Beautiful

Beautiful was the only word that came to the young boy's mind. He watched, his teary eyes filled with wonder, as the small butterfly flew gently in the air above him. The insect's wings were foreign to the boy, its fore wings were shaped like a half-circle while its hind wings were shaped like sharp triangles. The most stunning part of all was the fluttering insects color. The butterfly was pure white and it seemed to shine as it softly danced in the sky.

Every flap of its small wings seemed to call out to the boy as he found himself extending his arm. He desperately wanted to hold the butterfly with every fiber of his being despite his desire seemingly being impossible. Much to the boy's surprise, the butterfly landed in his open palm. It faced him as if it were waiting for his next move. The boy carefully pulled his hand back towards his body as he admired the beautiful creature.

With a final tear falling from his eyes the boy gently cupped the butterfly in his hands. The shiny insect didn't fear this movement, instead it stood still in the boy's palms. Seeing the butterfly's lack of fear the boy lowered his head to his hands and closed his eyes.

"Mom..."

...

"This world is a strange one. It is inhabited by humans, animals, plants, and strange monsters known simply as shadows. These pure black beast once lived among humans peacefully. Similar to some animals they were just as scared of us as we were of them. But on that fateful day twelve years ago... They attacked. Nobody knows what caused their change in attitude or why they changed all at once, all we knew was that we were severely underprepared.

Thousands of lives were lost on that day and many more would come in the time that followed. Humans were forced to adapt to survive and that we did. Walls were constructed around every city and nobody dared to step outside. Despite this, technology didn't stop advancing and the world remained connected. Phones, cars, buildings, and more all continued to grow as the world outside the walls began to return to nature.

With these modern cities, the dark world became speckled with dots of light. However, none of this would have been possible without those who chose to fight the shadows. Powers are plenty in this world, ranging from useful in day to day life to weapons fit to defend entire cities on their own. Many of those who possess strong powers have taken up the responsibility of defeating the shadows and protecting humanity.

These people do their job in many different ways and have many different names. Hunters, defenders, guardians, all of them make sure people can safely leave the cities and make sure the world can still grow. There is one name however that never receives the same amount of respect as the others. They are the runts of the powerful, many refuse to be associated with the name. But, it is this name that would come to change the world. The few people who would proudly wear this name would be remembered for centuries to come. The name in question?

Heroes..."

...

The young beauty stared out of the window in her room. She twirled several strands of her cheek-length black hair in her hand. Her arm rested on the windowsill as she leaned her body against it. Her black eyes focused on nothing at all, she simply was lost in thought. The sound of a door gently closing elsewhere in the house made her wipe the few tears that had leaked out of her eyes. She quickly brushed off her clothes, a black shirt with a white floral design and black skirt, before she exited her room.

The girl entered the small living area of her family's comfortable home. The room was filled with standard home goods, a couch, television, and a small table. The small living area connected directly to the open kitchen and entranceway. She looked to her right towards the source of the sound she heard previously. There stood her father, in his arms a small newborn.

"Ahh, there you are Queen," he said likely louder than he intended. The girl smiled at her father's usual joy. Her father was a giant teddy bear of a man that would scare most people with his towering figure despite the fact he wouldn't hurt a fly. His head of messy and balding brown hair matched his bushy beard. A tooth was apparently absent in his mouth adding to his intimidating look. He wore a large red checkered shirt and equally large black overalls along with a joyful smile.

"Yep, ready for work Dad," the girl said with a joking salute.

The girl's father let out a laugh.

"It's just about that time," He said as he made his way over to the girl, "but first I gotta put Sissy here in her crib."

Hearing those words drained the smile from the girl's face as she dropped her arm back to her side. She stared at the child in her father's arm, her little sister. The girl was seventeen and the baby old two weeks, a gap that felt unfillable.

"Nox," her father said pulling the girl out of her train of thought, "don't you go blaming your sister for your mom's condition." His words were firm but somehow gentle at the same time.

Nox quickly turned away from her father and made her way towards the entranceway.

"I didn't blame her for a single thing," she replied.

Nox simply listened as her father let out a soft sigh before he made his way into the baby's room. All alone, she found herself staring again, this time at the door to her parent's room.

"Mom..."

After a moment she shook her head before lightly slapping her face with both hands.

"C'mon, you need to focus Nox," she said aloud.

Ready for the day to come she looked out of her living room window. The sun had just risen above the trees and the day was young.

"I wonder if anything exciting will happen today."

"Little did I know that day would become the most important day of my life. This would be the day that my life changed for better and for worse. The day I decided who I was and who I wanted to be. The day I met...

...A Hero."

...

End of Episode 1