inhabited by sunlight, blue sky, a squawk from birds here and there, and the two immediately arguing all because of Raptor's stupid choice.
"What the hell, Raptor?! Why didn't you let us get the backpack?!" Silencer snarls with pure fury.
"What?! We weren't warmed up enough! Plus, this would've made our job a whole lot easier! Would you really like that?!" Raptor shouts arrogantly.
"Wow! You know what, YES!" Silencer screams.
After a laugh, Silencer's brother snarks, "Wow, you really hate having fun!"
"And by having fun, you mean by making our job harder?!" A vibration soon arrives from Silencer's belt. This gets the entity's attention instantly. The frustrated son of the entity of darkness grabs his communication device to see their father seething with a stern look.
"Hello, father. How goes things on your end?" Raptor cheerfully asks only to be answered with why Evilkin called them up.
"Did you find any shards?" The darkness entity says in a deadpan voice.
"Well, only one," The static entity says whilst he holds the azure shard.
"We would've gotten the other shards the young ones collected if not for Raptor right here!" Silencer snaps coldly.
Raptor defends himself with, "Look, I just like challenges, ok?! Hell, we all know you love breaking bones and cracking skulls!"
Silencer responds with a bellowing, "Yeah, but I don't like screwing around when our father asks us to do something!" Evilkin sighs and rubs his temple in annoyance while his sons argue. This really got on his nerves. Seriously, what parent enjoys his children screaming their heads off over complete nonsense?
    Raptor argues, "You are so hypocritical and prissy, aren't ya?! I mean: one minute, you wanna murder people for pissing you off, and then the next, you wanna sacrifice a good time for the "mission"!"
Silencer tries bellowing one more time, "Will you just-"
"Enough, both of you!" Evilkin shouts, anger and annoyance mixed perfectly in his voice.
He says more calmly, "You two must stay focused on this mission for it to go well." Silencer calms down as his father turns sternly toward him.
Evilkin starts with, "Of course, you need a calm mind and body to stay focused." Evilkin turns to Raptor before continuing his lecture. "And you must also not let your personal ambitions outweigh what's important."
"Is that understood?" Evilkin questions. The brothers nod in unison to show their father they're listening.
"Continue your mission, my sons, and don't blind yourselves like that again." Evilkin ends the transmission then and there. The brothers, having regained their senses, look around the area to see they're on Earth. They've visited the place before, yet the planet never interests them too much other than its food, pop culture, and occasional people they'd murder here and there. The duo finds themselves walking on the sidewalk for a moment or so before a sudden flash flashes behind them. His hand grabbing the light, Raptor and Silencer find a person that's not Aubrey running towards them by accident, for this little girl is no speedster. Ariana had just been on a run until these two strangers just straight up nabbed her from the ground. Raptor instinctively grabs the locket that fell from her hoodie pocket. While looking inside it, the wheels inside Raptor's head meticulously turn and turn. A wicked smile came onto both brothers' faces as the teens soon take back center stage. This place is volcanic land, all right. The lava flows down each non-hard cement area very slowly. However, because they're completely out of harm's way, the teens have no worries regarding the place's danger levels. The teens walk and walk for a long period in silence as the teens observe each calm volcano, mini volcanoes erupting near them, the lava bubbling near them, and feel very freaking hot during their whole walk. Talking soon erupts from the group in which Ashley and Asori are the only ones talking.
"You feeling ok?" Asori inquires, her body sweating from the hot atmosphere.
"Hell yeah. This place... isn't so hot," Ashley says with her body not as sweaty.
  "Looks like you got your turn after all," Asori says with a small smile. Although she isn't a hot weather girl, she's not complaining. Ashley's not complaining about her choice either. After all, this place is cool. Fire is her superpower; not only does she love burning stuff, but she simply loves things exploding on top of that.
"Who knows when we get to your location? Maybe we'll only freeze our asses off instead of getting frostbite?" Ashley giggles, making Asori giggle along with her giggling companion. The two continue their conversation with light banter and such while Jayden walks with Shadow Bird holding the object. Unbeknownst to the group, Jayden's stern focus hides his relief of the two's bickering coming to an end. He can understand the difference between a couple screaming at each other and friends joking around over many different topics.
Asori remarks, "Yeah. If I'm lucky, we might go to Illum where any one of us could get a blue lightsaber."
Ashley scoffs and says, "Please. You know Star Wars isn't real, right?"
Asori remarks back, "Well, we are traveling to other universes. Right?" Ashley chuckles instantly at that comment.
"You got me. So, is blue your favorite color?" Ashley asks Asori.
"No. I'm a purple type of gal. How do you think I fashioned the purple parts of my outfit besides the black being a reminder of Darth Vader? Also, where did you get your outfit idea?" Asori asks her structurally.
"Ohh, it's nothing special. I just did some permanent tie-dye for this thing," The redhead says while pulling the black side of her hoodie.
"Are black and red your favorite colors?" Asori asks in retaliation.
  Ashley explains, "Yes and no. Red's my favorite color, but black is my least favorite color."
"That's cool. Well, purple and black are my favorite colors. That, and well, Star Wars," The black-haired girl states proudly. Both smiling girls stop talking at that point as the group continues walking. Words soon come back into the scene as the leader and vigilante talk about their destination slowly approaching them.
  "How close are we getting?" The rational young man asks.
"Ohh, we're getting close. However, we're probably gonna get cooked like roosters if we fall trying to get the shard. That is if you can't draw us some supports, Blue boy," Shadow Bird says with slight charisma dancing in his calm voice. He figures this is a good time for some humorous wordplay, and Jayden not calling him out on this humor made him banter a bit more.
Jayden says, "Hmph. I'll be sure to do that, SB."
  "Atta Blue boy!" Jayden smiles genuinely at that point as Shadow Bird playfully punches the blue hooded teen's arm, all worry for tension gone from his system. Aubrey's sunshine smile returns to her face as of right now. She now has no reason to either frown when appropriate, or smile either through force or support. All five smiling teens soon lose their smiling faces the minute the shard glows in front of them. To say hell and fury await the teens regarding the lava protecting the shard is a huge understatement. The red and orange coded liquid appears as if it's daring the group to try and cross the lava without being burnt to a crisp. Ashley suddenly walks toward the lava. It's not scary.
     "So, you think I can-" Fire spits out of five large areas of the lava blocking their destination that scares the shit out of even Shadow Bird. Falling to the ground, Shadow Bird drops the device on accident as a result of this. The purple and black-robed girl quickly grabs the device before the object gets melted into the lava. Ashley tries to help him up, yet Shadow Bird puts his hand up and puts on a smile.
     "No cracks on that thing?" Shadow Bird quips after standing back up.
     "No cracks," Asori says matter of fact. Asori then hands the device back to Shadow Bird whilst he places it in the backpack. The team looks toward their objective as a plan tries formulating in their brains. The team huddles together to try and formulate that plan.
  "So. What shapes do you have for those platforms, Jayden?" Ashley asks bluntly.
"Well, there are multiple shapes we can use. But, they all depend on how steady and sturdy they should be," Jayden states bluntly.
"Ok, what about a rectangle?" The team looks at Asori for more info.
She goes on by saying, "Well, I mean that just a rectangular platform that's sturdy enough to hold our weight and steady enough that it can't crumble under the lava's liquid." The group nod in agreement. Jayden and Asori then kneel to get to work on those said platforms.
"Ok, stretch the line up to ten inches," Asori says whilst Jayden does exactly that.
"Now, draw five inches to the left and right." Jayden does so as the young man draws to the left and right before instinctively drawing the last corner ten inches.
"How about we do this, shall we?" Jayden performs similar motions from before to make the platform into a 3D model capable of withstanding the heat.
"Perfect. Try throwing it onto the lava spit." The leader does exactly that. As the platform lands onto the center lava cannon perfectly, its perfectionism is portrayed through the lava cannons shooting up for a good five seconds before settling back down. The platform, on the other hand, is in shape during its positioning on the center lava cannon.
     "Ok. From what I've noticed, for every five seconds when the lava cannons spring up, the lava cools down for two minutes before it starts up again. By my estimation, one or two of us will only have two minutes tops to get to each platformer that'll lead us to the shard," Asori calculates. Jayden is drawing another platform during this explanation yet he hears what she just said crystal clear.
    "Ok. That means we're gonna have to see which one of us is willing to carry each platform to each of the uncovered lava cannons," Shadow Bird states matter of fact.
    "Well, I may be strong, but I'm not good at carrying objects that are too heavy for me," Aubrey admits with guilt in her tone of voice.
    "Well, I can do it," Ashley says while casually flexing her muscles.
    "Ok, what about you Asori?" Jayden asks bluntly
    "Oh, m-me?" Asori stutters.
    "Yes, you," Jayden states bluntly. Both girls glance upon the lava moments away from erupting. When it erupts, Asori's eyes widen with fear. Truly paralyzing fear. She'd wake up in heaven if she makes one tiny mistake. What if the platforms aren't sturdy enough for her weight? What if she doesn't jump before she or Ashley is supposed to jump? More sweat from before starts to drip down her body along that said body shaking like an earthquake. The lava having finished its cycle does nothing to calm her nerves. Ashley notices this and places a firm hand on Asori's shoulder. This immediately both catches her off guard and gets her out of her stupor.
    Ashley states, "Look, I know you're scared right now, but you've gotta toughen up. It's just lava."
     "I don't wanna die though," Asori admits with fear still crawling through her veins.
        Ashley tries to reassure Asori with, "You won't die. I'll make sure of that. If you fall off one of the platforms, I'll catch you."
        "But, what if you fall into the lava too?" Asori asks with sorrow.
"It doesn't matter," Ashley says, growing impatient. Jayden's growing impatient too.
"It does matter, Ashley! I don't want you to die either!" Asori shouts.
"For God's sake, Asori!" Ashley shouts back.
"Both of you, knock it off!" Jayden barks intensely. The girls immediately shut up to see their leader staring at them like he's about to lose it. The fury in his eyes only foretells the verbal hell he's trying his hardest not to unleash, this making Ashley and Asori freeze with fear. Taking a deep breath, Jayden walks up to the two of them in a way to force them to stop fighting.
"I'll deal with this, Ashley," The blue hooded teen says before Ashley can hold her hand up to help Jayden with comforting Asori. Jayden and Asori took a few steps away from the group to have a quieter place to talk.
  "Look, Asori," Jayden softly but firmly says whilst he places his hands on Asori's shoulders. Keep in mind this is something he learned in his time with volunteer work.
"You're afraid, right?" The purple and black-robed girl nods a yes to Jayden's question.
Jayden says truthfully, "Well, Ashley does have a point. You need to get past it for the multiverse's sake." Guilt and dread spike into Asori's whole being as tears she's long since buried start resurfacing in her eyes. However, the tears are halted through these words that Jayden speaks.
"Here's something I do when I draw," Jayden says as a smile comes onto his face.
Jayden asks, "You remember when I told you how I use my emotions to fuel my work?"
"Yeah," Asori says with her tears returning to their resting place.
"Try to do that. Use what you're feeling to help you survive. It's worked for me, and it sure as hell will work for you," Jayden says casually. This casualness manages to get through to Asori as Ashley now smiles too, thumbs up and all. Walking up to the redheaded girl, Asori and Ashley carry one platform at a time as they walk towards the point of no return. Ashley jumps onto the platform first and jumps onto the left platform she just drops into the fiery river. Asori, taking three steps back and a deep breath first, manages to land on the center platform just as it's about to go off. Although shocked and scared as hell at first, Ashley's reassuring smile along with Asori being able to maintain her stance makes this scary experience go away. Asori starts laughing about how badass that was. After the platforms fall back to the ground, the yellow hooded speedster quickly throws the third platform at Ashley only for it to be caught by Asori and then handed to Ashley due to having better hand-eye coronation. Asori then gets the fourth platform only for her to wobble a bit before regaining her footing. Man are these things kind of heavy. After jumping to their different platforms after Ashley places the third platform on the third lava cannon, Asori makes it to the second platform just in time for the cycle to start up again. Five seconds later, Ashley, the third platform having just been placed onto the third lava cannon, jumps onto the third lava platform with ease. Asori, cautiously awaiting her moment of chance shortly after being given the final platform, jumps onto the second platform with fierce tenacity just as the lava cannon cycle starts up again. Ashley gestures to the purple and black-robed girl to hand the platform to her after the cycle ends. Asori does this yet the platform nearly slips out of Ashley's hands once she catches it. Thanks to Ashley's natural strength, she catches it and manages to hold onto it long enough to patiently set the platform onto the final lava cannon. There it is. Their final destination. The crystal's chilling as it awaits someone to collect it from where it is. Both girls are excited for their future accomplishment only for Ashley landing on the final platform to nearly slip and fall into the lava the minute the lava cannon starts up again. Thankfully, the redhead manages to retain both her body and her life before she jumps onto the concrete center without much difficulty. Then comes Asori's turn. As soon as she jumps from the third platform, then to the fourth, and then onto the fifth platform, the lava cycle starts up again just as she nearly jumps toward Ashley. Ashley makes a face telling the girl to be strong and opens her arms to catch her if she falls. Asori's fears practically escape her body as she uses the fear in her to jump into the air, twirl around in a flawless manner performing the fifth position in ballet, and land in Ashley's arms. The impact is naturally too strong for Ashley as she and Asori fall to the ground. Asori and Ashley's faces go as red as the lava that surrounds them. A part of them want to kiss right then and there, but the crystal lying inches away from them tells them now's not the time. Getting up and grabbing the crystal from its place, Asori makes her way towards the center platform she just jumps off of but stops herself for a second. Her teammates await her, anxious for her and the redhead to make it back to them alive. Fear suddenly creeps into her being as she doesn't want to fail now. As she begins to tremble at the thought of failing her team, Ashley smiles at her to let her know she's stronger than she thinks. The teen looks back to see her teammates genuinely smiling at her as well. Ultimately, she can't help but smile herself. This is what she needed for a long time. Taking her hand off Asori's shoulder, Ashley is about to hop onto the platform when the cycle starts again. Asori begins to concentrate. This isn't a game. People need her. Her team needs her. So, she needs to suck it up. She needs to be strong. However, this is fun. As much as she doesn't show it, she is having a great time. Fighting bad guys, searching for all-powerful shards, saving people, and making friends. This is by far the happiest she's felt in her whole life. Those feelings soon turn to a thrill she's never experienced before as the girl of fourteen years, as if she was copying Aubrey's speed, lands from platform five to four in a second. Then, with one mighty jump, she twirls in a teapot position before landing on the third platform and then does a penché before landing on the second one. The team is outright dazzled by this display of confidence. Ashley herself can't help but feel jealous over the fact Asori can easily do something she couldn't do since age seven. One more platform jump later before Asor lands a retiré position before landing on her feet in a cat-like reflex. Thunderous applause erupts from the whole team as Asori bows unapologetically for her performance.
  "Nice job, Star Wars geek" Shadow Bird quips, making Asori giggle in response.
"Thanks, SB," Asori quips in return.
  "Seriously, that was so badass. What's your big secret?" Aubrey asks with sassy eyebrows.
"Many years of ballet practice." Before Asori can boast some more, the fiery rivers erupt yet again, the team turning their attention back to Ashley.
"It's ok, guys! I got this!" Ashley shouts.
"Be sure not to burn yourself, Ash!" Asori jokes, firing up Ashley at that point as she jumps from platform to platform in massive leaps. Thankfully, due to her many years of hitting the gym, Ashley's strong legs help her maintain stability on the platforms. Unfortunately, due to her sort of overconfidence getting in the way, Ashley slips off the last platform leading towards her teammates. Her behind is saved by Asori's quick thinking as she pulls her close away from the mini fiery eruption. Before either of them fall to the ground, the remaining three members catch them instantly. All five see the crystal in Asori's hand, leading to them still being proud of her as a result. Asori can't help the laughter that comes out of her mouth. She'd never attempted something so dangerous in her life, and she loves it! Her victory would've been further celebrated if not for the sudden eruption of an even bigger volcano near them. Immediately, the vigilante pulls out the device and teleports them to a location with just a click of a finger. All five of them teleported away from the hellish landscape just before the lava enters the sky and splatters all over the ground they stood on. Hopefully, they can celebrate this short victory on the other side.