Afterschoolers: Destiny

Chapter 1: Heroes Rising

The winter heat was beating down on South Florida as routinely as it does, neither cold for jackets but not too hot to be sweating. The local park that sat upon a peaceful suburban street was once such place for families and individuals to relax and enjoy the fresh air.

One such person who came to the part to relax was a young woman sitting under a shady tree. She sat with a book in her hands. Her light brown eyes elegantly danced through the words, taking in the story written out before her.

"Hey, Amber!" said a young teen with a soccer ball. "Come play with us."

"No, Brianna. I'm busy. Besides, if I do play I might even end up tanner than how I already am."

"Okay fiiine," said the little sister before returning to her friends.

Amber, although glued to her book, could not help but look to see her younger sister enjoying the ball game. Knowing she was in good hands, the elder sister returned to her book.

After a few more chapters, an outcry grabbed Amber's attention almost immediately.

"Give it back!" Brianna shouted.

"Not gonna happen, kid." The person in question had the black and white ball in hand, held high out of the reach of the youths.

"I said give it back!" Not many options left, young Brianna delivered a forceful kick to the bullies leg.

"Gah! You brat!" The older kid pushed Brianna at the forehead, knocking her down to the ground before chucking the soccer ball into the lake. Having the last say, the bully walked away laughing to himself.

Amber rushed to her little sister and helped her up, disgusted by what she had just witnessed. The soccer ball was floating away, way out of anyone's reach.

"You okay?"

"Yeah... I'll be okay. Now we have no ball to play with."

"I'll make sure he gets the ball back. Just keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't go too far."

Amber returned to her little reading spot and laid back against the tree's base. Around her neck hung a lavender gemstone that caught some of the sun's rays. Closing her eyes, Amber drifted off into a daydream. Once reaching absolute relaxation, a transparent version of herself rose out of her physical body. The spirit Amber hovered above the park and looked for the bully who bothered her sibling. Upon seeing him getting a sip of water at the nearby water fountain, the spirit flew directly into his body.

The bully shook for a moment, but looked around as if the park was a foreign land. After learning to walk once again, he took off towards the lake.

Brianna and her friends stood at the lake, watching their ball float further and further away. As hope began to fade, they watched the bully dive head first into the lake. Like an olympic swimmer, he paddled across the lake and retrieved the soccer ball. Brianna and her friends were absolutely astonished, but also happy to have their ball back. The wet delinquent gave a faint smile to the kids before passing out face first in the mud.

"I see he returned it," Amber said. "Good."

"How did you convince him to do all that?"

"It was easy to change his mind."

BZZZT BZZZT. A vibration all too familiar in Amber's pocket.

J: We found the target

J: Heading your way

A: Got it, Jack

Across the playground, a blonde haired young man was sitting comfy on the bench. He nodded to Amber and received one back. Behind his sunglasses, Jack observed an elderly man in a puffy hoodie walk down the sidewalk. The man was talking to himself and fiddling with his fingers, looking over his shoulder every now and again.