The Alta Heroes (Reboot)

Reaching Toward the Storm

            "So, that's what happened?" Asked Starsis in a rather disappointed tone. The team, in regards to their feelings towards the situation, looked toward the light entity with guilt written all over their faces. They wanted to explain themselves. They really did. But they didn't want to make excuses. Starsis rubbed his temple in frustration as he and the teens talked some more regarding the situation.
            "I can't believe it. You actually let them get away with the shard?!" Starsis snaps as his anger took 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 reached new heights they've felt only a few too many times. This chastising would've continued if not for the sudden awakening of the Mistress.
            "Mommy!" The daughter of that said woman yelled as she bawled her young eyes into her mother's shoulder. Using a hand gesture, the woman ordered her servants present to aid other magicians in cleaning up the wreckage from the assault. The mother happily embraced her baby girl whilst she felt the urge to sob her eyes out herself. However, her calm and collected presence is 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. Shadow Bird couldn't help but open his mouth regarding the whole weird scenario.
           "You two know each other?" The vigilante asks in a casual yet cautious manner.
           "We have history," The two entities said in unison, the woman's child held onto her lap. It's very, very clear these two have a history together. Obviously, because of the aggression they're displaying towards each other, their history isn't a good one. The teens didn'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 kissed her daughter's forehead before whispering into her ear.
           "I'll make you a cake after we clean up, darling," The woman said 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 walked toward the hologram the entity appeared through with fierce abandon.
          "So, you were the one who sent them here?" The woman questioned 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 couldn't help but feel her anger bubble over regarding that statement.
           "I honestly don't know why you were appointed as the entity of light!" The woman snapped, leading to Starsis snapping back.
           "Maybe because it chose me!"
           "Well, obviously, it chose wrong!" Jayden felt the rising tension inside him whilst he tried burying it down. The team saw Jayden's clearly upset face, and they did want to do at least something to fix this problem but didn't know what to say or do.
           "Like the ones who appointed you the Mistress of Magic!"
           "Ohh, are you that angry you've had to deal with your brother for centuries that you allowed three of my students to die by the hands of his demons?!"
           "That was his doing and you know it!"
           "This was your doing, you foolish-" The blue hooded teen couldn't watch this anymore. So, Jayden turned the device's transmission off immediately. Even the Mistress of Magic herself found that sudden movement surprising and concerning. Jayden, after a deep breath, turned around to look at the woman of authority. The team didn't question this knee jerk reaction because it wasn't appropriate right now. So, they looked toward 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 said, trying her hardest to hold back her tears. The team, although they held faces of shock, accepted this gesture by hugging her back. This felt nice. The woman just straight up hugged them for saving the kids she adored so much. The hug lasted for about a good minute before it ended with the group igniting a conversation with the authority figure.
         "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 said more confidently. He wasn't smiling, however, due to that reminder of his past crashing onto him.
         "We're just glad everyone is ok, we hope," Ashley said as her gaze turned towards someone being carried by two magicians. He didn't look dead, but he appeared to be close to dying.
         "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 carried heavy objects for others, a group of girls used poles to carry a box full of equipment, two boys came to lead some scared children to their parents, and the Mistress herself used 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 turned their gaze from the wreckage the citizens casually repaired to the task at hand. The leader of the group and his teammates saw the locations that were in front of them. Only one of them appeared to be of interest to the leader. Although he didn't want to provoke a fight between two particular members of the group, Jayden didn't care at this point.
           "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, and Asori couldn't help but cringe at this reaction from their leader. With that, the team warped away to their next location. The brothers of darkness found 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 shouted 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 shouted in a very arrogant manner.
           "Wow! You know what, YES!" Silencer screamed at the end.
           "Wow, you really hate having fun!"
           "And by having fun, you mean by making our job harder?!" A vibration soon arrived from Silencer's belt. This caught the entity's attention even though he has scalding anger towards his brother.  Growling in fury, the entity of darkness grabbed his communication device to see their father seething with a stern look.
           "Hello, father. How goes things on your end?" Raptor cheerfully asked 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 held the azure shard.
           "We would've gotten the other shards the young ones collected if not for Raptor right here!" Silencer snapped coldly.
           "Look, I just like challenges, ok?! Hell, we all know you love breaking bones and cracking skulls!"
           "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?
          "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!"
          "Will you just-"
          "Enough, both of you!" Evilkin shouts, anger and annoyance mixed perfectly in his voice.
          "You two must stay focused on this mission for it to go well." Silencer calms down as his father turns sternly toward him.
         "Of course, you need a calm mind and body to stay focused."
          "And you must also not let your personal ambitions overweight what's important," Evilkin said as he turned to Raptor. 
           "Is that understood?" 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, looked around the area to see they're on Earth. They've visited the place before, yet the planet never interested them too much other than its food, pop culture, and occasional people they'd murder here and there. The duo found themselves walking on the sidewalk for a moment or so before a sudden flash flashed behind them. His hand grabbing the light, Raptor and Silencer found a person that wasn't Aubrey running towards them as a means to attack them, 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 grabbed the locket near her neck. While looking inside it, the wheels inside Raptor's head meticulously turn and turn. A wicked smile came onto both brother's faces as the teens soon take back the center stage. This place was volcano land, all right. The lava flowed down each nonhard cement area very slowly. However, because they were completely out of harm's way, the teens didn't have any worries regarding the place's danger levels. The teens walked and walked for a long period in silence as the teens observed each calm volcano, mini volcanos erupting near them, the lava bubbling near them, and felt 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 inquired, her body sweating from the hot atmosphere.
           "Hell yeah. This place... isn't so hot," Ashley said with her body not as sweaty.
           "Looks like you got your turn after all," Asori said with a small smile. Although she isn't a hot weather girl, she's not complaining. Ashley's not complaining either. After all, this place is actually really cool. Fire is her superpower; and 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?" Asori giggles, making Ashley 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.
           "If I'm lucky, we might go to Illum where any one of us could get a blue lightsaber."
            "Please. You know Star Wars isn't real, right?"
           "Well, we are traveling other universes. Right?" Ashley chuckles instantly at that comment.
           "You got me. So, is blue your favorite color?"
           "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? Where did you get your outfit idea?"
           "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?"
           "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 figured this is a good time for some humorous wordplay, and Jayden not calling him out on this humor made him banter a bit more.
           "I'll be sure to do that, SB."
          "Atta Blue boy!" Jayden smiled genuinely at that point as Shadow Bird playfully punched 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 had 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 awaited the teens regarding the lava protecting the shard was a huge understatement. The red and orange coded liquid appeared 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 wasn't scary. Really, it wasn't.
          "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 said matter of fact. Asori then hands the device back to Shadow Bird whilst he placed it in the backpack. The team looked 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 stated.
        "Ok, what about a rectangle?" The team looks at Asori as to what the hell did she mean by that.
        "Well, I mean 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." Jayden and Asori then kneel to get to work on those said platforms.
        "Ok, stretch the line up to ten inches," Asori said whilst Jayden did 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 performed 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 did exactly that. As the platform landed 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, was 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 was drawing another platform during this explanation yet he heard what she just said crystal clear.
      "Ok. That mean's 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 said 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 glanced upon the lava moments away from erupting. When it erupts, Asori's eyes widened with fear. Truly paralyzing fear. She could wake up in heaven if she even made one tiny mistake. What if the platforms weren'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 with that said body shaking like an earthquake. The lava having finished its cycle did nothing to calm her nerves. Ashley noticed this and placed a firm hand on Asori's shoulder. This immediately both catches her off guard and gets her out of her stupor.
   "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.
   "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?"
   "It doesn't matter."
   "It does matter, Ashley! I don't want you to die either!"
   "For God's sake, Asori!"
   "Both of you, knock it off!" Jayden barks intensely. The girls immediately shut up to see their leader staring at them like he was 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 said before Ashley could 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 said whilst he placed his hands on Asori's shoulders.
    "You're afraid, right?" The purple and black-robed girl nods a yes to Jayden's question.
    "Well, Ashley does have a point. You need to get past it for the multiverse's sake." Guilt and dread have now filled 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 said as a smile came onto his face.
    "You remember when I told you how I use my emotions to fuel my work?"
    "Yeah," Asori said 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 said casually. This casualness manages to get through to Asori as Ashley now smiled too. Walking up to the redheaded girl, Asori and Ashley carried one platform at a time as they walked toward the point of no return. Ashley jumped onto the platform first and jumped onto the left platform she just dropped into the fiery river. Asori, taking three steps back and a deep breath first, manages to land on the center platform just as it was 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, and 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 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 caught it. Thanks to Ashley's natural strength, she manages to hold onto it long enough to patiently set the platform onto the final lava cannon. There it was. Their final destination. The crystal was practically chilling as it awaited someone to collect it from where it was. Both girls felt excitement for their future accomplishment run through their veins 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 came Asori's turn. As soon as she jumped from the third platform, then to the fourth, and then onto the fifth platform, the lava cycle to start 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 escaped her body as she used the fear in her to jump into the air, twirl around in a flawless manner performing the fifth position in ballet and land into Ashley's arms. The impact was 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 surrounded them. A part of them wanted to kiss right then and there, but the crystal lying inches away from them told 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 jumped off of but stopped 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 couldn't help but smile herself. This is what she needed for a long time. Taking her hand off Asori's shoulder, Ashley was about to hop onto the platform when the cycle started again. Asori began to concentrate. This was no game. People needed her. Her team needed her. So, she needed to suck it up. She needed to be strong. However, this was fun. As much as she didn't show it, she was genuinely 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 turned to a thrill she had never experienced before as the girl of fourteen years as if she was copying Aubrey's speed, landed 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 was outright dazzled by this display of confidence. Ashley herself couldn't help but feel jealous over the fact Asori can easily 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 bowed unapologetically for her performance.
     "Nice job, Star Wars geek" Shadow Bird quips, making Asori giggle in response.
     "Thanks, SB."
     "Seriously, that was so badass. What's your big secret?" Aubrey asked with sassy eyebrows. 
     "Many years of ballet practice." Before Asori could boast some more, the fiery rivers erupt yet again, the team turned their attention back to Ashley.
    "It's ok, guys! I got this!" Ashley shouts.
      "Be sure not to burn yourself, Ash!" Asori joked, firing up Ashley at that point as she jumped 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 pulled her close away from the mini fiery eruption. Before either of them fell to the ground, the remaining three members caught them instantly. All five saw the crystal in Asori's hand, leading to them still being proud of her as a result. Asori couldn't help the laughter that was coming out of her mouth. She'd never attempted something so dangerous in her life, and she loved it! Her victory would've been further celebrated if not for the sudden eruption of an even bigger volcano near them. Immediately, the vigilante pulled out the device and teleported 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 entered the sky and splattered all over the ground they stood on. Hopefully, they can celebrate this short victory on the other side.