The Elements

[Raven]

There was a prophecy that the elements would come to Earth in human form, that these elementalists, as they would be called, would wield forces powerful enough to change the world. Together, they could shape it. There were groups dedicated to finding these elementals, to educate them or to contain them. One by one, each of the twelve were born, though not all of them were found. Eventually, they all came together.

Fire, with the power to create and control flames, and with practice, even heat.

Water, able to manipulate water, ice, and even vapor to their will.

Air, bending the currents and creating vacuums with no more effort than breathing.

Earth, with the ability to move rocks and dirt on a massive scale.

Light, creating illusions by simply bending and splitting rays of light, as well as using intense beams of light.

Darkness, allowing the elemental power to remove light and control shadows.

Nature, with the power to grow and control plants and seeming part plant themselves.

Electricity, controlling electrical surges and bolts, enough to make an electrical storm.

Mind, with powers of telekinesis, emotion manipulation, mind reading, and mental control.

Space, the ability to shift oneself and other objects in space.

Time, ability to distort and pause time.

Life, able to heal and speak with animals.

With the twelve united, it seemed there was little they couldn't do. Then, when it seemed nothing could go wrong, the final element emerged. Death. With no real powers of his own, Death was intimidating all the same, since upon the death of one of the other elements, death would gain all of his or her powers. If they were able to kill them all, he alone would possess the ability to change the world to his pleasing. Death made it their mission to do just that, and he had almost succeeded when the second generation of elementals was born. Twelve new elementalists who had to save the world. And soon, a thirteenth.

First Gen
Fire Gabriel Garcia
Water
Air
Earth Terrance
Light Judas Edwards
Darkness
Nature Frederick de Vymont
Electricity
Mind Kenny Clark
Space Rick Martinez
Time
Life Katrina Storm

Death Angel Garcia

Second Gen
Fire Lily Cantor
Water Violet
Air Stephanie Clark
Earth Noah Gordon
Light Lucy Pensieve
Darkness Caleb Pensieve
Nature Rakel Meusemore
Electricity Nikolai Bailey
Mind Lauren Riley
Space Josh Cooper
Time Kailen Belacqua
Life Charlotte Robinson

Death Matthias Edwards

[Gifted]

Matt sat in the dimly lit church as the sermon concluded, watching the light from the candles flicker and glint off the crystal chandeliers, shining mosaic on the floor and stained glass windows. He was hardly listening. Church just hadn't been the same now that his brother was no longer preaching. He still remembered that awful day a month ago since they'd left Judas alone to clean up the church like he did every night and they'd heard the door lock.
What followed had been several hours of agonizing and painful sounds of crashing and breaking, people yelling coming from the church. Matt had needed to pull Kenny away from the door, begging him to stay, to not let himself be targeted too. The two of them had stayed huddled in the corner listening to the terrible fight until it was all over. They'd then run in to find the crystal chandeliers on the floor, the shining, mirrored vases broken, the wooden pews scorched and burnt and the forever burning lights that lit the church like suns gone out forever. Judas himself was found lying face up in the church hall, his head busted open and his body left lifelessly staring up at the glittering church, laced with defense mechanisms designed to save him fro this fate. It hadn't been enough to save his brother. Judas had lit up the lives of every person he came across, bringing light and meaning into their home and existences. And now he was gone.
They'd repaired the broken crystal and broken glass but there was no way to imitate the lighting. Even now, the seven year old boy still walked into Judas' church, his dream come true, and imagined the place would be filled with the light of Judas' suns again. That he'd see Judas standing at the front of the room ready to give the next sermon, laughing as he saw Matt. 'Didja miss me?' he's say, and Matt would run into his arms and beg him to never ever leave again. But it never happened. He and Kenny, his brother's husband, were alone now.
He kicked at his pew, wanting the sermon to be over. Wanting to go home.

[Raven]

Despite having come from such a strict religious background, Peter Edwards had never lost faith in God. Kenny had never really believed, though he did believe in angels. He'd read the bible, and when he found Peter - Judas, he'd called himself, because that was how his parents made him think - he taught him that it didn't have to be like that. In return, Judas taught him faith. Judas became his personal angel.

They opened a church together, to teach love and acceptance for everyone through knowledge and understanding rather than ignorance and bias. They'd gotten married, which shocked some members who came from other churches. It hadn't all been sunshine and rainbows, since some of the more extreme Christians felt the need to stick their noses in, to protest in front of their church, and to harass their members and Kenny and Judas themselves. Kenny had encouraged everyone to ignore them, and after video taping one instance, got the cops involved. They'd been mostly left alone after that. Kenny was just glad that Judas no longer had to suffer the oppression those people had forced on him all his life. He deserved better than that after everything he'd accomplished.

They'd had the church open a couple of years, and Kenny had started talking about adoption when they found out what was happening with Judas' little brother. It was the perfect solution, and though they never got the joy of dirty diapers, Kenny and Judas loved Matt unconditionally. It took him a little time to adjust to their way, but the three of them were happy. Happier than they'd ever been, and possibly than they'd ever be.

It was almost a year later that they found out about Death. The thirteenth element in a group that they'd only just told Matty about. The other half to Katrina Storm. By the time they'd found out, she'd already taken Time and Fire. They told Matt to be careful, to not walk anywhere alone, to stay with them as often as he could, and they started renovating the church into Judas' defense. They added stained glass windows, crystal chandeliers, mirrors, and art to a church that had once been quite plain. When asked why now, they said they simply hadn't had the money to do what they wanted before. The church lit up with Judas' lights, more and more every week. Kenny had felt so safe there, so sure that nothing would ever touch their happiness again. Things had been so good, even as Death accumulated more powers and killed more of their friends. Kenny didn't believe that she could beat them.

He soon found out just how wrong he was. He'd told Matt he would take him for ice cream, they could bring some back for Judas. "Mint chocolate chip, like always. Maybe you should have a little variety," he'd teased as they left the building, swinging the door shut. The bolt slid into place, and Kenny had turned around. They never locked that door except when they weren't there. Why would Judas lock the door? Surely his joke hadn't hurt his feelings...?
"Didn't think I'd find you?"
The voice chilled Kenny to the bone. "No..." It wasn't an answer, it was a protest. He couldn't believe what was happening, he couldn't let it. Their solid wood door wasn't going to budge, though. Matt pulled at his arm, begging him to come away, but for a long time, Kenny didn't move. He just kept trying to force the door open. The two of them together could beat anything, but finally, he followed Matt, praying that Judas would be okay, because he needed him to be okay. Finally, the noises stopped. The noise they could hear even from their home. Kenny used his power to make sure that Death was gone, and he didn't find either of them. He already knew that there was only one way that would happen. He knew what he'd find in that church house, but it didn't soften the blow when he saw it.

The following Sunday, they'd had to gather somewhere else as the church wasn't repaired yet. They had Judas' funeral, and many of their members came, lending support and mourning their own. Because Judas hadn't just been his angel. It wasn't until two Sundays after the funeral that Kenny managed to start teaching again, or made Matt go to school again. People kept asking why the church was so dark now, but even if they hadn't had Judas' power before, Kenny would have found it darker. He couldn't believe this could happen to them, to Judas after everything he'd done for everyone he met. But he kept going, for Judas' memory, and for Matt. He kept smiling even when he was a second away from crying. As he finished speaking, he asked if anyone had anything they wanted to share, or any questions they wanted answered for the whole church. Finding the answer to be no, he dismissed the congregation, and headed over to Matt, though he was always open for private questions and discussions, as they always had been. As he always had to be.

[Gifted]

Matt looked up at Kenny as he came over, the only one who truly understood what had happened to his brother. "Is the sermon over?" He asked, looking up at Kenny. Unlike his brother and Kenny Matt was nothing special, but he was involved just because of who they were. Matt didn't mind though. He was glad they weren't alone. Glad Kenny wasn't alone in having to face what had happened to Judas. "Can we go home?" He wrapped his arms around Kenny. "I think the Sunday school is running a little long today."

[Raven]

It had come as quite a shock when he was in the library at lunch, frantically trying to finish an essay due the next period, to find that the clock had literally stopped ticking. With five minutes to write a final paragraph and a conclusion (which was completely impossible, in case you've never tried to write an essay last minute), time had stopped for him. No one around was moving, the clocks had stopped ticking, and he had an eternity to do his essay... somehow. He didn't entirely trust this, so he'd still hurried to get it finished, but not so fast that he'd do bad anyway. As he finished, and clicked print, the kid sitting next to him resumed tapping away at the keyboard, working even more frantically than Kailen. With a grin, the kid had gone to pick up his paper, and headed to class early.

Four months later, according to the calendar, Kailen had figured out how to control this strange new power to pause time, and even go back in time - up to three days, which he was extremely proud of. He'd managed to play four months worth of video games, all while still staying up on his school work, and spending time with his friends and parents. Much to his parents and friends' amazement, he'd also managed to completely quit cigarettes in a day, though it had cost him at least fifty dollars to pull that trick. It was totally worth it, even though that was enough for a new video game, and he'd had way too many hims running around that day. He'd almost died of boredom, but he'd also finished all of his college applications, projects, studying for his ACT, and five job applications - which he'd submitted over the course of several weeks to seem less suspicious (he couldn't quit smoking and do all that work in a day). He was more relaxed than he'd ever been, because he had all the time in the world to do anything he wanted. It was clear how much of a difference there was, even to his parents, who he thought assumed it was because he stopped smoking. He wasn't about to correct them.

Kailen Belacqua had already gone to school that day, and though it was during school hours, he was waiting behind one of the portables for Stephanie to ditch with him. His eyes were on the fluffy white clouds in the sky, and he had his usual big grin on his face. Life was great, and it was only gonna get better.

[Raven]

Kenny hugged the kid close, just glad to have him with him and safe. "Yeah, we can go home, kiddo." Kenny looked out at his people, then back down at Matt. "You feeling okay?" he asked as he headed for the side door.

[Gifted]

"I don't like going to church anymore." Matt admitted. He stayed close, holding onto Kenny's hand. "I keep expecting him to be here."

Stephanie Clark hadn't heard from her parents in months, and that was just the way she liked it. She'd practically been adopted by Kailens family, though she could still take care of herself. She'd started a new life with her cousin and best friend, but a few perks of her old life carried over. Once she'd shown some of er teachers her transcripts of classes she'd aced online they mostly stopped caring, letting her help other students when she wanted to be there and skip when she didn't because she'd already aced the class. Today she was skipping a science class she'd already taken to go meet up with hr friend. Sweeping her platinum blonde hair back over her shoulder she peeked out from the side of the portable. "Boo!" She laughed, coming out from behind it. She'd become a lot more relaxed since she started hanging out with Kailen, a lot more carefree. A weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "So what are we doing today?" Stephanie asked.

[Raven]

Kenny squeezed his hand. "Me too, Matty," he murmured. "Me too..." He unlocked the house door, went inside, and locked the door behind them again. Once, they'd only locked the doors at night.

"I was thinking a good game of prop hunt," Kailen responded, grinning.

[Gifted]

Matt sighed. They should be having cake today, celebrating, all three of them. But there was nothing to celebrate. "I'm gonna go play videogames." He mumbled, and wandered off to his room.

"Sounds like a plan." Stephanie agreed.

[Raven]

"Alright," Kenny agreed, going to sit down. After a moment, he clasped his hands, saying another prayer. He wished that he could at least hug him one last time.

"Great. We gonna sneak into my house?"

[Gifted]

Mat went into his room and shut the door, but he couldn't bring himself to leave it like that. Couldn't bear to have a door shut between him and someone he loved. He was terrified that when he opened it again, Kenny would be gone, too. So he opened the door again even though he really wanted to be alone, and sat down to play videogames, hoping to take his mind off things.

"How else are we supposed to play prop hunt?" Stephanie laughed. "Come on, let's go!"

[Raven]

"Good point," Kailen admitted. He took off towards home. "You wanna go first?" Kailen asked, grinning, once they were below his window, along the rear end of his house. Due to some ill-placed lattice, it was fairly simple to climb up, the hardest part being working around the corner to the window, especially if it were shut, since you were basically hanging there exposed on the side of the house until you worked it open enough to climb through. Kailen had quickly figured out to leave it open an inch so that it was simple to lift it up the rest of the way.

[Gifted]

"Sure, I can go first." What little wind there was died down completely as she made the difficult climb up to the window and pushed it open. "Alright, I'm in!" she called down.

[Raven]

Kailen grinned, climbing up after her and through the window. "After climbing up here so many times, I might actually get in shape," he joked, flopping down on one of the beanbag chairs in front of the TV. He grabbed a couple of xbox controllers, handing Stephanie one as the system booted.

Kenny would definitely understand, and he was more than willing to give Matt privacy when he wanted it - even with the door open.

[Gifted]

"Alright, who do we have to play against today..." She grinned, but before they could pick one, Matt contacted them.
"Hey, you skipping school again? Can I join you in whatever you're playing?"