"Fair warning, it's a bit like being drunk." he said, before they both disappeared with a pop and a flash of light. Dragon Fist would get the sensation that he was being pulled bit by bit from one end of the teleport to the other, much like water flowing from the tip of a glass down someone's gullet.

==> To the scene of the crime-to-be! ===>

>>>>>>>Timeskip

Lucas taught the morning class. The afternoon one was postponed due to the holiday season, but he encouraged his students to keep vigilant and practice what they had been taught.

Flip would be back to teaching within a week's time, and would be able to handle some of the load as well once the holiday season passed by.

But Lucas was concerned about recent events. Flamethrower returning....he had recurring nightmares about what had happened in the nursing home....and the death of Flamethrower by Dragon Fist's hands. It was STILL a profound event..one he would never forget.

Oni had been awfully quiet ever since he had given his letter to Lucas. Was he planning something...or simply trying to goad him into becoming the new Champion of Darkness? Or maybe even he had something to do with Flamethrower's resurrection?

Lucas knew he had to train, to keep himself sharp. And so he did. Both with the earthly martial arts he had been taught...and also what the two Dragons had taught him recently about the Elemental arts.

Content that he had trained enough, Lucas dried himself off, and drank some Gatorade to help hydrate himself once again.

He was waiting for word from Shell or Oswald, but he knew that he was also needed out in the city. There was too much chaos out in Weston for the Champion of Light to stand idly by.

Using the backdoor access, he summoned his armor once again, and took to the rooftops, hoping to get a good vantage point as to what was happening in the city. Aside from the arsons...

>>>>>>>>>>To The Rooftops>>>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>>>From The Timeskip>>>>>>>>>>>

The Christmas party was indeed very nice. Diantha was a charming little girl, and things seemed to be going well. But there was trouble still brewing. And it weighed heavily on Lucas' mind.

There was the person who had injected his mentor Flip with the drug "Blood." It was someone who knew Flip's connection to Lucas...and someone who knew that Lucas was Dragon Fist. There was also the scientist from the future, who believed that killing Legacy would stop a great war from happening. Enemies seemed to assail them from all sides.

But there was one sweet instance to come out of all this: Lucas came clean with his feelings for Mirage. Feelings that had been growing ever since their trip to Texas. And he had given those feelings utterance, and it felt like a great weight had been taken off of his chest. Of course, they would take things slow. They both had been through their fair share of trauma.

Awakening, he began the day as he normally did. Getting up, showering, then getting the dojo ready for the morning class, and teaching it. A break in the mid-morning, then he thought he might give Helena a call and see what she was up to.

There was much to do. Take care of the expenses of operating the dojo and ensure that all the dues were paid up (which they were, the students were pretty good about that).

Dressing a black polo shirt and khaki slacks, Lucas made ready to head out the back door of the dojo.

With the afternoon class in progress, Lucas then summoned his armor. Once he did that, he made his way upwards, towards one of his favorite spots.

>>>>>>>>>To The Rooftops>>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>From The Rooftops>>>>>>>>>>

Dragon Fist flew down to where the exchange was taken place. It looked like two young toughs, one had long dark hair, the other had a blonde mohawk, were trying to hassle two of his students: Armando Romero of Filipono descent....and Lucia Lugo...Puerto Rican descent...

"All right kids...back off...."

The one with the mohawk stuck his tongue out at him, and furnished what appeared to be a switchblade. "Nobody tells us what to do, Dragon Palm! Or whatever the hell your name is!" He then lunged at the mystic martial artist. But he didn't realize that the Champion of Light had learned some things. Starting with the power of Air. Seeing the young man's movements look like the wind, Dragon Fist was able to interpret where the young man would strike. He slashed at him with the switchblade, but he easily evaded the switchblade. Now it was time to attack. Dragon Fist unleashed a three hit combination which struck the leg first, then the wrist that held the weapon, and then the face of the assailant. Promptly knocking him down.

The other punk looked at Dragon Fist, the kids, and then his unconscious comrade. "We're gonna come back freak...with more numbers...and your kids are gonna pay up, whether they want to or not!"

Dragon Fist watched the thug run away, and was almost certain that he would make good on his threat. It appeared that the problem with the street gangs was starting to seep in, even to the students of the Dragon And The Tiger.

Dragon Fist ducked out of sight, and then unseen, retracted his armor.

Lucas came running out to where the kids were. "You guys OK?"

The students nodded. Young Armando looked slightly rattled, but was putting on a brave face. Same with Lucia.

Lucas then took out his cell phone, and called a cab. "Here's $20. This should be enough to get across town. Don't worry...we'll get to the bottom of this."

Waving at the kids, he handed the money to the taxi driver. "Keep 'em safe," he said before they drove away.

Lucas then returned to the dojo. The fact that some of the street toughs were trying to hassle some of his students indicated that some of the gangs were either expanding....or maybe some new, more ambitious leadership had taken care of.

It would be up to him to find out. Hunter was more than likely busy with his family and his own caseload, Mirage...it sounded like she was working on something deeply personal. Lucas had offered his help to her, and let her know that the offer was still on the table in case if his help was needed.

Chances are, this was something that he would have to deal with on his own.

Draco was walking down from across the street from the dojo when he saw a figure leave the dojo, running, then shortly after two other figures enter a cab, the cab driving off. Wondering what had happened, he waited until there were no cars in the way and rushed across. When he got to the other side, he tapped on the door of the dojo, hoping to see who it was that owned it.

Lucas heard a tapping at the door of the dojo. Arcing an eyebrow and looking visibly annoyed, he went to the door.

The young man tapping on the door looked vaguely familiar. But he didn't have time to deal with him for a while. Someone was after his students.

"Can I help you?" he said, slightly opening the door.

Draco was shocked; he didn't expect Dragon Fist to own a dojo! "Hey, you again! What happened here? I was walking down the street when I saw some dude bolt from this place. I was kinda worried that something had happened here, so I decided to check it out." Draco shook his head. "So, what did happen?"

Lucas stepped outside and pointed in the direction of where the gang member had fled.

"Two gang members tried to hassle a couple of my students. Normally, they've known better than to mess with my kids. But it seems like something's happened to make them think that no one will stop them if they try. I almost daresay that whoever these gang types are...they must have some kind of leader that's telling them that they can try to expand their territory."

Draco had looked down where the gang member fled. "I see..." He turned back to Dragon Fist. "The next time they come here to fight, could I help you out? I've got some skills that would put them down."

Lucas thought to himself for a moment. "I'd be a little hesitant, putting someone as young as you in danger. You're a good and upstanding young man, Draco. I don't want to see you get hurt. Besides, these are my kids. I've got to take the fight to them."

"Well, what if there's more than two next time, and you're not able to hold them off? Then what? Just saying, but it can happen." Draco looked both ways. "Can we continue inside, just so no one easedrops?"

Lucas nodded, and gestured for Draco to come inside.

"So...did you think about what I told you the last we spoke?"

Before Draco could answer Dragon Fist's question, the lights inside the dojo seemed to go out. It was completely dark, and several footsteps could be heard coming inside the training area.

Ducking into a bathroom, Lucas once again summoned his armor, then came out promptly. The eye holes on his helmet seemed to glow with an azure light and he could see the chi of each person that was there. Six total...plus one standing off in the background...all of their chi was a dark grey, rapidly gravitating towards black.

Dragon Fist made himself ready to fight, as it looked like they were trying to swarm them with numbers.

Then the man in the back decided to make his presence felt.

"So...what've we got here? The hero of Weston...the great asshat...Dragon Fist. You must know the owner of this place....Flip Bowen....damn sellout..and his business rival Lucas Martinez...tryin' to be a shining light in the inner city. Well...I've got news for you hero...consider this as notice...you may push against the streets....but the streets push back. Every time one of you masked people come at us...you will see an image of a child of the streets..spitting in your face...think on that...'cause the war has only begun....boys...."

The footsteps soon followed him out, and the lights soon came back on. Dragon Fist looked back at Draco, and then retracted his armor.

"OK Draco...Listen to me carefully..." Lucas said to him. "I'm going to end this. But I'm not going as Dragon Fist. I've....picked up some things recently. But the gangs need to know that even ordinary people are willing to stand against them. Just trust me on this. I don't want to see you hurt."

Lucas then exited the training area for a moment, then came back, dressed in what appeared to be a navy blue jumpsuit. He was ready for just about anything.

"If I'm not back in 6 hours, alert the Legacy. But I've got to do this for the kids in this dojo. Alone. If the gangs think they can get to them, what's to stop them from expanding further outward?"

Lucas looked down to the dragon tattoo on his chest. "All right Kimeran. I need you to stay out of sight for just a short while. This is something I have to do, but stay on standyby, just in case, all right?"

  They both heard {{Well, you know I'm not to interfere unless there is no choice.  I'm not allowed to let you die.}}  The tattoo he was speaking to shifted, the matching one of Dancing Clouds shifting, and both of them 'crawled', although it felt more like sliding around him, onto his back and took up different positions there.

Lucas smiled and nodded at his new "friend."

"I appreciate that, Kimeran. But this...I've got to do this as Lucas Martinez...not as Dragon Fist. You know...over and over, I've asked myself..is it the power that makes the Champion of Light what he is...or is it the man who has inherited the responsibility? And with my recent decision...a test like this couldn't be more appropriate."

He looked back at Draco. "Six hours...then contact the Legacy. With any luck, I'll be done well before then. But these attacks on my kids have got to stop."

Lucas then exited the dojo, a determined look on his face. He knew for sure that Mirage would give him a good talking to about going off alone. But this was something that he HAD to do. And he would see it through. For now he was going into the lion's den, so to speak.

Lucas had an idea as to where he was going. Determined, he made his way to where he was fairly certain this gang was staying..

>>>>>>>>To The Streets>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>>From The Streets>>>>>>>>>>

Lucas returned to the dojo, walking with a slight limp but gratified that he had beaten Demetrius. But the question presented itself...would Demetrius take this defeat lying down...and how long would it be before he seeked revenge?