The Alta Heroes (J.F.)

Who They Are Now

     It's a new day in Fic-City: but with the usual worries, usual boringness, usual excitement, and usual in-between. Kids run rampant in the streets as their parents try to catch them. If they can. Certain citizens whisper their worry over various events before today.
"Where is he?" A woman whispers to her wife.
"I don't know, Honey," She responds.
"What if they come from there?" A little boy asks his father.
"Just keep moving," He hurries.
"Oh, God. That demon," A policeman moans. Two citizens, in particular, walk these streets on their way to their weekly lunch together, a friend usually in tow, but he's busy at the moment. So they have each other at the moment.
"So, how's it going with you, Brad?" Sam asks cockily.
Bradford responds, "It's going well at the institution. Your shop?"
"That's cool." Sam puts her hands in her pockets as they walk before she keeps talking.
"Well, I've been doing well at my job. I swear, Alex is kicking ass in the sales market right now, and I'm sure as hell gonna get her new volume in stock as soon as it comes out!" The gal proudly states, Bradford chuckling in response. Yep, she's a big fan of Alex's. The two enter the shop for some good food.
"Yo guys!" Sam shouts happily.
"He-Hey!" Nevin calls out proudly.
"Hey there, Sam!" Greets one of Sam's friends.
"Sup, Heather," Sam says before she takes her seat next to the psychologist.
"What could I get you two Marvelous Misfits?" Nevin says whilst they take a quick look at the menus.
"Our usual. Duh," Sam says for the two of them.
"Duh. Same for you, Wiseman?" Nevin asks Bradford.
"Why yes, Nevin," Bradford says.
"Got it," Nevin says before giving their order to Heather.
"Alright, Heather! Got your first order since your break three months ago!" Nevin shouts.
"Comin' up!" Heather shouts back. Heather and Nevin get to work towards serving other customers whilst getting the order for their most valued customers ready.
"How is the new series selling?" Bradford asks Sam.
"Oh, it's sellin.' The Checkered Swordsman's third issue of its "Magenta Magma" miniseries is breaking records. And now that it's at my store, my business is gonna go up to the big leagues!" Sam shouts with her hands pumped into the air.
"Just be sure to not let this new fame go to your head, Samantha," Bradford says with a stern look. After rubbing the back of her head for a few seconds, Sam nods in agreement with his statement. After ten seconds pass, Sam checks her phone to see if Dennis is coming to their weekly lunch or not.
"Where the hell's Dennis? Isn't he on his break?" Sam asks in a confused manner. Bradford chimes in with his own choice of words regarding the situation.
He remarks, "Why yes. He's usually here by now." The two glance here and there to the restaurant's two doors for entrance before speaking to each other once again.
"Well, he's probably doing more work," Bradford concludes.
"Yeah," Sam says after a scoff.
"Samantha, when he comes here, don't pester him," Bradford warns sternly yet again.
"Ok. But, you gotta admit-" Sam's banter gets cut off.
"Sam. I agree. However, we can't rush it. For you see-" Bradford too gets cut off.
"Everybody down on the ground!" A man shouts. Everyone hides under the tables as five armed men waltzes into the restaurant. Children hold on tightly to their parents as the families do what they can to shield them from harm's way. Things might've escalated into a bloodbath at any given moment if not for a particular manager storming up to the robbers.
"What the hell do you punks want?!" The man demands angrily.
"Money! Now!" The ringleader barks as he points a plasma gun at the man's face. Unalarmed, the man continues his diatribe.
     "You punks don't scare me! Get out of my restaurant before-" The ringleader cocks the gun, immediately telling the restaurant's owner he's not to be trifled with. He even says so himself.
     "You're not the one's makin' demands, Terry!" One of the robbers looks upon Heather sternly as Heather looks on with pure stillness. Sam, angered that Heather has to deal with that crap again, is tempted to attack the man but Bradford silently tells her not to throw her life in danger. Sam is forced to stand down as the robbers ponder around waiting for their boss to talk the guy into giving them the money. Out of all the chaos occurring right now, the empty bathroom is the safest haven right now. At least until five certain teens silently enter through the ventilation shaft. Placing it down on the ground, Jayden and Asori converse on how they'll best stop the robbers without any casualties.
     "Ok, we got five guys all armed. What's the best course of action, Asori?" Jayden asks sternly.
     "Well, from what we saw on our way up here, we'll need to rob 'em blind and take 'em out as quickly as possible," Asori says as she's focused on getting her aura ready.
     "Good plan, Asori," Shadow Bird says happily. Ashley and Aubrey silently crack their knuckles as the team prepares their attack. However, a sendoff sound from a phone is what stops them in their tracks. Turning around, the team walks silently towards the bathroom door where the sound came from. Tapping the door slightly, the door reveals a scared boy, someone who just messaged the police. The teens see the fear in this kid's eyes like no one else can. Jayden kneels to the boy in an immediate response to this fear. A softer tone soon redates from Jayden's mouth as a means of further calming the boy's fears
     Jayden whispers, "Hey, it's ok." The boy doesn't have the strength to look them in the eye. He doesn't want these guys to be mad at him. He tried to go to the bathroom and get out of there, but those robbers scared him senseless. What are these guys gonna say to him? Or are these big kids just gonna make fun of him for his hiding strategy?
   "We're not gonna hurt you," Jayden says stoically but quietly. The boy looks up silently. These kids... They aren't like the others. The calmness. No tongues out. They... aren't them.
    "Everything's going to be ok..." Asori, whilst copying her leader, thinks hard. Then she opens his mouth.
    "If you don't mind, what's your name?" She asks politely.
    "M-Mark," He mutters with a stutter. The two smile at him.
    "Look, Mark. We just need you to stay here and not make a sound, ok?" Ashley sweetly says whilst smiling and kneeling too.
    "But good job for calling the police, Mark," Shadow Bird says as he copies everyone else.
    "Yeah. We'll come back for you as soon as those guys are gone, ok?" Aubrey inquires whilst copying everyone else too. The young boy nods more calmly as the team of young teens makes their way to the door.
    "Thank you," He says, only a tad louder but not noticeable for the robbers to hear. The team nodded to him in a happy manner as they make their way to their mission.
   "Clock's tickin,' Terry," The ringleader says impatiently.
   "Look, you punks aren't getting shit from my inheritance. My great grandfather started this business, and-" Terry gets cut off from telling his family history.
   "Ohh, here it comes! Here it comes, everyone! The typical sob story!" The ringleader mocks whilst holding the gun to Terry's head.
   He snarls, "I'm gonna count to five. And you'd best lead me to the safe before I end at five."
   Jayden says loudly, "You won't need to." The man turns to see five teens he hasn't seen before. Come to think of it, not anyone in here, except for three particular people, has seen these kids walking the streets before.
   "Huh, and who the hell are you five supposed to be?" The ringleader demands casually.
   "People who are gonna kick your ass if you don't walk away right now. Nuff said," Ashley says in a straightforward tone. The ringleader and two of his other lackeys chuckle along with him. Are these kids serious right now?
   The ringleader remarks, "T-That was a good joke. And your faces." The chuckling ceases when Shadow Bird cracks his knuckles.
   "Ok, I don't know if you're aware of this, 'specially you Batman, but you're not the ones holding guns," The criminal ringleader says whilst now holding the gun up to the ringleader of this new group.
    He threatens, "So, let me tell ya this. You kids walk away, we peacefully get our money, and who knows, we'll probably meet up again later." The team doesn't budge. They only stand tall as they wait for their fight to happen.
    "Ohh, I'm so scared," The ringleader snarks before Jayden holds up his fingers.
    "Whatcha gonna do, Blue boy? Summon some magical powers to stop the big bads such as us?" The whole team can't help but cackle as everyone else stands there in shock. What are these kids doing? They're gonna get killed. The team, however, doesn't give a shit. Snapping his fingers, Jayden signals Aubrey to snatch their guns away from them and throw them onto the floor. One of them even breaks upon impact. All five cocky thugs lose their laughter. One of them even looks about ready to lose their lunch. Even the customers and staff themselves have their eyes widened at the sight of this bold move. As the teens get into their fighting positions, the ringleader only says one thing.
"Crap." Jayden takes this as an opportunity to sucker punch the man in the face. He then follows up this cheap shot with a roundhouse kick to the man's jaw. The ringleader falls to the floor on impact. The rest of the group advances on the remaining four thugs as Ashley uppercuts one man in the chin which knocks him out instantly. Shadow Bird grabs one thug's arm, breaks it, and kicks him onto the ground. Aubrey scissor kicks one man in the nuts followed by Aubrey kicking the guy in the stomach and kneeing him in the stomach. The guy nearly vomits but is prevented from doing so by Aubrey elbowing him in the face, knocking him out. Asori twirls around graciously before she does a reverse roundhouse to the remaining thug's temple.
"Everyone alright?!" Jayden shouts with concern to the patrons present. Shadow Bird cuffs up the thug he just beat up as the police soon arrive at the scene. Like the patrons, the police are shell-shocked.
"We'll be right back, Vincent," The blue-hooded teen says as he leads the team into the bathroom they came from. Commissioner Lovecraft, Lieutenant Carter, and Officer Nathan can't help their confusion at this sudden move.
"Told ya we'd be back," The voice of Shadow Bird says to the boy who now raises his head to his heroes. Smiling, the young man walks up to the leader as he, holding the boy by his hand, leads him out of the bathroom. The father runs up to his son and hugs him with all of his might. Giving his head a few kisses, the man looks upon his saviors with joy and a few tears in his eyes.
He says, "Thank you." The teens smile graciously at the man. Taking his son home, the man holds his son as the duo exits the diner. Mark waves goodbye to his heroes with them doing the same. In the case of his dad, he's definitely making that Batman tee for him for being a hero.
"Dear lord. You guys hit hard," The ringleader barely manages to say with his broken jaw.
"Don't mention it," Jayden says sternly.
Shadow Bird says, "Consider this what happens when you threaten innocent people." Shadow Bird then hands his thug off to the officer present.
"Definitely won't remember that," The thug says before falling into unconsciousness.
Commissioner Lovecraft's surprised face soon grows serious as soon as all five thugs are removed from the premises.
"Did you kids do this?" He asks.
"Well, yeah," Jayden says confidently. Before a scolding is in order, the customers get up from their hiding spots and start clapping for the kids' bravery. Even Nevin can't help but clap for the kids who saved his job.
"Whoop!" Nevin shouts.
  "That was so cool!" Sam shouts as she high-fives Ashley, Shadow Bird, and Asori.
  "You ok?" The female officer asks Nevin.
  "Yeah, Mom. That was so cool." The mother gives her son's cheek a peck along with a hug before going back to her duties.
"You kids did this?" She asks. The teens nod their heads at the woman as she nods back at them.
She remarks, "Great job." Jayden and Shadow Bird casually shrug their shoulders as the talking continues.
   "Seriously, Detective Prentice!" Vincent snaps at her.
"What? They aren't criminals, Vincent," Prentice protests followed up by Nathan's defense statement.
"Yeah, Commissioner. They helped save a ton of people and-"
Vincent remarks in frustration, "Blueheart, not now." As a verbal scuffle erupts from the police team, Lieutenant Carter can't help but add his thoughts on the matter. Jayden ignores this reminder of his past as he focuses his attention on the police lieutenant and his friends.
"How the hell have you guys been doing?" Lieutenant Carter asks genuinely.
"Great, we just moved here," Asori says bluntly.
"You guys staying long?" Sam interjects. Jayden soon enters his own words into the conversation with a declaration.
Jayden says, "Yeah. As long as we can."
"Well, I hope you five enjoy your stay here. Though, keep in mind our city doesn't operate like Earth," Bradford says politely.
        Shadow Bird says, "We understand. We just hope the town doesn't mind a few superheroes comin' to future town."
   "What?!" Commissioner Lovecraft nearly screams because of Shadow Birds' statement.
   "Did... Did you just..." Vincent groans in frustration as he holds his head to his temple.
   "'Cuse me, 'cuse me," One woman in all red and black says as she passes the citizens to interview the team.
   "Ms. Anderson of Hocus-Bogus news. And you said you kids are?" The woman asks with her phone recording them.
   "Jayden," The leader says.
   "Ashley," The strong and sweet gal says.
   "Shadow Bird," The vigilante declares.
   "Aubrey," The smiling girl foretells.
   "Asori," The strategist says.
   "Nice to meet you. So, a quick question. Are you guys ok?" She asks, concerned.
   "Yep," Jayden tells the news reporter.
   "What motivated you to do this?" Ms. Anderson questions.
   "We honestly wanted to," Asori foretells to the news reporter followed up by a statement from Ashley.
  Ashley says, "Yeah. Because of us moving here, and because we got superpowers, we figured we'd put them to good use."
   "Interesting. When did you guys move here?" She asks in response.
   "Just yesterday," Ashley bluntly states.
   "And we're gonna be staying here for a while," Shadow Bird bluntly states as well.
"Well, what can we call you kids?" The woman questions. The team thinks for a moment about their name. Well, they are kids, yeah. And they aren't the heroes many might expect. But then they look at each other. Then to the people they saved and back to the newswoman.
  "Call us the Alta Heroes," All five teens declare to the group. Everyone stands in awe at the declaration as clapping resumes. All five teens are surprised. They... did not expect the name to come quickly. But it fits. Commissioner Lovecraft looks upon them worryingly. These kids don't know what they're getting into. He should stop them right now. Go to town on them verbally for their recklessness. But something stops him. A nagging feeling. This feeling tells him to let these kids be superheroes or whatever. They want to do this. Of course, he can let these kids screw up and get on their asses when they do. That'll teach 'em to get cocky. Nathan, although he worries about the team, can't help but smile. He can't wait to work with them. He can even brighten their days when they're sad. Terry and Detective Prentice only have a neutral stance on this matter. Nothing more. They'd only just met the kids. Nevin and Heather can't help but be excited as they too are clapping. They can't believe real-life superheroes are gonna visit the diner. They'll be sure to get bonuses from Terry really quickly as they serve them. Lieutenant Carter, Sam, and Dr. Mackinder are the ones most excited about what's next for the "Alta Heroes." Dennis hopes to aid them in ways that'll help them solve crimes and save lives. One of the kids here is a detective, after all. That, and he hopes to help the kids navigate how they can best manage their relationship with the police, 'specially with ol' Vincent here. He'll guide them as much as he can too, in the real world or otherwise. Sam is hoping that these guys will come to her shop frequently just so she can hear all about the cool adventures they'll have. Also, she's hoping they'll get some comics from her. She'll hook some of 'em up with some sweet books. Dr. Mackinder gladly welcomes these new heroes. Who knows? Maybe a few case studies are in the future if they have any problems. Smiling proudly, the team heroically stands tall as the citizens clap and cheer for their new superheroes. Yep, this is their life now, and they're hella ready. The Alta Heroes find themselves having just had a thank-you dinner made by the staff at Dustin's Dinisty. The friends all stand in the middle with their respective drinks in hand.
  "So, are you guys ready for this?" Jayden asks while holding his Pepsi can as he stands in the middle. The team only takes a mere glance at each other before nodding in approval.
"Yeah. We're ready," Ashley proudly states. She then uses her Coke can to cheer with her leader.
"There's a ton of stuff I wanna explore out there. And frankly, I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world," Asori says happily before placing her Dr. Pepper can near the others.
"Same here," Shadow Bird says while cheering his Root Beer can with the others.
"Here's to our new sunrise," Aubrey says as her Mountain Dew clicks with the team.
  "To our new sunrise," Jayden proudly declares as the team takes a drink of their drinks. The Alta Heroes are happier than ever. Jayden's become a better hero and hopes to become a better one with each passing day. That can only happen, however, as long as he holds to his morals and keeps his friends close to him. Ashley can truly work towards being a better person having found some of the best people ever to be there for her and push her to grow, hoping only it stays that way. Shadow Bird feels so much better about himself now and hopes he can grow into the person he's meant to be with his skills and his friends by his side. Aubrey now feels genuine happiness that she hasn't felt in such a long time, and all the while, she hopes to stay happy and share that with her friends and those she can help. Asori finally has the chance to live a wonderful life with friends she wishes to be with till the end. But she'll need to find the balance, one for a happy and responsible life, and she hopes she'll find it soon. The Alta Heroes are victorious; for they're wiser and stronger than before. And in regards to their reward of a new life, that's enough for them to be satisfied. Here's to new adventures and great challenges to be faced by the Passionate Paragons known as the Alta Heroes.