Author's Notes:
First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to read this. This is my first story and I don't know if it is going to be good, but to be honest, I've wanted for a while to write something. This story will be my take on characters that I have read for quite a while. I'll be using stories and ideas from the comics, cartoons, the arrowverse, etc, and try to give it my own twist. There will be a few OC's, and will have important roles, but I'll try to keep it with the Characters from the comics. I hope you like it.
Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Now with that said, this story is without any commercial purpose and I'm not the owner of any characters besides my OCs. All the rest is owned by DC Comics.
On to the Story!
Chapter 1: Prologue – A Magical Gathering
The city of London has always been considered to be a grand city, a city that has some of the greatest monuments of mankind and that has been a bastion of humanity for centuries. But like every big city, it has its dark corners. In a barely lit street, we see an old man wearing an old fashioned suit walking with the aid of his cane in the street. Most of the houses and business of the street seemed either abandoned or run down, and the man certainly looks that he doesn't belong in a place like this. Nevertheless, the man continues to walk down the street until he stops in a very run down house. It seems like an old pub, with a sign that says "The House of Secrets". The man comes to the door, a door that doesn't even have a knob, but the man just puts his hand in the place where a knob would normally be, and a very unusual symbol appears, and the door swings open.
The man walks into the pub to find a small room that clearly looks as bad as you would expect just by seeing the outside of the place, but nevertheless is well lit and the table in the middle of the room is much better that you would expect to find in a place like this.
In the table in the middle of the room there are 7 chairs, only one of the occupied, by a blonde man wearing a business suit that looks around his fifties. The blonde man looks up to the old man entering and a smile graces his face. –"Kent Nelson, it's been a long time"-
"Indeed it's been, old friend, and here I thought I would have been the first to arrive"
"Ah, yeah, you have always been good at arriving very early haven't you", the blonde man responds.
"Well, I guess is that's something that old timers like me always have in them". Kent says.
"Yeah, that does make sense, since you were already old back in the old days" The blonde man says with a teasing smile.
Kent chuckles, "Well, you know me, too stubborn to die." "How've you been, Alan?"
"Ah, you know, just living a good, old, regular life. Job's good, and it keeps me entertained, even if it is not as fun as the good old days." Alan responds with a small smile in his face.
"That's good, always value what you have, my friend."
"So, not to say that it isn't good to see you, Kent, but do you know what this meeting is about?"
"Ah, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure, but it seems to be something big"
Alan frowns, and his face adopts a very serious stance, "I can only assume it has something to do with that big energy washout from a couple of weeks ago" he says "You know something about that?"
Kent puts a hand in his chin, thinking about it "It's certainly possible is about that, I too felt the incredible energy but to what was its origin, I can't say, although I have the feeling that this meeting is not just to inform us of what the energy was, but more about the consequences of what happened" he says.
"That would be correct, Kent Nelson" an ethereal voice says.
Both Kent and Alan look to the side, to see a figure appear as if from the shadows. This figure is wearing a suit with a long cloak, and a fedora hat. "This meeting was called to inform all of us of the changes that have occurred and to prepare ourselves" he says.
"Well the fact that you are here, Stranger, says it all. This is big." Alan responds.
"So it seems. It has been quite a while, Stranger; I'm surprised to see you here." Kent says.
The figure, only known as The Phantom Stranger, comes to the table and sits in one of the unoccupied chairs, and looks towards the two men. "It can only be a surprise, Kent Nelson, if you are unprepared for what can happen, something that I believe someone like you never allows", he says in blank tone.
Kent chuckles a little, and responds, "Perhaps not, but it's still not difficult to be surprised to see you, after all, you only attend these meetings when you want"
"And if I had to guess, I can only presume you will not tell us more about whatever is happening, right? Even if you already know everything" Alan asks the Stanger.
"It is not up to me to reveal this, but a duty to whom asked for this meeting" the phantom stranger responds.
"Typical."
The three continue their talk for a few minutes more until the door swing open again, this time reveling two more people. The first, another old man, with a big frown on his features, wearing also a suit, but with a long trench coat, and a woman with long dark hair, wearing a flowing pink dress and a jewel diadem in her forehead.
"My dear Madame Xanadu, it's good to see you." Kent says as he rises to greet the woman.
"The pleasure is mine, Kent, it has certainly-"; "Oh just get on with it, you can greet and be all friendly after we are done here" the other man interrupts.
"Ah, Richard, always so sour." Kent responds.
"Whatever, unlike you, I don't have the time to wasting on this stupid meetings." The man, Richard Occult, responds with vehemence.
"Very well, Richard Occult, although we are still missing our final participant" The Phantom Stranger responds.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the magnanimous Phantom Stranger? This meeting may not be as boring as I expected".
"If you are here, that means that what I saw in the cards has truly happened" Madame Xanadu says with a surprise in her expression.
"Indeed, Xanadu, it has"
"Wait, if you say we're still missing the one who summoned us for the meeting that would certainly mean the Master is behind it" Alan says with a sour expression.
"Oh, great, another so called all mighty and powerful. The Master, only someone that truly doesn't know squat about Magic would name himself like that" Richard responds with a very large frown on his face.
"Yes, yes, Richard, we know you don't like him at all, but even if he may not be very likeable at all, he is part of this group, and has a right to be heard" Kent says, trying to diffuse the bad vibes before it escalates.
But at that moment the door opens again, revealing this time a very young man, most certainly in his teens, wearing a dress shirt and trousers, with a blue cloak around his shoulders. He walks with apparent nerves, and his light brown eyes look at all the figures in the room with awe, shock, respect, and a few more emotions.
"Who the hell are you? What gives you the right to come here?" Occult spats.
The young man stops before the table, and takes something of his pocket, and puts in the table, a gold pocket watch with a crest in the center.
"Ah, either the Master just went and got a heart, and decided to do the right thing and retire, or I can only presume he is dead?" Alan asks a little shocked to see this teen with the watch.
"He is dead, and the world doesn't have to worry about his methods for keeping "Balance and the good of magic" anymore" the young man responds.
"Well, then, take the place for now, young man, and we'll see if you are the right person to take his place in this group" Kent tells the young man, with a reassuring smile.
The young man's eye reflect his surprise at the ease of the response, but the takes a chair in the circle.
"Aren't we missing two more?" he asks.
"Ah, kid, you have a lot to learn, most of these meetings are always empty, both because the Phantom or the other one almost never shows up, and one place is vacant right now" Occult responds.
"I see"
"And the other place that is currently occupied in this group will not be with us today, so let's begin" The Phantom Stranger says in a commanding tone.
"Very well, but before that, May I ask your name, young man?" Madame Xanadu says.
"Vincent, Vincent Michaels" The young man responds.
"Very well, young Vincent, then I give you the room, please explain how you came into possessing that watch and summon us here" she tells him.
Vincent paused for a moment, his face with a myriad of emotions, and starts telling his story.
"I was what you could say, apprenticed to the Master, although I never had much of a choice in the matter. He took me from my home when I was but 7 years old, and told me that I had the capacity to magic in scales o no one he had seen before and that he would train me to be his successor." He paused again, rising from his chair and walking around a little to regain his bearings.
"He was brutal to say the least, all in the quest of maintaining the rightful balance of magic in the world, but he never had limits to what he was willing to do, and he went too far…"
"What happened?" Alan asked in a concerned tone.
"Two weeks ago, we went looking for a disturbance that we saw in the Brashkan Charts, and we found a Demon that had been summoned by a crazy man that wanted revenge against his town for not appreciating him. The demon was not a big deal per se, but the problem was that his energy was tied to the town where it was summoned, so the Master decided to just destroy the town and everyone in it."
All around the table, the reactions to this where different; The Phantom Stranger didn't blink, while Madame Xanadu just had a sad expression on her face. Occult just got a bigger frown on his face; Kent was gripping his cane very hard, while Alan just got whiter with every word.
"I couldn't let him do that; thousands of people would have died, so I challenged him. I had no idea if I could beat him, but I just knew I had to try."
"I see" Kent responded. "But if I may be a little tactless, you won and he died, you could have gone back to your family, forget about magic and mysticism. You never were given a choice"
Vincent gained a determined expression. "Perhaps I never had a choice, but now I have one, and I know enough about magic to know that the world needs people like me to step up and do what they can to help those that can't defend themselves from it."
"So I have taken this watch to be what The Master should have been, a Sentinel of Magic, and do my part to keep this world and its people safe from the powers that they don't know or can do anything about. So I ask of all of you to allow me to be part of this, and to help me." He finished his passionate argument.
Again, the expression on the table where very varied. The Phantom Stranger spoke "You certainly have the spirit, young man, if not the wisdom or rational sense to use it. Perhaps you are the right person for what may come."
Everyone look towards him. "What do you mean, Stranger, what's coming?" Alan asked.
The Stranger rose from his chair and everyone focused their attention on him. He spoke: "The world as we know it is changing. In old times the threats that you have faced were magical in nature and that the secrets that we have kept never got more attention that necessary, but I have seen a world where not only magic but other forces come and try to destroy the world, I have seen great champions that will rise to defend the universe as well as threats that will snuff the light out of it if we let them. "
"The new generation must take the charge and protect this universe from the evils that want to bring ruin, dead and destruction on it. And you, young one, may well be one of those." He finished.
"You must be kidding Stranger; you are saying that magic will be out in the open? People fear what they don't understand. I have seen it my fair share of times. Normal people know nothing and they don't care as long as it doesn't hurt them. They'll hunt everyone the same if they knew, not just evil ones."
"That may have been true in our time, Richard, but maybe this new time will bring something more. To be honest, if the Stranger really thinks that this young man has what it takes, I for one agree that he be part of our group." Kent responded with a gentle smile on his face.
"Bah, you have always been soft, Nelson, but mark my words, you'll regret this"
"What about the rest of you?" The Stranger asked.
"I always took my role as a hero as a big opportunity, after all, if I hadn't found the Lantern I would have never had the opportunity to help people since I have no Magic. And I always wanted that more people took up the call when I couldn't anymore. So if the Stranger and Kent agree, I'm all for it. Welcome to the Sentinels, Vincent." Alan responded with a smile.
"I saw the events of your combat with the Master, and you clearly have the talent for it, and the heart. You just need to learn to take the right decisions when the time comes, young one, for I've seen that you will have a big part in events to come" Xanadu spoke with the voice of certainty of the future.
"Very well, then it is agreed, Vincent Michaels, welcome to the Sentinels of Magic" The Phantom concluded with a grand gesture.
Vincent's face showed the shock and happiness. He smiled and said "Thanks for putting your faith in me, and even if I know that I still have a lot to learn and understand, I'll d my best to do my part."
"Well, this calls for a celebration" Alan said with a couple of bottles that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"I don't care for your celebration, Scott, the meeting ended, therefore, I'm gone." Occult said with a frown and step up and left the building.
"Typical, he can't seem to have a fun bone in his body" Alan said seeing him leaving.
"Don't worry, Alan, I'll have one of those." Kent said as he came forward.
"I will have one too, Mr. Scott" Madame Xanadu said.
"Excellent" Alan said while filling three cups. "You want one, kid?" he said while looking towards Vincent.
Vincent seemed surprised by the "Celebration" and just said: "Technically, I'm not old enough to drink".
"Kid, you're a Sentinel of Magic now; that makes you old enough. Besides, is just a couple." Alan said while giving him a cup.
"Okay". Vincent took the cup and paused for a second; "Wait, where is the Phantom Stranger?"
Kent chuckled at the question; "Kid, you'll learn that he just comes and goes as he pleases, it's better not to think too much about that."
The four remaining at the place drank for a while, all the while teasing and learning a little of their newest member, who seemed to not be able to hold his liquor too much, and ended up only drinking two cups not wanting to make himself look ridiculous in front of the other Sentinels
A couple of hours later; Kent rose from the table: "Well, this has been fun, but these old bones need their rest. Kid, I can presume that you're staying at the so called Nexus?"
Vincent responded "Yeah, I don't exactly have a home anymore, and the Nexus has more than enough place."
Kent looked to him with a reassuring expression; "Well then, you'll come with me then. I can show the ropes of being a Sentinel of Magic and a few more things that I'm sure that old goat didn't teach you."
Vincent seemed very surprised by this. "Why?"
Kent just put a hand on his shoulder "Kid, You are what, 15?" Vincent just nodded. "We may have agreed to let you be a Sentinel of Magic seeing that you clearly have a big amount of magical capacity and clearly know your stuff if you beat that old goat, but you are still a kid. And seeing that I have the time, and more than enough place, I want you to come with me so that I can teach you the right way of doing this."
Vincent clearly was not expecting this, as his eyes seem to shine a little, but he just smiled and responded, "Well, if you'll have me, I'll be honored to learn from you, Mr. Nelson."
Kent just laughed and gave him a pat. "Just Kent, kid. After all, we are both Sentinels, no?"
"Yeah, Then, thank you very much, Kent."
"My door is always open too, Vincent, Kent here is a little boring at times, but you'll never find a better teacher at this than him." Alan said patting Vincent on the shoulder too.
"Thanks, Alan."
"I shall depart as well, my friends. I hope to see you again soon. And I'll be keeping an eye in the cards for you, young Vincent." Xanadu said as she left the place.
"Of course. Don't be a stranger, Xanadu." Kent said while he waved at her.
"Well, kid, let's go. You seem to stumble a little and it's late" Kent said.
"I'll be seeing you both soon." Alan said while he gave Kent a hug and patted Vincent in the shoulder again, leaving in the opposite direction of the pair.
The pair started walking through the dark street, in a silence that seemed natural, and after a while, Vincent said: "Thank you again, Kent, this really means a lot to me."
Kent looked towards Vincent with a smile: "Don't worry kid, I can tell that you've had it rough, and with the path you have chosen, you'll have a lot more of rough. So a little that I can do to help, I'll do it happily."
Both seemed pleased with the silence after that, walking towards their destination.
And the adventures that would follow.
AN: And that's the first Chapter. I introduced one of my main OC's, but this story is not just about him. Is my take on the DC mythos. So I'll have a lot of characters popping along the story. I'll try to have different sagas as I go along. The first few will help establish the characters, and afterwards the adventures they'll have.
I hope you have enjoyed and I hope to hear your thoughts and suggestions.
See you soon!