Ever since the Rainbow Event, school life got a lot weirder. Certain schools looked for students whose skills could be useful in sports. Some called it cheating, others called it initiative. Sparks Weaver called it typical human behavior. Sparks wasn't Goth, he wasn't depressed, and he was anything but gloomy. He wore a bright blue hoodie over a blue and black sleeveless shirt, dark blue cargos, and blue high-top sneakers; not a Goth, depressed, or gloomy look in the eyes of the world. But he wasn't ignorant either. He knew what was going on and he wanted no part of it, and for a good reason. He never used his powers unless he really had to. His powers were what you called branched: it's a single ability with numerous applications. On a day-to-day basis, he used it to run to school in record time, outrun the few unlucky enough o try to mug him, and hone his parkour skills.
Today was a typical day for him. He wasn't unpopular, but he wasn't the guy everyone hung around at all times. Unfortunately, being in Maneland Academy in Canterlot City, that popular guy was Brick Wall. The red-haired young man towered above the rest of his class by at leas half a head. He was rich, strong; intimidating in possibly everyway, except to a few like Sparks. Today, like every other day he tried to get Sparks to break. He was convinced that all metahumans were monsters, and he really didn't like Sparks. Put two and two together and...
"Hey, Sparky!" Sparks stopped reading his book and looked down from the tree branch he was sitting on. As he did, something wet smacked him in the face, sending him falling off the branch. Normally, if someone fell ten feet, other would rush to his side, but the rules changed when Brick was around. Sparks got up and pulled the hot, wet towel from his face and smiled.
"Hehe. Good one, Brick," Sparks said, smiling. It was the one thing people found odd, besides his messy white hair which he gave a new highlight very other day and his yellow eyes which seemed to change shades; he was always so calm and happy, even when he could've been killed by a prank... literally. "Try using paper towel next time. They usually stick better." He handed Brick the towel as he walked by.
"Hey, I'm not done with you," Brick said, grabbing Sparks' shoulder and pulling him back. Digit slipped out of the grip and kept walking.
"Sorry, got class in thirty seconds and I do not want to be late."
The day ended with little to no fuss. Except for Brick getting in trouble for pranking a bunch of students, Sparks included, everything else was pretty normal. On his way home, he decided to stop by at Joe's Donuts as he skateboarded home. "Hey, Joe," Sparks greeted.
"Sparks, how you doin'?" asked the man with messy brown hair and bright green eyes. "The usual?"
"Yeah. I'll take it to go." Joe nodded and packed a dozen donuts into a box. He waved goodbye as he left the shop. As he rode down the street, he turned off an alleyway he usually took as a shortcut when he was too tired to do the full distance. But today, something was off there. Normally, alleyways like that made you feel like you were being watched, but today, Sparks was positive that he was being watched. As he rode, he didn't notice the tripwire that caught his wheels and sent him catapulting off the board. He flipped and landed on his feet, box of donuts safely in his hand. "Great." He looked around and saw no one. He did, however, feel his knee bend when something struck the back of his leg. He yelped in pain as he fell to the ground. He looked up and saw Brick in his black leather jacket, red shirt, and blue jeans. Around him were three other boys. One wore a black jacket, dark green shirt t-shirt, and black jeans. the other two were twins and both wore gray jackets, light ash t-shirts, and black khakis. "Brick, Juice, Cinder, Ash. Fancy meeting you guys here."
"Yeah," said Brick. "Just thought we'd stop you to say bye on your way home."
"What, have you been stalking me? You could come to me and talk, but we all know I don't swing that way-" as he finished, Brick punched him. Sparks felt the sting and the blood rush to his face.
"You may have everyone fooled," Brick continued. "But me? I know you're a freak!" The twins held Sparks' arms and Juice walked over to a burning bin and picked up a wooden plank. After handing it to Brick, he brought out a camera. "And I'm gonna show everyone, what you truly are." He beat Sparks with the hot rod, swinging and jabbing at him mercilessly, hoping to unleash the beast he heard of and finally show people the other side of their kind, sweet Sparks. After beating him for almost five minutes to no avail, Brick approached Sparks and held up his head. "Come on. Let loose. No one can see you and you can always break Juice's phone."
"Hey, my mom bought this and she'll be pissed if I-"
"CAN IT JUICE!" Juice jumped and kept quiet at Brick's command. "Come on. Just a peek?" Sparks just laughed.
"You think this is a joke?" asked Sparks. "You think that side of me a toy you can turn off when you're done? It isn't. I pull the stings and I can't always be held accountable since I blank out when it happens." Brick was confused by the contradiction. "Confused? Well, you are pretty slow mentally, so that's not a surprise. But if you really want to test me-"
"What? Do I need to hurt your family?" Brick suggested. "Nah, too extreme. They're all freaks, anyway." Sparks froze. "Oh, there's the nerve! The little one. What's her name again? Star?" Sparks struggled to break free, but the two boys holding him were much stronger than him when his powers weren't active. "Now, now, don't worry. I won't try anything funny. But I will drag your clumsy little trick of a sister into this if I need to. Then what do you do? I mean, come on." He hit Sparks with the stick again and took a few steps backwards, picking up the box of donuts from the ground on his way.
Sparks froze. He'd had enough. He'd heard enough. He calmed his breathing and felt it, the surge of energy running through him like an electric shock, the current tracing its way along his back, out to every corner of his body. Then he moved. He slid his arms out from the twins' grasp. He stood up to face Brick. "You want a show?" he asked the stagnant boy. "Fine. But you'll miss it." Sparks flipped him from his legs and struck his chest in mid air. However, the boy remained suspended. Sparks ran over to the twins and placed their arms across each other, their fists in contact with the other's face. He place two garbage where he calculated the two would land.
He returned to his place in front of Sparks. He stretched out his hand and the box was covered in a translucent blue bubble with orange sparkles and as he slipped his other hand into his pocket, the alleyway became a corridor of chaos. A blast of wind tore through the path. The twins sent each other flying and crashing into the trash bags. Brick felt himself get thrown back by an invisible force. Juice just stood there, dumbfounded. Then he hit the record button. He had no idea what happened, but he knew he saw a streak of blue and white light; faint, thin streams, really, but still visible. He stared at Sparks, who was now holding the box and eating a donut with a finger over his lips, making a shushing sound. Sparks gestured over his shoulder and Juice took the hint, running off past Sparks, swearing an oath to forget this whole psycho show in his mind.
A few minutes later, Sparks was back in his peaceful neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. "Friday evening, no sisters, no mom... this'll be fun." He knew he was only 50% sure of that. He loved having his sisters and mom around. He also loved alone time. But sometimes, alone time got boring. But something, once again, was different.
A black sedan was parked about two houses away from where the white-and-blue--haired boy was unlocking the front door to a house. This car didn't belong to anyone in the neighborhood and it wasn't its first time here. The man in the driver's seat had blue hair of varying shades and light green eyes and wore a white and yellow shirt with a blue shield with a pink star in it on the breast pocket, blue trousers, and blue shoes. Next to him sat a young girl with lightly dark skin and purple hair with pink and purple highlights and purple eyes wearing a white shirt with a pink star on it, purple skirt, and purple sneakers. "Is this safe?" asked the girl. "I mean, I know he hasn't had an incident since then, but I also know he doesn't like being watched. Isn't that why Principal Celestia decided to let him out of the containment facility?"
The young man sighed. "You worry too much," he said. "Believe me, I would prefer to watch from a greater distance, but this is what we got."
"We?" the girl asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Hey, you were the one that wanted to come along."
"Fair point. But recruiting him? I'm pretty sure the whole Manehattan thing is still fresh in his mind, considering that was about six months ago."
"But no one was hurt. Besides, all the branch heads think it's a good idea to at least keep an eye on him. So far so good. But maybe we should stay for another... five minutes?" he said as he set a timer on his watch. "Hopefully, he won't notice us."
"Why do people always think that?" Twilight and the man jumped in their seats at the voice. The man tilted his rear-view mirror to see Sparks sitting in the back seat. "You know, I've said, so many times, that if you want to check up on me, knock on my door, I'll answer, and we can talk like human beings." They were both lost for words. "I see Director Celestia decided to send a different group this time? If you want to talk, come on in. If not, please go away." Suddenly, he vanished, leaving only a fading blue and white trail to the house.
Five minutes later, the three of them were sitting in Sparks' living room. The TV was on and the news was reporting an armed robbery at a bakery that was stopped by an unknown hero or heroes. "Typical Pinkie Pie. Can't help being helpful," the girl said with a light smile.
"So," Sparks said as he walked into the room holding three soda cans, "You know who I am, obviously. Mind returning the favor?" He handed a can to each of them.
"My name is Shining Armor," said the man. "This is my sister, Twilight Sparkle. We're from-"
"MLP. Yeah, I got that." Sparks took a long sip from his can and sighed. "Sorry about the attitude. Rough day."
"Figured," said Twilight.
"How?"
"Well for one thing, the scratch across your face hasn't healed." Sparks touched his face and felt the rough patch of clotted blood. "What, where you cut with a knife?"
"Beaten with a wooden stick, actually," Sparks replied. He scratched at the wound and pulled out a splinter of wood the size of his little finger. "Gah! If only there was no punishment for beating someone from senseless into a coma." He tossed the splinted into a trash can in the corner of the room as the wound closed almost immediately.
"You were what?" Twilight asked in shock.
"Never mind. As you can see, I'm fine."
"There's something else" Shining said, handing Sparks a file. Sparks took it and opened it. "Celestia wants you in."
Sparks froze in shock. "Director Celestia? Wants me in?" He didn't know how to respond. "Did she forget what happened in Manehattan?"
"No. She remembered. You saved a lot of people."
"I was lucky to not have killed a lot of people."
"These will be isolated incidents you'll be getting involved in."
"Isolation can be breached. I speak from experience."
"Your seen as a hero to MLP."
"I'M SEEN AS AN ASSET IN MLP AND A MONSTER TO THE REST OF THE WORLD!" The house rattled at his voice. The TV showed static for a while, the floor and walls shook. A vase fell from the mantle below the TV. Before it hit the ground, it froze in mid air, covered in a purple aura, after which it set itself back on the mantle. The glow on Twilights hands faded, but not the shock on her face. "Look," Sparks said, now calm, "I'd love to help. But I don't want to have to help while being scared if something goes wrong. I got a part-time job, school's... school. I'm fine."
"You're managing," said Twilight. "There's a difference." She walked over to him. "People here make it hard for you, so come somewhere where people will make it easier. You can be yourself and no one could tell you to do otherwise. I read your files and super speed isn't the only thing in your skillset, but you can't use those other skills out here. Not like this. We can help with that."
Sparks stayed silent. This silence echoed through the room for a good minute before he smiled and said, "Have you always been a motivational speaker? Or was this your first try at diplomacy?"
Twilight shrugged. "I have my moments. So, are you in?"
Sparks looked around the house like he was searching for something. "Meh. Why not. My school won't give me a break next week anyway. Let me grab a few things." He ran up the stairs to pack.
"Nice one, Twily," said Shining. "We should make you head of our scout and recruitment division."
"No thanks," she replied, shaking her head. "I like my current place. No need for the extra stress."