It's funny, whenever people talk about travelling through time, they always tell you to be cautious. That even the tiniest action can change the future. Yet, when people talk about their actions in the present, they hardly believe they're making a difference.

But if tomorrow's future turns into yesterday's present, then surely your actions always make a difference? Not just among the confines of time travel. Though, that being said, he had never really thought about it that much until now.

Actually, it would be more accurate to say he had haven't thought about it much until about ten minutes and thirty six seconds.

"OW! Son of a -"

"Language!"

"Oh shut up. I think I'm allowed to swear when I'm in pain - shit!" He screamed, as she unexpectedly and rather rudely tightened the bandage around his hand.

"Well if you hadn't gotten yourself stabbed in the first place then you wouldn't be in pain, would you?"

"Excuse me asshole, may I remind you that the only reason I got stabbed was because you weren't paying attention. Had I not jumped in the way you would've got a knife to the stomach!"

"My hero" she cooed sarcastically "please, I would've dodged that thing"

"You were looking in the opposite direction" he deadpanned.

"If that's your reasoning then clearly you haven't been paying attention to your awareness training" she finished bandaging his hand, picking up the first aid kit and putting back in the cupboards.

"I have been paying attention, jackass, (if trying not to fall asleep counted. He really did try, but those lessons were so long), and if this is how I'm being thanked then maybe next time I'll leave your fate to the knife" he grumbled, twisting his hand experimentally. She had done a pretty descent job wrapping it, though it still hurt.

"Go right ahead, pretty boy. Then I won't have to deal with your constant complaining"

"Hey, that's sir pretty boy to you, missy" she blew a raspberry at him.

'Sir pretty boy' was otherwise known as David Corbyn. Or as the public knew; the flash. 

Yes, the public had in fact dubbed him as the flash. Completely original, right? Yes, he did have super speed, but naming him after a comic book character? That's a little insulting. He is very real, thank you. Not in any ways fictional. He didn't even look like the guy.

In fact, David possessed deep set, bright green eyes that, when you looked closely, had flecks of gold decorating the surrounding area of the iris. The boys face was somewhat angular, with a mouth that was a little small and black raven hair he wore in a short ponytail. His skin was a dark olive colour, almost but not quite brown. He was also short, which was a source of great annoyance for him.

The amount of teasing he got was insufferable. Yes, he does have super speed and yes, he is short. No, it does not hinder him on the battlefield. If people could kindly stop asking, that would be appreciated. Please and thank you.

His turnip head of a partner was Kaipo ʻŌpūnui, a martial artist from Hawaii, and she was actually one of the few pure blood native Hawaiians (or kanaka maoli) left. Her round eyes were a startling metallic brown that turned into a fierce copper in the light. Her skin was a gentle brown, her hair was black and thick, almost wiry. Most of the time it just hung loose, going down to her waist, but during training or battles it went up in a bun.

Kaipo has the ability to manipulate space, a useful skill that very often confused her enemies. 

Imagine you're in the middle of a fight and about to throw a satisfying punch at the enemies face, then all of a sudden your falling towards the floor and the enemy is a few meters in front of you when you could have sworn they were just in hitting range. Or you're retreating and you've managed to run a fair distance and you're quite tired but it doesn't matter because you're safe. Then all of a sudden they're standing right in front of you. Or, David's favourite, a fight on the rooftops is commencing and the enemy is jumping from one building to another, but it would appear they have 'miscalculated the distance' and go splat on the concrete. Needless to say, Kaipo was a brilliant fighter.

She was also the most infuriating person on the planet. How he managed to end up on the same team as her will forever be a mystery to him.

Forget aloha, she was practically the reincarnation of Satan. David's half convinced that whatever God was out there was using his life for entertainment value and laughing at his misfortune.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but she's definitely annoying. Kaipo seemed to have the idea that because he as a great home and had no financial difficulties that he didn't have any struggles in life or any idea of what reality is really like. As such, it seemed that she had brought it upon herself to 'teach' him. While she was never a bully, they certainly had their arguments. A lot.

"Oh, and by the way, maybe next time there's a mission in the middle of winter, try to take into account that super speed does not mean impervious to ice." He scoffed, absentmindedly covering the bruise on his face from when he slipped and fell.

"Oh that's classic coming from the one who forgot what area you activated your powers on and fell down a hill!" He shot back. She just flipped him off.

Yup, absolute ray of sunshine.

He followed her out of the infirmary, stretching his aching limbs.

"Agh. As soon as we've finished writing the report I'm taking a bath"

"Not before I do!" they turned their heads towards the source of the voice, which belonged to a young girl who was  currently sprawled on one of the couches, covered in a lot more blood, sweat and dirt than the rest of them.

Her name's Asta's, and she's a shapeshifter from Australia, which meant that her fights often involved going on all fours in the form of some animal, which often resulted in a bigger need to bath than the others. If only she respected that fact when lounging around on the furniture.

"The boys and girls bathrooms are separated. It won't matter who goes first, Asta" Kaipo grunted.

"Who says I'll be using the girls bathroom?" She laughed. David squawked, his face turning red.

"You will if my bo staff has anything to do with it. And I'll be keeping an eye on you" Asta blew a raspberry at her.

"You're no fun." She whined. David sighed with relief.

You see, Astra's shapeshifting wasn't limited to animals. She could also change her appearance,  meaning she could very well sneak into the boys bathroom undetected and see him butt naked. Not that she was the type of person to actually do that, she just liked messing with people. And she was pretty good at it, unfortunately. Just the thought of her sneaking into the boys bathroom had him redder than a tomato.

"I really wouldn't consider that to be fun" he grumbled, plonking down onto one of the couches. She shrugged, grinning.

Nobody on the team knows what Asta really looks like, which led to quite a few displeased teammates in the beginning. If someone infiltrated the base there's a possibility they'd think the intruder was Asta.

However there is little chance of that happening. Her appearance was always so abstract that they instantly recognised her. For example, right now she has turquoise hair tied up in a messy bun with cat ears on her head. She also has red slanted eyes and tanned skin with white freckles all over. Not exactly subtle.

"Where's everyone else?" David asked, looking around.

"Raiding the fridge last time I saw" Kaipo said. David and Asta shot up off the couch.

"Not without me their not!" She yelled.

"I second that!"

"Idiots" Kaipo grumbled. They bolted towards the kitchen - David quite literally. Before they could reach it, though, something exploded in front of them.

Scorching white light screamed across the facility, tearing and burning everything in close proximity. David bolted backwards dragging Kaipo with him. Asta flew out of range in the form of an falcon.

"What the hell is that!?" Kaipo screamed.

"I don't know but be ready for anything! It could be an attack!" David  yelled.

The light condensed into a sphere the size of a car, electricity dancing round it in waves. The space around it started to warp and bend, confusing and disorientating anyone who dared to look, including the resident space shifter.

The electricity stopped. Everyone froze, anticipating. 

The white ball of light started shrinking before exploding outwards like a solar flare, blinding everyone.

David slapped his arms across his eyes, attempting to lesson the damage of the blinding rays. It didn't help much, his vision was invaded by massive black spots and blurred lines. He ran to the back of the room to get away from the blinding light, still conscious of the possibility of an attack. It took a few moments, but he managed to get his bearings and raced back to the lounge. However what he saw was not what he expected.

The sphere of energy had been replaced by what looked like a green forcefield. Floating in the centre of it was ... a young boy. He was curled in a foetal position, his posture rigid and strained with his hands held out to the sides towards the forcefield. By the time David had processed everything he was seeing, the boy realised that he was no longer inside the burning white sphere and relaxed, the forcefield disappearing as he fell to the ground.

David ran to him at super speed, looking him over and checking for injuries. A few moments later the others joined him.

"What on Earth was that!?" Kaipo yelled.

"Is he okay?" Asta asked.

"I don't know. He's unconscious"

"Then tie him up. We don't know what he's capable of" kaipo commanded, standing up to search for rope.

"Tie him up?!" Asta yelled "he's just a kid!"

"He isn't 'just' anything. We know nothing about him other than the fact that he just teleported into the room in a massive explosion completely bypassing all our security systems! Normal people don't do that"

"And not being normal automatically makes him suspicious?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it"

"I don't think he's a threat" David announced "take a look at him" they glanced at each other before complying.

The boy couldn't have been more than ten. He was covered in what looked like blood, but it was hard to tell and he hadn't had a shower in a long time judging by the smell. He was also somewhat skinny. His hair was black, greasy, matted and unevenly cut. His clothing (if you could call it that) was old, worn and in tatters. Where did this kid come from?

"We need to get him to the infirmary. That's a lot of blood and he might have injuries we can't see" Asta said, growing in size and muscle in order to pick the boy up.

Kaipo clicked her tongue. "Alright. But we keep him under surveillance. And alert the protectors to what's going on"

"Roger that" David mumbled.