New Heroes
Deep in the rain forest of western Brazil, above a small stream, a little black, gray, and orange spider monkey hangs by its tail over the water drinking. Behind him there is a rustling in the bushes. The bush rustles a bit, causing the monkey to look up. All is still, for the moment, and he quietly goes back to drinking. Suddenly, a huge jaguar pounces from the bushes, swiping at its tail. Screech! With a frightening cry, the spider monkey leaps away, and begins to scramble up the trees. Its grip faulters, and the tiny monkey falls, getting tangled in the vines. Cries and screams echo, as the terrified creature tries to get away. The great cat is about to pounce once more, when a young boy with dark skin, wearing only a simple loin cloth swings down on a vine and waves his arms at the jaguar, and makes growling noises. For a moment the cat looks, but the boy steps forward, and stomps his bare feet in the dust, startling it. As the jaguar runs off, he kneels, beginning to pull at the vines until they crack. Now he picks the tiny spider monkey up, and puts it on his shoulder.
"Be careful Suchi!" He says softly stroking it, as they walk away.
Suchi wraps his tail around the boy. Off in the distance, other children from his village play, but he does not join them. Two boys run past, without stopping or speaking to him. Slowly, he wanders down a small hill, before sitting by a tiny brook to take a drink. Ba-boom! The water splashes and the ground shakes. Hopping to his feet, he takes off running, bare feet pounding the dirt as he races down a path in the rain forest. Crash! The sound of a falling tree makes him jump. Quickly he scampers down a side path, running towards a clearing. Crack! Crack! The sound of breaking wood causes him to dive behind a bush. Moments later, a great tree collapses to Earth nearby. As the dust clears, the child pushes aside the branches and climbs out. Seemingly unaware of the risk, he leaps up and crawls onto a cracking limb, pushing his way through the thick leaves and tangled vines. Twice his foot slips, but he just pulls himself up and keeps going. Out on the edge, he pulls away some branches.
"Ma-Ti! Ma-Ti! Ma-Ti, where are you going?" An older boy calls out. "That's dangerous!"
The warnings do not deter him as he bravely presses on. At the end, he reaches a branch and begins to climb up. CRACK! It starts to break just as he reaches the end. Pushing some leaves away, Ma-Ti scoops up a nest with two small blue parrots in it, and begins the trip back. Gingerly tip-toeing, he reaches the end, only to slip and tumble to the forest floor. Lying there a second, he shakes his head and looks at the nest. The babies call softly.
"You are safe!" he says softly, with a smile.
Suchi climbs up on his shoulder and looks around. From out of the forest, A beautiful, mature woman with tan skin, dark hair with lighter streaks and light-colored eyes gradually appears, coming silently towards him. She wears a long, flowing purple dress, with a thin, golden headband and two long, light-colored decorative pieces of material, one of which is wrapped around her left upper arm and the other is tied together with a hem of her dress on her right shoulder. The young boy gets to his knees and bows his head.
"You are Ma-Ti of the Kayapo!" She says softly.
Slowly he nods, as a tear runs down his cheek.
"Mother Earth spirit, what do you ask of me? I am only a child."
Gaia slowly put a hand upon his head. "Yes Ma-Ti, you are a child. A child of love and great faith. You are the one to help me. The time to save this place and your people has come."
Ma-Ti looks up in amazement as she opens her hand, revealing a shiny silver ring with a heart on the front. For a moment, he pulls back.
"This is yours, Ma-Ti! A gift to save your people. I need a child, and I have chosen you."
Slowly, hesitantly, he puts the ring on, and a warmth seems to flow through his body, as the heart inside the ring glows. Around him animals seem to calm. The tear on Ma-Ti's cheek dries in the warm, sweet forest breeze. Before his eyes, she fades away, leaving him alone once more.
"The power is yours!" Gaia's voice whispers in the wind, as he gets to his feet and looks around.
"Grandfather will want to know about this!"
"From Africa, I need Kwame!" Gaia says.
The light of morning shows a young man walking alone in a barren field of dust, in the hot morning sun. He wears shorts, a worn tank top and flipflops, along with two beautiful necklaces. Over his shoulder, is a large white sack. He pauses to wipe the sweat from his eyes, before taking the staff in his hand and poking a hole in the dirt. Kneeling down he carefully inserts a small sapling, then closes up the hole carefully. Now he takes a step and pokes another hole with his staff and plants another sapling. As he pokes the hole for the third tree, he spots a strange glow in the dirt. Pausing, he pulls his staff out and sees a mysterious shiny gold ring with a green globe on the front. Slowly he reaches over to take it off his staff when he feels a pulsing energy flow through his body.
"What kind of ring is this?" Kwame asks, as his eyes widen.
"The power is yours!" Gaia's voice whispers in the wind, as the ring glows softly.
"A ring from the Gods. I need to be careful with this." He says softly.
"From Asia, I need Gi!" Gaia says.
It is a bright sunny day and the ocean sparkles along the coast of an island near Asia. You see a pod of dolphins in the water, swimming and jumping. A cloud of bubbles fills the water as a teenager in a pink wetsuit dives head-first onto the water and swims after one of the dolphins playfully. Holding onto its back, they swim around then surface. Playfully she laughs, rubbing the dolphin's snout, as it splashes her lightly with its flipper.
"Okay!" Gi says with a laugh.
Click! Click! Click! The sound of the dolphin fills the air as it playfully waves its fins at her, and she waves back. Quickly she picks up a hula-hoop and tosses it into the water. The dolphin jumps and swims after the hoop. Reaching down, she picks up her jacket and begins to put it on. Splash! The sound of splashing and the feel of cold water makes her look up. There is the dolphin bobbing on the waves, flapping its fins. Gi waves to the dolphin, when suddenly, it flips its head, flinging a shiny gold ring into the air! She gasps, then reaches out to catch it. Slowly she looks at it.
"This reminds me of my lost friend, Kisa!" Gi says, wiping a tear from her eye. " I promised her I would never lose a friend that way again."
"The power is yours!" A soft voice says, as the ring flashes in the sunlight
Gaia flashes to a large field in the eastern part of Europe. A young blond girl stands alone playing her keyboard and watching as the birds fly around her. A soft breeze blows her hair. She has on boots, jeans, and a long coat, suggesting cool weather. Birds come and go. At times, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out tiny bits of bird seed to feed her young visitors. As she bring her hand out, another bird flies over and lands next to the first. In its beak is a shiny, glowing, gold ring.
"What is this?" Linka asks, carefully taking the ring.
As she stares at it, a soft voice in the wind whispers, "The power is yours!"
Gaia flashes to a back alley in New York. "And from North America, James Wheeler."
You see a man in a back alley being attacked by a mugger with a chain. As the man struggles to get free, the attacker swings the chain back to hit him. Suddenly, a red-headed teen comes around the corner, and kicks the chain from his hand. The mugger turns to face the teen who steps forward and raises his fist. For a moment, they stare each other down, before the thug turns and runs off.
"Are you, okay?" The teen asks the man.
"I am now, thank you!"
Suddenly, a nearby trashcan explodes with fire, and they duck, shielding their eyes. From the flames comes a glowing ring. Reaching out, Wheeler catches it.
"Strange, you think a ring that was in a fire would be hot." Wheeler says, looking at it in wonder.
"These are my first planeteers, our world's greatest hope!" Gaia says. "The time has come!"
