Stardust Shimmer
An LLS Production
Okay, I've done YuGiOh (twice), and GX, and now it's 5Ds. Take note that all of this is post-canon for 5Ds and I-have-no-effing-clue-where for Justice League itself. This might also be relative to Star light, Star Bright as I'm using this to build my OC up, form an idea of a back-story. Also because I was partly inspired by Yusei's similarity to Superman (see episode 57 is you don't believe me).
This will probably also occupy my time over waiting for the One Piece canon to extend itself in between writing Black Whirlwind.
To fans of Space Jump, thanks for your support, and I swear that I will not screw this up.
Prologue: Discord
J'onn J'onzz carried an expression to herald doom today.
"Conclusion," Batman growled.
"It has... taken root there," J'onn raised both hands in a placating gesture, much as it was wasted upon Batman, of all people. "Especially the... other one."
"The most irritating one," Batman corrected. "Also referred to as the rabbit. You can use common terms around me, J'onn."
J'onn stared back at the Dark Knight through orange pupil-less eyes. "I suppose that from an Earth perspective, some would see it as... endearing."
"Wrong perspective," Batman growled. "Tell me that there's a way to get this out of my head, if you mind."
"I do not know," J'onn shook his head. "The work of other dimensions are not of my speciality. Did Zatanna have any promising results?"
"Her sources reveal that it is a blessing to see them," Batman sighed. "As tiring as it is. I have tried other sources too, and so far there are no positive results."
"The case is rare as it were," J'onn thoughtfully noted. "However, in the case of spirits, is it not the case to find the vessel, as it were, and destroy it?"
"Right now, I'm afraid the vessel is me," the detective snapped back. "Robin- both of them, they think I hear voices in my head as a sign on insanity. I'm tired of Alfred's discreet suggestions of having a vacation. I want to be able to sleep without hearing the rambles of a disembodied spirit and wake up without seeing huge red eyes in the furry irritant on my head."
"But you are coping, are you not?" J'onn replied, puzzled. "You have seen the world they live in, is it so bad?"
"That is completely unrelated to this topic," Batman shook his head. "And we are not talking about a different dimension. Back to how to get rid of the voices in my head, J'onn."
It was a long silence before J'onn spoke. "I cannot force it out without severe damage to your psyche and possibly fail. The spirits, both of them, will fight me. A part of you also holds on to them, that is what compounds the problem. Myself I find nothing wrong with you, to me you are as healthy as a satisfied Martian should be." He paused. "Oh. I see."
"As healthy as a satisfied Martian should be," Batman repeated, albeit quietly.
"I am of a telepathic race," J'onn probably gave his equivalent of a shrug, so blank was his expression. "To be as isolated as humans are, within my own mind, would be considered abnormal. I do not know. Perhaps it is the part of you that fears loneliness that clings on to them rather than by any fault of their own."
What could be seen of the Caped Crusader's face twisted. "I am not lonely. I have Alfred, Dick and Tim. Barbara drops in as well, and I meet people everyday. Including Kal and Diana, who cannot get the message to stay out of Gotham within their skulls."
"You distance yourself," J'onn answered. "One of your Earth philosophers have mentioned it before. No man is an island unto itself. Either way, I would suggest you wait for future developments."
Your outside friend is inexperienced in the soul, despite his perception upon the mind, the voice chuckled. Even a Bunilla is beyond him.
"You stay out of it," Batman snarled, before he blinked, realising that he had said the words right before a stunned Shayera.
"... We have a situation in Metropolis," the Thanegarian offered. "More mental problems? Aside from all other neuroses that comes with the job of the Batman?"
"Batman has picked up another mental straggler that has taken root for six Earth months," J'onn offered as all three heroes moved through the Watchtower corridors. "Despite its small size, the defences it offers are heavy. If not for the fact that they are a foreign matter in his head, I would have congratulated him on that his mind is more protected than that of any trained telepath. This, added with the original problem, has merely bolstered his mental walls to such that it would be near impossible... aside from the two spirits... to enter his mind."
"What happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?" Batman growled as all three founders came within the Founders' room.
"Your refusal to take medical leave happened," J'onn replied.
Shayera stared at the green alien. "Did you just... perform sarcasm?"
"Is it not a familiar concept?" J'onn blinked.
"It... is," Batman just replied faintly as Superman entered the room.
Unlike most of the other founders, Superman had barely aged in the decade-plus years since the League's founding, something that the Batman found himself envying more than once before catching himself. However, the expression of utter dread on his face reported itself clearer than most, and decades of being Earth's defender were hardly going to change that.
"Today there was a near-accident at the Green Energy Exhibition in Metropolis," Superman began as a Green Lantern walked in behind him. "A few exhibition reactors almost burst and blew up what would be downtown Metropolis."
Kyle Rayner might be one of the less stoic members of the League, but there was no doubting his expression right there. "Terrorist work. In a public exhibition. With children."
"Near-accident?" Shayera asked.
"The alarm was raised and the building evacuated before the bomb went off," Rayner answered. "The person who raised the alarm was a Crow Hogan, apparently present to mind a group of Japanese schoolchildren present at the exhibition. He was caught in the aftershocks but he's recovering in Metropolis. We need to find out who did this and arrest them before anything else happens in that exhibition."
"Green energy?" Batman spoke up. "Is there anything valuable being exhibited? Aside from the usual."
"Ener-D," It was Superman who grimly replied. "A little bird told me. It's the highlight of the exhibition, the lead scientist behind a new sort of energy reactor to propose another one built in the Western world."
"They call it Momentum in Japan," Batman recalled. "There was a huge accident about twenty years ago, right?"
A green hologram courtesy of the Lantern ring sparked up, showing a globe, centring on the Japanese islands, before magnifying to a specific plot of land by the north coast. "The first Ener-D reactor, built in Neo Domino City. A whole island snapped off the main island like that all of a sudden. Publicly it's an earthquake, but frankly... there was suspicion of this being the result of the Ener-D reactor going berserk. Fast-forward eighteen years, and two years ago we received reports of the Nazca Lines disappearing to be relocated to Neo Domino. Our mage forces said nothing about it, and we couldn't perform missions in Neo Domino or even the original Domino City for some reason never clearly explained."
"I never heard about the Nazca Lines relocating," Superman frowned.
"There was that whole mess with CADMUS at the same time, and it was small-scale, and the lines disappeared soon after," Batman absently replied. "We couldn't enter Neo Domino anyway, remember?"
"Why?" Rayner blinked.
"...Duel Monsters," Batman looked away.
"The card game?" the Green Lantern asked after a moment of silence. "Really? You couldn't enter because of a card game?"
Shayera shook her head tiredly. "Rather, we were coerced into a deal with two of the original Duel Kings. Only one who walks in darkness and walks with the light can represent the Justice League. Otherwise, we get bad luck streaks and attacking monsters and shadows after us. Ever tried to fight a Duel Monster?"
"Uh, no," Rayner snapped back.
"Don't recommend it. Nth metal only annoys them, and they hate light. Especially, Green Lantern light. They meet it, you get a one-way trip to a horde of monster-fighting."
Alarms began to ring around the Watchtower as the latest crisis to hit Earth came in, a screen popping up on the nearest holographic screen.
"We are here, right in front of the Metropolis Hospital where- AAAAHHHH!" the news anchor was quickly replaced by a scene of rampaging animals, definitely not of Earth origin; no gorilla came in that shade of green.
"Sorry," Superman began. "I have to go."
Away from the chaos that went on outside the hospital, a brunette little girl in a neat long-sleeved blue tee and yellow skirt with long socks and round-toed shoes curled in on herself in the hard plastic seating provided in the hospital corridors. Tears dripped down from large violet eyes to stain the tissues held to her face. "Crow Jii-chan..."
"It's alright," the raven-haired man next to her assured, running fingers through his gold streaks hair as his cerulean yes carried a look of concern, yet his face, marred by a yellow marker on his left cheek, betrayed no emotion. "You didn't mean it, right?"
"There was someone else trying to approach Mini Momentum," the other raven-haired girl beside the first replied coldly, chips of ice focused only on the first girl and hardly anyone else. Dressed in a dark blue long-sleeve and a black skirt with matching school footwear, the little girl held herself like an ice queen despite her tender years. "Someone else with malicious intent."
"I thought ten-year-olds weren't supposed to know how to use big words," the raven-haired man accused playfully, his tone light despite the news. "Do you even know what it means?"
"I'm eleven, and Izayoi Sensei gave me her Arcadia books to read to focus my power," the second girl stubbornly replied. "I looked it up in the dictionary. Back to the man with malicious intent... he was bad. He wanted a... weapon. And he found it with us."
Yusei nodded. "Both of you need a break. Go ahead. Can you handle yourselves?"
She nodded, and then she turned to the first girl. "Seika Chan. Let's go get ice cream."
The first girl looked up at her. "B- But-!"
"He's not likely to wake up yet," Setsuka dismissively waved. "Nakamura San also isn't going to come just yet with the rampaging monsters."
"Right," Yusei pulled out a battered wallet. "Both of you get-"
He fell silent as Setsuka gave him a look, then one at the battered wallet with leather peeling off it. The icy aura around her also grew in magnitude.
"She's not like you," he serenely answered. "I know Nakamura San will get custody of you, Setsuka, and even then you still retain financial autonomy, which you would understand given your intelligence. Seika doesn't know."
The girl looked unhappy but stuck out a hand anyway. "I'll bring a receipt."
He dropped a ten-dollar bill into it. "Be safe, okay, Seika?"
"Yes, O Jii-chan!" the crying girl followed the serious one.
Yusei closed his wallet, pocketing it after a brief glance at the old photo of Team 5Ds and then sighing at the newest problem associated with Momentum. "Why now...? Why a child, of all things...?"
"Two vanillas," Setsuka firmly told the woman manning the ice-cream counter.
The woman frowned. "Are you sure? Wouldn't you prefer-?"
"Vanilla. Two." the tiny girl repeated.
"Erm, Setsu-chan..." Seika timidly volunteered in Japanese. "The strawberry looks good..."
"...One vanilla, one strawberry." the tiny girl relayed.
"Yes, then," the woman reached out for the scoop, at least right before the store-front blew in.
A large club narrowly missed both girls as the hulking red beast meandered in, people running in all directions as it swung its way towards the counter.
"Ow..." Seika winced as she got up. "Setsu-chan?"
"I'm okay, Seika-han," the other girl reassured in their native language. "That's..."
The beast roared as it lifted its club to smash at a table.
Ice-like eyes narrowed. "Seika-han, run back to Yusei San."
"Setsu-chan?" Seika asked.
"Tell him to bring his deck," Setsuka answered, a slim little DuelDisk unfolding from her wrist. "Someone's set them loose here. Hurry!"
"Ah, yes!" Seika ran off, the floor crystallising in her wake.
"Are you just a Duel Monster?" Setsuka murmured at the growling monster. "Or... are you a servant of those like me?"
The beast roared in answer.
"...Good."
Please review! Stay tuned for the next duel: Closed Forest! Duel, Acceleration!