Prologue

   An eagle flied by that immense island people called Abaran. It's eyes searched the sea for food, reaching where mere human eyes would never imagine to. The animal was a survivor. The island was home for mighty beasts, scary monsters, and even human hunters. But it was also the eagle's home. And so it learned how to survive, in that place full of battles between humans and beasts, where magic would run loose and without control, and where common creatures like that eagle were rare and in constant danger.

   A change of angles, and something caught its attention. Something blinked in the surface of the water, in the middle  of the sea. The eagle started to make huge rounds in the air, observing. Another blink. Something was reflecting the sunlight. Food?
   The eagle then changed the flying angle swiftly, going down, beak ready to pick up the prey. Another blink. The eagle got close enough to open its beak and...clang. A pain pierced its face as it reached to something hard. It was not food. It was a bottle, floating undisturbedly by the sea. The majestic animal reached the skyes once more, frustrated. It left the bottle there, to watever destiny it was heading.
   The bottle kept floating. It couldn't admire the gorgeous view it had from sunrise, as it left a stray of light through the salty waters. It couldn't feel pain when it was thrown ruthlessly by the waves to the sands of the coast, where it found another three bottle friends. None of the bottles could read the messages they contained within themselves. And as the sun rose, a graceful feminine hand would throw another bottle at the sea, with a message in it, hoping to be read...

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Prologue

"And now, the weather forecast, with Seth Ambers."

  The next-generation television showed the image of a good-looking man dressing a fine suit. He had a friendly look, and stood in front of a map of Germany adorned with pictures of suns and clouds. The young Justin, after a tiresome evening, nibbled a delicious toast made by his mother while looking in the direction of the weather forecast man. His mind, however, was far away from there.

  Justin was a typical 16-year-old boy that lived in Germany's countryside, in the state of Brandenburg. He took an hour and thirty minutes to go to school and another hour and thirty minutes to return home for lunch. After eating, he helped his parents both with the farm and the household chores. Although he belonged to a substantially rich family, his parents always cherished the personal efforts of their sons. They never spared their children from farm work, which was their main source of income. They were owners of an extensive barley plantation that demanded constant attention and effort and, though they had many people working for them, they always left a part of the job for their sons. If Justin wanted to someday inherit his family's legacy, then he would have to learn how things were done, even the most basic activities.

  "And now, the latest news." The image on the television changed again, showing the Tagesschau's news anchor. She was a formally-dressed woman standing in front of a room filled with computers, bearer of a very well-treated blond hair and slightly tanned skin.

  "Thank you, Seth." she said, while rearranging some papers in front of her and changing positions to face another camera. "And it seems that today we have lucky neighbors. The italian citizens can sleep peacefully tonight: The Peacekeepers were sighted in there, almost four hours ago, saving the waters of the Mediterranean Sea from an imminent oil leak coming from a libian oiler."

  Justin's attention suddenly shifted when he heard the news. His eyes focused on the woman in the TV again, as she continued speaking. The image changed to a video recorded by an amateur videographer: three women flying around a huge ship afloat the Mediterranean Sea.

- Justin! Don't eat that many toasts. Dinner will be ready soon.

- Ok, mom - he screamed back, without taking his eyes from the TV while nibbling another toast. The news went on. The image changed again, showing the newscast anchor once more, but now she was standing in front of the picture of three young ladies. Two of them were very young, while the third had a more serious and mature look. They were the Peacekeepers.

  "Unfortunately, no one was able to talk with any of our heroines this time. It seems they were in a hurry. Only the captain of the oiler, mister Faarih Tanzir, had a quick conversation with Mayra before they left. Our reporter, Oliver Young, is there right now talking to him. Oliver..."

  Justin couldn't contain his happiness. The Peacekeepers were in Italy. So close! Mayra, Judy and Tifanny. Justin followed the activities of the three heroines since they first showed up, two years ago. He wasn't alone: the whole world followed the activities of the three girls that suddenly appeared, saving an ONU meeting from a terrorist attack. The first heroes the world had ever seen, the first human beings with superpowers that lived outside the world of comic books and movies. They were everything that humanity could expect from heroines: charismatic, had supernatural strength and saved people from certain death. They even knew how to fly! Ever polite, the girls always refused the scientists requests to examine them, always refused to tell people about their origins and always disappeared from the cameras sights before someone could ask any questions about them. Humanity welcomed them with arms wide open in a world ruled by war and violence. In the end, no one really cared about the origins of the Peacekeepers as long as they continued to protect innocent people.

  Justin looked at the clock on the wall. Five forty-three in the afternoon. He suddenly got up from the sofa, swallowing the last piece of toast he had in his mouth. After wearing his slippers, he rushed to the main door of the house.

- Justin! Where are you going?

  His mother's voice was heard while his hand was already on the door knob. Her calling didn't make him stop.

- To the lake, ma. I'll be back for dinner - he said, while opening the door. - Oh, and I think you should prepare the table for one more person. I believe we'll have a special guest tonight.

  Just before closing the door, he caught a glimpse of his mother smiling, wearing her apron and wiping her hands.

  Justin ran through the field, illuminated by the twilight. The lake was fifteen minutes away from home, but he made it in ten. Since he was young, he got to the lake still with much energy left in his body and barely panted.

   Lake Frey's water was crystalline, and flowed ever slowly with the wind that blowed between the trees. It was surrounded by a forest, and Justin always went there to rest his mind or just think about his life. While he was there, he could hear nothing but the sound of crickets, frogs and cicadas. He had a favorite tree, against which he would always sit down, and at night he would look up and watch the stars. The lake was the best place for that.

  When he got there, he sat against his favorite tree, as usual. He watched the sky as it got darker and darker. Uneasy, he started to play with the grass around him and suddenly his fingers touched a smooth stone. He got it and observed it for a while, then decided to throw it at the lake's water surface, trying to make it bounce. The rock bounced four times before sinking. Unsatisfied, he tried to find another one. The teenager repeated the activity two more times, always making the rock bounce four times. Not willing to give up, he got up and searched even harder for another stone. It took him longer then before, but he finally found one that seemed perfect. Maybe that one would bounce five or more times.

  Justin took a deep breath and looked at the lake. Then, with a well calculated move, he threw the stone to the water. Plic. Plic. Plic. Plic. The stone was in the air and it seemed that it would bounce a fifth time, but before it could touch the water's surface, something came flying from the sky in an impossible speed. It flew by the lake in a flash, leaving a trail of falling water behind. Justin's hair fluttered.

  The young boy looked to the sky, checking the position of the sun, that was almost completely hidden behind the mountains.

- You got here just in time for dinner.

  Standing by the other side of the lake, Tifanny, one of the three Peacekeepers, threw his rock up and grabbed it back, repetitively. She looked at him with a delicate smile. She wore a white overcoat with a turtleneck, and under it she wore a black shirt and black leather pants, with a brown leather belt. Her feet were in brown military-like boots, and her hands wore white gloves. She had a lovely long black hair, well-defined body curves and round big breasts that would leave most women jealous of her.

  Tifanny threw the rock to the lake, in Justin's direction. The rock bounced all the way up to him, and he grabbed the rock midair.

- I couldn't miss the chance to pay a visit, could I? - She said, with her sweet, young voice.

  Justin laughed. It had been a while since they last met. He missed her.  





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