Stranger From the Sea

{May 3, 2009}

{Midtown High School}

{New York}

"Down..Set….HUT!," was the battle cry of a tall youth on his battleground, the football field. The young man and the rest of his team were clad in black and red jerseys with white helmets, while their opposing team wore white and blue jerseys with black helmets. In the midst of his approaching opponents and defending allies, the young man remained calm and collected while scanning the field for someone open. He casually sidestepped a tackle from an opposing defender, who'd gotten past his defensive team, before spotting one of his teammates open and free to score.

The young QB, quickly shot his left arm out to stiff arm another player, who'd attempted to side swipe him, before his right arm flung the football with extreme speed, strength and precision. Traveling over 90 yards, directly into the waiting hands of his talented WR, who zoomed the rest of the way into the end zone. The surrounding stands of watching spectators arose in loud, thunderous applause and cheering as the time clock reached zero and the announcer yelled out the endgame results,

"And that's it folks, the Midtown High Tigers HAVE PULLED OFF THE WIN!! Captain Jack has led his crew through grueling battles, for it all to lead to this, the State Football Championships, and the win! Give it up for your new State Champs!."

Amidst the cheers of the crowd and the wave of his excited teammates, the winning QB pulled his restricting helmet off. Revealing a handsome young man with a medium brown skin tone and long blonde dreads, along with piercing gray eyes that scanned the crowd of fans before landing on a beautiful older woman. The woman was a darker tone of brown than the young man with long brown hair, but she shared his gray eyes, which were brimming with happiness as she beamed at him. They both shared a smile, as he motioned with his head towards the locker room, to which she replied with a nod as she moved from the stands to follow the retreating boy and his celebrating team. The woman found the young man outside the locker room waiting for her as he received congratulations and praise from his teammates heading inside. Spotting her he rushed over and enveloped her in a big hug that she reciprocated, despite his sweatiness, while saying,

"I'm so proud of you son!"

"Thanks mom, I'm so happy you came, " the boy said as he put his mom down, before continuing with a sigh and rubbing his head,

"I know you don't really like me playing but it means a lot to me to see you here." His mother looked at him with an exasperated expression before softening into a light smile as she said,

"You know I have my reasons for not liking you playing this silly game Jackson, but I am proud of your achievements and the leadership you have shown to lead your team to this win." Jackson had a smile gracing his face as he lightly rolled his eyes and scoffed before saying,

"I understand those reasons too, but it still means a lot. I wish dad could be here." His mother looked sad for a moment before she said,

"He'd be proud of you." Jackson smiled sadly before he told his mom he'd be home later after the team's celebration.

"Alright be safe baby, be home by 11 at the latest ,and please don't make me a grandmother this young," she said with a mirthful smile. Jackson sputtered in embarrassment before, shaking his head with a smile while heading into the locker room. He was meet by the cheers of his teammates, as some patted his shoulders and others like his friend Edward 'Crash' Thompson, his powerful linebacker, shouted out,

"Ahoy Captain Jack Hyde, Lord of the Championships!" He merely chuckled while shaking his head at his teammates' antics, as he made his way to his locker to put up his equipment. While putting his jersey and pads up his friend Edward approached him. Edward was a tall, handsome Caucasian boy with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes, he was already out of his uniform wearing regular clothes, as he approached Jackson with an excited expression.

"Dude how can you not be more thrilled, we did it we're state champs baby!! And it's all thanks to you bro," Edward said in a loud voice when he reached him. Jackson merely smiled as he put his cleats up, before he turned to his friend and said,

"It wasn't just me man, I had an efficient and well-oiled team, to whom I could depend on. I knew you guy's strengths and weaknesses and knew we could win, easily." Edward chuckled at his friend's explanation before saying with a gigawatt level smile,

"You gotta give yourself more credit man, AND BE MORE EXCITED!! Us winning state champs is almost as big a deal as Tony Stark's announcement earlier this year, about his Iron Man suit." Jackson gave his friend an incredulous stare before he said,

"Yeaaa I really doubt us winning state is as big a deal as Tony Stark's Iron Man dude. Especially with all the other weird stuff going on lately."

"I guess you're right, especially with that huge monster fight in Harlem a month ago. And have you heard about that lightning guy running around saving people all over the world," Edward asked with a curious expression. Jackson too looked curious as he asked,

"Lightning Guy?"

"Yea it was a little after that giant Arc reactor blew up in LA during Iron Man's fight, this guy just pops up one day saving people in the blink of an eye. He's stopped bank robberies in seconds and left the bad guys tied up waiting for the police. Rescued people from car crash's, burning buildings, and just about everything else."

"Whoa cool, how come no one really knows this guy?"

"Dude it's because he's so fast, some fansites say people have caught him on camera on one corner of the planet at one time, and at the same time on another side of the planet someone's caught him on camera not two seconds later than when the first picture was taken." Edward explains with a voice of excitement.

"Eastern or Standard time," Jackson quips back with a smirk, as his friend adopts a deadpan expression while saying,

"Really dude."

"Sorry I had too, but what's this guy called and what does he look like, I bet his suits not cooler than Iron Man's," Jackson said as he laughed at his friend, whose face got even more excited as he said,

"That's the thing he doesn't have a name yet, other than lighting guy or 'man' on some sites, because nobody knows what he looks like. The guy is completely made of lightning and it's all you can see when he saves people. What do you think of that?"

"Ok that's pretty cool, so what's your name for him, I know you've got one," Jackson said with a mocking smile on his face.

"Alright but don't laugh, since it's my nephew's nickname, and I happen to think it fits this guy's character. Since he saves people in a.. Flash, ehh what do ya think, the Flash?" Edward looked at Jackson hopefully, as the QB chuckled lightly while rubbing his neck as he said,

"It's actually not bad, better than the name you wanted to rename Iron Man."

"Hey screw you dude, that name was golden, but anyway we're having a celebration at this restaurant uptown and you gotta come, for me bro please," Edward begged as Jackson was taking off his arm bands, revealing black tattoo like symbols that resembled waves, that traveled from his hands up to his shoulders. The marked boy sighed before cracking a small smile, as he turned to his friend and said,

"Alright fine, let me shower and I'll meet you and the boys there."

"YES.. Aye Aye Captain I'll see you there," Edward said with a smirk and mocking salute as he and the other guys rushed out of the locker room. Leaving Jackson, who shook his head with a smile, before heading into the showers.

{20 minutes later}

After a refreshing shower Jackson, clad in a tight black t-shirt, sandals, and khaki shorts, was making his way through the surprisingly empty parking lot. Almost making it to his Jeep he was stopped by the voice of a man.

"Hey Jackson Hyde!" At the call of his name Jackson turned to see a tall man, taller than his 6'1 frame, clad in all black with a big hat that nearly covered his face. Though Jackson could make out his blue eyes and black hair, he fully turned to the man confused and a little weirded out, before saying politely,

"Yea that's me, what can I do for you?"

" I caught your game tonight, you showed great athleticism, and amazing leadership on the field." The strange man said with a hint of pride in his tone.

"Thanks, that uh really means a lot I guess," Jackson replied with some hesitation in his voice.

"It's no problem, it was a wonderful opportunity to meet such a star-athlete such as yourself," the man said as he stepped closer to Jackson with his right hand extended for a handshake. Jackson studied the man and looked at his hand apprehensively, feeling a weird vibe coming from the man. But he trusted his own strength as he took the man's hand in a firm grip with his left hand. That was a mistake as the man instantly gripped Jackson's hand with his other hand, trapping his one hand in a tight vice-like grip between his two hands. This was no problem for Jackson as the man's strength was eclipsed by his own from the feeling of his grip but he was soon disoriented as he felt an unknown energy enter his body and his attackers eyes glow a bright blue. Unconsciously Jackson's eyes glowed with an ethereal white light, as well as the tattoos marking his arms. The strange man smiled unknowingly as he said to Jackson's utter confusion,

"It is you, I've finally found you after all these years." That was the last thing Jackson saw or heard, as suddenly water that seemed to appear from nowhere surrounded him and the stranger. The water seemed to fully surround his body and his vision as he felt like every part of him was moving at extremely fast speeds.

{Uninhabited Island}

{Atlantic Ocean}

Jackson came to, still in the grip of his now kidnapper as he came to his senses. He was on an island, on a beach surrounded by the ocean. He looked to the strange man who seemed to be panting from exhaustion, before his face morphed into an expression of rage. He instantly ripped his hand free, before throwing a strong right hook into the man's face that sent him flying at least 30 feet away from the angry teen. Jackson marched over to the downed man as he turned him over forcefully and grabbed him roughing by his jacket.

"Where are we? And WHO the hell do you think you are?" Jackson raged at the man, as he ripped off the hat covering his head and face. Only to drop the hat and man, and take a step backwards in total shock as the stranger's light blue skin was revealed. The man was quite handsome with a strong jawline and high cheekbones, one of which was already bruised from Jackson's punch. The man whipped the blood from his lip, caught his breath, and locked eyes with the utterly confused, shocked, and angry teen as he said,

"Your Uncle, Prince Kaldur'ahm."