Chapter 1: Enter Elements
"January 28th, 6:36 PM, a town I believe is known as Jump City. The town seems peaceful beyond belief. Even during the middle of winter, the sun makes an effort to creep its head into the sky, painting the clouds a remarkable shade of orange and crimson. More elaborate report in the near future. "
A small hologram of another man hovered over the stranger's wrist. "Stewart, you've never been one for elaborate descriptions", said the hologram, sighing and placing his left palm on his forehead.
"I'll update the rest of the team as I get familiarized with the town. Everyone else has their own mission. So do you. At the moment, the only facts I know is that this place has a killer horizon, one worthy to ask a girl out."
"Heh, keep that in mind if you find any attractive ones, not that you aren't already taken."
The stranger smirked. "Elements out." He turned off the hologram.
The mysterious stranger removed his mouth away from his recording communicator, placed his hands the pockets of his cargo shorts, and walked slowly to the nearest dock in the harbor. It was surprising for him to be wearing only a casual T-shirt and shorts during this time of year, but if weather permitted it, then why not? He wanted to get as close as possible to the warm rays of the sun before it inevitably sank under the horizon. Creeping towards the edge of the wooden boards, he hopped down and let his feet dangle amongst the barnacles and seaweed. For some reason, the briny scent of ocean water calmed his senses. He believe most people would relax sniffing something smooth such as vanilla or a variety of fruit, but the most obnoxious aromas seemed to calm his mind.
"Ha, must have gotten that trait from Karen", he said with a wistful smile in his tone. He remembered when they drove together in his parent's beat down 1986 Toyota Camry, with its dirty windows chipped along the dashboard and the passenger windows. That piece of junk broke down more times than they could ever count on their fingers and toes, and yet, every mechanical mishap was just an opportunity to spend more time with each other. Elements recalled that the first time the car decided to go on the fritz, Karen insisted that she pushed the rear while he held down the pedals. Before he has time to give his baffled response, she smirked and simply stated, "I like the smell of gasoline. Call me a tomboy if you dare, but it calms me." Karen was never afraid to get her hands dirty, and while Elements didn't admit it at the time, a girl who knew how to work around cars was damn attractive. Plus, he knew she could beat the living daylights out of him whenever she wanted.
That was then, this is now.
Elements looked down at his waist, eyes now peering at his utility belt carrying two metallic bars, each one adjacent to his side pockets. He ran his fingers over the bumps and scratches of his weapons, recalling all the battles and skirmishes over the past four years. "Has it really been that long? Four years ago, the only things I worried about were reaching nationals at tennis, pleasing the folks, and remembering my anniversary with Karen." His thought wasn't that of regret; these rods have changed his life immensely for the better. Still, a small part of Elements longed for a normal life. However, he gave up his thoughts of living a like a regular human being a long time ago. During the beginning of his adventures, Elements would ask why he was chosen as a Duelist; he wasn't the most adept physical specimen, and his bravery at the time was something to be questions. Hell, he couldn't even play Amensia without having a panic attack a five year old would throw, and he avoided horror movies like they were the spawn of Satan. Yet, he was thrown out into the world of being a hero, without a clue of how to save the world, and under the present circumstances, he wasn't doing a terrible job. Sure, a building shattered here, an interstate bridge blown up there, but nothing that a few million dollars of tax revenue couldn't repair. As long as the villains ended up behind bars, Elements was satisfied.
He took out one of the rods and began twirling it naturally in the palm of his hand. It was like they were an extension of his arms; after years and years of practice, he never had to think about controlling his weapons. He trained himself to make a slash of his bars as simple as bending a finger. Elements closed his eyes and suddenly gripped the handle of his rod with his right hand."So blank, so pure….so deadly."
As he took one last glimpse at the setting sun, Elements stood up, turned himself back onto the rest of Jump City, and began to ponder his most difficult dilemma of the day: pizza or burger? Sometimes certain parts of his life threw arduous decisions at him, and his stomach was no exception. It was craving something greasy, a hearty meal that could clog up his arteries, just as a celebratory welcome to the new city. Elements looked left at the local pizza joint, right as the little hut for burgers and whispered quietly to himself, "As long as it has bacon, it can't be bad." He then slowly walked towards the hut stand to chow down on Deluxe Meat Lovers Patty Meat, with extra bacon on the side of course.
Just as he was about to take his first bite, an explosion suddenly appeared approximately three blocks from his meal table. Shifting his eyes way from his burger that was dripping ketchup and bacon grease over his now slippery hands, he caught out of the corner of his periphery a man in a black and yellow jump suit. Running over to the scene of the explosion sight, he realized this stranger had blasted a hole in the local bank, and was now trying to escape with sacks of money. Eyeing his meal momentarily, Elements spoke in a frustrated manner. "It's one thing to cause havoc in a city. It's an entirely different issue to create trouble during dinner time." Elements slowly strolled to the villain, his hands now on the handle of his rods, ready to strike.
Dr. Light smirked at his quick handy work, though he was in a calculated rush to get out with his prized money. He knew it was only a matter of time before the Teen Titans would arrive to try and foil his plans.
"This time, no gloating, no innocent civilian destruction, no puns relating to light…just take the money and run!"
The rest of the streets had cleared out once the explosion hit. Mostly all of Jump City knew to avoid the villains and let the heroes take care of business. Sometimes, they wondered why the local authorities were still in business. Their only duty these days seemed to be handcuffing the bad guys after they faced appropriate cans of butt-whooping. Just as Dr. Light was about to exit the area, he noticed that a young man about the age of twenty walking directly towards him nonchalant, hands in his pockets. He looked like a lost soul due to the deserted streets and uprooted concrete from the blast surrounding him. Dr. Light turned to face him, an incredulous smirk drawn on his face.
"And you think you can stop me? Or are you just stalling for time while Boy Blunder and traveling troupe of circus freaks drop in?" Dr. Light immediately turned around and began to run. "Well, fat chance! I'm getting out of here bef-"
"A light user, huh?", said the boy.
"…what?" Dr. Light was momentarily stunned by how calm the boy acted in front of him. Didn't he know that his life could have ended if he really wanted to fight?
The boy continued, "Yes, using rays of light and converting them into high intensity beams." He placed his hand onto his belt and pulled out one of his metallic rods. "Yes, I think one would be appropriate for you. No need to mix traits for the likes of just you." Dr. Light eyes shimmered with exponentially increasing fear. Who was that boy, why did he just taunt him like he was a nobody, and why was he holding that metallic rod….like it was the handle of a sword?
"Shadow Surge", the boy stated in a monotone voice.
Immediately, a pillar of darkness shot out from the tip of the metallic rod, a dense black beam of energy. Dr. Light could feel the resonance pulsating out of that weapon, yet the boy didn't seem fazed by it. He obviously has used this blade multiple times before. The boy then did something that utterly shocked the villain. Instead of coming to strike him down, he pulled another device from his pockets: a pure white iPod shuffle. The boy began scrolling on the device's wheel, looking for a song. He stopped on one of his favorite tunes: Ricochet Love-Waterflame.
"Heh, battle music. Sorry for the delay." He grinned a cheesy smile and without warning, he suddenly dashed straight towards the villain; his speed almost imitated that of light, as he was easily face to face with the doctor who was now lost for words. Unable to speak, unable to move, He stood paralyzed by the fact that he underestimated this young scoundrel…and he was going to pay his life for it.
The boy pulled back his right hand, ready to deliver an initial knockout blow to Dr. Light, until he noticed that the man had fallen down on his knees with his hands up in the air. His futile attempts to block the strike brought a sad smile onto the boy, and instead, he finished him off by smashing the end of his sword onto his neck, knocking the mad doctor unconscious onto the middle of the street.
"Sad, the song didn't even get to the best part. I hate it when villains don't even last before the bass drops…" He withdrew the shadow emanating from his sword, and placed his rod back onto his belt. Frustrated, he sat down next to the comatose Dr. Light, pulled out his wrapped burger in his coat pocket and continued eating. "Bacon makes it better. Always." Elements finished his last bites of his dinner, hoping that the local authorities would soon arrive lock this criminal away. He was getting tired of sitting on the median, looking like a fool.
Little did Elements know that five Titans were on their way to take out Dr. Light, only to find a young man chomping his food hungrily while listening to his iPod.