Standing in a creak with a rock in hand, Mark threw as hard as he could to try and skip the rock. It splashed uselessly in the water, kicking up a small wave that splashed the rocky banks. 

     "Dang it!" Mark shouted in anger, looking exasperatedly at the floating girl next to him. "How do you do it again?" 

     "Like this," the girl said, picking up a flat rock and aiming it at the water. Her hand moved faster than the eye could see, flicking the rock so that it spun with an insane degree of rotation. When the rock hit the water, it kicked up a wave of water, but hopped perfectly vertically. This repeated itself several times until the force behind the rock died and it plopped into the water. 

     "Did you see?" she asked, but her smirk meant she knew better. Mark was just a normal human, there was no way he could possibly have seen her arm move. 

    "That's not fair!" Mark groaned, throwing a rock into the creek. "Why won't my superpowers just show up?!" 

     "Don't worry," Artemis said, holding her hand out to the distressed boy. "You're going to get amazing powers, then we can fight to see who will be the strongest!" 

     "Promise?" Mark asked, holding out his pinky. 

     "Promise," Artemis agreed, shaking pinkies with Mark. 

     Their speed was inhuman, but that's because they weren't human. Ash and Violet, Artemis's parents, suddenly appeared travelling at supersonic speeds. They looked fearful, which didn't make sense because they were two of the strongest beings on the planet. If they wanted to, they could punch the planet and end all life in an instant. Ash reached down and grabbed his daughter with both hands, then they took to the air without even a moment's consultation. Before Artemis could even register what was going on, she was suddenly a mile away in her parent's arms. 

Stolen novel; please report.

     It didn't take long for her confusion to change to shock as a light erupted a mile behind them. She watched in horror as a mushroom cloud slowly rose into the sky, seperating clouds and sending shockwaves through the air. It was so immediate, her brain could only really pull up one thought from the tangled mess. 

     'Mark is back there.' 

    "Mom! Dad! We need to go back!" Artemis shouted desperately, struggling against her parent's grasp. 

     "We can't, honey," said Violet, her face pale as she glanced everywhere except at her fearful daughter. "Did we lose them?" 

     "No," said a deep voice that shook the air, and Artemis's mom suddenly tackled from above by a man flying through the air. 

     "Violet!" Ash shouted, flying down to catch his careening wife. He grabbed her hand and slowed her fall, but then a tiny hand grabbed his hair for comfort. 

     "Daddy," Artemis began with a trembling voice, "who are these people?" 

     Ash looked up to see hundreds of floating people sorrounding them, and they did not look happy. The one that had hit Violet floated to the forefront of the formation, looking at the family in disgust. 

     "You've run far enough, Drakon family," said the leader threateningly. "Return the princess at once, or we shall end your lives right now!" 

     Ash was terrified, but what happened next would give her trauma for the rest of her life. She felt a pressure around her throat, a hand that gripped with immense force which slowly choked the life out of her. She tried to think, tried to look at her assailant to get an accurate view of him/her. 

     "Dad...dy?"