Five Bright Stars

A Bad Situation Gets Techy Retribution

    The Alta Heroes are in detention. If they were in school, sure, but this sure as hell is worse than being sent over to the man for violating the teacher's chair. Asori looks left and right, and back again. Oh, Jesus Christ. They've really effed up. How could she do that? What was she thinking? Ashley thinks the same although not as obvious on the surface as her fidgeting female friend. Her frown and head down accompanying that don't compare to the thoughts inside. Why? Why wasn't it her? Asori could've died if Duke wanted. What's worse is that if it weren't for her, the commissioner would've gotten it. Jayden doesn't say nor do anything but even he can't help worrying given how much they screwed the pooch. Are the police gonna detain them? Try restraining them from their escapades?  Aubrey is neutral. Yeah, they messed up when Duke attacked, but nobody got hurt. Plus, nothing got stolen. Shadow Bird can agree if they'd be able to share thoughts and such. But even he can't help worrying about the consequences to come. Footsteps of fury march towards the team. All youngsters in trouble get their heads up.
   "Dear God," Vincent says, yet the door slamming is more so a hard shutting than an edgy swinging.
   "What in God's name were you kids thinking?!" Vincent shouts. Yet, according to Jayden and Asori internally, his tone isn't a rageaholic's much like many they know. Even Ashley can tell he's only disappointed because of their recklessness. Asori, still ashamed, tries saying something, likely attempting to form some apology.
   "I-I..." She's stopped by the pure, blazing gaze and intense tone that is Vincent Lovecraft's voice.
   "I mean, going in that bank with no plan whatsoever was stupid, but you five challenging that maniac?! You could've been killed like that!" Snapping his fingers, Asori leans back in the chair near the wall where her back resides, knowing her place.
   "Especially you, with you nearly dying in my place!" Vincent says with her being the center of attention. Before any more can be said or shouted, someone opens the door.
   "Commissioner, the press wants-" Sergeant Peter Horus, staring back at his boss, himself being indifferent to Vincent's glare of frustration regarding this interruption of these kids' scolding, shuts up.
   "In five minutes," Vincent says, not a word more. Knowing his place too, Peter nods and shuts the door.
   "What do you have to say for yourselves?" Vincent says, calmer than how he started this conversation. The Alta Heroes spend only a bit of time finding their words. Asori's too cautious to speak, Shadow Bird hasn't been in this before since he and the cops aren't exactly buddy-buddies back home, Aubrey doesn't know what to say since she thinks they did the right thing, and Ashley agrees with Aubrey but can't help the shame for her failings back there. Before the man can demand an answer, Jayden speaks up.
   "We had to," Jayden says, honestly. Vincent looks at the poor boy as if he's speaking nonsense.
   Jayden then explains, "Commissioner Lovecraft, we had the power to stop him. And we did." Confused, Vincent tries to say something, but Jayden gives him no such time to do so.
   He goes on to say, "We were close to the bank too and we made sure no one was hurt." Ashley snaps her head to her leader. Her eyes go wide as she nods her head in agreement having taken a quick thought of what her leader just said. Asori doesn't know what to say. Yeah, but... But... Asori doesn't know what to say. They did the right thing, yet they got in trouble in the process.
   "Exactly. On top of that, he didn't steal anything," Ashley says confidently. And that's the truth, is she right? They did do the right thing, after all. So why are they in trouble?
   Asori suddenly backs up Ashley's statement by saying, "I mean, sure, he was a challenge, but we handled it." Vincent can't believe what he's hearing. Are these kids insane? They could've put people in danger. They could've escalated Duke's villainous stupidity. They could've been killed.
   "Yeah, we beat him. Also, like we said before," Ashley leans up in her chair, straightening her posture before continuing to speak. "We saved the people and the bank, didn't we?" Vincent sighs, pissed. He turns around. Asori's eyes widened in fear. Not for his wrath, but for what he'll do to them. Ashley and Jayden, the dazzled Aubrey and Shadow Bird too, brace for impact. Vincent takes some deep breaths. Three. Deep. Breaths.  The first one, the thought still stands. They were still being stupid back there. Jayden, Asori, all of 'em. Second one. Some clarity of sorts comes in. Yeah, they still weren't in the clear, but their points are sinking in. Every single officer was there, and the ones he summoned, especially Dennis, told it to him as it was. Not a single thing was stolen. That case was back where it belonged the minute the people of the law came to clean up Duke's mess. No one, not a single child too, was hurt or killed. And besides, the kids only got a few bruises and a bit of blood that'll go away with a good rinse and rest. Third. To the kids themselves, they... don't know what's going on. Is he mad? Is the man thinking about how to punish them? Quite the contrary according to the man himself. His eyes catch wind of a photo he didn't wanna take. Damn politics. But regarding one person in particular? This being is cloaked in shadow despite her hands being as normal as they come. The others? Lost. Abandoned. Failed. Like her. Like another her he knew not way back then. Vincent turns to the group.
   "You're right," Vincent says bluntly, although a part of him doesn't want to. Yet... he knows they need it. They before them didn't get it from him, and he knows how that ended. The team, on the other hand, are stunned. Shocked. Wait, they did the right thing? Ashley barely contains her smile but Aubrey manages a small one. The rest do the same as the latter. Asori feels better already.
   "But still," Vincent says sternly. The team doesn't shrink back in shame but are attentive and respectful nonetheless.
   "You should've called us earlier. What if we weren't there in time?" It sinks in quickly. But, after some more thought on the matter, all of them come to an agreement
   Jayden says, "Sorry about that, Commissioner."
   "Yeah," Ashley says quietly.
   "Sorry about that," Asori says quietly too. Both speak in a quick manner.
   "You kids did the right thing... for the most part. But. Don't forget to think before you act next time, got it? Or better yet, let the police handle it when they can and should. Got it?" All five teen heroes nod. They'll think better next time.
   "Good," Vincent says, telling that his point has been made. The man then walks towards the door. All five Alta Heroes stand up. What's this?
   "The press wants to see you," Vincent says, hating every bit of this. He opens the door.
   "Hey there, Ms. Anderson," Aubrey says chipperly. 
   "Hello, Aubrey," Ms. Anderson says happily in return. Surprisingly to them, no one accompanies the newswoman.
   "Do you..." Ashley can't find the right words, clicking her tongue a bit, so Shadow Bird says it for her.
   "Where's the crew?" Shadow Bird says, quickly lightening the mood with that sly comment. Ashley chuckles a bit.
   "I have none," Pamela says before going to her phone. The two talkers wink to each other 'fore Shadow Bird looks back from his friend and addresses the lone newswoman yet again.
   "You here for autographs?" Shadow Bird snarks.
   "No, bacon's what I want from speaking with ya youngsters," She says nonchalantly whilst getting her cam ready. When it is, it's pointed right in front of the young heroes.
  "So Alta Heroes, when battling that weirdo with tech as a weapon, what went through your heads?" The newswoman asks. business-toned to a t. Not one to disappoint, Asori's charismatic news-talking experience comes in full force.
  "First of all, Ms. Anderson, his name is the Duke of Power. A dorky name, yeah. But his costume's cool. He looks like he, like me, is a Star Wars fanatic," Asori says, earning chuckles from all sides. Clearing her throat, Ms. Anderson keeps the questions coming.
  "So none of you got scared?" She says, still smiling.
  "Nope," Jayden says, the rest of the group shaking their heads to copy his answer.
  "Actually. Hell no. He's a dork we roughed up for stealing, after all," The cocky Aubrey remarks, laughing a bit beforehand.
  "But don't let his weirdness fool you. He's actually a great fighter when we fought him. His weird little tech whip was also something that really caught us by surprise," Ashley complements albeit only slightly more serious than Aubrey.
Shadow Bird says excitedly, "Definitely. I mean, with all he's got. Sword. Electricity emission. This guy's packed."
Aubrey adds on by saying, "Yeah. Oh, and during the fight, he managed to grab my legs and throw me like a big meat carcass one time. I mean, shit, I never thought a guy'd lift me like that in my entire life. And he used one hand with that whip." The laughter becomes louder like that as Ashley can barely contain herself, Jayden just chuckles, and the rest just laugh.
"Wow," Pamela says, wiping a tear from her eye. It's almost exactly like the portion she got a glance of before commencing the conversation.
Shadow Bird remarks, "Yep. He's something else." Everyone in the room starts clearing their throats.
Jayden says, "Regardless, he's still someone nobody should underestimate. We'll be keeping an eye out for him."
Pamela too gets a hold of herself and, like Jayden, says with stoicism, "Good to hear."
"Now, Alta Heroes," Pamela looks through her notes stored on the internet. "many have speculated online and around the corner about this question." Pamela gets her eyes back to the group after saying this.
"Why are you all doing what you're doing?" She says whilst looking at the Alta Heroes. All five of them become stunned beyond words. Pamela waits for a while, and everyone watching looks on. Dennis, Vincent, and the rest of the cops. Some kids. Even other familiar faces are watching. After a while of contemplating, Jayden and the team look at the camera. Seriously yet not about to break. Jayden briefly looks down before finding the right words.
"Because we need to," Jayden admits stoically. Pamela, for news only, listens on.
Asori, feeling passionate herself, follows up that statement with, "People of Fic-City. When we first came here, it was because an irresponsible man used us to try correcting his mistakes." Heather sighs through her nose sorrowfully. Yeah, she can relate to that more than she'd care to admit.
Shadow Bird says, "For that short time, we thought he was genuine. But he isn't. Nor is the monster that is his brother."
Ashley passionately says, "But, when we came back last time, we wanted to show him that he made the right choice using that crystal to give us these gifts." Pamela can't help being impressed. So these kids have good hearts after all.
"All so we can use our gifts for good. To use our gifts to help others in ways he and his brother chose not to do," Jayden says proudly. Dennis smiles proudly. That's what everyone should do, and he'll do that till the day he dies. Therefore, none of his past failures will be remembered with his accomplishments for the city's sake. Sam silently agrees to that. If anything, the people should be hella grateful for their presence here. Man, their adventures are gonna be so cool to hear when they talk about it, that very thought making her grin wider. Jerry, even if he doesn't like it coming from a bunch of kids, can't help his admiration of this reason. Lord above knows of his history of bringing in people abusing their higher powers to harm the weak instead of lending them a helping hand. That's why he'll never run from doing what's right.
"It's as stated in that motto preached every day in a certain Spider-Man's life. With great power comes great responsibility," Shadow Bird says passionately and seriously.  Dr. Mackinder isn't happy with those inspiring words, however. It's as he feared.
"So, in other words. We need to help others. Because we can," Jayden says, ending it right there. Taken aback, Pamela ends the recording, looking up a bit after putting the phone away.
"Wow," She admits. The Alta Heroes wonder if she's ok. When the broadcast ended with just Jayden's words, everyone in the force is left back to work. Vincent can't believe it. Those kids went in their gung ho and all to fight some dangerous idiot because it was their "responsibility." What could've happened to these kids to make them so committed to this dangerous life? It's not fair nonetheless.
Pamela, after some deep breaths, says to herself, "Ok." The Alta Heroes still feel concerned for her. Yet before Jayden and Ashley can do anything, Pamela turns to them. No tears. No sadness. Just a business gal's stoicism follows after that weird episode of Pamela's.
"Thank you, Alta Heroes," Pamela says seriously.
"Are you-" Before Ashley can say anything, the door opens.
"I wanna speak with them," Vincent says. Pamela nods, her hand gesturing for the group that their talk's over.
Aubrey says softly, "Have a nice day, Pamela." Pamela nods to her.
"Here," Dennis says moments after the team left the room. The drive in her pocket, Pamela goes to the door herself.
"You ok?" Dennis asks, concerned for his longtime friend
"Thanks," Pamela says, not even looking at her longtime friend. She closes the door. Pamela walks off not even looking at anyone. She'll never let herself get opened up like that. No one needs to know her history as she's in the now. She'll always live in the now.
"Here," Vincent says, the final book just placed in Asori's hand.
"Thank you, Vincent," Jayden says.
"Don't forget. This is for emergencies and emergencies only. Sure, you can look through it for fun, but that's also another reason for you getting this. Don't get any ideas," Vincent warns.
"I'll be back," Aubrey speaks just as the team nod in respect of Vincent's request. But, as Vincent says, these are for emergencies only, mostly. After that pep talk, the speedster of the group takes the books and goes to their house, and then back. Sighing, Vincent gestures to them to get outta here.
"We'll see you later," Jayden says, himself nodding with the team  'fore Vincent does the same as soon as they're towards the door, closing it.
"Hey there!" Nathan says, the man giving Aubrey and Ashley high-fives. The rest of the group gives him head nods, smiling.
"Sup?" An officer says. Jayden waves to her.
"Nice work," Another officer says from the desk. All five smile brighter 'cause of all the praise. The team are at the front of the building close to the exit just as Aubrey goes to get her phone.
Aubrey curses under her breath, "Goddammit."
"What's up?" The Batman-Spider-Man fanboy of a vigilante asks. All stop dead. Aubrey's got a big problem that's on all of them.
"Ohh..." Jayden goes to his dominant pant pocket. Like Aubrey, it's... screwed the eff up. Come Shadow Bird and the others, and they're in the same position.
"Shit!" Ashley curses, the rest murmuring in frustration and disappointment.
"Huh," Shadow Bird says just disappointed whilst Asori sighs frustratedly.
"What do we do, Leader?" Ashley asks her leader.
"I don't know. Maybe-" Before Jayden can find the answer, Dennis calls out to the group.
"Come with me!" The entire team turns to the man's call.
"You know a place, Dennis?" Jayden asks the police lieutenant.
"Yeah," Dennis says. With a hand wave, he gestures to the teens to come with him.
"Alright," Alright indeed as voiced by Shadow Bird as the team comes with him.
"Thanks, Dennis," Asori voices.
"No prob. You guys deserve this," Dennis says casually. Asori's smile widens at that point.
Shadow Bird says, "Woah." And woah is right for the place all arrive at. The floors are painted in pretty pictures. Phone customization is the norm around here. And the music, oh boy, the music. It's like they're home in their minds as the Alta Heroes listen gratefully to the rock that pleases their eardrums on good and bad days alike.
"Go crazy, kids!" Dennis says, his card waving to them to not worry about paying for their new phones. Ashley doesn't say anything as, since he's an officer, he's got it covered.
"Thanks, Dennis!" Aubrey shouts to their new friend. The teens go to stations in front of them. Seeing a port, each member plugs their phones in to transfer their data to their new ones.
"Hm?" Aubrey hums. The yellow-plated speedster fawns over the various designs for her phone. The aqua outline for the case is a must for her as Squirtle, her favorite Pokémon, really got her through some tough times. Though why she wears yellow is a simple one. She loves the summer. So yellow goes on the front of the case yet not on the phone. On the phone itself, it's like how her Samsung was. Yet, before her finished product is finished, as soon as built-in sketches and such, Aubrey gets on that. An electric bolt here, a Poké Ball in the center, and the aqua blue is just one big chef's kiss. One of the best things she's created as she says so herself. Much like Aubrey, Asori smiles brighter than normally back then as she colored the casing of her phone in the very purple of what's covered by her robes. God, this is so cool. Asori, feeling creative, places a cursive a in the center of her phone. Seeing many, many options, she goes through many. Star Wars, The Crow, even the ocean. So many options yet... Asori smiles. She isn't at that place anymore. She can explore as much as she'd like. It's so much like those days she'd explore the houses and other... nooks and crannies, as she puts it, whilst Jerrod wasn't breathing down her neck, controlling her life as he saw fit. Picking a purple-bladed lightsaber here and multicolored brain there is as if Asori's creating a beautiful painting. Here, she is the only one in the world. Focusing on her canvas being as good, as neat, and as beautiful as Asori sees fit. This is hers. It's hers for as long as she lives. The pen? Chef's kiss. Coloring it gray with the lower half, the top too, being green, it is placed into where the Google Pixel's pen is. On the front, she prefers it clean. She doesn't wanna look for stuff with Star Wars memorabilia all around. Aside from that, the phone is perfect, it being complete with all her old stuff being transferred on the phone she planned to throw away so no one could've tracked her when she attempted to escape her home. No worries there. If anything, if things keep going like this, there'll be no worries for her for the good times to come.
"Y. Hey... Hey," Ashley says after tapping her shoulder. Asori jumps and turns abruptly to her teammate and friend.
"Eeh!" She emotes.
"Sorry. You ok?" Ashley responds, only a little worried but more so stunned by her reaction. Asori turns here and there. No bad guys. No crying kids. Nothing. She looks back at Ashley.
"Y-yeah," Asori says, just after she breathes a sigh of relief.
Ashley smiles and says, "Oh my god." Asori turns to the screen, smiling too.
Asori giggles before saying, "I'm definitely getting this one." Asori points before her final item is placed on her phone. What is this said item? A book. A blank, non-ringed purple journal on the lower left middle of her phone. With all that's said and done there, Asori puts the final components of her stored data on her phone before clicking the end process. Pop! Her phone is warm like freshly cleaned clothes which are actually able to be folded and put away. Asori puts her phone away like so.
"What?" Asori asks. Ashley snaps out of her crush-staring trance.
"Nothing," Ashley says, chuckling.
"You got your phone ready?" Asori asks. Ashley taps her phone, bringing it out.
"Ohh," Asori emotes in wonder. It's so... beautiful. Red velvet and pink flames, three pink hearts in the center, etc. It's so much like her old iPhone. But way, way better. Ashley sits next to her.
The strong yet sweet gal says, "Yeah, I love it."
"That's great," Asori praises.
"Ditto," Ashley praises back. The two giggle a bit. Soon, Shadow Bird is in the center frame. A few clicks here and, ding, it's done. Just like his Android, but the better tech. Hopefully, it'll live up to the name but in the right ways.
"Do do do do," Shadow Bird emotes as his eyes observe some of the designs. A Google Pixel with rainbows and cupcakes. An iPhone with Broly screaming KAKAROT! So on, so forth. Before Shadow Bird attempts some idling before the group books it with Dennis, a certain fan addresses the vigilante.  
"Hey! Shadow Bird!" Surely enough, it gets his attention.
"Hello there," Shadow Bird says to which he gets up and walks towards the fan.
"Hey, Shadow Bird," The young boy says as enthusiastically as when he called to Jeremy's alter ego.
"Anything I can do, Kid?" Shadow Bird says whilst kneeling to his level and smiling.
"Can I have your autograph please?" This fan demands happily before giving him his classic notepad. Without so much as a peep, Shadow Bird goes to his jacket's inner pocket, and low and behold, a pen is unearthed.
"That was so cool the way you guys kicked Duke's butt," The boy says as the guy signs his autograph.
"Yeah, definitely no big deal if you ask me," Shadow Bird says confidently. Yeah, it was tense and he's happy no one got killed or worse, but this kid doesn't need his worries.
"Thanks," He says, grateful for his prize. Looking down...
"How'd you know?" He himself helps get this answer for the kid. Shadow Bird softly touches the boy's hand. In split seconds, he has all he needs. Shadow Bird taps his head.
"Cool," The boy says, mind blown.
"Mark!" Mark's mother calls out.
"Coming, Mom!" Mark calls to her. Nodding to each other, Mark runs to her.
"Thanks! See ya!" Shadow Bird waves to him. Ahh, it's good to be a superhero.
"Alright, how do you kids like your phones?" Dennis asks as the whole team walks outta there.
"We love them," Asori says, all the Alta Heroes' phones out.
"Thanks, Dennis," Jayden says, satisfied greatly with his artist-anime-transformers decorated Google Pixelesque phone. Shadow Bird nods, his superheroesque iPhone lookalike in hand.
Ashley says kindly, "Yeah, thanks."
"Yo, Dennis!" A strong-willed, youthful voice calls out to the police lieutenant.
"Well, how's your business, Ms. Dreamer of Electronic Bills hacker," Dennis remarks. Sam laughs. Dr. Mackinder is simply all smiles.
"Does this seem impossible now?" Sam snarks, a quad of money for tonight's get-together.
"Do you all wish to join us for pizza?" Dr. Mackinder asks charmingly. All the teens' faces light up.
"Heh heh heh," The police lieutenant laughs. All five plus three come together for the new pizza parlor in town. Meanwhile, in scarier terms, a demonic silhouette looms. Laughing quietly. Razor sharp teeth are frozen in place, dead silent; yet the creature emotes without moving a single facial muscle save for his scorching fiery eyes. His prey. Oh, his prey. The fear he'll get from them, those Marvelous Misfits, and the "Alta Heroes?" He can barely contain himself as he lurks in the shadows. This comeback. Oh, this comeback. It's going to be so. Much. Fun.