The Alta Heroes (J.F.)

How One Handle's Massive Weight

Starsis is hard at work when he's building his device. Thank the lord above for his skills in the arts of building things. Starsis enjoys this. Really, he does. The calmness of the atmosphere, the challenge his brain is put through, and the fact he's always finding ways to make new gadgets. Tightening the circle in the center of the gadget, Starsis gives it a few hand twists to make sure it is stuck onto the device. After that, he tightens a few screws here and there with his trusty old screwdriver, for its usefulness always stuck out for him. His baby blue eyes suddenly catch wind of another picture close to his heart. Placing the screwdriver down after he screws the last screw in, Starsis grabs the picture and positions it near his face, his heart hurting way more than it usually does. Child Starsis and Evilkin have just caught their first fish with their father. They had such a wonderful time. Evilkin struggled to catch his prey at first, but he of course succeeded after encouragement from his father. Starsis caught more fish, but he was proud of his brother nonetheless. Tears immediately fall from his eyes, for he prayed this day will never come. He tried and tried to bring him back in the past. But, he knows those days are gone. He can't save him. This is who he was now. A cold and ruthless monster out to kill him. He doesn't even love him anymore anyway. So, what's the point of holding onto his remaining family? Starsis feels his body and mind work toward putting away his memories of Evilkin. This is a hard thing for the man. No, this is torture. Tears still escape his eyes along with a shaky breath here and there as he carefully grabs the baby pictures on his desk, rips their childhood from his kitchen shelf, tears down their teenage years in his room, and barely manages to rip off Evilkin's engagement photo in that same room without going into a full-blown breakdown. All of the dark entity brother's pictures are placed in a dark room he hates. However, he carefully places these items in a desk the light entity brother never uses, for he won't cruelly damage his brother more than he already did. Closing the desk, the thing now carrying a past he hopes to forget after he's done here, the forlorn Starsis goes back to his previous desk and gets back to work, the pain never leaving his destroyed face he barely takes care of through a simple arm rub. Like clockwork, Evilkin takes center stage, sitting on his throne as he observes its dark scenery. He's alone: wallowing in fury, sorrow, apathy, and hate. But, nostalgia forces him out of his chair. Walking calmly, the dark entity makes his way to his family room. And yes, he has many pictures of his brother as well, so he's not trying to forget his past like his brother is. Feeling none of the negative emotions usually inside him, Evilkin simply waltzes through the world of tragic memories. But none of the memories are tragic themselves, many of them being ones of genuine joy and generous glee, and a smile reaches his face because of this. The room has many of the same pictures as the previous museum with a few new ones here and there. This is the room that brings Evilkin the most happiness. Here, his negativity is temporarily reduced as he can take his mind off his hatred for his brother, and he can instead focus on the joy his brother took from him. True, he hates him, but that doesn't mean he never misses their better days. Oh, how he'd trade anything for a day of fishing with his family. In his joy, he turns to a picture of him and the boys. They stand behind a burning village that foolishly tried to wrong the trio during their vacation time. Both brothers tried to be peaceful about the situation, and he respected that. That's why everyone died a quick death in the village as a means to show mercy for them. Placing his hand on the beloved portrait, his smile widen, thinking only of the boys he raised into fine men. Although they do make mistakes from time to time and bicker, they're still his boys. Evilkin's smile glows brighter as he wishes his mother and father could've met them. They would've loved them. However, he honestly feels it'll be hard for them due to their utterly disturbing presence. It's only harder when they're manifestations of his darkness yet only weaker and more vulnerable. Unfortunately for his sadness, Evilkin's happiness reigns. He's overjoyed his brother's going to meet his end soon. His boys and he will party like the ones he and Starsis threw when his parents weren't around. Evilkin's loud chuckle is filled with joy over those rebellion-fueled days, and at the malice he plans to inflict on Starsis, and the entire multiverse, once his goals are completed. The five-member squad soon find themselves in their selected location moments after their bickering fiasco at Fic-City. Once arriving there, Asori puts her new book in the backpack whilst she and the others look towards the device's tracker.
       "Ok. From what we see here, the shard should be near that building right over there," Shadow Bird points out in which the group's heads peak towards the obvious academia right in front of them. The team wastes no time as the teens casually and cordially walk towards the building. The silent walking is only visually voiced by the vigilante's, redhead's, and robed girl's visible interest in the place. Asori internally squeals like any fangirl when she sees the wizards and witches perform their magical feats. What makes their magic special is that these magicians use their index, ring, and pinkie fingers to summon bolts of magic and make delicious chocolate fondue. The big drawback, according to one man having a giant headache from erasing one of his student's memories of one of their embarrassing training sessions, is that too much partitioning of this type of magic will give the user one scorcher of a migraine. Whilst they walk, a few babes giggle when Shadow Bird cockily winks at them, his small goal being fulfilled right on the spot. The teens continue their stroll uninterrupted until a woman being kicked out of the building interrupts that said stroll, this being followed by the dark brother duo commencing a rampage to kick ass and take a shard. Younger and inexperienced magicians, including some peasants and other non-magic users here and there, flee in the panic of the duo as they blast waves of dark energy to scare them away from their quest. Raptor teleports away to find the little girl who ran off screaming with the shard. The Mistress tries to get up, but Silencer casually stomps on her chest, pinning the elder woman to the ground. She screams in pain as the red-eyed entity stares down at her with a look that could kill if he wants to.
      "Now, let's be cordial about this, Mistress. You tell us where that girl took that shard or you'll simply watch as we burn your home to the ground," Silencer says with deep frustration in his voice. This woman's insult to them being demons ticked him off more than he can say himself. Raptor doesn't think too much of it, for he knows he's a monster and he loves it. On the other hand, Silencer hates when his family is insulted by fools simply begging for their tongues to be cut off. The bloody magician, her tongue still intact, spits towards him words fitting of beasts like him and his brother.
      "You monsters aren't getting that shard over our thousand corpses, and your master won't-" Her throat is soon seized after that insult by a now very angry Silencer.
     "This is your last chance, Mistress! Tell us where your baby is and we'll leave, so you can continue your witchcraft in peace!" Silencer tightens his grip on the elder woman's throat whilst continuing his threat.
      He then growls, "Because everything you hold dear depends on it!" The woman would've nearly choked to death then and there if not for Raptor appearing in the nick of time. Horror, heartbreak, and hatred make their way into her entire being as her little angel cries and screams whilst being held hostage by the fowl Raptor's clutches.
      "My my, what's this?" Raptor giggles with evil glee as he yanks the shard out of the girl's handbag. The little angel thrashes while trying to escape his grip. But, like the true demon he is, Raptor holds the little angel in his arms.
       He snarks sadistically, "Thanks for your service, Kiddo." Something inside the woman snaps regarding the tone the monster uses with her daughter.
       "LET HER GO, YOU BASTARDS!" The Mistress tries to attack, but her unbroken arm snaps like a twig under Silencer's strong stomp. The woman screams once again in agony, her daughter sobbing hysterically at all this peril she's been exposed to at age six.
   "Just for that, you can say goodbye to your baby. Raptor!" Silencer barks to Raptor.
       The Mistress screams, "NOOOO!" The maniac draws his sickle from his dark aura and would've ended the poor girl's screams if not for Aubrey speed sucker-punching Raptor's smug face and running off with the little girl to safety. Jayden then sprints into a jump and kicks Silencer across the face. The dark entity falls to the ground in pain, the very same pain he inflicted on the Mistress earlier. It only takes the brothers a short moment to stand on their feet. Once they stand up, they see their enemies, those kids they fought before, staring at them with utter fury. The dark duo isn't surprised by this. After all, they've been expecting them. Aubrey, after she takes the Mistress to safety as well, stands behind her team with burning rage scorching in her mint green eyes. The teammates have their weapons, fists, and powers at the ready, not to mention a newfound determination to make these monsters draw their last breath.
        "Well, hello again Kiddos. Have you come for this little thing here?" Raptor remarks whilst shaking the shard in a taunting way. Ashley's righteous anger takes over whilst she tries spitting an insult at the two evil entities.
        "Cut the bullshit, asshat! Why don't you give it to us before you enter a world of-" Ashley's smart mouth gets answered by Silencer attempting to grab and rip her head from her shoulders. Due to her being naturally agile, she dodges his assault and answers this attack with a right hook. His face once again gets caved in by the blow as he does battle with the brat and her friends. Those friends are Asori and Shadow Bird whilst Jayden and Aubrey fought with Raptor once again. Raptor throws the crystal in the air before Aubrey can grab it, the object harmlessly crashing onto the ground as the fighting commences. The team has better footing this time due to being aware of how these freaks fight. Aubrey fights better than Jayden in terms of speed which almost matches Raptor's speed. However, due to the more experienced speed Raptor possesses, Aubrey is roundhouse kicked to the ground. Jayden fights with the sickles Raptor holds with all of his ability. However, just because he's an agile, patient, and quick-witted kid doesn't mean he's nearly the swordsman Raptor is. He can only defensively slash at the sickles. When he goes at Raptor's arms and legs, the monster kicks him down, knocking the boy down hard on the ground. The young man gets up instantly after being knocked down every time. He can't give up. No one on the team can. For if they fail, the two brothers will get all the shards, and the multiverse is screwed for sure. Jayden goes for a more aggressive sword style as a means to try and catch the entity off guard. This only excites Raptor as he responds with more aggressive swings that leave him more open to attacks. A part of Jayden smiles at this when the leader slashes at one of Raptor's arms. He doesn't lose his arm, but Raptor does lose it after being cut like that. Jayden barely manages to get away from the slashes, yet he still is losing the fight because of Raptor's superior swordplay. Raptor knocks Jayden's sword away by simply kicking it out of his hands and kneeing him in the stomach. Staggering to his feet, Jayden is nearly impaled by one of the sickles until Aubrey scissor kicks Raptor in the face.
     "I'll take him, Jayden! You get Silencer!" Aubrey yells, Jayden nodding as he goes for Silencer. Ashley, Shadow Bird, and Asori fight more strategically against the strong warrior. Ashley quickly jumps on Asori's swords and concentrates a fire blast right at Silencer. Silencer counters with a simple dark energy ball. Smoke emanates from the small explosion which blinds Silencer enough to be kicked, punched, and thrown to the ground by the young vigilante. Jayden, after Silencer staggers to his feet and barely manages to regain focus of his surroundings, roundhouse kicks him back to the ground. Ashley, seeing Aubrey struggling in a kicking battle against the now unarmed Raptor, runs towards her as a means to aid her. Jayden doesn't bring his sword with him as his fists and feet are what he needs at the moment. Silencer feels the same way as he feels some fisticuffs are what's needed to destress from this stress he's experiencing right now. Jayden's karate feet, Shadow Bird's boxing fists, and Asori's ballet kicks do well against the brute strength of Silencer. He may be skilled in heavy swings and stomps, but he's not at a wasp's level of speed. Asori kicks Silencer in the stomach and brain with a speed that makes a hawk jealous. In his rage, Silencer grabs her, but Asori punches him in a fast manner that not even he sees coming. Silencer is forced to let her go when Jayden and Shadow Bird double knee him in the stomach, and Asori slams her head into his own. Raptor can barely keep up with Ashley's and Aubrey's combined fist-feet combo. They don't let up on him for even a second, nor does he. Because he enjoys toying with his prey, Raptor, in his crazed state, gets more kicks and punches from Aubrey and Ashley more and more frequently. Being knocked back, Ashley uppercuts Raptor so hard that he could feel a few teeth loosen in his mouth. With enough strength, Raptor performs a reverse roundhouse kick on both of the girls, knocking them down to the ground instantly. The two immediately get back up to continue the fight, exciting Raptor even more. The fight goes on and on until Silencer sees an opening in Asori's ballet kicking fighting style. Taking one of her legs, the raging demon throws her with ease at Aubrey. Asori tries to land on the ground, but she's not fast enough and Asori collides with Aubrey instantly. Before they can get up, Raptor advances on them and bodies them. Both girls are thrown to the ground after Ashley's face gets a sucker punch, Aubrey being kicked in the stomach, Ashley's jaw gets a heel kick, and Aubrey receives a knee to her nose. Somehow, whether it's due to her constant exercises her family conditioned for her or all the times she's broken her nose before, her nose doesn't break. It just bleeds a lot. All five teens soon find themselves exactly how the brothers left them last time. Bloodied and beaten. On the contrary to their previous fight, the team stands strong, ready to die if it means stopping these asshats. The duo is once again impressed by their bravery. What the hell is it that's making them continue this fight? Don't they know they're gonna die eventually? The two teams stare down each other fiercely before Silencer concentrates an energy ball big enough for annihilating the five teens in front of them. However, Raptor feels a plan suddenly form in his brain. Raptor uses an energy blast to target a building housed with school children inside. The teams' bodies freeze in slow motion. What are they to do? Should they let those kids die? Should they let these guys take the crystal shard from them? Jayden, Shadow Bird, and the others take a few glances towards the people around them. The doctors, blacksmiths, and other peasants stand in fear of those two. They're literal demons. They came to their home, harmed those they've loved, beaten their own leader, and had brutalized these kids. Their best warriors are being carried out in hospital hammocks. What can they do? The team, following their instincts, runs toward the building. Asori feels they should go for the shard, but even she knows it's not important right now. The teens open the door to find a horrendous sight. A group of young kids sit and shake in fear. These kids just wanna go home. But, they're scared of those monsters, and no one's coming to save them. The best they can do is huddle together embracing what's to come.
        "Hey," A sweet voice rings out. Everyone's ears ring out as they make their heads turn to see five teens with genuine concern in their eyes. The teens found themselves in a trance of some kind. The kids are confused by this even though some still have tears in their eyes. However, the building rumbling shakes them from this trance. Jayden takes the initiative to kneel to their level.
     "Hey. Look at me," Jayden says softly. One boy scooted only a bit closer to the blue hooded boy as he starts to trust him.
     "Try to stay calm. You're gonna be ok. Just please do what we say, ok?" The little boy turns to his friends who feel fear still coursing through their veins. Ashley then kneels alongside Jayden.
     "Look, we know you guys are scared right now. Just please trust us. We're gonna fix this." The boy then gathers the courage to hold out his hand for either of them. Ashley grabs the hand softly but firmly whilst the rest of the team grabs the kids in that same manner. Members of the valley look on in shock and fear as the building continues crumbling. As the final cracks ring out, members scream and gasp as the five teens run out of the building these kids are trapped in, the kids in particular following suit. The building collapses behind them as the team shields them from the building's dust. Once the dust clears, the kids see the teens genuinely smiling at them. The kids smile and giggle as their families and teachers hold them like newborn infants as soon as they nab them from their heroes. The entire teen team smiles genuinely as well. This makes them happy. They not only are working with people just like them, but they're also fighting bad guys and they just saved some kids. They feel so great about themselves right now. Ashley giggles like crazy as she doesn't feel like shit like she usually does. Asori has the same reaction due to her feeling like she's doing something right for once. Jayden feels his childhood dream of being a superhero fulfilled because of how proud of himself he is. He even places his hands on his hips like Optimus himself in that crappy sequel to that crappy bastardization of his favorite franchise. Shadow Bird just feels like a million bucks. He feels like a real hero. Crossing his arms with joy, he smiles one of the brightest smiles in his life. Aubrey is over the moon. That was badass. This whole journey is badass. She's so happy she's here right now. Triumph arose from this battle as many peasants and magicians cheer them on. Unfortunately, they couldn't get the shard, but at this point, they don't care.