Project Midnight Book Two-Betrayal

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa-WHOA!! back up a sec here chief you can't be serious!" Zap chuckled to the others before noticing Waller raising an eyebrow. She was DEAD serious, she was giving Midnight an offer to join one of the most powerful super teams ever formed.

"Uh no offense Miss Waller but fighting crime hardly seems fitting for a prince."

"Need I remind you ponies that this "Prince" took down one of the most dangerous criminals in all Maretropolis single handed and did so with no super powers whatsoever?" At first they all wanted to say something but Waller was right. Midnight had done what no other pony else would do and began to consider her offer to let him join.

"And let's not forget that he was trained by Death Stroke and Nova. He's got the combined skills of two of the finest soldiers Canterlot has ever seen."

"She does have a point and besides. Mane-iac is gonna be gunning for him anyway." Filly Second stated before zipping to the kitchen for a sandwhich. Waller nodded in agreement.

"And unlike the rest of you he doesn't need to hide behind a secret identity, he is a face the people can trust and if he chooses he can also be a face for criminals to fear."

"Well Midnight?" All eyes were on the prince. His first thoughts were to just go home and forget he saw any of this, he was no crime fighter no hero but then he remembered the terrified look on his sisters face, Mane-iacs laughter and how much anger he felt when she threatened to kill her.

"I'm in."

"Then follow me." Waller said with a smirk as she lead him to another part the building. Inside were what appeared to be numerous forms of technology that had not been seen before.

"This is our engineering department. Here we make the latest in law enforcement technology but due to obvious reasons-meaning tax increase-we can't mass produce these."

"This armor is amazing!" Midnight watched as a scientist began unloading an entire clip but not a single dent was made.

"That armor is made from a special kind of titanium fiber capable of stopping even the most strongest bullets. Still hurts like Tartarus though. Now over here is our latest achievement." Midnight turned his attention to what appeared to be some kind of helmet.

"This helmet also functions as a super computer, allowing its wearer to hack into ANY system. It can also be customized to fit the head of its user."

"Why show me all this?"

"Cause my prince. You're going to be using all this."

"You're kidding right? Me in a costume?"

"Don't think of it as a costume; Think of it as the modern design of medieval armor. Now we had reports of a break in at the gem depository downtown that's going to happen tonight and as it so happens this equipment has yet to be tested in the field. Interested?" She asked as a smirk crept onto his face.

"Suit me up."

Later That Night

The security guard sat at his desk sipping coffe while keeping an eye on the monitors.

"Man this bites but at least it puts food on the table." He groaned as he fell asleep in his seat, unaware that two shadowy figures zipped past the screen. Two hours later, more thieves came storming through and began cracking the various vaults around the building. Leading them was a large grey earth pony wearing a tuxedo and chewing on a toothpick.

"We got two hours boys. Let's move." The stallion sounded like a mob boss. He was twice as large as Big Macintosh and twice as muscled, his coat was grey as concrete and his quaffed mane was as black as tar. One of his eyes had been blinded while the other was emerald green.

"Boss. One of the silent alarms went off."

"Like clockwork." He said with a smug grin before snapping his fingers.

"Pack it up boys. We're done here."

"What about the rest of the gems?"

"Leave em. Just grab what you can carry-!!"

"Aww! Leaving so soon?" Radiance teased as she sat on the railing like a swimsuit model, the goons ogling her.

"Radiance. You're as beautiful as the last time I saw you."

"Nice to see you again Block Buster. How's your girlfriend?" The question made Block Buster snap the pick in his mouth as Radiance continued to act innocent.

"Oh! That's right I forgot, She's in jail."

"Little bitch! WASTE HER!!!" In just two seconds the thugs pulled out their guns and began an endless barrage of bullets only to be stopped by a magic shield.

"YAWN! Can we wrap this up? I have a modeling show to do in the morning." The unicorn mare asked as she checked her nails when a pink blur came zipping in, knocking the goons around.

"TAG YOU'RE IT!! PEW!! TAG YOU'RE IT!!"

"WILL SOMEPONY SHOOT HERE?!?" A thug shouted before getting hit by a bolt of lightning.

"Mind if I drop in?" Zap asked as she summoned a tornado that sucked up most of the stolen bags. As the fight grew more intense, Block Buster made his way out the back while his men tried to fight off the Power Ponies. Saddle Rager came crashing through the roof in her transformed state and began smacking the goons around, left and right.

"Good work team!"

"Matterhorn! This is Hum Drum. Block Buster's made a run for it, only got one bag of gems."

"Where's he headed?"

"Bridleway intersection and it looks like the rookie is already on it." Hum Drum looked at a security feed of Block Busters car zooming through traffic and behind it was a bat like shadow flying through the night.

Block Buster looked in the visor to see if anybody had managed to follow him and began to chuckle to himself as he spilled out the bag revealing a handful of large prismatic diamonds.

"Heh heh! Suckers!! I'm home free!! SLAM!! What the?!?" The thug looked out front to see a bat like creature with glowing blue eyes standing on the hood of his car.

"Evening chum!" The masked figure said in an almost robotic voice before smashing in the window. Block Buster lost control and crashed into an alley way before making his escape with one of the diamonds. The criminal ran through the maze like streets trying to outrun the pony following him, unaware that he was being tailed from above.

"Hum Drum. What's the scoop on this guy?"

"Block Buster used to be a professional fighter but was expelled for his violent behavior, after that he took up a job as a thug for the mob until he formed his own gang and get this: He is Mane-iacs Coltfriend!!"

"Whoa. Guess it's true, love has no boundaries. Why pull a heist on one of the most secured buildings in the city though?"

"Maybe he was picking out a diamond for a wedding ring." The joke made Midnight laugh before getting interrupted by Waller.

"Focus you two."

"Sorry Ma'am. Looks like he's headed for an old factory."

"Watch yourself. Block Buster may be a thug but he's no pushover."

"Copy that." Midnight ended the transmission before descending upon the factory entrance. The place was like something out of a horror movie, rusty chains with hooks dangled above while the shadowy figures of the machines shown in the moonlight yet somehow Midnight was unphased.

"I've seen better stuff in the movies WHAM!! UGH!!" A giant grey fist came smashing into his face as he was sent skidding across the floor.

"You little punk! I'm gonna brake you five ways then put ya back together again!!" Block Buster cracked his knuckles as Midnight managed to get back to his feet.

"So the Power Ponies got a new member huh? What do they call you? Bat Pony?"

"I'll get back to you on that now as they say in the ring: Put em up!" Midnight took a fighting stance as Block Buster began to laugh.

"You're kiddin me right? I was a five time heavy weight champ back in the day!" He boasted as if he'd already won the fight.

"And look at you now. A washed up thug with a deranged mare for a lover..."

"WHY YOU!!!" Block Buster began a series of punches that seemed to hit nothing but air when he felt the first blow hit him square in the gut, knocking the wind out of him."

"Ooh! I'll admit kid. You got a mean swing...but it's gonna take more than that to knock me out."

"I'm counting on it..." Midnight then faded back into the shadows as the criminal gave chase only to find nothing but solid wall.

"Why were you targeting the depository? You knew you'd get caught." A voice echoed from all around.

"I needed the extra cash and is this supposed to scare me?" Block Buster began looking in all directions for the source of the voice. A slight rattle of the chains startled him.

"You didn't answer my question." Midnight struck out of the shadows with a right hook before vanishing once again.

"You're a thug Block Buster! Who was your employer!?" This time he shouted in an angry voice. After receiving that last hit, Block Buster began to share some info.

"I never met the guy! He called me on my cell, said he was willing to pay double IF I came back with at least one gem! WHACK!! AHHHHH!!!!!" Before he knew what was happening the thug found himself hanging upside down and at two stories high.

"And just who is "He" exactly?"

"I...I don't know! ZZZZZTTTTT!!!! AHHHHH!!!!" Block Buster looked like he was about to fall to his death when his head stopped inches away from the ground as he was hauled back up to the masked figure.

"Do not lie to me..." Midnight threatened his prisoner as he looked him straight in the eye.

"OKAY!! OKAY IT'S SLADE!! The guys name is Slade!! Now let me go, I told you everything!" Under the mask, Midnights face froze in shock for a moment before snapping back to reality.

"If you insist and my name is: Dread Wing" A blood curdling scream was heard as Dread Wing released his grip.

An Hour Later

The police had apprehended Block Buster who had been completely traumatized by the whole ordeal. The Power Ponies arrived on the scene as the press began to swarm them, most of their questions were about the mysterious masked figure who helped capture Block Buster.

"Masked Matterhorn! Any comments on this mysterious new hero?"

"Do the Power Ponies have some competition in Maretropolis?"

"Ponies please!" Masked Matterhorn shouted, calming down the crowd.

"Recently the team has considered hiring new recruits due to the rise in crime here in the city and so we'd like to present our newest member um..."

"Dread Wing." Hum Drum whispered over the com link.

"Dread Wing!!"

Just like a movie star making a grand entrance, Dread Wing swooped down from the shadows and wrapped his wings around him like a cape. Needles to say the crowd was in awe.

"Mister Dread Wing! how does it feel to be a member of the most famous super heroes ever?"

"Why do you wear that mask?"

"The better question is: Who are you really?" A voice shot out from the crowd. It was Ink Well standing next to Waller.

"Miss Ink Well is right Dread Wing. The people deserve to see the face behind the mask." Waller winked as Matterhorn nodded in approval. Without a moments hesitation Dread Wing slowly removed his helmet and all over the kingdom. Ponies saw Prince Midnight standing with The Power Ponies.

"Prince Midnight! Aren't you worried that criminals will now try to target your family?"

"Let them try. Don't forget I was the one who took down Mane-iac so I'll ask all the scum bags out there this one question: Who do you fear more? the mask? or the pony behind it?" With that Midnight placed his helmet back on and gave a quick salute before taking off, leaving the press asking more questions while unknown to the rest of the world a mysterious figure had been observing the young prince.

"Interesting. You did well in training him...brother."

End of Part 7