The summer's night was a beautiful time to out. Despite it being eleven at night, many people were out enjoying the summer weather. Two such people were standing by the pier, hand in hand, looking over the ocean waters.
One was a girl with long black hair, bright emerald green eyes and an Asian look to her. Her name was Scarlett Adams. With her was a boy with light brown hair with sky blue streaks, bright sapphire blue eyes and almost entirely blue attire. His name was Tyson.
The two of them had been standing there for five minutes, admiring the view after a walk in the park. The full moon was reflecting beautifully over the water, the light dancing in the young couple's eyes. The only thing to ruin the moment was a car horn, coming from the car driven by Scarlett's housekeeper.
"Well, I enjoyed tonight," Scarlett said as she gave Tyson one last hug before leaving, waving goodbye. Tyson watched her leave before sighing.
"I guess this was a beautiful night," he sighed, already starting to walk home. He was taking longer than usual, enjoying the night air and the cool breeze that blew through his hair.
"Wonder if I should go for a quick run, just to keep myself from going stiff," he thought out loud as he approached a street corner. Before he could cross, someone sprinted past him. As the person passed, he saw a familiar shade of red. Before he could collect his thoughts, an older man, probably in mid-twenties, ran past, following the first person.
"Stiff or not, I'm taking this run," Tyson muttered, sprinting towards an alley that he knew was a shortcut.
Her lungs felt like they were on fire, her feet hurting from running. She looked back, seeing the man closing the gap between them. Each breath she took hurt her throat, but still she kept running, trying to escape her pursuer. Before she had a chance to blink, she was falling forward, rolling along the ground to see the man still coming.
She tried to scramble away, but before she could move or be caught, something fast burst from an alley, ramming into the man and knocking him into the road. She looked at her rescuer, seeing the light glint off his sky blue streaks.
"You okay?" the boy asked, helping her to her feet. Before she could answer, two more men came running down the street, gaining fast. "Nevermind let's get outta here," the boy said, grabbing her wrist and running. She was amazed at how fast he could run after taking that man down. She was worried that her legs would give out from the speed, but somehow she managed to avoid tripping.
After several minutes of running, Tyson finally slowed down, turning into a dead end alley. The girl he'd saved moved further into the alley before collapsing against one of the walls, her breathing heavy and quick.
"I think we lost them. I've really been out of shape," he said, barely out of breath.
"How can you be out of shape? You're standing there as if you haven't done anything," the girl said, falling into a sitting position against the wall. Tyson jumped at the familiarity in her voice. Sneaking a quick glance over his shoulder, he saw the familiar red hair and light blue eyes.
"Oh shoot, this could be awkward," he thought, unsure about how to introduce himself.
"So, what's your name anyway? I'm Ashley," the girl said. Tyson paused for a second, not sure if he should say his real name.
"I'm...Tyson," he finally said.
"Huh, there's this boy at my school called Tyson. I hear he supposedly likes me," Ashley said, unable to see Tyson's face turn as red as her hair.
"Funny you should say that," Tyson said, adding an awkward laugh as he finished. Ashley managed to get up, eyes narrowing in a glare.
"So you're the little..."
"I didn't say that, that was Steve Sloan. If I ever see him I'll kill him for saying that. Besides, I already have a girlfriend," Tyson said, turning quickly to meet her glare.
"Okay, I get it. Shannon told me about you anyway," Ashley said. She was expecting Tyson to say something, but when he didn't, she sighed.
"Get back," Tyson ordered, suddenly alert. Unbeknownst to Ashley, the symbols on his hands glowed faintly before disappearing. "Those men chasing you, they've found us!"
Tyson had barely finished his sentence when the three men burst into the alley. In seconds they were advancing on them, now wielding old pipes. Tyson could barely react before the men each hit him with the pipes, the third man grabbing him and throwing him out of the alley.
"Why are you after me? I've never even seen you before," Ashley said, her voice panicky and shaky. However, before any of the men answered her, a small pebble was thrown at the wall, getting their attention.
Standing in the alley was a shadowed figure, their hair spiked in a Sonic the Hedgehog fashion and glowing ghostly blue gem tattoos on his hands. As he stepped into the light, Ashley gasped when she recognised Tyson's fringe and eyes, only with sky blue hair. Now he had become Highspeed.
As Highspeed stepped forward, the men charged, metal pipes ready to strike. Before they could strike him, he'd vanished, the only clue he'd moved was the strong wind that followed in his wake.
"Looking for me," Highspeed said monotonously, now standing between the men and Ashley. Despite their initial shock, the men charged again, stopping in mid-charge. Looking in front of them, they saw Highspeed standing there, unmoving, with his eye tainted by a ghostly blue glow. There was something like wind swirling around him.
"See ya," Highspeed said monotonously, bringing his arm back. In a sweeping motion, the men were sent flying by the same invisible force that had held them there, their bones almost breaking as they crashed into the opposite building. They could only watch pathetically as Highspeed and Ashley ran.
After several minutes of walking and explaining, the two teens arrived at the abandoned apartment block. As they walked towards the front door, Ashley wondered what they were doing here. She missed most of what Highspeed was saying, up until he said "...in short, this is where I live."
"You live here?" Ashley asked, a sceptical look on her face.
"You really weren't listening were you?" Highspeed said before disappearing through the front entrance. Ashley followed, eyes widening when Highspeed told her he lived on the top floor.
"Don't worry, I could carry you up the stairs," he said, dashing behind her. Startled, Ashley fell into his arms, her own arms around his neck as he sprinted up the stairs carrying her bridal style. When they reached the top floor, Highspeed put her down, leaving her to get her bearings as he ran to one of the rooms.
"Hey, Shad-speed, you up?" he said, knocking on the door. In three seconds, the door opened and a very sleepy Logan stepped out, eyes half shut.
"Tyson, why the h...?!" he started, stopping when he saw Ashley standing there.
"Get Nightshade up and meet me in Nightbird's room," Highspeed said, quietly opening the door to his sister's room. Ashley followed him as he walked over to a sleeping Nightbird. She watched him whisper something in his sister's ear. As Logan and Michelle walked in, Nightbird shot up awake.