The Best Intentions

Prologue

My superspeed developed at the worst time possible. I had just moved in with my aunt for the school year. School was about to start, to make it even worse.

The school I would be going to was one of the best ones in the state. The only downside was that it was two hours away from Iron Beach, my home. It was hard convincing my parents to let me stay with my aunt, but after three months of begging, they agreed.

My aunt was the sweetest woman I had ever met. She lived on a small ranch in the country with her husband. Sadly, she didn't have the best of luck. Her husband passed away the year before I came to live with her. I thought I could help her keep up the ranch, so it was just another reason to go.

My aunt picked me up from the airport a day before my superpower developed. It was kind of hard not to notice.

I was home alone. My aunt had gone to the grocery store. I was watching TV when my aunt's dog started scratching at the door.

Knowing the little dog was an escape artist, I decided to follow him outside to make sure he didn't run into the forest. Of course, that was the first thing he did when I opened the door.

"Charley!" I shouted, chasing after him as he took off running. "Come back here!"

I tripped over a hole in the ground and landed on my knees. Dusting my hands off, I got up to continue pursuing Charley. When I looked at him, I froze.

Charley was moving in slow motion. I watched him for a moment in genuine confusion as he leaped through the air, wondering if I was hallucinating. I blinked and everything sped up. Charley stopped and glanced at me, then yipped. He raced back to the house.

I shook my head. "What the hell?" Realizing Charley might run into the road instead of waiting for me to let him inside, I took off running again.

I was going way too fast. I stopped, noticing Charley was moving in slow motion again. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw a blue blur of electricity behind me. I blinked and it was gone again.

The year dragged on after that. I was homesick and hated the school I was so sure I would love. None of the girls would talk to me, no matter how much of an effort I made. The only upside of the year was building a better relationship with my aunt. She seemed to finally be getting back on her feet since her husband's death.

As for my abilities, I quickly found out what had happened to me after I discovered them. I was in a slightly dazed state when my aunt called me into the living room.

"What is it?" I asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Sabrina, come here! You won't believe what's happening!"

Worry filled me as I sat down on the couch beside her. On the TV was Carlene Harris, a reporter from Iron Beach.

"At five in the morning, the seemingly impossible happened in Iron Beach," Carlene said. "We've all heard stories about superheroes, but up until now, we all thought it was just fiction. Today, we were proved wrong. A vigilante who officials are calling Green Light jumped from a five story building. The shocking part? She could fly."

Video footage rolled in. The recording was shaky, but I could make out a figure dressed in black standing on a rooftop. The video zoomed in some as the figure jumped. My eyes widened as the jumper shot into the air, spinning as they did so. The figure left behind a trail of green as she flew.

My jaw dropped. "No way."

"This is your city!" my aunt cried out, shaking me. I ignored her and continued to watch the broadcast.

"While this Green Light's intentions are unclear, we're all wondering the same thing. How is this possible? Will Green Light make more appearances? Is she going to be a crusader or a pest? Will she work with the police?"

I stopped listening after that, internally freaking out.

As the year went on, I saw several vigilantes appear. I couldn't keep up with all the supers, but there were three heroes I had heard of. Green Light and twins called Silver and Gold.

There was a pattern between each super. Almost all of them worked along and were hated by the police. My city soon became a tourist attraction, being the only city with supers.

Two months before school ended, I finally found out why all these people had started developing abilities. There were traces of a chemical found in the water that was linked to the development of abilities in only some people. The chemical was rather harmless if you didn't count in the side effect of superpowers.

When I finally went home, I contemplated becoming a vigilante the whole trip back. The idea itself was awesome, but it would also be a huge responsibility. I didn't know if I could handle it, especially when school started. Then again, school didn't start until September.

There was another problem. I could speed up my reaction time as much as I wanted, but I couldn't actually run very far or very fast. I knew it was because I couldn't get enough energy to do it. I tried practicing when I was home alone, but it didn't help much. I was always exhausted.

Nerves filled me as the plane started to experience turbulence. I looked out the window at the golden sky. I decided it then. I would at least test it out.

I smiled to myself. Iron Beach was about to get a new super.