Born in Laughlin, Nevada, Elias de Luca learned what hardship was at an early age. Although the de Luca name had been in Laughlin for two generations, his father was a man of no real skill (who had only barely graduated from high school) and could not perform anything but unskilled labor. This, by itself, would not have been a problem had he not built, in secret, a substantial gambling debt in the years prior to Elias' birth. With no way of paying it with his small paychecks, he borrowed money from a shark to settle one debt with a new one. Bitter but unwilling to admit to what was his own mistake, his father spent a sizable portion of his earnings on alcohol and was frequently violent. Eli had the good fortune, however, of a mother who refused to put up with this and, after a year of hoping the any day, her husband would come to his senses, stop drinking and get another job, she packed up what possessions she had, took Eli away, first to Boulder City, and ultimately further north to Chicago, which would become Eli's new home.
For the two of them, life was not easy (but was not insufferable, either), and in a more balanced environment, Elias did a fine job growing up bright and diligent when diligence was expected of him. But when it wasn't, his favorite pastime was, without a doubt, "hanging out" and doing nothing in particular. Despite this, he turned out to be the opposite of his father, staying largely out of trouble and making high marks in school, completing high school in the top 15 of his class. He attended a junior college for several years, trying to decide what to do with his life, deciding at age 24 that he would become a police officer, an ironic decision even though he knew nothing of his father's dealings with the underworld.
His goal, however, was cut short by a personal tragedy. Around the time that Elias had completed high school, his mother, an Evolved human, experienced her gift for the first time, hearing the thoughts in the heads of other people. It was an ability she never learned to properly control, and only a week into the academy, Elias was forced to leave to tend to his mother, the years of unbearable mental chatter having finally sliced through her fraying nerves. It became almost immediately apparent that her dementia was so serious that Elias could not take care of her himself and was forced to check her into a sanitarium. With no degree and only a high school education, he ran into serious problems paying both the medical costs and his own bills.
It was during this time that he was approached in a small cafe, staring into his coffee looking for answers, by two well-dressed men who claimed to have an offer with him they would discuss over a sandwich. With nothing to lose, Elias agreed and, over what would become his favorite meal, discovered that both men represented the Civella mob family. The first of the two, the one that did the talking while the other just looked intimidating, informed him that they had, in fact, been responsible for a substantial loan to Elias' father, and that it was by luck they happened to find him here. The only remark the young man had to offer was that he wasn't his father, and even if he was, he was spending most of his money trying to help his mother with her insanity; there was no way he could repay the debt.
But that was easily hand-waved away, and, in fact, if Elias would be willing to perform a few favors for the mob, not only would they ignore his father's debt, they would help with the mounting medical costs. In dire straits, Elias agreed, not knowing what else to do. It proved to be his ticket out of his rut. His first job was just a package delivery, but as he proved himself trustworthy, he was moved up to higher profile jobs, finally being sent to assist with an after-hours jewel theft. The job ran into complications when the goon who was supposed to get them inside the shop couldn't get the lock open. At a loss for what to do, because returning unsuccessful wouldn't reflect well on any of them, Elias suddenly found himself just inside the door. No one had let him in, but there he was. After he got over his shock, he unlocked the door from the inside and the job went otherwise as planned. it came out in short order exactly how they'd gotten inside the shop, although no one was able to offer any explanation for how it happened. When the same thing happened on a subsequent heist, it was decided that some sort of test should be conducted to determine exactly what Elias was capable of. He was understandably surprised when he woke up from being drugged in an abandoned building that had been carefully setup to make escape practically impossible. Adding to that the fact that he was chained up to a pipe with the key in a clear, plastic case didn't help matters. Elias found a note informing him that he should call them if he got out, but that if he couldn't, not to worry about it; they'd be by later to let him out. Of course, there might be a small bonus if they didn't have to let him out. One hour after waking up, Elias placed a call from his apartment that he would like a sandwich included with his bonus.
Almost immediately, Elias found himself on the fast-track to becoming the Chicago mob's star thief. None of them knew exactly how he was able to get passed any sort of door they could put him in front of, but he managed it. His bosses and friends were just as confused when he, seemingly overnight, developed a strong aversion to mirrors and bright lights, but decided that if he could get the job done, they had no reason to complain. Word of the family's new golden child began spreading, and it wasn't long before both Elias and his mother were sent to New York City. The Civellas had been running into some problems with their operations there, and it looked like several of their problems could be attributed to people who, like Elias, were able to do things with no apparent explanation. Elias was given some additional instruction in firearms and unarmed combat by some of the family's tougher associates. Rather than theft, they needed him to solve some of their "special" problems. Given a chance not only to advance his position but also to get better care for his mother and improve his overall lifestyle, Elias was all too happy to make the move.
There was, however, one small problem with the family's plan for Elias. They had expected, over the years, that he had become loyal to them, but the fact of the matter was that he had developed a strong opportunistic streak. One day, he found himself contacted by the Linderman Group, who offered to, as it were, buy him out of his arrangement with the Civellas. They'd done their homework, and figured that the reason for the sudden onset of his mother's insanity was the result of an ability, much like his, that she couldn't control; if he'd leave the Civellas and work for Mr. Linderman, not only would he receive better compensation, but they would send a specialist to try and restore his mother to a state in which she could function in society. Elias deliberated for one night. The next morning, he emptied his bank accounts, moved them to different banks, rented a new apartment on Manhattan Island, and made certain that his mother was safe, and then accepted Linderman's offer, putting himself in direct competition with his former benefactors of nearly ten years. As a parting gift, he sent the Civellas a bundle containing $30,000 with a note explaining that he owed them money from his father's debt.
The next few years were turbulent for Elias; while his life was progressing mostly in the way he'd hoped, he found himself drawn more than once into conflict with the Civellas, and although his ability enabled him to leave from each encounter with hardly a scratch, it still weighed on him. Feeling the need to get away, Elias left early on the morning of November 7th, 2006, taking a chance with his ability and teleporting himself to Newfoundland, before globe trotting to Greenland, Iceland, Ireland and finally to Ram's Gate, England. He had no plans to stay long; just long enough to get away from his real life. A day, he figured, would be long enough. One day and a few hours later, ELias heard on the news that a substantial portion of Manhattan Island had been obliterated by what was apparently an atomic weapon. Everything he had was there; his banks, his apartment, his mother, everything. He spent the remainder on the day in a hostel, quietly sobbing to himself. After a day of misery, however, it became apparent that not everything was lost.
His whole life literally gone up in a flash of light, Elias rapidly realized, even through his disbelief and grieving; for all anyone knew, he was eradicated along with .07 of the human population; he was free. Free from the Civellas, free from Linderman, free from everyone; a specter. Using his teleportation ability, he made his way back to the United States, took advantage of the chaos and made a few "asset withdraws" from various upscale residences in the surrounding New England states and then spirited himself back to the United Kingdom for a fresh start.
After spending several weeks in Ram's Gate hanging out and doing nothing particularly productive (which he planned in purposely so that he could either finish grieving or figure out what he would do until he did finish), he caught wind of opportunity. A mysterious someone that everyone he talked to only knew as "The Wolf" was involved in something that might be profitable. With his ability and a little searching, Elias found this lone wolf, Ethan Holden, and did what he did best; started from Square One as just a face that some people knew, gradually working his way up until, over the course of just over a year, he'd earned some level of actual trust, establishing himself as the Wolf's "go-to" guy for high profile theft, fencing, and making "special" problems vanish. It was the nature of this relationship that brought Elias to meet another of the Evolved whom he immediately identified as both a real danger and an opportunity; Kazimir Volken.
To begin with, Elias had very little in the way of contact with Kazimir, but the older man gradually began to ask the teleporter to "take care" of a few things for him, and gradually, over the six months after their first meeting, Elias the opportunist had worked his way into Kazimir's circle, made invaluable by both his skills and his ability.
Two years after Elias de Luca had been officially incinerated with half of New York City, he found himself moving, ironically, back to what was left of the Big Apple at Kazimir Volken's behest. Although Elias was never completely clear on why they were going there, his concern was only that this was an opportunity he could profit from. And from the spreading of death, he stands to profit greatly.