Chapters 1945
The bar was filled with people celebrating a day none of them would ever forget. It had only been a week since the president declared World War ll over and people were still celebrating through the streets. In the middle of the crowded bar sat a lonely pilot. He sat there mindlessly writing down on his journal.
Getting sidetracked by his writing was a common occurrence for the purple skinned pilot. When he gets like this no one is able to break him out of it. Then Chow appeared.
"Hey, Stellar!" Chow shouted into his right ear. The pilots concentration broke and jumped out of his seat in fright. He rubbed his ear In pain from the shouting at close range, his ear still ringing.
"Chow, what was that for!" Stellar said in anger.
"You were stuck in your journal for the fiftieth time again. The wars over, Stellar, you should be celebrating with all these people!" Chow suggested, motioning towards the crowd.
"I don't feel like it." He said. Chow grinned and shook his head, sitting down on the stool beside Stellar.
"Come on, Stellar, you and I both know you like to party." Chow said.
"So lets put away that journal and have a drink with your ole war buddy, Chow." He said, snapping his fingers. Then two glasses popped into existence getting a reaction from Stellar. Stellar looked around the bar with worry, hoping no one saw what Chow did.
"You're lucky no one saw that." Stellar said, relaxing back into his seat.
"Ah, stop worrying about me getting caught. You know what I can do." Chow said.
"What are you writing in there anyway?" Chow asked.
"Can't you read my mind?" Stellar replied.
"I can, but that would be considered rude. Come on, tell me." Chow pleaded.
"I've been thinking about everything that's happened to me. When you showed up, What you said, what you've done, what you are?"
"I want to know why me?"
"You already know how we met, I bumped into yo-"
"You don't exist anywhere, Chow. I checked your background using everything you told me in the past. There is no record of you in anything before joining the military. So tell me why you chose me?" Stellar demanded. Chow stared down at the table infront of him in silence. With heavy restraint Chow broke his silence and spoke to Stellar Skies.
"You're going to leave this bar and get approached by a man in a suit. He'll give you a card and tell you about a secret agency and walk away. You'll read the card and by the time you see it he'll have already been gone. the next day you would drive to the address written on the card and you will a agency built to prevent home or international disasters, at least thats what you thought it would be. But only the higher ups know that the real agencys mission is to prevent magical occurences and disasters all before the public find out. In that agency you'll meet somebody. she'll become your girlfriend and later, your wife." Chow said. Stellar just sat there in silence, wide eyed. He was completely dumbfounded by what he was hearing.
"I didn't want to tell you this because I thought it would mean you wouldn't join the agency, thereby preventing what I was trying to accomplish. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I just couldn't risk you not joining the agency." Chow said, guiltily. Stellar sat there in silence, trying to process it all. Chow looked down at the table in regret, not saying a word. It was Stellars turn to snap Chow out of it. He grabbed the glass, Chow had created and started drinking it.
"If the future me would've gone back in time to the moment I get the card outside like you said, would he have let it happen?" Stellar asked. Chow heard what he had said and looked at Stellar in confusion. His face was as serious as it could get. Chow smiled and answered his question.
"He would let it happen a thousand times over." Chow replied. Stellar looked at Chow and nodded, getting up out of his chair.
"Then it's good enough for me." Stellar said, getting his coat on.
"is this the last time I'll see you?" He asked, stopping.
"if you ever need my help. You know where to find me." Chow said, flicking a coin towards Stellar. Stellar caught the coin in his hand and looked at it. He raised an eyebrow when he saw a picture of himself in an Abraham Lincoln costume. He smiled and looked up, only to see an empty seat and a crowd of people still inside.
"The quarter doesn't have Lincoln on it, Chow."
And so Stellar Skies turned towards the door and stared at it. He thought back on everything thats happened to him and Chow and realized this was only the beginning. He walked towards the door and walked outside. Sure enough he saw a man in a suit begin to approach him. he took a breath and slowly nodded his head.
"I'm ready."
Present Day
Starlight stared at the screen very closely. She'd been watching the video over and over again for the past ten minutes. It was a bank robbery, or an attempt at a bank robbery. Two men pointed guns at the crowd while two other men drilled into the metal vault. They're features were covered up by black clothes and white masks. The robbers had just nearly finished drilling until the two men facing the crowd were abducted by a blue flash of light zooming past them. The leader heard screams and turned around.
"Where'd they go? Where are they!" He demanded, aiming at the crowd. The light zoomed by again, taking vault drill operator with it. The leader turned around again when the drill went silent. The leader looked around, completely confused.
"What the hell is going on!" He shouted. before being taken by the light. The video then ended. The report had said the four robbers were found covered in tape, strapped onto four chairs. This whole ordeal had gone on for eight minutes, and ended in one. This wasn't the only footage they had of the blur. A total of fifty six street and store cameras had caught the blue flash of light leaving the crime scene immediately after. Starlight had looked at every single camera and failed to discover what it was. Not even their attempts at slowing down the footage yield any results. Whatever it was not even the cameras could capture it fully.
She looked at the footage with a defeated look. There was nothing she could do to find out what it was. The more she thought of ways to find out the blur, the more her mind drifted to the small object in her desk. Each time she thought of that coin she'd tell herself no. She had hoped the warning Chow gave to Norman would've happened in atleast a year, but now? It was too soon. With a sigh, she opened the drawer and saw Chow's coin sitting on top of the picture of her father, Stellar Skies. It was a nice gift from Chow that made a smile come out of her everytime she saw it. But that didn't make things easier for Starlight.
"But what if it's a one time event and has nothing to do with the warning?" Starlight thought to herself.
She didn't want to deal with a stressful event like this while her pregnancy was just starting to be obvious. No one in the Agency even knows yet. She looked at her desk and saw her stress ball sitting next to her family photo and grabbed it. The ball was a gift from her son after noticing how stressed she felt after work. She didn't think she'd ever use it, but nowaday's she can't stop using it. After a minute, she felt better and rubbed her forehead with her hand.
Starlight looked at the coin in her desk with heavy restraint. She was unsure if what was happening in the world was the event that Chow warned. But after all the eyewitness reports of mysterious sightings she could deny it no longer. She grabbed the coin and flipped it in the air. She stared at the coin in what felt like slow motion. She watched the coin fall to the ground, only to be caught by a blue hand.
The city of Canterlot was busy as usual. The school hour had ended which meant a huge traffic jam had built up. For many of the students and parent drivers leaving Crystal Prep, it was an annoying part of their day. And for most of them it was a waste of their time. One of these students was Sunny Flare and her friend/partner, Stellar Glimmer, her bosses son. To the kids at Crystal Prep they were normal teenagers, but secretly they were part of a secret organization created to prevent magical disasters.
At this time after school they'd head back to the Agency to work. Unfortunately they were one of the many cars stuck in the traffic jam. Stellar had his eyes closed and laid on the passenger seat, arms behind his head. Sunny Flare was driving and couldn't do what Stellar was doing which made her jealous. She wished it was his turn to drive.
"At least it isn't hot." She thought, looking up at the sky through the window. some of the sky was blue while most of it was covered in clouds.
She looked back at the traffic in front of her and felt annoyed. She honked the car horn in frustration, causing Stellar to jump a little in his seat.
"Can't these cars move already?"
"It's a traffic jam, Sunny. Nothing's gonna change that."
"I just wish it would go faster." Sunny Flare said, dropping her head onto the steering wheel.
"We're a mile away from the Agency, we'll get there when we get there." Stellar assured her. Then she heard a rumbling from behind the car. She felt the car vibrate and removed her head from the steering wheel. Stellar had felt the vibration and straightened himself.
"What's going on?" Stellar asked.
"I don't know. Earthquake?" Sunny Flare guessed.
"There's no fault line in Canterlot." Stellar informed her. Sunny ignored Stellars correction and looked at her side view mirror and saw a blue blur in the distance zooming by at an incredible speed. The blur had quickly ran by the car, causing the vibrating to settle down. The blur left behind a trail of smoke and the sound of a jet flying by.
The other drivers had saw the object zoom by and proceeded to get out of their cars in confusion. Sunny Flare and Stellar did the same and looked at the blue blur zoom off the highway and into the neighborhoods. Sunny Flare turned her head towards Stellar, who was looking at the area the blur had zoomed towards.
"So would that count as an excuse to turn the sirens on?" Sunny asked, Stellar nodded his head and grinned. They both got into the car and turned the sirens on, prompting everybody to get in their cars and get out of the way. They got about ten cars ahead before getting caught in traffic again.
What Sunny Flare and Stellar didn't know about the blur was that they knew more about it than they thought. Because the blur was secretly a student at Crystal Prep Academy. The blur had left Crystal Prep earlier and was heading towards the home she lived in. The blur had left the highway and turned towards a neighborhood that was very nice looking. It zoomed past the houses and stopped at a cyan colored 2-story house. The blur zoomed into the backyard and entered the house through the backdoor.
This was the routine she had always done for the past few days ever since the day her powers showed up. She'd get home from school and relax for a few hours and then go into the city to stop a few crimes she'd see.
She walked into the house and stretched, cracking her knuckles. She took off her backpack in an instant and plopped it down on the floor. She'd pick it up later. Right now she would happily go upstairs and lay on her be-
"Indigo Zap." A voice called out to her. Indigo stopped what she was doing and turned her head towards the couch. Sitting on the couch was a purple skinned woman with bangs and a ponytail. And to be honest, had a little weight on her.
"Uh... Who are you and why are you in my house?" Indigo Zap asked, clenching her fists. She squinted her eyes to try and see her intruder and thought she had seen her before.
"Wait a minute, you're that lady who gave the alien speech on tv."
"So you know who I am?" Starlight asked.
"Yeah, you're, uh, Madame Glamour." She said. Starlight smiled and shook her head.
"Starlight Glimmer. I'm the leader of an Agency that prevents catastrophic disasters from happening in America." She explained.
"Cool..." Indigo said, disappearing in a flash. Starlight raised her eyes and looked around the house. She turned around and saw Indigo Zap looking at her wallet.
"All checks out." She said, looking at Starlights identity. Starlight quickly swiped her wallet off of Indigo's hands and glared at her.
"Sorry, I just needed to know if you were really her." She explained. Starlight continued to glare at her and spoke up.
"We need to talk about your powers."
"If you want to know where I got super speed then I can't help you there. One day I didn't have it, the next day I did." Indigo shrugged.
"How you got them doesn't matter right now. I want you to come with me to the Agency."
"Whoa, wait. Go somewhere, with you? I don't know a thing about you?" Indigo said, raising her eye.
"I can tell you everything about me on the way there. We just need to go to the Agency."
"Why should I go with you to the Agency? I don't wanna become some science experiment."
"You won't be experimented on by anybody. The reason I want you to come with me to the Agency is because I need your help finding others like you." Starlight explained, getting Indigo's interest.
"Others like me?"
"How many have you found already?"
"Just you so far." Starlight answered.
"But what about the people that fought at the Gold tower?" Indigo asked. Starlight almost answered but hesitated as she tried to think out her answer. The thought of the life they lost that night went through her head. She quickly threw that aside and answered Indigo Zap.
"They're at the Agency. One of them at least. We lost the other that night if you remember." Starlight answered as best she could. Indigo Zap nodded and remembered looking out her window when she saw the giant explosion in the sky.
"So if I come with you will I get to meet him?" Indigo asked, hoping she could meet someone like her. Starlight seemed to hesitate but she nodded her head.
"Then I'll go with you to the Agency. I just really want to meet somebody who's like me." Indigo said, Starlight nodded her head and smiled. She stood up with Indigo and the two of them walked outside to her car.
"Wait. Gotta lock up first." She said, zooming back into the house and back out side in a second. Starlight quietly admired Indigo Zap in her head.
"With a power like hers, hopefully finding the rest will be easy." She thought.
"All right, lets go." Indigo Zap said. Starlight and Indigo got in the car and buckled up. Starlight turned on the engine and drove to the Agency with Indigo Zap.
Norman was sitting at his desk in an empty classroom. The school had ended hours ago. But as a teacher, it was his job to stay behind and check the students homework. He wasn't completely alone in the classroom. His sister, Bonbon sat in a chair beside Norman. She was helping him check the homework also. The two had been chatting about the students good and horrible answers for the history test earlier that day and were talking about their days.
Life had returned to normal for the two of them since the incident. Ever since the Agency went public, people had been asking questions across the world. There were riots across the world for the first few days. Then the world settled down and went on its business. The greatest discovery in the history of mankind happened and people went back to work. The Agency had managed to keep the public unaware of the magical girls at the school. To the world, Canterlot High was a normal school and that's what Norman hopes it will always be.
The two of them had finished checking the work and decided to leave the school. They turned everything off and left the building. They continued talking to each other towards their car. They were completely unaware of the portal that had opened up inside the school. Inside the portal was a dark jungle with twisted dark wood rising out into the sky. A small dark creature was staring at the portal with curious red eyes. It looked inside the portal and saw the dark halls of the school. It's eyes glowed a intense red and quickly crawled through the portal and into the schools dark hallway. The portal behind it immediately closed, but the creature was too preoccupied by its new surroundings to notice.
The creature raised its insect head into the air and looked around. It's sharp vision allowed it to see in the dark. It switched its vision with a fold that covered its red eyes. With this change in vision the creature was able to see in infrared. It looked around for any heat source and saw nothing, it switched back to its normal red eyes and started exploring.
The creature looked around the dark hallways and crawled towards the front entrance. It looked up at the ceiling and realized how big the place was compared to it. It crawled around and looked at everything inside. Then it heard a car engine start up, causing it to jolt up. It screeched and moved into a defensive position. It's tail raised high into the air, showing off its four horns on the tip. The horns folded together and formed a spear like tip on its tail. When it realized it wasn't under attack, it looked for the source of the sound. It spranged into action when it saw a light in the distance. The creature quickly realized that it came from outside and screeched. It crawled towards the doors with its six dragonfly-like legs.
It looked around and saw through the glass doors leading outside. It crawled to the door and watched as a car drove out the parking lot. It's red eyes stared at the car with a infrared vision and picked up the cars heat source. The creature mouth opened, dripping saliva onto the floor. It wanted that car. The creature roared and charged the door. It hit the door with a thud. The door didn't break, so it kept trying. And trying. And trying. And trying.
With one final charge the creature had managed to break the glass and quickly crawled toward the empty parking lot. The creature stared up at the light posts lighting up the parking lot. It leaped onto the pole and quickly crawled towards the light. It's body covered the light and created a shadow of its self on the floor. It stared at the light and opened its mouth, revealing a set of fangs. It sinked its fangs into the light and was zapped. Sparks flew out the lamp as the creature continued to absorb the light. The creature absorbed all it's electricity and stopped. When it finished feeding, it's body grew in size. The creature then jumped off and screeched. It stood motionless on the ground as it's body grew two new limbs on its back. When it finished growing it spread its new limbs far out. Then a set of dragonfly wings sprouted out the limbs. The creature roared again and jumped high into the sky, its wings activating.
The creature looked around its new surroundings and could see energy sources all over. The sight of it all made the creature drip its saliva. It screeched again and flew into the clouds for cover. Then it saw it in the distance with its enhanced vision. it saw a huge energy source towards the mountains. The creature screeched again and flew off into the distance towards the mountains, towards Canterlot's nuclear power plant.
Starlight and Indigo Zap had made it to the Agency. At the moment they were sitting in the car talking to each other.
"How did you build this without getting people's attention?" Indigo asked, looking at the huge underground parking garage.
"The Agency was built here before the city expanded to cover the area." Starlight explained.
"Wow. You guys are old." She said.
"Indigo, before we go in I need to establish some rules."
"Lay them on me."
"First, you cannot tell anyone where this Agency is. No telling your parents, friends, or the internet." Starlight said, with authority. Indigo nodded her head in agreement. She expected that to be the first rule.
"Second, don't act like a fool. And third, you listen to everything we say or tell you to do. Got it?" Starlight asked, solemnly. Indigo nodded her head and answered.
"Got it. I'll listen to whatever you say." Indigo said, giving her a salute. Starlight narrowed her eyes at her in suspicion. She accepted the response and proceeded to get out the car. When she closed the door, Indigo was already standing beside her.
"That won't get annoying." Starlight thought to herself.
They walked to the building in the center of the garage and entered the elevator. Indigo Zap was quiet on outside but on the inside she was barely keeping in her excitement. Ever since she saw the broadcast on tv, she wanted to meet the electric man that had apparently fought a evil alien after getting powers from said alien. It wasn't like she had never gotten close to seeing people like her before. The Friendship Games quickly entered her thoughts as she remembered what her friends had told her happened. They told her about a girl named Twilight Sparkle had turned into a flying purple demon and some girl from the other school turned into a angel and talked to her.
She didn't believe it for a second. A girl turning into a flying demon was very far fetched. Although the principal was arrested for blackmail the day after. So something had to have happened that day. She wished she was there to see it for herself. She had unfortunately been struck by a random sickness the day before.
But this afternoon, things were finally gonna change. She'd meet the electric guy and finally have someone to talk to about her powers. She held her excitement as the elevator moved farther and farther underground. And when it finally stopped, she had a huge smile on her face.
When the doors had finally opened she gasped at how huge the place was. The building was so tall that she could see five stories up. The elevator lead her on a straight bridge that went all the way to the wall. The bridge had two stairs that went down both sides and two more paths that split into offices at the end. To her right was a huge amount of computers with Agents typing away on their keyboards. On the wall next to them was huge Tv's that were broadcasting every channel. To her left was even more Agents typing away on computers. The whole place was decorated with a futuristic white color. White lights were lighting up the entire building from the ceiling. The place was exactly like Indigo thought it would look like.
"Follow me." Starlight commanded, walking towards the offices. Indigo followed her while looking around.
She looked at every single Agent on the computers and examined their faces. One was typing away with zero distraction, while another one was laying back in his chair typing with one hand. As she looked at all the Agents she noticed a rather tall Agent silently, leaning on a wall. He seemed to be staring off into space with his arms crossed. He looked out of place with all the Agents who were working. She wondered who he was. Starlight had noticed who Indigo was staring at and quickly stopped. She turned to the balcony and made herself known.
"Agents." She said, with authority. The Agents had looked up at her in unison and saluted her.
"Madame." They said, together. Starlight and the Agent looked at each other. She motioned with her eyes at Indigo Zap, getting the Agents attention. He nodded his head and walked out the room. Indigo Zap had been caught off guard by the announcement that she didn't notice the Agent had disappeared. Indigo looked at the Agents and decided to salute as well.
"At ease." Starlight said. The Agents immediately went back to work like nothing happened.
"Wow." Indigo whispered, her respect for Starlight increasing. Indigo looked back towards the wall where she saw the Agent and noticed he was gone. She raised her eyes and looked around the place. The Agent had disappeared.
"Where did he..." Indigo muttered. Starlight heard her and asked.
"Where did what?" She asked, staring at Indigo. Indigo looked around and gave up.
"It was nothing." Indigo replied, shrugging her shoulders.
The two of them reached the end of the path and turned right. They walked to a door and went through, leading to a small office. Starlight's office. Indigo Zap sped through the office and sat on a spinning chair infront of Starlight's desk.
"This is your office?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Just seems...boring." Indigo said, picking up a picture frame on Starlight's desk. She looked at the photo and saw Starlight and a orange guy standing next to three kids that resembled the two of them. Indigo realized she was looking at Starlight's family photo.
"She's married?" Indigo thought, just now noticing the ring on Starlight's finger. She looked at their kids and examined every detail. The youngest in the photo was a short happy orange boy who looked eight years old. The middle child was a purple girl with straight magenta hair with a sliver of green on the left side. She had black dimmed glasses and her smile revealed that she had braces. She looked at least ten in the photo. Then she looked at the oldest in the photo. He was purple like Starlight, but had black hair. He was standing with his parents, crossing his arms with a slight smile on his face. He looked about eighteen in the photo. Indigo Zap dropped her mouth in realization. He was one of her friends at Crystal Prep.
"Ronin? Ronin is your son?" Indigo asked, in shock. Starlight nodded her head and smiled.
"Ronin was at Crystal Prep during the Friendship Games. He told me everything that happened so I'd be able to cover it up. That's why it never made news." She explained.
"So that's why I never found anything online." Indigo said, recalling her prievous attempts to find anything online.
"So how did you find me?"
"We found you by using this." Starlight answered, pulling out a list from her desk. She handed it to Indigo who quickly read its contents. The list was filled with names, pictures, and a description of their powers. Indigo recognized a few of the names on there from her school. The list had used their yearbook photos for their profiles. Indigo looked at Starlight in confusion.
"How did you get this?"
"It was given to us by a very powerful alien. One, who you might get to meet someday."
"Wow." Indigo said in amazement.
Outside the Agency, the sun had set behind the mountains. Night had formed across the city. At this time, families would be leaving work and heading home to get ready for dinner. Cars had filled the highways once again. The amount of energy being emitted from the city was enough to get the creature to moan in excitement. It had never seen such a buffet before in it's life. It flew to a construction site outside the city limits and was eating the generator lighting up the site.
It's black insectile body grew even more. It's wings expanding farther and farther apart. The length of its fangs grew even bigger as well. When it finished eating, the site was enveloped by darkness. Causing the construction workers at the site to stop working. They huddled together towards a mobile home and took flashlights from inside.
"Woods what happened to the power?" A worker yelled.
"I don't know. Let me check." Woods replied, walking towards the generator. The creature quickly hopped off the machinery and hid in the shadows. It saw the worker walks towards the generator and watched. The worker flashed his light at the generator and dropped his jaw in disbelief.
"Holy shi- Hammer call the police!"
"Why?" Hammer asked, walking up to woods.
"Someone beat the crap out the generator." Woods explained, lighting up the two holes that went deep into the generators electronics.
"Who could've done that?" Hammer said in wonder.
"Hell if I know." Woods said, having no clue what happened.
The creature watched with its blank emotionless stare and watched the workers talk to each other. It backed up to hide and accidentally snapped a twig. The workers raising both their flashlights towards the sound.
"Hey, the asshole's still here." Woods said.
"Lets get em!" Hammer replied. Woods nodded his head and the two of them rushed to the source of the sound. The creature then spread its wings and started to hover above them.
The workers had stopped and looked at the area they heard the twig from and looked around with there flashlights. The two had saw nothing and had walked into a wall. Hammer scratched his head in confusion.
"Where could they have gone? The wall here is fifteen feet." Woods asked, looking at the concrete blocking their way. Hammer then heard a sticky wet sound drop and land on clothes. Hammer turned his head towards Woods and saw some type of drool had fell onto his shoulder.
"Woods, your shoulder." Hammer said. Woods looked at his right shoulder and looked at in disgust, trying to wipe it off with his gloves. Then they both heard a growl above them. The workers both looked up with their flashlights and saw two red eyes and a black insect body drooling at them. The two workers screamed, while the creature screeched and jumped towards them. The creatures screeching echoing through the construction site.
Back at the Agency, it was around dinner time.for Indigo Zap. She had left Starlights office and had searched for the mess hall to get some food. Indigo smiled when she found the mess hall. There was already a ton of Agents sitting down on tables, eating dinner. She walked past the many Agents sitting down and had gotten her food. The chef had asked what she wanted and quickly went to work. Indigo's jaw dropped when she saw the beautiful display of food on her tray. The steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli on the tray looked good and cooked to perfection.
She thanked the chef and looked for a seat. The tables were filled with Agents that she couldn't recognize Ronin in any of them. Then she saw him again. The tall red Agent sat alone on a table. His height had made him super obvious to see. Indigo wondered who he was and why he was sitting alone. She took this as a chance to find out who he was and walked towards his table.
The Agent that sat there had already sensed that someone was heading his way. He turned his head and saw a teenager he recognized wasn't in the Agency staring at him. He recognized her as the teen that was with Starlight earlier that evening. She looked like she wanted to sit next to him and stopped when he stared. He narrowed his eyes at her for a few seconds, then he shrugged and made space for her. Indigo smiled at sat on the seat to the left of the him.
She took this time to look at him. He was tall and red. That much she could tell. His hair was straight and was completely black. His muscles were huge and took up much more space.
He had continued eating and didn't say a word. Indigo sat there in silence as well and ate her food. The two of them quietly ate for a few minutes until Indigo decided to break the ice.
"The foods great here." She stated. She hoped to get a response from him that'll give her anything to go by.
"..."
She sighed when she got nothing out of him. She decided to try harder.
"I didn't think the food would be great here, but this steak is delicious." She said, hoping he would atleast agree. He still said nothing and continued eating. She sighed again and tried to think of something else to say. She then realized she never introduced herself. She continued her attempts to get him to talk.
"I don't think I told you my name. My name is-" she interrupted by the man's deep voice.
"Indigo Zap." He said, finishing her sentence. She stopped what she was doing and looked at him in surprise. His voice was unexpectedly deep it had caught her off guard. She raised an eyebrow when he said her name correctly.
"You know who I am?"
"I saw you walking with Starlight Glimmer earlier today."
"But how did you know my name if you've never seen me?" She said, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"Starlight Glimmer told me." He answered, continuing to eat. Indigo didn't accept that as a answer, but didn't question it. She ate her food and thought about why he was here.
"Why are you sitting here all alone?" She wondered.
"The Agents I sit with aren't here." He answered.
"Oh."
"Why are you sitting here with me?" He asked, taking a sip from a cup to his left.
"I saw you earlier, staring at the Agents. I guess I wanted to know what you were all about." She answered. He stopped eating and stared off into space for a moment. He made an audible groan and asked her a question.
"Has anyone told you about me?"
"No. I've only been here with Madame Glimmer. Why?" Indigo asked.
"Not a lot of Agents sit here with me."
"Why?"
"It's because of something that happened...at the event. I'd prefer not to talk about it. Why are you here?" He asked, trying to change the subject.
"Why am I here? Well, I guess it's because I have powers."
"Powers?"
"Yeah. I can go really fast. One time, I stopped a bank robbery in one minute."
"So that was you on tv?" He asked.
"Yup." She said, feeling proud of herself.
"But that's not the only reason why I'm here." Indigo said.
"Oh?"
"Ever since I got these powers I've been thinking of the flying blue guy that fought the huge demon guy at the top of the Gold Tower. I remember watching the footage on live tv. He looked so awesome fighting that scary horned guy. Watching him fight with lightning was so cool. Then watching the footage of him saving the news helicopter. I knew then that I had to meet him." Indigo said, remembering the scenes on tv with a smile. Indigo looked at the Agent and noticed he seemed way more uncomfortable than before. Nevertheless, she continued.
"That's why I'm really here. I want to meet him, but I haven't been able to find him in this place." Indigo said, looking out at the crowd of Agents. The Agent sat silently, a sadness forming in his face.
"You won't find him here, Indigo Zap." He said, finishing his dinner.
"Why?" Indigo asked in confusion. Indigo turned back and saw the Agent standing up.
"Whats wrong? What do you mean I won't find him here?"
"I'm sorry." He said, before walking away. Indigo Zap watched him as he walked out of the mess hall and into the offices. She stood up herself and wanted to find him, then the alarms rang. She jumped in surprise, not expecting the noise. The Agents around her quickly got out of their seats and headed towards a door. Indigo walked towards them but was stopped by Starlight shouting her name.
"Indigo, get over here!" She yelled. Indigo dropped her plate and stood in front of Starlight in an instant.
"What's going on?"
"Something's happening outside, follow me." Starlight said, walking through the hallway behind her. Indigo quickly followed behind. A door next to Starlight opened revealing two Agents that Indigo recognized immediately.
"Ronin? Sunny Flare, your a Agent here, too?" Indigo said in confusion. Sunny Flare turned her head in confusion and saw Indigo.
"Zap, what are you doing here?" Sunny asked.
"Indigo Zap is one of the Uniques." Starlight explained. Sunny and Ronin both looked back at Indigo in surprise.
"You have magic?" Ronin asked.
"Uh, I don't know anything about magic, but i've got super speed. Anyways, what's a Unique and what’s happening outside?"
"A Unique is a codename for people with magical powers. And the police got a call about a giant bug attacking workers at a construction site."
"Magical powers? Giant bug? What is going on here?" Indigo asked in confusion.
"Indigo, I promise I'll explain everything later. Right now, we need to focus on the situation."
They entered the computer room where the Agents were looking at the giant screen on the wall. The Tv was on a news channel, where there was blurry footage of a police shootout against a giant bug going on. Indigo looked at the blurry image in disbelief. The bug was black with dragonfly-like. It's it's body was in the shape of a beetle. On its head was two red eyes that looked scary. On the very top of its head was a beetle like horn, shooting a beam at a police car. The camera guy captured the police car getting enveloped by electricity before exploding just fifteen feet from him. The camera then went static and the station went back to the reporter sitting on his desk.
"That's not good." Sunny said. Starlight said nothing and quickly walked towards the stairs. Ronin and Sunny walked beside her, while Indigo was in the back.
"What should we do, Madame." Ronin asked.
"Head out there with Sunny. We cannot have a creature like that causing destruction in a populated city. Lethal force is allowed." Starlight commanded. Ronin and Sunny nodded their heads and headed towards the armory. They stopped when they heard Starlight say something.
"Ronin, take Indigo Zap with you."
"But she doesn't have any training, Madame." Ronin protested.
"Indigo Zap can move faster than sound , you'll need her to provide a distraction. You know what to do if you can't fight it." Starlight ordered. Ronin was about to protest, but he stopped himself. He nodded his head and pointed his finger at Indigo to follow. Sunny Flare and Indigo walked into the armory with Ronin behind them.
"Oh, and Ronin. Be careful." Starlight said, with motherly concern. Ronin looked back and nodded.
"I'll try." He said.
The three school friends sat silently in the car. Ronin was busy driving, Sunny was checking all the guns, Indigo had her arms crossed and looked at the Agents with betrayal.
"So, you're... Agents?” Indigo said. Ronin and Sunny glanced at each other and answered.
"We are." Sunny said.
"Why didn't you say anything?" She questioned.
"We're secret Agents, Indigo. Emphasis on secret." Ronin said.
"So? I wouldn't have told anyone."
"When we got assigned to Crystal Prep we were suppose to leave as soon as the job was done."
"What even was the job?"
"We noticed an anomaly had popped up in the school so we were sent to investigate. When the job was done we decided we would spend the rest of the school year there." Sunny explained. That didn't satisfy Indigo, who continued her questioning.
"Is Ronin and Sunny Flare even your real names?" She asked. Indigo noticed Sunny and Ronin exchange glances through the front mirror and groaned in annoyance.
"Ronin is a fake name. I didn't change mine." Sunny answered.
"Well at least I know someone's real name." She said, looking at Ronin. Ronin pursed his lips in annoyance and shook his head.
"My name is Stellar Sky Jr.. My mom is Starlight Glimmer. And before you ask, I was named after my grandfather." Ronin answered.
"Thank you." Indigo said before realizing what he said.
“Wait, your mom is the Madame?”
"Enough about asking us why we didn't say anything. Why didn't you say you had super speed?" Ronin exclaimed.
"Because I didn't want to end up like the frogs in biology! I was afraid if I told anyone that they would call the police on me. You saw those riots the first few days after the Incident!" Indigo shouted.
"Now you know how we feel." Sunny said.
"And besides if my mom and dad find out, they'd kill me." Indigo said, sinking into her seat. Her eyes shrank when she suddenly realized she never told her parents where she was.
"Oh no! My moms gonna kill me! She doesn't like when I leave the house without her permission combined with missing dinner! I'm screwed!" Indigo exclaimed, freaking out in her seat.
"Relax, Indigo, relax. When this is over I'll help you make up an excuse."
"Thank you, Ronin." Indigo said, feeling less worried than before. She sunk back into her seat and laid there for a few minutes. Then the car came to a stop. Indigo got up and looked outside.
"Are we there?" Indigo asked, sticking her head between Ronin and Sunny.
"It should be?" Ronin said. They looked out the front window and saw the dark construction site in front of them. They saw the empty police cars infront of them, but saw nobody in sight. There wasn't a single sound coming from the construction site. The silence filled them with unease.
"This is the place." Ronin answered.
"But it's so quiet." Sunny said.
"You don't think the bug....killed them all, do you?"
"I don't know what to think right now."
"Come on. Whatever happened we got to find civilians and stomp this bug." Ronin said, exiting the vehicle. Ronin and Sunny walked with guns fully loaded, Indigo Zap quickly zoomed outside and hid behind them.
They walked inside the construction site and looked around. They walked past the burned police car and searched for anybody. They reached the broken generator and looked at it.
"This things huge." Indigo said, looking at the two dents its fangs had made. She trailed off and went walking away from the Agents.
"What was it doing to the generator?" Sunny asked.
"It looks like it was feeding off it. Maybe it can absorb energy." Ronin hypothesized.
"Maybe." Sunny said, looking at drool on the ground with a flashlight.
Indigo Zap had wandered off from the Agents and looked around. To her left was a mobile home with a broken door and a strange sticky green web holding it. Indigo walked closer to investigate and was tempted to touch it. She opted to use a stick instead and poked it. She tried to pull the stick off the web, but couldn't get it off. She struggled to pull it off and stood her ground. She fell onto the dirt when the stick broke in half.
She rubbed her face and groaned. She stood back up and looked at the web in wonder.
"Where did you come from?" She asked the web. She decided to look around again to search for more clues and walked towards the building. When she got close to the building she thought she heard some mumbling. She looked around to see if Ronin and Sunny were next to her, but didn't see them.
"Whats that sound?" She thought. She walked to the buildings wall and pulled out a flashlight and pressed the button. She gasped in shock by what she saw when she looked up at the side of the wall. The police, reporters, and construction workers were all stuck on the side of the wall, held together by the same sticky green web.They all stared at her with fear, unable to speak.
"Ronin! Sunny! I found them, get over here!" Indigo shouted, getting their attention.
"What the hell happened to them?" Ronin said, looking at them in disbelief. Sunny went to go touch the green web, but was quickly stopped by Indigo's hand.
"Don't touch it! You'll get stuck as well." Indigo said.
"Well we can't leave them like this!" Sunny exclaimed. The three stood there, unaware they were being watched. The people stuck on the building however noticed the black figure sitting at the top of the trees behind them.
"We have to think of something!" Ronin said. The people mumbled as loudly as they could in an attempt to warn them, but failed. It was only when the creature itself snapped a branch on the tree did the three of them notice the creature.
It stared at them with its terrifying red emotionless eyes. It's length was at least fifteen feet long, with a body like a beetle, and wings like a dragonfly. It waved its tail around and snapped its tail claws into a spear, repeatedly. A row of thorns covered its back and had a giant beetle horn at the top of its head. The creature looked at them menacingly. It screeched loudly, causing the three of them to cover their ears. The creature then straightened its tail and like a scorpion and opened its claws, shooting out the green web that held the workers. Ronin and Sunny caught it in time and quickly dodged. Indigo was still recovering from the screech and didn't react in time to dodge the web. The web hit her in the chest and threw her to the wall.
Indigo yelled out in pain and struggled to break free. Ronin and Sunny quickly ran to her side.
"Indigo, are you okay?" Sunny asked with concern.
"Don't touch me. You'll just get stuck with me."
"Well, what do we do?" Sunny asked.
"You're the Agents, remember? Shoot at it." Indigo ordered. Sunny and Ronin nodded their heads and quickly turned around, firing at the creature. Every single shot landed with precise accuracy, piercing the creature's body. The creature screeched in pain when it felt the bullets hit its belly. One of its legs had been shot enough that it fell off with green blood spurting out of it. The creature roared into the sky, and retreated.
"Don't let it get away!" Indigo shouted, trying to break free.
"Sunny, stay with Indigo." Ronin ordered.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Someone's got to follow that thing! I'll get help!" Ronin yelled, running towards the car. He reached the car and watched the creature soar into the sky above him towards the mountains. Ronin wondered why it would go there and quickly opened up the car dashboards map app.
Now was the time for Ronin to start sweating. If what his theory about feeding on energy is true, then the creature was heading straight towards the biggest buffet it'll ever have in its life. A nuclear power plant. Ronin quickly called for help on his phone and followed the creature as fast as he could.
Indigo Zap was still trying to break free from the green web, but couldn't. She groaned and groaned, using all her effort to break the web. She gave up when her face turned red and lost her breathe.
"It's no use. I'm useless."
"Sorry for holding you guys back." Indigo mumbled, leaning on the wall.
"It's not your fault, Indigo. Without you we might not have found these guys." Sunny said, looking up.
"You were going to find them sooner or later. Maybe you'd have already saved the day and killed that bug already."
"Enough with that talk, Indigo. There was nothing we could've done to prevent this." Sunny said, leaning on the wall with her.
"We're both human, we did as best as we could in the situation. There's not much bullets would've been able to do anyway. Me and Ronin would probably be trapped in web as well right now." Sunny said, attempting to make Indigo feel better. Indigo smiled a little and thought about it.
"I guess I did unintentionally distract it by making it shoot at me. Thanks Sunny, I think." Indigo said, looking at Sunny Flare. Sunny nodded her head and was about to speak. Then a flash of yellow blinded the two of them. Sunny held her arm up to block the light from hurting her eyes, while Indigo tightly closed hers. When the light died down, Sunny looked up and saw a tall red Agent staring at them.
"Tauren?" Sunny asked, standing up. Indigo heard the name and opened her eyes. She recognized the red Agent from dinner earlier and looked at him in surprise.
"Who did you expect?" Tauren smiled. His smile dropped when he saw Indigo Zap in the green web.
"Hey, it's you from dinner. I didn't know your name was Tauren." Indigo said. Tauren moved closer towards Indigo and reached his hand out.
"Hey, don't touch the web you'll get stu-Indigo watched as Taurens hand was lit up by a yellow mist and proceeded to touch the web. She felt a warm sensation travel through the web and felt warmer. Then Tauren stuck his hand inside the web and pulled out with all his strength, releasing Indigo Zap. She looked at Tauren with her jaw dropped.
"You're a a- ali-."
"Alien. I know. I'm sorry for not telling you."
Ronin told me what happened here. We need to get these men off of those webs." Tauren commanded.
"How you gonna get them out?"
Easy. I'll aim, you catch." Tauren replied, raising his hand towards the wall. He concentrated and felt the yellow mist form in his hand. In the center of his hand formed a red fireball, that quickly shot and spread into smaller balls and lit up the green web. The amount of heat being placed on the web caused the web to deteriorate, leaving the men to helplessly fall. Thankfully, Indigo Zap was there to catch them all.
Sunny had quickly ran to the men's aid and helped each of them up. Indigo and Tauren stood next to each other and talked.
"Ronin said the creature is heading towards the Nuclear power plant in the mountains if we teleport, we can make it make it there on time."
"Teleport? What do you mean teleport?" Indigo asked.
"Tauren can instantly transport himself and others to any location just by thinking about it." Sunny explained.
"How's that possible?" Indigo asked. Tauren gave a slight smirk and simply replied.
"Magic."
"Riighht." Indigo said, not believing that for a second. The men had all stood up and thanked the group. Tauren stared at them all and gave them an order.
"You're free to go, but do not speak of what happened just now or we will find you. And it won't be pretty." Tauren ordered with a glare that gave Indigo Zap the chills. The men complied and quickly dropped their helmets and ran to their cars.
"Well that was a nice thing to say" Sunny said, sarcastically. Tauren shrugged his shoulders in disagreement.
"Gets the job done." He said, moving towards a clearing.
"Come on, Ronin is already at the power plant. We need to stop that bug before it eats the entire plant." Tauren commanded. Indigo stood up and nodded her head, turning her hands into fists.
"Right." Sunny and Indigo said, with determination. They moved to the clearing with Tauren and asked questions.
"So is there anything I should know before teleporting?" Indigo asked.
"Close your eyes." Tauren said.
"Okay now wha-" Before she could finish Indigo felt a cold chill go through her and she felt like she was floating. Then she felt the ground again and opened her eyes. She knew they made it when she saw the nuclear power plant just infront of her. Indigo thought that was the cooling thing she's ever done in her life.
The three of them composed themselves and searched for the bug. Tauren saw Ronins car and walked to it. The door was knocked off its hinges, but the rest of the car was on fire. On the hood of the car was two large holes. Tauren recognized these holes and knew what kind of bug they were dealing with.
"These holes. I only know one bug that could make this."
"You do?" Indigo asked.
"What is it?" Sunny asked.
"It's a Dragonbeetle. They feed on energy and are known to grow in size each time it's eats." He explained. Indigo raised an eyebrow at him. She wondered who he was and how he knew that thing.
"So if that beetle eats the nuclear plants energy before we can stop it-"
"Then the amount of energy it absorbs would be enough to grow into skyscraper height." Tauren said. Both Sunny and Indigo dropped their mouths in disbelief.
"Well, we can't let that happen!" Indigo exclaimed, freaking out a bit.
"It's not going to happen, Indigo. We won't let it happen." Sunny said, with a serious face. Then they heard a screech in the distance and the sound of gunshots after. They turned their heads towards the sound and saw the creatures shadow on the tower. Indigo looked at the tower with a serious face, clenching her fists. Before Tauren and Sunny could say anything, Indigo had left a trail of dust and a blue streak.
When Indigo ran the whole world had slowed down. In just a second, she circled the whole facility and quickly entered through a backdoor. The alarm was flashing red throughout the building, but Indigo charged through building before it could finish ringing once, causing tons of papers and light objects to fly in her wake. She had quickly zoomed up rows of stairs all the way to the top floor where she knocked the door to the roof down by charging through it. She stopped running and looked around, quickly spotting Ronin.
"Indigo, get down!" Ronin yelled. Indigo ducked and turned her head to see the creature just barely miss where her head was. She quickly jumped away and looked at the creature in shock. It's leg that was shot off had already been replaced by a smaller leg and it's wings had grown twice as long.
Indigo screamed and quickly sped to cover next to Ronin. Ronin fired a barrage of bullets at the bugs face, but they had left no visible effect. Ronin groaned in frustration.
"He's armor is too thick, now. I can't hurt him at all." He said.
"What are we going to do?" Indigo asked with worry. Ronin stuck his head out and looked for the bug. He widened his eyes and stood up when he saw the bug had flown off.
"He left!" Ronin said, running up towards the railing. Indigo followed behind and looked down the building. She watched as the bug tail straightened like a scorpion and started charging electricity towards the tip of its tail. Indigo realized it was charging a laser beam like in the news footage. She looked at where it was aiming and looked down in terror. The Beetle was aiming at Sunny and Tauren, who were unaware the creature was above them.
"Tauren, Sunny, look out!" Indigo screamed, getting their attention. But it was too late, the creature had already charged its beam and fired. Tauren stood in front of Sunny and lifted her up with his magic, throwing her to the side. Indigo watched as the red beam directly hit Tauren and screamed.
"No!" She screamed. She felt tears fall as she watched the only person like her die. She looked at the smoke and hoped he was still alive.
"Tauren!" Sunny screamed, as she stood up. She stared into the smoke and watched as a yellow light began to glow in intensity inside the smoke. Indigo had noticed the light from the roof and watched as the smoke cleared. When it did she finally saw who Tauren really was.
In the smoke was a tall red Minotaur that Indigo recognized as the demon that fought the blue guy on tv. Indigo was too shocked to move, the rest of the world going black. He then looked up at the sky in his true form and stared at Indigo Zap. A fear she didn't know was there had begun to grow. When she stared at the Minotaur in fear it was at that moment she remembered the name given to him in the press conference.
Behemoth.
"Lookout!" Ronin shouted, grabbing her and landing onto the ground. She snapped out of her shock and saw bug drop its tail onto the spot she stood at. She and the creature stared at each other, the bug screeching and drooling at the sight of her. He was hungry.
She heard a roar from the ground and saw Tauren had grabbed the beetles leg with his claws and forced it to fall. He held onto the creature and threw him to the ground, landing in a tree. The whole tree snapped from the weight of the bug and pierced its back. The creature screeched out in pain as it felt the pain from stab wound on its back. It flared its tail around and hit Tauren with it, throwing him to Ronins car. Tauren landed and crushed the car in the middle. He groaned in pain and flared his nostrils.
The creature had recovered and charged at Tauren. Indigo looked down from above and didn't know what to do.
"We've got to help him!" Ronin said. Indigo looked at him in disbelief.
"Thats not Tauren, it's Behemoth!"
"I know!" Ronin said.
"We can't help him!"
"It's not what you think, Indigo. We've got to save him."
"Why?" She exclaimed.
"Indigo, listen. I promise I'll tell you everything but we need to save Tauren!" He said. Indigo stood there having no idea what to do. She wanted to help Tauren, but not Behemoth.
"Where's the electric guy? He should be here not him!"
"He's dead! He died at the incident! I can't tell you why or how, but when this over I'll tell you everything." Ronin pleaded. Indigo stood there in shock and could barely utter a sound. Ronin stared into her eyes and pleaded to her to help him. Indigo wanted to know what happened and nodded her head.
"Okay, I'll help." Indigo stuttered, with complete sadness in her voice. Ronin looked at her and saw her pain. He'd accept that for now.
Ronin looked around again to find anything to help and saw a crane on the left side of the wall.
"The crane!" He said, charging towards the crane. Indigo followed him and awaited his command.
"Get Tauren to lure the bug towards this side of the building. We can trap it with the crane."
"Okay." Indigo nodded, speeding out the building. She made it to ground floor and sped up to Sunny. She was watching as Behemoth and the Beetle were fighting with everything they had.
Behe- Tauren, get it to the other side of the building! Ronins gonna use the crane!"
"Got it!" He yelled, holding the creature opened jaws with his hands. He threw the Beetle to the other side of the building as instructed and continued the fight over there.
"What's the plan?" Sunny asked.
"I'm not sure. Something with a crane." Indigo said, completely serious. She zoomed off before Sunny could say anything and appeared back on the roof.
"All ready. I hope you know what your doing, Ronin."
"Come on, it's just like the claw machine at the mall."
"You were terrible at it."
"No I wasn't, those things are rigged. But this... this'll be a breeze." He said, lining up the hook.
Tauren had dealt heavy damage to the bug. He had managed to rip off two of its legs and its beetle horn. As the fight went on, Tauren could see the crane above them and its sharp steel hook. That's when Tauren realized what Ronin's plan was.
Tauren roared and punched the bug in the face and used his magic to hold it down on top of him. Indigo looked down and saw the bug was on top of Tauren, giving him a clean shot.
"Ronin, its right under them! Drop it!" Indigo ordered.
"Thanks Indigo.." He smiled, dropping the hook. Tauren watched the hook drop and smiled. The creature screeched as it tried to fly away from Taurens magical grasp but was stopped by the pain it felt by the hook going straight through its back and belly. The creature cried out in pain and squirmed on top of Tauren. It moved with as effort it could make, growing weaker and weaker. Blood began to spurt out of its mouth and onto Tauren. Tauren held out for as long as he could with his magic. As the creature grew slower and slower it made its final roar. It's emotionless red eyes went black and its head fell down. The bug was dead.
Feeling no strain from the bug anymore, Tauren let go of his magic and took a deep breath. He grabbed its head and pushed its body off of his. The immense weight lifting off him. He laid there in silence for a minute before Indigo Zap and the Agents arrived. Sunny and Ronin looked at him with a smile and the feeling of victory. But Indigo Zap stood separate from them. He could tell she was relieved it was over but she still feared him. Tauren closed his eyes and concentrated, reverting back to his human form.
"Indigo Zap, I-"
"I don't want to hear it." Indigo said. Sunny and Ronin felt the awkwardness and tried to stop it.
"I think I owe you an explanation when we get back to the Agency." Ronin said. Indigo gave him a stern look and nodded.
"A big one." She replied.
"Indigo, do you still want to help us find others like you?" Sunny asked
"If it means helping others like me, then yes." Indigo replied.
"That's all I needed to hear." Sunny smiled.
"Welcome to the Agency, then." Tauren said, trying to smile. Indigo glared at him and didn't say anything.
"Hurray..." Sunny said, awkwardly.
Author's Note
So after writing this all on a sad Sunday night in august I decided to post it all. This will be my new focus for however long it takes to complete this.
If you see any mistakes like spelling or grammar please tell me. I hope you enjoyed the first episode because I plan to write more in the future.
Crystal Prep
"I wonder if my car is out of the shop?"
Sour Sweet looked up from her desk and turned her head. The past few minutes she's been hearing people talk out loud, yet the classroom was completely quiet. She looked around to try to see which student was talking. The students were all sitting quietly on their desks, working on a test given to them. She narrowed her eyes and went back to working on her test. She concentrated on her test and solved a few answers before hearing someone else speak.
"Now i square root this... and I have answer C."
Sour looked up again and couldn't find the person who said the answers. Sour Sweet didn't like it when somebody says the answer to a question out loud, it annoyed her to no end.
She looked around the class and couldn't believe that not a single person heard that. She looked at the teacher who was reading a magazine, barely paying attention. She turned back to her test and went back to work.
Sour Sweet rubbed her head in pain. She had woken up this morning with a huge headache. She had taken pills for her headache, but they didn't work at all.
It didn't help that people were talking more than usual. It felt like the whole city was talking at once in school. When it did get quiet, there would still be a few people talking. The mysterious part about it was she could never catch the person talking in any of her classes. It was like she was the only one that could hear them talking.
She was then interrupted by the bell ringing, causing the students to talk again. The teacher sprang out of his chair and stood in the front of the class.
"Hand in your tests, we'll continue them tomorrow." The teacher said. The students formed a line and turned the tests in to the teacher who stood there looking uninterested.
"Daisy. Good answers." Sour Sweet heard the teacher say, or she thought she heard him say.
"Radio Wave, Excellent as always." He said. After Everyone had left the classroom it was just Sour Sweet left. She walked up to the teacher and gave him her test. She didn't care to look up at the teacher as she turned it in.
"Sour Sweet... horrible answers as always." He said. Sour Sweet groaned in annoyance and turned her head.
"You try working when other students are talking and you don't even do nothing to stop it!" She yelled at the teacher, leaving him confused. He wondered how she heard his thoughts about her test.
Sour Sweet left the room and headed towards the hallway. She stood there for a while, catching a break from all the noise. It was lunchtime at Crystal Prep, so all the students were at the cafeteria.
She rubbed her head again in pain. Her headache had gotten worse since this morning. It felt like she could hear a audible boom inside her head. She clenched her fists and tried to pull through, but it only made it worse. She dizzily walked towards a locker and held herself with the wall for support.
Then she heard a bang in the distance. She turned her head and saw a ball bouncing across the hallway. It was one of the students in the basketball team. He bounced the ball as he walked by, causing more pain in her head. Sour Sweet grew more and more agitated each time the ball made impact with the ground. The thuds intensified her headache each time. It reached a point where Sour Sweet couldn't take it anymore.
"Hey! Can you stop bouncing that ball!" She said, raising her fist in the air. As soon as she did that, a red wave of energy flew out of her arm and rushed towards the soccer player. The red energy made impact and pushed the student forward. He freaked out and yelled while in the air. He landed fifteen feet from where he originally was and broke his arm in the landing. His shouts of pain echoing through the hall. Students came to investigate while teachers rushed out of their rooms.
"Thunder Lane, are you okay?" His friend asked, running out a classroom with a teacher.
"No, ah man, I think it's broken." Thunder Lane said, as he cried out in pain.
"Alright, take it easy." A nurse said, slowly getting Thunder Lane up. Sour Sweet had witnessed the whole thing in shock and stared at her hands in fear. She quickly ran the other way and exited out the school. She reached the schools side doors and entered the parking lot.
"What is wrong with me? Did I do that?" She thought to herself.
She let go of the guard rail and sat down on the concrete steps, unaware of the fist sized dent she made on the rail. She sat there for a minute before voices flooded her head again. Sour Sweet covered her ears as best as she could, but to no avail. She looked around her and saw no one in sight. Sour Sweet finally realized why school was so much louder today than normal. She was hearing the whole schools thoughts. Sour Sweet stood up and walked down the steps. Her slow walk turned into running as she tried to get away from the students, ditching school.
"And that is everything we know about Equestria." Sunny Flare said, turning off the projector.
"Any questions, Indigo? Indigo?" Sunny asked, turning around when she got no response. She narrowed her eyes and groaned at the sight of Indigo Zap sleeping on her desk.
"Indigo!"
"Wha, huh? The answers 42." Indigo said, looking around in a daze. She stopped and looked at a annoyed Sunny Flare and smiled.
"How much did you hear?"
"You were talking about the founding of horsey world?" Indigo guessed. Sunny looked at the ground and rolled her eyes in disappointment.
"Indigo, this is important." Sunny whined.
"You were talking about the founding of a horse nation. It's boring." Indigo said, honestly.
"Don't you like anything to do with aliens?" Sunny said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but it's all boring. I mean, come on, a Pegasus, Earth horse, and a Unicorn survive evil horse winds by hugging it out in a cave? That sounds super fake. Like, are you sure they weren't joking when they said this." Indigo said.
They, Indigo? I already said who told us this."
"You did?" Indigo asked, getting an annoyed nod from Sunny.
"Oh, well I think he/she was lying to you.
"Well, it's what happened. Sigh. You are so not helping my headache, Indigo." Sunny mumbled. Indigo heard that and agreed with her.
"Same here. I've had his huge headache since this morning." Indigo said, rubbing her forehead.
"You too, huh?" Sunny said, rubbing her forehead.
"Yeah. It's hard to describe how I feel, though. It's a ringing in my head, almost like it's -"
"Beating like a heart?" Sunny asked. Indigo looked at her in confusion and agreed with her.
"Yeah. Exactly like a heartbeat."
"I've had that too. I wonder what's going on?"
"Are we feeling this way because we're connected or something?" Sunny theorized.
"Connected, with you? No thanks." Indigo said.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Maybe we're getting called." Indigo theorized, trying to get back on subject.
"Called by what?"
"I don't know, I'm just guessing." Indigo said, putting her hands up. The door to the classroom Sunny and Indigo were in opened, Tauren and Bright entered the room. Indigo stared at Tauren with anger. She was still mad at Tauren after what happened at the power plant. She folded her arms and stared at the two Agents.
"Hi, Bright." She greeted. indigo had no problems with Bright. Bright was Starlight's assistant as she later found out when she first met her. The young white brown haired girl seemed shy and barely looked Agent material. She remembered when she first saw her. She was staring down at the computer room on the second floor with a distracted eyes. She remembered walking right next to her yet she hadn't noticed. Indigo looked at bright and saw her staring at Ronin with a smile.
Indigo folded her arms and quietly leaned towards Brights ear, where she promptly said, "What's ya looking at?" The sudden voice in her right ear caused Bright to jump up in surprise, giving a tiny squeak.
Indigo remembered laughing at Bright's reaction and then helped her up. The encounter had made Bright completely embarrassed. She obviously didn't think they would meet like this. Indigo snapped out of her thoughts as Tauren tried to speak with her.
"Indigo, may we speak in private?"
"I don't know can we?" Indigo said, glaring at him.
"Indigo." Sunny whispered, demanding she respect him. She looked at Sunny Flare, who was nodding her head at her. She rolled her eyes and stood up.
"Fine." Indigo said. Tauren smiled and quietly thanked Sunny Flare. Bright had walked up to Sunny Flare and proceeded to hand her documents. They talked to each other as they left the room together, leaving behind Indigo and Tauren. Indigo had sat in her chair staring at Tauren in suspicion. Tauren had pulled up a chair and sat down, staring back at Indigo with guilty eyes.
"How much did Ronin tell you about the incident."
"...He told me you arrived from a portal to destroy the planet. That you tricked some guy who thought he was helping you save the world. You stole a bike, revealed yourself, tricked a guy and a nother alien into helping you, then get caught, and stopped. All in a few days." Indigo answered. Tauren had looked at the floor feeling even more guilt inside than before.
"Did he tell you that it-"
"That it wasn't really you? he did, but I want to hear it from you. I want answers. I know you're a Minotaur, but I want to know what's your deal and why you came here. Why Earth?" Indigo demanded. Tauren sat there thinking. He hesitated to answer, but eventually told Indigo the truth.
"The person that came to this world was a evil queen from a universe I have no knowledge of. You knew her as Behemoth, but her true name is Lilith. She had invaded my universe just like she did yours and killed anybody that got in her way."
"I was one of the lucky few that she kept alive to serve in her army of slaves. We conquered every country that failed to submit to her. When there was a few countries left to enslave, me and other army generals formed a secret resistance to fight her. Eventually, we made her entire army betray her."
"But you didn't stop her, did you?"
"No. She knew from the very beginning about the resistance. She chose to hide her knowledge until we attacked her castle. Eveything was working so well, we actually thought we were going to win. But she killed the entire resistance right infront of my very eyes. She turned them into dust."
"I'm sorry." Indigo said with sympathy. She had no idea what it was like to lose someone, but she still felt sad from hearing his story.
"When it was over, I wanted her to kill me right then and there, but she didn't. For whatever reason, be it cruelty or wanting to make me suffer, she possessed my body and took it over completely. I tried to fight back, but I was nothing compared to her strength. Using my body as a vessel, she destroyed my universe and travelled to others. Destroying every single one of them. I watched her kill families using my own body over and over again.I watched her kill people like me that were a major threat to her conquest . I still remember every detail about how she would kill them in every universe. Looking at it all, I truly thought I would be forever trapped watching innocent people die. Then your universe stopped her. I don't know how or why, but i'm greatful to be finally separated from that... demon." He said with venom in his voice. He looked at Indigo Zap and saw tears had fallen from her eyes. Before he saw it, he was trapped in a hug from Indigo Zap.
"I'm sorry, Tauren. I'm sorry for treating you so badly after the power plant. I-"
"You didn't know, I understand. I would've been exactly the same." Tauren admitted. She broke the hug and sat in her seat.
"If you're finally free from Lilith, why are you still pretending to be a human?"
"After everything she did with my Minotaur body, I don't want to see it unless I have no choice. I'm sorry if that wasn't the answer you were looking for, but I hope you understand, Indigo Zap."
"Alright, I understand." Indigo lied. She didn't fully understand why Tauren would think it was shameful to be who he was. She chose to ignore it for now and decided to move away from that depressing conversation they had. Indigo asked questions that went from helpful information to the strange. They went on like this for a few hours, both enjoying hearing stories that didn't involve death and destruction. That was when Sunny Flare had rushed in, looking freaked out.
"You won't believe what happened today on the news."
Earlier
Sour Sweet walked past street after street with a very uncomfortable feeling in her head. It seemed wherever she went, she still heard other peoples thoughts. She struggled to walk as the pain grew more and more unbearable. She clenched her teeth so hard that they were starting to hurt. She sat there on the sidewalk for half an hour. The pain she felt was slowly becoming more bearable. As she sat there, listening to peoples thoughts, one voice stood out the most. She could hear a little girl crying in the distance. Sour Sweet looked around the street and saw a neighborhood to her left. She stood up and slowly walked towards the source of the little girl's voice. Her crying started to get clearer and clearer.
She walked by the houses and slowly reached a house where the crying was the loudest. Sour Sweet looked at the house in suspicion. it was a normal brown two story house, but something felt wrong about it. She felt like the house was holding an unknown evil inside. She hesitated to go inside, but the cries of the little girl convinced her otherwise. She slowly approached the house and sneakily entered the backyard.
The grass in the backyard were completely dead and devoid of life. There were dead potted plants all over the brick patio leading up to the back door. Sour looked at the backdoor and noticed it was broken. It was like somebody had broken in through the backdoor.
Still hearing the sounds of crying inside the house, Sour stared into the house with determination. She took this moment to suddenly realize that only one voice was flooding her head. Sour had realized focusing on the little girl's voice had helped her block out the other voices.
Sour Sweet would have to thank the little girl for unknowingly helping her. She snapped out of it and looked at the door. She could easily go in without making a sound, but she didn't know who or what was inside. Other than the little girls voice, she had nothing to go by.
She gulped as the sweat from atop her forehead dripped down her face. The hot day and her nervousness had gotten to her. Still hearing the little girl crying, she hesitantly walked inside.
When she snuck in the house it was pitch black inside. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and started looking around. She could make out the furniture and noticed it was either broken or knocked over. She squinted her eyes and slowly moved forward. She tried to walk by the furniture as slowly as she could, then she made a wrong step and bended the wood floor.
She stopped her approach and hoped no one inside had her mistake. When she heard nothing for a minute, she wiped her forehead in relief and slowly moved again. As she listened to the girls thoughts she was able to get a location of her whereabouts.
Sour Sweet reached a corner of the house that had stairs leading up. She looked up at the second floor with fear. She didn't want to go up there, but she knew that girl was in trouble. She swallowed her fear and slowly walked up the stairs.
Squeak! The weak wooden stairs made, as it bent under her. Sour felt her heart stop at that moment. She waited once more for a whole minute, hoping no one heard that loud squeak.
When she heard no one, she continued walking up the stairs. She made as little sound as possible as she reached the top of the stairs. She reached the top and entered the hallway.
She looked at the hallway with hesitation. The doors were all open while one room in the back was closed. Sour knew that was the room the crying was coming from and slowly advanced.
As she walked through the dark hall, she looked inside the other rooms. She didn't want to get caught if somebody other than the girl was upstairs.
When she walked past all the other rooms she looked at the closed door infront of her with fear. She knew a little girl was inside, but she didn't know what to expect. She hesitantly opened the door and walked in.
Sitting on the floor behind her bed was a little yellow skinned girl crying. The little girl had heard her enter and cried more. Sour Sweet approached her and tried to calm her down.
"Shhh. It's okay, I'm not them. I'm Sour Sweet, and I'm here to help you." Sour explained. The girl had looked up at her with confusion.
"Don't let the monster hurt me." She pleaded. Sour Sweet looked at the girl with sympathy and tried to assure her that everything was fine.
"There's no monster here, it just me. What's your name?" Sour Sweet asked, trying to get through to her.
"Lemon Swirl." She said.
"Lemon Swirl, that's a nice name. I know a girl that shares your name at school.
"You do?"
"Yeah, she's funny... and kinda hard to talk to. She has really expensive headphones. Come with me, and I'll let you meet her."
"I want my mom and dad." She whined, tears falling out of her eyes. Sour Sweet gave her an assuring smile and spoke.
"If you come with me, I'll help you find your mom and dad."
"You will?" She asked, snorting her nose.
"Yes. I promise we'll look for your mom and dad. You just have to come with me." Sour Sweet said.
"....are you sure he's gone?" Lemon Swirl asked, hesitant to move.
"Yes, I'm sure." Sour Sweet replied, putting her hand out for Lemon Swirl to grab. Lemon looked at the hand with hesitation. She grabbed Sour Sweets hand and helped her up. Then wood on the stairs squeaked behind them. The girl dropped the hand and hid under the bed.
"He's here." She said, crying. Sour Sweet heart had stopped as she stood with fear. She turned her head and saw a man standing in the doorframe, holding a tire iron.
Sour Sweet looked at the man with fear. She stood her ground completely frozen. The man glared at Sour Sweet and gripped the tire iron he was holding.
"You're not supposed to be here. Why don't you run off back to school and you forget you were here." The man asked, with a rugged voice.
Sour Sweet gulped and turned her head. She looked at the little girl hiding under the bed and clenched her fists. She stood her ground and glared back at the man.
"I'm not going anywhere without her." Sour said, glaring at the man.
She watched him grip his weapon and harder and stepped out of the shadows. Sour Sweet could clearly see who the man was.
With his silver skin and orange prison suit still on him, Sour Sweet knew it was Silver Lock. She remembered watching the news the day he escaped. The channel had covered Silver Lock's escape for the entire day. Before every commercial they'd show his mugshot on tv. There are very few things Sour Sweet can say she's good at. But remembering faces is one of them.
Silver Lock looked at her with glaring eyes. He shook his head and started to speak.
"Fine. Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson." Silver said, approaching Sour Sweet. Sour looked up at as he approached and backed up.
She backed all the way up to the wall and looked at him with fear. She clenched her fist and tried to punch him, but he easily caught her wrist. He said nothing and raised his left arm that held the tire iron, ready to strike. Sour Sweet looked at the tire iron in fear and instinctively covered herself with one hand.
Unintentionally releasing a red wave of energy out of her arm, pushing the tire iron off of Silver's grip. The tire iron flung away from his hand and hit the wall next to the door. Silver looked at his arm completely bewildered. He let go of Sour Sweet and turned his head. Stuck in the wall was the tire iron that had flown off of his hand. He turned back around at Sour Sweet with a confused look.
Sour Sweet had looked back at him with angered determination. She glared at him and delivered a punch so hard that Silver flew across the room. He landed on the floor with his shoulder and stood back up, rubbing his shoulder. He glared at Sour Sweet with hatred.
"No wonder you found her. You're a goddamn alien!" He shouted. He looked to his right and quickly pulled the tire iron off the wall. Sour Sweet looked at him in confusion.
"Alien? I'm not an alien." Sour Sweet said.
"Alien or not, I'm not letting you leave with her!"
"What do you want with her!" She demanded. He didn't answer and instead charged her. Sour Sweet jumped out of his way, and looked at her arm.
She looked at her arm and shook it, in an attempt to bring the wave out. Silver had recovered and glared down at Sour Sweet. He yelled as he raised his tire iron to hit her and dropped it down. She closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could. She held her hand out and grabbed the tire iron with a magical red hand.
She looked at the extra hand in amazement. had She struggled to make him let go because he held it with two hands.
"Not this time!" He yelled, slowlypushing through her magical grasp. Sour Sweet couldn't think of any and instead moved her arm to the right, bringing the tire iron along with Silver with it. Silver yelled as he was thrown out the room and into the hallway.
He groaned and slowly got up in anger. He saw Sour Sweet standing infront of the door way and roared. He picked up his tire iron off the floor and threw it towards her. The tire iron spun rapidly towards her. Sour Sweet stared at the spinning iron and raised her arm. Her action released a wave of energy that flung the iron back at Silver. Silver saw the tire iron fly back to him and couldn't react in time. The iron hit his forehead with a thud, luckily not piercing his head. The last thing Silver saw was falling down the stairs before his vision went black.
"Tonight, a two month search for escaped criminal Silver Lock ended last night when a student skipping school had followed him to a house where he had kidnapped the same girl that put her in prison a year before." A woman reporter had said on tv.
"Last year, Silver Lock had went to prison after getting caught by a girl named Lemon Swirl. She had notified the police which had then led to his arrest."
"After kidnapping her, a student named Sour Sweet, had happened to see him enter a house where she followed him. Her brave action led to her saving Lemon Swirl and stopping Silver Lock."
Indigo Zap had stared at the screen with her jaw dropped. Tauren looked at the screen with interest. Every news broadcast had covered the story for the whole day. By night time, the news had finished their reports and he went back to covering other topics. It was at this time where a few Agents were sitting alone in the lobby.
"So, Tauren, can you say without a doubt Sour Sweet has some type of magic?" Starlight asked.
"Looking at the police report and her account on what happened I can say without uncertainty that she has magic."
"Alright, me and Indigo Zap know her from school. If we can get to her through the likely crowd of students asking questions, we can tell her about the Agency."
"Are we sure Sour Sweet has magic? I mean she is very accurate in archery class. I'm pretty sure she can throw a tire iron at someone's head without killing them." Indigo said.
"The report said that Silver Lock had suffered bone fractures that indicated tremendous force was used. Nothing Sour Sweet had could've done that unless she had magic. The tire iron was also thrown with enough force to make a strong man fall unconscious. He's lucky he doesn't have a concussion." Tauren stated.
"Then its settled. You, ronin, and Sunny Flare will try to talk to Sour Sweet tomorrow at school. Understood?"
"Understood." Sunny and Indigo said.
The next day
Indigo Zap, Sunny Flare, and Ronin, were hanging out at lunch. The three of them had been looking for Sour Sweet through passing periods but had no luck. When the fourth period bell rang it was time for them to eat lunch. Ronin and Sunny Flare were sitting together, eating their lunch. While they did, they looked for any sign of Sour Sweet. Indigo Zap approached the two holding a lunch tray filled with school food.
"Did you see her yet?" Indigo asked, sitting down.
"No." Ronin answered.
"Is she here?" Indigo asked Sunny.
"Don't know." Sunny replied.
"I did see a crowd of students in the front of the school this morning, but then the bell rang." Ronin said, eating his sandwich.
"Oh wait, there she is." Ronin said, seeing Sour Sweet enter the cafeteria. They turned to see Sour Sweet get surrounded by students asking questions.
"Geez, look at the crowd." Sunny said.
"You'd think a fight was happening." Indigo stated.
They watched as Sour Sweet got her food and stood in the middle of the crowd. She stood there with a annoyed face at the many students talking. All the talking didn't help Sour Sweet control her mind reading skills as some thoughts were slipping through. She stood there trapped by the wave of students for a minute before one of the popular kids broke it up.
Sour Sweet saw him and recognized him from her fifth period science class. Ronin was one of the new transfer students she barely talked to.
"Alright. Alright. Listen up, I know you're all excited to hear about Sour Sweet's exciting child rescue yesterday, but take a look at what you're all doing. Sour Sweet has just been through a tramautic experience with a dangerous criminal. She went toe-to-toe with a buff dude and made it out without a scratch. So how about we give her a round of applause." He said, glancing at Sour Sweet. He turned around and faced her. He flashed a smile and started to clap. It started off slow but increased faster and faster. The students joined in with Ronin and started wooing. Sour Sweet looked at the crowd and started to smile, she closed her eyes and basked in the sea of applause. Sunny Flare was clapping while Indigo was too busy eating.
"Now that the applauds have died down, i'd like it if you fellas would let Sour Sweet here enjoy her lunch in peace." Ronin asked. The students nodded their heads and walked off to enjoy the rest of their lunch. Sour Sweet had watched Ronin during all that time and approached him to say thank you.
"Wow, for being a transfer student you already have the school listening to you." Sour Sweet complimented. Ronin smiled and nodded his head.
"I try." He replied.
"Thanks for getting them off me, Ronin. I'm not sure my head could take it." She said, rubbing her head. Ronin heard what she said and raised an eyebrow.
"Does she need a doctor? An ibuprofen would help." Ronin thought.
"Maybe I should see the doctor and get some ibuprofen. Thanks again, Ronin." Sour Sweet said, walking away. Ronin stuttered and was caught off guard. He looked at her in confusion as she walked out of the cafeteria. He swore Sour Sweet had just read his mind. He rubbed the back of his head as a sharp pain hit him and disappeared. The short pain had startled him and he didn't know what to make of it.
"Was that it? Can she read minds?" Ronin thought, watching her leave.
He walked back to the table and sat down in silence. Sunny Flare had looked at him with questions.
"So what happened?"
"I don't know for sure, but I think she can read minds."
"Really? Like the hear your thoughts and emotions?" Sunny asked.
"Cool." Indigo commented.
"If I'm right about this, Sour Sweet would be incredibly useful for finding the Uniques on our list."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Lets go find her." Indigo said, finishing her lunch. She stood up and walked to the garbage can. Sunny Flare and Ronin followed her to the hallway where they saw Sour Sweet.
Sour Sweet was walking down the hall with her food. Since the day before, she was able to control her ability to read minds. She was already able to block out some thoughts. Although, some stronger minded students were able to slip through her block. She was proud of her progress anyway and happily walked down the hall. Then she was grabbed from the side and pushed into the girls bathroom.
"Hey!" Sour Sweet yelled.
"Relax, Sour Sweet. It's me, Lemon Zest." She said.
"Why did you grab me and push me into the bathroom?" She exclaimed in annoyance.
"Because I needed to talk to you. I know you have superpowers." Lemon Zest said, with an excited smile. Sour Sweet's eyes bulged in shock.
"How did she know? Unless she can read minds!?" Sour Sweet thought. She stood there and said nothing for a few seconds and realized Lemon Zest couldn't read minds.
"How?"
"I read the police report. And I talked to the Lemon you saved. She said you talked about me and that you have superpowers." She explained, excitedly.
"It's okay! You can tell me, see look!" Lemon Zest said, forming a pink circle in the air with her finger. The light construct flickered in the air while fizzing like a firecracker. Sour Sweets mouth dropped in surprise. Lemon Zest chuckled at her reaction.
"I know! Amazing, huh?" Lemon Zest said.
"You've got powers, too? I thought I was the only one." Sour Sweet said in surprise.
"Me, too! This is so cool! Not only do I have powers, but my best friend has powers, too!" Lemon Zest smiled, freaking out in excitement. Sour Sweet looked around and covered Lemon Zests mouth.
"Shh! Stop screaming. Do you know what'll happen if we get caught?"
"No."
"We'll get arrested. They'll separate us and take us from our families. Even worse, we might end up in some creeps lab getting experimented on!" Sour Sweet whispered.
"I don't wanna be experimented on." Lemon Zest said, shaking her head in fear.
"Then stop talking out loud." Sour Sweet whispered in frustration.
Sour Sweet opened the door and peeked outside. She looked around for anybody who might've heard Lemon Zest. She sighed in relief when she saw no one and closed the door.
"That was close." Sour Sweet mumbled.
"What are we gonna do now? We've got superpowers, now what?" Lemon Zest asked, not knowing what to do. Sour Sweet stood there eating her lunch and thinking of an idea.
"Fight crime, I guess?" Sour Sweet said. Lemon Zest eyes bulged as realization had hit her. She gasped and excited grabbed Sour Sweet again and exclaimed.
"The Blur!"
"The what?" Sour Sweet asked in confusion.
"You don't know what the Blur is?"
"It's the light that fights crime! Didn't you hear about the bank robbery that was thwarted by the Blur? It was all over TV!" Lemon Zest exclaimed.
"The only time I've watched the news is when I was on it and when the supposed Alien invasion happened." Sour Sweet said, pushing Lemon Zests hands off her.
"If we find the Blur, then maybe we can all work together and fight crime!" Lemon Zest exclaimed. Sour Sweet thought about it and smiled. She nodded her head and agreed with her.
"Alright, that sounds good."
"Sweet!"
"But we're doing this after school."
"Wait, but how are we going to find a light?" Lemon Zest asked. Sour Sweet finished eating and thought of something. Her eyes bulged when they had both forgot the obvious.
"Those girls at Canterlot High. They have superpowers! Remember the wings?"
"I do! Wow, that completely flew by my head." Lemon Zest said.
"If were gonna find the Blur, maybe those girls can help using their magic."
"Is that what we have? Is this all just magic?" Lemon Zest asked.
"It's most likely." Sour Sweet answered. The bell signifying the end of lunch rang through the halls. When it stopped Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest agreed where to meet after school to look for the Blur. Sour Sweet hoped the girls at the other school had the answer.
Ronin, Sunny Flare, and Indigo Zap had walked through the halls looking for Sour Sweet when the bell had rang. Indigo Zap groaned when it did.
"So much for talking to her during lunch." She said.
"We'll have to look for her at the end of school. I don't sit close to her in class so I won't be able to talk with her." Ronin said.
"We'll meet at the front of the school, alright?" Sunny asked. They both nodded and headed off to their classes. Ronin sped to his class in an attempt to catch Sour Sweet before she got in. He had reached his class and looked inside the room to see Sour Sweet was already sitting on her seat. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. He'd have to wait till after school.
When school had ended, the three of them had met up at the front of the school. At the back of the school, Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest walked outside and took the path that lead to Canterlot High.
They walked and walked for an hour. The trip was longer than expected. Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest immediately regretted walking to Canterlot High.
Ronin, Sunny Flare, and Indigo Zap had left Crystal Prep and were hanging at Indigo's house. They had given up looking for Sour Sweet and were thinking of where she could be.
"Thanks, Mrs. Sweet, have a nice day." Sunny Flare said, hanging up her phone.
"Sour Sweet's mom said she called her to tell her that she was going to Canterlot High with a friend."
"Canterlot High? Why would she go there?" Indigo asked.
"Who did she go with?"
"She said it was Lemon Zest."
"Lemon Zest? Why are they going to Canterlot High? School ended an hour ago."
"I'm calling, Norman. Maybe he can catch Sour Sweet at Canterlot High."
"Who's Norman?" Indigo Zap asked.
"One of the best Agents in the Agency. He's helped the Agency out tons of criminals in jail. One time he helped find a missing person. He was also there during the incident. Tauren could tell you more about him later." Sunny Flare exclaimed, catching Indigo Zap by surprise.
"She's a big fan of his." Ronin explained. He pulled out his phone and dialed Norman's number.
At Canterlot High, Norman was sitting on his desk with Bonbon in the room and the now reformed Adagio Dazzle. He was checking papers when his phone started ringing. He picked it up and looked at the screen.
"Who's calling?" Adagio asked.
"The Madame's son, Ronin." Norman said, reading the contact on his phone.
"What could he be calling for?" Bonbon wondered.
"Hello, Ronin?" Norman said, putting the phone on speaker.
"Hey, Norman. I need your help." Ronin asked. Norman raised an eyebrow and wondered what.
"Did something happen?"
"No, but there's this girl, Sour Sweet."
"That girl on Tv?" Adagio asked.
"Who's that?" Ronin asked.
"Adagio and Bonbon are in the room with me, no one else is here."
"Okay. We have reason to believe the Sour Sweet has magic in her. I think she can read minds, but that's as far as I know." Ronin explained. Adagio raised an eyebrow in interest and moved closer to Norman's phone.
"We were going to talk to her after school at the front door, but she left in the back with Lemon Zest."
"Lemon Zest?" Adagio said.
"She was a student that competed in the Friendship Games along with Sour Sweet a while back." Bonbon explained.
"We called her mom and she told us that she was going to Canterlot High with Lemon Zest. We need help getting to her so we need your help to find her." Ronin said.
"You said she's coming here?" Norman asked for confirmation.
"Yes." Ronin replied. Norman nodded his head and stood up.
"Okay, we'll see if we can catch her here."
"Thanks Norman. We'll see you when we get there." Ronin said.
"Alright see ya, tell Sunny Flare I said, hi." Norman said, hanging up.
"Okay, looks like we're on a magic hunt." Norman said.
Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest had taken a break and were sitting on a bench outside a gas station. They were happily eating icecream that Lemon Zest had bought with her money. Sour Sweet had finished her icecream and sighed. She nodded her head and smiled, looking at Lemon Zest.
"I feel so much better now."
"Icecream makes everyone feel better." Lemon Zest commented.
"Yeah. Except when its pistachios." Sour Sweet said, mumbling the last words. She had a past with pistachio icecream.
"You know what I just realized?"
"What?" Sour Sweet asked.
"We don't need to talk to those girls. We can just use your mind reading powers to look for criminals." Lemon Zest said.
"I don't think I can do that." Sour Sweet said.
"But you found that criminal guy and saved that girl?
"I heard her crying from a mile away. I didn't hear the guy at all."
"Maybe you can practice it?" Lemon Zest suggested.
"How?"
"You've already learned how to stop reading them. Maybe you can learn to listen to thoughts individually."
"I don't know if I can." Sour Sweet, unsure if she could do it. Lemon Zest thought of ideas and quickly thought of one.
"On the walk you said that you heard her crying from a mile away,right?" Lemon Zest asked. Sour Sweet looked at her and nodded.
"If you concentrate and focus you might be able to read single thoughts only." Lemon Zest theorized.
"I could try." Sour Sweet said.
"That's the spirit!" Lemon Zest exclaimed. Lemon Zest looked around the gas station and saw a girl sitting in her car texting. She smiled and pointed at her.
"Try her." Lemon Zest suggested. Sour Sweet looked at the girl and closed her eyes. She sat there with her eyes shut for a minute. She tried her best to concentrate and focus, but she couldn't get anything.
"I can't."
"Well, maybe if you just let yourself hear everyones thoughts at the same time you can concentrate on one. You did say that you could still hear voices when you first heard the girl, right?" Lemon Zest guessed. Sour Sweet nodded her head and closed her eyes.
She blocked out the rest of the world around her and focused on her mind. She undid the mental blocks she put in place to stop hearing voices at once and listened in. She was immediately hit with a barrage of thoughts that went through her too quickly to hear. She heard voices from men, women, and children, she could even hear Lemons Zest thoughts.
"Please work. Please work. Please work." Lemon Zest thought.
Sour Sweet focused on the womens thoughts and narrowed it down to a few people. She was actually starting to focus on one person. She opened her eyes and looked at the girl in her car. Sour Sweets glowed red and a red tail formed at the edge of her eyes. Lemon Zest saw her eyes and was creeped out.
"She's deciding what she's going to eat for dinner tonight." Sour Sweet said.
"Really?" Lemon Zest said with excitement.
"She's trapped between cooking the chicken in the fridge or just getting fast food." Sour Sweet said.
"Wow, what about him." Lemon Zest said, pointing to a man inside a van. Sour Sweet focused on him and concentrated.
"Come on. Come on. Come on..." The man said in his thoughts.
"He's waiting for someone." Sour Sweet said, getting Lemon Zests interest
"Who's he waiting for?" Lemon Zest asked. Suddenly, Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest heard the door leading to the store quickly open. The noise had broke Sour Sweets concentration and the red glow in her eyes vanished. The two of them turned their heads in time to see two men covered in black burst out the door in a rush. One of them carrying a bag Sour Sweet assumed was filled with money. They watched as another man in the back of the van opened the door for the two robbers.
"Somebody help! He's getting away with the cash register!" The store owner shouted, speeding out the door. The robbers quickly got into the van and closed the door. The driver of the van floored it and started to drive away.
Sour Sweet quickly stood up and instinctually held her hand out. Sour Sweet watched as a red glow began to form around her hand. The glow suddenly zoomed forward and hit the vans back wheel. The van skidded on the road as the tire was held down by a red mist. Sour Sweet was pushed forward, but held her ground. She felt like she was holding the van from over here.
Sour Sweet began to sweat profusely as she held on to the tire with her magic. The robbers inside the van were confused by what was going on.
"What the hell is going on, man? Drive!"
"I can't!" The driver said, putting his full weight on the pedal. The engine shrieked loudly and the tires on the van were starting to burn rubber. Feeling the whole weight of the van at full speed, Sour Sweet lost her focus and let go of the tire. Sending the van zooming forward at extreme speeds.
Sour Sweet held her head in exhaustion and leaned back on the store wall. Lemon Zest watched as the robbers got away and tried to think of something. She turned and looked around and saw a bicycle on the bike rack.
She rushed towards the bike and formed a small pink knife construct with her hands. She used it to cut the chain holding the bike in place and quickly snapped it off. She pulled the bike out of the rack and got on it.
"Sour Sweet, are you okay?"
"A...little..." Sour Sweet said, standing up.
"Then get on. We gotta go after them!" Lemon Zest said.
"Alright..." Sour Sweet mumbled, slowly getting on the back of the bicycle.
"How are you gonna turn it on?" Sour Sweet said in a tired voice.
"Sour, it's a bicycle." Lemon Zest said.
"Oh..." Sour mumbled. Lemon Zest pedaled as fast as she could to follow the van. Lemon Zest could still see the van in the distance and narrowed her eyes. She pedaled even faster and followed the van. Inside the van, the robbers were awaiting to hear the official money count.
"I'm counting 2,000 dollars exactly." He counted. The group of robbers began cheering, high fiving, and fistbumping.
"The boss'll be proud of us when we show him all this." A robber said, looking at other the money.
"Put it back in the bag." The driver ordered. The robbers drove out the city and went uphill and into the mountains. Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest saw them drive out the city and paused.
"What are you waiting for? Go after them." Sour Sweet said, too tired to yell.
"Are you sure you don't need a break?"
"I'm fine. It's..just... taking a while to get it together. Lets just go." Sour Sweet replied, getting it back to together. Lemon Zest nodded and continued pedaling into the mountains.
Norman, Adagio, and Bonbon had looked around Canterlot High and never saw Sour Sweet or Lemon Zest. Ronin, Sunny Flare, and Indigo Zap had all arrived at the school hoping to see the two they were after.
"Where could they be?" Sunny Flare wondered.
"I give up. she's not here and she's not at home and she's not answering her phone. Lets just try again tomorrow. We all go to the same school." Indigo said.
"We can't stop looking for them now! What if they're in trouble?" Sunny exclaimed.
"Well, it's not like we can track them down!" Indigo said. Ronin listened to Indigo and facepalmed. He had forgotten the most obvious answer.
"We can track her using her phone."
"What? You can do that?" Indigo exclaimed.
"During the incident, the Agency checked through every single device that used wifi in the whole city. It's how we were able to find things so quickly." Norman explained.
"Wait, you looked at everyone's phones?" Indigo asked, raising an eye.
"Yes." Norman answered.
"That's creepy." Indigo commented, feeling uncomfortable.
"We did what we had to do. We only accessed the phones microphone and camera, so we didn't check any history." Norman explained.
"I guess that's slightly better." Indigo said, still feeling uncomfortable.
"I'll call, Deacon, and tell him what's going on." Bonbon said, pulling out her phone.
"Indigo, hand me your contacts." Bonbon ordered.
"Okay." Indigo said, opening her phones contact list. She gave it to Bonbon and waited. Bonbon had reached Deacon and asked for his help in finding Sour Sweet. Deacon happily obliged and proceeded to type down Sour Sweet's number in the database as she said it out loud.
When Deacon got the number typed in, he pressed enter and watched his screen go through millions of phone numbers in the database. It finally stopped on Sour Sweet's name and loaded in a map of the city with her location on a blue dot. Deacon looked at the screen and thought something was wrong.
"Uhh, it says your friend is heading into the mountains and moving fast. It might be a bike." Deacon said over the phone.
"Where are they going?"
"Lets go and find out ourselves. I'm gonna follow them. Who else is coming with me?" Ronin asked. Indigo Zap and Sunny Flare stood up immediately.
"I'll go with you." Norman said. Sunny Flare freaked out on the inside upon hearing him.
"Okay. Lets go."
"Adagio. Lock up the school for me." Norman asked. Adagio nodded while Bonbon waved goodbye.
"Hey what about me?" Deacon asked on the phone.
"I'll call you in the car." Norman said.
Lemon Zest and Sour Sweet had followed the van through the mountains and stopped when they had reached a big house in a clearing. They quickly hid in the bushes and watched the robbers exit out the van.
"Hey boss! Look how much we stole!" The robber shouted. Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest watched as the front door opened up, revealing a strapping beige man with a eye patch and a cane. He walked out with authority and spun his cane up and down with his left hand.
"Boys! What have you brought me today?" Neo asked.
"We robbed a gas station and got 2k out of it." The driver of the van said to Neo.
"2k from a gas station, huh? That seems like a lot of shit for a gas station don't you think?" Neo asked. The robbers glanced at each other, unsure of what to say.
"Yeah..." they all said. Neo looked at them all and grinned.
"Unload the van and let Neo see this 2k." Neo ordered, wiping his hands. The robbers opened the back door in the van and pulled out a sack full of 100 dollars. Neo whistled at the sight of the sack and opened the bag. He took in the sight of the dollars and smiled.
"Bring it in." Neo ordered, snapping his fingers. Neo walked inside the house while the robbers had picked up the sac and carried it inside. Lemon Zest narrowed her eyes and slowly stood up. Sour Sweet looked at Lemon Zest in a panic and quickly pulled her down.
"What are you doing?" She whispered in distress.
"I'm going to get the money back."
"You can't just walk in and take the money? You gotta think this through. Plan it out in your head." Sour Sweet demanded.
"Okay then, what's your plan?" Lemon Zest asked.
"Let me think." Sour Sweet said. She poked her head out and looked around the building for anything. She looked at the van and quickly thought of a plan.
"Okay, so here's the plan. First, we trigger the car alarm in the van. The robbers will walk out looking confused. And while they check out the van, we sneak in and grab the money. Then we leave." Sour Sweet said.
"Good plan. Lets do it."
In the house, Neo and the robbers were talking to each other. The robbers sat on the couch while Neo stood up, holding a glass.
"Now I know you've heard about what happened during the incident about me and my gang. That shit was all over news. But you might've heard that my gang betrayed me and sided with some horned devil alien instead of me. Well, that's not true. Total bullshit. Didn't happen." Neo said, talking to the robbers.
"That night my house at the top of Gold Tower was destroyed along with every man in my gang. They all gave their lives so that I could live." Neo lied. The robbers believed every single word that came out of Neo's mouth. A tear fell in one of the robbers eye.
"But starting today, I rebuild my gang in Canterlot. Starting with you guys." Neo said, raising a glass. The robbers all raised their glasses and cheered.
"To a wonderful partnership with me. Your new boss." Neo said, drinking from his glass. Neo and the robbers drinking were quickly interrupted when the van's car alarm turned on. They could hear the noise outside and were confused.
"What the hell?" Neo said, walking towards the door. The robbers quickly got up as followed Neo to the outside. While they were distracted by the van, Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest had successfully snuck inside the house.
"Alright, find the bag so we can get out of here!" Sour Sweet whispered, loudly. Lemon Zest looked around the house and saw the bag. She rushed towards it and tried to lift it up.
"Sour Sweet, help me out here." Lemon Zest asked, with a strained voice. Sour Sweet rushed over to her and tried to lift the bag as well.
"Come on." Lemon Zest strained.
"Are you even trying?" Sour Sweet strained.
"How is it this heavy it's just a couple twenty dollars, right?" Lemon Zest strained. Sour Sweet stopped trying to pick it up and looked inside the bag.
"No wonder. Look at this. There's more than a thousand dollars in here." Sour Sweet exclaimed.
"What are we going to do?"
"You're not going to do anything, pipsqueaks." Neo said, with authority. Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest lifted their heads and glanced at eachother, gulping at the same time. They both turned to see Neo and the robbers glaring at them.
"Look what we got over here, fellas. A couple of students trying to steal our stolen money." Neo said, looking at the kids school uniforms.
"And they can't even lift the bag! How god damn pathetic!" Neo laughed. The robbers laughed after Neo had already stopped laughing. Neo glared back at them and told them to shut up.
"What are you going to do to us?" Lemon Zest asked with fear.
"Hmm. I don't know. I'm hungry and I'm feeling merciful today." Neo said, thinking of what to do.
"Beat em up, then leave them on the road." Neo ordered. The robbers nodded their heads and moved towards Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest. They clenched their fists and cracked their knuckles as they approached them. When one robber had gotten to close, Lemon Zest narrowed her eyes and created a pink construct out of a baseball bat.
"Hyuhh!" Lemon Zest shouted, hitting the robber in the face with a pink baseball bat construct. The robbers stopped their advance and looked at the bat in astonishment. Neo had saw the whole thing and facepalmed.
"Aw shit, not another one." Neo mumbled to himself. His mind went back to the alien and the two men in his own gang that were given powers. The robbers shouted and charged Lemon Zest and Sour Sweet. Sour Sweet quickly used her magic and accidentally created a red shield surrounding her and Lemon Zest. The robbers repeatedly punched and kicked the shield as hard as they could.
Neo watched them surround the kids and sighed. He would help them, but he knew better not to deal with magic. He decided then that it was time to leave.
Lemon Zest watched as the robbers punched and kicked the shield. Sour Sweet was sweating profusely and strained from the attacks and was turning red. Lemon Zest looked at Sour Sweet when a red glow began to form in the center of her chest.
"Sour Sweet, are you okay?" Lemon Zest asked. She got no response and gulped as the red glow had enveloped Sour Sweet's body.
Neo exited out the house and looked up at the second story windows and saw the red glow lighting up the windows. Lemon Zest watched as a vibration noise started coming off of Sour Sweet. Lemon Zest saw Sour Sweet and braced herself for whatever was about to happen. Sour Sweet screamed and expanded the shield. The shield had exploded and threw the robbers and Lemon Zest back from the force. Lemon Zest recovered and rubbed her forehead, groaning. She looked up and dropped her mouth in amazement.
"Sour Sweet, you're flying!" Lemon Zest exclaimed. Sour Sweet looked at Lemon Zest then looked at herself and was surprised to see she was completely black with a red aura seeping off the edges of her skin. The robbers groaned as they got up and gasped at the sight of the flying girl. The robbers quickly got up and went on the defensive near the door.
"It's alright, boss. We got them!" The robber said, expecting Neo to respond. When he didn't the robber turned around and saw the door was wide open.
"Boss?" He asked. The robbers then heard the van engine turn on and could hear the wheels moving on the road. Neo had abandoned them. They all looked back at Sour Sweet, who was smiling at them, and gulped.
Indigo Zap and the Agents had arrived to see the two story house with all its windows shattered. Norman recognized the house as belonging to Neo. He immediately rushed out the car and ran inside the house
He walked in expecting to see the two students tied up or worse, but instead he saw the robbers were beaten and unconscious. He walked forward and saw Lemon Zest and Sour Sweet looking at him. Sour Sweet flew down to the floor and reverted back to her normal form. She touched the ground and fell to her knees, completely tired. Lemon Zest and Norman rushed to her aid and helped her up.
"Who are you?" Lemon Zest asked, as they lifted Sour Sweet up.
"I'm, Agent Norman. And we came to find you two."
"Who?" Lemon Zest asked. She heard noise come from the front door and looked up to see Indigo Zap, Sunny Flare, and Ronin, staring at them. Sour Sweet had looked up also and stared at the them.
"Ronin?"
"What are you guys doing here?" Sour Sweet asked, falling onto a nearby couch.
"We came to look for you."
"Why?" Sour Sweet asked, laying on the couch.
"Because we have something to tell you." Ronin said. Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest glanced at each other, they had no idea what they were now apart of.
Author's Note
I was half finished with this chapter when the fires happened.The next chapter will be out in 2 weeks. Sorry.
I added the prequel to the front cover incase anybody hasn't read it and don't know who Neo or the rest of the Agents are. I hope you enjoy my stories.
Please tell me in the comments if you see any mistakes like grammar and spelling.
The alarms triggered inside the police station. Cops rushed to the armory and grabbed supplies. They yelled at eachother as they formed a defensive line into the jail cells.
In one of the jail cells was a man that had been arrested earlier that night for assaulting an officer. He was now crawling on the floor screaming out in pain. His body was experiencing a change as he could feel every bone in his body crack and take horrifying new shapes. Another man in the jail cell pounded on the fence, begging to be let out.
Shining armor and a couple cops rushed into the prison cells and unlocked the cell. As the prisoner was allowed to leave, Shining Armor watched in horror as the man in the prison cell screamed out in pain. His whole body was growing exponentially and his skin was changing form. His brown skin solidified and morphed into a hard rocky shape. The man cried out one final time as his entire body changed into a colossal being made of rock. He looked like a bunch of rocks piled on top of each other to look like a human.
The man opened his now blue eyes and slowly got up. When he did he fell back down when his head had hit the ceiling. Sparks blew as the light above him gave out from the sudden impact.
The man got up as low as he could and looked at his hands. He was horrified to see what he had become and roared in anger.
He freaked out and started waving his body around. He easily broke through the prison cells as his body crouched into the other cell next door. He looked around the room and saw the cops and Shining Armor staring at him.
"What is... what... what is happening to me?" He said, looking at himself. His head snapped torwards the officers and gave them a hog-like growl.
“What did you do to me!” He roared, his voice echoing loudly through the walls.The cops had fired their guns at him to no effect. He blocked the bullets with his huge hand and roared. He stood up and broke through the ceiling. He rose up and escaped the police station through the roof. His rock body still growing behind him. The cell was quickly covered in smoke, causing cops to cover their eyes.
"Cease fire!" Shining Armor demanded. When the smoke cleared up, Shining Armor walked to the broken prison cell. He looked up at the giant hole in the ceiling and could see the moon from outside. The building shook as they felt the giants footsteps.
"Find him! Make sure he doesn't get into the city!" Shining Armor ordered.
"What else do we do?" Officer Soundwave asked.
"Go with them! I have a call to make." Shining commanded.
The rock man jumped off the roof and landed in the parking lot, crushing a vacant cop car under his new weight. He looked at his hands again and felt a tear fall. He narrowed his eyes and roared out into the sky. He stood up and realized how tal he was. He turned around and looked down at the front entrance. He was one and half stories tall. He flared his nostrils and ran, making huge holes into the road. He leaped off the road and landed a hundred feet from where he jumped. Realizing it was faster to jump, he leaped into the air again and disappeared into the night.
The next morning.
The Agents filled up the police station. Officers and prisoners who were there last night were in the lounge room getting interviewed by Agents. One of these Agents was Norman, who was talking to Shining Armor about what happened. They were outside looking at the footsteps that cracked the streets. Adagio was also there checking out the footsteps in a standard Agent suit.
Adagio looked at the footstep and crouched down. She put on a glove and picked up a small brown rock. She inspected the rock with focused eyes. The rock wasn't warm or cold, but was just right. Three sides of the rock were brown, but one side had a mirror like texture that reflected the sun.
Bonbon and Deacon were also at the police station checking out the stations security cameras. Bonbon looked at the multiple screens in the room and watched them all with Deacon. Deacon was completely focused on the screens. When Deacon was like this, nothing could snap him out of it.
"Hey, Deacon! Want some coffee?" Bonbon asked. Deacon snapped out of his concentration and paused the recordings with lightning speed. He turned around in the spinning chair and nodded his head.
"Yup. This place has coffee?"
"It's a police station. That's all they drink." Bonbon said, matter of factly. Deacon glanced to the left and thought about it. He didn't see anything wrong with that statement.
"So does this place got donuts, too?" Deacon asked. Bonbon looked at him with an obvious face which made him chuckle. Bonbon left the room and Deacon immediately went back to watching the recordings.
Back outside the police station, Shining Armor was talking about what happened that night to Norman. Norman listened intently and wrote everything down on paper.
"Me and Officer Normandy got a call last night about a disturbance in a bar. Some crazy guy came in and caused a stir. We got there and tried to arrest him, but he was stronger than he looked for a guy that thin."
"Thin? The camera showed that shortly before his transformation the man you arrested was tall and strong built."
"Not when I arrested him." Shining Armor said. Norman looked at Shining Armor and raised an eyebrow.
"It's sounds hard to believe, but when he got in my car he was thin. Then, by the time we brought him in the station he was huge."
"I thought something was wrong with him when we arrived, but I didn't know he was gonna turn into a giant rock." Shining Armor said. Norman wrote what he said down and asked him a question.
"Did he say anything to you when you were at the police station?" Norman questioned.
"He was completely freaking out on us. He kept twitching and saying help me. We didn't know what to do so we put him in a cell and called a hospital. We all left the room for a few minutes then we heard screaming and the alarms going off. That's when we saw him transforming." Shining Armor said. Norman listened and wrote the whole thing down in his notes. He finished writing and asked Shining Armor a few more questions.
"Did you guys get his name?"
"Yeah, his name is Crackdown. He used to work in construction before he was fired. After that he joined a gang and assisted in a few beatings. We arrested him a few years ago after a member had snitched to us. After that he got in an accident that left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life." Shining Armor said, causing Norman to pause. He stopped writing and looked at Shining Armor in confusion.
"A wheelchair?"
"He used to be disabled. When we saw him at the bar I didn't recognize him until the ride." Shining Armor explained.
"So we're dealing with a rock man that used to be a disabled criminal who is about as tall as a one story house?"
"See why I called you?" Shining asked. Norman nodded and dismissed Shining Armor. He looked around the street and looked at the damage on the roads. They'd have to be paved over again before they could be used. He saw Adagio putting a rock in a plastic bag and walked up to her.
"Found something?"
"A piece of him that fell off when he landed. The rest of him is on the crushed police car over there, but this is the biggest sample I've found so far."
"Do you recognize this from your world?" Norman asked. Adagio looked at it again and nodded.
"I have, but only from a traveling merchant in my world. He transformed into a rock when we tried to hypnotize him."
"Do you know where he got it from?"
"When we asked him where he learned it from he said it was from a group of rhinos."
"Rhinos?" Norman asked, just now hearing about this race.
"They used to be one of the dominant races in Gaia, then they went extinct. Only a few were alive in my time. The merchant must've got lucky and found a few." Adagio explained. Norman nodded his head and was satisfied by her answer. He left her to do her work and entered the police station. He walked the buildings halls and entered a small dark room where Deacon and Bonbon were drinking coffee and eating donuts.
They were taking and laughing about something instead of working. Norman coughed and made himself known. Deacon and Bonbon put everything down and welcomed Norman.
"Is that how you watch cameras, Deacon?" Norman asked, rhetorically. Deacon answered and leaned on the spinning chair.
"Not all the time." Deacon said. Norman rolled his eyes and asked him about the cameras.
"Did you see anything on the cameras?" He asked. Deacon spun around and faced the cameras and typed in a time on the keyboard.
"Yeah. On the outside cameras only. Look at his face." Deacon asked. Norman walked up to the cameras and looked at it. It was at night when the police car had just arrived.
The car parked infront of the building and the doors opened. Shining Armor and his partner walked out and opened the door for Crackdown. They got him out the car and during that time, Crackdown's face had slightly morphed and changed structure.
Deacon then changed the time to after his transformation. The camera captured Crackdown jumping off the roof and onto the street. The camera turned staticky when he landed, but quickly recovered. The rest of the footage was Crackdown running away and leaping out of the cameras vision. Deacon stopped the video and turned back at Norman, who had watched the camera's intently.
"So,a dangerous rock monster has escaped prison and could likely attack anyone. How do we stop him?" Deacon asked.
"Until we have sight of him I don't think we should do anything. Going by his previous criminal record, approaching him ourselves might get us killed."
"So what? We wait for him to do something?" Bonbon asked.
"No. We'll search for him, but we won't attack. We'll let Tauren go after him while we sit in the sidelines. Lets just hope he turns himself in." Norman said. He didn't think it was likely Crackdown would surrender, but he could still hope.
Adagio then walked into the room in a rush. Norman, Bonbon, and Deacon all turned to look at her. She looked at them with a surprised face.
"What?"
"It's snowing." She said.
"What?" Norman asked, looking confused. Deacon looked at the outside camera and could see the snowflakes falling onto the ground. The four of them rushed towards the front entrance of the station and exited the building. They came outside and looked outside to see snow was already filling the streets and ceilings. Norman and the Agents were completely surprised by the sudden snowfall.
"But it was clear an hour ago?" Bonbon said.
"That just made things difficult." Norman said.
"Well this is weird." Indigo Zap said, looking outside the classroom window. Everyone in the school looked at the snow as it began to pile up outside. Indigo Zap looked up at the clouds in wonder. First period had just started and then suddenly a snowstorm appeared. Indigo Zap thought about it and felt that something was off. The forecast said there were supposed to be clear skies from today through the weekend. The rest of school was cancelled that day due to the sudden snowstorm, so Indigo Zap and her friends were a few of the only students left in the building.
Ronin and Sunny Flare were sitting in the classroom with Indigo. They walked into her class when they were allowed to leave their class. The teacher didn't care if students came into his class. He was sitting on a chair, typing away on the keyboard connected to his laptop.
Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest had shown up as well. They were just recently recruited into the Agency like Indigo Zap. Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest asked the same questions Indigo had when she joined. Even down to the experimentation question. They were quickly filled in to the basics of being a Agent. The two of them listened to Ronin as he explained what the Agency was and what actually happened during the incident.
Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest were sad to hear the flying electric guy had died during the incident. They remembered seeing the huge explosion above the lake and feeling scared. They were interested in learning about what happened to the horn guy and who he really was. The question did come up about who Tauren was before and what happened to him after the friendship beam hit him. That question was the only one Ronin and Sunny Flare didn't answer. That information was classified and they didn't want to share it.
"Who's Lilith?" Sour Sweet asked. Ronin and Sunny Flare looked at her in confusion. They wondered how she could know that name when the two of them weren't thinking about it. They then turned their heads at Indigo Zap, who looked embarrassed.
"Sorry, It just popped in." Indigo apologized.
"How do you know her name?" Ronin asked, in confusion.
"Only Agents who were there at the incident know." Sunny Flare said.
"Tauren told me." Indigo answered.
"He did. When?" Ronin asked.
"When I was mad at him, he wanted to talk to me and apologize. He told me who Lilith was, but he didn't go into detail." Indigo said, repeating everything Tauren had told her. Sunny accepted her explanation, remembering that she told her that Tauren wanted to talk. The group listened to Indigo Zap and felt sadness and sympathy for Tauren.
"Wow." Was all Lemon Zest could say.
"I can see why he's ashamed to be a Minotaur. Knowing someone used your body to kill and destroy. I don't think I'd be want to be human if that happened to me." Sour Sweet said.
"I hope Lilith got what she deserves." Sour Sweet said, clenching her fists.
"You know, Tauren told me who Lilith was, but he never told me what happened during the incident. What happened that night?" Indigo Zap asked, wondering how they discovered Lilith. Ronin and Sunny Flare glanced at each other and sighed.
"Lets talk about this outside." Ronin said, directing their eyes at the teacher. They understood and got up to leave the room. They walked out the class and stood in the hallway. When Ronin made sure it was clear, he explained what happened after the incident.
"After Behemoth was hit by the Elements of Harmony, we thought it was over. It looked like the beam had destroyed him completely, so we checked the crater to make sure. That's when we saw Tauren and something else lying in the crater."
"We quickly surrounded the crater and got the girls from Canterlot High out of there. They hardly saw what was down there thankfully."
"What was down there?"
"Tauren was bleeding and was undergoing a regenerative process. We saw some bones and other gross things." Sunny Flare said.
"The worse part was the second figure in the crater. She took us by surprise. We didn't expect to see another body in there, yet there she was." Ronin said, describing Lilith's condition.
"We got the two of them out of the crater and moved them to the Agency immediately. Norman, Bonbon, and Adagio stayed behind to help stop the fire that started in the school library. We restrained the two of them in separate rooms and waited for them to regain consciousness." Ronin said.
"Tauren was the first to wake up. At first, he didn't know where he was, but then it all came back in his head. I wasn't there to see it, but once he did remember everything all he did was cry." Sunny Flare said. Ronin nodded his head, confirming what she had heard. He was there with his mother that night.
"So, she's inside the Agency?" Indigo asked. Ronin nodded and answered her.
"We converted the storage areas at the bottom of the Agency to a prison. As of now, it's the most heavily guarded prison in the world. Thankfully, her magic was drained by the elements of harmony, so she's nowhere near strong enough to escape." Ronin explained. Before any more questions could be asked, Sour Sweets phone rang.
"It's my mom. She's here to pick me up." Sour Sweet explained.
"We'll continue this later." Ronin said. Sour Sweet nodded and left the group.
"So what now?" Lemon Zest asked.
"I guess we should leave, too?" Sunny Flare said. The group decided to leave the school and drive to the Agency. Ronin had stayed behind to grab his notebook that he accidentally left in class.
He walked in the room and saw the teacher sleeping on his desk with his head in a book. He silently walked to his seat and grabbed his notebook and left. He walked down the hallway and was about to leave, until he was stopped by a sudden chill and a voice in the corner.
"Hello, Ronin." She said. Ronin recognized her voice and turned. That's when he saw Sugarcoat looking at him with her arms crossed and a serious expression on her face.
"Hey, Sugarcoat. What's the matter?" Ronin asked, wondering why she was talking to him.
"I need to talk to you." Sugarcoat said,solemnly.
" oh, well I don't have time to talk, right now. Maybe, tomorrow if schools still open." Ronin said.
"That's what I need to talk to you about, actually." Sugarcoat said.
"It is?" Ronin asked. Sugarcoat nodded her head and uncrossed her arms. She raised them up halfway and concentrated. Ronin watched in confusion as a blue and grey glow filled Sugarcoats hands . Ronin watched in amazement as a snowball formed in one hand and a cloud formed in the other.
"I heard your conversations earlier and I thought that you could help me control this." Sugarcoat explained.
"You made the snow storm? How?" Ronin exclaimed, quietly.
"It was an accident and a long story." Sugarcoat sighed.
"Well, we have plenty of time in the car. Come with me, we're going to the Agency." Ronin said.
The human turned rock looked at the snow fall into the city with wonder. He sat on the top of hill near a forest. He looked at the city with hatred. From the very beginning, Canterlot has been one failure after the other.
He remembered his life before he turned to crime and felt nothing but anger. Ever since his firing, he's thought of nothing but getting revenge on his boss. He thought about all the things he'd done while in a gang and when he was arrested. They were, in their own way, blocks that stopped him from doing the things he really wanted to do.
But now, he looked at his body with shame. He looked at the jagged brown rocks that made up his hand and grew frustrated. He clenched his fists and roared, dropping his arm to the ground. The ground shook as it made contact with his arm, destroying the grass and sending dirt flying.
Crackdown looked at the damage his arm had caused and grinned. He looked at his rock hand again and stood up to his full height. Crackdown looked around and saw abandoned apartment buildings nearby and walked towards them. An idea had formed in his head and he wanted to test it out.
He reached the apartments and destroyed the walls by simply walking through them. He stomped around and examined the apartments. He decided that they were good enough for him to experiment with.
He looked at his hands and clenched them. Thinking about all his pain and suffering, he grew more angrier and angrier. That anger he welled up inside was let out when he roared at the sky and started to punch the apartments wall.
He punched through a wall and repeatedly punched the apartment with both hands. He screamed and screamed as he let loose his rage. He punched through the apartments supports and was buried by the collapsing wood. Inside his wooden grave, his rage grew bigger. He roared again and broke through his wooden grave and punched his way out.
With every punch and kick his anger grew. Thinking about his life only made his rage bigger. With his rage, he grew stronger and stronger. He charged the other apartments and demolished them with his punches and. He was like this for an hour. When the apartments were all destroyed, he stood in the center of the destruction and looked at his work. The whole place was nothing but fallen debris.
He sighed and dropped to his knees in exhaustion. He looked at his hands again and smiled. Maybe, his transformation wasn't as bad as he had thought. Then he saw a snowflake land on his hand. Looking up at the sky, he realized the sun had vanished and snow was falling from the clouds.
He calmed down and closed his eyes, feeling the snow fall on his rock body. He sat there for what felt like hours, relaxing. As he sat there, a noise coming from the nearby forest had snapped him out of his thoughts.
He picked up a piece of wood and threw into the foliage where he heard the noise. He heard the sound of wood piercing through skin and realized he got something. He stood up and walked towards the foliage. He looked at what he hit and saw a deer lying on the ground, covered in blood. The piece of wood he threw had tore through the deers stomach and killed it.
Looking at what he had done only made him smile. His smile twisted into a evil snicker, then a chuckle, and then a horrifying laugh. He finally realized with that with his new body, nothing could stop him from getting his revenge. It didn't matter how he got it anymore. Instead all that mattered was how he would use it. And that made him even happier.
He turned around and walked through the snowy terrain. The ground had already been covered by snow. Crackdown looked up at the clouds and wondered why it was snowing in the spring. Ideas formed in his head, but the one he accepted was more spiritual. He took it as a sign that things were finally looking up for him. That a new age, with him in the center, was born.
He looked straight ahead and saw Canterlot down the hills past the trees. The city had taken him down once before, but not anymore. He'll bring the city to its knees. He clenched his fists and roared.
His rage had reformed inside him and pushed him to run faster and faster. He stomped and stomped as he ran up and down the hills. His anger blinded him with hate. He thought of what he would do first and decided he'd go after the ones who hurt him the most. Starting with his boss.
Crackdown roared, reaching the forest. He charged through the forest and snapped branches of trees and bushes in his way. When an entire tree was in his way, he would focus all his rage and charge straight through the tree, knocking them down with one hit. He ran all the way to edge of the forest and could see the city was even closer. He sighed and flared the two slits on his head that were his nostrils and continued running. Reaching the city in half an hour.
Crackdown remained hidden as he moved through Canterlot. He didn’t want to get caught by the police. He successfully evaded their sight and had reached his destination. He looked at the snow covered building and watched as the workers all left.The sudden snowfall had cancelled all plans of construction for the day. Leaving his boss all alone for him to get his revenge. Crackdown watched them leave and enter their cars and noticed something off about them. All of their cars were dark colors. He clenched his fists and suppressed his rage for later.
When all the workers left it was time for him to make his move. He slowly made his way to the giant tent that his boss was inside and thought of all the things he would say.
He stood infront of the entrance and rised up to his full height. He clenched his fists and ripped the tent door open. He roared and raised his fists towards his boss. Instead of seeing his boss, he saw a beige man sitting on the seat with a leg crossed and a cane beside him. Crackdown looked at the man in his old bosses seat and recognized him as his former mob boss. He stopped his charge and looked at his former mob boss in frustration. He didn't notice that another figure stood beside him.
"Crackdown, its good to see you!" Neo exclaimed, raising his hands into the air.
"Neo. I swear, if you took my chance to get back at my boss- Crackdown growled.
"Relax, Relax. He's right over there." Neo said, pointing to a man in handcuffs and a piece of cloth covering his mouth. Crackdown looked at where Neo pointed and saw his boss looking at him, frozen in fear.
"I think you really freaked him out." Neo said. He looked at Crackdown and asked him a question.
"Did you get taller?" Neo asked, looking at Crackdown.
"Why are you here?"
"I heard you broke out of the police station as a giant rock monster. So I thought, hmm, what's the first thing Crackdown would do?" Neo said.
"Where's your right hand? And who’s she?" Crackdown asked, referring to the quiet woman leaning on the tent wall. Neo's face formed a grin as he introduced her to him.
“Her name is Misty and she's my new right hand. After that son of a bitch abandoned me after the invasion and flew off to California!" Neo said.
"Invasion?"
"What, they don't give you any tv in there?" Neo asked, Crackdown shook his head and asked what it was. Neo didn't answer and went for a shorter explanation.
"Lets just say there's a whole lot of people like you now, including misty." Neo said, causing Crackdown eyes to grow.
"What?" Crackdown exclaimed, glancing at the quiet woman.
"Yes, misty is like you. Not as rocky as you, but she's got power. But I'm not here to introduce you, too.
"What do you want?" Crackdown asked.
"Knock him out first." Neo ordered. Crackdown listened and faced his ex-boss, who scurried back in fear. Crackdown widened his hand and slapped his ex-boss across his face. He immediately fell unconscious from the force. Crackdown watched as his body fell over and laughed. Neo laughed at the way he knocked him out and stood up out the chair.
"Now that he's unconscious, we can talk. I have a plan that involves you, the police, and my new best friend.." Neo said, discussing his plan. Crackdown liked where it was going already. Neo told Crackdown his entire plan and was very interested in it. They stood there talking about the plan for 30 minutes. When it was over, Neo leaned his hand towards Crackdown.
"Do we have a deal?" Neo asked. Crackdown looked at the hand getting offered to him and recapped the plan in his head. He was 100 percent with Neo on this one.
"Deal." Crackdown said, shaking his hand.
"Glad to have you back in the gang, Crackdown. You can have your ex-boss, I don't have a use for him." Neo said, walking out of the tent.
"With pleasure." Crackdown said, preparing himself for what he was about to do.
The group watched with awe as the test dummy was hit by a snowball. The snowball made impact and immediately caused the test dummy to freeze and shatter into pieces. The group had entered the Agency and were in the Armory's training room. The group were behind the glass while Sugarcoat was inside shooting things with her magic. They were watched in amazement as Sugarcoat shattered every test dummy into pieces with a snowball.
"Thats so cool!" Lemon Zest said, to the groups annoyance.
"Really, a pun?" Sunny Flare said, cringing.
"What? That was all I could think of." She shrugged.
"That is some real magic, right there. How long did you say she had this?" Deacon said, impressed by what he sees.
"She said she had it for weeks. She managed to keep it a secret and was practicing every chance she got." Ronin explained.
"She's had powers longer than me." Indigo Zap stated, looking at the broken dummies in awe..
Starlight Glimmer was among them, looking at the magical power that Sugarcoat had.
"Alright, you can stop now. Come back in so we can look at what the others can do." She ordered. Sugarcoat turned and gave them a thumbs up, taking off the headphones on her head.
Sugarcoat walked in and handed Lemon Zest the headphones. The Agents had complimented her skill and congratulated her. Indigo had zoomed infront of Sugarcoat and exclaimed her amazement.
"That was amazing, Sugarcoat!" Indigo said. Lemon Zest put on the headphones and nodded. She walked into the training room and stood in the center, she turned and waited for instructions.
"Okay, Lemon Zest, I want you to listen to everything I say. Got it?" Starlight asked. Lemon Zest nodded and awaited orders.
"Create a box." Starlight ordered.
"Okay. Create a box... I can do that." Lemon Zest mumbled. She closed her eyes and concentrated. When she was done concentrating two giant pink hands rose out of Lemon Zests actual hands. The Agents watched in amazement as she used the big hands to sculpt a pink box into existence. The pink box fell to the ground with a thud and fizzled in and out of existence. Starlight was intrigued by the fizzling that came out of the box.
"Get rid of the box." Starlight ordered. Lemon Zest snapped her fingers and made the box disappear within seconds.
"So, she can create objects with her magic." Starlight said, writing it down.
"Deacon, release the dummy's." She ordered. Deacon pressed a button on the wall and immediately caused three test dummy's to rise out of the ground. Lemon Zest looked at all three of them and waited for orders.
"We've established that you can make things with your magic. Now we need to know what else you can do. Try and smash the dummy on the left with a giant hand." Starlight ordered. Lemon Zest nodded and proceeded to concentrate, closing her eyes. She opened them when she had summoned giant pink hands out of her actual hands.
She smiled and clenched both of her hands. She raised the left up and stretched it over to the dummy on the left. When she aligned her hand with the top of the dummy's head she dropped her hand. Smashing the dummy from the weight of her magic.
The group behind the glass exclaimed at the sight of it. Lemon Zest looked back at the glass and saw the excitement on her friends faces. Starlight smiled approvingly and wrote what happened on the clipboard.
"Now create a spear and try to throw it at the dummy on the right." Starlight ordered. Lemon Zest looked at her and scratched her head. She was unsure if she could do that. Starlight took the hint and talked into the mic again.
"Try." She said.
Lemon Zest turned and looked at the dummy on the right and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and concentrated. The giant pink hands formed around her hands again and she carefully sculpted a spear in the air. When she was done she had a long pink spear with a sharp tip. She grabbed onto it with her giant hand and grasped it. She looked at the dummy again and focused completely on it. She inhaled and exhaled slowly as she launched the pink spear construct into the air.
The group watched with anticipation as the spear flew towards the dummy. Starlight looked at the spear and was ready to write on her clipboard. Lemon Zest watched the spear pierce through the dummy and hit the ground behind it.
Lemon Zest freaked out and raised her arms in excitement. She turned to see the group inside the room smiling and clapping. She could see Starlight inside the room giving her a smile of approval.
"That'll be all. Come back inside." Starlight ordered. Lemon Zest walked in and greeted her friends. They had rushed around her and congratulated her. Starlight and Deacon watched the whole thing and stood in the sidelines.
"So what next, Madame?" Deacon asked.
"It's Indigo Zaps turn, now."
"You gonna put her on the field?" Deacon asked.
"Yes. I need to know how fast she can go." Starlight said. Starlight stepped up to the group, separating immediately.
"Good job, Sugarcoat. Lemon Zest. You've taught me a lot about your magic, today."
"Now what?" Lemon Zest asked.
"It's time for Indigo Zaps turn to show off. We'll be testing her in a different room." Starlight said.
"Where?" Indigo asked. Ronin and Sunny Flare exchange glances, knowing what room she was talking about. The group left the room and headed down the hallway and entered a big dark room. Starlight turned the lights on and revealed just how big the room was. The three students all looked inside with jaws dropped. The room was small, but had a window that revealed an even bigger room with tons of different equipment. Sugarcoat looked at the size of the room and realized it was as big as the football field at Crystal Prep, maybe bigger. There was a shooting range, a pool, a gym, and a fake two story house inside. All these things were within a giant path that went around the whole room.
"This is the training ground. It's what we put all our Agents in when they first start out." Starlight explained. They all looked down at the room and wondered how to get in.
"Follow me." Starlight said, opening a door on the side of the room. The group followed her and walked down the stairs that lead to the training ground. Starlight opened the door and let the group through first.
Indigo Zap walked in first and zoomed into the fake house. She zoomed back out and asked Starlight a question.
"Why is there a house in here?" Indigo asked.
"That house is used for closed quarters training. What to do and not to do when inside a house." Starlight explained.
"What are we in here?" Sugarcoat asked.
"This is where we'll be testing Indigo Zaps speed and endurance." Starlight explained, pointing to the track around the room.
"What am I gonna do?" Indigo asked.
"You're gonna run for as long as you can. Once we know your limit, then we can start to try other things." Starlight asked.
"But first, here you go." Starlight said, lightly straining. She gave Indigo a 60 pound weight with both of her arms. The groups eyes bulged as Indigo held it on one arm without any effort or strain, not even her muscles were showing. Starlight looked at Indigos arm and wrote on her clipboard.
"Are you trying?" Starlight asked.
"No, it's actually not that bad." Indigo said, truthfully. Starlight raised an eye and took more notes. She put the clipboard down and picked up the other 60 pound weight and gave it to Indigo.
"Now lift both of them up, but progressively faster." Starlight ordered. Indigo did what she said and slowly lifted them both, getting faster each time. Deacon from up in the control room pointed the security camera at Indigo Zap. He watched Indigo Zap lift the weights without any effort. He was stunned by how fast she was able to lift the weights. The group down there were stunned as well. Even Starlight was surprised by her speed. Deacon was so stunned that he didn't notice Indigos arm was just a blur on the camera.
Indigo Zap looked around the room while she was going and noticed how slow things were. She could see dust particles in the same spot for 30 seconds. She wondered how fast she was going. When she finally stopped, she felt sweat drip down her forehead.
Indigo Zap wiped the sweat off her forehead and looked at the groups faces. Starlight and the her friends were looking at her like she did something g wrong. She dropped the weights onto the ground and snapped them out of it. Starlight snapped out of it and tapped the mic.
"Deacon, how fast was that?" Starlight asked.
"That was so awesome!" Lemon Zest exclaimed.
"You were going really fast." Sugarcoat said, having nothing else to say.
Up in the control room, Deacon was at a loss of words. He snapped out of it and rushed towards the camera.
"She went faster than the camera could handle. Her arms are completely blurry. She broke camera 1." Deacon said in surprise. Starlight listened and raised her eyes. She was very impressed by how fast she was. She wrote it all down on her notes and continued the test.
"Okay, clear the track." Starlight ordered. The group immediately moved away from the track and watched as Indigo Zap prepared to run.
"How long do I go?"
"After you do a thousand miles." Starlight said.
"And how much laps would be a mile?" Indigo asked, stretching her muscles.
"4." She answered.
"Alright, I'm ready." Indigo Zap said, getting in position.
"You ready, Deacon?" Starlight asked.
"Camera 2 is ready to die." Deacon said.
"Start." Starlight ordered. Indigo zoomed off, leaving Starlight in the dust. Starlight and the group watched as Indigo Zap had passed by them multiple times. She was going so fast that they lost track of her. Instead all they saw was a blue blur that enveloped the whole track. Starlight couldn't believe what she was seeing. Indigo Zap was still picking up speed as she passed the starting line for the hundredth time.
Deacon looked out the window and saw the blue that enveloped the whole room. The blur blocked the inside of the room, so all he could see was the blur. Deacon looked at the camera for a second and noticed it was completely static. Deacon looked back out the window, completely dumbfounded.
"Done." Indigo said, exhaustingly. Inside the control room, Deacon had only one thing to say.
"Holy fu-"
"That was amazing!" Lemon Zest exclaimed, blocking out Deacon in Starlights ear.
The group had their own reactions to the speed they had witnessed from Indigo Zap. Starlight and Ronin were equally amazed by Indigos speed and were at a loss of words. Lemon Zest was the complete opposite of everyone else. She was jumping up and down in excitement. Indigo watched Lemon Zests reaction and laughed.
"Very excellent job, Indigo. Looking at you now, you don't seem to be that tired." Starlight observed. She was right, Indigo Zap had already stopped sweating and was starting to breath normally.
“So what now?” Indigo asked.
“Now that we’ve tested your powers we can accommodate them to the normal agent training. Follow me to this door.” Starlight said, directing them towards a door in the center of the track. The girls didn’t notice the door and looked at it in confusion.
“Has that door always been there?” Lemon Zest asked.
Deacon rushed down the stairs and jogged through the practice room, catching up to the group. Starlight opened the door, revealing a new set of stairs.
“How much stairs does this place have?” Lemon Zest asked in annoyance.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know.” Sunny Flare answered, Ronin turned his head and nodded with her.
“Where are we going?” Sugarcoat asked.
“Science division. We’re gonna be meeting with our head scientist, Professor Ion. Starlight answered. They reached the top of the stairs and opened the door that led to the science room.
In the room was rows of tables filled with microscopes, science equipment, and machinery. The room was very reminiscent of Crystal Preps science room, except millions more funding.
At the far left side of the room was a wide open space that had a projector in the middle, lighting up a X-ray of a familiar alien.
“Is that Taurens body?” Indigo asked.
“Yes.” Tauren said, behind her. Indigo Zap flinched and jumped away in fright. Deacon moved up and shook hands with Tauren.
“Hey, T.” Deacon greeted. Tauren nodded and replied.
“Good afternoon, Deacon.” Tauren said.
“Madame.” Tauren and the scientists said in unison, saluting Starlight Glimmer.
“At ease.” Starlight said. A scientist approached Starlight and greeted her.
"Good afternoon, Madame, I see you brought new recruits." Professor Ion said in a british accent. He looked at the three new faces in his lab and wondered why Starlight brought them here.
"Good afternoon, Ion. I'd like you to meet our new recruits Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, and Sugarcoat." Starlight said, introducing them. Professor Ion gave them a nod and a wave. The three of them gave their own waves and hello's. After that was done, Indigo and the group moved towards Tauren to talk. Starlight and Professor Ion stayed behind and talked. Ion grabbed papers from a nearby scientist and showed them to Starlight.
"We did a full body scan of Tauren's anatomy and I have to say he's an exceptional example of his species." Ion complimented. He pointed at Tauren's skull and continued. Starlight looked at the X-ray and noticed a large tumor on the side of his brain.
“Tauren had a tumor?” Starlight said with concern.
“Yes and no. It’s a tumor, but not like any we’ve seen before. The tumor did absolutely nothing to him- he didn’t even know he had a tumor until we showed him the X-ray.” Ion explained.
“We performed surgery on him and successfully removed the tumor.” Ion said, showing Starlight the next image of the tumor on a table.
“We talked about it and we came up with a theory that would explain the tumor from the little information he gave us.”
“And your theory?” Starlight asked.
“We believe the tumor was never a tumor to begin with, but was a vessel used by the real monster, lilith." Ion said. Starlight thought about what he said and nodded in agreement. The two of them continued to talk to eachother while the gang had left to see Tauren.
“Hey, Tauren.”
“Hello, Indigo. I heard Starlight was testing your powers?”
“Yeah. I can do stuff really fast without getting tired, apparently. These are my friends they also have powers like me.” Indigo said. Tauren looked behind her and saw Lemon Zest and Sugarcoat waving hello.
“What powers do they have?” Tauren asked.
“Lemon Zest can make stuff from her mind and Sugarcoat can control the weather. She made it snow, today.” Indigo answered Tauren.
“You don't look like the guy on tv.” Lemon Zest said, causing Tauren to raise an eye. Sugarcoat elbowed her shoulder.
“Uh, I mean. You don’t have horns and you look human and yeah...” Lemon Zest said in embarrassment.
“It’s nice to know that we’re not alone in the universe.” Sugarcoat said, offering a handshake. Tauren shook her hand and corrected her.
“Actually, Im not from this universe.”
“The multiverse theory is true?” Sugarcoat asked. Tauren nodded his head.
The train roared as it grinded to a halt. Within seconds of stopping, the doors opened up. Crowds of people exited out the train and walked up the stairs to the outside world. The subway was more packed than usual due to the snow that had fallen.
The driver took a sip of his soda as he watched the crowds of people enter the train with his cameras. He was too preoccupied by the cameras to notice a tall figure come out the shadows, infront of the tracks.
Crackdown got infront of the trains window and peeked inside. The driver still hadn't noticed the rock man in his front window.
Crackdown raised his hand and formed a fist. He reached for the window and proceeded to knock three times. The driver heard the knocks and jumped a little. He turned around and looked at the door behind him and saw nobody was there.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Damn, kids.” He said, turning back around. He took another big sip of his soda and finished it off. That was when he finally saw the rock that was looking at him through the front window. Crackdown gave him a mischievous smile and waved his hand.
The driver gasped and spit out his drink. He got up from his seat and freaked out. His voice frightfully stuttered as he walked backwards.
“Ma.. mo... mon...”
Crackdown laughed as he punch his arm through the glass window. Crackdowns arm had reached the driver, grabbing him. The driver screamed as he was lifted up inside his train.
“This’ll be fun.” Crackdown said, smiling sadistically. The driver screamed from hearing the rock speak English.
The new crowd of people that had entered the train sat in silence, waiting for the train to move. Instead they all jumped in surprise when they felt the train bump and shake. The people who were standing were struggling to stand up. The rest were holding onto a pole.
They could hear bending metal and could feel the train shake and creak. The loudest sound of all was the footsteps that made the floor vibrate. Then the front of the train was ripped open with a loud rip. The crowd all turned towards the front of the train and saw Crackdown throwing the piece of the train he ripped off to the side. The people could see the drivers side of the train was completely crushed by the rock monster that stood in front of them.
The crowd screamed in fear as they got up out of their seats and rushed towards the doors. Crackdown laughed and stepped inside the train and walked over to the doors as well. Everyone in the subway rushed outside in fright, leaving behind the security guards.
The security had rushed to the train and pulled out their guns. Crackdown grabbed the door frame and pushed it wider. He walked out the train and stood at full height, looking down at the terrified security guards.
“Do- don’t move!” The guard stuttered, his body was shaking in fear. Crackdown smiled and laughed at the shaking guards. Crackdown took a step forward, causing the guards to step back.
“Stop moving!” The guard ordered. Crackdown didn’t listen and took another step forward. The guards stepped back again, and started to sweat.
“Don’t move! Don’t mo-“ The guard was pushed back by Crackdowns arm making contact with his chest. The guard flew back and hit the wall, causing it to crack. The other guards watched their fallen comrade hit the floor. They didn’t know if he was alive, but they couldn’t see him move. The guards looked back at Crackdown and fired.
“Open fire!” The guard shouted, shooting a barrage of bullets towards Crackdown. Crackdown charged them and rushed forward with fists in the air.
Norman And Adagio drove through the streets at fast speeds. They easily drove through streets without any worry to civilians. After the Agency went public, they were given a few upgrades to their cars. The newly installed sirens blared loudly above the car. Anyone within hearing distance knew to get out of the way.
Norman, Adagio, and Bonbon prepared for what was ahead of them. Shining Armor had called them for assistance with fighting Crackdown. Norman knew the police were losing by the tone in Shinings voice.
"So, any idea how to fight this guy?" Norman asked. Adagio shrugged her shoulders in response.
"We got rockets." Bonbon said, pulling out a rocket launcher in the backseat, the front of the rocket poking Norman in the back of the head.
"Watch where you point that!" Norman exclaimed, gripping the wheel intensly.
"That was in the backseat?" Adagio asked, looking behind her.
"Yeah, the seats are hollow, see. Norman has the rocket and your seat has the ammo." Bonbon said, showing off the compartments.
"I'm gonna have to ask Deacon what the hell they added to the Agency cars." Norman said, out loud.
"Do you think we'll need the rocket?" Adagio asked. Norman was then forced to hit the brakes when a burning car flew by them. The three of them watched the car fly to the left of the street, bits and pieces falling onto the road. They watched it land with a thud and blow up upon impact.
"I think we'll need more than rockets." Bonbon said. Norman made a right turn and stopped the car. Infront of them was a huge battle with the rock monster and the police. Police were cowering behind their cars as they fired bullets at the giant rock monster. Crackdown held his ground the whole fight and was slowly getting closer and closer to the cops. Civilians were running for their lives on the sidewalks trying to avoid the monster and the gunshots.
The agents exited out the vehicle and opened the trunk. Norman pressed a button in the trunk and opened up the secret compartment. The secret compartment held guns and ammo inside. Bonbon grabbed the electric charges and grenades.
Norman and Adagio grabbed guns and ammo while Bonbon left with all the heavy weapons.
“I hope this is enough.” Norman said. The three ran towards the battle and reached the cop cars where they promptly cowered behind. They snuck there way to Shining Armor who was busy shooting the monster. Norman grabbed Shinings shoulder which startled him.
“It’s just you guys. Woah.” Shining Armor said, looking at the weapons they were carrying.
“I got your call. What’s going on?”
“Crackdown showed up in a subway and attacked the train. The civilians escaped but the driver and all the security guards are missing. We’re assuming the worse.” Shining Armor said. The groups faces went serious at the assumption.
“I have to get in the subway.” Norman said.
“I’m going with you. You’ll need help.” Adagio said. Norman nodded in agreement and stuck his head out. Crackdown was getting closer and closer towards them. Norman looked behind Crackdown and saw the entrance to the subway. He ducked his head back and discussed the plan.
“You, Bonbon, and the rest of you guys distract Crackdown. Me and Adagio will sneak past Crackdown while he’s distracted and look for the missing people.” Norman ordered. Shining Armor and Bonbon nodded their heads in agreement and went to work.
Bonbon moved in closer and threw electric charges onto the ground infront of Crackdown. Crackdown looked at the device and picked it up. Bonbon pulled the trigger in her hand and activated the charges. Crackdown was immediately enveloped by a burst of electricity. Crackdown shouted in pain and fell to his knees as the electricity struck his body.
“Quick, while he’s down. Go!” Bonbon said. Norman and Adagio nodded and quickly snuck on the sidewalk and walked past Crackdown.
The two of them reached the subway and pulled out their flashlights. The subway lights flickered and crackled, sparks falling onto the ground.
“You ready?” Norman asked.
“It’s nothing compared to what I’ve seen.” Adagio said, walking down the stairs.
Back at the Agency, the group watched the chaos on the news through the giant projector on the wall. They were shocked to see the police getting destroyed by the giant rock monster. The group stood there with anger as the rock monster turned the street into a battleground.
“We’ve gotta do something!” Lemon Zest exclaimed.
“Tauren.” Starlight said.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Get out there. Ronin and Sunny will catch up with you.” Starlight ordered. Tauren nodded his head and walked towards the main door. Indigo zoomed infront of him and stopped him from advancing.
“We want to help.” Indigo said, solemnly. Tauren turned his head and waited for Starlight to respond.
“No.” Starlight said.
“Why?”
“None of you are remotely ready to face a threat like this. This isn’t a monster, this is a escaped criminal.”
“But sending Sunny Flare and your own son to fight criminal is okay?” Sugarcoat blurted out with her arms crossed. Starlight glared at Sugarcoat with a death stare that actually made Sugarcoat drop her stance.
“My son and Sunny Flare have been training under the Agency since they became teenagers. I trust the two of them to handle criminals more than a bunch of kids with superpowers.” Starlight exclaimed. Deacon, the group, and the scientists glanced back and forth at each other. Tauren was surprised to see Starlight drop her serious demeanor like that and opted to end it.
“The Madame says no, Indigo. Let me go and help them.” Tauren pleaded. Indigo looked up at him and sighed, dropping her arms. She zoomed back into the room and let him go.
“Thanks.”
“Beat him up for us!” Lemon Zest exclaimed.
“I will.” Tauren said, leaving the room. Starlight turned back to the group and glared at them.
“You three may have powers, but you don’t have any experience in fighting. I’m not going to risk any of your lives. Especially against a criminal.” Starlight said.
“Then don’t. We don’t have to be near him at all.” Indigo said. The group looked at Indigo with confusion.
“What do you mean?” Starlight asked.
"What do all of our powers have in common?" Indigo asked. The group thought about it and came up with nothing.
"They're awesome?" Lemon Zest guessed. Indigo Zap rolled her eyes and answered them.
"We can all use our powers at range."
"Go on." Starlight said, taking in what she said.
"You started the snow storm this morning, right?" Indigo asked, looking at Sugarcoat.
"Yes, but it took a lot out of me to do it. But I don't see why you're asking me. What can I do against that thing?"
"Sugarcoat, you can influence the weather. All you have to do is make another storm and hit him with whatever you can muster."
"So, hail?" Sugarcoat asked.
"I was thinking thunder." Indigo said. Sugarcoat raised an eyebrow and sighed.
"I can try."
"But what can I do?" Lemon Zest asked.
"You can make things with your mind. So how 'bout throwing spears from a rooftop? Better yet, you can make a bow." Indigo suggested.
"Just like archery class!" Lemon Zest exclaimed.
But what about you?" Sunny Flare asked.
"I can go around getting people out. I'm faster than a bullet, remember? If anything he'll just be seeing a flash of light."
"What do you think, mom?" Ronin asked. Starlight took in what Indigo Zap had said and thought it out in her mind. She couldn't see any major problems that couldn't be avoided in her plan and proceeded to nod her head.
"If you don't engage him in hand-to-hand and keep out of range, then I'll allow it. But as soon as this is over you three and Sour Sweet start training, immediately. Got that?" Starlight said, making herself clear."
"Yes, ma'am!" The three of them exclaimed, saluting her.
"This is great and all, but how are you gonna get there? Tauren teleported in about five minutes ago." Deacon asked, waving his hand towards the projector. On the projector, a reporter was filming Tauren and Crackdown, in combat, through a building's window.
"Simple." Indigo Zap said, letting her actions speak for herself. She moved between Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest and put one hand on both their shoulders.
"What are you doing?" The both of them asked.
"If we're gonna get there in a instant, we'll have to get there with my superspeed. Just be prepared and close your eyes." Indigo Zap said. The two of them listened to her and braced for whatever was about to happen.
"And don't breath." Indigo warned, catching the two of them off guard.
"What?" They both said before disappearing out of the room with Indigo Zap, speeding them out of the building. It was just the scientists, Starlight, Ronin, and Sunny Flare left in the room. Sunny Flare and Ronin glanced back at each other and sighed.
"I guess we're driving."
Down in the subway, Norman and Adagio walked through the pitch black halls with flashlights on hand. They looked for any signs of the missing guards and the driver. They took in the structural damage and gulped. The subway was shaking and pieces of concrete were falling off the ceiling. Adagio kept moving with Norman behind her.
"Hello?" Norman shouted, his voice echoing through the subway.
"Over here..." A man's voice strained to their right. They turned to their right and pointed their flashlights at the source. They saw a man staring at them, doing his best to cover his eyes from the bright light. He struggled to hold his arm up as he waved at them. Norman and Adagio rushed towards the man and knelt beside him. The man's shirt was torn off, revealing the cuts and bruises on his green body.
"Can you move?" Norman asked. Adagio stood up and shined the light on the man's wounds and saw the extent of the damage. The man had been thrown into the wall, back first. His back might be broken.
"Where's the others?" Norman asked. The man coughed and looked up at Norman with red eyes.
"Over there." The man said, pointing infront of him. Adagio followed the direction of his finger and pointed the flashlight in that area. The rest of the security were lying on the ground in pain. The sight of their broken bodies and groans unsettled them. With the subway collapsing at any time and the driver still missing. The two of them wondered how they were going to get them all out.
Meanwhile above ground, Shining Armor and Bonbon were busy dealing with Crackdown. Bonbon and the officers continued shooting at Crackdown while he was getting electrocuted. Crackdown laid there in pain as the anger inside him began to build up.
Crackdown roared as he tried to stand up. He lifted his left leg and kneeled. Bonbon realized he was gonna break free and pulled out the rocket launcher. Shining Armor looked at the launcher with wide eyes.
“Your gonna use that?”
“I have a clear shot with no chance of missing. Of course I’m gonna use the rocket launcher.” Bonbon exclaimed.
Crackdown roared as he slowly stood up to full height. He clenched his fists and dropped them down on the charges. The sheer force of his arms broke the charges, disabling the electricity. He lifted his fists back up in the air and laughed.
He looked up at the officers and was immediately hit, dead center, in the chest. The force of the rocket was enough to blow Crackdown thirty feet in the air. He roared in pain as he hit the street, again. His impact left a huge crater in the ground.
Bonbon and the officers stopped firing. Not taking any risks. They stood their ground and stared at the crater. They didn’t see Crackdown and wondered if they had beat him.
“Did we win?” An officer asked.
As he said that, a rocky hand rose out of the crater. Then Crackdown came out of the crater with pure rage.
“Fire again!” Shining ordered, shooting at Crackdown. Crackdown moved forward, completely silent. The rumbling his feet made was the only sound he was making. Bonbon pulled out a grenade and threw it at Crackdown. The grenade hit Crackdowns chest and fell on the road.
The grenade exploded with a loud bang, but Crackdown didn’t react at all. His huge rocky body walked through the explosion with no effect.
Crackdown unclenched his fists and hit the road, obtaining pavement in the road. He raised both hands and clenched them. He roared and threw the pavement at the officers on his sides, leaving the front safe.
“Do you got a backup?” Shining asked.
“The rocket was the backup.” Bonbon said, breathlessly.
“Oh shit. Fall back!” Shining Armor ordered. The officers complied and retreated into the sidewalks. Bonbon and Shining Armor started to run but we’re stopped by Crackdown. Crackdown picked up Shinings police car and raised it in the air.
“You tried, but it wasn’t enough.” Crackdown laughed. Crackdown dropped the car on top of them and laughed. He watched as the car flew down on top of them.
Then it suddenly stopped. Crackdown stopped laughing and looked at the car in disbelief. Crackdown then noticed a huge red hand hold onto the door frame and crush it. Crackdown watched in disbelief as the car was crushed infront of him, revealing a a huge red creature with horns.
The red creature glared at him as it stood up to full height. The two of them stared at each other face to face. The red creature was the same height as him. The creature flexed his huge muscles and flared it’s nostrils.
“Stop what you’re doing, now.” Tauren said, threateningly.
“What the hell are you?” Crackdown asked, glaring at him.
“I could say the same to you, Crackdown.” Tauren said, causing Crackdown to tense up.
“How do you know my name?”
“I know a lot of things about you, Crackdown. I know that you’re just a criminal looking for revenge. I’ve seen what you’ve done. The people you’ve hurt.” Tauren said, giving him a death stare. Crackdown raised his eye and shook his head.
“So, Satan has a heart, huh?” Crackdown said, referring to Tauren's appearance. Tauren was unphased by it and stood his ground.
"Stop this useless fighting and turn yourself in. You need help in a hospital, not in an asylum."
"I need help? You're a demon for Gods sake! And i'm not going anywhere until I've got what I wanted."" Crackdown exclaimed.
"And that is?"
"To kill you." Crackdown said, knocking Tauren back with a huge punch. Bonbon and Shining Armor watched as the two began fighting each other. Shining Armor and the officers looked at the fight in disbelief. This was the first time they were seeing the real Tauren. And he was helping them.
"Is that-"
"Yes, that's Tauren." Bonbon cut him off.
"He looks.. so much like-"
"Don't even finish that." Bonbon said, defending her friend.
Crackdown gave up on Bonbon and the others and focused his rage towards Tauren. Tauren had just stood back up from the punch when he was immediately assaulted by Crackdown. Tauren flinched as he was rapidly punched in the stomach by Crackdown. Tauren fell back down and was pushed onto the ground. Crackdown stood on top of him and lifted his foot in the air. He broght his foot down on Taurens chest and crushed him deeper into the pavement. Crackdown stomped him repeatedly in an effort to tire him out. It seemed like it was working, but he was wrong. When he lifted his foot in the air, Tauren took this chance to grab his foot before it could land.
Tauren stopped Crackdowns assault and threw him to his left. Crackdown flew in the air and crashed through the front of a store. Crackdown destroyed the roof and landed on tables, crushing them under his weight. He groaned and crushed another table, getting up. Tauren walked towards the building and entered through the huge hole. He looked at Crackdown who was struggling to stand up. Tauren concentrated and formed a yellow mist through his hand. He pointed his hand at Crackdown and released the yellow mist. The mist travelled and enveloped Crackdown. Crackdown was pushed back onto the floor by the mist.
"What is this?"
"You don't know whats going on here, do you?" Tauren asked, keeping Crackdown restrained.
"I've been in prison." He growled.
"I'll be sure to give your cell a tv, then."
"I'm not going anywhere!" Crackdown roared, his rage reaching out of his control. Crackdown tensed and squirmed around in the mist. Tauren was losing his grasp and tried to hold it. Crackdown began to roar and raised his fists. His roar echoed through the building and into the streets. Tauren lost his grasp and broke the connection, sweating profusely. Crackdown punched Tauren in the face and kicked him into the kitchen. Taurens body flew through the wall and landed with a thud.
Crackdown entered the kitchen and lifted Tauren up with one arm. Tauren tried to break free from his hold, but he was punched in the face repeatedly. Crackdown punched with the strength of a moving train, pounding on Taurens face with his rock fist. Crackdown threw him out the front of the store and continued the fight outside.
Bonbon and the officers had taken the fight as a chance to get more civilians out. Luckily they succeeded in getting the civilians out of harm. All they could do now was shoot Crackdown in an attempt to weaken him. Nothing they had was working on him.
Tauren was lying there on the street in pain. As he laid there he suddenly heard the sound of a car scraping the road. He turned his head to his right and saw Crackdown slowly walking towards him, dragging a police car behind him.
Tauren tried to get up, but to no avail. He was to weak to move. He struggled to lift his arm in an attempt to use his magic, but also failed to keep his arm up. Crackdown laughed at his weakness. He was enjoying every minute.
“I never thought I’d ever kill a demon before. But I’m not complaining.” Crackdown laughed, picking up the car.
“So much for arresting me, demon.” Crackdown said. Tauren closed his eyes in anticipation for the pain, but nothing happened. Suddenly a giant pink anvil fell on Crackdown, crushing him under it. Tauren was caught off guard by the sudden anvil and looked at it in disbelief. He looked to his left and a blue blue zoom past him and head into a two building to his left. Crackdown, still under the crater, didn’t see a thing.
“Remember the plan, girls. I get the people out of the subway, while you two distract him long enough for Tauren to make a comeback.”
“Right.” The two of them said, nodding their heads. Indigo quickly zoomed off and headed into the subway. Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest went to the roof and looked down at the street. Sugarcoat raised her eyes when she saw the pink anvil crushing Crackdown.
“An anvil? Gee, where’d you come up with that?” Sugarcoat asked.
“It was all I could think of at the moment.”
“Keep him down there. I’m gonna try something.” Sugarcoat said, starting to concentrate. Lemon Zest looked at her anvil and waited for it to move. When the anvil started to shake she quickly thought up another one and slammed down on top of the first anvil. Sending both Crackdown and the anvil deeper underground.
Tauren recovered and struggled to stand up. He stretched every part of his body and felt relief everytime he heard a bone crack. He was definitely going to feel this all in the morning.
Tauren looked back up at the anvil and recognized the form of magic in use. He looked at the anvil with impressed eyes. He never thought he’d see a giant pink anvil save his life. Tauren quickly took this opportunity to heal himself with magic. Tauren wondered where Lemon Zest could be and looked around. He looked on the roof of a two story and saw Lemon Zest waving at him. Tauren waved back and gave her a thumbs up.
Deep underground Crackdowns rage had mutated to an animalistic rage. He didn’t have time to think and only focused on his strength. Crackdown roared like an animal and held onto the anvil. Within seconds Crackdown broke out of the anvils, causing them to disappear. Lemon Zest eyes bulged at the sight of the enraged rock and looked at Sugarcoat.
“Sugarcoat, he’s really angry!” Lemon Zest said, getting nervous.
“Hold on.” Sugarcoat said.
Tauren looked at the berserk sediment and quickly formed a bubble shield around him. Crackdown sprinted towards Tauren and Rammed the bubble shield, nearly breaking it. Tauren looked at the damage and gulped.
He looked up at the clouds through the shield and noticed it was starting to rain heavily. That was when he realized what was going to happen. Tauren looked at Crackdown as he punched the shield and closed his eyes, teleporting out of there. Crackdown stopped his punches mid swing and looked at the empty shield in confusion. As he looked around the street for any of sign of Tauren, he noticed the street was cleared. All that was left was him and the damage he caused. He roared as he thought they ran off, only to be hit from above.
"ZAP!!!"
A huge lightning bolt struck Crackdown, sending waves of shock through his body. He screamed in pain as he felt the scorching heat sting his rocky surface. He tried to walk, but was immediately hit by another bolt of lightning. The second bolt cracking a huge piece of his body off. Lemon Zest saw the cracks and tried to tell Sugarcoat, but she already dropped another bolt of lightning. Crackdown was sent face first into the street, as his arm flung off him to the side of the street. Lemon Zest gasped and grew sick to her stomach.
"Sugarcoat, I think you got him." Lemon Zest exclaimed. Sugarcoat stopped and walked to the ledge, taking in the sight. She flinched in disgust at the separated rocky appendage and felt bad for him. They saw Crackdown slowly get up with one arm and did nothing. Crackdown looked at his fallen right arm and looked at the perfectly preserved human arm where his previous rock arm was. He heard a flash infront of him and looked up to see Tauren looking down at him in pity.
"Give up, yet?" Tauren asked. Crackdown glared at Tauren and roared.
He clenched his one rock arm and reeled in for a punch, Tauren easily countered his advance and punched him in the face. The force of the punch broke through his head and revealed his real human face. Tauren grabbed the unconscious Crackdown and watched as the rock slowly cracked off him, revealing Crackdowns real body. Tauren took this moment to catch his breath. The fight was over. He and the girls had saved it. Seeing news vehicles approach, he held onto the unconscious Crackdown and teleported away.
Inside a building, Two guards carried a heavily restrained Crackdown to his cell. He showed no resistance and simply glared at the guards that past by him. The two guards stopped at a lone cell and opened it. Throwing him inside, he struggled to get up without his hands. He glared at the smiling guards and charged them. They quickly closed the door and laughed when Crackdown hit the door.
"Welcome to Tartarus, Crackdown."
Crackdown struggled to get back up and glared at the guards on the other side of the door.
“I swear, when I get out, you’ll be the first to die.” Crackdown threatened. The guard cracked a smile and laughed.
“I’d love to see you try.” He said, blowing bubblegum in his face. The guards laughed at the angry prisoner and left him alone. Crackdown, in a fit of rage, charged at the door repeatedly.
“You won’t get out by crying.” A voice said in the dark. Crackdown stopped his charging and turned around. He looked at the dark cell and focused his vision. In the dark was a green man with dark green hair, lying on the bed.
“So you’re the rock guy on tv.”
“How do you know that?” Crackdown asked, his answer came when a tv screen in the dark side of the room lit up.
“You’ve got everyone talking.”
“Who are you?” Crackdown asked.
“Someone who’s got power, like you. They don’t know it, though. Except you.” The man said. Crackdown recalled his memory and remembered Neo’s plan. He realized who he was talking too.
“You must be, Nitro Blast.” Crackdown said, getting the man’s attention. He sat up from the bed and peeked his head out of the shadows.
“Now, how do you know that?”
“I work with Neo, and I have a message from your sister.” Crackdown said. The man stared at him in silence before cracking a smile.
“Go on.”
Author's Note
Possibly the longest chapter in the story. Thank you for waiting so long. Unfortunately, I never got to see the mop movie because of the wildfire, but I did see the three shorts. They were good and they left a lot open to expand upon in fanfics. Then the YouTube shorts came out and ruined a lot of ideas I had for my stories. Overall, they were pretty good.
Thanks for reading my story. Please leave a comment if you see any grammar or spelling mistakes.
Texas A week after the Incident
The streets were in an uproar. Rioters were destroying cars and breaking windows. Inside the crowd a man walked quietly through them. He looked far in front of him and could see the police in riot gear trying to stop the riots. The man looked at the angry faces in the crowd and rolled his eyes. He shoved past masked men holding signs that declared the Incident the, "End of Days." The man stopped when he saw a group of people throwing rocks at the police.
He watched them throw rocks at the police. He watched one of the rocks hit an officer in the head. The man shook his head at the group. He looked between the group and saw a teenager. The youngest one in the group prepared to throw a rock at the police and aimed. He quietly approached the group and quickly grabbed the teens arm. The kid stared at the hand and looked at the man that grabbed him. The kid squirmed and tried to pull the mans hand off but his grip was too strong. The kid looked at the man and saw him shaking his head.
“Don’t do something you’ll regret, kid.” He said, letting go of his hand. The kid looked at the man in confusion and realized what he was saying. He dropped the rock in his hand and bolted out of the group. The kid put his hand in his pocket and looked at the man. He looked at his group and saw the police were arresting them. The kid looked back at the man and walked away, staring at him.
The man watched the kid run into the crowd and turned back around to see the rock throwers getting pulled to the ground and put in handcuffs. He made a small laugh at the rock throwers attempts to break free and walked away. He finally got off the street and walked on the crowded sidewalk. He looked to his side and saw a building with its windows barred up. The open sign was destroyed but a small paper attached to the window showed its open hours. The man reached for the doorknob and realized it was locked. He knocked on the door and waited for the door to open.
The door opened, revealing an older man holding a shotgun. The older man pointed the gun at the mans forehead and looked at him. The man looked at the gun pointed at his head and grinned. The old man quickly realized who it was and put the gun down. He sighed in relief and dropped his gun.
“Oh, it’s just you. Come on, get in.” The oldman said, putting a hand on his shoulder. The man walked in and they entered the club. Inside the club, he saw men and women stare at him then turn back to the tv They all seemed to acknowledge who he was. They were sitting quietly in their seats watching the television.
The man looked up at the television and saw the same press conference from a few days ago. A woman named Starlight Glimmer had revealed the existence of aliens and a secret agency that was made to prevent magical catastrophes. When the conference happened the whole world went up in a frenzy.
The man looked around and saw an empty seat and promptly sat down. The bartender wiped a glass and brought it towards him.
“Water.” He said. The bartender rolled his eyes and reached for the water.
“You always want water, Scorch. Ironic, if you ask me.” He said, pouring water in his glass.
“I don't want anything else..” Scorch said, drinking the glass of water. He took a swig and stared at the tv screen. The news was showing footage of what they were calling, “The Incident,” along with footage of riots around the world.
“Today marks the first week after The Incident where the existence of aliens came to light. This is also the fifth day of riots and looting across the planet. Multiple countries have declared martial law while the US continues to ride out the riots maintaining its stance that the riots will end.” A news reporter said.
“In all my years I never thought I’d live to see aliens. Bunch’ve babies.” The bartender said, cleaning a glass.
“How come?” Scorch asked, wiping his mouth.
“All these riots and looting. It’s all bull. They find out a spiders sharing their home and they panic.” He said. Scorch thought about the comparison and laughed. He nodded his head in agreement.
“What do you think about all this?”
“What do I?” Scorch asked, pointing at himself.
“I think it’s amazing how one little reveal can cause so many people to riot. Then claim they were justified.” Scorch said, sipping his glass.
“You and me both, Scorch.”
"Breaking off from the riots, we have confirmed the identities of the people killed during the Incident and have learned their affiliation with local crime boss, Neo." The reporter said, showing several mug shots of people Scorch knew. To his surprise, Scorch saw a photo of himself among the montage of dead people. The bartender laughed at the photo and looked back at Scorch.
"Look at that, Scorch. The world thinks your dead."
"You hear from Neo lately?" Scorch asked, thinking back to what he said to Neo.
"Not since before this. My guess? He's bringing more of his friends in to replace them." The bartender said, referring to the dead men on tv.
"It's a shame what happened to them. Everyone in this bar knew at least one of Neo's men." He said, watching a woman crying on the table in the back.
"I'm sorry, Scorch. You knew them all, too. Being his right hand and all."
"Yeah...I did." Scorch said, thinking of one person in particular. Scorch finished his glass and stared at the bartender. He nodded and poured more water into Scorchs drink. The bartender grabbed another glass and poured himself some water.
"How 'bout a toast?"
"Sure." Scorch agreed.
"May Neo's men find rest and Scorch burn in hell. Ay men!"
"Ay men." Scorch said, clashing with the old mans glass. They both took a swig at the same time. Scorch and the old man continued talking after the toast. After an hour of hiding in the club, Scorch left. Scorch exited the bar and heard it lock as soon as he left. The street was empty but he could still hear the riots from a block away. He walked down the empty streets with his hands in his pockets. He crossed the streets thinking about the past week. He couldn't help but think back to the time he was with Behemoth. He could still feel the flame inside him, cackling. He couldn't explain it but something about his fire was different than before. Sometimes, it felt like someone else was inside him. Talking. He shrugged and clenched his fists in silent rage and continued walking.
He walked by a small alleyway with a small dumpster. For a split second, he noticed someone else was in the alleyway. He chose to ignore it and avoided the alleyway. He was supposed to go there to get to where he was living quicker, but he decided it wasn't worth it. He walked by the alleyway and thought he heard footsteps coming closer.
CLACK
The sound of a clip entering a gun stopped Scorch in his tracks. He frowned and slightly groaned. But a part of him didn't groan. Instead it chuckled. Scorch felt his temperature rising and knew something was wrong.
“Don’t turn around. Get your hands out of your pockets right now." The robber said. Scorch narrowed his eyes and pulled his hands out of his pockets.
"Good. Now give me everything you have in your pockets and I’ll let you go.” The man demanded, quietly. Scorch raised his hands in mid air and shook his head. The robber looked at Scorches hands and watched his sleeves fall. He then noticed a nice watch attached to Scorch.
“Look man, listen. I don’t want any-“
“Shut up. Give me the watch.” The man demanded. Scorch glanced at his arm and realized his watch was in plain sight. Scorch was not going to give him his watch. The watch made him think of a much happier time of his life. Before Neo. Scorch groaned in annoyance and slowly turned around. Causing the robber to move back.
“I said, don’t move!” Scorch turned around and realized it was a teenager. The orange skinned Teen was wearing a grey thick jacket and hoodie. Scorch looked at the kids face and froze. He reminded him of someone. Scorch watched as Dodge’s face formed in his head as he stared at the kid. He felt his heart stop beating and could feel himself start to sweat.
"Oh no." Scorch thought, beginning to hear laughing in his head.
“Hey, are you deaf? Give me the watch.” The kid demanded.
“Kid, you don’t want to do this. Not with him.” Scorch warned.
“Shut the hell up.” He exclaimed.
“You can run away and I won’t let him chase you.” Scorch warned, causing the kid to raise his brow in confusion. He shrugged it off and kept his finger on the trigger.
“I said. Give. Me. The watch.” He demanded. Scorch stared at the kid, then looked down at the ground. The flame inside him was laughing at the kid. Scorch closed his eyes and sighed. He reopened them and stared back up at the kid.
“Kid. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.” Scorch said, igniting into a huge ball of fire. The kid stared at the fire and flinched back. He fell back and landed on the sidewalk, staring at the fire in shock. He watched with horror as Scorch walked out of the fire covered in flames. Scorch stared down at the kid and laughed with a terrifying echoed voice.
“You should have listened to his warning, kid. Cuz now you’re stuck with me.” He smiled. The kid got on his feet and aimed at Scorch. He pulled the trigger once and fired. The flame could see the bullet darting towards him and laughed. He flicked his hand and ignited the fire on his arm. The fire bursted forwards like a jet engine and melted the bullet before it could hit him. The robber watched his bullet vanish in the flames and grew more terrified. He screamed and fired several bullets into the flame. The flame saw the bullets and laughed. He opened his mouth and let the fire fly forward. The sudden blast of fire propelled forward and reached the bullets halfway between him and the robber. The robber stared at the fire breathing man in front of him in horror. He pulled the trigger again and heard it click several times. The robber felt his heart stop at the realization he had run out of bullets. The wall of fire in front of him grew large. The robber felt the intense heat and knew he had to get out of there. He watched the fire move towards him on the sidewalk and took steps back. When he realized the fire wasn't stopping, he attempted to turn around but he was stopped by a hand grasping his ankle. The robber screamed when he saw the hand grabbing him from the fire under him. He was too shocked to realize the fire wasn't burning him.
Then the rest of him rose from the fire. The robber watched in shock as the hand grabbing his ankle rose higher up his body and reached his chest. He was even more shocked to see a man rise out of the foot tall fire under him. The hand on his chest gripped his jacket and slowly lifted him off the ground. The robber looked down at the burning man that had hold of his jacket and started to kick and scream. The robber tried to break free from his grasp, and attempted to hit him with the pistol. His eyes grew wide when his pistol made contact with the flames chest and sunk right in. The flame looked at the gun in his chest and laughed. The robber flinched at the extreme heat burning his gun and let go of it. He watched as the gun sunk further into his body like lava. The flame looked at the robber struggling and laughed. He threw him across the street into garbage bins. The robber screamed the whole way and crashed hard into the garbage.
The flame stared at the floor and felt the heat rising in his hands. He let a huge burst of flame blow out of his hands and lifted him high into the air like a rocket. He flew over to the groaning robber and stared down at the kid.
“You made a mistake. You didn’t mean it. I know you’re scared.” Scorch said, slowly descending on top of the kid. The teen screamed in fear as the flames grew closer and closer to him.
“Come on, say you’re sorry.”
“I’m sorry. Please don't kill me.” He cried.
“I know you are and I’m proud of you.” The flame said, flying into the sky. His voice echoed through the street, scaring the teen even more.
“If it were up to me I'd let you burn, but Scorch doesn't want that.” He said, staring down at the kid. The flame groaned and touched his forehead. His time was up.
"So long, kid." The flame waved. The robber watched the burning man fly away from the street. The fire that had spawned from him quickly vanished after his departure. The only evidence of his flames were the scorch marks left behind.
Present Day
Inside the Agency, Starlight Glimmer stared at the large monitor inside Tech Division from her spot on the second floor. A couple dozen agents were watching the monitor as well from downstairs. Most agents were up from their seats and were grouping up. The giant monitor was only officially used for missions and news reports. Unofficially: whenever Jeopardy was on. At the moment, the monitor was playing the local news station for Canterlot City. Starlight and the other agents collectively groaned as the news started. Since the fight with Crackdown, the Agency had prepared for the media storm ahead. The news station opened with footage of Crackdown with the headline, Destruction in Canterlot. Eyewitness footage showed Crackdown coming out of the subway tunnel.
Although the footage was shaky, it showed enough of Crackdown's destruction. The footage cut to the police fight with Crackdown. The footage had a clear sight of the battle and showed how ineffective the cops were at stopping him. In the middle of the fight, the camera cut to a zoom in of Norman and Adagio's blurred-out faces running away from the fight. The footage was edited in a way that made it seem like they were abandoning them. Then the footage cut to the fight with Tauren. The camera recorded Tauren and Crackdown's entire fight for the whole world to see.
Starlight stared at the screen with silent scorn. She watched the battle unfold on camera and could already see the ramifications this could cause.
The footage stopped and switched to the news desk where a green-skinned man stared at the screen with a face that showed his intense displeasure. The whole Agency collectively booed at the sight of him. That man was, Lax Reporter. The Agency’s biggest fan.
Starlight rolled her eyes at the sight of him. Lax Reporter was the top reporter for the Canterlot News Report. After the Incident, he quickly became the most vocal reporter to speak out against the Agency. Before the Agency, he was a barely relevant newscaster that had some controversal opinions about the world. But after the Agency went public, his popularity skyrocketed. Whenever he was on, he always had something to say about the Agency.
“Wow. So much for protection, huh?” He said. A picture of the Agents running away faded in to the right.
“Our so-called Department of Magical Prevention running away from a magical attack?” He said.
“We were trying to help the people in the subway!” Adagio yelled in the crowd, getting a couple shouts in agreement from the surrounding agents.
“A crazed agent shooting a bazooka while people are still running?” He said. Footage of Bonbon shooting a rocket at Crackdown played. The camera zoomed into the explosion with edited and poorly cut audio of people screaming.
“I didn’t shoot the rocket until everyone was out of the line of fire!” Bonbon shouted at the tv. Starlight glanced down from the stairs and saw Bonbon staring angrily at the tv. Deacon was next to her, trying to calm her down.
“This is what they have to offer to protect us? Cowards running away and mentally unfit lunatics shooting rockets while people are in the way? Not to mention the complete uselessness of their bazooka!”
“How did this all end, you ask? If you can’t beat em, just send the alien to fight for you.” He said. Footage of Tauren fighting Crackdown played in the background.
“I know what you’re thinking? How the hell did this Agency remain a secret since America’s founding when their own workers show this much incompetence?”
"Screw you!" A agent shouted, getting cheers from the crowd.
“We tried getting in touch with the Agency to comment, but they don’t seem to answer their calls.” He said, cutting to Lax calling the public number for the Agency.
“Hello?” A voice asked. The Agents in the crowd immediately recognized Deacons voice and cheered.
“Hello, Lax Reporter for Canterlot News Report.”
“...” Deacon said nothing and hung the phone up.
“Hello? Are you there? Hello?” Lax asked. The camera then cut back to Lax's face.
“Friendly, amiright?”
“Later on, I’ll be joined by city mayor, Mayor Mare and top scientist in his field, Dr. Grey Matter, to discuss the alien threat and the possible causes of the “anomalies” around the world. More when we get back.”
Starlight rolled her eyes at the tv and leaned onto the railing. The Agents below cheered and laughed at the screen when the commercials started playing. Any cut to commercial was celebrated when Lax was on. Deacon looked at the agents around him and received praise and a couple of fist-bumps. The agents that weren't close around him gave nods of approval.
Starlight watched the Agents downstairs and saw the laughs and smiles. Despite the times, the Agency morale was high. Starlight cracked a smile in silent approval. Luckily, no one saw it except her assistant. Starlight turned and greeted her assistant.
“Hello, Madame."
“Hm? Yes, Bright?” Starlight asked.
“You have a phone call.” Bright said, holding on to a clipboard.
“From who?”
“The President.” Bright said. She heard Starlight whisper something under her breath, but she couldn’t catch it. Starlight sighed and let go of the railling.
"Thanks, Bright." Starlight said, adjusting her hair. She quickly turned around and walked away. Bright stood where Starlight was and hoped everything was okay. Being her assistant, Bright was worried about her bosses stress. Especially considering her current pregnate state. She stared off into space thinking about Starlight and didn't hear the footsteps coming up the stairs.
“Hey, Bright.” Bright jumped in surprise and turned to see Ronin looking at her with a welcoming nice.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Ronin apologized.
“It’s okay. I knew it was you.” She pretended.
“What’s going on with my-...with Madame?"
“She got a call from the President.”
“Oh.” He said, realizing it was one of those calls, "He must’ve watched the news.” Ronin said, looking at the tv.
The news had returned to talk badly about the Agency. The Agents downstairs all groaned with some raising their hands in the air. The news was interviewing the mayor and a scientist. The mayor was showing her support while the scientist was neutral. The reporter was asking questions that painted the Agency in a bad light.
“I can’t believe that guy hates us so much.” Bright said. Ronin nodded his head in agreement.
“You and me both. Knowing him, he'll find a way to make everything we do look bad.” Ronin said. After the riots had calmed down, many began to show their support of the Agency and Equestria after the official report claimed that they helped save the planet. Countries of the world officially recognized Equestria as it’s own nation. This action was made so that they would have the chance to visit Equestria for diplomatic reasons and technological exchanges.
However, the portal that lead to Equestria was on American land, meaning no country could enter the US without permission by the government. And as of now, the US had no plans of entering the portal. They instead labeled it “Top Secret ” to the rest of the world. Only the Agency and the President of The United States know its location.
“Come on. Let’s go see what Madame Glimmer’s doing.” Ronin said.
“I think she’s still talking with the President.” Bright said, catching up with him.
Bright and Ronin walked to Starlights office and slowly entered the room in silence. Downstairs, Norman watched the two of them enter the office and grew interested. Norman was with Bonbon and a few other agents watching the news. He always hated listening to Lax on the news.
Norman took a step back from the group and walked up to the staircase. He was about to go up them when he felt his phone vibrate. He grabbed his chest pockets and felt nothing. Reaching lower to his pockets, he felt his phone and pulled it out. The ringtone was loud and had gotten several agents to turn. Deacon heard the phone and stared at Norman. Norman opened his phone and hoped it wasn't a telemarketer. He looked at the phone and saw it said, Unknown Caller. He raised his eyebrow and wondered if a parent of one of his students was calling him. Bonbon approached Norman and grabbed his shoulder, peeking at his phone from behind.
"Who is it?" Bonbon asked.
"I dont know." Norman said, letting it go to voicemail. Almost immediately the ringing started again.
"They really want to talk to me, though." Norman said. He tapped the answer button and put the phone up to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Is this Agent 32-N? Norman?" The man on the phone asked. Norman heard his ID number and his eyes widened as he looked at the unknown caller on his phone. He quickly pulled his phone away and looked at Bonbon. Bonbon looked at Norman's face and saw the surprise in his eyes.
"Get, Deacon." Norman said with a serious tone. Bonbon understood his seriousness and immediately sprang into action. Norman put the phone up to his ear again and started walking towards Deacons office.
“Yes? Who is this?” Norman asked.
“That doesn’t matter, we need to talk.” The familiar sounding voice said.
“We’re talking right now.” Norman said, moving into Deacons office. He took a seat and continued listening. Bonbon approached Deacon and grabbed his arm. She pulled him closer to her and got a confused look from Deacon.
"Deacon, I need you." She said.
"Sweetie, what are you doing? You know they caught us last time, right?" Deacon asked, getting dragged away from the agents.
"It's not that. It's about, Norman. C'mon."
Deacon looked at Bonbon and shrugged. She grabbed his hand and he followed her through the crowd. Entering his office cubicle, he saw Norman sitting on his chair. Norman saw Deacon and immediately pointed at his phone. Deacon saw Normans mouth move and understood the words he was mouthing.
"Trace it." Norman mouthed. Deacon nodded and quickly headed to his desk. He turned on his computer and quickly started typing.
“Who is this?” Norman asked.
“I can’t tell you over the phone, but I need your help.” The voice said on the phone.
“You know who I am, I can't know you?
"Too risky."
"Alright. So you need my help?” Norman asked.
“Almost done.” Deacon whispered.
“I do. I have something that's very important and you're the only agent I trust.”
"Should I know you?
"You should."
“Well, where do you want to meet?” Norman asked.
“Head to Canterlot Cemetery, right now and we’ll talk.”
“I got it.” Deacon said. Norman dragged the chair over to Deacons desk and looked at his computer.To Normans suprise, the callers phone was traced at Canterlot Cemetary.
“He’s not lying so far.” Norman thought.
“Why there?” He asked.
“That’s where you buried Dodge, right?”
“How do you know that?”
“Come here and find out. I know you’re tracing this call to my location, Norman. I wouldn’t be telling you where I am if I didn’t want you to find me.”
“Okay, So you’re telling the truth, but how do I know I can trust you?”
“You can’t trust me, you’re just gonna have to take a chance.”
“Alright, I’ll see you at the Cemetery.”
“Good. Come alone, I'll know if you don’t.” The man said, hanging up. Norman put his phone away and saw Bonbon and Deacons faces. Bonbon had her arms crossed and shook her head. Deacon had an unsure expression on his face.
“I’m going.” Norman said.
“No, you’re not.” Bonbon denied.
“If he wants me to come alone, I’ll come alone. It’s an open field, Bonbon. I’ll know if things are bad before I get there.” Norman said, getting up out of Deacons chair.
“I don’t like this.” Bonbon said with concern.
“Yeah, Norman. This sounds really sketchy.” Deacon said.
“The guy has my phone number, I have to go down there whether I want to or not.” Norman said. Bonbon turned her head and thought things through and sighed.
“Okay, but if anything happens you have to call me.” Bonbon ordered.
“I’ll be fine.” Norman said , hugging Bonbon. Norman broke the hug and walked to the door. He turned his head and nodded at Deacon. Deacon nodded back and said goodbye.
“You better come back alive or game nights gonna be boring here.” Deacon said. Norman smiled, rolling his eyes.
“If the Madame asks where I’m at tell her it’s a parent conference.” Norman said, walking out the building.
Bonbon gave Deacon a look that he knew all to well.
“I’ll track his car through the satellites.” Deacon said, getting Bonbon to smile. Upstairs they heard Starlights office creak open and saw Ronin walking out with Bright rushing towards him.
"Ronin wait!" Bright exclaimed, catching up to Ronin. Bonbon looked at Ronin's face and could see the anger in his eyes. Bonbon narrowed her eyes in thought. Deacon had heard the commotion as well and took a peek at Ronin's face.
“Kid looks pissed.” Deacon said, typing away on his keyboard.
“You track Norman, I’ll go see what’s wrong.” Bonbon said, leaving Deacon alone. Deacon stopped typing and leaned back on the chair, putting his arms behind his head. Deacon typed several commands on his keyboard and reached a menu. The screen cut to a black screen with a single page that asked. You are about to track this agent. Continue? Deacon stared at the screen for a couple seconds. He knew he wasn't supposed to use the satellites to track people without getting authorization from the Madame or one of the other higher ups. He sighed and pressed the enter key.
“Doing this to keep you safe, man. You’ll thank me later.” Deacon said, justifying himself. In space, a light source on the Satellite turned green. The satellites camera lens focused in and out as it adjusted its position in orbit. Back on Earth, Deacon watched as the computer began accessing every camera spotting Normans car. Deacon watched Norman enter the parking garage and get in his car. Deacon saw Normans car exit the garage and was shortly followed by a ding notification.
Norman drove through the streets in silence. It didn't take long to exit the city using the highway. He took the exit to the right and started to drive through farmland. He passed by a red farm with entire acres of apple trees. Norman recognized the farm from a photo he had seen at Canterlot High. He passed by a sign on the road that gave the identities of the farm away.
Sweet Apple Acres: Proud Supplier of Food for Canterlot High and Local Markets.
Norman read the sign as he drove by it and grinned. He drove on further and further from the farm and passed by windmills. After 10 minutes of driving he made it to Canterlot Cemetery. Norman approached the front gate and stopped his car. He made sure his car was making as little noise as possible and stopped the engine. He sat in his car and stared out at the cemetery. He sat there in his car for five minutes, scoping out the scenery. He couldn’t see anything or anyone inside. He stared at the church inside and for a second thought he had seen the door slightly open. Seeing no one around and assuming the mystery man was in the church, Norman turned the car back on and proceeded to drive into the entrance. He slowly moved through the road as he scanned the field through his windows.
He reached the end of the road and stopped the car. He stopped the engine and listened for any suspicious noise outside. The Cemetery was quiet. Only moving tree branches and the occasional birds chirping.
He knew right away that something wasn’t right, but he had no choice. Whoever wanted him here could probably see him. He stared out the window to his left and looked at the graves ahead. Norman focused his vision on the grave in the distance. He knew that grave belonged to Dodge. He could still see the numerous flowers that were placed on the grave in good condition.
After a few minutes in his car, he decided to stop wasting time. He removed his seatbelt and opened the door, slowly getting out with a hand attached to his gun holster. He closed the door and flicked a small switch on his watch. Immediately, a key poked out the side of the watch where Norman easily grabbed it. He locked his car up and quickly pushed the key back in its slot.
He turned back around and stared at Dodge’s grave. With nothing else to do, he made his way to the grave with hesitation in every step. As he approached the grave he looked around for his mystery caller, but saw no one.
He stopped infront of Dodge’s grave and stared at it. He read the words on the grave and didn’t notice he was being watched. As he stared at the grave he noticed a orange hue reflecting off the plaque. As he focused more on the reflection he could see a human figure above him. He quickly took his gun out and pointed it at the man hovering above him. Norman eyes grew wide when he realized it was Scorch.
“Do you remember me?” Scorch asked.
“I thought you died?” Norman said, calmly.
“I thought so, too.” Scorch said, hovering down slowly. His feet softly landed on the grass, causing it to turn black.
“Don’t try to shoot me. You’ll waste your bullets.” Scorch said, changing to his human form.
Norman stared at Scorch as his flames disappeared and was replaced by a set of clothes on his body. Norman wondered how his clothes were on fire, but he summed it up as magic. He stared at Scorch for a few seconds and aimed his gun down. He put the safety on and put it back on his belt.
“I thought you had a beard?” Scorch asked.
“I shaved it.” Norman replied.
“So, you’re alone?” Scorch asked.
“Yeah.” Norman said, truthfully.
“Good. Come with me.” Scorch ordered, walking towards a small church in the distance. Norman recognized the church as the one they held the funeral for Dodge at. Norman stared at Scorch as he walked to the church and followed him shortly after.
They reached the church and walked inside. Inside was rows of seats and a empty stage at the front. Above the stage was a tinted window that resembled a cross.
“After the Incident happened I thought you’d all be looking for me.”
“Well, when the whole city saw the huge explosion in the sky and Dodge coming back without you in sight, we assumed you were dead.”
“Can’t hunt a dead man.” Scorch commented. Norman nodded in agreement.
“What happened?” Norman asked.
“Dodge blew up and sent the both of us into the sea. After that it was all a blur. All I remember is screaming and crying in pain as my body hardened into obsidian.”
“Damn.” Norman thought out loud. Scorch nodded in agreement.
“A fishing trawler caught my body in its nets and picked me up. After a few seconds I managed to break out of my obsidian body and flew away. I didn’t know I could fly when I did that, but I didn’t give it any thought. I just.. flew.”
“We got a report of a boat incident, but we never looked into it because of the uproar that started after the press conference.” Norman explained.
“After that I found Neo shortly after. He tried to get me back in his gang as his right hand, again. I refused and abandoned him at his house. That’s when I flew to Texas and laid low.” Scorch said.
“When I realized no one was looking for me, I rejoined society.”
“At least I know how you’re here, now. Why did you call me? Why now?”
“... I need your help. I got caught up in something huge.”
“What do you mean?”
“A few weeks after the riots died down. A man showed up at the abandoned building I was hiding in. I asked him how he found me and he said he was always watching me. He told me everything he knew about me, including my power. He offered me a job to help him look for others like me, but I refused. Then he showed me his own powers.
The house I was hiding in was abandoned and overgrown. Dead bushes and grass had covered most of the bottom floor. I didn’t care much for them, but they seemed to have been like that for ages. Then, with just a flick of his wrist, everything in the building bloomed and expanded. I accepted his offer after that and joined him in his search.”
“Who was he?”
“His name was Dr. Prion. From what he told me, he used to be a botanist and researcher for a private company. He left after he discovered his powers and shortly realized there were others like him.”
“I was with him for only a month, but we managed to find twenty Uniques.”
“Twenty Uniques?”
“They were spread across the states. I was the one he sent to look for them alongside Mirror.”
“Mirror?”
“We were close. Very close. She was one of the first Unique’s that he found. She could create portals that would instantly take us to whatever location we needed to go. It made things a lot easier for us. When we brought the Unique back to him he would ask for a demonstration. Then when it was over he would take them away and we would never see them.”
“And you never wondered where they went?”
“We thought nothing of it.” Scorch said, glaring blankly at the window.
“What changed?” Norman asked.
“I was fooled. I went inside the room he took them to and found out who he really was. A monster. It was a like a hospital from hell. He strapped the Uniques in restraints and experimented on them with his magic. I recognized all of them. I was the one who put them there. That’s when I learned the dark side to his power. He could heal life, but he could also destroy it. He was creating diseases with his magic and testing the effects on the Uniques.”
“That must be why he wanted to see their powers before going on with his plans.” Norman hypothesized.
“Whenever he had a Unique that was too strong for him he’d keep them as his workers. He was using us to lead Uniques to their death.”
“Then what happened?” Norman asked. Scorch pulled out a memory stick out of his pocket and showed it to Norman.
“I looked at his computer in the room and learned everything I could. I noticed a usb in the computer so I moved everything I read onto the stick and took it.”
“Smart. What’s in it?” Norman asked.
“His experiments. He recorded them all. Before I took it I noticed a file titled Top Secret and opened it. He lied about who he was before the powers. He used to be part of your Agency before leaving with another Agent, years ago.”
“Jesus.” Norman said, covering his mouth in disbelief.
“That’s how I found your number. After I took everything out of the computer, I burned the computer. I ran out of the room and told all the Uniques what was happening.”
“Once I told them the atrocities, Prion was committing they joined me. Except for two.”
“They already knew.” Norman realized. Scorch nodded his head in confirmation.
“I don’t know who they were, but all I got was they were the Doctors muscle. One of them was a Unique that Prion had found. The other one was odd.”
“How odd?” Norman asked, in confusion.
“I didn’t see anything about him when I was in Prions room. He was there before he found all of us. When we staged the breakout, he managed to kill two Uniques and Mirror without showing his powers. Mirror opened a portal and let the last of us escape to a random location. If it wasn’t for Mirror sacrificing her life, I wouldnt know what would happen.” Scorch said, staring at the floor in sadness.
“I’m sorry.” Norman said with sympathy.
“Mirror was a good person. She used to be a teacher in an elementary school before she got her powers. We talked everyday and would stick together when we went searching for Uniques. She was the only person I grew attached to in the building.” Scorch said, remembering her.
“I left the surviving Uniques to safety and flew here as fast as I could. That’s why I called you. I need your help to stop Prion before he and his henchman do this again to other Uniques.” Scorch pleaded.
“Okay, but if I’m gonna help with this we need to make one thing clear. You listen to me. Just by listening to what you said I can tell you’ve changed, but I need to be sure.”
“Alright.” Scorch said, getting up.
“Alright.” Norman repeated, getting up.
“We’re taking my car.”
Norman and Scorch entered the car and quickly drove out of the Cemetery. Up above the earth, a satellite stared down at the Normans car with its camera and sent the feed to Deacons computer. Deacon was watching Norman drive to the airport and stared at the screen in confusion.
“What the hell are you doing, Norman?” Deacon mumbled, getting out of his seat. He quickly rushed to find Bonbon and tell her what he saw.
“Bonbon’s gonna be pissed!” Deacon exclaimed in his head. He walked up the stairs and immediately stopped when the Madame was infront of him. Deacon stood straight and saluted her, instantly.
“Madame.” Deacon said. He was starting to freak out on the inside. He couldn’t let Starlight know the Agency was breached and that Norman was gone, but he also couldn’t lie.
“Deacon.” Starlight said. Starlight looked at Deacons face and noticed sweat on his forehead. She noticed he was slightly slumping and his arm was shaking as he saluted. Starlight could see it a mile away that Deacon was nervous.
“Something the matter, Agent Deacon?” Starlight asked in suspicion. Deacon gulped and responded.
“No, Madame.”
“Are you sure?” Starlight asked.
“Yes, Madame.” Deacon said. Starlight raised an eyebrow at his quick response.
“Why were you running, Deacon?”
“Lord give me strength.” Deacon pleaded in his head. Starlight stared at Deacon and narrowed her eyes.
“I- I was going to find Bonbon.”
“Why?”
“We were going.. to go... to the... movies.” Deacon stuttered, thinking of something to say.
“Oh, really? What movie?” Starlight asked, folding her arms. Deacon internally screamed.
“Uhhh... God..zilla...” Deacon said, whispering that last part.
“Deacon, that was out last year.” Starlight said.
“It was?” Deacon asked, mentally shouting profanities.
“What are you doing, Deacon?” Starlight asked. Deacon stood there thinking of anything he could say to her and caved in.
“The Agency was breached.” Deacon said. Starlight raised an eyebrow and listened to Deacon.
“Norman got a phone call and left to go talk to him. We don’t know anything else about the situation, but so far things are under control.” Deacon admitted. Starlight narrowed her eyes and stared at Deacon.
“Hmph. At ease.” Starlight ordered, Deacon immediately relaxed and thanked Starlight.
“Well that explains why our satellite was following Norman’s car. “ Starlight said.
“You knew?” Deacon asked.
“Deacon, It's my job to know everything we do.” Starlight said.
“You two continue spying on him. I’ll send Agents to follow him. Thanks for telling the truth, but I highly recommend you work on your speaking skills.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Dismissed.” Starlight said. He thanked Starlight and walked off towards the direction Bonbon went. Deacon sighed in relief as he walked away. Starlight watched Deacon leave and could hear the news in the background.
“Madame Glimmer? More like Madame Loser.” Lax said, getting tons of shocked gasps and boos from the Agents. Starlight simply shook her head and sighed.
“I really hate that man.” She said to herself, staring at the giant monitor with intense hatred.
Norman and Scorch had reached the airport an hour ago. They purchased plane tickets and had boarded the plane. Norman took the window seat and buckled up. He peeked outside the window and could see a view of the airfield. He looked at Scorch and noticed he was staring off into space.
"I watched the press conference. Is that what really happened?” Scorch asked, staring at the passengers entering the plane.
“Yeah. Most of it.” Norman replied.
“Even the possession part?”
“Yes.”
“So, Behemoth was just some crazy person possessing an innocent man?”
“That's the short version, yeah.”
“How’s he taking freedom?”
“He hides in the Agency. He feels bad about everything. When he was possessed , he could still see and hear everything around him. He told us about his attempts to break free, but after a while... he gave up.” Norman said, remembering Tauren's stories.
“So where’s the possessor?”
“Classified.”
“Of course.” Scorch said, rolling his eyes.
They stopped talking for a few minutes and sat in there seats as the plane moved. Norman looked out the window and watched the plane drive to the airfield. The two of them stared blankly outside the window and watched the plane lift off. After a little turbulence, the plane flew smoothly in the clouds. Norman looked back at Scorch and noticed he was staring at the screen in the seat in front of him.
“Anything else you’d like to share on the way?” Norman asked. Scorch ignored him and watched the tv. Norman narrowed his eyes and scoffed.
"You know I don't have to be here?" Norman said. Scorch stopped watching tv and glared at Norman.
“It was at night. I was held at gunpoint by some kid and I gave him burns. Then I flew away. That enough?” Scorch asked.
“There has to be something else. You’re not telling me everything are you?” Norman asked, raising an eyebrow. Scorch glared at Norman with intense eyes. Norman looked into them and could see a flame in them. Not wanting to fight he backed down and sat back into his seat, staring at the window. He heard Scorch sigh in annoyance followed by his voice.
“It was the same night I was robbed.”
Scorch flew across the night sky. He flew above the clouds so nobody on the ground could see him. He stopped flying and hovered above the clouds. He floated there and closed his eyes.
“You never should’ve left him, Dodge.” He thought in his head. He remembered saying it like it was yesterday. He clenched his hands as he remembered the last time he ever saw Dodge. He remembered what Behemoth had offered him.
“How would you like to have power of your own?” Behemoth asked. Scorch wished he didn’t take Behemoths offer. He wished it had been somebody else. But it was him.
Scorch knew there was nobody in Neo’s gang that was better than him. He was the best shot and the best brawler in the gang. When new recruits joined Neo’s gang it was up to him to train them.
This was how he met Dodge for the first time. Scorch hated him the moment he saw him. An idiot with a ego the size of a mountain. Scorch remembered beating up Dodge every morning in their training sessions.
When he finally learned how to fight. Scorch felt nothing. Not even pride. He stared at Dodge with hatred. If it wasn’t the cops that’d kill him. It would’ve been him. He didn’t know what Neo saw inside him, but when the time comes that he’d mess up. He’d want to be there to see him.
Then his mistake happened. Scorch remembered what Dodge did. That was when things became clearer. Dodge had more similarities to him than he thought. On the night he learned Dodge gave away the money to some poor family. Scorch declined the offer to kill him in the abandoned warehouse out of respect. A decision that unknowingly saved his life.
That was when Behemoth arrived. The night that followed was likely gonna stay with him for the rest of his life. From the first time he saw his firy form to his near death experience in the water.
Now when he thinks of Dodge, regret fills his head. Ever since he found out he was dead, he thought of the what if’s? What if Dodge didn’t die? What if Dodge got through to him? What if he never joined Neo’s gang?
He scoffed at that one. If he hadn’t have joined Neo he would’ve joined another gang. Revenge had followed him then. A flash of his previous life played in his life. He was the happiest man in the world. With a beautiful wife and a beautiful home. Then it all drifted away.
Scorch opened his eyes and dropped his concentration when rising out of the clouds in the distance was smoke. He stared at the rising smoke and slowly floated towards it. He floated above the smoke and listened. He could hear police sirens, fire trucks spraying water, and ambulances blaring. He poked his head through the clouds and saw a house covered in flames. He stared at the burning house and watched the firefighters fail to stop the fire.
He shook his head at the sight of their failure. That house was definitely a lost cause with those firefighters. Scorch went back above the clouds and sighed. He clenched his fists and prepared to leave. As was about to leave, he heard a woman’s scream come from below. He stopped what he was doing and peeked out of the clouds.
“My baby is still in there!” She exclaimed, as paramedics took her away. Scorch looked at the burning house and could hear a baby crying. His eyes widened through the flames. A firefighter tried to enter through the door, but was stopped by wood collapsing onto him. Scorch knew the firefighters wouldn’t be able to save the baby with the condition the house was in. He contemplated going down there, but hesitated.
Scorch shrugged it off and bolted through the clouds and flew to the back of the house. He flew down to the backyard without any witnesses and landed in the firy garden. He got up and walked through the flames. The fire that covered the entire backyard had no effect on him.
He stared at the glass door that kept him from entering the house and punched it. The glass broke instantly, allowing him to walk in the burning house.
Scorch looked around the burning house and saw stairs that led to the second floor. He stared at the wooden stairs and saw that they collapsed into a closet underneath. He listened for the baby and could still hear its crying. He flared up and flew up the stairs in an instant.
On the second floor, he passed by the flames that burned the carpet and punched through door after door. He reached the last door in the house and noticed the fire hadn’t reached that side of the house yet. He walked out of the flames and concentrated. Within a second , Scorch had turned into his human self.
He turned the door knob and opened the door. The room was partially covered in smoke, but was mostly untouched by the fire. The walls were aquamarine colored with every letter in the alphabet taped on the wall. On the other side of the room was a crib holding the crying baby inside. Above the crib were letters that spelled out, Peach.
He rushed on over to the baby and quickly grabbed her out of the crib. Scorch held on to her gently and tried to stop the crying. He shooshed the baby as he shook her around.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” He said, succeeding in calming her down. Scorch looked out the door and stared into the burning hallway. The fire was spreading to the room with smoke coming in fast.
He tried to think of a way out of the house, but his mind was drawing blanks. Scorch looked at his free hand and thought of an idea. He thought about the times he changed form inside buildings, without starting a fire. He knew he could control his flames, if he lowered his temperature enough. The only problem was that he didn’t have that much practice in it. He put the baby back in the crib and stood far away from the crib. He concentrated and quickly ignited in flames. Staring at his now enflamed body, he focused his powers and attempted to lower his temperature.
Scorch concentrated as hard as he could. Scorchs flames around his body slowly began to weaken. The once tall fires that lined his shoulders were the size of candles. His hands had hardened up and became solid. The fire that engulfed his head had shrunk to the edge of his skull. The floor he stood on stopped burning from his feet. He opened his eyes and looked at his body. He touched the aquamarine walls and saw he wasn’t burning it at all.
Scorch smiled at his victory and approached the crib again. At the sight of Scorchs presence.and started crying again. He realized he was scaring her and quickly focused again. The small fire that lit up his skull started to recede like a flower in bloom. His touched his face and realized it was human. The baby stopped crying when seeing Scorchs face.
He gave her a smile and hesitantly put his hands around her. When he realized he wasn’t burning her with his hands he quickly grabbed her. He held onto her with his hands and walked to the door. The fires had caught up with him, as they began to burn the door infront of him. He kicked the door off its hinges with his leg and stared at the fire infront of him.
He slowly pushed on and walked through the flames. He stood in the front of the stairs and slowly ignited his legs. He lifted him and the baby off the floor and flew down to the bottom floor. He landed on the floor softly and slowly pushed on. The smoke was dense and black. Scorch knew she wouldn’t be able to handle this at her age. He approached the back door and noticed it was blocked by wood that had collapsed from the second floor. He looked around the burning house and realized he would have to take the front door. He turned around and stared at the giant flames that stood between him and the exit. With nowhere else to go he ran through the flames with the baby in his grip. The two of them rushed out of the fire without burning and approached the exit.
The mother stared at her house with tears falling down her face. She fell on her knees and stared at the burning house. She knew there was no way her baby could be alive and broke down completely. She covered the back of her head and dropped her head onto the ground. The firefighters stared at her with sympathy. Sadness had filled their faces at their failure to save the baby. They had stopped the fire from spreading, but the house was a lost cause.
A firefighter closest to the house stared at the grief stricken mother until he heard a sound from the front door. He looked at the door and could make out a figure coming out the door. He stopped what he was doing and warned the firefighters.
“Look!” He exclaimed.
Everyone, including the mother, looked at the front door in disbelief. A man with no burns in sight walked out the house carrying with him a baby. The mother bolted from her position and rushed towards the man. She stared at him and gently grabbed her baby off his hands, too shocked to say anything. She cried as she held her baby in her arms. Scorch stared at the mother and smiled. Paramedics approached him and the mother and quickly got them out of the front yard.
Norman stared at Scorch with amazement as he finished his story. He couldn’t believe Scorch had saved a baby from a burning building.
“They took me and the mother to the hospital in separate ambulances. I flew away before they saw me. I didn’t need to hear it to know she was thankful.”
“A day later, the local news reported that a mystery man saved a baby from a burning building unscathed. They had no idea it was me. A week after that, I met Prion. That’s probably how he found me.”
“It sounds like you were on track to reforming yourself.” Norman said.
“So, why did you agree to help him?” Norman asked.
“Redemption.”
“You wanted redemption?” Norman asked. Scorch nodded his head and started talking.
“I already told you how bad I felt after the incident. I thought helping him find others like Dodge, would redeem me.”
“I can’t believe I fell for it.” Scorch said.
“Hey, don’t put yourself down like that. You had no idea what he was doing.” Norman said, trying to cheer him up.
“But if I did Mirror and the Uniques he experimented on would still be alive.”
“It doesn’t matter. All that does is taking him down.” Norman said, solemnly.
“You’re right. I can’t let her sacrifice mean nothing. I have to stop him. For them.” Scorch said. Norman nodded his head in agreement.
“So, when we get there. How many Uniques will be waiting for you to return?”
“4. Rivet, Astro Platinum, Blue Tempo, and Spectre.”
“What can they do?” Norman asked. Scorch raised an eye at the question.
“You came to me to help, so I need to know who I’m working with.” Norman justified. Scorch rolled his eyes and answered.
“Rivet can turn into whatever metal he touches, Blue Tempo can fire lasers out of his hands, and Spectre can see and move through walls. Not to mention turn invisible.”
“Wow. Wait, what about Astro Platinum?” Norman asked.
“That one, I don’t know. He was one of the last Uniques I found but he refused to show me his power. He said he didn’t want to hurt me.”
“Must be scary.” Norman said, thinking of what it could be.
“Yeah, when me and Mirror picked him up at his city. We heard reports of minor earthquakes around the city. But that’s all I know.”
“Thanks.” Norman said.
“That better have been everything. I’m going to sleep.” Scorch said, reclining in the seat.
“That’s all I need to know.” Norman said. Scorch closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep in minutes. Norman pulled out headphones out of a pocket infront of his seat and watched tv on the screen infront of him. Staring out the window, he hoped things would be okay.
Bonbon followed Ronin out of the Agency and entered the parking garage. Ronin and Bright stood in the parking lot talking. Bright was worried about Ronin and tried to cheer him up. Bonbon exited out the elevator and approached the two of them. Ronin looked up at Bonbon and quickly covered his face.
“What’s going on here?” Bonbon asked.
“It’s nothing.” Ronin said, trying to hide his anger. Bright her arm on his shoulder to comfort him and told Bonbon what was going on.
“The government wants Tauren transferred to the military in three days.” Bright said.
“What?” Bonbon exclaimed.
“What purpose would Tauren have in the military?”
“To assure the public that they don’t have to be scared of him. But mostly because his skills can be useful if put on the field.” Bright said.
“Well we can’t let that happen. Tauren can’t even stay a Minotaur for than 10 minutes before freaking out.”
“Starlight said she would try to negotiate.” Bright replied.
“That’s not all of it. The government wants to send Starlight Glimmer to represent the Earth for first contact with Equestria.” Bright explained.
“She can’t do that in her condition. She’s pr-“
“They know.” Ronin said, no longer hiding his anger.
“Which is why it won’t happen till after the baby’s born.” Ronin explained.
“But that’s a couple months from now.” Bonbon said.
“I know.” Ronin said.
“Why do they want to establish first contact now?”
“Tensions around the world are getting higher. Now that more and more Uniques are popping up, the public want answers. And if they want answers they ask their governments.” Bright explained.
“But not even they have the answers.” Ronin said.
“That’s why they’ve decided to establish first contact now.” Bright said. After twenty minutes of talking, the elevator opened back up. The three of them looked at the elevator and saw Deacon. He stared at Bonbon and talked to her.
“Norman’s leaving the city. Madame Glimmer already knows.”
“Norman’s leaving? Why?” Bonbon exclaimed.
“The airport along with Norman’s mystery caller.” Deacon said.
Norman and Scorch landed in Texas and left the building in a hurry. The two of them had entered a car dealership where Norman purchased a car on the spot. The car was a 2003 model of vehicle the agency used. Getting used to the controls wasn’t difficult for Norman because of his experience. The dealer left them outside with their new car. Norman and Scorch sat in the car and talked. Scorch was in the drivers seat much to Norman’s dismay.
Norman pulled out a map from the glove compartment and asked Scorch where to go.
“So, where’s your safehouse?”
“Outside of town. Only I know how to get there.”
“Is that why you took the drivers seat from me?” Norman asked. Scorch glared at Norman through the front mirror. Scorch ignited the engine and drove out of the dealership.
The two of them didn’t start any conversations in the car, choosing to remain quiet. Norman sat there in the passenger seat, staring out the window the whole way. He was secretly writing on the map with a marker. Norman didn’t fully trust Scorch even with everything he told him. In case things went bad at least he’d know the way to the airport. Scorch drove outside the city and entered farmland. The sun had fallen down and the moon had risen. Night time was upon them. Scorch slowed the car down as they drove through uneven dirt road.
“We’re here.” Scorch said. Norman stared out the window and saw a nice two story farmhouse. The exterior was a light blue with white windows and a white porch. Scorch honked the horn once and stopped the engine. Norman saw a light turn on through the window and immediately saw the door open up. Three people stood on the porch and stared at the car. Scorch got out of the vehicle and stared at them. He noticed only three of them were there.
Behind him he heard the dirt kick from footprints and immediately knew who it was.
“Spectre. I know you’re there.”
“You’ve got a lotta ’splainin to do, mate. Spectre said, behind Scorch. Scorch turned around and saw Spectre appearing out of thin air. Norman’s eyes widened at the mans sudden appearance outside. Spectre
“Where’ve ya been?” Spectre asked, looking in the car. He made eye contact with Norman and phased through the car window. Norman leaned back in surprise at the mans ability.
“Who the hell are you?” Spectre exclaimed. The three Uniques walked off the porch and approached Scorch.
“Who the hells this guy?” Spectre asked, phasing out of the car. The three Uniques stopped walking and stared at Norman with caution.
“It’s alright. He’s here to help us.” Scorch said. The three Uniques relaxed, but remained cautious towards Norman.
“How are they?”
“Blue started a fire with his lasers, Rivet’s got food cooking, and Astro started a damn quake.”
“He did?” Scorch asked in surprise.
“I don’t know what the hell he has, but he is freaking us all out.”
“I can hear you!” Astro exclaimed. Norman stared at him and noticed he was a teenager. A light purple skinned kid with red hair and light blue highlights on the edge of his hair.
Blue Tempo was blue skinned with grey hair. Spectre was golden skinned with silver hair. Rivets skin was as grey as steel with an even darker gray hair color.
Norman got out of the car and introduced himself.
“Hello, I’m Norman.” He waved.
“He’s gonna help us put an end to Prions experiments.”
“You mean this guys one of us?” Spectre asked, pointing at Norman with his thumb.
“No. He doesn’t have powers like us.”
“No powers? He doesn’t look like he’d help much.” Rivet commented, folding his arms.
“Trust me. He’ll help us.” Scorch said, walking up to the porch. He pushed the door open with his hand and went inside. The four Uniques and Norman walked into the house shortly after.
“So, what now?” Astro asked.
“Why don’t we introduce ourselves. Hi, mate, I’m Spectre. I would say to keep an eye on your pockets, ‘cept you're friends with Scorch. So, I’ll let you off easy.” He said, with a rough Australian accent. He put a hand out for Norman to shake who went in to shake his hand. Norman put his hand up to his and immediately phased through his hand. Spectre laughed immediately at the trick he did.
“Hehe. Sucker.” He grinned.
“Spectre was a professional pocket thief before I found him.”
“Ya ‘nd turnin into a ghost makes grabbing things a whole lot easier.” Spectre commented, phasing his hand through a book.
“Rivet worked as a chef in Oklahoma, Blue was a officer in Arizona, and Astro was ready to leave the orphanage in Houston.” Scorch said. The three Uniques waved and nodded when their names came up.
“And this is Norman. Special Agent Norman.” Scorch said, getting reactions out of them.
“You’re with the Agency?” Spectre asked, covering his jacket pockets.
“The same one that Prion was in.” Rivet said, tensing up.
“You brought an Agent to us, Scorch?” Blue exclaimed.
“He can be trusted.”
“How do you know? The last agent we trusted tried to kill us!”
“The scientist you met is not apart of the Agency.” Norman said.
“But he used to be.”
“How can you be sure that the Agency he’s from won’t do the same?” Astro asked. Scorch turned his head and stared at Norman, expecting him to answer.
“The Agency Im in has already made contact with other Uniques. In fact, we’ve recruited them in our ranks. Any type of studying on them is strictly on the field, with consent.” Norman explained.
“Other Uniques? What can they do?” Astro asked with curiosity.
“Superspeed, telekinesis, weather manipulation, all of that.”
“Sounds neat.” Spectre said.
“Alright, enough with the chatting. We need to discuss what we’re going to do next.” Scorch said, pulling out a piece of paper with a drawing. Norman stared at the paper and realized it was a hand-drawn map of the inside of a building.
“This is the inside of the facility Prion held us in. It’s terrible, but it’s the best we can do.” Scorch said.
“It’s fine.” Norman said, placing his hand under his chin. He looked at the map and stared at it for half an hour. The Uniques had gathered to the living room to eat what Rivet made with the stove. Norman stayed in the kitchen, thinking up a plan. When he finally thought of what to do, a smile formed in his face.
Scorch and the Uniques just finished up eating when Norman walked into the living room. They all turned their heads to see Norman holding up the paper map with a satisfied grin.
“I have a plan. It’s risky, but it may work.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“First we drive there.”
Norman and the Uniques hid in the bushes staring at the huge trainyard in front of them. Norman scouted the place out with binoculars. The outside was empty with nobody in sight. Fences surrounded the trainyard, preventing them from getting in.
“We stealthily enter the building.” Norman said.
Norman thought it was strange that nobody was guarding the outside until Spectre set him straight. Norman’s eyes widened when Spectre broke out of hiding and walked to the fence. He rubbed the back of his neck on the way, slumping a bit. Spectre reached the fence and looked around, seeing nobody. He stared at the group and raised his hands up. Norman facepalmed at Spectres arrogance. Scorch rolled his eyes and stood up. The group followed him down the hill towards the fence and followed through with the plan.
“Then, Spectre will enter the trainyard and tell us when the coast is clear.” Norman said.
Spectre phased through the fence and peeked his head through the side door. He looked through the hallway and saw nobody around. He looked down and saw a table below him with an unopened soda can on it. He stuck his hand through the wall and quickly grabbed it. He stopped peeking and walked back through the fence. The group raised an eye at the soda he brought with him.
“All clear.” He said, opening the soda can.
“Scorch will melt the fence and wall enough for the rest of us to go through and sneak in.”
“Won’t have to. Spectre can phase us through objects as well.” Scorch interrupted.
“Okay, So Spectre will phase us through the wall and into the building.” Norman said.
“Hold on, this might be a bit tingly.” Spectre said. The group grabbed a part of Spectre and held on to him. He walked into the fence and phased through it. The group felt the fence pass through them with out any issue. Then they passed through the wall and felt extremely uncomfortable. The group let go of Spectre and leaned on the wall. All of them feeling like they lost their breath.
“Starts to feel uncomfortable the thicker the material I phase through. Shoulda warned ya.”
“You think?” Astro said.
“After we enter the trainyard. Spectre will turn invisible and unlock whatever door we come across.” Norman said. The group snuck through the building with zero encounters with Prion or his partners. They stopped their advance at a locked door that Scorch tried to open. The group all stared at Spectre who was finishing his soda. He stopped drinking and threw the empty bottle aside and cracked his knuckles. He phased through the door and unlocked on the other side, continuing their advance.
“After we enter the main hallway we find Prions location and end his experiments.”
“There’s just one problem.” Blue Tempo said.
“What’s that?” Norman asked.
“Freezer Burn. He’s the Unique working with Prion. He watches the security cameras.” Scorch explained.
“There’s cameras all over this part of the trainyard. If he sees us then he’ll automatically trigger the alarms.” Blue pointed out.
“And we can’t destroy them or else they’ll know we’re there.” Scorch said.
“I’ll take care of it.” Astro said, getting the group to look his way.
“I... know more about my powers than I’ve been letting on.” He said.
“I can mess with technology.”
“Really?” Norman asked.
“It’s one of the things I can do.” Astro. Norman and Scorch exchanged glances and stared at Astro.
The group reached the corner of another hallway and stopped. This was the hallway that had the first security camera. Astro moved up to the front of the group and crouched beside Norman and Scorch.
“I can mess with the camera, but I need to see it.”
“I gotcha, mate.” Spectre said, grabbing Astros shoulder. The group watches as Spectre vanished along with Astro.
“Woah. Can you guys see me?” Astro said.
“You’re still next to us, right?” Rivet asked. Astro took that as a yes and leaned over the corridor. He raised his hand at the camera and could see the space around his hand become blurry. Within seconds, he felt the camera with his hand and turned it off.
“It’s okay.” Astro said. Spectre let go and became visible. Astro stood up and walked in plain view of the camera. When the alarms didn’t trigger, the group breathed a sigh of relief.
“What’d you do?” Spectre asked.
“I messed with the cameras frequencies and turned them off.”
“Nice.” Blue Tempo said, nodding his head.
“Hey, wait a second.” Scorch exclaimed.
“You can turn people invisible?”
“If they touch me, yeah.” Spectre answered.
“Then what was the point of making Astro turn the cameras off if you can make us all invisible?” Scorch complained. Everybody realized it and stared at Spectre. Spectre raised his hands in confusion and nervously laughed.
“After Astro deals with the cameras, we’ll have reached our destination.” Norman said, finishing his plan.
“Any questions?” Norman asked.
“What if we find his partners before we reach the destination?” Rivet asked.
“We’re screwed.” Norman said.
“Any other questions.”
“Yeah. What’ll we do?” Rivet asked, pointing at him and Blue.
“You two will be helping me and Scorch capture Prion.”
“Woah. Woah. Who said we’d be capturing him?” Blue Tempo asked.
“Norman, if we go through with this plan I’m not gonna hesitate killing him.”
“We’re not gonna kill him. We’re gonna capture him and put him in custody where the Agency will deal with him with whatever they please.” Norman said, solemnly. The group exchanged glances and decided not to fight his plan.
“Sounds like a great plan. Let’s do it.” Spectre said, getting up from the couch.
“How are we getting there?” Spectre asked.
“The car.” Scorch answered.
“Now we’re stuck at the other problem.” Norman said.
“What problem?”
“There are six of us and only four seats.” Norman said. Everybody in the group glared at each other, not wanting to lose a seat. In the end, Scorch and Norman sat in the front seats while Rivet, Astro, and Blue Tempo squeezed in the back seats. Spectre unfortunately, sat in the trunk.
In the trainyard a shadowy figure stalked the halls. It walked around corridor after corridor until it saw a small wooden table. It stared at the table and smiled. Its soda was missing and he knew what that meant. Within an instant his body plummeted down on to the floor. Its human form disappearing into a flat black shape. The black shape on the floor travelled with great speed through the halls. It stopped again when it saw the soda can on the floor. The shadow rose up from the ground, it’s human figure visible on the wall. It raised a hand with sharp claw-like fingers and snatched it off the ground. A sinister smile formed on his face.
The group had reached their destination. The group entered a room that had once been their beds. Norman looked at the room with curiosity. The walls were white and the carpet was tan. The entire room was bunk beds with a single tv hanged on the wall.
“So, where’s the door?” Norman asked.
“The hall to the left. That’s where he’s keeping them.” Scorch said.
“Anyone else find it odd that we haven’t found Prion or his buddies?” Spectre said, laying in his bed. River leaned on the wall next to the door, his shadow visible on the wall from the hallway light.
“Prion should be in his lab and Freezer Burn should be operating the cameras.” Scorch answered.
“But whatta ‘bout the third guy?” Spectre asked. Norman turned around to face the group and in the corner of his vision saw Rivets shadow move on its own. He focused on the shadow and could see two eye holes and a sinister smile on its head. He realized that the shadows arms were slowly reaching Rivets neck.
“Rivet, look out!” Norman exclaimed, pointing at the shadow. Rivet moved off the wall and turned his head. He stared at the shadow that was about to kill him and gasped. The shadow quickly vanished, realizing its cover was blown.
“Holy shit!“ Blue Tempo exclaimed. The alarms in the trainyard immediately triggered. The halls lit up in red, from the alarm on the ceiling.
Scorch ran out of the room and bolted towards the lab. Norman saw him leave and tried to catch up with him. Scorchs lit up in flames as he let his anger flow through him.
“Scorch, wait!” Norman exclaimed. Scorch didn’t listen and fired a plume of lava at the door, melting it off the hinges.
Norman and the group rushed to the hallway and stopped in their tracks when they saw a lone figure blocking the path to Scorch.
“Freezer Burn.” Blue Tempo said, raising his fists. The group stood in front of Norman and raised their fists as well. Freezer glared at the group and clenched his fists. Ice forming around his hands. Norman pushed his way through the front and stood firmly. He pulled out his gun and hoped for the best.
Freezers glares ended when a hand suddenly appeared to his right and punched him in the jaw. The hand made impact and knocked him to the wall on the left. Spectre held his hand and spun around in pain.
“Ahh shit. That’ll hurt.” He said. He stopped spinning and stared at the group who had stood there in surprise.
“Come on now, get ‘im!” He yelled. Spectre looked at Freezer in time to see a wave of ice hit him in the stomach.
“Oof!” He groaned, ice propelling him to a wall. He braced for impact and phased through the wall. The ice exploded into stalagmites on the wall, freezing it.
Blue Tempo moved through the front and fired a red laser through his hand. Freezer raised his hands and fired ice to counter the laser. The laser hit the ice, causing water to drip to the floor. Norman watched as the ice started to overtake the laser. Blue Tempo shouted as he held on to his hand. Rivet snuck back into the room and felt the metal supporting the bunk beds. They gripped the support and concentrated. His hand began to solidify and harden.
Norman fired shots towards Freezer, who quickly formed an ice wall to block the bullets. Blue Tempo dropped his hand and fell to the floor in exhaustion. Spectre appeared behind Blue and caught him before he could touch the floor.
“I gotcha, mate.” He said, dragging Blue into the room.
“I hope ya have a plan for him.” Spectre said, entering the room. He bumped into something hard and turned his head. He saw the hulking figure looking down at him and smiled.
“That’ll work.”
Norman and Astro stared at each other and thought of a plan.
“You can affect frequencies, right?” Norman asked.
“Yeah.”
“I have an idea.” Norman said, telling Astro what to do. He listened to the plan and grinned he stood up and raised his hand at Freezer. Freezer approached the two and heard a ringing in his ears. The ringing grew louder as he approached them. Freezer stopped walking and screamed, putting his hands over his ears.
“Keep it going.” Norman said.
“Excuse me.” Rivet said, pushing Norman to the side. Norman and Astro stared at Rivet as he walked by.
Freezer made eye contact with Rivet and saw his huge metal body. He endured the pain and let one arm loose and fired a wave of ice at Rivet. Rivet tensed up and punched through the ice with ease. Freezer screamed from the ringing and backed away from Rivet. He blasted Rivet with ice to no avail. Freezer let loose a final wave of ice before Rivet grabbed him by the neck with his metal hand. He fired ice with both hands before getting punched in the forehead by his metal fist. Freezer was knocked unconscious immediately.
“Didja win?” Spectre asked, poking his head through the wall.
“Nice job, kid.” Norman said, moving forward.
“Thanks.” Astro said, watching Norman leave.
During the fight, Scorch barged in the lab and looked around the room furiously. He stared at the floor and saw the many bodybags in disgust. He looked up and saw Prion in the middle of the room working on something on the table. Scorchs fire flared up at the sight of him.
“Prion.” He gritted.
“Hello, Scorch.” Prion said, solemnly. Keeping his back facing Scorch.
“I’m here to stop you.” Scorch said.
“I know you are.” Prion said, fixated on whatever he was doing. Scorch glared at him and walked forward.
“Oh, I wouldn’t move from your position.” Prion said.
“And why not?” Scorch, getting closer to Prion.
“Because...” Prion said, moving away from the table. He turned to face Scorch and subtly grinned. Scorch stared at the table and stopped moving. Beside the table was a respirator and a heart monitor displaying a stable heartbeat. He gasped when he realized who it was.
“Mirror!” Scorch exclaimed, approaching her body. He looked at her face through the oxygen mask on her face. The rest of her body was covered by a blanket, preventing him from seeing whatever Prion had done.
“What did you do to her?” Scorch demanded.
“She’s a fine specimen, Scorch. Her ability to create portals instantaneously is extraordinary.”
“What did you do?” Scorch demanded, loudly.
“I studied her power. I put her in a coma and performed autopsy on her. I harvested her blood and DNA. Then when I finished, I regenerated her body back to normal. Don’t worry, everything in her is fine.”
“You’re a monster.”
“No, Scorch. I’m a scientist. My job is to study the unknown. I’ve learned so much from my experiments and my own powers.”
“Let me tell you what I’ve learned for example.” Prion said, grabbing his notepad. He tossed it over to Scorch, who promptly grabbed it. He looked at the notepad and read it, not understanding what this was.
“Did you know their powers are rooted in their DNA?”
“When a person becomes Unique an extra thread of DNA is formed inside. This means that their power is genetic and could be passed down to offspring. Even you.” Prion said. Scorch was about to correct him but was stopped by Prion.
“I know you told me your powers were given to you. That is why I took a sample of your DNA while you were sleeping. You said you got your powers before the incident. However, the incident brought forth a change. Your powers are rooted in your DNA. They are part of you now. Hence why your powers are also genetic.” Prion.
“But the most amazing part is. The incident affected everyone’s DNA. I studied a body from a normal person and found the same DNA growing in them as well. And more surprising, it was from their parent. We were affected on such a scale by the incident that even the offspring who were born before the incident will eventually gain the parents power.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” Scorch asked, flipping through the pages of notes.
“I felt it necessary to explain my reasons for these experiments to you. My ability to heal and hurt has allowed me to further my studies. I’ve learned to heal permanent wounds and erase several imperfections in the body. But I’ve also learned to inflict damage to the body. You’ve seen the experiments on my computer.”
“I’m going to stop you.”
“I know you’ll try that is why I must do this.” Prion said, raising a hand towards Mirrors body. Scorch watched as her heart began to beat rapidly on the monitor.
“No. What are you doing?” Scorch said, mouth gaping.
“Ive just given her a very fatal disease. There’s a cure on my desk over there. It’s colored yellow.” He pointed. Scorch looked at where he pointed and rushed towards the desk. He opened up a drawer and saw the syringes inside. He looked through the syringes and found the right color. He grabbed it and quickly rushed over to Mirror. He injected in shoulder and stared at the heart monitor. He breathed a sigh of relief when her heartbeat stabilized. He looked up and saw Prion was no where to be seen.
Prion left his lab in a door he had kept hidden Incase of emergency’s. As he walked, his shadow on the wall began to move on its own. Prion reached an elevator and stood inside. The shadow left the wall and shifted to the floor. Prion watched as the shadow rose up from the floor carrying Freezer. Prion raised an eye at the unconscious Unique and spoke with the shadow.
“What happened?” He asked, solemnly.
“Rivet domed him, he’s got a major concussion.”
“I can fix that. Did they see you?”
“Yes. The agent did. How did you know Scorch would get the Agency to help?”
“He stole the data about the Agency from my computer. It was obvious, he’d give it back to them and ask for help.”
“But why was it him they sent?”
“Recognize him?”
“It’s Norman. I knew him from the Agency.”
“Interesting. I recognize the name from my time in the Agency as well.” Prion said. The elevator opened up, revealing a small train.
“Come. We must escape.”
Norman entered the room in a rush and saw the many bodybags on the floor. He looked up and stared at the woman restrained to the table in shock. He saw Scorch remove a syringe off her shoulder and heard him sigh in relief.
“Scorch, is that?”
“It’s Mirror.” He answered, putting a hand on her face. He smiled at her and brushed her hair. A train horn echoed through the building. Scorch stood up and looked out the window. He saw the train leave the station towards the mesa hills. The morning sun reflecting off the top of the train.
The rest of the group entered the lab and saw the body bags. Their mouths dropped in shock when they saw Mirror on the table.
“I’ve got to stop that train.” Scorch said, clenching his fists.
“And how’re you gonna do that?” Spectre asked. Norman grabbed Spectres arm and held on. Spectre looked at Norman with confusion, then his other arm was grabbed by Scorch.
“Take us down.” They both ordered.
“Ya know what. I’m not sure I’m cut out for this.”
“Do it.” They both ordered. Scorch stared at the rest of the Uniques and spoke.
“Take care of her.” He said.
“Ugh. I’m going back to pickpocketing when this is done.” Spectre said, phasing the three of them through the floor. Within seconds they reached the bottom of the trainyard and entered the garage. Norman looked around for a car for him to get in, but there was none around. He saw Scorch approach him in his flame form.
“Grab on.” Scorch said, giving his hand to Norman.
“Is this safe?” Norman asked, hesitating holding on to Scorchs flaming hand.
“100%.” Scorch assured him. Norman sighed and grabbed on. Scorch grabbed Norman’s shoulders and flew up into the sky. Norman closed his eyes in fear of how high he was. Scorch and Norman reached the train in record speed, flying above it. Norman opened his eyes and stared at the train. There were three carts attached to the train by hooks.
“I’m dropping you on top of the train.” Scorch said.
“What!” Norman exclaimed. Before Norman could protest, Scorch let go of him. Norman shouted Scorchs name as he fell on top of the train. Hitting the train roof with a thud, he groaned as he attempted to stand. He felt the wind hit him at fast speeds and felt the urge to close his eyes. Inside the train, Prion sat in a booth relaxing.
“We’ve got company.”
Norman looked up at Scorch and saw him fly to the front of the train. Norman crawled over to the edge of the train and grabbed on the ledge. He slowly dropped his body down, staring at the ground. He could see the tracks under his feet and gulped. Positioning himself above the door, he let go of the ledge and grabbed the door handle. The door immediately flew open from the speed. He held on to dear life as he tried to enter the train.
His feet touched the door frame and thought of an idea. He gripped the door and propelled himself inside the train.
He celebrated his victory in his head as he stood up. Only to be pushed back out the train by the shadow. He shouted as he grabbed the door frame with his hands. He struggled to hold on to the train and clenched his teeth. Norman looked inside the train and saw the shadowy figure walk up to him, revealing his human form.
Norman looked up at him in shock. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Looking down at him was a black skinned man with green eyes and jet black hair.
“Hello, Norman.”
“Yo- you.. you’re supposed to be dead.”
“I know.” He said. He looked outside and saw how fast the train was going.
“Don’t find me, Norman. I won’t be as merciful.” He said, pushing him off with his magic.
“Nooo!” Norman shouted, falling to the ground with a thud.
Above the train, Scorch flared up and kamikaze’d into the train. He tore through the metallic roof and landed inside with a thud. Scorch looked up and saw Prion, Freezer, and the shadowy figure staring at him.
“Scorch, its been a pleasure.” Prion said. The shadowy figure enveloped the them and disappeared. Scorch looked around and saw mines and c4 all around the train. Realizing too late that the train was a bomb.
Norman watched the train explode into a huge cloud of smoke from the tracks. He felt the heat all the way from his spot and closed his eyes. He heard a tiny explosion from the train and saw a human shape fly uncontrollably to the ground. He saw Scorchs body crash on the dirt, making a crater.
“Scorch!” Norman shouted. He stood up and winced at the pain in his leg. He limped over to the crater formed by Scorch. He looked down the crater and saw Scorch on the bottom in his human form, completely unscathed.
Norman slid down into the crater and crouched down to Scorch. Scorch groaned and lifted his head.
“It was a trap. He rigged it to explode.” Scorch said, standing up.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine. You?” Scorch asked.
“My leg hurts and I’m kinda hungry.” He answered, jokingly. Scorch laughed and helped Norman out of the crater. The two of them slowly walked to the trainyard and caught up with the Uniques. They stared at the two of them with amazement. They saw the explosion from the trainyard and couldn’t believe they were alive.
Police and paramedics arrived at the trainyard thirty minutes later. Norman and the Uniques were transported in the same ambulance while Scorch and Mirror were taken to a different ambulance. Scorch refused to leave her side.
Norman, Scorch, and the Uniques sat in the waiting room of the hospital. As they sat there, the doors opened. Norman looked up and saw Starlight, Bonbon, and a human Tauren. Tauren stopped when he saw Scorch sitting on the seat next to Norman. Scorch looked up from his seat and made eye contact with Tauren.
“So, you’re not evil?” Scorch asked. Tauren stood there for a few seconds before shaking his head, no.
“Then you’re fine by me.” Scorch said, leaning back into his seat. Taurens eyes raised at his response before smiling. Bonbon rushed over to Norman and hugged him.
“Ow ow ow ow, watch the leg.” Norman said, grinning. Bonbon relieved the pressure on his leg and continued hugging him.
“You scared me.”
“I know and I’m sorry.” Norman answered, hugging her back. He thought back to his encounter on the train and hesitated telling her. He was about to say something before Starlight walked up to him.
“What happened here?” Starlight asked.
“Scorch contacted me at the Agency. He wanted my help to stop Dr. Prion.
“Prion? What was he doing?” Starlight exclaimed.
“He tricked Scorch into helping him find Uniques so he could experiment on them with his own powers. When he found out, Mirror created a portal and got Scorch and these guys out of there.” Norman said, glancing at the Uniques. The Uniques all waved at Starlight, except Spectre. He was too busy drinking a soda.
“What’s gonna happen to us?” Astro asked, the other Uniques in the room nodded their heads in agreement.
“Well, you have two choices. Come to Canterlot and help us protect others like you or go home.” Starlight said.
“What if we go home?” Blue Tempo asked.
“We’ll make sure nobody knows your powers, leave a couple agents with you for a few days, and live a life of secrecy.” She answered.
“Well, I’m off.” Spectre said, getting up.
“What? You’re leaving?” Astro asked.
“Look, its been great knowing ya guys, but I still have things to do back at my place.” Spectre said.
“Will we ever see you again?” Norman asked.
“Maybe. If ‘ya know where to look or when I’m not invisible.” Spectre said, disappearing. The agents in the room stared at the spot where Spectre had been in astonishment. Starlight composed herself and looked at the Uniques.
“And you three?” She asked. The three Uniques exchanged glances and huddled together in their seats. They could get the three of them talking things out in their huddle. The broke the huddle and stared at Starlight with a serious expression.
“We’ll go with you to Canterlot, but we want to make things clear.”
“Go on?” Starlight asked, covering her arms.
“This isn’t gonna be Prion all over again?” Blue Tempo asked.
“Never in a million years.” She said, shaking her head.
“If we go, will we be safe?” Astro asked.
“If you stay inside the Agency, yes. However, I can’t guarantee your safety if you help us on missions.” Starlight answered, truthfully. The three Uniques exchanged looks and nodded their heads.
“We’ll come with you.”
“Wonderful.” Starlight said, flashing a smile. Her smile dropped when the door opened again. Walking in the room was a maroon skinned man in a black suit and sunglasses. A bowler hat covering the top of his red hair. On the side of his suit was a badge, Norman recognized the badge belonged to the FBI.
“Madame Glimmer. Agents.” He nodded, acknowledging their presence.
“Director Canyon. I thought you would see me in three days.” Starlight nodded, narrowing her eyes.
“What’s going on?” Norman asked .
“There’s been a change of plans.” Canyon said, walking over to Tauren.
“You must be the alien. Tauren.”
“I am.” Tauren answered.
“If you’re here to take Tauren, then it’s not happening.” Starlight said, solemnly.
“Yeah. No ones taking T anywhere.” Deacon said, backing Starlight up. Canyon removed his glasses and stared at Deacon for a second before putting them back on.
“On the contrary, Madame, I’m not here for him.” Canyon stated.
“What?” Deacon said in confusion.
“But I thought you wanted Tauren?” Bonbon asked.
“That was the plan. However, after this mornings train explosion and the recovery of very important information the government has decided to change their minds.” Canyon explained, showing blatant dissatisfaction. He walked over to Norman, who stared at him in a lost.
“So you’re Scorch?” Canyon said.
“Yes?” Scorch said.
“Hmph. If it were up to me I’d have you in jail for the rest of your life. Fortunately for you the government thinks otherwise.” Canyon said, pulling out a file from his suit. He handed it over to Scorch who grabbed it with curiosity.
“What is this?”
“An ultimatum. Immediate transfer to the military at top rank. You help us and we’ll wipe away your crimes against humanity during your time with Neo.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then I have orders to hunt you down the next time you show your face.” Canyon said, glaring through his glasses.
“So, I don’t really have a choice do I?”
“No.” Canyon said, slightly grinning. Scorch glared at him and stood up, getting up to his face.
“I want more.”
“I can’t make that happen.”
“You’ll make it happen.” Scorch glared. Canyon stared at Scorchs eyes and for a split second saw fire. He relented and submitted to his demands.
“What do you want?” Canyon grumbled.
“I’m not leaving until Mirror is fully recovered. Second, I want protection given to Mirror. Agents, money, a new life. Third, I want a home built for the two of us. And last, I’m working alone till I say otherwise. Got that?” Scorch said, holding his glare. Canyon groaned and scratched his neck.
“Fine.”
“Good.” Scorch said. He grabbed a pen from Canyon and signed the file. He gave it back to Canyon and sat back down. Canyon put the file in his suit and walked away.
“Good day, Madame.” He said, lifting his hat respectfully. He opened the door and left the hospital room.
“I was getting transferred?” Tauren asked in surprise.
“They wanted you to get out more. And they wanted to use your magic for missions.” Starlight explained.
“At least your staying with us, big guy.” Deacon smiled.
“Not entirely.”
“Huh?” Deacon asked.
“They have one thing right about you. It’s that you don’t leave the Agency unless it’s important. So from now on, you’re living in a home. My home.” Starlight said.
“With Ronin and the kids?” Bonbon asked. Starlight looked at her and nodded.
“Starlight, I don’t think that’s a good ide-“ Tauren warned.
“This isn’t up for debate.” Starlight said, interrupting Tauren.
“You can’t stay in the Agency and constantly sulk in the corner. You need this, Tauren.” Starlight said.
“The Madame’s right, Tauren. You can’t exactly sleep comfortably in the back of the Agency cars.” Deacon said. Tauren looked at the Agents and eventually gave in.
“Alright.”
“Good, we have a guest room in my house. You’ll be sleeping there.” Starlight said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Scorch watched and listened to the whole things and chuckled. He shook his head and rolled his eyes. Then a nurse opened the other hospital door and called out for Scorch and Norman.
“She’s awake.”
Scorch immediately got out of his seat and rushed through the door. Norman walked to Scorch and caught up. He reached the door right on time to see Scorch and Mirror hugging each other, tears falling from their eyes. Norman stood there at the door, giving them a moment.
“I thought I lost you.” Scorch smiled.
“I thought I would never see you again.” Mirror smiled.
“Are the others, okay?”
“Their fine, their here. Spectre already left.”
“I never thought I’d be this happy ever again.” Scorch said, staring into her eyes.
“I never thought I would meet someone like you.” She said, wrapping her arms around him.
“I don’t want to lose you, again.” Scorch said. Mirror pulled closer to him and kissed him on the lips. Scorchs eyes widened in surprise. He closed his eyes and pulled her closer. She broke the kiss and smiled.
“You never will.”
Norman bumped into the door and walked in. Scorch and Mirror looked at him with happiness. Mirrors smile faltered when she remembered Prion.
“Did you stop him?”
“He got away.”
“The Agency will find him. You have my word.” Norman assured them.
“Thank you. For helping me. We may not have stopped him, but you helped save Mirror.”
“Your welcome, Scorch.”
“Scorched.”
“Huh?”
“It’s Scorched. Scorched Sunset. Not a lot of people know my full name.” Scorch admitted. Norman smiled and nodded, recognizing the honor bestowed upon him.
“Not a lot of people know mine.” Norman admitted. Scorch raised an eye and nodded.
“Oliver Range.” Norman said. Scorch recognized the honor bestowed upon him and nodded. Norman left the room and entered the waiting room. Deacon and Bonbon sat beside each other. They looked at Norman and got up.
“Where’s Starlight?”
“They left. We told them we’d catch up.” Bonbon explained.
Norman looked at Bonbon and frowned. She caught his frown and walked up to him.
“What’s wrong?” Bonbon said with worry.
“I saw him, Bonbon.”
“Saw who?” Bonbon asked.
“I saw your father.”
“Sombra?” Bonbon said with surprise. Her eyes bulged from what she heard. Deacon couldn’t believe it himself. Norman had a tough time with this too. The three of them stood there in silence. To shocked to move.
In the distance, Sombra stared at the damaged remains of the train through binoculars. He could see police and agents investigating the rubble. Ahead, he saw the trainyard. He could see the police pulling out body after body from the building. They had no idea, him and Prion were here.
“Are we clear?” Prion asked. Sombra put away the binoculars and stood up from his spot in the grass.
“We’re clear.” Sombra answered.
“How’s Freezer Burn?” He asked, looking at Freezers body
“He’ll be fine, I healed the spot he was hit and wiped away his concussion.”
“Where are we going now?”
“I’ve thought about it for a while and I see that I can’t delay it any longer.” Prion said, holding his chin. He turned around and looked at Sombra.
“If we want to figure out the answers to this so-called, magic. We’ll have to study it at ground zero. We’re going to Canterlot. I have a contact there who’ll be needing your skill set, Sombra.”
“Who?” He asked.
Author's Note
What a twist. I’ll be explaining this revelation and what happened next chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I didn’t expect it to be this long. Sorry for the delay, I’ve got real life things going on that need to be done. Please leave a comment if I made any Grammar mistakes, Spelling mistakes, or Errors.
The flight from Texas to Canterlot was filled with discussion. Starlight had hired a private flight to transport the agents and the new Uniques to the Agency. Norman, Bonbon, Deacon, and Starlight talked about the events leading up to the hospital. Starlight and Deacon were especially surprised to find out Agent Sombra was alive. Bonbon remembered the day vividly.
“You’re sure it was him?” Starlight asked, unconvinced that he could be alive.
“He said my name before kicking me off the train. He stopped me from being in that train before the bombs blew.” Norman said with complete assurance that he was right.
Bonbon took the revelation the hardest. She stared at the the table with sadness. In her lap was an old photo of him. It was a group shot to celebrate the new year. A younger version of her, Norman, and Deacon stood in the front row. The other agents that had celebrated with them smiled at the camera. Behind Bonbon was Sombra, who had an unenthused smile on his face. Starlight and Sunburst stood next to each other, smiling at the camera.
She stared at his face and felt a tear drop. Flashes of events went through her head as she stared at the photo. Deacon saw her staring at the photo and nudged her, snapping her out of it.
“You, okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“So, uh, is this a bad time to ask who Sombra is?” Blue asked. Rivet and Astro nodded in agreement at the question.
“Weren’t you living with him in that trainyard?” Starlight asked.
“We barely saw him when we lived there. Sometimes he’d be at one spot, then suddenly he’s across the room. Guess that makes sense now.” Blue said.
“He didn’t talk to us that much. At first we thought he was just some guy Prion knew. We had no idea he had powers.” Astro said. Starlight looked at the three Uniques and checked them out.
“Sombra was a member of our Agency for a long time. He worked in stealth and undercover missions back in the day. When he wasn’t on missions he trained the recruits. Norman and Bonbon were trained by him when they were young. He was one of the best agents we had.” Starlight explained.
“Was?” Rivet said.
“He disappeared on a mission and was never seen again. Until now.” Starlight said.
“We’ll talk about this later.”
“Until then, relax.” Starlight said.
“What’re we going to do?” Norman asked.
“For now we can’t do anything. We have nothing to go on and no way to find him. So until further notice we can’t say anything to anyone about this.” Starlight said.
“But Madame. What if-“ Bonbon said. Starlight knew what she was going to say and quickly answered her.
“No. Hacking into the whole cities phones was hard enough. Besides, the government banned our ability to do so, unless given permission.” She answered.
“So, we’re doing nothing.” Norman said in disappointment.
“For now.”
“Alright, so we’re not gonna look for Sombra. Now what?” Deacon asked, raising his hands in
“We go home.” Starlight said.
In Canterlot, the sun lowered itself down and was starting to cover behind the mountains in the distance. Tauren stared at the scenery around him as the vehicle drove through the city. He sat in the backseat of the car, silently staring out the window.
He looked to the seat next to him and saw his luggage laying there. The zipper rattled a bit as the vehicle moved. He looked at the luggage and frowned lightly. Instead of living inside the Agency, Tauren has to live in a house with other people. Except these people weren’t agents, they were a family.
Driving the vehicle was Starlight Glimmer. She sat in her seat in silence, driving slowly through a neighborhood. The little sunlight left darkened the neighborhood enough for street lamps to turn on.
Tauren looked out the window and saw children playing in their front yard. He recognized the children and knew their names. A disturbing reminder of the monster that controlled him. This painful fact was why he chose to stay inside the Agency until he was needed.
He didnt want to see innocent people. It hurt him to see them everytime. He could still see their bodies in his head. The thought alone frightened him.
Starlight looked at Tauren through the rear-view mirror and saw his pained expression. She frowned at his expression and continued driving. She turned a corner and entered a small one-way street that ended in a big circle. Tauren looked at the houses in the circle and admired them. They were large two-stories buildings with big garages. Starlight drove towards the house in the center and pulled into the driveway. Tauren realized this was the house he was going to be living in. Tauren looked at the house and admired its design. The front yard was nice and moderately sized. Flowers of all colors lined the white picket fences that surrounded the yard. Fancy marble columns outlined the windows. The house itself was a dull
Starlight stopped the car and took the keys out of the wheel. The engine stopped making noise and left her and Tauren in a silent car. Starlight looked at herself in the side-view mirror and saw a piece of her hair was sticking up. She lightly combed it with her hand, successfully putting it down. She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned her head.
“We’re here.” She said, looking at Tauren.
“This is your home?”
“Yup. What do you think?” Starlight asked. Tauren stared at the house for a second and responded.
“It desperately needs a new paint job.” He said.
“Yeah, it could a new green.” Starlight agreed, looking at the dull colored house.
“But, it’s nice.” Tauren said.
“Thanks.” Starlight said. The car became quiet again. The two of them sat there in the car for a few seconds before Starlight said something.
“Are you ready to come in?” She asked. Tauren looked at her with an anxious look.
“I don’t want to go in.” He answered with sadness in his voice.
“I know, but you need to, Tauren.”
“Hiding from the world won’t do you any good.” Starlight said.
“I know.” He said, quietly.
“I don’t want to see them for obvious reasons.”
“Do you still get nightmares?”
“Every night. It’s always the same dream.” He said, closing his eyes in stress. Starlight looked at him with compassion, she knew what dream he was talking about.
Starlight remembered the dream he told her about. He was standing in smoking ruins. The sky was covered in a hazy fog that was visible enough for him to see the ruined skyscrapers. The wind and his breathing were the only things making noise. Starlight could still remembered the details he described. The ruins around him were black, charred by an unseen fire that ravaged the city. He stood where the Agency building that posed as a shop would have been. He looked around in horror, crying out for anyone. He would see the part of the building where the elevator to the parking garage and the Agency itself would be. The elevator shaft had collapsed, dirt and concrete filling the shaft. Then the horrid part happened. Starlight stopped remembering when Tauren started to speak.
“I still remember their bodies. Their faces. Their expressions. They were all dead because of me. I would see the bodies and fall on my knees with tears falling from my eyes.” Tauren said, remembering the pained scream he made in his dream.
“Then something else happened. Something new.” Tauren said, getting Starlights attention.
“You saw more?” She asked. Tauren nodded slowly in sadness.
“I’d hear a noise behind me. A shadow figure with wings would fly over me. I’d see the shadow and hear the sound of wings flapping. Then I’d hear the wings flap loudly only to stop, followed by two light footsteps. I’d stay there frozen in hesitation. I didn’t need to turn my head to know who she was.” Tauren said.
“She’d walked up to me and say how I’d failed. I couldn’t protect the people I cared about again. She’d laugh at me and grab my shoulders. I’d cringe at her chilling touch and flinch as her wings surrounded my body. She’d giggle beside me and lean into my ear and whisper.” Tauren recalled, cringing now as he described his dream.
“And what did she say?” Starlight asked with concern.
“I don’t know.” Tauren said. Starlight raised an eye at the answer, but didn’t say anything.Tauren sighed and opened his eyes..
“It hurts to see the memories of her control everytime I look at someone for too long. That’s why I don’t like leaving the Agency...” He said, gulping.
“When did you start seeing her in your dreams?” She asked.
After the scientists removed the tumor...I’m scared, Madame. I’m scared that seeing her in my dreams means she still has control over me. I keep thinking about what if I lose control. What if I lose control and attack people. I don’t want to think like that, but I can’t.”
“So you’re scared that you might attack me and my family if you live here?” She questioned, Tauren looked up at her and nodded.
“It won’t come to that, Tauren. Me and everyone else won’t let that happen. She’s not a part of you anymore. I know what she made you do and I know you feel like it’s your fault.
But it’s not. It’s not your fault. You have to stop feeling bad for yourself. Constantly putting yourself down like that is not healthy. You need to learn to let go of your past and forgive yourself. Else you might go down a hole that no one can help you escape.” Starlight said with sympathy. Tauren sat there in silence, thinking about what she said.
“How should I do it?”
“Find the people she hurt in this universe. Talk to them and ask to be forgiven. Go to Canterlot and just walk. Look for people that need help, live among them, and come inside my home.” Starlight said with compassion. Tauren looked at her sympathetic face and appreciated her compassion. He smiled a little and unbuckled his seatbelt. He opened car door and grabbed his luggage.
“Thanks.. Starlight.” He said, catching himself from saying Madame. He stepped out the vehicle with his luggage and closed the door. Starlight smiled at him and opened her door. Tauren walked out of the driveway and walked along the steps leading to her porch. He stood there and stared at the house with a nervous expression. Starlight walked up and stood beside him.
“Do they know I’m coming?”
“I told them everything about you. Your Minotaur form at least.”
“I don’t suppose you want me staying in my human form then?” Tauren asked.
“Yup.” She answered. Tauren sighed and gripped his luggage. The two of them walked side-by-side and reached halfway to the porch when the door suddenly opened. Tauren watched a orange eight year old boy rushed out the door in excitement.
“Mooooooom!” He exclaimed, his voice bouncing as he ran. Starlight knelt down as best she could and hugged him. The boy hugged her and felt a kick in her stomach. T
“Hi, sis.” He waved at Starlights belly. Starlight smiled and put her hand on his hair. He closed his eyes and laughed as she rubbed his head. Tauren watched the whole thing with a feeling of amusement. The kid was a bright orange with red hair with a lock of green on the side.
Tauren looked at the kid and made eye contact. The boy saw Tauren and widened his eyes. He was taller than he was expecting. In fact, he was different than he expected.
The boy shifted closer to his mom and whispered to her.
“Is he the alien?” He whispered, loud enough for Tauren to hear every word. Starlight laughed on the inside and whispered loudly back.
“Yes, he is.” She answered. The boy looked back at Tauren and looked into his eyes. Tauren looked at him and tried to smile without freaking out.
“But he looks human.” He whispered.
“That’s just his costume. Why don’t you go say hi to him?” She said.
“Okay.” He said, innocently.
“Hi, I’m Star Shine.” He said in a somewhat squeaky voice. Tauren stared into his innocent eyes and felt shy. Star Shine raised his hand and left it hanging. Tauren looked at the open palm and gave him his. Star Shine shook his hand with a tiny grip. Tauren felt the small grip and lightly squeezed his hand. Star let go and smiled at him. Tauren looked at him with eyes wide in nervousness, a drop of sweat falling down his forehead.
The three of them heard more footsteps on the porch in front of them and looked up. Tauren stared at the porch and saw the rest of her family. His nervous feeling getting bigger than before.
“Hey, mom.” A ten year old girl said, walking towards Starlight. Starlight slowly stood up at her full height and hugged her daughter. Her daughter was half her height, making it easier for them to hug. Tauren saw her magenta hair with a sliver of green and recognized her as the daughter. He felt a bit more relaxed when he saw an agent that he knew. Ronin looked at Tauren on the porch and nodded his head.
He looked up at the tallest person on the porch and saw an orange man with reddish-brown hair and a small patch of white hair on his chin. He stood the tallest on the porch with Ronin being a few inches shorter. He knew his face from every single universe. He stared at Sunburst and gulped at the familiar face.
He stood there frozen with a blank face. A flash of his terrifying past burst through his mind as he stared at Sunburst. A flashback triggered in his head. A memory of her.
It was night time in the crystal palace that stood in the center of the Crystal Empire. He sneaked his way past guard after guard, silently taking out any who spotted him. He snuck up the palace and passed by hallway after hallway. He stopped at one hall and saw guards stationed outside a room. A child’s room.
She smiled with a sadistic laugh following soon after. She raised his Minotaur hand and watched as it glowed with a yellow mist. She smiled as her hand shifted to a shadow on the wall. Soon enough, the rest of her body disappeared into an outline on the wall. With silence, she walked on the flat wall and stood in the door. She poked his head out of the shadow on the door and stared down at the unsuspecting guards. Poking her left hand out of the shadow she shifted it again and resisted the urge to laugh as her hand turned into electricity.
BZZZZT
The zap of electricity echoed through the crystal palace. The quiet noise remained undetected through the quiet tower. She gripped both of their bodies with her hands and moaned at the feeling of power increasing inside her. She felt herself grow a tinsy-bit taller from the increase. Licking her lips, she crouched on the crystal floor and muffled her cloven-hooves. She sniffed the air and tracked the scent through the door, she stared at the closed door and lightly opened it. The door squeaked a bit as she slowly opened the door.
The light from the torch outside lit up the floor as she slowly opened it. Having enough room for her to squeeze through, she thrusted his body forward and snuck inside the dark room without a sound.
She stared at the dark room with eyes that let her see. She looked around the room and saw a bed with two figures sleeping peacefully.
She smiled at the sleeping figures and slowly walked to the front of the bed. She stared at their huddled bodies and sadistically smiled. A pony version of Starlight and Sunburst slept peacefully, hugging each other in their sleep. Staring at the sleeping lovers, she raised both her hands and channeled magic into them.
“I learned my lesson in the last universe. You two won’t be a problem anymore...” she whispered, her left hand burning with intense flames and her right hand zapping with electricity. She grinned at their sleeping bodies and lunged.
Tauren broke out of his memory from the shaking he received. He gasped in shock and looked to his side and saw a concerned Starlight with a scared Star Shine hiding behind her.
“Tauren?” Ronin asked. Tauren looked to his left and saw Ronin looking at him. He looked straight ahead and saw Sunburst looking at him with concern.
“Are you okay? You went blank on us and scared Star.” Sunburst asked with concern.
“I- ngh.. no. I’m sorry for scaring him.” He looked around the ground next to him and saw his luggage was missing.
“Starburst took your luggage while you in a trance, she brought it inside.” Ronin said.
“Tauren, are you okay?” Starlight asked. Tauren looked at her with a scared expression and slowly shook his head.
“Come inside, we’ll get you set up.” Sunburst said, getting closer to him. He grabbed his shoulder and attempted to push him in. Tauren looked at him wide eyed and slowly walked forward. Him and the family walked up the porch in silence, entering the house.
Tauren looked inside the house and took in the houses decor. A small potted plant stood on a table next to the door. He stepped on white tiles under his feet that turned into carpet as it reached the living room, a small border between the tile and carpet. A large tv was set up on a large table with a soundboard underneath it.
A couch and two comfy chairs faced the tv.
“Hello, Mister. I’m Starburst.” A girl said. Tauren looked to his right and saw the same girl approaching him from a hallway with family photos. He saw her braces in the wide smile she made at him. She stood in front of him and put your hand out for a shake. Tauren stared at the hand and slowly shook it. She looked at Taurens face and dropped her smile. Looking at her hand, she looked at the sweat on her hand with slight discomfort. Tauren saw his sweat was on her hand and apologized.
“I’m sorry.” Tauren said. Starburst whipped the sweat off her hand and adjusted her glasses.
“Its okay. You seem tense. Like you don’t want to be here?” She questioned. Tauren looked at her in confusion. He wondered how she figured it out already and received an answer from Sunburst.
“Starburst inherited the detective side of both us.” Sunburst said, kissing her forehead.
“She’s training to be an agent like me and her older brother.” Starlight said.
“And working hard.” She exclaimed with certainty.
“And I’m Sunburst. It’s good to finally meet you.” He said, giving his hand out. Tauren grabbed his hand and shook it.
“Likewise.” Tauren said.
“I must say it’s an honor to have someone like you living with us.” Sunburst said, getting Tauren to raise an eye.
“Thanks.” He said.
“I’ll show you to your room. Your luggage should already be in your room.” Sunburst said, grabbing onto the stairs railing. He took a step and walked up the stairs.
He reached the top of the stairs and followed Sunburst. To his left he saw two closed doors. To his right was a hallway that turned a corner. Three rooms were on the sides of the hall. He walked passed the three open rooms and peeked inside them. In one room he saw blue walls and a grey carpet. Inside the room was a tidy blue bed. Movie posters and a couple bands were on the wall. Tauren realized this was Ronins room.
He walked passed another room and saw another blue room and bed. Dinosaur figures lined a desk and shelves. A few action figures were left alone on the floor. Tauren assumed this was Star Shines room.
Next to Star Shines room was Starbursts. He looked inside the room and saw a purple room with a green bed. A desk with a mirror was the only object he could see through the half-open door.
Sunburst stopped infront of the last door in the hall and looked at Tauren. The two made eye contact and nodded. Sunburst entered the room with hands raised.
“This is where you’ll be staying.” He said. Tauren entered the room and looked inside. On the tan colored carpet was his luggage. Three windows lit up the purple walled room. Inside the wall was a closet that was filled with stuff. There was a bed with a wooden frame that was a shelf on the end. The beds pillows and blankets were blue. The mattress itself was a clean white. In the corner of the room was a small 24’ tv.
Tauren stared at the room and felt happiness. He couldn’t remember the last time he had his own room. He smiled as he felt a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time. For the first time in a long time, he felt the urge to smile at his situation. Memories of his life before she came along, passed through his head. Memories of warmth and joy as he played with friends outside while his mother and father watched from afar. He wanted to feel this feeling longer, but was pulled out by Sunburst.
“What do you think?” He asked.
“It’s nice. Thank you. I’m greatful that you and Starlight let me stay here.
“It’s no problem at all, Tauren. You go on ahead and make yourself comfortable. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.” Sunburst said, walking out of the room.
“Alright.” Tauren replied, hearing Sunburst walk down the stairs.
Tauren stared at the room in silence. He closed his eyes and relaxed while standing. He listened to the quiet empty room and heard the families muffled voices downstairs.
He opened his eyes back up and sniffed the air. He walked over to the door and poked his head out. He stared at the quiet hall and waited to see if anybody was upstairs. He peeked his head back in the room and lightly pushed the door until only an inch was left open.
He took a breath and walked over to the bed and touched it. It felt nice and warm in his touch. The feeling of a bed to call his own made him feel warm inside. He was happy to feel like this again.
He looked at his luggage on the floor and lifted his hand. In a second, a mist swirled around his hand and gripped the luggage. He closed his hand and pulled the luggage with his magic. He grabbed it out of his magic and opened the luggage.
He checked to make sure everything he brought with him from the Agency were still inside. He unpacked his human forms clothes and Agency suit. Unpacking further, he touched a handgun and stared at it inside the bag. He stared at the gun and looked at the door to see if anybody was watching. He quickly pulled it out of the bag and quietly snuck it under his pillow.
He zipped his luggage back up and place it on the floor for him to sort through later. For now, he continued relaxing and rubbed his face. He flexed his muscles and listened to the pops and cracks. He felt tons of pressure escape his shoulders. He groaned as he cracked his neck and knuckles.
He looked at the door again and listened for anybody nearby. He could still hear nothing from outside, except muffled voices downstairs. He sighed and sat on the bed, closing his eyes. He put his legs up on the bed and sat crisscrossed. He took a deep breath and began to concentrate in his relaxed state.
He listened to nothing and did nothing as he concentrated on the bed. A yellow mist formed in his chest and quickly enveloped his torso as he concentrated. The mist travelled through his body as he slowly began to levitate above the bed. His head flashed through memories of friends and family in his childhood. His mind was in a blue room with walls unseen by a fog. All around him were silhouettes of friends and family as they lived their lives in peace. A warm feeling wrapped around him like a blanket. He stared at the memories with a blank expression. He squirmed and groaned in his levitated state as darker memories came in.
He heard screams of fear from families and friends as their silhouettes vanished from his head. The blue room changed color to a darker red. The fog around him grew thicker and harder to see through. A chilling laugh repeated over and over in his head as he saw a lone silhouette with wings fight off an entire army of silhouettes. He narrowed his closed eyes at the scene.
He knew it was her. She fought figure after figure with a stick like weapon that quickly laid waste to the vast army. When there was only a few left, they circled around her with spears. She laughed at them and jumped into the sky. Tauren squirmed and groaned more as a thick cloud of smoke rushed out of her hands and disintegrated the last remaining silhouettes. She stopped her assault and jumped back down to the floor. She laughed and laughed at the scene before her.
Tauren started to breath more rapidly as the memories of the past drifted through him. In his mind, he saw a silhouette alone in the midst of a dead army. He saw him drop his spear and land on his knees. He watched the winged figure walk towards him with a sadistic smile. The silhouettes no longer were silhouettes.
Tauren opened his eyes and saw he was in a familiar environment. A very familiar environment. He looked at the bodies that lay before him and saw hundreds of his own race among others dead. He stared at the body in front of him and weakly apologized. He suddenly heard a scream followed by crying and looked up to see a familiar scene playing out in front of him.
He saw himself lying on the ground with tears falling down his eyes. He watched as he held a pony in his arms. Tears dropped and hit their body as Tauren stared at the fallen comrade. Tauren watched himself caress the body and recognized it as one of his friends from a long time ago.
“I’m sorry.” He barely got out. Tauren stared at himself as he began to breakdown in tears. He stared at the scene with a sad expression. He knew what was going to come next.
He and himself stared forward as they heard a sadistic laugh come closer to him. Tauren stared at the scene playing out and knew what was coming. He looked at his younger self and saw his grief-stricken face.
He stared at the scene with hatred as the woman that ruined his world came into vision. She walked in a human form with purple dragon-like wings in skeleton-like armor. Her purple skin and hair along with the smile gave away her identity. It was Lilith. She stared at the broken Minotaur with a smile. He stared back at her and put down his fallen friends body.
“Why?! Why?! Why?!” His younger self screamed. She said nothing and continued staring at the broken Minotaur.
“You’ve killed everybody I know. Everyone I care about. We were the last of all of us... and YOU KILLED THEM ALL!!!” He screamed. She grinned and giggled at the crying Minotaur. He stared at her laughing face and felt more and more broken. He knew the army was the last of his races warriors. The last of everyone’s warriors. She had wiped out every soldier left. He knew all that was left was him and her. He looked at the fallen bodies that surrounded him and gave up. He stared at the laughing woman and crawled closer to her.
“Kill me... I want to die!” He choked out. She stared at him with a blank face filled with emptiness.
“Come on! I’m all that’s left! Kill me...” he shouted, choking up on the last words.
“I just want to die...” he choked, dropping his whole body to the ground. He stared at her from the floor and saw her evil grin. She crouched down and gripped his chin. The Minotaur groaned and closed his eyes, expecting to be killed. Instead of death, he heard the same evil laugh from before.
“Look at you, Tauren. On the floor, begging to be killed by your queen. Its because of you, everyone you cared about is dead. I knew this whole time that you and the generals planned to betray me. You thought you would win.” She laughed. Tauren heard her words and sobbed.
“Just kill me...” he moaned.
“No.”
“Why...” he mumbled. She smirked at him and gripped harder on his chin.
“Because. You’re perfect for me.” She said, expanding her wings. Tauren watched the memory from afar and saw her body enveloped by a yellow mist. She lifted the younger Tauren by his chin and knocked him to his back. The younger Tauren groaned as he hit the ground in pain. He looked up at her in fear and saw her glowing form.
She walked over to him and stood on top of his body. Tauren tried to get away but found himself unable to fight back. She crouched down on her knees and laid on top of Tauren, preventing him from moving. Tauren tried to push her off, but couldn’t move. Her face was mere inches from his as he struggled to fight.
“I’ve always been interested in you, Tauren. You’ll be a perfect host for me.” She smiled, grabbing his chin lightly. Tauren moved his head off of her hand and tried to avoid her touch. He squirmed and groaned as he tried to avoid her. She grabbed his chin again and held on to him with her strength. Tauren squirmed as he felt unable to move his head.
“Now you’re mine.” She said. Sweat poured off Taurens face as she moved closer to his face.
“No.” He shouted. He tried to move away from her, but failed. Tauren watched the memory in front of him and turned his head away.
AGGHHHH
Tauren winced at the scream from his younger self. She had kissed him on the mouth for a minute as her whole body was enveloped by the yellow mist. The mist wrapped around his younger self as she forcibly kissed him. Taurens younger self stared off into space as she kissed his lips. He dropped a single tear before the mist covered his head. The wind around the two kicked up and formed a mini tornado around them. Tauren continued to look away as he watched the memory. He didn’t need to see to know what was going on. This was how it happened.
When the wind stopped roaring, he turned his head at the scene. His younger self was all that remained on the ground. Lilith was nowhere to be seen. But Tauren knew what happened. He watched him stand up and look at himself. He clenched his hands repeatedly and smiled. Tauren stared at the scene with pain. This was how she became him.
He watched as she began to laugh with pure insanity. Her plan had worked. She had possessed him. Tauren watched the insane laugh and began to cry. The memory around him had vanished and was replaced by the familiar red mindscape.
Flashes of memories popped around him as he levitated in the room. The sounds of crying and painful screams of agony surrounded him. He squinted hard as the memories rushed in. He squirmed and groaned as the memories rushed in faster and faster. He could hear them. Every single one. He groaned louder and louder as he blocked his ears with his hands. The screams still came as clear as ever. Tauren lost all control when he heard the same insane laugh from the demon that did this to him.
He broke down in the mindscape and roared in pain. The stress getting the better of him. He screamed in agonizing pain as the voices got louder and louder. Through it all, a footstep from behind him for his attention. He turned his head in distress in and stared at figure standing in the mindscape. He looked at its body and saw its skin was the purest of black. Lights and shapes were randomly around its body. He immediately realized the lights and shapes were stars and galaxies. He screamed in pain as he stared at the figure watching him.
The figure stared at him with its featureless face and raised its hand. Tauren stared at the hand and saw an explosion in the center of its palm. His eyes widened at the explosion in its hand and watched as the red mindscape changed into blue. The dark memories disappearing along with the pain. He looked around and stared at the figure in confusion.
“Who are you?” He asked, feeling unnerved by its lack of a face. Him and the figure stared at each other for a few seconds before it spoke.
“Order.” It said with a deep raspy whisper.
Tauren blinked once and was surprised to see the figure had disappeared. He stood up in the mindscape and looked around for the figure.
“Wait!” He exclaimed. His concentration broke suddenly and found himself in his room. He fell on the bed no longer levitating and stood up. He looked at his hands and legs and saw his cloven hooves. He was in his real form. He heard the door creak open and turned his head. He looked at the door and saw no one. Then he looked down and saw Star Shine staring at him from behind the door.
Knowing he was caught, Star Shine opened the door fully and stared at Tauren with awe. Tauren looked at the little boy and relaxed. He grabbed his luggage and looked inside it. The boy watched his every move with awe. Tauren fidgeted around for a few seconds before glancing at the still staring boy.
“Is something wrong?” He asked. The boy looked up at him and stood up straight.
“Mom told me you were taller.” He said out of the blue. Tauren looked at him and avoided his innocent stare.
“I can make myself taller.” He answered.
“Can you transform into animals?” He asked.
“Uh... I don’t know. Maybe if I try. I’m only good at turning into a human.” Tauren replied, wondering if he could turn into animals
“Is that why you’re sweating?” He asked.
“Yeah...That’s why.. What are you doing up here?” He asked.
“Mom wondered why you were so quiet, so I checked to see if you were okay.” He replied, shyly.
“I didnt hear you knock.” He joked, smiling lightly.
“I’m sorry.” He apologized, looking down at the floor in shame.
“It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it.” He said, getting the boys attention.
“Most kids would think I’m terrifying in this form. Why don’t you?” He asked.
“I guess it’s because I saw you on tv. It was so cool watching you fight the rock guy. “ he said.
“But mom said I wasn’t supposed to watch tv. Please don’t tell mom I saw the fight.” He pleaded, praying with his hands. Tauren looked at the boy and resisted the urge to laugh.
“I won’t tell.” Tauren said.
“You promise?” He questioned.
“I promise.” Tauren said.
“Why don’t you go tell your mom I’m fine. I’ll be downstairs in a second.”
“Okay.” He replied, running out the room. Tauren listened to the boys heavy footsteps as he rushed down the stairs.
Tauren lightly smiled and zipped his luggage. He dropped the luggage on the floor and got up out the bed. He stretched his muscles and relaxed. He took a couple steps and reached the door. He stopped walking and turned his head, staring at the pillow hiding his gun. He grabbed the doorknob and closed the door. He stood there for a few seconds and thought to himself. He thought back to the mindscape and remembered the figure staring at him.
He wondered who or what he was and tried to think of any explanation for him. He stopped thinking about it and looked at the pictures on the hallway. He stared at one picture in particular among the dozen of frames. It was an old black and white picture of a soldier in uniform. He smiled and saluted at the camera. Tauren stared at the photo and recognized the man as Starlight Glimmers father, Stellar Skies. He’s heard of her father in many universes. He was dead before he arrived in every universe. He was one of the lucky few to escape death from her.
He knew that he was an amazing pilot during WWII, that fact remained the same in every universe. But what was unique about this universe was that he was recruited to join the Agency after the war ended. He nodded at the image and quietly sent his respect. He walked down the hallway and stared at the bottom floor from the top of the stairs. He saw the illuminated floor from a light fixture and gulped. Taking a step down, he held on to the rail as he made his descent.
Tauren entered the living room and saw Sunburst, Starburst, Star Shine, and Starlight. Starlight eating an entire bucket of ice cream while Sunburst watched her eat with concern.
“Slow down, hun. You might get a brain freeze.” He cautioned. Starlight ignored him and continued eating. The two of them watched their kids playing games. Ronin, Starburst, and Star Shine were playing games on the tv, not noticing Tauren.
“Mmhmm.” He coughed.
The whole family stopped what they were doing and stared at Tauren. Star Shine looked at him and smiled with his mouth open. Starburst had her jaw dropped when she saw Tauren. Sunburst was equally as shocked but kept his mouth closed. Ronin nodded at Taurens arrival and pulled first place in Mario Kart while his siblings weren’t looking.
Starlight stopped eating ice cream and looked at Tauren with an approving smile.
“I thought you would be taller?” Sunburst blurted out. Tauren rolled his eyes and smiled. He entered the living room and saw an empty recliner. He walked over to the recliner and gripped the arm. He turned around and sat on the recliner. He took a comfortable position and leaned into the back. He closed his eyes and sighed, feeling relaxed in the chair. He opened his eyes and saw Star Shine and Starburst looking at him.
“What’s wrong with your legs?” Star Shine asked.
“Star Shine!” Starlight exclaimed at his rude question.
“What he meant to say was, why are your legs bent like that?” Starburst asked. Tauren looked at his legs and inspected then. The upper half of his legs were pushed out forward, but his lower half was pushed back behind his knees. His lower half pushed forward at the bottom until his hooves were level with the upper half of his legs.
“My race evolved in huge mountains. Our legs were what kept us stable on the side of cliffs. They’re also used for jumping high off the ground.” He explained.
“That’s just how he was born.” Ronin said, playing video games.
“How high can you jump?” Sunburst asked with curiousity.
“12 feet. Maybe higher.” He answered.
“Wow.” Star Shine said.
The gathering was quickly interrupted by the sound of a bell ringing from the kitchen. Sunburst got up from the couch and rubbed his hands.
“Dinners ready.” He exclaimed.
Starlight got up from the couch with the bucket of ice cream in her hands. Ronin paused the game and got off the floor. Starburst and Star Shine got up with him and walked towards the kitchen. Starburst stopped and turned her head towards Tauren.
“You coming?” She asked.
“I’m not hungry.” He said.
“You will be when you see dad’s cooking.” She said, walking into the kitchen. Tauren looked at where she stood and rolled his eyes. He got up out of the recliner and walked to the kitchen. He stepped into the kitchen and heard thumps from his hooves hitting the tile floor.
He saw the family sitting at the table under a lamp that bathed them in light. Tauren looked at the kitchen and took in its layout. On the wall to his left was the refrigerator and a dishwasher. On the wall in front of him was a stove next to a sink and a counter filled with stuff. Above the counter was shelves filled with spices, medicine, and other things.
He walked over to the counter and grabbed a empty plate. He walked over to the stove and saw dinner sitting in a tray. It was spaghetti. He loved spaghetti. Tauren smelled the spaghetti in front of him and immediately felt his stomach rumble. The spaghetti and the sauce itself looked amazing, for a second he felt his mouth drool. He put the spaghetti on his plate and took in the smell once more. The family looked at him and smiled at his face.
Tauren turned towards them and saw their smiles before they could hide them. He ignored them and walked over to the table and took a seat on an empty chair. He Saturday on the chair and placed the plate on the table. He looked at the family and saw their faces as they ate. Grabbing his fork, he pierced the plate of spaghetti and took a bite. He chewed on the spaghetti and widened his eyes.
This was the tastiest spaghetti he had ever eaten. He swallowed the spaghetti and ate faster. The family watched him as he ate the spaghetti and saw how fast he was eating the plate. He looked up and saw their faces and stopped eating. Grabbing a napkin, he wiped his mouth and cleared his throat.
“This is amazing.” He said.
“Thanks.” Sunburst replied.
“Where did you learn to cook food this good?” Tauren asked.
“Dad used to be a chef when he worked in Tech Division for the Agency.” Ronin explained.
“It’s mostly practice from years of experience.” Sunburst answered.
“Eating his food was one of the best parts of my day when I was young. We made a lot of memories when we were young.” Starlight smiled, looking at Sunburst.
“Gross.” Ronin said, eating his food. Starlight lightly punched his shoulder and laughed. The whole table laughed at the comment and continued eating.
Tauren felt something rub against his leg fur and looked under the table. He looked down and saw a white and orange tabby cat staring at him. The cat meowed and climbed onto his leg. Tauren raised an eye at the cat and scratched its neck. The cat purred and leaned into his hands. Starburst looked under the table and saw Taurens hand scratching the cat.
“That’s our cat, Keda.” Starburst said.
“I was wondering where he went.” Starlight said, looking under the table as best she could.
“Keda?” Tauren asked.
“Key-da.”
“He’s our pet. Mom brought him home two years ago from the road.”
“He was all alone on the side of a road at night shivering in the cold. I wasn’t going to leave him.” Starlight explained.
“We tried to find his owner but we never did find him. So we kept him and he’s been living with us ever since.” Ronin said.
“He seems to like you.” Sunburst said, watching the purring cat.
Tauren stopped scratching the cat and continued eating. The family ate dinner with a few bits of random conversation.
After dinner ended, it was already time to go to bed. Tauren stood in the hallway on the second floor. Ronin and Starburst had already closed their doors, except Star Shine. Tauren peeked in the room and saw Starlight and Sunburst tucking in Star Shine. She looked at him with motherly love, hugging and kissing him on his forehead. She and Sunburst walked towards the door frame and stared at Star Shine.
“Goodnight, sweetie.”
“Goodnight, mom. Goodnight, dad.” He said.
“Goodnight.” Sunburst said, turning the light off. Tauren looked inside and saw a light illuminating the room blue. Starlight closed the door and saw Taurens face.
“He sleeps better with a nightlight.” She explained. She yawned and watched Sunburst wall into their bedroom. She looked at Tauren and spoke.
“We’re going to bed. Need anything before we close the door?” She asked. Tauren shook his head and responded.
“No. I should be fine.”
“You sure?”
“I’ll just be going to sleep.” He assured. She looked at him with an eye raised and folded her arms.
“Well okay...” She said, turning around.
“Goodnight then.” She said.
“Goodnight.” He said, walking to his room. He stopped and turned his head and saw Starlight closing her door.
“Oh, Madame?” Tauren said. She stopped closing the door and poked her head out.
“What?” She asked.
“Thanks, again, for letting me live with you.”
“You’re welcome, Tauren. We’ll talk more in the morning. Goodnight.” She smiled.
“Goodnight, Madame.” He said. Starlight looked at him with an unamused face and closed the door. Tauren stared at the closed door for a few seconds before sighing. He walked into his room and quietly closed the door. He lightly kicked his luggage away from his path and crawled into bed. He plopped his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. He squinted in annoyance when he felt the gun under his pillow. He pulled it from under the pillow and stuck it in between the mattress and the bed frame.
He laid there in the bed and thought back to his trip in the mindscape. He squinted as memories passed through his head. He pictured the figure he saw in his head and tried to explain it. He thought back to everything he had learned about the multiverse from helplessly watching Lilith travel through. In all his years of imprisonment, he had never seen anything like it before. Except.
He opened his eyes wide as realization came to him. He stood up out of the bed and whispered to himself. There was only one species that could enter the mindscape of anybody.
“Kirin.”
There was no possible alternative. Very few could enter the mindscape. Only the most powerful magic users in a relaxed state could enter the mindscape. But to influence the mindscape like that. Only a Kirin could possibly achieve that. Tauren thought back to the time he was trapped. Memories of Liliths encounters with the Kirin went through his mind.
They were a species of Gods from an unknown origin. They were guardians of their respectively universes. Only one Kirin existed in its universes. That made it easier for Lilith to kill them. Lilith never found the truth behind the Kirins and instead killed them before they could ruin her plans.
However, there was one problem with his theory. The Kirins don’t guard the human realm. This was one of the many reasons why Lilith chose to hunt in the human realms. Without the threat of the Kirins, destroying universes was a lot easier. By the time a Kirin found out its universe was under attack, it would already be too late.
Tauren pictured its featureless face. If it was a Kirin, why would it appear to him like that? He tried to think of an explanation for the mysterious visitor that ended his pain. It’s voice echoed through his head.
“Order.” It said in a deep raspy whisper.
“What are you?” He thought to himself. He laid in the bed thinking for almost an hour before falling asleep. His thoughts carried in to his dreams as he slept.
Tauren opened his eyes and quickly jumped to his hooves. He looked around the strange environment he was in and realized he was in a dark library filled with rows of books.
The bookshelves were tall and stocked entirely with books. They reached high into the air, nearly touching the ceiling.
He looked around the library and called out for anybody.
“Hello?” He said, raising his voice. He listened to his voice echo through the library, traveling through the mist. He looked in front of him and saw a fog that prevented him from seeing further down the library. He took a step and heard his hooves clop on the floor. He walked through the library and looked at the books as he passed them. Seeing no end to the library, he started to jog through the hall. Still seeing no end, his jogging turned to desperate running as he ran through the walls.
Seeing no end to the library, he stopped running and touched his knees in exhaustion.
BZZZZZ
The sudden buzzing sound to his left startled him. He looked to his left and saw a hallway that cut the bookshelf in half. He looked at the hallway in confusion and wondered how he didn’t see that there.
He composed himself and stared at the new hallway. The hall was illuminated by an unseen blue light. It’s walls were made of brick and the floor was stone. Seeing nothing dangerous, he walked slowly inside. He walked through the hall and turned his head back to where he came. He was surprised to see a brick wall hasn’t formed where he walked in from. He turned around and knocked on the brick.
“Great.” He groaned. He stopped knocking and turned back around. He was gonna have to find another way out. He continued walking through the empty hall and looked for a door or a new hallway.
He walked through the hall and turned a corner to a different hallway. He stopped and looked down the new hallway and could see a door. He squinted his eyes and made out details on the door. There was pictures burned into the metal door. He walked down the hallway and approached the door. He looked at the metal door and saw dragons of all shapes and sizes. The pictures depicted a battle between dragons. Dragons holding giant axes and breathing fire fought each other in a gruesome fight. Tauren recognized the battle depicted as the The Great Dragon War.
It was a century-old battle of dragon rebels fighting against their Dragonlord dictator. The Dragonlord ruled over the dragons with an iron fist. Forcing his own citizens into a slave army. He conquered village after village. He attacked every nation on Gaia with no mercy. When the other nations realized how much of a threat he posed they set aside their differences and worked together to defeat the Dragonlord.
He stared at the impressive craftsmanship on the door and nodded. He grabbed the door knob and twisted it. Lightly opening it, he peeked inside and saw a medium-sized room with massive columns supporting the ceiling. He stared inside the empty room and let himself in.
He looked inside and saw a fireplace pop into existence in the wall on the other side of the room. He jumped at the sudden cackling of the fire and squinted his eyes in an attempt to block the fire light. He blinked once and widened his eyes when he saw a man sitting on a chair pop into existence infront of the fireplace.
Tauren looked at the man and saw he was in fishermen’s clothes. The man sat quietly in front of the fireplace, holding a stick with a marshmallow on it. Tauren watched the man hold the marshmallow above the fireplace and watched it burn. He took a single step and was detected by the man.
The man turned his head towards Tauren, revealing a grey old man with a receding hairline. He and Tauren made eye contact for a few seconds before he turned back around.
“Been waiting for you.” The man said in a tired old voice.
The man leaned to his left and grabbed a chair out of a column. He put the chair next to the fireplace and patted the seat multiple times. He stopped patting it and leaned back to his spot on his chair.
“Sit down.” He said, softly.
“Who are you? Tauren asked.
“Why I’m just an old man. Come on. Take a seat. I don’t bite.” He said. Tauren stared at the old man in suspicion and slowly approached the chair.
“Where am I?” Tauren said.
“You’re in a room.” He said. Tauren looked at him with an unamused look, not appreciating his smarts. The old man smirked and ate the roasted marshmallow off the stick.
“You’re dreaming.”
“What?” He said in silent shock.
“Who are you? How are you in my dreams? Only a few powerful magic-users are able to enter dreams.” Tauren exclaimed.
“I already said I’m an old man. And for why I’m in your dreams? I just walked in.” He said, stabbing another marshmallow on his stick.
“What?”
“You heard me... It doesn’t take much strength to enter dreams for me.” He said.
“You’re not an old man. Who are you?” Tauren demanded, raising his voice.
“You’re right. I’m not an old man. But I certainly am older than you.” He said.
“You’ve caused quite a stir in the multiverse, you know. Especially what she’s done to you.” He said. Tauren widened his eyes and lunged at the man. He grabbed him by the throat and pushed him on a column. His body hit the column and created a loud thud that echoed through the room.
“How do you know about Lilith? Who are you?” Tauren exclaimed, glaring at the man. The man looked at him, then back up. He raised his hand and shook his finger.
“No, No, I got this.” He said to a figure behind Tauren. Tauren turned his head and saw a faceless man staring at him. The galaxies and stars on his body gave him away as the man he saw from the Mindscape.
“You... you stopped me from seeing my dark memories in the Mindscape.” Tauren exclaimed, letting go of the old man. Tauren blinked once and saw the man had disappeared. He looked around the room and saw he was nowhere to be seen. He turned around and looked at the old man on the floor with confusion.
“What are you?”
“Do you always hurt a stranger?” He asked, rubbing his neck.
“I’m sorry. You said something I wasn’t expecting to hear.” Tauren said, helping the old man up. The man thanked him for his help and took a seat back in his chair.
“My apologies for bringing up your past. I read your mind in an instant.”
“You what?” Tauren exclaimed in a whisper.
“I’m sorry. It’s a passive ability. It allows me to know the people I talk to. Let’s me understand them on a deeper level.”
“I won’t tell you who I am. Not yet.”
“Then why are you here?”
“...Hmm... I just wanted to see you. The demon who controlled you was very hard to track down. But her trail of destruction was what led us to you. We are the reason you are free from her grasp.”
“What?” He exclaimed in a quiet voice.
“It is true. Our apologies once more for taking so long. We were busy elsewhere.”
“I don’t understand? How are you the reason I’m free.”
“All will be revealed in due time, Tauren. It’s time to wake up.” He said, the room lighting up in a heavenly glow. Taurens eyes widened as he looked around the room. He shook his head in denial, not wanting to wake up.
“No! I have so many questions! Not again!”
“I’m sorry, Tauren. Control yourself. Live life. In time we will return. Sooner than you think.” He said, echoing through the room.
“Wait! Wait! Wait!!” He yelled. He opened his eyes and gasped as he rose out of his bed. He looked around the dark room and found himself in Starlights house. He was awake. With even more questions.
Tauren jumped out of the bed and rushed out of his room. He kept quiet as he passed by the upstairs rooms. He walked down the stairs and scratched the wall as he looked
He lied there on the couch for a few minutes feeling sick. He wiped sweat off his forehead and immediately stood back up. He walked out of the living room and entered the kitchen, leaning uncomfortably. He put his hand on a knob and opened the refrigerator. He looked at the selection of food and drinks inside and saw a dozen unopened soda cans.
He pulled one out and forced the lid open. He shoved the soda into his mouth and chugged it down into his throat. He gulped and gulped and threw the can out of his mouth. He crushed the can and threw it in the trash can. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out a chair and dropped himself onto it. The momentum and weight from his massive size pushed the chair legs out, nearly breaking it.
He breathed slower and slower, feeling relaxed as he sat in the chair. He wiped more sweat off his forehead and grabbed a napkin from the table. He wiped his hands on the napkin and felt his sweat dampen it. He threw the napkin into the trash and stood up out of the chair. He heard the chair legs scrape the floor as he stood up.
He walked out of the kitchen and relaxed. Entering the living room, he stared up at the upstairs floor and listened to the silence. He thought about going back up into his room, but decided against it. He needed some air.
Tauren closed his eyes and concentrated. The yellow mist pushed out of the center of his chest and travelled around his torso. The mist enveloped his whole
When the mist disappeared, he opened his eyes and looked at himself. He was in his human form. He shook his body and unwrinkled his clothes. He silently opened a closet next to the front door and looked inside. He saw a couple jackets hanged up on a rack and took one. He put on a thick grey jacket with a furry interior and zipped it up.
He stood there for a moment thinking about what he was doing. He felt stressed out from the ordeal he just went through in his dream and sighed. He lifted his hand and summoned the yellow mist around his arm. His magical grasp reached out across the living room and flicked the light switch off.
His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness causing him to stare up at the second floor a final time. He grimaced and sighed, putting his head down. He walked to the front door and touched the knob. Twisting it, he silently opened the door and snuck outside.
He immediately felt the cold light breeze on his head and closed his eyes. He slowly closed the door and stood on the porch. He looked at the quiet neighborhood and stared at the street lamps. The lamps lit up the sidewalks in a white light. The bright lamps annoyed him. He stood there trying to adjust his eyes for about a minute. When he was no longer hurt by the light, he slowly made his way out of the front lawn.
He walked down the path and passed by Starlights car. He looked around the neighborhood as he walked on the sidewalk. He stared up at the night sky and could barely make out the stars from the light pollution. Tauren looked ahead and turned a corner to another street. He pushed on and passed street after street until he was no longer in the residential zone.
He stared at every car that drove by on the road. He listened to cars and trucks drive by on the highway above him. He looked up ahead and saw the lights from the skyscrapers in the distance. He closed his eyes and stood on the sidewalk. He relaxed and listened to the sound of cars, trucks, and motorcycles roaring and honking in the distance. The sounds combined with the breeze made the night feel almost peaceful.
Then the quiet night was interrupted by a door swinging open to his left. He turned his head and saw a woman walk out of a mini market with a jacket on. Her hood wasn’t up which kept Tauren from identifying her from afar. She carried a bag with her that Tauren couldn’t see what was inside.
She didn’t notice Tauren standing there on the sidewalk and walked to the mostly empty parking lot. She pulled out her car keys and accidentally dropped them. Tauren turned away as she bent down to grab her keys and walked away. His steps echoed on the floor, getting the girls attention. She stared at Tauren from behind and squinted her eyes. She could’ve sworn she had seen him before from somewhere.
Her focus on Tauren prevented her seeing two men with masks approach her from behind. She gasped as her mouth was covered by a mans glove. She freaked out and struggled to fight against the two men. Her bag shook and made noise as she struggled. The two men pulled out knives and aimed them at her.
“GIve us the car, lady. Or else.” The masked man demanded. She screamed at the sight of the knife, her voice getting muffled by the mans hand.
Tauren continued to walk unaware of what was going on behind him. The woman continued to give the men a hard time. She kicked the man holding on to her in the groin and dropped her bag.
The sound of glass breaking in the bag got Taurens attention. He raised an eye and turned around. His eyes widened when he saw what was going on in the parking lot. He watched as the woman struggled to fight back against the men with knives. He clenched his arms and quickly crouched.
He knew that he had to stop them. He would never forgive himself if he did nothing. Glaring at the men, he cracked his knuckles and prepared to fight. He realized the men hadn’t noticed him and took this to his advantage.
He walked on over to the scene in front of him and concentrated. His clothes began to light up in a yellow glow that quickly flew out of his shirt. The yellow mist rushed out of his sleeves and quickly enveloped his hands. His shoes pounded on the sidewalk, getting their attention. The men stared at Tauren with surprise. One of the men stepped forward and raised his knife towards Tauren.
“Take one step closer and I’ll ki-“ Tauren interrupted him by lifting his hand. The mist enveloped his hand dashed forward and gripped the mans shirt.
AAAHHH
Tauren pushes the man to the ground with his magic, picking up his knife. He levitated the knife and pointed the sharp edge to the ground. The man looked up at Tauren from the ground and saw the knife hovering above his head. He saw Tauren glare at him and watched him dropped the knife to him with extreme speed.
Out of fear, he screamed and covered the back of his head with his hands. He heard the knife make impact and felt no pain from a stab wound. He looked back up and saw the knife stabbed into the concrete in front of him. He looked back up and was greeted by Taurens shoe stomping his head, knocking him out cold.
“What the hell?” The other man said. Tauren glared up at him and took a step forward. The man took a defensive stance and held on to the woman, knife pointed on her head.
“One step closer and I’ll stab her!” He warned. Tauren glared at him and clenched his fists. He looked at the woman and saw her hand. She was a lighter skinned pale red. Tauren put down his hood and glared at the man.
The woman made an audible gasp at the sight of Tauren face. Tauren looked at the hooded woman in confusion. He could barely make out the look of fear in the hooded woman. She recognized him, but Tauren couldn’t see her enough to recognize her.
She jumped a bit when she felt the knife lightly tap her. Tauren snapped out of his thoughts and raised his hand. The man saw a yellow mist shot out from Taurens hand and felt the mist wrap around his arm.
The man eyes widened as a force pulled his arm away from her head. He struggled as his arm was pulled towards his direction. He stopped struggling when he saw his knife was now aimed at his forehead. The man raised his arms in the air, letting go of the woman. The man backed up into her car and gulped in fear at the floating knife in front of him.
Tauren glared at the man and walked forward. The woman looked at Tauren walk by her with fear. Tauren raised his left hand and grabbed the mans mask. He pulled it off the man and crushed it in his hands. Tauren stared at the green man with fury. The man looked at Tauren with fear and started to shake.
“Who are you?”
“You’re scared. You should be.” Tauren glared, clenching his fists. The man jumped in fright when he saw the knife collapsed in the magical grasp.
“Don’t hurt me, man. We were just gonna take the car.”
“You made your decision the moment you threatened to kill this woman.” Tauren said, raising his voice. The man jumped and closed his eyes, he leaned his head to the right and clenched his teeth.
“I’m sorry, okay! Just don’t hurt me!” He said. Tauren glared at him and let go him go.
“You’re pathetic.” He said, pushing the man to the ground. The man hit the concrete face first and knocked himself out. Tauren looked at the unconscious man and smiled. He dropped his smile and turned around. He saw the hooded woman stare at him in fear. Tauren saw her eyes through the hood and could see she was scared.
“Are you okay?” He asked with concern.
“Never seen a Unique before? It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” He said. Tauren looked at her in the hood and could make out some details. He could see dimples on her cheecks and her hair was a shade of red that was darker than her pale red skin.
“Have I seen you before?”
“Yes. You have...” she said, removing her hood. Tauren watched the hood fall and nearly gasped. His eyes widened as he memories of the night he arrived here flooded back into his head.
“Gloriosa...” He said in astonishment. The two stared a tiny eachother for a minute. None of them were able to speak. Gloriosa was the first to speak up.
“I heard about you on tv. I didn’t think it was true. You saved me. Why?”
“...Because it's the right thing to do.” Tauren said, softly. Gloriosa’s eyes widened at his answer. She stared at the ground in silence before speaking again.
“You really are different.”
“I’m sorry.” He said. Gloriosa looked up at Taurens face in surprise. She wasn’t expecting an apology.
“The person you saw. The man who attacked Glory and stole their clothes wasn’t me. It was something else. A monster. She’s not apart of me anymore. I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry for causing you trouble.” He said.
“I don’t deserve forgiveness. And I won’t blame you for hating me. I just want you to know, I’m sorry.” Tauren said, turning around. He closed his eyes and grimaced. He should’ve left immediately after the fight. He stopped when he heard Gloriosa say something.
“I forgive you!” She said. Taurens eyes widened in shock. He turned back around and stared at her in surprise.
“I saw the news. The person who did that would’ve never apologized. Or save me from two burglars. You’re not the one who hurt my family. I don’t blame you, nor do I hate you. I forgive you for the things you couldn’t stop.” She exclaimed.
Tauren stared at her with shock. He was flabbergasted by her words. He found himself unable to respond. Gloriosa approached him and looked at his face. Tauren looked at her and was shocked to see her suddenly hug him.
“Thank you.” She said, continuing to hug him. Tauren looked at her face and felt his heart skip a beat. An overwhelming surge of emotion had boiled up inside and had broken his limit. Tauren closed his eyes and felt tears fall down his face. He returned the hug and smiled. The two of them parted away and stared at each other.
“Thank you, Gloriosa. You have no idea what that means to me.” Tauren said, wiping the tears off his face.
“I think I have a clue.” She said.
For a few minutes, they talked to each other. Tauren had left as soon as the police arrived. He saw the crime scene from a distance and could see Gloriosa getting interviewed. The burglars were screaming to the cops that the alien had attacked them. Gloriosa was there to testify that the alien saved her from them. This led to their arrest. Tauren walked back to Starlights house for the night. He slowly opened the door to the house. And entered the home, slowly closing the door behind him. He stared into the dark room and sighed. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and allowed him to walk around. He slowly made his way up the stairs and entered his room. He left the door opened and changed into his Minotaur form. Stretching his muscles, he climbed into the bed and laid there staring at the ceiling.
He sat there thinking about what had happened. He could still feel warmth from her hug. His heart beated rapidly as he laid there. He felt happy knowing what he did. Combined with her forgiveness, he felt the urge to cry tears of joy. The comforting feeling made him genuinely smile for the first time in a long time. He fell asleep in minutes after that. When the sun had risen everyone in the house had woken up except Tauren. Starlight and Sunburst decided not to wake him up and prepared to make breakfast.
Ronin walked around the house with a cup of coffee in his hands. He was addicted to coffee ever since his dad gave him some when he was 12. He blames his dad for the addiction. He walked into the living room and grabbed a remote. He clicked the tv on and watched the news.
Ronin watched the tv as breaking news flashed on the screen. He drank his cup of coffee and listened to the news report.
“A woman named Gloriosa Daisy was attacked last night while leaving a mini market. The two men threatened her and attempted to steal her car before getting attacked by what she says was the alien. That’s right. The one who helped bring down the criminal, Crackdown a few weeks ago.”
Ronins eyes widened as he listened to the report. He nearly spilled his coffee on the floor before he caught himself. Ronin put his coffee down on the table next to him and searched for his mom.
“Hey, mom!” Ronin exclaimed.
Indigo Zap and the girls stood around in the training room. Indigo Zap had arrived early in the morning after she received a text message from Sunny Flare. The girls had also gotten the same text message from Sunny Flare. They sat on the floor with their phones out in boredom.
“Why are we here, again?” Lemon Zest asked.
“Because Sunny told us to.” Sugarcoat said. Indigo Zap zoomed around the large room and saw no one around. She zoomed back up to her friends and sat down.
“She’s not in here.” Indigo said.
“Where is she?” Lemon Zest asked.
“Here.” Sunny said, entering the room. The girls turned and saw Sunny and Ronin carrying heavy boxes. Deacon walked in behind them with two boxes in his arms.
“Hey, Sunny. What’s in the boxes?” Indigo greeted, zooming next to her.
“Equipment.” Starlight said, entering the room behind Deacon. Bright also walked in beside Starlight, holding a clipboard.
“Equipment?” Indigo questioned.
“Yup. Starting today, you girls are going to learn to be Agents.” Starlight said.
“But we already know how to use our powers.”
“You do. But this isn’t about your powers. This is about standard procedure. All of you are required to learn how to operate and coordinate like us.”
“So, are we gonna learn how to use a gun?” Sugarcoat asked.
“All of them, actually.” Deacon answered.
“All of them?” The girls exclaimed.
“That’s like... a billion guns!” Lemon Zest exclaimed. Ronin, Sunny Flare, and Deacon opened the crates and pulled out small pistols. The three of them walked over to the girls and handed out pistols.
“Are these real?” Indigo Zap asked, grabbing hold of the gun. She looked at the gun and held it.
“Yes.” Ronin answered, pulling the gun away from her face.
“So, we’re gonna learn how to handle a gun? Indigo asked. Ronin nodded at the question.
“What about you and Sunny? Are you gonna help us?” Sugarcoat asked.
“Me and Sunny learned this when we were kids. This is actually the easiest part of the training.”
“This is the easiest? Great....” Sour Sweet said.
The door to the training room suddenly opened, catching the girls by surprise. They looked at the door and saw three guys enter the room. One of them was a teenager, a slightly older man, and a tall middle-aged muscular guy.
“Who are they?” Lemon Zest asked.
“These are our new recruits. Blue Tempo, Rivet, and Astro Platinum. They’ll be going through the same training as you.”
“Hello.” Astro said, waving his hand awkwardly.
“Ronin and Sunny will teach you while Deacon and Bright check your progress. I have other business to attend to, so I won’t be able to watch.” Starlight said.
“Ronin, make sure they dont shoot themselves.”
“Yes, Madame.” He said. Starlight smiled and turned around. The group watched her leave the room and stood around in silence. Ronin faced the group and saw Astro, Blue, and Rivet.
“You’re the new Uniques, right?”
“We are.” Rivet answered. Astro looked at the girls and wondered who they were. He felt a sudden ringing in his head and stared at the girls. He concentrated and focused on Sour Sweet. She was staring at Astro in concentration as well. Astro focused and heard voices all around him. He channeled them out and focused on Sour Sweet. She was doing the same thing as him. When they had channeled everyone out but themselves, they started to hear each other.
“I know you’re trying to read my mind?” Astro said in his head. Sour Sweet eyes widened in surprise and replied back.
“You know what I’m doing?” Sour Sweet asked in surprise.
“We have the same power. We’re mind readers.” Astro answered.
“It’s good to know theirs somebody with the same powers as me. I’m Astro Platinum.” He introduced himself.
“Sour Sweet.” She replied.
Their conversation in their heads was interrupted by Lemon Zest waving her hand in front of Sour Sweet. She and Astro lost focus and looked around completely lost.
“What?” Sour Sweet asked.
“You and that guy stared at eachother and said nothing. Are you okay?” Lemon Zest asked.
“I’m fine. We were just talking.” Sour Sweet explained.
“Without speaking?” Lemon Zest questioned. Sour nodded and looked at Astro who had his eyes closed, rubbing his head. He opened his eyes and stopped rubbing his head when he saw them staring at him.
“We were talking in our heads. He can read minds, also.” Sour Sweet said.
“I thought you could control waves?” Blue asked.
“Like ocean waves?” Lemon Zest asked.
“That’s cool.” Lemon Zest said.
“What about you guys? What can you two do?” Lemon Zest asked.
“I can shoot lasers out of my hand and Rivet can turn metallic when he touches things.” Blue explained. Rivet nodded his head at his explanation.
“Well now that that’s done, why don’t you tell us who you girls are?” Blue asked.
“I’m Lemon Zest and I can create things with my mind. See.” She said, flicking her hand. A pink lighter construct formed above her hand and floated. The guys saw the construct and stared at in amazement. Blue looked impressed and nodded.
“Nice.”
“This is Indigo Zap. She’s sort of the leader of us.” Lemon Zest said. Indigo Zap waved her hand at the guys and continued looking at all the guns.
“What can she do?” Blue asked.
“I’m really fast.” Indigo said, standing beside the three. Rivet jumped and turned around to see Indigo Zap standing behind him. Blue and Astro turned around and stared at Indigo in surprise.
“But you were just-“ Blue said at a loss of words.
“I was just there. I have super speed. It’s really cool. Haven’t you guys seen my work on tv?” She asked with pride.
“You’re the Blur?” Astro asked.
“Uh- huh.” Indigo Zap said with pride.
I’m Sour Sweet, I read minds and I have super strength.” Sour said, lightly waving at them. Sugarcoat looked at them with a serious expression. She unfolded her arms and opened her hand. In a couple seconds, Sugarcoat formed a snowball in her hand and shaped it into a small ice spear.
“I’m Sugarcoat. I can control the weather.” She said, letting the spear melt in her hand. The guys looked at her trick with an impressed look. They nodded to themselves and looked at each other.
Rivet crouched down and touched the floor with his hand. The group watched as Rivets hand began to harden. His skin hardened and matched the concrete. The girls mouths dropped as his body quickly hardened into concrete. When his body was completely hardened, he stood up to his full height and stared at the group.
“Awesome!” Lemon Zest exclaimed.
Blue Tempo stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. He looked around the large room and saw a target attached to a post. He lifted his hand and aimed at he target. He concentrated and felt a vibration in his arm. The girls watched his hand glow red until a beam of energy shot out of his hand. The laser launched toward the target with fast speeds, flaring up as it reached its target. The laser pierced a hole through the wooden target and hit the wall.
He saw where the laser impacted and widened his eyes. Ronin and Deacon looked at the burned concrete wall and glared at Blue Tempo.
“Sorry. Too much power in the beam.” Blue said.
“Why are we here again?” Astro asked, looking at Deacon.
“Training?”
“You need to learn how to be Agent. So me and Sunny are going to teach you how to use every gun in the armory.”
“You’re gonna teach us?” Blue Tempo asked. Robin answered by nodding his head. Blue scoffed and flashed a smile, glancing back at Rivet and Astro for a second.
“Kid, I used to be a cop. I already know how to fight.” Blue Tempo said.
“Really now?” Ronin asked with suspicion.
“Yeah.” Blue said, folding his arms. Ronin walked over to the crate of guns and pulled out a big gun that made the girls widen their eyes. Ronin looked at their faces and held on to the sniper rifle in his hands. He walked back over to Blue and loaded bullets into the sniper.
“Know what this is?” Ronin asked.
“It’s a sniper.” Blue said.
“What’s it called?”
“...” Blue Tempo went quiet at the question.
“I thought so. It’s a Dragonuv. Do you know how to use it?” Ronin asked.
“...No.”
“Exactly. Cop or not, you need to learn the specifics of all guns. How to aim, how to load a gun quickly, how to fire with recoil, and how to disarm someone with a gun.” Ronin said. Deacon nodded in the background.
“Uhh, I don’t really like guns, except in video games.” Astro said, holding the empty pistol in his hand.
“Do I have to learn this?” Rivet asked.
“It’s required. Either do it or quit.” Sunny said.
Astro and Rivet glanced at eachother and thought about it, exchanging no words. They looked at eachother and read their minds, metaphorically. They looked at Ronin and nodded.
“We’ll learn.” Astro said. Ronin smiled and nodded.
“Alright, lets begin.”
A day had passed since the group began their training. Ronin, Bright, Deacon, and Sunny Flare watched the group fire pistols at their dummies with sound-proof headphones. The group fired upon the dummies with intense focus. When they emptied their clips, they placed the gun on the table infront of them. They took off their headphones and waited to be graded. Deacon walked over to the dummies and stared at them. He looked at dummies and saw barely any bullet holes in nearly all of them. Two of them were tied with the most bullets. He shook his head and hid his grin. This was sad.
He wrote down the results on his board and walked back to them. He handed over his clipboard to Sunny, who passed it over to Bright. She passed it over to Ronin with a nervous smile. Ronin assumed it was because of the results and also grew nervous. He looked at the clipboard and saw the results with widened eyes.
“They have been doing this for two days and this is the results? Not even I was that bad.”
He couldn’t believe the girls were this bad. Ronin had assumed archery in Crystal Prep would give them better results since it was a required class. But these results were sad. There was good results amidst the bad. Blue Tempo and Sour Sweet had passed the pistol training and had moved on to rifle training. Indigo Zaps results showed good progress. She didn’t do well yesterday, but her performance has greatly increased. Ronin figured her powers had something to do with it.
“How’d we do?” Indigo asked.
“Horrible. Except Blue Tempo and Sour Sweet. They shot their targets with all their bullets successfully. Indigo you’ve passed the pistol training, you can move on to rifles. The rest of you need more time.”
“Yess!” Indigo exclaimed.
“How is Sour Sweet passing is?” Lemon Zest said. The group nodded in agreement and looked at Sour Sweet. She looked at their faces and shook her shoulders.
“Me and my dad used to go hunting. He taught me a lot about guns.” Sour Sweet explained.
“No wonder you were better than us in archery.” Lemon Zest pointed out. Sour nodded in agreement. Blue nodded at her results and put a hand on her shoulder.
“I know a good shot when I see one. Good job, kid.” He patted. Sour Sweet looked at him and nodded.
“Thanks. And don’t touch me.” She said.
“Learning to fire guns is hard.” Lemon Zest whined.
“And time consuming.” Sugarcoat said.
“It’s okay. I wasn’t very good in my first time training.” Bright said, attempting to cheer them up. Bright turned and saw Astro looking at her in confusion.
“Were you always here?” Astro asked. Blue hit his arm with his elbow, causing Astro to rephrase.
“I mean. Who are you? I don’t think we met.”
“My name’s Bright, I’m the Madames assistant. And I was here yesterday.”
“Oh.” Astro said, feeling embarrassed. Blue stepped up and asked her a question.
“Why is boss lady called Madame?”
“Why is a cop a cop? Why is a commissioner a commissioner?” Sugarcoat asked.
“Okay, I get it.” Astro said.
“It’s just her rank. It’s what we refer the current leader of the Agency. My grandpa used to be leader before her.” Ronin explained.
“When the leader is a man we say sir. When it’s a woman we say Madame. It’s how we show respect.” Bright explained.
“How old is this Agency?”
“We’ve been around since America was created.”
“Whoa.” Astro said in shock. Blue whistled at the answer and commented.
“That’s a long time to keep quiet. How’d ya do it?”
“We’re not sure on the specifics, but we had no reason to let the world know of us.”
“Should we get back to training?” Rivet butted in.
“Why, you in a rush?”
“I’d just like to get it done.” Rivet said, truthfully. The group nodded in agreement at his answer.
“Well. Get to it then. Reload your weapons. C’mon.” Deacon clapped. The group reloaded their guns and put their sound-proof headsets back on. Ronin, Bright, Deacon, and Sunny, put theirs on as well.
“You think they’ll learn quick?” Deacon asked.
“Hopefully. Mom doesn’t like to wait.” Ronin said.
A week later, the group had passed the weapon training and moved on to hand-to-hand. They were three days into training and they had already increased their strength and endurance. The group was separated into partners. One was holding the punching bag in place while the other was punching. Blue held the bag as Astro punched the bag as hard as he could. On the third day they had to punch with a punching bag. Astro was not used to punching and was quickly tiring. Blue Tempo watched him struggle and rolled his eyes.
“C’mon, Astro. It’s like you’ve never punched before.”
“I- haven’t.”
“What?” Blue exclaimed.
“Jesus, kid. No wonder you’re dying. Switch.” Blue said, patting his shoulder. Astro stopped punching and held the bag for Blue. Blue looked at the bag and readied up.
“This is how you hit a punching bag.”
Over at the next punching bag was Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest. Lemon Zest held on to the bag while Sugarcoat punched away. Lemon Zest leaned her head to the side and watched Sugarcoat. She was extremely focused on the bag.
“You’re really into this...”
“I have a lot of steam to let off.” Sugarcoat said, solemnly. She continued her punches
“Clearly.” Lemon commented.
“Do you... wanna talk about it?” Lemon Zest asked.
“Why?”
“It’s what friends do. Share our problems. We’re friends, right?”
“Of course we’re friends.”
“Really?”
“Why didn’t you think we were friends?”
“It’s just.. we hangout now, but before these powers. Before the Friendship Games, none of us were really that close.” Lemon Zest said.
“We hanged out.” Sugarcoat said, punching the bag.
“A little, but not that much. I think maybe the most time you spent out of all of us was Twilight.”
“I didn’t hang around Twilight. Twilight hanged around me. Me and Twilight never really connected. Her nervousness combined with my bluntness didn’t make a good combo.”
“Did you let her hang out with you because you felt bad?”
“.... yes. I used to be like Twilight in middle school. Nervous. Scared of people. When I got to High School I grew out of it and stopped caring about what others thought of me. But Twilight. She never outgrew her fears.”
“Did you try helping her?” Lemon Zest asked.
“A lot of times, actually. I made her hangout with my group of friends at lunch. The group that I hanged around with didn’t really care. They were one of the nicer groups in Crystal Prep. I thought making her friends with them would help her. But her own anxiety and restraint prevented her from fully becoming friends with them.”
“That was nice of you.” Lemon smiled, approvingly. She heard Sugarcoat sigh and faltered.
“Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I had tried harder. Maybe, she would’ve never turned into a monster at the Friendship Games.”
“Hey, it’s not your fault. It was all Cinchs fault, remember? Cinch was the one who forced her to use the necklace thingy.” Lemon Zest said, attempting to cheer her up.
“That necklace.” Sugarcoat grunted, hitting the bag harder. Lemon Zest felt the punches from the bag and gripped it harder.
“She told me about the strange things going on at Canterlot High. At least she tried to tell me, but I pretended to listen to make her feel better. If only I had listened, try to take her time away from that necklace.” Sugarcoat said, punching even harder into the bag. Lemon Zest grew nervous from her punches, feeling the bag move closer to her.
“Take it easy, Sugarcoat.” Lemon Zest cautioned. Sugarcoat realized Lemon Zest was barely holding on the bag and stopped.
“Sorry.”
“You wanna switch?” Lemon Zest asked.
“Might as well.” Sugarcoat said.
“It’s not all your fault. I talked to Twilight too. Sometimes I’d give her my headphones, but she didn’t really like my music.”
“I don’t think anyone likes your music.”
“Hay!” Lemon Zest said.
“Just being honest.” Sugarcoat said.
“Have you ever gotten in trouble with your bluntness?” Lemon Zest asked with curiosity.
“With teachers? No. I’ve pissed off a few students, though. They tried to fight me.” Sugarcoat answered.
“And did you?” Lemon Zest asked, punching the bag.
“They backed down.”
“How?”
“I know most of the guys in the football team and having friends in high places helps.” She answered.
“Lucky you.” Lemon Zest said.
RING
The sound of a bell ringing echoed through the giant room, getting the groups attention.
“I think we’re done.” Sugarcoat guessed.
Ronin, Deacon, Sunny, and Bright entered the room from the stairs and clapped their hands.
“Good job, guys.” Ronin said, clapping his hands.
“How close are we to finishing?” Indigo Zap asked, zooming in front of him.
“Now that your weapons and hand-to-hand training is complete. You just have one thing to do before moving on.”
“Which is?”
“Combat.”
“You’ll be training with me and Deacon.” Ronin said. Deacon lifted his hand up and waved at them.
“Alright. We’ll be getting you guys in shape. Listen to us and you’ll be able to get this done in no time.” Deacon said.
Two days later.
Astro punched at Deacon with intense focus. Day 2 of actual combat training, the group was getting the hang of it. Deacon and Ronins help made the group understand what they were doing.
Astro threw his right hand at Deacons arm, causing him to block it. Astro then saw the opening and hit Deacon on the left side. Deacon felt the punch and scoffed.
“Good job.” Deacon said, continuing to block. Astro pulled another punch at Deacon, who then grabbed his arm and dropped his body to the floor. Astro shouted in surprise and hit the soft floor out of breathe.
Deacon stopped fighting and looked at the downed Astro. He catches his breath and left a hand open for Astro. Astro looked at the hand and grabbed it. Deacon helped pull him up and patted his shoulder.
“Good job, Astro. You’re done for now. Go rest up.” Deacon said, wiping the sweat away from his forehead.
“Alright.” Astro said in exhaustion. Astro walked out the boxing ring and crouched over the side. Blue Tempo and the others clapped and congratulated him on his way out.
“Alright, Officer Tempo. You’re up.” Deacon said. Blue nodded and passed by Astro on his way. As they passed each other, Blue and Astro fistbumped.
“Nice one, kid.” Blue complimented.
“Thanks.” Astro said.
Blue Tempo reached the outer ring and crouched under the rope. He maneuvered his way into the ring and cracked his knuckles.
“How good is your training?” Deacon asked.
“I know how to disarm somebody with a gun.”
“That all?”
“I’ve been in a few fistfights during my time as a cop.” He stated, putting on the boxing gloves. Deacon nodded and readied up.
“Let’s see how good that officer training really is.” Deacon said, raising his fists. Blue Tempo took a fighting stance and raised his fists. Deacon and Blue circled around each other, waiting for one of them to make a move.
Blue shrugged and moved forward, throwing a punch at Deacon. Deacon grabbed his arm and pulled him forward, he quickly sidestepped out of the way and shoved to the ring. Blue caught himself on the ring edge and gasped. He turned around and saw Deacon with his hand in the air, motioning him to attack.
Blue shook his head and went back to his previous fighting stance. Blue stepped forward and took another shot at Deacon. Deacon dodged his punch and slapped it away. Deacon saw his opening and punched Blue in the stomach. Blue groaned and took a step back.
He shrugged off the pain and corrected his stance, going on the defensive. Deacon noticed this and made a comment.
“Having trouble?”
“Hay, If you weren’t a good guy I would’ve tased you already.” Blue said.
“Good thing you don’t have a taser.” Deacon said, moving forward. Deacon went for a strike. Blue parried and punched him in the stomach. Deacon felt the hit in his stomach and grunted. He gasped and took a step back.
“Good hit.” Deacon complimented.
“I try.” Blue said, advancing toward Deacon. He punched Deacon in the stomach again and repeatedly struck him. Deacon blocked his punches with his arms and forcefully pushed Blue away.
Blue recovered and rushed at Deacon with focus. Deacon sidestepped and avoided Blues charge. Blue hit the ring and was quickly brought to the ground by Deacon tripping him. Blue landed on his chest and groaned.
“Cheap move, asshole.” He groaned, standing up. Deacon chuckled and raised his fists.
“Gotta expect everything.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah...” Blue grumbled. He raised his fists back up and threw another punch at Deacons chest. Deacon stumbles and threw a punch at Blue. Blue quickly dodged Deacons attack and grabbed his arm. Deacon punched at Blue side in an attempt to break free but was shoved to the ground by Blue. Deacon hit the floor with a thud and groaned.
The group outside the ring watched the whole thing and cheered.
“Nice one!” Lemon Zest shouted.
“Kick his ass, Blue!” Rivet exclaimed, getting really into the fight. Deacon recovered and stood up from the floor. He looked at Blue with respect and approval.
“Don’t suppose you want to end this fight now?”
“What? Getting sleepy?” Deacon said. Blue shook his head and grinned. Deacon took off his gloves and cracked his knuckles.
“No gloves?” Blue asked.
“That was just training wheels.” Deacon said.
“Alright then.” Blue said, removing his gloves.
They threw their gloves outside the ring and stared at each other with extreme focus. Deacon stared at Blue and Readied his fists. Blue went for the attack and threw his fist in the air. Deacon grabbed his arm and pulled him close, he twisted around and lifted Blue above his head and threw him to the floor, hard.
Everyone in the group flinched at the hard fall and looked on in suspense. Blue groaned on the floor and laid there for a few seconds. He opened his eyes and saw Deacons hand.
“Tired yet?” Deacon asked. Blue raised an eyebrow and scoffed, slapping his hand away. Blue picked himself up and glared at Deacon.
“Alright, now it’s personal.” Blue said.
Blue charged at Deacon with fists raised. Deacon dodged his charge and pushed him towards the ring. Blue quickly recovered and grabbed Deacons arm. Blue lifted his leg high and kicked Deacon in the stomach. Deacon gasped and exhaled, crashing on the floor.
Deacon took a deep breath and lifted his head. He glared at Blue and clenched his fists tightly. He stood up and lunged at Blue, catching him by surprise. He punched Blues stomach hard and elbowed his arm. Blue countered by punching him in his side. Deacon grabbed his arm and twisted it, causing Blue to groan. Out of pure instinct, Blue punched Deacon in the jaw, making Deacon stumble backwards.
The group audibly gasped when Blue punched Deacon in the jaw. The move even surprised Blue when he realized what he’d done. Deacon stood still, breathing heavily. He rubbed his jaw and felt it crack at his touch. He felt a warm liquid ooze down his hand and realized he was bleeding. They stood there frozen for a moment before Deacon charged at Blue, punching his chest repeatedly. Blue gasped in pain, having no time to react. Deacon punched him hard in the stomach and grabbed Blues sore arm, causing him to wince. Deacon turned around and shoved Blue to the floor.
Deacon stared down at Blue in exhaustion. Blue breathed in and out rapidly. He made no effort to move and stayed down. Deacon felt sweat drip into his eyes and shrugged. He wiped his forehead and cleaned his hand with his pants. Seeing the fight was over, Deacon put his hand out for Blue. Blue saw the hand and grabbed it. Deacon helped Blue stand up and shook his hand firmly.
“We good?” Deacon asked. Blue scoffed and grinned.
“We’re good.” He said.
Sorry about the jaw.” He apologized.
“It’s fine.” He said.
“Are we done?” Astro asked outside the ring. Deacon looked at Astro and nodded.
“Yeah, we’re done for today. All of you can go now.”
Two hours later, the group hanged out in the training room. Blue Tempo had his arm in a cast. The fight had strained his arms muscles to the point that moving it was difficult.
Astro and Sour Sweet were talking to each other telepathically. Indigo was running around the track. Ronin and Sunny Flare were eating lunch while the group was talking. Rivet had made the groups lunch inside the Agency’s kitchen, his previous years cooking experience made him an amazing cook. Ronin was impressed by how good the food was.
“It’s been a while since anything good was made in that old kitchen.” Ronin said, eating his steak. Sunny Flare nodded in agreement and ate her lunch. The rest of the group sat down enjoying the food.
“Definitely.” Sunny Flare smiled. Rivet looked at their praise with pride.
Upstairs in the Tech Division, Deacon sat in his cubicle typing away. He winced from time-to-time and would stop to caress his arms. He held a bag of ice on his jaw and struggled to not disturb his jaw. The fight had puffed his jaw up which made it hard for him to eat lunch. Deacon reclined in his chair groaning in pain.
“Hey, Deacon.” Bonbon said, entering the cubicle.
Deacon jumped at her voice and turned away from her. He didn’t want her to see his jaw. He winced at the pain his jaw made from the quick movements.
“Hey, Bonbon.” He gritted. Bonbon raised an eye at Deacons tone. She furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms.
“Deacon. Why are you facing away from me?” She asked, raising her eyebrow.
“No reason.” He winced, getting a suspicious look from Bonbon.
“Deacon, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Could you come back at another time?” He asked. Bonbon looked at the back of Deacon head in annoyance and rolled her eyes. She walked over to the chair and spun it around. Deacon closed his eyes in preparation for what she was about to see.
Bonbons eyes widened when she saw Deacon face. She saw Deacons jaw and gasped.
“Hi, Sweetie.” Deacon said.
Bonbon immediately walked over to Deacons side and grabbed his jaw. He flinched and groaned at her touch. She grabbed the bag of ice on his jaw and pulled it away from him.
“Deacon, what happened?” Bonbon glared.
“I’m sorry. I was training the recruits and turns out that one of them was a trained officer. Bonbon narrowed her eyes and tried to pry the information out of him.
“Who was it?” Bonbon asked.
“It’s okay, he didn’t hurt me that bad...” Deacon said, wincing.
“It was a he, huh?” Bonbon said. Deacon widened his eyes in realization at his mistake and tried to calm her down
“Look, it’s really not necessary. I hurt him bad as well.”
“What were you thinking, Deacon?” Bonbon exclaimed.
“I was assigned to train them with Ronin from the Madame.” Deacon said.
“And you listened?! Who was it?” Bonbon said, covering her frustration.
“Nnn-“
“Deacon. Who was it?” She asked grabbing his jaw. Deacon winced at the pressure in his jaw and gave in.
“It was Bluuee...” He winced. Bonbon let go of his jaw and leaned forward. She kissed his jaw and stood up.
“Get well soon.” She said, walking away. Deacon stood up from his seat and watched Bonbon walk out of Tech Divison toward the training room. Deacon held the bag of ice on his jaw and sighed.
“Godspeed, Blue.” Deacon said.
“Girlfriends, huh?” A coworker next to Deacons cubicle said.
“No kidding.” Deacon said. He was about to head to his desk when suddenly the alarms rang out.
“Seriously? Now?” Deacon exclaimed, causing his jaw to sting a lot.
Men shouted out at the hostages, barking out orders to the others. The men were armed with assault rifles that could pierce through walls in seconds. They entered the bank in unison and captured all the cops. One man dragged a cop by the hair and threw him on the floor where the rest of his friends were.
The man pointed his rifle at them with intense eyes. The cops crouched on the floor helped their friend recover from the assault and glared at the man. The man and his partner grinned at their glares and clicked their guns.
“None of you move!” The man shouted, shooting the ceiling above the cops.
“Hey! Watch the ammo!” A man shouted, walking towards them in annoyance. He grabbed the man that fired and lifted him up with his two powerful fists.
“Don’t waste your ammo. These were already hard to get!” He gritted, between his teeth.
“Uh... Yes, boss. Won’t happen again.” The man said, nervously. The boss glared at him and shrugged, dropping him to the floor. He turned his back on him and walked back to his position. He gave a warning as he walked away.
“Don’t make me come back there again.” He warned. The boss walked away from him and watched closer towards the bank vault. One of his men was drilling through his the vault door, avoiding the sparks from the clashing metal.
“How’s it going?” He shouted louder than the drill.
“We’ll be through in a few minutes!” The man drilling said.
“Good! Keep it up!” The boss said. He walked away from the drill and walked towards his other two men who were pointing guns at the workers and citizens.
“They try anything?” He asked.
“Not yet.” The goon said.
Their talk was interrupted by a scrawny man with a SMG ran up to the boss.
“They got the whole building surrounded. We’re trapped.” The younger man said. The boss rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Shit.” He groaned.
Outside the bank, police had set up a barricade around the building. Snipers were on the rooftops of the other buildings surrounding it. At the front entrance was Shining Armor and the police commissioner, Sour Guard. Swat vehicles surrounded them as they approached the front steps.
“How many hostages do they have?” He asked.
“A dozen civilians and twenty workers.” Shining said.
“How armed are they?”
“They have big assault rifles that tore through the walls like cardboard. Military-Grade. Their better than what we have.” Shining explained. Sour Guard heard everything he said and grumbled. He walked up to an officer with a megaphone and tapped his shoulder.
“Can I borrow that?” Sour Guard asked. The officer nodded and handed him the megaphone.
“Let’s see if they’re open to talk.”
“Hello!... wait...” Sour Guard said, his voice not amplifying from the megaphone. He fidgeted with it and lightly slapped it. He cringed from the sound of the megaphone screeching and waited for it to go quiet.
He put it up to his mouth and talked with the megaphone. He walked up the stairs to the bank and stood outside the police barricade, much to Shining Armors dismay.
“Uh. Commissioner.. What are you doing?” Shining asked.
“I need to get closer so that I can negotiate.”
“We can see that. But why are you dropping your gun?”
“I can’t let them feel threatened by me. Calm down, Shining. I know what I’m doing.”
“That’s what I'm afraid of...” Shining said, retreating back to the police barricade. He rubbed his forehead with both hands and shook his head. He felt a tap in the shoulder and looked up to see officer Blackout.
“Is he trying to get killed?” Blackout asked with worry.
“I don’t know..” he moaned.
“Greetings, men!” Sour yelled in the megaphone.
The men inside the bank heard the man and approached the front entrance. The boss stared out the window and saw the unarmed commissioner and raised an eyebrow.
“What the hell?” He said in confusion. The bosses men heard the commissioner outside and stared at their boss, wondering what to do.
“Stay inside! I’m going out there.”
“You’re coming with me.” He gritted, grabbing a woman by the arm. He dragged her along and pointed a gun next to her head. He walked out the building with her and stared at the crowd of police down the steps. He glared at the commissioner and pushed the gun close to the woman’s head. Cops behind the barricade watched the scene with horror, some of them gasped when they saw the man. He was tall and muscular. The clothes he wore spoke volumes of his presence. A black tuxedo with a breast pocket containing one single knife.
The police instantly recognized him as Razor, the leader of a rival gang against Neo’s. The older cops in the barricade glared at him with disgust. Many years ago, he was part of the police force. Razor had knowingly shot and killed a man suspected to be in Neo’s gang. He was immediately fired and arrested for murder, but he had managed to escape. Shining looked at the hostage in his hands and gulped.
“Snipers, do you have a shot on him?” Shining asked on the radio.
“Negative, he’s using the front columns as cover.” A sniper responded. Shining winced and hit his head with the radio.
“Damnit.” Shining whispered.
Razor stared at the commissioner with his eye raised in suspicion. He knew the old commissioner when he was with the police and wondered who he was.
“Where’s commissioner Prime?”
“Retired.” Sour Guard answered.
“Who are you?” Razor asked.
“I’m Sour Guard, I’m his replacement. I don’t suppose you’re open to discussion?”
“It’s not over till me and my members are out of here free!”
“You and I both know that’s not happening. We have the building surrounded. It’s best that you surrender and let the hostages go.”
“That’s not happening.” Razor yelled, squeezing his hostages arm. Sour Guard looked at the woman’s pained face and gulped.
“Would you be open to an exchange?”
“What?” Razor said in surprise.
“Let her go for me. I’m not armed.” Sour Guard pleaded.
“Look at her. She’s scared. Let her go and take me instead.” He pleaded. Razor looked at the commissioner and glanced at his hostage. He was silent for a few seconds before he let her go. Razor shoved her away, barely catching herself from falling down the steps. The woman ran away in a fright and entered the police barricade where medics immediately came to her aid.
He pointed the gun at Sour Guard and walked down. The commissioner let go of his megaphone and put his arms in the air.
The commissioner walked up the steps in silence. Razor leaned forward and grabbed his shirt. He tugged him forward and retreated back into the bank.
“Pretty brave, commissioner.” Razor said.
“When officers start out we make an oath to serve and protect. Did you forget?” Sour Guard asked.
“I’ve read the files on you, Razor. This isn’t like you to rob banks like this.” Sour Guard said.
“I decided to do something different for a change.” Razor explained, tugging him inside.
“No, that’s not why. You’re not alone on this. Who’s got you as a pawn?” Sour Guard asked.
“Im not anyones pawn!” He gritted.
“Then what’s your excuse for robbing this bank?”
“I just think it’s time my boys got a pay raise.” Razor said, getting a couple hurray’s from his men.
“Riiiight.” Sour Guard said, unconvinced this was the reason. Razor pulled him along and stopped. He gripped Sour Guards shoulder and shoved him to the ground with the rest of the security. The security guards helped Sour compose himself and gave him a salute.
“At ease, fellas.”
“Do you know any possible exits they could take?”
“One, sir.”
“Cmon, then. Spill it?” Sour Guard ordered.
“There’s a hole in the basement that leads to the sewers. That’s how they came in.”
“Why is there a hole in the basement?”
“The bank was planning to expand the basement but they stopped when they realized the sewers were right there.” The security guard explained.
“They never hired anybody to fix it.” Another guard said.
“Do you have a plan to fight back?” Sour Guard asked.
“...” the guards were silent. Some of them looked away in silence, too embarrassed to say anything. Sour Guard scoffed and rolled his eyes.
“Hell...C’mon, fellas.” He dragged out in annoyance. He looked at Razor then to the man who was supposed to watch them. The man was busy talking with the others to know what Sour Guard was doing.
“Alright, listen up. I’ve got a plan.” He ordered.
Inside the Agency, the gang watched the news feed on the giant screen in Tech Division. They saw the commissioner trade himself for one of the hostages and gasped. The agents nodded at the man’s bravery and gained their respect. Sour Sweet, on the other hand, looked on in shock. Sugarcoat glanced at Sour Sweet and saw her fearful expression. She nudged her shoulder and broke her focus on the screen.
“What?” Sour Sweet said, hiding her fearful expression.
“Are you okay?” Sugarcoat asked.
“Do I look okay?” Sour Sweet asked, in a loud whisper.
“Judging by your face? No.” Sugarcoat said. She heard the newscaster on the TV begin to talk and looked at the screen.
“We are just getting new information about the scene. The man robbing the bank has been identified as ex-cop turned mob boss, Razor Edge. Just moments ago, the newly promoted commissioner, Sour Guard, had traded himself for a hostage he had brought with him during the interrogation.“ The newscaster said, an image of a light-yellow skinned man with rose colored hair. Sour Sweet gulped at the recap and clenched her hands in fear. The group around her heard the commissioners name and raised an eye.
“It is unclear whether or not the commissioner is safe in the mob boss’s hands or the other hostages inside.” The newscaster finished, cutting to live footage of the scene.
Sugarcoat widened her eyes and quickly put two-and-two together. The rest of the group looked at Sour Sweet in confusion, except Astro.
“Sour Guards your father, is he?” Astro said.
“Yes...” Sour Sweet said. The group gasped and looked at the screen. The news showed a playback of the moment Sour Guard traded himself for the hostage.
“That looks bad.” Blue said, staring up at the screen.
“We gotta do something.”
“That, you do.” Starlight said, walking up behind the group. The agents heard Starlights voice and turned around. They immediately stood straight and began saluting her.
“Madame Glimmer.” The room said in unison.
“At ease.” Starlight said.
“Madame, I need to go down there. I have to save my dad!” Sour Sweet said in a scared tone. Starlight looked down at Sour Sweet and crossed her arms. She glanced at Ronin and walked over to him.
“How’s there training.”
“They know how to fight, but they need more practice.” Ronin said.
“Well then, this’ll have to be their final test. Get them ready, they're going down there.”
“Seriously!” Indigo exclaimed, zooming in front of Starlight.
“Yes. Use what you’ve learned to your advantage, if they get close use your powers. Don’t make me regret this.” Starlight said.
“Thank you, Madame.”
“Sour Sweet. Save the hostages first.” Starlight ordered.
“But-“
“Your father is the commissioner. He can take care of himself, but they can’t.” Starlight said, motioning toward the TV screen. The screen had an image of all the hostages inside the bank. Sour Sweet looked like she was about to protest but she stopped herself.
“Yes, Madame.” Sour Sweet said.
“Good.” Starlight said.
“Good luck, agents.” Starlight said to the group. The Uniques looked at Starlight and nodded.
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Come on, the armory’s this way.” Ronin said, running off. Starlight watched Ronin lead the agents away and walked over to Deacons desk. Deacon turned around and saluted at Starlight with the other hand holding the bag of ice. Starlight raised an eye when she saw Deacons puffed jaw, but ignored it.
“Hack into the banks security, phones included. And send a team there on standby.” She ordered. Deacon nodded and typed into his computer.
“How bout sending the big guy, too?” He asked.
“No. He needs a break.”
“Think they’ll mess up?” He asked, curiously.
“I’m just taking precautions. Better safe than sorry.” Starlight claimed.
Inside the bank, the robber working on drilling through the vault reached extraordinary progress. He pushed the drill forward and heard an audible crack and bending of metal on the vault door. His efforts was worth it after the vault door clanged and the drill stopped drilling. He lifted the drill out of the hole and stood up from his crouched position. He pulled up his safety goggles and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
He carelessly threw the drill aside, no longer of use. Putting his hands on the vault door he slid it open and stared into the secured room and grinned at the holy grail of cash. Razor walked up to the robber and patted his shoulder. He grinned at the load of neatly organized stacks of cash and whistled at his men.
“We’re in, boys!”
Razors men turned and looked at their boss with cheers. They raised their fist in the air and celebrated. Sour Guard and the security guards exchanged knowing glances. Now that the robbers were distracted this was the perfect time to start the plan. Sour Guard nodded and started
Sour Guard clenched his fist and punched the robber in the back of the head as hard as he could. The robber fell unconscious and fell to the floor with a thud, getting the attention of his fellow robbers. Sour Guard grabbed the robbers gun and quickly ran off. Running into a room in the bank. The robbers saw the commissioner make a run for it and fired their guns. The commissioner heard the barrage of bullets streak behind him and rushed out of their way. The hostages ducked in cover at the bullets flying above them. Razor facepalmed and groaned, the vein in his forehead bulging.
“Stop shooting!” He roared. The robbers heard their bosses order and stopped firing. Razor groaned and barked out orders.
“Get him back here! Now!” He ordered. His men nodded and sprinted deeper into the bank. Four out of the twelve men with Razor charged after him. The guards on the floor exchanged glances and nodded. They all stood up and charged at the robbers.
Sour Guard rushed through the halls, hearing the advancing steps of four robbers. He turned a corner and entered a room, he closed the door and locked it. Looking at the dark room, he grabbed a chair and placed it under the doorknob. He flipped over some tables and pushed them towards the door.
He hid behind a table and checked the amount of bullets in the gun he had stolen from the robber. He inspected the gun and noticed the many attachments and modifications, rolling his eyes. Nothing about this gun was legal.
“Damn, Smugglers.” He groaned.
He jumped when he heard the doorknob click. The robbers on the other side twisted the doorknob repeatedly. The robber banged on the door and called his name.
“Why you hiding, commissioner?” He yelled.
“Why don’t ya let us in?” Another robber said.
“I’m sure you’d like that!” Sour Guard shouted back. The robbers continued banging on the door and twisting the knob. Sour Guard loaded the assault rifle and leaned to the side of the table.
On the other side of the door, the robbers continued messing with the door. The stronger-built robber grabbed the robbers shoulder and pushed him away from the doorknob.
“I’ve got this.” He said. He lifted his rifle and aimed at the doorknob. Sour Guard flinched when he saw the wave of bullets tear through the doorknob, shooting the wooden chair covering the door to pieces.
The robber lifted his leg and kicked the door down. He entered into the room and saw the mess of tables and knocked down chairs blocking the door. He looked at the table in the back and widened when he saw Sour Guard with one of their rifles. The man quickly retreated and warned the robbers to get down.
Sour Guard pulled the trigger and fired at the door frame and into the hallway. The robbers dropped to the floor and put their hands above their heads waiting out the bullets.
“I’ve got your gun, assholes!” Sour Guard shouted.
Click. Click.
Sour Guard stopped pulling the trigger and checked the rounds in the rifle. He saw the empty casings and gulped.
“Shit.”
The four robbers stood up from their cover and walked into the room with large grins.
“All out of ammo, commissioner?”
“....no.” Sour Guard said. The strong-built robber aimed his rifle at Sour Guards head and grinned.
“Looks like your time is up?” The robber said, moving closer to Sour Guards head.
“I guess it is.”
“Any last words?” A robber to the side asked.
“Yeah...He’s a dumbass.” Sour Guard said, pointing at the big robber. He grabbed his gun and turned his aim towards another robber. He forced him to pull the trigger and fired bullets at the robbers leg. The robber screamed out in pain as the bullets pierced his leg, causing him to drop to the floor in pain. The strong man glared at Sour Guard and let go of his gun, punching Sour Guard in the face. The force of the punch knocked Sour Guard to the floor, causing him to wince.
“Shoot him!” The downed robber whined, crying out in pain.
The robbers lifted their guns and aimed at Sour Guard. He looked up and saw the three robbers glaring ar him with anger. He gulped and closed his eyes. A tear fell down his face as images of his wife and daughter flashed before him.
“Goodbye.” He said in his thought. The robbers squeezed the trigger and fired at Sour Guard. He flinched at the sound of the rifles firing and braced for death. To his shock, it never came. He still felt the same. He opened his eyes again and saw a red shield between him and the robbers. The robbers looked at the shield with jaws dropped.
They heard a footstep near the doorframe behind them and turned around. They were greeted by the sight of a woman enveloped by a reddish-black tint outlined by a red glow. Sour Sweet glared at them through her transformed state and focused her mind. The robbers guns crushed in their hands, snapping into a thousand pieces. They looked at her with Terror as they found themselves exposed. Sour Guard watched the strange woman turn their guns to scrap and gasped.
“What the...shit...” Sour Guard said in shock.
She lifted her right hand and aimed at a robber. Her eyes flashed and a red wave of energy pulsed forward. The robber felt a strange force touch his chest and was pushed across the room. The robber screamed as he was lifted into the air and impacted with the wall. His body tore a hole in the wall, causing him to land in the room next door.
The stronger built man clenched his fists and charged forward. Sour Sweet grabbed the man’s fist and held it back. The man glared at her with intense fury and went for the punch with the his other hand. She grabbed onto the other hand with extreme speed and held onto his hands. The man groaned as he tried to push her with all his strength, a vein popping on his forehead.
She glared at him and looked at a chair in the back of the room. She concentrated and lifted the chair in a red glow. She looked at the man and stared at him with hatred. She moved the chair at high speeds and hit the back of the mans head with the chair. The hit caused him to flinch enough for Sour Sweet to see an opening. She let go of one hand and punched him square in the chest. The force knocked the air out of his lungs and sent him to the floor in exhaustion. He laid on the floor hyperventilating, too weak to get up.
Sour Sweet turned around and saw a man looking at her with fear. The last man standing realized he had zero chance of winning and ran. Sour Sweet lifted her hand and pulled on the ceiling panels above the runner. She pulled her hand and dropped the ceiling panel on his head, knocking him out in the hallway. In the room, Sour Guard had tied the downed man’s hands with his belt. He saw the bloody bullets on the floor and raised an eye.
“The bullets went through, I missed the important shit. You’re gonna walk again. Consider yourself lucky, asshole.” Sour Guard said.
“Really?” He asked, moaning in pain.
Sour Guard looked up at the strange woman and nodded his head.
“I don’t know what the hell you are but thanks for the save.” He nodded. Sour Sweet smiled and nodded, levitating away from him. Sour Guard was left to think about what that was or who she was.
In the main room of the bank, Razor and his men had put an end to the short resistance by the security. They had plenty more fighting experience than the security guards. Razor rounded them all up in a small group in the center of the bank. Him and his men circled around the guards like sharks. Razor cocked his rifle and started to talk.
“So much for resistance. Now which one do I shoot first?”
“Why are you doing this?” A guard shouted in anger. The robber next to him punched him in the face and kicked him. Razor raised his hand and motioned for him to stop. He walked over to the guard and stared at him for a moment. He scoffed and aimed his rifle at the man’s head.
“We’ve all got parts to play. But yours... it’s all over.” Razor said. The guard closed his eyes and waited for him to pull the trigger. Razor grinned and slowly squeezed the trigger. To his surprise, he felt a strange force grab him and knock him to the side. His eyes widened in surprise and gripped his hand, he was shocked to see his gun had disappeared from his hands.
“It’s that damn, Blur!” Razor exclaimed.
All of a sudden the front door came flying through the air, high above the men. They heard a metal clunk hit the floor and faced the entrance. They widened at the sight in front of them. A giant pink see-through samurai entered the building, leaving the robbers speechless.
The samurai raised his sword out of his hilt and charged at a group of robbers. The robbers screamed and fired at the samurai. Their bullets hit the construct and cracked it slightly. The ran from the samurai as it swung its sword, chopping a computer in half. Another group or robbers provided support to the running men and fired at the samurai. The men gasped when their guns were suddenly frozen solid in their hands. They dropped their guns in shock and winced at the coldness.
Razor looked at the samurai and saw a little glowing tail that led to a small corner of the bank. He raised his eye and curiously followed the tail to its end. He saw the a blue streak zoom by him and groaned. The hostages had nearly all disappeared while they weren’t looking. He knew what it was doing. It didn’t want any collateral damage. The security guards sprang up and started to fight the robbers for a second time. Razor passed a cubicle and saw the pink tail get thinner and thinner. He sneaked toward the corner and saw Lemon Zest peeking her head out of a cubicle, giving her construct directions. He glared at her and slowly walked towards her. Lemon Zest messed with the robbers unaware of the man sneaking up on her. He stood up to his full height and raised his gun.
“Gotcha!” He exclaimed, hitting Lemon Zest with the butt of his rifle. Lemon Zest moaned in pain and fell to the floor, dropping her construct. Indigo Zap zoomed around the bank and saw the construct disappear. She stopped running and gasped.
“Lemon Zest is hit!” She exclaimed into her earpiece. Sugarcoat and Astro’s voices echoed through the mic.
“Where is she?” Astro asked.
“We gotta help her!” Indigo exclaimed.
“Hold on, guys. I’m coming!” Sour Sweet said telepathically.
“Astro, Sour can you find her with your mind?” Sugarcoat asked.
“Got it.” Astro said. Astro focused and looked for Lemon Zest’s mind in the bank. His head mapped out the bank in a red outline. Everyone in the bank was highlighted by a blue glow in his mind. Concentrating even more, he isolated a scared emotion in the far left corner of the bank. He found her.
“She’s at the cubicles to the left!”
“I got her!” Sugarcoat said.
“You sure?” Indigo asked.
“Yes.” She answered solemnly.
“Okay. I’ll focus on the security guards and the hostages.” Indigo said, zooming towards the hostages.
Sugarcoat lifted her hand and made the bank floor freeze into ice, causing the robbers on her side to slip. She froze their bodies on the floor and left her hiding spot.
The driller inside the vault saw the chaos in the bank and hid in the vault. His attempt at hiding ended when he felt an extremely painful ringing in his ears.
Lemon Zest crawled away from Razor and hit a wall. Her heart pounded in fear, dizzy from the blow to her head. She found herself unable to create constructs. Her attempt to create a hammer fizzled out of existence. Razor scoffed at her and slowly advanced closer.
“Not so tough when you can’t make shit..” he grinned. He cocked his rifle and made sure their was ammo. He smiled wider and pointed the rifle at Lemon Zest.
“I don’t know how you did that, but I don’t care. I’m gonna make sure you don’t bother me, again.” Razor said.
“Hasta La Vista, kid.” Razor said, he pulled the trigger and fired. Sugarcoat ran towards them and saw Razor aim at Lemon Zest. She quickly raised her hand and concentrated on his rifle. Her hand glowed white as the air infront of her hand turned to ice. Within seconds the ice reached the rifle and froze the gun. Razor pulled the trigger as the rifle turned to ice and raised his eyes in shock. The bullets within the gun failed to escape the rifle and exploded inside. Razor screamed out in pain as the rifle exploded in his left hand. Blood oozed out of his left hand as gun shrapnel pierced his skin. A chunk of his thumb had fallen off. He dropped to his knees and gripped his left hand as he stared at the bloody hand with horror.
Sugarcoat ran towards Lemon Zest and grabbed her shoulder. She shook her and saw her confused expression.
“You okay?” She asked with concern.
“My head hurts...”
“How many fingers am I holding up?” Sugarcoat asked, raising three fingers. Lemon Zest squinted her eyes and stared at Indigos fingers.
“Uhh... 8?” Lemon guessed. Sugarcoat looked at Lemon and shrugged.
“Yeah, you need to see a doctor.” Sugarcoat said, helping Lemon Zest up. They stared at the riving Razor on the floor and felt bad. Razor roared out in pain, veins bulging in every part of his body. He stood up and clenched his right hand. He fumed with intense hatred, blood dripping on the floor.
“You...little shits are dead!” He roared, charging at them. His actions were put to an end when Sour Sweet lifted him up in the air with her mind. She glared at Razor and threw him at a wall. He screamed when his left hand cracked and crunch upon impact. He dropped to the floor and fell unconscious.
Sugarcoat closed her eyes and sighed in relief. Indigo Zap and Astro came running up to them to see their condition. Sour Sweet hovered above the group and stared down at them.
“Is she okay?” Indigo asked with concern.
“I’m fine...” Lemon Zest said, rubbing the back of her head.
“We did it!” Astro exclaimed.
Ronin and Sunny Flare rushed into the bank and looked at the downed robbers. They saw the Uniques and rushed towards them with smiles.
“I can’t believe it! You guys did it!” Ronin exclaimed.
“Lemon Zest is hurt. She needs help. We need to get out of here without being seen.” Sugarcoat said.
“Don’t worry. We cleared the front entrance. It’s all agents down there.” Sunny said.
“Come on, lets get you guys back in the Agency.” Ronin said, helping Lemon Zest.
“I’m tired.” She said.
“I can imagine.” Ronin commented.
Starlight stared at the six Uniques in front of her with pride. She congratulated them on their success and had given them badges certifying their status in the Agency. Lemon Zest looked at her badge with a smile. She had recovered from the hard hit to her head and only had a minor headache. She looked up at Starlight and thanked her. Starlight passed the Uniques and walked up to Blue Tempo. He was quiet and carried a highly displeased look. And he was sporting a fresh black-eye.
“What happened to you?” Starlight asked. He glanced to the right and saw Bonbon glaring at him and rolled his eyes.
“I’d rather not say.”
Two days later
Razor sat in the prison cafeteria in silence. He sat silently eating his food with his right hand. He lifted his arm and winced when he heard the metal screech from his recently attached claw hand. He looked at his three hooked hand and frowned. He glared at the few prisoners who stared at his claw hand. He growled and continued eating his lunch.
For a few minutes, he was alone. Until a group of prisoners walked up to him and sat in his table. Razor looked up at the green skinned man in front of him and wiped his mouth.
“So, what did you learn about our Unique problem?” The man asked.
“They're kids. Teenagers.”
“Teenagers?”
“Yeah. Took my damn hand off.” He said, showing off his hook hand.
“Anything else you’d like to say?”
“Yeah. I saw two of their faces.”
“You know what they look like?” He asked. Razor nodded and finished the water in his cup.
“Get me out of jail with you guys. And I’ll help you get to them before they get to you.” Razor said. The two men in the group exchanged glances and nodded.
“Welcome to the team, Razor. My name is Nitro Blast, and that’s Crackdown.”
“Got a plan?” Razor asked. Nitro nodded and grinned.
“I think you’ll like our plan very much.”
Author's Note
Why am I always unlucky with my timing. Starlights dad is canon and he’s not at all what I imagined. Sunburst mom has a name now and of course it was Stellar Flare. Of all the names they could come up with it had to be Stellar Flare. Now I have a dilemma about Starlights dad in this story being called Stellar Skies. I thought of including Sunbursts parents at some point, but now I’m not so sure.
I hoped they would’ve name dropped Starlights mom to make things easier for me, since I’m having trouble coming up with a name, but that didn’t happen.
Tough luck. Leave a comment for any grammar and spelling mistakes. Thanks for reading.
Next episode: Sunny Flare gets a pet. A very shiny pet.
Sunny Flare opened her eyes and gasped. She lifted her body off the ground and coughed. A pain had spontaneously formed in her head, causing her to wince. She felt as if something was wrong. She lifted her head and looked around in a daze, seeing nothing. When squinting her eyes more she could make out shadows in the dark.
She looked at her clothes and saw herself in the normal Agency attire. A Bullet proof suit and leggings under a black jacket and black cargo pants. Every agent had a slightly different design to their clothes to know it belongs to them. Her clothes were dark blue with a patch of pink on her shoulders.
She looked around again and saw nothing. It was a dark and empty void. The only thing she could see were small white dots scattered through the void . She wondered where she was and started to panic.
“Hello?” She said, standing up.
“Ronin? Bonbon? Madame?” Sunny said with worry.
CLIK-CLIK-CLIK
Sunny turned her head towards the source of the sound and saw nothing. The white dots grew brighter in the shadows. Some began to sparkle.
“Who’s there?”
CLIK-CLIK-CLIK-CLIK
Sunny heard the noise again and turned around. Her eyes widened when she saw a human figure looking at her. Or at least she assumed it was looking at her.
It’s face was was featureless and as black as the void. It’s body on the other hand had bizarre colors spread around in clusters. Sunny looked at its chest and focused her eyes on the clusters on the figure. Staring at them, she quickly realized the figure had galaxies all around his body.
Sunny screamed when it leaned its head forward and stared at her with its empty face. She backed up and tripped on nothing, causing her to fall to the floor. She flailed her arms in an attempt to fix herself but failed. When she landed, she found herself in a completely different environment, nothing like the void.
She groaned from the fall and lifted her head back up. Her eyes focused on the new environment and took in the new details. Blue and purple crystals lined the walls. They sparkles and glistened, reflecting her face as she stared at all of them. Behind her she suddenly heard a cracking sound and turned her head. That was when she saw it. A crystal unlike the ones on the walls. She stood up and stared at the bizarre crystal with confusion. It was a light blue heart-shaped crystal that hovered in place above a flattened crystal stump. The crystal pulsed and made her ears vibrate. It took her a second to realize it was in tune with her heartbeat.
She stared at the crystal for a long time unsure of what to do. Every second that passed she felt the need to get closer to the crystal. She took a step without realizing what she was doing and fell into a trance. The crystal called for her to approach it. Quiet whispers echoed into her head, beckoning her to move. She followed its call and stood right in front of the crystal. She stood there in silence, not knowing why she was moving towards it.
She could still hear the crystal call for her. Only this time it was saying one thing.
“Touch. Touch. Touch. Touch. Touch. Touch.” The voice of a thousand whispers said. Not wanting to upset whatever was talking she raised her hand and reached for the crystal with her finger. She stopped her reach a few inches in front of the crystal and began to her hesitate. She knew from her training that something was wrong. She shouldn’t be listening to the voices. She shouldn’t be this close to it at all. But the thousand of whispers pushed deeper into her head. She winced as she felt a migraine form in her head.
Recovering quickly, she stared at the crystal heart and thought about what to do. Not wanting to continue feeling the pain in her head, she hesitantly poked the crystal with her finger. When she touched the crystal, the spot she laid her finger on glowed and vibrated. Her eyes grew concerned and quickly pulled her finger away from the crystal. However, the crystal zapped her finger and magnetized it to its surface. it grabbed her, pulling her towards it.
She screamed in fear as she was pulled closer to the crystal. She desperately tried to pull her hand away from the crystal but failed. She put her other hand on her wrist and pulled as hard as she could. The crystal I wrapped around her hand and covered both her hands in crystal. She quickly found herself inable to move away. The crystal travelled down her arms, reaching her body and proceeding to cover her clothes.
She was scared. The crystal was trapping her like a bug in a spider web. It didn’t take long for the crystal to envelop her entire body, leaving her face uncovered.
She screamed and shook her head in attempt to break free but to no avail. Then the crystal covered her face, leaving her whole body trapped. Her screams were muffled by the crystal. She closed her eyes in fear and lost control of her breathing.
Then she gasped for air as the environment changed to a more warmer climate. She was suddenly at the beach. She looked at her hands and saw the crystal wasn’t there. She quickly groped her body and was relieved to feel no crystal on her. She laid on the sand under an umbrella. Trees moved behind her from the wind. She looked ahead and saw two figures in the water.
She squinted her eyes and blocked the sunlight with her hand. It was a man. She didn’t know who it was and couldn’t make out any detail on him. The second figure was visibly smaller. A child. She could hear the two of them laugh as they played together.
BREEP-BREEP-BREEP-BREEP
A deep booming sound echoed through the beach. She looked to her left and saw a red crystal eye staring at her . She gasped when she saw how big the eye was and crawled back. The crystal eye flashed before rising into the air. The crystal raised its head thirty feet into the air, staring down at her.
DOOOOOT
It moaned through its closed mouth. Sunny looked at the giant crystal with terror. It’s head was as big as a car, connecting to a light blue dinosaur-like crystal body. The crystal creature stared at her with both its red eyes. Strangely, it didn’t actually have eyes. It’s crystal was colored red at the spot eyes would be. The crystal dinosaur rotated its head at her with curiosity. Sunny stood up and attempted to run. She ran away from the beach, still staring at the crystal creature.
As she ran the environment changed again. She looked at where she ran and hit a wall, her head bounced when she hit the wall, causing her to fall. She closed her eyes and lifted herself up to her feet. She turned her head towards the beach and instead saw another wall. She looked around the room and couldn’t see anything familiar to her. This wasn’t the inside of the agency. She saw a window that revealed a large factory floor with an army of men and woman working on metal. She approached the window and noticed the workers were building something. She watched as one of the workers finished torching a metal casing. She saw him grab a remote on the desk next to him and watched him press multiple buttons on the remote. Sunny stared in awe when the thing began to move, revealing itself to be an arm. A robot arm.
“Thank you, Flint. For allowing your company to take part in this.” A voice behind her said. She turned around and saw Director Canyon shaking hands with a green man.
“I can’t have all the credit. I had help from a partner company when building these. Though, I must ask. Why tell me to build them?”
“So that the Uniques wont be the ones to protect us.” Canyon answered.
The environment turned black and changed scenery. Sunny looked around and found herself inside the Agency. A very different looking Agency. Sunny looked at the empty Agency with amazement. The place looked completely different. The floors were wooden, the rooms were bigger, and the ceiling was higher up. The whole place looked like an underground hotel.
Her amazement was cut short when a buzzing sound echoed through the building. The lights inside suddenly turned off, leaving her standing in the dark. She looked for the source of the buzzing and saw a door illuminated by blue light. She could still see her surroundings and slowly approached the door. She turned the knob and opened the door, revealing it to be tech division. She noticed straight away that tech division was the only room unchanged. She walked inside the room and saw a desk with a single computer that was on. She walked towards the desk and stared at the computer from behind. The computer glowed blue from the screen and a small audible beep repeated from the computer. She walked around the desk and looked at the computer screen.
She stared at the computer and saw the empty blue screen with nothing on it. As she stared at the screen the blue screensaver suddenly vanished, revealing a note-pad. She tensed her eyes in confusion and stared at the computer. Then words started appearing on the screen by itself.
“You’re not supposed to be here.”
She read, the dark tech room vanished while she stared at the computer. She looked up from the computer and was back in the void she found herself in. She looked around the void and stared at the white dots scattered around her. Only now did she realized they were stars. She was in space, yet she could stand and walk. She stared at space and saw stars, gases, asteroids, planets, black holes, quasars, and galaxies. Her mouth dropped at the sight of it all, completely dumbstruck.
She turned around to stare at the space behind her and instead saw nothing. Not a single light. Then the Black began to move. The void warped and spread like advancing tentacles. She raised her head and stared up at the black void and realized it was a living thing. A very tall living thing. Sunny had to assume it was at least 40 ft tall.
She saw the top of the creature and saw it staring at images. They floated up there with it, connected by nothing. She stared at it for a few seconds before it looked down and saw her.
The two of them made eye contact. Sunny felt goosebumps when she stared at its face. It had two big bulbous eyes with four tiny eyes above them. They all stared down at her with curiosity. Her jaw dropped at the sight of its eyes, knowing one creature with that many eyes. She fell to the ground in fear of it and stared at in disgust and terror. It had to be a spider.
The creature crouched down and moved it’s head closer to her. It’s face becoming more visible. She saw its pincer mouth and realized that of all creatures it had to be a giant spider. She froze at the sight of it and grew more shocked when it started to talk.
“Sunny Flare. The crystal doesn’t exist in your realm. Yet it’s chosen you.” It said, somehow speaking perfect English with its big pincers. Sunny gasped and crawled backwards in an attempt to get away. Sunny had never been afraid of spiders till now. The spider watched her and followed her with greater speed. It’s eyes glowed for ten seconds. Sunny felt as if something had just looked inside her mind.
“It’s time for you to wake up, Sunny Flare.” It said, eyes glowing a blinding white. Sunny covered her eyes and squinted from the light.
She opened her eyes and gasped. Rising out of her bed in a sweat. She looked around and saw her room in one piece. She looked at her hands and touched her chest. Everything was fine, she sighed in relief when she didn’t see crystals covering her pajamas. She felt a pain in her head and groaned, rubbing her forehead. She sat in her bed thinking about what she saw. She wondered why she was dreaming like that.
She could hear heavy rain hitting the ceiling above her. She stared out the window and saw a flash of light outside her window, followed by an other-worldly sound.
CH-I-I-I-I-I-RP
Sunny jumped at the noise combined with the lightning outside. She looked at the table beside her bed and grabbed the clock, reading the time. 3:35 in the morning.
CH-I-I-I-I-I-RP
Sunny stared out the window again. Hearing the strange chirping sound repeat like a engine. She grabbed her phone and turned the flashlight mode on. She sprang up from her bed and put on some boots. Grabbing a coat and an umbrella she opened her door and walked passed the hallway. She heard the rain, hit the ceiling hard and hoped she wouldn’t get wet with the umbrella. She reached the living room and looked out the side door window.
CH-I-I-I-I-I-RP
She heard the sound again and unlocked the door. She slowly opened the door and activated the umbrella. The cold chill from outside caused her to shiver. She took a step out the door and looked around her neighborhood. The sound of trash cans knocking over alerted her. She looked to her left and saw a trash can rolling onto the road. She walked over to the trash cans and saw one of them had been bent downwards. She flashed the light towards the trash can and heard a bending inside the trash can.
CH-I-I-RP
She heard the noise inside the trash can and crouched down. Turning off the flashlight on her phone, she put it away in her pocket. To her surprise something was glowing inside the trash can. She heard little crackles and chirps coming from the trash can. She could tell that whatever was in there was scared. Even when she was crouched she couldnt see inside the trash can. She didn’t want to get her knees wet on the wet ground. She brought her hand forward and put it inside the trash can.
She could hear it chirp in fear and move back from seeing her hand. She didn’t know what to do, so she snapped her fingers. The snapping sound from her fingers got the creatures attention. She could see the glow get closer to her.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I promise.” Sunny said, the rain turning her words into whispers. The creature seemed to have heard her through the rain and slowly approached her hand. Sunny expected to see an injured bird come out of the trash can. But instead she was greeted by a crystal snout belonging to something, sniffing her hand. Her eyes widened when its head poked out of the trash can, rubbing its head on her hand.
“What are you?” Sunny said to herself. She stared at the crystal head and saw two scared purple eyes staring at her. Sunny held the umbrella on her other hand and brought it closer to the crystal creature. The creature stared at the umbrella with curiosity and realized it was blocking the rain. The creature slowly got out of the trash can, revealing its true size.
Sunny stared at it in awe. It was made completely out of crystals with no visible skin in sight. It’s neck and torso was lined with blue bio-luminescent light. It chirped at her again more calmly, still showing fear. Sunny brought her hand up to its head and petted it. The creature reacted to the petting by glowing brighter. It purred like a cat in response to her touch.
Sunny stared at it and noticed its body shape resembled a dinosaur. At the top of its torso were rows of crystals that appeared as spikes. There were two tiny lumps of crystal at the top of its torso. Sunny couldn’t explain what they were and assumed they were just bumps. It stood on two stumpy crystal legs that bared no claws. It’s hands had five claw-like crystals on it. Sunny watched as it clenched it’s claws and retracted it’s claws. It’s tail was wagging left and right from her touch.
She stopped petting its head and pulled her hand away. The creatures purple eyes widened when she stopped. Sunny saw it didn’t have actual eyes, but the purple glow on its head was positioned in the same spot eyes would be. She assumed they were its eyes, Judging by the fact it was staring at her.
A flash followed by lightning, scared the creature. It squeaked in fear and rushed inside the trash can again. Jumped at the sound of the lightning and stumbled. She fell on the ground, getting her pajamas wet.
She groaned from her spot, realizing she’d have to change. The creatures squeaks got her attention when she heard how scared it was. She got back up and stuck her hand in the trash can.
“It’s okay. It’s lightning. It won’t hurt you.” Sunny smiled, trying to calm the creature down. It seemed to work when the creature got out of the trash can. It looked at her with sad puppy eyes. Somehow.
Sunny looked at how scared the creature was and thought of an idea. She snapped her fingers at it and lightly petted it.
“Why don’t you come with me? It’s safer in the house than out here.” Sunny offered. The creature raised its head at her, somehow understanding what she said. It chirped happily at her offer, getting a giggle out of Sunny Flare.
She stood up and held the umbrella firmly under both of them. The creature looked at her with a nervous expression. It wanted to follow her, but it was still scared.
“It’s okay. Its just a few feet. See.” Sunny said, looking at the side door. The creature stared at the door and back at her. It chirped nervously and slowly took a step. The creature eventually walked under the umbrella with Sunny. Sunny smiled and the two of them walked to her house.
She took a step inside with the creature following her. She closed the door and locked it. The creature shivered and rapidly shaked the rain off its crystal body. Sunny quickly protected herself with the umbrella.
The creature chirped happily inside the house. Sunny put away her umbrella and quickly petted it.
“Alright, you’re in my house. Now what?” Sunny asked herself. The creature looked up at her, wagging its tail.
“You need a name.” Sunny said. The creature chirped happily as she pet it.
“Kris? No. I think you’re a boy.” She said, not seeing any gender- specific parts.
“Christian?” Sunny said. The creature raised its head in confusion at the name.
“Naw.” Sunny said, shaking her head. She stared at the creature as she petted it. She listened to its happy chirping in response to her petting and formed an idea.
“How about Chirp?” Sunny suggested. The creature looked at her and chirped. It chirped and chirped, spinning around in a circle. Sunny smiled and petted him.
“Chirp it is.” Sunny said. She stood up and walked through the hallway. Chirp followed her through the hall.
Sunny entered her room and looked in her closet. She picked a new pair of pajamas and started to change. She stopped when Chirp was staring at her with curiosity.
“Turn around.” She commanded.
SKR-R-R-T
He growled, turning around. Sunny watched it turn around and smiled. Quickly changing in to new clothes, she crawled into her bed and turned her phone on. She squinted at the screen and typed in a phone number. She put the phone up into her ear and listened to the beep. She heard the beep and identified herself.
“Agent Sunny Flare.” She said. The phone beeped again and a voice spoke on the phone.
“Sunny? What’re you doing up at 3?” Deacon asked.
“Did you pick up any anomalies in the last few hours?”
“Uhh, yeah. 2 actually. They opened up above the neighborhoods and closed in seconds, why? Is something wrong?” Deacon asked.
“No. No. Everything’s fine. I just thought I saw something in the sky.” Sunny said.
“...Alright. Is that it?”
“Yeah. Thanks Deacon. I’ll be in the Agency in the morning.”
“Okay then.” Deacon said. She hung up and sat on the beds edge. She stared at the crystal creature with curiosity. The creature was still shivering from the rain and tried to warm up by sitting in a ball. Sunny stood up and grabbed towels from her bathroom.
Chirp watched her approach him with towels in her hands and stood up. He leaned his head to the side and chirped. Sunny wrapped a towel around him and dried him up. When she stopped drying him with the towel, she looked at the soaking wet towel and threw it to the side.
Grabbing the other towels she brought, she spread them on the floor and created a bed. Chirp watched her curiously, glancing towards the bathroom where the towels came from. Sunny looked at her make shift bed with satisfaction. She looked at Chirp and pointed at the bed.
“Here you go.” Sunny said. Chirp stared at the bed and walked towards it with its stumpy legs and spun around on top of it. He chirped happily at its new bed and laid down. Snuggling up in its bed, it closed its eyes and fell asleep.
Sunny stared at the sleeping crystal and wondered what it was. She smiled at its peaceful state and laid on her bed. Staring up at the ceiling, she thought about what she was going to do with him in the morning.
It was a alien. She knew that. She only now realized the danger she had put herself in bringing it in her house. She thought of the repercussions as she had probably broken some rules. She closed her eyes and decided she’d have to bring it to the Agency. The sound of thunder echoed through the city.
Inside the Agency, Deacon watched the screen as more anomalies popped up above the city. They were small. Too small for anything to pass through. Deacon took a sip of coffee as he stared at the screen.
“What is going on?”
Starlight stared at the screen in silence, a hand under her chin. She looked at the dozens of anomalies that popped up above the city last night and thought of an explanation.
“I monitored all of them and none of them stayed around for more than a few seconds.”
“Did last night’s storm have anything to do with them?”
“Yes, I think it’s what caused them actually.”
“Explain.” Starlight ordered.
“I checked the storm and monitored all the lightning strikes. Everytime lightning formed, an anomaly showed up a few seconds after.” Deacon said, showing the storm on the screen.
“Whatever that storm was last night somehow created anomalies.”
“Search for the ones lowest to the ground.”
“Isolate the anomalies that stayed the longest.” Starlight ordered. Deacon complied and typed away. The two of them stared at screen and looked at the last spots with confusion. The six anomalies that remained outlined Canterlot Harbor.
“They’re all around the docks.”
“I’ll send a few agents to investigate them. In the meantime, gather whatever information you can find on last nights storm.” Starlight ordered.
“On it.” Deacon said, getting up from his seat. He stopped when he saw Sunny Flare in front of him, carrying a duffel bag.
“Hey, Deacon.” Sunny said, holding the bag firmly. She waved anxiously at him.
“Hey, Sunny.” Deacon waved. He saw the duffel bag behind Sunny and watched as it moved on its own.
“Nothing.” Sunny said. She saw Starlight look at her and saluted.
“Madame Glimmer.”
“At ease.”
“What’s in the bag?” Starlight asked, approaching Sunny Flare.
“Don’t get near him. He was already nervous when I put him in here. I don’t know what he’ll do if he doesn’t see me.”
“What do you mean?” Starlight asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Who’s he?” Deacon asked.
Sunny gulped and put the bag on the floor. She unzipped enough for her to see inside. Starlight watched as the bag lit up in blue light from inside and stared at it with caution.
Sunny looked inside the bag and made eye contact with Chirp. Chirp chirped upon seeing her and jumped out of bag. Sunny widened her eyes as Chirp stood on its stumpy legs and chirped happily on the Agency floor.
Starlight and Deacon stared at the creature with mouths wide open. Sunny grinned nervously as she was barraged by licks from Chirps crystal tongue.
“You have some explaining to do.” Starlight narrowed her eyes, folding her arms.
Chirp stood on top of the table in the science lab as Sunny Flare and a few scientists stared at him on the table. Starlight looked at the crystal with caution.
“So it was hiding in your trash can?” Dr.Ion asked.
“Yes. Chirp was scared from the lightning, so I brought him inside my house.”
“You named it Chirp?” Starlight asked. Sunny smiled nervously and nodded. Chirp stared at the Agents and wagged it’s tail.
“It acts very dog-like for a crystal that resembles a dinosaur.”
“He’s not dangerous, if you’re wondering.” Sunny said. A scientist poked Chirps tail with a pen, getting Chirps attention. Ion lifted his hand up in the air above the creatures head. Chirp raised its head and sniffed the pen in his hand.
“Very curious creature you have here.” Dr. Ion said, smiling. Chirp leaned his head on the pen, attempting to get pet by the scientist.
He put his hand away, getting a confused look from Chirp.
Sir. The X-rays are in.”
“Good.” Dr. Ion said, grabbing the X-rays. He gasped when he saw the images.
“Amazing. The creature has all the necessary parts needed for a living organism to survive. It’s anatomy is remarkably similar to a dinosaur. If it weren’t for its crystal skin, I’d say you’d found a dinosaur.”
If it’s body is made out of crystal, how is it alive?” Starlight asked.
“That Madame, is the mystery that still needs to be solved. This creature defies everything we know about nature. If possible, I’d like to study him more.” Ion asked.
“Can he eat?” Deacon asked, leaning on the wall.
“If the X-rays are correct. Yes. The creature contains a stomach and all the necessary organs relating to eating.”
“Have you fed him anything?” Ion asked. Sunny shook her head in response.
“No.”
“Then I’m sure, he must be hungry. Let’s stop studying the poor thing and see if he’ll eat any of the food here.” Deacon suggested.
At the docks, Agents checked the empty warehouses and searched for any evidence of anomalies. The agents searched through every building with flashlights. When they finished their search they had found the location of all six anomalies. Setting up their equipment, they called in the Agency.
“We’ve found the anomalies, Madame.” The Agent said, touching his earpiece.
“Good. Anything else?” Starlight asked.
“Yeah. One of thems still open.” The agent said, staring at the ten foot wide blue portal on the floor.
Indigo Zap and the others stared at Chirp as they sat in the Agency cafeteria. Sunny ate her food, while Indigo Zap and Lemon Zest played around with him. Sugarcoat was looking at Chirp with careful eyes, taking notes of its actions. Sour Sweet could care less and continued eating.
“He’s so cool!” Lemon exclaimed. Indigo Zap sped back and forth in the seats. Chirp looked at her as she moved.
“Stop moving so fast. You’re gonna confuse him.” Sunny said, eating the eggs on her plate.
“I’m just having fun with him.” Indigo said, offering buttered toast to him. Chirp stared at the toast and licked its lips. The creature reared its back and stared up at the toast. Indigo smiled and threw the toast in the air. Chirp launched its stumpy legs off the table and snapped its jaws on the toast. It plopped on to the table with a thud, happily eating its toast. Sunny’s milk beside her bounced from the impact, spilling it onto the table.
“Hey!” Sour Sweet exclaimed, catching her milk in the air.
“Sorry.” Indigo said, holding in her laughter.
“I’m gonna get some milk.” Sunny said, getting up.
“No, wait. Let me.” Lemon Zest said.
“I’ve been practicing.” She said, A pair of pink hands forming in the air. She pointed her finger and slowly drifted the hands to the milk cartons. The agents in the room watched her as she attempted to grab a carton of milk. She grabbed a carton of milk with one hand and concentrated, her tongue sticking out. Slowly, but surely, the milk travelled safely to the groups table with no damage.
“Tada!” Lemon Zest said, vanishing the hand constructs.
The group all stared at her with enthusiasm. Each of them congratulated her on securing the milk.
“You really have been practicing.”
“It seems mostly when I’m bored or lazy. Don’t you guys practice your powers when you’re bored?”
“I’ve been doing chores around the house in a second. Mom and dad don’t notice a thing.
“Whatta ‘bout your little brother?” Sugarcoat asked.
“He’s too busy playing video games all day in his room to notice the blur in the house.”
“How about you?”
“I make it rain above my house, when I’m watering the garden. I walk to a clearing in the woods outside my house and practice there.”
“What about you, Sour?”
“I’ve been listening to people’s thoughts. Stealing answers to the tests in people’s heads.”
“You many times have you read the wrong thoughts?” Sugarcoat asked, smiling a little.
“Ugh. A few times from the quiet kids in the class.” She said, visibly cringing. The group laughed at Sour Sweets expression and didn’t notice that Chirp was walking into the kitchen.
H-I-R-H-I-R
He chirped. Sniffing the air inside the kitchen. It’s stomach growled in hunger as it got the scent of toast in its nostrils. It looked around the kitchen and saw nobody was around to stop him. Seeing that he was in the clear, he jumped onto the counter and gasped at the buffet in front of it. There was rows of food trays carrying Bacon, Eggs, Biscuits, and most importantly toast.
Instinct kicked inside him as he lunged at the food trays with hunger. It gobbled up the food, trays included, in its mouth. Chirp felt satisfied from its meal and continued eating the trays. When all the trays were empty it set its sights on the fridge.
“Hey, where’s Chirp?” Indigo asked, looking under the table. Sunny looked around and stood up from her seat in a panic.
“Chirp?” She called out.
CH-I-I-I-I-RP
He called. Sunny heard his call and thought it sounded deeper than usual. Everybody in the cafeteria, stopped their conversations when they heard the sound of Rivet smacking pots in the kitchen. Sunny and the group stared at the kitchen door and watched as Chirp was flung out of the kitchen. Rivet came out of the kitchen holding a half eaten pan in his hand.
“Where’s the owner of the dinosaur?” Rivet exclaimed. By now everyone in the Agency That morning learned of their new pet inside the building. Sunny gasped as Chirp landed back first onto the floor.
“Chirp!” She exclaimed, rushing over to the downed crystal. She picked him up in her arms and immediately felt its immense weight. Sunny struggled to hold on to him and remained on the floor. Sunny’s eyes widened when Chirp burped out a barrage a bit of fire out of its mouth.
“That thing ate everything in the kitchen! Now what are we going to have for the rest of the day?” Rivet exclaimed.
“We’re sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“It better not... and get that dinosaur out of the cafeteria!” Rivet exclaimed in anger.
“And I thought Astro was bad.” Rivet mumbled, walking into the kitchen.
Sunny and her friends left the cafeteria in a rush and walked into tech division. Unbeknownst to them, a man followed them as they entered tech division. He stood in the hallway and touched a mic in his ear.
“Director Canyon, I have Information regarding the Uniques.”
“What do you have?”
“You won’t believe what they brought inside.”
Sunny and the group sat in tech room, eating their breakfast. Deacon was the only one who let them stay in their stall after Chirp had eaten everyone’s breakfast on their desks. Luckily, Deacon was a fast eater.
“Rocky’s got a big appetite.” Deacon said, typing on his computer.
“No kidding.” Sugarcoat said.
“For such a cute crystal velociraptor, he’s a big eater. Fatty.” Sour Sweet said, narrowing her eyes at it.
“Don’t call him fatty.” Sunny said.
“You want me to say he’s obese?” Sour asked.
“He is looking kinda chubby.” Deacon said, twisting his chair around to face the group. He stared at Chirp and noticed he was bigger than before.
“Stop making fun of him.” Sunny said, pulling Chirp closer to her. Chirp belched from the sudden closeness around his chest and released a small wave of fire in the air.
“Woah. Watch how you hold him or he might activate the fire alarms.” Deacon warned, waving the smoke away from him.
“Sorry.”
“Is it me or is he bigger than before?” Indigo asked, looking at Chirp. Sunny looked down at Chirp and noticed he was bigger than before. Chirp was the size of a dachshund in the morning, but now he was the size of a pit bull.
“He can grow fast.” Sugarcoat said, adjusting her glasses.
“How’d we just notice this?” Sour Sweet asked.
“How did he get so big?”
“All that food he ate must’ve sped up his growth.” Sunny guessed.
“We need to see Dr. Ion, again. He’s been looking at Chirps X-rays all morning. Maybe he found something about Chirps growth.” Deacon suggested. The group nodded in agreement and walked out of tech division. They walked passed the halls with Chirp walking beside Sunny Flare.
They reached the science division and opened up the lab door. Dr. Ion sat in a chair fidgeting with something on the table. He heard the door open and looked up to see the girls and Deacon. He stood up from his chair and welcomed them in.
“Sunny, just when I was about to call you.” Ion said.
“I’ve learned so much by looking at these X-rays! Chirp is an amazing alien species. Where is the fella?” Ion said, his eyes widening when he saw Chirp walk in.
The group looked at Chirp with mouths open when they saw his new size. He’d grown from pit bull size to saint bernard size.
“Really! While we were walking!” Sour exclaimed, glaring at Chirp. Chirp growled and stared at the floor in shame.
“How’d he get so big?”
“We were hoping you’d find out, Doc.” Sunny said.
“Take him to the X-ray machine.”
“Okay. Chirp follow me.” Sunny calmly ordered.
CH-I-RP CH-I-RP
He said, walking over to the X-ray machine. It yawned and licked its lips as it stepped on to the machine. The machine bent and squeaked at Chirps entire weight. Ion looked at the weight meter on the machine and gasped.
“He’s 350 pounds!” He exclaimed. The groups eyes widened at Chirps sudden weight gain and gasped.
“But how?” Lemon Zest asked. Ion turned the machine on and stared at the screen. Chirp stood there as the camera flashed rapidly in his eyes. He squinted his crystal eyes and chirped loudly. He raised its arm and clawed at the camera. Chirp scratched the camera with his claw and broke it, sparks coming out of the machine.
“Chirp. No!” Sunny said, looking at the damaged camera.
“Well, there goes 3,000 dollars.” Ion whispered, staring at the damage. Luckily, the X-ray image came out safe. Ion looked at the X-ray while the group huddled around him to see the picture.
“Just as I thought. The growth hormones in his body are accelerating rapidly.”
“What does that mean?” Lemon Zest asked.
“It means he has to get out of this building before he gets bigger than the elevator.”
“What’re we gonna do? Chirp can’t be seen in public?”
“We can transport him using the cargo trucks to a secluded area where he won’t be seen.” Ion suggested.
“Where’s that?”
“Somewhere in the forest. That way it’ll be less likely for his growing to cause problems.” Ion said.
“Deacon can you take them outside the building.”
“Uhh, No can do. I got orders from the Madame herself to stay in tech division.
“Hmm. Then I’ll have to take him. Alright then, come along children. We don’t have a moment to lose.”
Ion and the group left the lab and sped past the halls. Chirp followed closely behind Sunny, rubbing its head on her hip while they ran. Sunny dropped her hand and pet it’s head while they ran. Chirp happily growled at the sensation.
The man from earlier watched the Uniques and a scientist walked through the halls towards the elevator. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion and called in Canyon.
“Director Canyon, they’re leaving the Agency with the creature. Do I follow them?” He asked.
“Follow them, quietly. I’ll be there soon.”
“Copy that.” He said.
The Uniques reached the elevator and squeezed inside the small room. Chirp stood in the middle of the elevator while the group stood beside the walls.
The door opened up to the underground parking garage. Chirp walked out the elevator first with the agents closely behind him.
Ion pulled ahead and jogged to the cargo trucks parked in the lot. He pulled out keys and clicked a button on them. The trucks tail lights lit up in response. Ion stood outside the truck and unlocked the container. He pulled the key in and twisted it, he heard an audible click and raised the container with both hands. He grabbed the edge and pulled down a ramp for Chirp to walk on.
“Alright. The truck is ready.” Ion said, looking the approaching group. The group stopped and stared at the container with eyes raised.
“There is no way I’m getting in the back of that thing.” Sour Sweet said.
“I’m fine with it.” Lemon Zest said, jumping in the back. Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat walked up the ramp behind Lemon Zest and entered the truck.
“Fine, sit in the passenger seat.” Ion said, walking to the front of the truck. He climbed the step and opened the truck door. He stepped inside and closed the door. Using the same key, he stuck it in the wheel and ignited the engine.
“Chirp stared at the container that Indigo, Lemon Zest, and Sugarcoat sat in with curiousity. Chirp heard the engine and stared at the vehicle with nervousness. Sunny could see he was scared and tried to comfort him.
“It’s okay. I’ll be right beside you in the truck. There’s nothing to worry about.” Sunny said, soothingly.
CH-I-I-I-RP
It said with a sad squeak. Sunny petted him once more, calming him down. He looked at the thin ramp and put one stump on it. He heard put weight on his foot and watched the ramp bend from his weight.
Sour opened a small window in the truck and looked inside the container. She saw Chirp struggle and stuck her hand through the window.
Chirp felt an other worldly force grab on to him and didn’t struggle. He somehow knew it wasn’t a threat. Lemon Zest created a pink hand constructs and held on to Chirps hips. With help from Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest, Chirp entered the truck container with his full weight shaking the truck. Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest let go and sighed in relaxation. Sunny walked in behind him and pulled the ramp up, pulling the door down.
The small lightbulb on the ceiling was the only source of light in the container. Ion drove out of the parking garage and entered the highway. Chirp could hear the sounds of car horns outside and squeaked in fear at the unknown sounds.
“Shhh. It’s alright.” Sunny whispered, softly petting its head.
Other than the scared noises coming from Chirp, the trip remained quiet as Ion drove through Canterlot. Chirp would jump a little at the sound of car horns and the occasional bump in the road. Chirp would immediately calm down when it felt the comforting touches from the group inside.
Sunny and the group looked at the truck door and squinted there eyes when the sunlight reached their faces. Ion stared at the group and motioned for Chirp to come out.
Chirp squinted it’s crystal eyes from the brightness of the sun and slowly stepped out of the container. He kept a crouched defensive position as he walked out, fearing the outside. When he was fully outside, he opened it so eyes and stared at the sun. He felt a presence envelop him as he looked at the sun. Chirp moaned as it felt the warmth of the sun.
“What’s he doing?” Indigo asked.
“Hmm. Sunny, when you brought him to the Agency did he ever see the sun?” Ion asked.
“No. I stuck him inside a duffel bag.” Sunny said, recounting the struggle of putting Chirp in the bag.
Chirps crystal body reflected the suns rays, blinding the groups eyes. Chirps body sparkled as he absorbed the suns heat. The group backed up as the light grew bigger and brighter. Sunny covered her eyes and squinted. She tried to see Chirp but to no avail. The others stared at the blinding light with concern.
“What’s happening?” Lemon Zest exclaimed.
“Chirp is reacting to the sunlight. For what purpose I don’t know.” Ion said.
CH-I-I-I-RP
Sunny heard Chirps voice through the light and called out his name.
“Chirp!” She shouted. Rather than hearing a chirp she heard a low growl. Sunny stared at the light and watched it decrease in size. As the light grew dimmer, the group all squinted to see Chirp. Their jaws dropped when they saw Chirp through the light.
They looked up in disbelief at the size of Chirp. When the glow enveloping Chirp stopped, they saw his new design clearly.
Chirp looked down at the group with violet crystal eyes. His light blue body was replaced by a darker blue. The blue bioluminescent lights that aligned his body glowed brighter.
His stumpy legs were replaced by more defined and thinner dinosaur-like legs. The crystals that acted as muscles were bigger and more fit. His arms were longer and his claws were longer. His thumb had become fully opposable.
The crystal spikes on his back were slightly taller. Two spikes that clumped together were the biggest. Sunny recognized the two spikes as the tiny bumps from before. The two spikes morphed into one and split off back into two on its tips.
He rose high above the group. He was three times the size from before. He was taller than the cargo truck by 3 feet.
“Woah.” Indigo Zap whispered, breathless.
Chirp stared individually at the group and roared. The loud roar startled the group, not expecting how loud he was.
Incredible. Contact with the sun caused him to grow rapidly.” Ion said.
“He’s definitely not gonna fit in the truck now.” Sugarcoat said.
Chirp turned its head and made eye contact with Sunny Flare. Sunny stared at Chirp with memories of her dream coming back to her. She stood there in disbelief. Blanking out the surroundings between them. She thought back to the beach she saw and the giant creature in the dream.
She couldn’t she didn’t see it before. Chirp and the creature in her dream were the same species. Sunny remembered what the creature in her dream looked like. It was bigger and had red eyes instead of Chirps small size and violet eyes.
She snapped out of her trance when she felt Chirp growl in concern. She looked around and saw Chirps face directly in front of her. She looked at the group and saw their concerned faces at Chirps closeness to her. She heard him growl again and put her hand on the top of his snout. She felt the breeze hit her as Chirp flared his nostrils at her touch. She reached as far as she could with her hand to pet Chirp. His head was bigger and longer.
Indigo stood behind Sunny Flare in an instant and talked.
“What are we gonna do now?” Indigo asked, making eye contact with Chirp.
“I don’t know.” Sunny said, petting Chirp. Ion slowly approached Chirp with caution. Chirp glanced at Ion and growled happily. Ion raised his hand and touched the right side of Chirps snout.
“Do you think Starlight will let her keep him?”
“I don’t know. If the government sees him they might try to terminate him.
“That’s not right. Look at him, he’s peaceful.” Sour Sweet said.
“We could try to tell them that he’s safe, but the odds of that succeeding are very low.” Ion said.
“Couldn’t we just say he’s endangered.”
“We could, but that can easily be overlooked if he causes a crisis.” Ion said. Chirp moaned and opened its mouth, his breath strangely smelled minty. Chirp licked Sunny’s face with his crystal tongue. Sunny lightly pushed him and smiled. Chirp closed his mouth and rubbed its snout on Sunny. Sunny was pushed back by the weight, but somehow stood standing. She petted him again and hugged his snout.
Ion stared at the affection displayed by Chirp and couldn’t resist smiling. He thought about the repercussions there would be if the public ever saw him and made a conclusion. He decided there that he would do everything he can to make sure Chirp is safe.
“Freeze!” A voice shouted out. Chirp heard the voice and widened its eyes in alarm. It raised its head high up in the air and looked around, taking steps away from the group. The group turned and stared at the source of the voice and saw a man covered head-to-toe in protective gear. He pointed a rifle at Ion. More men in armor surrounded the clearing and trapped them inside.
The men pointed guns at the group while some stared in awe at the large creature in front of them.
A helicopter flew overhead, getting Chirps attention. Chirp stood up and took on a bipedal stance. He stared curiously at the chopper and watched it circle the clearing.
“Who are these guys?” Indigo asked. The Uniques surrounded Sunny Flare and Dr. Ion and prepared to fight.
“Don’t shoot! We’re agents!” Ion shouted,
“FBI, hands up!” The man shouted.
“FBI?” Ion said in confusion.
“Yes, FBI.” A familiar voice said. The group stopped their fighting stances and stared at the man pushing through the FBI agents.
“Canyon?” Ion asked.
“Sir, we have a clear target on the creature do we fire?”
“Fire.” Canyon said, touching his earpiece.
“No!” Sunny shouted,
Chirp watched as the helicopter door opened up, revealing a large Gatling gun pointed at his face. Chirp saw the gun start spinning and leaned his head to the side in confusion. The gun fired .50 cal bullets at its body. Each bullet pierced Chirps crystal body and cracked his skin. Chirp cried out in pain from the barrage of bullets hitting his body. Chirp backed up and tried to
“No!” Sunny shouted in distress. Out of anger, she raised her hand at the chopper and felt something inside her ignite. Her eyes widened when her arms skin was replaced by crystal. Crystals shot out of her arm and fired at the chopper. The crystals hit the choppers armor and expanded into crystal shards upon impact. The chopper blade was struck by the crystals shards, breaking it. The men in the chopper braced for impact as they fell to the ground.
“Sunny, you have powers?” Lemon Zest said in amazement. The group stared at Sunny’s arm with complete loss of words. Sunny looked at her hand with shock and fear. Memories of crystals covering her whole body coming back to her. Canyons stared at the arm with an open mouth. He snapped out of it and ordered the FBI agents.
“Get the launchers! Kill that beast!” He ordered.
Sunny snapped out of her shocked expression and looked up at Chirp. Chirp roared in pain from the bullets that pierced him. She stared at Chirp and felt tears fall down her face.
“Chirp, run!” Sunny shouted. Chirp heard her strained voice and listened to her command. He roared in fear and clawed at the ground. He rapidly clawed and dug up dirt. He disappeared in the dirt cloud and dug underground.
Sunny saw Chirps hole and sighed in relief. The FBI agents surrounded the group and shoved them to the ground. They tried to fight, but were quickly handcuffed.
“Hey!” Sour Sweet exclaimed, pushing a man up in the air with her mind. Multiple agents raised their guns at her.
“Sour, stop! You’ll just make things worse.” Sugarcoat pleaded. Sour stared at Sugarcoat and stopped, letting the agents handcuff her.
“All of you are under arrest!”
“You can’t do that!” Ion shouted.
“I can and I will.” Canyon said. He glared at the group and folded his arms. He walked over to Sunny Flare and looked at her with fury.
“You have a lot of explaining to do, miss.” Canyon glared.
Starlight walked around the Agency, minding her own business. She stood on the second floor walkway and stared down at tech division. She leaned on the railing and watched the giant tv on the wall.
She thought of what happened during last nights storm and wondered how it caused so many portals to open up. She stared down at Deacons desk, watching him type on his keyboard. She thought back to this mornings events and theorized. She wondered if Sunny Flares new pet and the storm were possibly connected. Could it be the cause of the storm? No, it was much too small to do that.
“Maybe it fell from one of the portals that opened.” She thought.
She thought of the possibility and realized it’s implications. The poor thing was clearly a baby judging by its appearance. Perhaps the portal opened up inside its home and it accidentally fell in. She felt pity for the creature at the thought of it being separated from its mother. Never to be seen again.
Thinking back on Sunny Flares story on how she found it, her theory began to make sense. The creature hid in the trash can because it was terrified of its new surroundings. It was chirping because it was calling for its mother. When it saw Sunny Flare it was scared of her until she showed it affection and safety. Whether Sunny Flare realized it or not, Starlight knew at that moment it had chosen her as its adoptive mother.
She could tell that Sunny cared about it from the short time they knew each other. She smiled at the name Sunny gave it. Chirp. Not a very original name, but a name all together. The creature seemed to like the name since it listened to her when she called it. Thinking about Chirp, she realized she hadn’t seen it or Sunny Flare since this morning. Looking around tech division, she didn’t see the creature or the girls anywhere.
“Deacon.” She called out. Deacon jumped a bit and looked up at Starlight on the balcony.
“Yes, Madame?”
“Where's Sunny Flare and Chirp?” She asked. Deacon squinted his eyes in confusion and responded.
“Uhh, Ion didn’t tell you?” Deacon asked.
“Tell me what?” She asked, her eyes turning serious. She heard the elevator open up and turned to see the door open. She groaned when she saw Director Canyon walking in with two FBI agents.
“Canyon? You’re still in Canterlot?” She asked.
She saw more people come out of the elevator and widened her eyes in surprise. Ion and the Shadowbolts walked inside with handcuffs preventing them from moving their arms.
“Canyon, why are my Agents in handcuffs?” Starlight asked, getting furious.
“Don’t act like you don’t know, Madame. I know about the monster your agents dumped out in public!”
“We weren’t dumping him!” Sunny screamed, glaring at Canyon. An agent grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back to the others.
Starlight stared at Sunny and saw her red face. She could see tears had fallen from her eyes. She quickly realized Chirp was no where to be seen and knew something had happened. Canyon glared at her and pointed at her as he spoke to Starlight.
“I don’t know what you teach your Uniques down here, but shooting down a government chopper is not one of them!” Canyon exclaimed with anger.
“It was an accident! She didn’t know she had powers.” Indigo exclaimed, glaring at him.
“Likely story.” Canyon glared, rolling his eyes.
“I have a half a mind to arrest you and shutdown this so-called Agency, right now!” Canyon shouted, glaring at Starlight.
“But I have other problems to deal with! One of them is killing that creature your agent released into the city!”
“You can’t kill Chirp!” Sunny shouted.
“Chirp? You named it?” Canyon shouted in anger.
“Canyon, Chirp is an amazing example of his species. If we kill it, we could be missing out on information we could learn from capturing him.” Ion pleaded, trying to protect Chirp.
“To hell with capturing it! That thing is 40 feet tall and hiding inside a majorly populated city!”
“Chirp is what?” Starlight asked, her angered expression turning into confusion.
“Chirp experienced rapid growth after eating the whole cafeteria dry. And I got him out of the Agency before he could grow bigger, however, something strange happened when he was exposed to sunlight.” Ion explained.
“Go on..” Starlight ordered. Ion gulped and continued his explanation.
“He grew twice the size of the truck we transported him in.” Ion finished.
“So you’re saying that thing could still be growing?” Canyon asked.
“I don’t know. It’s possible that he hasn’t finished growing yet.” Ion answered.
“Goddamn it.” Canyon growled to himself. Canyon walked passed Starlight and touched a button in his ear piece.
“Where are you going?” Starlight asked, her anger rising. Canyon turned around and got up to her face. Everybody who was watching could see the death stare on his face.
“I am fixing this problem. Permanently.” He growled.
“This is my city, Canyon. You don’t have authority here.” Starlight said, glaring at him
“You lost your authority the second you let that thing live.” Canyon growled.
“I am calling the military to establish a search for that monster so that I can kill it.”
“You’re not doing anything, Canyon.” She glared, moving closer to him.
“Is that a threat, Madame?” Canyon glared, tensing up. He moved closer to Starlight and looked at her with an intense glare.
“I suppose it is, Canyon.” Starlight said, crossing her arms. Canyon clenched his fist and stared at her with hatred. Starlight kept up her glare, making Canyon scoff.
“I dont take kindly to threats, Madame. If you weren’t pregnant, I would’ve-“ Canyon stopped talking, immediately realizing what he was saying in front of everyone.
“You would’ve what, Canyon? You’ll do what? I may be pregnant, but I can still kick your ass, Canyon. But you wouldn’t dare hit a pregnant woman, would you? Especially one who has more authority with the president than you.” Starlight glared, putting her finger on Canyons shoulder.
Everybody in the room heard her words and stared at the two with shock. They all collectively gulped from Starlights words. The agents in tech division looked up at the balcony with respect to their boss. Even the FBI agents were shocked to see their boss get talked down.
“Badass.” Lemon Zest whispered out loud, worshipping Starlight. Canyon continued to glare at her. The two stared each other down mere inches apart. Canyon sighed aggressively and let up.
“Evacuate the city. You have until 8 pm to find and capture your monster or else I’ll do it myself and arrest everyone in this building.” Canyon glared.
“After you release my Agents, Canyon.” Starlight ordered. Canyon glared and walked away, throwing the key in the air. Starlight caught the key and walked over to Ion. She released Ion and handed him the key, who promptly uncuffed the Uniques. After doing so he took the time to stretch his arms out.
“Eight hours, Madame!” Canyon shouted, snapping his fingers. The FBI agents stood in there positions frozen. They were still shocked by the exchange between their boss and Starlight.
“Come on then!” Canyon barked, snapping the FBI agents out of their frozen state. They walked towards the elevator before stopping. They turned and looked at Starlight. They lifted their arms and saluted her before entering the elevator. Canyon folded his arms and rolled his eyes in annoyance. The group all sighed when Canyon left the building. Starlight closed her eyes and sighed. Sunny rushed over to Starlight and stared at her with tears. Every agent in the building rushed into tech division to and stared at Starlight. They saluted her and awaited further orders.
“Madame, please. Help me find Chirp.” Sunny pleaded. Starlight looked at her with serious eyes and called out for Deacon.
“Deacon. Message the mayor and the police.”
“Already on it, Madame.” Deacon said, sending emergency orders to the city.
“I want every agent on and off duty looking for Chirp. If you spot him call in Sunny Flare.” Starlight ordered, staring down at the Agents.
“What if he gets hostile?” A agent in the crowd asked, receiving multiple glares from his peers.
“Capture him with whatever means necessary.” Starlight answered.
“Am I clear?” Starlight asked.
“Yes, Ma’am!” They exclaimed in unison. The Uniques also joining in.
“Dismissed!” Starlight ordered. The agents dropped their salute and rushed out of tech division in a sprint. Rivet, Blue Tempo, and Astro, walked up the stairs and approached Starlight.
“Permission to join in the search, Ma’am?” Blue Tempo said.
“Permission granted.” Starlight replied. The three Uniques nodded and walked up to the teens.
“I still don’t like him for emptying the kitchen, but that doesn’t mean I won’t help you look for him.” Rivet said. Sunny smiled and nodded, thanking him.
Sunny walked over to her friends and composed herself, wiping the tears off her eyes.
“We’ve gotta find Chirp before it’s too late.” Sunny said. Her friends and the three Uniques nodded in agreement.
“Where are we gonna look?” Astro asked.
“He could be anywhere in the city?” Blue pointed out.
“We’ll just have to look everywhere until one of us gets lucky.”
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Lemon Zest exclaimed.
“Sunny, a moment?” Starlight asked.
“Yes, Madame?” Sunny asked.
“I heard what he said. Do you really have powers?” Starlight said. Sunny looked up at her and nodded quietly.
“I got scared. My arm turned crystaly.” Sunny explained.
“I knocked out a chopper. I didn’t mean to. I swear.” Sunny promised, staring at her with anxiety.
“It’s alright. We’ll deal with what happened later. Just go find Chirp before Canyon does.” Starlight ordered. Sunny smiled and nodded.
“Yes, ma’am!” Sunny exclaimed, rushing to her friends sides.
Inside the parking garage, Canyon and his FBI agents looked around the lot. He checked for any nearby agents and silently walked to a parked Agency RV with blacked out windows. He entered the vehicle with his agents and quickly closed the door.
Inside a lone FBI agent sat in a desk with three monitors on it. The three FBI agents with Canyon maneuvered to their spots in cramped vehicle and relaxed. They ignited the engines and slowly drove out of the garage. Canyon took a seat next to the agent on the computers and stared at the screens. On one monitor was multiple cameras of the inside of the Agency.
“Did the drive work?”
“Yeah, we’re inside the Agency’s cameras. I’ve got eyes on almost every room in the building.”
“Almost?”
“Except the bathrooms, closets, and the living quarters. But there’s a whole floor underneath the Agency I cant access with our software.” He said, pointing at the screen.
“That must be where they hide their prisoner. Keep trying. I need to see what’s going on in there.” Canyon ordered.
“Sir, I get you don’t like them and all. But why the spying? Aren’t we all on the same side?”
“Obvious, Stamp. I’ve been working for the U.S since Reagan, yet I’ve never heard of the Agency. This Agency is a threat to the American people’s safety and once I get the president to see things my way, you’d best be damn sure I’ll shut this place down.” Canyon said.
“Sir, why are we giving them time to capture the creature?”
“That’s easy. As soon as they find it, I have military officials already informed of the situation. No matter what happens tonight that thing is going to die.”
“Hour 5 of the Agency’s evacuation of the inner parts of Canterlot City and the buildings remain mostly abandoned. The reason for this evacuation is still unclear, but the mayor is urging citizens remain in their homes until the evacuated areas are deemed safe.” A woman on the radio reported.
Sunny Flare sat in a chair, staring out the window with sadness. Her and her friends had found themselves in Canterlot High with Rivet, Blue Tempo, and Astro. They sat in a classroom and sat around with sadness. Norman and Adagio glanced at each other, looking at the sad teens.
Adagio and Norman stood beside Sunny Flare and gave her comforting shoulders. The teens told the two everything that happened and were shock and surprised to say the least. The teens asked Adagio if she knew anything on the subject, but she couldn’t give an explanation. They sat there thinking of anything to find Chirp.
“Ugh, its useless. How are gonna find Chirp in the city in just 4 hours!” Sour exclaimed.
“We can’t stop looking! We can’t!” Sunny exclaimed.
“Sunny, Chirp has been gone for 5 hours.” Indigo said.
“How do we know he didn’t leave the city?” Sugarcoat said.
“He could’ve left the city after what Canyon and the FBI did to him.” Sugarcoat guessed.
“If he left the city, he’d be in New York by now.” Blue Tempo said.
“He could be anywhere?” Astro said.
“Maybe we should stop the search?” Blue suggested.
“No! Not an option!” Sunny exclaimed, glaring at Tempo.
“We can’t stop the search. If we don’t find Chirp, then Canyon will.” Norman said.
“How does Canyon think he’ll be able to find Chirp if we can’t?” Blue Tempo asked.
“He’ll find a way. Even if it’s dangerous, he’ll find a way.” Norman said.
“There has to be something we can do to find him?” Adagio said, thinking of an idea.
“Sunny, when you were inside the Agency with Chirp you said he ate everything in the cafeteria, correct?” Adagio asked. Sunny looked at Adagio and nodded.
“That little guy ate the whole kitchen dry.” Rivet said, supporting Sunny’s story.
“Then maybe we can lure him?” Adagio said, putting a hand on her chin.
“What’re you thinking, Adagio?” Norman asked.
“If we get every supply of food in the city and put it all in one spot. Maybe he’ll be able to smell it and come to us?” Adagio theorized, getting everyone to stare at her.
“It could work.” Rivet said.
“Then let’s try it! What do we have that can help?” Sunny said.
“We’ll have to raid every restaurant in the city.” Norman said.
“Can we actually do that?” Astro asked.
“We can. It’ll take an hour at most, though.” Norman answered.
“We have that time.” Lemon Zest.
“Does he prefer eating a certain food?” Norman asked.
“No. He’ll eat anything that he thinks is food.” Sunny answered him.
“Alright, then this should be easy.” Norman said. He pulled out a phone from his pocket and dialed a number.
“Deacon, it’s me. Call all agents to load up trucks with large supplies of food. We have a plan to lure Chirp.”
Inside a warehouse in the docks. Agency scientists gathered around the blue portal. Computers were set up around the portal, collecting as much data as they can.
The scientists studied and wrote down everything that happened to the portal. The portal glowed and vibrated around the circle. The portal window showed a massive dark cave lit up only by the portal. A scientist had dropped a 50ft wire into the portal to see how far deep it went.
To their surprise, the wire plopped down to the floor in the cave. It took a second to realize the portal was on the caves wall. Gravity dropped the wire down to the cave floor. The bizarre angle had intrigued the scientists.
Another scientist sent in a drone connected by a wire in the computer through the portal. After a previous attempt to send a drone through. The first drone collapsed and turned off after losing connection to the computer. Any attempts to retrieve it were stopped after a scientist had sent his arm into the portal. He gasped when he saw his arm had turned into a hoof and quickly pulled his arm back in fright.
On the second attempt, they attached a wire to the drone allowing the connection to carry through. The jump between dimensions scrambled it’s camera for a few seconds before adjusting. The drone flew around the dark cave with the four helicopter blades whirring around quietly.
Scientists gathered around the computer screen, watching the operator move the drone.
“Amazing.” A scientist whispered.
It’s camera surveyed the whole cave following a bright light in the distance. To the left of the drone a figure scurried in the darkness. The scientists watching the drone camera caught it in its peripherals and heard the sound of rocks cracking through the mic.
“What was that?”
“Turn the camera to the left.”
The operator moved the drone to the left and saw nothing. They heard the same scurrying sound behind the drone and followed the noise. They saw nothing in the camera and stared at the screen in confusion.
Then they heard the sound of growls behind the drone. The scientists gasped at the sound. One of them stared into the portal to take a look. The operator started to sweat a little and slowly turned the drone around.
To their horror, they were greeted by huge eyes and a giant orange beak staring at them. The scientists gasped in shock at the creature on camera and were too shocked to move the drone. The creature reeled its head back and roared at the camera. It’s beak stretched wide and lunged at the drone.
The scientists could barely make out what was going on. The wire holding the drone tugged and pulled on the computer. The camera screen cracked and went static every few seconds.
“Grab the wire!” A scientist shouted. A few scientists and the one who was at the portal rushed to the wire and held it into the computer. They struggled for a few seconds before the tugging stopped.
The scientists staring at computer stared at the camera in confusion. The screen was static then it bleeped back to normal. The scientists gasped once again when they saw the drone on the floor pointed at the portal. The light from the drone lit up the cave walls.
The scientists saw the shadow of the creature followed by multiple shadows of the same creature. They saw the feathered creature stand in front of the drone, staring at the wire towards the portal. The scientists saw the creature roar at the portal and watched it run towards it. The scientists quickly ran in fright.
“Everybody out of the building.” The main scientist shouted out. Everyone in the warehouse quickly ran out of the building. The main scientist stood at the door waiting for everyone to get out before him. He looked at the blue portal and heard it vibrate rapidly. He stared in terror when he saw three heads poking out of the portal.
He quickly rushed out the door and entered the cars. The scientists strapped in and ignited the engines. All of them drove out of the docks with tires screeching. The creatures heard the noise through the warehouse walls and banged on them. The biggest bird smashed through the wall and screeched. Sniffing the strange new air it coughed. Its big green eyes widened at the strange environment. It screeched again and started walking with its sharp talons.
Five other birds walked out of the warehouse and screeched. Hearing the cars engines leaving, they all roared and ran towards the sounds. The main scientist in the car called the Agency with great speed, misclicking a few times. When he finally dialed correctly, he shouted into the phone.
“Deacon, get me the Madame! Now!”
“Alright, Gene. Damn.” Deacon said, sending the call to the intercom in Starlights office.
Starlight was sitting on a chair, sorting through files on her computer. She heard Deacon on the intercom and pressed a button on her desk.
“What is it,Deacon?”
“Genes calling. He sounds terrified. I think he saw Chirp.” Deacon guessed.
“Put him on.” Starlight said, quickly. Deacon did as told and put Gene on the intercom.
“Madame, can you hear me?” Gene shouted.
“Loud and clear, Gene.”
“Madame, we’ve studied the anomaly as instructed, but something’s happened.”
“What?” Starlight asked, tensing up.
“We sent a drone in through the portal and it was attacked by giant flightless birds. They saw the portal and entered our universe.” Gene said, getting Starlight to widen her eyes.
“Is everyone safe?” She asked with concern.
“I got everybody out before the birds could attack us, but they’ve escaped from the warehouse. I don’t know if they’re chasing us still, but they could be in the docks.still.” Gene said.
“How many?” She asked.
“Six.”
“I’ll send agents to the docks immediately. Watch your backs.” Starlight said.
“Yes, ma’am.” Gene replied. Starlight sighed and rubbed her face. She did not want to deal with any more problems today. She thought about Sunny Flare and Chirp and wondered how the situation would end.
Gene hanged up and stared out the back window. He saw the empty street behind him and sighed. Then the birds turned a corner and appeared into view. He gasped in terror at the speeding birds. The scientist who was driving saw the birds in the rear-view mirror and floored the vehicle. The scientists cars turned right to another street and glanced at their mirrors.
The birds chased and screeched at the creatures until their noses caught a smell in the air. They sniffed curiously into the air and glanced at each other. The tallest of the flightless grey birds screeched at its fellow siblings. He commanded them to follow him for he was the oldest. His rank as alpha among the others was signified by the white feathered Mohawk on its forehead. The younger siblings screeched back and waited for big brother to make a move.
The alpha pointed with its beak the direction of the smell and raised its chicken wing arms and pointed with its claws. He screeched a command and bolted towards the smell. The siblings chirped and followed him, hoping to fill their stomachs.
The alpha moved with incredible speeds through the empty streets. It narrowed its eyes at the scenery and followed the smell on instincts. It’s siblings followed as fast as they could and screeched. They heard rumbling up in the sky and saw clouds had formed over the city. They jumped at the roaring thunder and continued following the unphased alpha.
Inside the city, agents had loaded up trucks with tons of various food and had dumped them into a large park in the city. Sunny Flare and her friends had helped as much as they could with the dumping of the food. Rivet was directing the dump trucks where to drop the food with a megaphone. They saw the clouds form above them and grew worried.
Norman stared at the clouds and walked inside a large tent the agents had put up to protect them from the winds. Inside the tent, Adagio, Ion, Astro, Blue Tempo, and a few agents stood quietly. They listened to dispatch radios and stared at laptops.
“There’s a storm coming will that be a problem?” He asked.
“The food might rot faster and it’ll be harder to smell if the rain falls.” Ion said. Norman saw Ion and was surprised to se him here.
“Ion? What’re you doing here?”
“Doing all I can to help find Chirp. I’ve set up spotlights around the food. Hopefully it’ll be easier to spot if Chirp approaches from land. Thanks to Indigo Zap, we’ve been able to cover more ground.” Ion said. Norman nodded in agreement and turned his head towards the entrance. He saw Sunny Flare and the recruits walk in with heavy jackets.
“Hope you guys brought umbrellas. We can hear the thunder already.” Indigo said, her breath appearing in the air.
“It smells awful out there.” Lemon Zest said.
“It smells like if every trash can in Canterlot was eaten by a whale. Then barfed out.” Sour said. Norman and the agents grimaced at the thought. They were all equally disgusted.
“Sunny, how are things going out there?” Ion asked, getting back on topic.
“It’s cold. Practically freezing out there.”
“And I don’t think the plan is working.” Sunny said, staring at the floor.
“How come?” Norman asked.
“Chirp should’ve smelled it all by now...” she frowned, staring at the ground.
“It’s alright, Sunny.”
“No, it’s not. What if ... what if Chirp died after he escaped? What if the chopper had hurt him enough that he bled out? What if his body is somewhere underground...”
“Nonsense!” Ion exclaimed.
“Don’t even think like that, Sunny.” Indigo said.
“Yeah, Sunny. Chirp is alive.” Lemon Zest assured her.
“We all saw him escape. He’s just hiding because he’s scared.” Sugarcoat said.
“We’re not giving up, Sunny.” Norman said, solemnly.
“We’re gonna find him. Even if we run out of time.” Norman said.
“Yeah!” Sunny’s friends exclaimed in agreement. Sunny saw their determined faces and started to smile.
“Thanks, guys. Really.” Sunny said, feeling better. Norman’s phone rang in his pocket, catching his attention. He pulled his phone out and recognized Deacons number.
“Deacon, what’s wrong?”
“Norman, a portal from last nights storm never closed.”
“What?” He said in confusion.
“We sent some scientists to check it out and now a bunch of birds from the portal are inside the city. Get everybody to safety they’re heading your way.” Deacon warned, summing up what happened.
Norman heard people shouting and vehicles stopping outside. It was already too late. The agents inside the tent could hear the screechs and roars from outside. They turned towards the entrance and stared at the door flap in confusion.
“Too late. They’re here.” Norman said.
“What’s going on?” Indigo asked.
“Maybe, its Chirp.” Lemon Zest said with optimism. Sunny looked up at the entrance with hope. Norman quickly shut down her hope.
“No. It’s something else.” Norman said, walking towards a metal shelf with guns on racks. He grabbed one of them and realized they were equipped with capture nets and shock rounds.
“Didn’t we pack ammo?” Norman asked.
“We didn’t pack any lethal ammunition. Just ammo meant for capturing.” Ion answered. Norman grunted and pulled out his gun from the holster attached to his belt.
“Adagio, Do you have the keys to the car?” Norman asked, feeling his empty pockets.
“Yeah.” She nodded.
“Alright, If we get to the car I can grab the weapons in the trunk.” Norman said, walking towards the entrance. He lifted the door flap and stared out at the park. His eyes widened when he saw the flightless birds. They walked passed the running agents, staring at the large pile of food on the ground.
The birds were tall and resembled ostriches if they were scarier and more vicious looking. Their beaks were yellow and sharp on the tips for hardcore pecking. Their necks and head were featherless with a pinkish-brown color. Their wings were folded and definitely too small to fly with. Grey and silvery-blue feathers covered their entire torso and wings. Their leg still were pinkish-brown and covered in scales. Their feet had sharp talons and resembled dinosaurs.
The tallest one walked in front of the five birds walking in a threatening stance. It looked at the running agents and screeched as it approached the pile. Norman assumed that was the leader due to the white feathered mohawk that was on its head.
The leader of the pack stared at the pile in front of him and dropped its long neck towards the food. He sniffed it for a few seconds before digging in. The smaller birds quickly surrounded the pile and munched on the pile. Norman looked for his car and saw it parked on the grass twenty feet away from the pile.
“They’re eating the food!” Lemon Zest exclaimed.
“We gotta stop them!” Lemon Zest said.
“What’s Rivet doing?” Sugarcoat said, getting the groups attention. Outside, they saw Rivet approaching the hungry birds looking pissed.
“Hey, that’s not for you!” Rivet shouted, throwing a can at the tall one. The can hit the top of the tall ones body, causing it to widen its eyes. It narrowed its green eyes and raised its head high and turned around. It looked down at the tall man and hissed, the feathers on its arms raising up.
“Yeah, you!” Rivet shouted, causing the bird to turn his head in curiosity. The group watched the scene unfold inside the tent.
“Is he crazy?” Sour Sweet asked.
“Adagio, lets get to the car while they’re distracted.” Norman said, running out of the tent.
“Right.” Adagio nodded, running after him. Blue Tempo rushed out with her and ran towards the pile.
“Blue, what’re you doing?” Astro exclaimed.
“Rivet!” Blue said, running towards him. Rivet quickly motioned with his hand not to approach him. Blue Tempo stopped at the hand sign, wondering what he was doing.
The bird dropped its head down to Rivets height and slowly stepped towards him. Rivet slowly backed up as it approached him.
“You must be the leader of the pack, huh?” Rivet asked. The bird glared at him with drool dripping from his beak. The creature growled as it walked towards him. Rivet turned around for a second and saw the distance between the grass and the concrete path. A plan had formed in his head. He faced the bird and saw it was sniffing the space in front of him.
“I smell like the food, don’t I?” Rivet asked. The bird dripped more saliva from his mouth, its stomach beginning to growl.
“If you’re hungry, why don’t you eat me?” Rivet said, backing up. The bird growled again and walked closer to him. The bird raised its feather on its head and roared at Rivet.
Blue Tempo watched the bird roar
Rivet lunged towards the concrete with his hand raised and touched the concrete. The bird closed its beak and prepared to stab him with it. He rolled to the side and dodged the giant beak. The beak pierced the grass and buried itself into the dirt. Rivet took this time to change his skin into the concrete path. His skin hardened and turned solid, resembling the concrete path.
Rivet stood up and flared at the bird. The bird stared at eachother for a second. The bird glared at him and pulled its beak out of the dirt, roaring at him. Rivet stood up and cracked his concrete knuckles.
“Alright, you ostrich. Let’s go!” He said, glaring at the bird. The bird glared back and took notice of his new skin. The bird roared and took a fighting stance. Raising the feathers in its arm up. He raised his arms a perfect 90 degree angle and turned his claws into fists. The bird fistbumped itself repeatedly, the feathers on his arms shaking rapidly. Rivet watched as electricity charged into the birds feathers and channeled the energy to its fists. Rivet widened its eyes at the glowing blue fists.
“Rivet!” Blue shouted. The bird ignored the man and focused on the concrete man.
“Get those birds off the food. Go!” Rivet shouted. Blue hesitated for a second and followed his order. Rivet focused his attention on the bird and fistbumped himself.
“When I’m through with you, I’m turning you into an omelette.” Rivet said. The bird roared again, Rivet roared back at him and charged the bird. The bird glared at him and charged towards him as well.
The girls stared at the birds eating the now half-eaten pile and glared.
“Why are we still in here? We have powers, too.” Sugarcoat said, walking out of the tent. The girls glanced eachother and nodded. They walked out of the tent with her along with the agents. They armed themselves with the shock guns and prepared to give support.
Sugarcoat glared at the birds and created a snowball in her hands. She threw the snowballs at the birds, getting their attention.
The birds stared curiously at the girls and roared at them. The girls stared at the birds and gulped. Indigo looked at Sunny Flare and asked her a question.
“Do you think you’ll be able to activate your powers?” She asked. Sunny looked at her with an unsure expression.
“I don’t know.” She said, honestly. Indigo nodded and stared back at the birds. The girls concentrated and activated their powers. Astro watched the situation unfold and walked up beside the girls, holding a taser gun.
“Come on, guys. Let’s show these birds not to mess with us... and Chirps food.” Indigo said, narrowing her eyes.
“I’ll just stay inside the tent!” Ion shouted behind them, retreating back inside the tent.
The birds charged after the agents and roared. They separated and charged at them individually. Lemon Zest created fists with spikes on the end and charged towards her foe. She delivered a punch and hit the birds beak. The bird flinched and stepped back. Rubbing off its pain, it charged at her again with arms raised.
Sour Sweet lifted herself from the ground and changed into her red featureless form. She dodged snarls and bites in the air from her target. Her eyes widened when she saw its arm shake rapidly and draw up electricity. She was surprised to see the bird had jumped and punched her with its glowing fist. She flew backwards and quickly recovered. Looking at her target from below she growled at it and charged him.
Sugarcoat slowed her target down by turning the soil into mud. She raised her hands in the air and created a powerful wind. The bird looked up to see stones and dirt hit him in the face. She increased the strength of the wind and raised a tree off the ground. The bird screeched as it was hit by a tree.
Indigo Zap dodged every bite and crunch from her bird with ease. The bird attempted to look at its target to no avail. Indigo circled around the bird and trapped it inside, confusing it instantly. Once she gained enough speed she clenched her hand and punched the bird in the beak. The momentum pushed the bird into the ground. The bird squeaked in pain as it hit the ground. It laid there for a few seconds before recovering. Shaking its head, it got back up and shook its arms.
Sunny Flare and Astro stared at the charging bird and tried to come up with something.
“Can you do anything?”
“I can hurt his ears?” Astro said. Sunny rolled away from the bird, narrowly dodging its beak. Astro jumped out of its way and hit the ground hard. The bird stopped its moving and turned around. It stared at Sunny then at the weakened Astro. It roared and approached the down teen. Sunny saw the bird walking towards Astro and ran towards them.
Astro groaned on the dirt and turned around, lying on his back. He looked up and gasped at the approaching bird staring down at him. The bird reared it’s head back and prepared to stab him with its beak. Astro closed his eyes and raised his hand, attempting to hurt its ears. The bird ignores the intense pain in his ears and lunged at Astro.
BONK
Astro heard the sound of a bell ringing and opened his eyes. In front of him was Sunny Flare with her arms out, touching a huge crystal wall. Astro saw her hands were covered in crystals and smiled.
“Get outta here!” Sunny said, looking behind her shoulder.
“What about you?
“I’ll be fine. Just go!” Sunny said. Astro listened to her and stood up. He ran away and caught up with Norman and Adagio. The two of them showed up with rifles armed with explosive rounds.
“Alright Kids, get out of the way!” Norman exclaimed, loading the rifle. Indigo zoomed away from her bird and watched as Norman fires a shot at the bird. The bullet exploded infront of the birds chest and cried out in pain.
The bird fighting Sunny struggled from the vibrations in his beak from pecking the crystal and shook his head. It sneezed and coughed as it regained its senses. The bird stared at the wall and roared at it with intense anger. It raised its arms and shook them rapidly, conducting an electric current into its claws. Sunny saw the bird through the shield she created and looked at it with worry. The bird screeched and punched the shied with its glowing fist. Sunny watched as it broke through her shield with just a couple punches. She stared at the bird with horror as she fell onto the ground.
The girls and the agents were too preoccupied dealing with the other birds to notice she had fell. Every Unique except Blue Tempo and Astro saw her in trouble. Sunny crawled backwards as she attempted to flee the bird. The bird wasn’t having it and quickly charged her. Bending its hind legs, it jumped into the air and roared.
Without warning, the girls felt the ground begin to rumble. Astro and Blue fell to the floor unable to stand up. The birds stopped their fighting and looked everywhere in a frenzy. They clawed their talons into the ground and endured the shaking. Everyone stopped fighting their target and saw a bird falling towards Sunny Flare. They looked on with horror as the bird reached closer to Sunny. Sunny stared at the bird with fear. She flinched and closed her eyes.
“Sunny!” Indigo shouted in fear, preparing to run. Sour Sweet saw the shaking from the sky and saw a large hole form in the ground. She stared at the massive hole in shock at what came out.
Before any of them could react a giant crystal head rose out of the ground, lunging towards the bird in mid-air. The flightless bird saw the giant mouth and screeched. It attempted to fly with its small wings, but was unable to react in time. The bird cried in pain as the giant mouth bit him with bone-breaking force. The other birds saw the giant head and stared at it with fear. The tall one stopped fighting Rivet and cried out to its younger sibling.
Sunny opened her eyes and gasped at her savior. Her face lit up with happiness and awe at the massive size of her pet. It was Chirp.
Sunny stared at Chirps new look with awe and the feeling of dejavu. His eyes had changed color from purple to red. His body was no longer blue, but were as purple as his previous eye color. The bioluminescent lights lining his body lit up in a bright blue glow. They extended as far as the edge of his tail. The giant spike that split off to two on his back were huge and glowed an intense red. The crystal spikes covering his back had also grown in size, reaching half the height of his big spike.
Chirp rose high above the park. He was at least 100 feet tall if Sunny’s measurements were correct. Chirp stared at the struggling bird in his mouth and growled.
The bird squeaked inside Chirps mouth, prompting him to squeeze harder. Chirp raised his huge dinosaur-like legs and rose higher than a 100 feet. Chirp head rose high above the ground. The giant figure tore into the bird in its mouth and rapidly shaked its head. It shook the bird like a chew toy. The bird squealed in pain as its body was torn to shreads. It screeched loudly, calling for help by its siblings. The birds screeched back and ignored the Uniques they were in battle with. All of them rushed over to the giant monsters side. The bird struggled for a few seconds in Chirps mouth before ultimately dying in its grasp.
The birds head and wings drooped down limply. The birds stared at the dead sibling in the crystals mouth and cried out at the loss of their sibling. Chirp crunched the birds bones and tossed it from its mouth. The bird carcass flew outside the park grounds and landed on the streets with a thud.
The birds screeched again and ran over to their fallen sibling. The Uniques and agents quickly took this time to recover and marvel at Chirp. Chirp raised its body from its trex stance and stood up like a terribly inaccurate dinosaur. He took a deep breath and roared victoriously with all his might. The Uniques quickly moved out of the way of Chirps massive tail.
It looked down at the ground and saw its adopted mother on the dirt. He dropped his body back down and stared at her. Chirps massive head blocked the storm clouds, providing Sunny with a good look of him. Her eyes widened when she realized Chirps body resembled the crystal from her dream. She was shocked to realize that it actually was Chirp in her dream. The more she thought about her dream, the more she realized she was seeing her future.
Chirp moaned happily at his mother and brought his giant head towards her. Sunny stared at him with awe. He dropped his head onto the dirt infront of her and flared his nostrils. Sunny laughed a tiny bit from the gust of wind that hit her. She smiled at Chirp and petted him as best she could. It wasn’t easy petting a creature with a head the size of a truck.
Norman and Adagio approached the girls, not believing what they were seeing. The creatures colossal size is what surprised them the most. Norman stared at Chirp with awe. Adagio looked at Chirp with nostalgia. She hadn’t seen any creature that size since Equestria. Chirp saw the two approach the girls and growled at them.
They stopped moving at the glare Chirp gave them. Chirp leaned forward and got up to their faces. Norman and Adagio looked at the truck-sized head looking at them and gulped.
“We mean no harm.” Norman said.
“Chirp, it’s okay. They’re friends!” Sunny exclaimed, standing infront of them. Chirp turned its head to the side in confusion. It groaned curiously at his mother.
“Friends.” Sunny said, motioning towards the two. Chirp stared at the two agents and flared its nostrils in submission. He roared lightly as he stood up to his full height. The two agents breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thanks.” Norman said. Sunny nodded and looked up at Chirp.
“Whoa. He’s alive!” Lemon Zest mumbled, staring at Chirp in awe.
“He’s huge.”
“How did he get so big?” Sugarcoat asked.
“He saved Sunny. He must’ve smelt the food and heard all the commotion.” Indigo guessed.
Chirp looked around the park and saw the half-eaten food. Licking its crystal lips, it walked over to the pile of food. It dipped its head into the food and sniffed it. His red crystal eye widened at the smell and quickly rose up, gagging from the smell. The water from the rain and the spit from the hungry birds ruined the food. Chirp growled and lifted its arm. He clenched his claw and smacked the food with his hand.
RUAACK
The birds alpha roared, getting the groups attention. They turned their heads and saw the bird standing on top of a collapsed fence. They stared at the glaring bird and grew anxious. The other four birds stood beside the tall one, each one making threatening stances. They were angry and hungry for revenge.
The group stared at the birds and took fighting stances. Chirp turned around and faced the birds. He stared at them and took a fighting stance, roaring at them.
The birds raised their arms and shook rapidly, charging their arms with electricity. They stared at the group with sharpened claws and snapping beaks.
Norman and Adagio loaded their weapons and stood beside the girls. Blue, Astro, and Rivet stood beside the girls right side. Rivets body clanked as he approached the group. In the middle of the line, Sunny stood there with her arms in crystal. Indigo stood beside her, looking at Sunnys arms.
The birds glared at the group and screeched with beaks wide open. Chirp roared loudly, causing the entire group to flinch. The birds charged the group with arms raised. The group composed themselves and started to run. They stopped when Chirp took one step over them and ran towards the birds.
“He’s excited.” Norman commented. The group stared at Chirp as he went face to face with the birds.
“Let’s not let him take all the credit.” Indigo said, zooming towards the fight. Sour Sweet changed to her red form and flew up to the sky, a violet aura propelling her to the air. Norman and Adagio glanced at eachother and nodded. They raised their weapons and fired at the birds.
The alpha reached Chirp first and leaped into the air with its hind legs. Chirp opened its mouth to grab him and missed. The alpha climbed onto the crystals body and clawed at him with its energized claws. Chirp rose to a bipedal stance and clawed at its back in an attempt to grab the alpha bird.
The other three birds stayed on the ground and charged at the group. The other bird bit Chirps foot, causing him to shriek. Chirp moved his foot and whipped the bird in the air with its tail. The bird landed on the ground with a thud and quickly recovered. It screeched at Chirp and charged back into the fight.
Sunny ran up and stood between the bird and Chirp, causing it to stop. The bird stared at her curiously and roared. Sunny glared at the bird and raised her hands. She yelled as crystals shot out of her arms, sticking onto the bird with ease.
The alpha sank its talons into Chirps backside and held on as Chirp shaked and scratched his own back. Sunny and the agents fired at the three birds as they approached them. Norman and Adagio fired round after round at the ground the birds walked on and tripped them multiple times. Rivet walked over to a bird and punched its beak as they fell on the ground. Indigo Zap delivered fast punches and the downed bird while Sugarcoat kept the bird on the ground.
Sour Sweet fired a red aura at a bird while Lemon Zest punched it with her hand constructs.
Blue, Astro, and a few agents fired at a bird with everything they got. The bird screeched and roared in pain as nets trapped it in one spot. Tasers from the agents shocked the bird and overloaded its electricity. It’s claws popped like an exploding lightbulb from the overload of electricity. Blue fired a giant laser at the birds chest using both hands.
The bird shook around as it tried to take the nets off, but was unable to move from the ear-shattering noise in his head.
The extreme amounts of electricity stored inside the bird caused it to fidget and shake uncontrollably. Astro stopped hurting the birds ears and watched as it began to scream. His eyes widened when he saw it was starting to glow red.
“Stop! Stop! Stop!” Astro shouted, getting them to stop.
“What?” Blue asked in exhaustion.
“Look.” Astro pointed. Blue stared at the bird and watched as it glowed brighter and brighter. Blue quickly realized what was going on.
“Everybody down!” He shouted, ducking for cover. Everyone dropped what they were doing and quickly rushed out of the birds range. The bird screeched with its beak wide open as its body glowed bright red. It roared one final time before exploding. Astro and Blue quickly ducked under a hill as a splash of blood hit the ground.
“All that electricity caused him to pop.” Astro assumed, poking his head up the hill.
“Smells like chicken.” Blue Tempo said.
The alpha heard its siblings final cry and roared. Alpha dropped its concentration and was grabbed by Chirps arm. Chirp squeezed the alpha in his hand and threw him across the park. The alpha roared as it flew in the air, getting its siblings attentions. The last three birds looked at Chirp and roared. Chirp glared at the birds and roared back, lifting his body upwards to a vertical position.
The birds dropped their focus on their targets and rushed towards Chirp. The Uniques saw the birds run towards him with haste. Chirp took a wide stance and straightened his tail. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, opening his mouth a tiny bit.
“Whats he doing?” Indigo said, zooming up beside Sunny Flare.
“I don’t know.” Sunny said.
Chirps bioluminsecent lights on his body began to glow bright. The rows of crystal on his back lit up in a heavenly glow. The giant spike that split off to two glowed a bright red-orange. The group of agents and Uniques stared at Chirp with disbelief as smoke began to come out of his mouth. The birds continued charging towards him, not noticing what was going on. Chirp looked down at the charging birds and made sure everyone was out of the way. When he was sure everyone was out of his range, he glared at the birds and dropped his head near the ground.
The birds roared and spread their claws at the giant head within range and prepared to jump. The spike on Chirps back glowed and vibrated a bright red. As soon as the birds bent their hind legs, Chirps eye pulsed brightly and the smoke in his mouth quickly receded inside. Chirp opened his mouth and expelled a giant beam of fire and energy. The birds gasped as the beam hit the three of them.
Chirps beam struck the birds with intense heat. The fire burned their feathers off and charred their skin a charcoal black. The beam was full of condensed energy that blasted the three birds with painful effects. The birds couldn’t hold their ground in the beam and were flung from their spots. They screeched and roared as the beam roasted their bodies. Chirp held on his attack and continued firing the intense beam.
Ion saw the red light through the tent and looked outside. He gasped and dropped his mouth at the sight of the beam.
The group watched in awe as the beam lit the whole park in red like a flare. Sunny stared at Chirp and noticed he was starting to shiver. The beam must be tiring him. She could feel the heat from the beam from and saw the rain evaporating before touching the beam. Thunder from the clouds shot out and hit the giant spike on Chirps back. Norman looked at the thunder and assumed Chirp was absorbing the lightning.
The birds blew straight through the brick wall, separating the park from the road and landed in the streets with a thud. The birds screeched loudly as the beam burned their bodies completely. Chirp stopped firing and breathed exhaustingly. The birds laid on the street with smoke coming from their charred bodies. They did not screech or roar, instead their charred carcasses fell limply on the street.
Chirp composed himself and stared at the charred bodies for a few seconds. He looked around the park and saw no bird was left alive. He growled lightly and slumped its crystal shoulders. Chirp breathed slowly and relaxed. Chirp looked up at the group of humans to his right and watched as they clapped and cheered.
CH-I-I-RP
He said with his throat. Sunny smiled at him and felt happiness as she looked up at him. Chirp wagged his tail and took a bipedal stance. He stared at the storm clouds and roared, triumphantly. Lightning still striking his back spike.
“Chirp did it!” Ion said, walking out of the tent.
“Where’d he learn to do that?”
“That spike on his back must be some kind of generator. The spike must store energy until it needs to be used.” Ion theorized.
“It’s a weapon.” Norman said.
The group heard the sound of giant engines all around the park. They looked at the brick wall and saw tanks had arrived. They pointed their cannons at Chirp and remained in their positions. Three helicopters flew above the tent with spotlights lighting the park grounds. Chirp saw the helicopters and glared. He roared at them as they flew by and took a defensive stance.
The group huddled together and stared at a helicopter landing on the grass. Standing in the chopper was Canyon himself, looking very unsatisfied. He walked out of the chopper and approached the the group of Uniques, holding an umbrella.
“Congratulations on finding Chirp for me, girls. Now I can deal with him, appropriately.” Canyon said, turning back around.
“Hey! You said you wouldnt kill Chirp if we capture him.” Indigo said, zooming in front of him. Canyon pulled his glasses down and glared at her.
“Is he captured? I don’t see any nets or a giant cage.” Canyon said.
“You lied to us. You lied to the Madame.” Sunny glared.
“Of course I lied, look at it!” Canyon exclaimed, pointing at Chirp.
“With all the damage that thing caused, not to mention the giant hole in the ground.”
“That “thing” just killed all the birds.” Ion said.
“Those birds are nothing compared to that thing. With enough guns and firepower they would’ve eventually been taken down.” Canyon assured.
“What is your problem? He just saved the city.” Sour Sweet said.
“That thing is a threat to the safety of millions of residents in the city and it is my job to stop him.”
“You can’t! I won’t let you!” Sunny exclaimed.
“Ready to fire, gentlemen?” Canyon asked in his earpiece.
“No!” Sunny yelled, jumping on Canyon.
“Get the hell off me!” He roared, shoving her to the ground. Indigo zoomed ahead and caught Sunny before she could fall. The group glared at him and stepped closer to him. Rivet stood behind Canyon and tapped his shoulder. Canyon felt the touch and turned his head. Rivet gripped his shoulder with his concrete hand and pulled his earpiece out. He threw it on the floor and pushed Canyon to the ground.
Chirp saw the conflict and stepped towards the group. He stood above them and covered them from the rain. The tanks moved their cannon and pointed at Chirp. Canyon stared at the group from the ground, glancing up at the glaring Chirp above them. He glared back at them and shook his head.
“You want to be responsible for the deaths of millions? Then go ahead!” Canyon shouted, white light flashing his face. The group saw the flash of light and got their attention.
A sudden bright flash inside the storm clouds followed by a loud roar of lightning broke their argument. Everyone saw the storm clouds light up in a bright heavenly white light.
“What is that?” Lemon Zest asked, in awe.
Lightning roared loudly inside the clouds, the light glowing brightly inside. The group stared at the clouds and were shocked to see blue lightning strike the clouds. Rather than disappearing, one of the lightning remained in the sky. The group stared at the impossibility in confusion. Then the lightning expanded, like a tear in clothing. The tear spread across the sky with fast speeds. Norman and Adagio realized what it was before everyone else.
“Oh my god.” Norman said.
“What is that?” Astro asked, staring at the tear in confusion.
“Its a portal.” Adagio said.
The tear was suddenly pulled open and widened by a large claw in the sky. Chirp stared at the claw and growled in surprise. The group stared at the giant claws that pulled on the tear with shock. They gasped when a massive beak poked out of the tear, growling intensely. The head revealed itself through the portal, causing the group to realized what it was.
“Oh no. Those birds weren’t adults-“ Ion said.
“They were babies.” Norman said, finishing his sentence.
A bird head with red feathers on its head stared at the alien landscape with anger. The bird looked around and stared at the heavily lit park and saw Chirp. It growled and roared an ear-piercing screech at Chirp. The group prepared themselves and took offensive postitions. But there view was blocked by Chirp moving infront of their view. Chirp glared at the bird and roared as loud as he could. The bird shrieked aggressively and forced its massive body through the portal, revealing its true size.
The bird was composed entirely of thick red armored feathers. It’s claws and talons were terrifyingly long. Their tips reaching the size of a car. It’s wings were long and bent like a dragon with giant claws on the end of the 100 foot wingspan. It’s neck was longer than its babies. its skin was silver and shined like metal. A huge difference compared to its young.
Feathers that enveloped it’s wings were different hues of red and yellow. Silver feathers stuck out of the wings like loose pieces of metal.
Canyon quickly crawled towards his earpiece and grabbed it off the ground.
“Canyon, are you there?” A voice on the mic said. Canyon stood up and adjusted the earpiece. The agents saw him get up and grew concerned.
“Loud and clear.”
“We have the two in range. Do we fire?” The voice asked.
“Canyon, don’t.” Ion said.
“Chirp is on our side, Canyon. But that bird is not. Target your tanks at the bird.” Norman ordered.
“And why should I? Canyon asked.
“Just look at it! It has wings. If you let that thing get away then you’ll be the one responsible for millions of lives.” Norman said.
“The city’s already been evacuated. What do you have to lose letting them fight?” Ion said. Canyon stared at the group and thought about it. He rolled his eyes and groaned.
“Target the bird, only. We’ll deal with the dinosaur after.” Canyon ordered.
“Copy that.” The voice said.
Sunny and the Uniques relaxed after hearing Canyon making the order. Relief filling their bodies. Canyon stared at Norman and the Uniques with a scowl.
“Thank you, Canyon.” Norman said with honesty.
“Yeah, whatever.”
Chirp jogged towards the giant bird with heavy steps. It was ready to stand its ground, when the bird would attack. The bird hovered in the air and began to shake its wings. The silver feathers on its wings began to create static electricity. Chirp watched the bird with curiousity and clenched its claws.
The bird began to create strong winds out of the speed of its flapping wings. Chirp felt slowed down by the wind, but continued his run. The birds claws began to glow red-orange with electricity, prooving it can carry more energy than its babies. The bird began to flap its wings at extreme speeds, slowing down Chirps assault. Chirp roared at the hovering bird and dug its feet into the street as it was pummeled by cars and trees.
Chirp felt the wind pushing his still body and thought of something to keep him still. Chirp punched the buildings next to him and stuck his arms inside. The strong buildings gave Chirp the advantage and kept him from moving. The bird stared at Chirps feat and grew annoyed.
It quickly stopped its flapping and divebombed him. Chirp couldnt react quick enough to evade the bird and was stabbed by its beak in the stomach. Chirp roared in pain as the bird pulled its beak out of its stomach. Chirp put a hand on his stomach and fell on its knees. The bird landed a few hundred feet in front of him and clenched its claws, ready to deliver punches. Before the colossal bird could advance, she was hit by a barrage of missiles from tanks.
She screeched in pain from the deadly missiles that pierced its thick feathers. She lost her footing and fell onto the side of a skyscraper. Her immense weight pushed through the buildings steel frame, causing the small skyscraper to collapse.
Chirp mustered all the strength he had and began to glow. He took a crouched position and opened his mouth a little. The bird punched its way out of the collapsed steel and roared as she walked out onto the street. The 100 foot tall bird made eye contact with Chirp before being blasted by the same beam that killed its young. The beam impacted the birds stomach and pushed the bird far outside the city interior. The bird screeched as she was blasted by intense heat that burned through her silver armor. She was blasted so far back that she landed in the water.
Chirp roared loudly and broke the glass windows of nearby skyscrapers. Lightning struck his back spike, rejuvenating him with energy. The bloody hole in his stomach quickly regenerated. Feeling as good as new, Chirp continued his assault and ran as fast as he could through the city interior.
“Follow those two! Now!” Canyon ordered. The tanks and surrounding helicopters quickly changed directions and moved towards the two monster at full speed.
“Come with me.” Canyon said. The girls and Astro walked beside Canyon as they reached the landed chopper.
“We’ll take the car.” Norman said, motioning for Adagio, Blue, and Rivet, to come with him. Ion chosed to stay at the park with the other agents.
The angry mama bird lifted her head out of the water and lifted the rest of her body up. She ruffled her wet body and expanded her silver feathers. Shaking her arms rapidly, she gathered enough energy to make her claws glow red-orange. Chirp roared as he reached the docks, glaring at the pissed off bird. He noticed his beam had burned off the armor on her stomach, revealing burnt flesh. She screeched at Chirp with anger and readied her fists. Chirp raised his claws and readied his fists.
They roared at eachother one last time before engaging in claw-to-claw combat. Chirp punched her weakened stomach with immediate results. She cried out in pain and clawed at Chirp crystal body, chipping off pieces of him.
Chirp roared as blood began dripping out of the scratches in his crystal body. She punched Chirp in the face with her electric claws, causing Chirp to step back in pain. She had chipped a lice of his right crystal eye, temporarily blinding him on the right. Chirp blindly waved his right claw at her in an attempt to hit her, but to no avail. She dodged the incoming claw and punched back harder than before.
Chirp roared in pain at her increasingly painful punches. Tiring out, he took a step back and began to hyperventilate. Chirp put a claw on his chest and felt the toll on his lungs. The bird grabbed both of Chirps shoulders and head butted Chirp. Chirp groaned in pain and was barely standing. She dug her claws into Chirps shoulders and lifted him to the ground. Chirp landed on the water with a thud. He groaned weakly at the towering bird infront of him. He was too weak to make an effort to fight back.
The choppers reached the two monsters and saw the fight scene. Sunny and the girls gasped at the state Chirp was in. Sunny shouted out Chirps name in fear. Her call was given no reply. Chirp heard the call and tried to lift himself out of the water. He struggled before sliding off the ground, landing back in the water.
“We gotta stop it. We have to save him!”
“Please.” Sunny pleaded. Canyon looked at her with no emotion and rolled his eyes.
“Chopper 2. Chopper 3. Surround the bird and fire on my command.” Canyon ordered. The pilot did what he commanded and positioned themselves around the bird.
“Put on the headphones.” Canyon ordered. The girls quickly put on headphones and wondered what next.
“Chopper 1, we are in position.” Both pilots said.
“Fire.” Canyon ordered.
Bullets from the side of the three choppers fired at the bird at rapid speed. The mother bird felt the bullets pierce her body, causing her to screech in pain. Chirp looked up at the bird, weakly. The bird turned around and waved her wings at the choppers. The choppers quickly evaded the wings and continued firing.
“Big bird taking heavy damage.” A pilot said over the mic.
The bird screeched and waved her arms around. The bullets pierced her weakened body with success. She shrieked at the pain she endured. She clenched a claw and jumped up in the air. The choppers avoided her except one.
The birds claw stabbed through the tail of Canyons chopper. The girls held on for dear life aboard the chopper.
“Brace yourselves! We’re going down!” The pilot screamed. Canyon sat in his seat and gripped the rail on the ceiling. Sunny and the girls screamed in fear as the helicopter fell. Chirp heard his mother’s screams and opened its eyes to see the chopper falling on the docks. Chirp mustered up his strength and lunged towards the falling chopper.
Sunny and the girls held on to the chopper and braced for impact. They closed their eyes and waited for impact. Suddenly they felt the chopper forcefully stop, causing them to jump from the force. Astro as still screaming and stopped when he opened his eyes. Their grip on the rails prevented them from hitting the ceiling. They opened their eyes in confusion and cheered when they saw Chirp holding onto the chopper. Sunny crawled towards the chopper door and opened it. She smiled when she saw Chirp holding the chopper.
Canyon opened his eyes and looked out the open door in shock. The monster had saved their lives. Canyon made eye contact with Chirp and saw his damaged right eye. Or where an eye would be. The eye pulsed and flashed as it slowly healed. Canyon looked at Chirp with disbelief. He couldn’t believe it risked its life just to save Sunny and them.
“Chirp!” Sunny smiled.
Chirp groaned in exhaustion as he held the chopper. He slowly lowered his hand and placed the helicopter on the docks. Everyone in the chopper quickly got out of the chopper and looked at Chirp.
“Chopper 1, are you alright?” A pilot asked, looking at Chirp.
“We’re fine. Keep firing at the bird.” Canyon ordered.
Chirp turned his head and saw the giant bird was attempting to swipe at the choppers. He groaned lightly and turned the rest of his body around. Sunny realized the state he was in and knew there was no way he was going to win.
“He’s tired. We need to do something else to help him.” Sunny said. The girls stood there thinking, except Sugarcoat. She already had an idea.
Sugarcoat looked up at the clouds and noticed the rain had stopped. She could still hear thunder from inside the city and raised her hands. She closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling the weather conditions. Canyon and the girls looked at Sugarcoat as lightning formed in her hand.
“What is she doing?” Canyon asked. Sunny and Indigo realized what she was doing and answered.
“She’s giving him a boost.” Sunny replied.
“I wish I could do that.” Astro said.
Sugarcoat concentrated and felt the electricity give her goosebumps. She opened her eyes and saw her hands were covered in electricity. Looking at Chirp, she saw the back spike on him and clenched her hands. She took a deep breath and muttered to herself.
“Hope this works.” She said, firing the electricity from her hands. A giant blue wave of lightning came out of her hands and quickly travelled towards Chirp. Canyon and the girls stared at the breath-taking sight in awe. She focused the lightning at Chirp and successfully hit his spike.
Chirp flinched as he felt the lightning hit his spike and roared. Chirp shook his head feeling dazed. He was instantly healing from the wounds inflicted on him. Chirps right eye pulsed as vision was restored to him. He opened his eyes and looked around, his head no longer dazed. The wounds and scars on his body disappeared and glowed. Missing chunks and chipped off pieces quickly grew back. Chirp growled as he felt the full effects of the lightning. He glared at he distracted bird and roared. Within seconds he ran and charged towards the bird.
Sugarcoat stopped shooting him and touched her knees in exhaustion. The girls quickly surrounded her and comforted her. Sugarcoat looked at Chirp and wiped sweat off her forehead.
“It’s all you now, Chirp.” Sugarcoat said. The group looked at the recharged Chirp and cheered him on. Canyon stood to the side in silence, watching the fight commence.
Chirp roared at the bird, getting her attention. She stopped swiping at the choppers and glared at Chirp. She gripped her claws and screeched with all her might. Chirp roared back, getting her to roar back as well. They stood a few hundred feet from each other before charging towards each other.
She shook her wings as she ran and charged up her claws. She threw a punch at a Chirp, who quickly grabbed her claw with his. She tried to punch with her left, but was also grabbed by his claw. She and Chirp looked at each other and roared. Chirp head butted her and whipped her with his tail. She screeched in pain and tripped herself, falling in the water.
She looked up at Chirp and roared. Chirp roared back and was quickly swiped by her wing. The wing scratched his legs and tripped him into the water. She quickly stood up and raised both arms to pummel Chirp. Chirp saw the incoming attack and quickly moved out of the way. She dropped her arms and missed, only to be uppercutted by Chirp. She screeched and stepped back in pain.
Chirp stood up and swiped at her body with his claws. Blood poured out of her as she struggled to counter. She raised her claws and swiped at him. Her arm was quickly caught by Chirps mouth, sinking his crystal teeth into her wings. She screeched and was forcefully pulled closer to Chirp.
Chirp looked at her damaged body and saw the wound he inflicted on her by his beam. He raised his claw and punched the wound. She screeched in pain as Chirp forcefully stick his claws into her. She looked at Chirp and only saw pure animalistic rage directed at her. She had struck a chord inside Chirp that she was now regretting. The bird raised her leg and kicked Chirp back, releasing his claw from her wound.
Chirp stepped back and composed himself from the kick and looked at her. She raised both her wings and turned around. The group watched the bird lift her body off the ground with her wings. They quickly realized she was trying to get away.
“She’s getting away!”
“We gotta stop her!” Sunny said with worry.
“No. Look!” Canyon said. They looked at Chirp take a bipedal stance and realized what he was doing. Chirp glowed and opened his mouth as smoke poured out of him. He straightened his tail and crouched his body. The spike on his back glowed an intense red as it fully charged.
The beam travelled at supersonic speeds towards the flying bird, the intense heat from the beam caused steam to rise out of the water. The bird heard the blast and was immediately hit by the beam. She screeched in pain from the burning sensation. She could tell the beam was stronger than the one she was hit with before. She screeched as the beam ripped through her body and disintegrated her feathers. Her body was enveloped in the blast and burned her wings clean off. The huge beam was the only thing keeping her in the air. Chirp saw the damage he was causing and put more strength in his beam.
She growled as the beam lit her entire body on fire. She felt her exposed skin and armor melt off her. Tears fell and evaporated from her body as she burned. No longer bearing the pain she closed her eyes and made her final breathe.
Chirp stopped his blast and dipped his snout in the water. He breathed rapidly and tried to compose himself. The group watched the burning bird carcass fall into the water. Smoke rose out of the water as her body fell deeper and deeper.
The group stared at Chirp in silence for a moment. Chirp turned his head and saw Sunny look at him with a smile. He moaned in relaxation and raised his head high in the air. The group cheered and shouted as Chirp roared triumphantly. Canyon remained silent and stood solemnly.
Next to the group, they heard a car door open and turned their heads. Stepping out of the vehicle was Norman, Adagio, Rivet, and Blue Tempo.
“You guys okay?” Norman asked, running towards the group.
“We’re fine.” Indigo answered for the group.
“Chirp did it!” Astro said.
“Did you see that? That was so cool!” Lemon Zest exclaimed.
“Chirp saved us from almost dying!” Sour Sweet said. Sunny Flare walked through the girls and looked at Norman.
“He’s alive. That bird would’ve killed him if it wasn’t for Sugarcoat.” Sunny smiled. Sugarcoat smiled back and nodded.
As they were talking about what happened, tanks pulled up into the docks and lined up the whole harbor. Chirp saw the tanks and roared in exhaustion. The 2 remaining choppers hovered above Chirp and prepared to fire.
“Director Canyon, we are primed and ready to fire.” The pilot said.
“Copy that, Agent. Wait for my word.”
The girls and Norman heard Canyon talk and realized what was happening. They looked at him with anger and shouted. Sour Sweet was the first to shout.
“Come on! He just killed a bird and it’s babies and saved your life!”
“After everything that just happened you still want to kill him?” Indigo glared.
“Requesting permission to engage.” The pilot asked on the mic.
“Canyon, dont.” Sunny pleaded.
“Canyon, Chirp is the only thing between the city and whatever monster comes out of those portals. Do you really want to let our biggest advantage get destroyed?” Norman said. Canyon looked at them in silence and stared at their expressions. He silently judged them and made a decision.
“Negative, gentlemen. Stand down. There aren’t any monsters left.” Canyon said on the mic.
“Return to base.” Canyon ordered. The pilot followed orders and flew away from the scene. The second chopper landed on the dock and waited for Canyon to climb in. The tanks soon followed with them and left the harbor. Chirp saw the vehicles leaving and relaxed.
The group looked at Canyon now shock. They weren’t expecting him to listen to anything they said. Canyon saw their shocked faces and rolled his eyes.
“That thing...your Chirp, saved our lives. For that, I’m greatful.” Canyon said.
Sunny looked at him and nodded. She hugged him to his surprise and felt uncomfortable.
“Thank you.” Sunny said, breaking off.
“Chirp is your responsibility. I’ll let your pet roam free as long as he doesn’t cause trouble.”
“Yes!” The group said with happiness.
“But if he makes one mistake, Sunny. I’m holding you and the whole agency responsible.” Canyon said.
“Take care.” Canyon said, walking away. He looked at Norman and nodded his head. Norman nodded back and watched him walk away.
The clouds cleared and revealed a beautiful night sky. The group watched as he climbed aboard the chopper and flew away. The group gathered and stared at the chopper as it flew away.
“I guess deep down, he’s not all bad.” Blue said, getting a few looks.
“What?”
Sunny looked at Chirp and saw his tired state. He looked at her and chirped.
CH-I-I-RP
Sunny smiled knowing she’d have to tell him to leave. He wasn’t far too big to take care of now. He’d have to make his own home. Chirp understood her as if he read her mind and moaned with sadness. Sunny looked at him and held back her tears. Chirp understood and looked at the waves. He walked into the water and roared. He continued walking and dipped further and further in the water. When just his head and shoulders were left, he looked back at Sunny. She smiled and waved goodbye at Chirp, know longer holding back her tears. Chirp saw her wave and raised an arm in the air, copying her. He roared one last time before dipping his whole body in the water. His back spike was the only part of him above the water. He travelled through the water with quick speeds and left Canterlot.
Clean up at the park began. Machines and worker operated tirelessly to fix as much of the park as they could. A few FBI agents stood beside a fallen bird. The Alpha was breathing in its unconscious state. The agents look at the bird with silence. They strapped cables and nets around the bird and pulled it into a 18-wheeled truck. They closed the door and drove off with the bird inside.
At the Agency, Starlight sat quietly in her office. She wrote on the papers given to her about recent events and flinched. She felt a kick come from inside her and rubbed her belly. She smiled at the sudden kick and realized how far she was in her pregnancy. She smiled at her bump and couldn’t wait for her to be born. She looked at the date and realized she wasn’t due in a month.
“Almost, sweetie. Almost.” She said with motherly compassion. Her alone time was interrupted by a knock at her door. She quickly composed herself and closed the file holding the papers.
“Come in.” She said.
“Madame.” Sunny Flare said, walking into the office. She closed the door behind her and sat on the empty seat infront of Starlights desk.
“Sunny. You look stressed.” Starlight said.
“Yeah... I came to talk with you about something.”
“What is it?” She asked, raising an eye.
“Before I saw Chirp. I had a dream. I thought they were just dreams, so I didn’t say anything. But now, I know what they are.” Sunny explained.
“What are they?” Starlight asked with a serious tone.
“I think I’m seeing the future, Madame. LIke Norman.” She said. Starlights eyes widened in surprise at Sunnys words. Not believing what she heard. A voice inside her was in panic.
“No. Not now. Not again.”
Author's Note
This chapter has been in production for a long time. I accidentally published it in February when it was still 2 paragraphs so that’s why the upload date says february. This is the biggest chapter I’ve ever written and I really tried on it. Next chapter shouldn’t be as long.
Anyways, I saw the new episode. The Roc and the Thunderbird in my story are completely different and have no relation to each other. It’s just coincidence that the villain is a giant bird like last Saturday’s episode. It was a pretty good episode and I’m happy that something good happened for Spike.
I also just realized I’ve been on this site for 3 years now. It’s amazing how time passes so fast that you forget how long you started.
Now that that’s out of the way, thanks for reading. Please leave a comment for any grammar or spelling mistakes that you see.
Tartarus Maximum Security Prison
Tartarus County was the smallest county in the state. Within this small county was the most secure prison in the world. For the hundreds of prisoners imprisoned inside, this was hell. But to the recently renovated Uniques, this was a distraction.
Crackdown, Nitro Blast, and Razor stared at the big tv screen hanging on the cafeteria wall. Crackdown gulped his food down and stared at the tv. Nitro hadnt touched his food yet, too busy watching the tv to eat. Razor had stabbed his steak with his hook hand and ate in silence. Nitro glared at what was going on in the news.
“The crystal dinosaur that had recently made its home in Canterlots waters has proven difficult for local fishermen to adjust to.” The newscaster said. The camera cut to footage of the crystal giant with his head and chest poking out of the water. The creature sunk its teeth into a fishing trawlers net filled with tuna and lifted the boat up out the water.
“Fishermen aboard the trawler had jumped off the boat and were saved by Agency boats who surrounded the creature soon after, forming a blockade. FBI Director Mesa Canyon, was there on the boat along with a younger agent who’s face was censored after the agency gave back our tape. ” He said. The cameraman zoomed into the boat and saw the two standing on the front deck, shouting into megaphones.
”Put the boat down!” Canyon shouted into the megaphone. The creature bit into the net and snapped the wire causing the tuna to fall into his mouth. He swallowed the fish as they came sliding in. He shook the net in attempt to get more tuna, causing the boat to bounce along his crystal hide. The fishermen stared at their boat with shock as it bent and cracked from the creatures shaking.
“Chirp!” Sunny Flare screamed in the megaphone. The cameraman zoomed into her face and zoomed out when he saw the creature react. Chirp stopped eating and held on to the trawlers net in his mouth. Chirps eyes flashed different colors before leaning closer towards the boat.
B-B-B-ROOONK
He honked like a cruise ship. The cameraman flinched at the loud moan from the giant and quickly focused back on the creature. Chirp swam closer to the boat, causing the other boats to raise their guns.
“Put the boat down!” Canyon shouted. The creature stared at Canyon and groaned.
KOOOOOOALL
“Chirp! Put the boat down.” She ordered, glaring at the giant crystal.
CREE?
He chirped curiously, lifting his claw. He pointed at the boat sliding off his chest and looked at Sunny with questioning crystal eyes. It’s normal red color changing to green.
“Yes!” Sunny nodded.
GRRR
He honked in annoyance. He flicked his claw and expanded it, reflecting off the bright sun. Chirp cut the net and immediately felt the boat fall down his body. The boat slid down the crystal dinosaurs body and dropped into the water. The agents ducked for cover in their boats and tried to avoid the splash of water but failed.
The cameraman ducked under cover as well, luckily keeping his camera safe. He recovered and focused back onto the scene, catching Chirp swallowing the tuna and the net whole. Sunny and Canyon stood on their boats with annoyed faces, dripping wet.
The camera cut to the damaged interior of the city and the park. The camera focused on the damage left behind from the fallen skyscraper. Men were working hard removing damaged concrete and steel. The heavy machinery cut into the metal and filled dumptrucks with the damaged material.
“The city is still recovering from the damage the crystal dinosaur and the giant bird caused. City workers and volunteers are working tirelessly to fix and repair the damage to roads, buildings, and the park. Corporations such as Havok industries and Tesla are already paying for the damages caused to their buildings. It is estimated that the cost to fix the damage is in the millions.”
The camera cut to the news room with everyone’s favorite newscaster staring at the screen with his trademark pissed off face.
“First they recruit an alien, now they recruit Godzilla. What. The. Hell! Is wrong with this Agency?” Lax Reporter said.
The camera cut again to Director Canyon, along with Madame Glimmer, standing on a podium in town hall, answering the reporters questions.
“Why has there been no efforts to capture or kill the creature?”
“The creature has been tamed by a member of our Agency and was given the name Chirp based on its ability to chirp like a bird as a form of communication.” Starlight answered. The camera zoomed into Starlights eyes and caught a look towards Canyon. The camera panned over to Canyon, who started speaking.
“The government has come out and stated that so long as it stays out in the water and away from the city, the military will remain non-hostile. They have also recognized that the creature is the only member of its species on this Earth. Therefore putting it under protection by the Endangered Species Act.” Canyon answered. Starlight glanced at Canyon who nodded at her.
“Madame, where did this creature and the bird it killed on the beach come from?”
“The creature came out of a portal that opened up above one of our agents homes. The agent who found him took care of him. Chirp then grew up exponentially into the creature we see today. The bird is a different story. A portal opened up inside its nest where it’s babies proceeded to enter our universe and attack the inner city. Chirp and our agents killed the birds only for the mother to come out a new portal above the city. Without Chirps help the damage to the city would’ve been far worse.” Starlight answered.
“To the Madame, again, how does your Agency plan on training this creature?” A reporter asked.
“With the help of the military, we plan on using a modified version of basic K-9 unit training.” Starlight answered.
“Where will you be conducting these training procedures?” A reporter asked.
“We will be using one of our aircraft carriers as a start. We also have a private island in the pacific. It’s uninhabited and big enough for the creature. Once we have training started all operations will take place on the island.” Canyon answered.
“Where is the island?”
“The location of the island will remain classified including all the names attached to the operation.” Canyon answered.
“How do we know it’ll listen?”
“Should the creature disobey orders and purposely attack America and it’s citizens, then the military will kill it by any means necessary. That will be all for today. Thank you for being here.” Canyon said, walking off the podium. The camera cut back to Lax at the news room.
“Is this part of some dark plan the Agency has for America? Is the FBI Director colluding with the Agency? Find out more at 6.” Lax said. Everyone in the cafeteria stopped listening to the news after he showed up and continued eating. Nitro rolled his eyes and looked at his partners.
“Why does it feel like the world gets crazier the longer we stay here?” Nitro asked.
“This so-called “magic” has been nothing but trouble. No offense to you, two, but I hate Uniques.” Razor said.
“None taken. If I didn’t have these powers I would’ve killed them all anyway.” Nitro said. Unbeknownst to the two of them, Crackdown was staring under the table, holding a flip phone. The screen lit up and vibrated, informing him of a new message. He opened up the phone and read the text.
“It’s time. Cause a distraction. I’ll be there soon with some help.”
Crackdown looked at the screen and glanced up at the security guards armed in Kevlar, holding on to their assault rifles. He made eye contact with one of them and stared at each other for a moment. The guard crossed his eyes and looked at Crackdowns arms. He crouched down and looked under the table. He looked under the table and widened his eyes when he saw the phones glow.
“Phone!” He shouted, raising his gun at Crackdown. Nitro Blast and Razor looked at Crackdown with confusion. Crackdown glanced at them and nodded.
“It’s time.” He said.
Outside the prison, a white van pulled into the checkpoint. A guard at the checkpoint walked up to the vans window and knocked. The window rolled down, revealing a green woman with a serious face. She gripped on to the wheel and stared at the guard.
“Food delivery.”
“Food truck delivered this morning. Can I see some ID?” The guard asked. She raised her eye and looked at the empty passenger seat. She opened her purse and pulled out a drivers license. She looked at the guard and stuck her arm out the window.
“Here ya go.” She said, holding the license in her hand. The guard looked at the card and reached for it. She smiled at the approaching hand and quickly grabbed his hand with both hands.
“What the hell?!” He exclaimed. She closed her eyes and focused on him. The man felt her cold hands and grew dizzy. The color in his eyes went to a solid black as they held hands. The guard tried to fight whatever was happening but failed.
“You’re mine now.” She said.
“I’m yours now.” The man repeated. She grinned at her success.
“Slap yourself.” She ordered. The guard slapped himself with his left hand. She giggled at the action she made him do. She stopped messing around when she heard a hand pounding on the inside of the van.
“Open the gate and let me in.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded. He walked in the small building and typed on the computer. The gate in front of the van opened up, getting a smile from the woman. The guard walked out the building and gave her a salute.
“Thanks.” She said, revving the engine. She jumped a little when a loud alarm rang across the prison. The loud alarm snapped the guard out of the trance. His eyes turning back to normal. He grabbed his head and looked at the prison.
“Wha- What’s happening? What’s going on?”
He heard a click to his right and saw the woman with a silencer pointed at him. She pulled the trigger and fired at the guard. The guard dropped to the floor and laid there bleeding. She groaned and stepped on the pedal. The van drove inside the alert prison without further trouble. She didn’t notice that she dropped her drivers license on the pavement next to the dead guard.
The alarm went off inside the prison, causing the guards to come out with assault rifles.
“Return to your cells now!” A guard shouted, firing his assault rifle on the ceiling. The bullets hit the ceiling with a loud bang, causing many of the prisoners to flinch. Nitro Blast and Razor got out of there seats and headed towards the crowd of prisoners rushing up the stairs to there prison cells. They turned their heads and saw Crackdown sitting in his seat, surrounded by guards.
“Drop the phone! Now!” The guard shouted. Crackdown glared at the guard through his helmet. His thousand eye stare made the guards skin crawl as they aimed at Crackdown. Crackdowns heightened sense alerted him to the guards slowly approaching him from behind. He quickly stood out of his seat, causing the bench to bend at his strength. He lunged at the approaching guard and grabbed him by the neck.
He grabbed the guard and gripped his rifle. He pointed the rifle at the guards head and stared at the crowd of guards with anger.
“Don’t move!”
“Just shoot him!” The guard shouted in Crackdowns arm. Crackdown looked at the guard then back at the crowd. He saw them start to squeeze the trigger and groaned. He punched a hole in the guards helmet in his grasp and threw him at the guards.
Nitro Blast and Razor watched from the second floor as Crackdown was showered with bullets. One of the bullets pierced a nearby pipe, causing smoke to fill the cafeteria.
The guards fired at Crackdowns allocation through the smoke. They stopped firing when their guns clicked, meaning they had to reload. They looked at their guns and quickly attempted to reload.
“He’s dead, right?” Razor asked. Nitro looked at the cafeteria with a smile.
“No. This is where the fun begins.”
The guards finished reloading and backed away from the smoke. They called out to each other, barking out orders.
“Is he down?” A guard asked.
“Can’t confirm.”
“One of us needs to get closer.”
“I’ll do it.” Another guard said. He looked at the smoke with doubt, the alarm above him going silent. He focused on the smoke and walked closer with hesitation. He raised his rifle and held it firmly in his arms. He approached the smoke and looked around.
“See anything yet?”
“No. Not yet.” He said, calmly. He sighed in his helmet, causing the glass to get foggy. He coughed at the smoke entering his lungs and lost focus, lowering his gun. That was when he heard the sound of metal cracking. He flinched up and raised his gun into the smoke, looking around the dense fog with sweat dripping from his forehead.
He heard a creaking to his left and fired at it. The pipe exploded into a thick wall of steam, causing the guard to cough again. He dropped to his knees and coughed. To his right he heard a creaking and raised his head. He turned and stared at his right to see a large outline looking down at him in the smoke.
“I see him.” He said through the mic
“So do we.” A guard replied, staring at the giant dark outline within the smoke.
“Get out of that smoke now!” A guard ordered. The guard in the smoke heard the order loud and clear. He quickly stood up and ran. Crackdown watched the man run and raised his arm. He roared as his rocky arm extended out of the smoke and gripped onto the man’s armor.
The guard screamed as he was picked up. Crackdown lifted the man in the air and waved his arm around. The guards fired at his arm in an attempt to break him free.
The guards watched as the man was grabbed by the rock and was pulled back in to the smoke. They heard his screams through the mic and with their ears. As soon as they heard his screams end abruptly did they open fire.
Nitro Blast stared down at the cafeteria with an interested grin. Razors eyes widened in shock, gripping on to the balcony rails.
“Take him down, men!” The leader ordered, firing at the giant figure in the smoke. Crackdown felt the bullets pierce his rocky form and rolled his eyes. He stood to his full height and walked out of the smoke. The guards looked at Crackdowns new rock form with fear.
“Holy shit.” Razor whispered.
Crackdown clenched his fists and cracked his knuckles. He grinned at the guards and their feeble attempts to take him down.
“Is that all you got?”
“Code Omega. Activate the turrets.” The leader said. A metallic ringing was heard coming from the ceiling. Crackdown and the prisoners looked up from their cells. A hole in the ceiling opened up, revealing a large automatic machine gun turret staring at Crackdown.
“Fire.” The leader commanded. The turret vibrated and began to spin. Nitro Blast and Razor looked at the turret and quickly jumped into a prison cell.
Crackdown stared at the turret as it unleashed a wave of bullets that pummeled him to the floor. The guards quickly left the area and headed towards the armory.
“That’ll distract him long enough.” The leader said.
Crackdown frowned as his body was dropped to the floor by the force of the bullets. He could feel the bullets shred through his back and slowly shatter into pebbles. His rage has reached his limit. He roared and bared the force, standing up. The turret fired at him with fast speeds. Bullet casings flew everywhere, hitting walls and prison cells. Crackdown grabbed the long metal table and lifted it above his head.
The turret tore through the table in seconds, firing at Crackdowns head. He roared and jumped in the air. He grabbed the third floor rails and slowly climbed the buildings ceiling. He growled furiously as the bullets continued to shred his rocky form.
He grabbed the 4th floor rails and climbed up. He glared at the turret shredding his skin and groaned. He clenched his hands and bent the rails. He roared and jumped off the rails towards the turret. Nitro, Razor, and the other prisoners, watched in awe as Crackdown grabbed onto the turret with both hands. The turret moved down and fired point blank at Crackdowns head.
He winced as the bullets tore a noticeable hole in his head. He ignored the pain and let his rage keep him focused on the turret. He held onto the turret with one arm and clenched his other arm. He tensed up and roared loudly, punching the turret with intense strength. The turret dented at the punch causing it to squeak. The bullets inside the turret kept firing. Crackdown punched it again and bent the front. The bullets inside ignited within causing the turret to explode. The prisoners ducked in cover in their cells, avoiding the blast.
When the explosion subsided, the prisoners exited their cells. They gripped the rails and looked down at the cafeteria floor. Smoke was beginning to clear in the cafeteria, allowing the prisoners to get a clear view of the floor. Their mouths dropped when they saw Crackdown standing to full height, holding the smashed turret in his hand.
He painted as he held the turret in his hand. He looked at the turret and caught his breath. He clenched the turret in his hand and grinned. Crackdown roared victoriously, slamming the broken turret on the floor. He looked up at the prison cell floors and grinned. He stared at the shocked prisoners and started talking.
“There is nothing in this prison that can stop me. This is your chance! Follow me and together we can escape from this hell!” Crackdown roared to thunderous applause.
From the command center, security watched Crackdown and an army of prisoners escape out of the prison cells/Cafeteria.
“Bunch of animals.” The leader exclaimed, watching the inmates punch and attack a prison guard through the security cam.
“Call the Director! Tell him to get here with back up as fast as possible!” He ordered.
“Sir, there’s a breach on the east entrance.” A guard said. The leader walked over to the guard and looked at the cameras.
“They’ve broken out already?” He asked in surprise.
“No. It’s something else...” the guard said squinting at the monitor. The leader looked at the security camera and watched as two guards were knocked to the ground by a shadow on the wall.
The shadow grabbed a guards head and pulled it towards the wall, knocking the guard out. The second guard fired at the shadow on the wall, but to no effect. The shadow shifted towards the floor and became a dark blob on the floor. The shadow charged after the guard and grabbed on to him. The guard fired at the floor beneath him but it had no effect on the blob.
The leader stared at the screen in shock. The guard was lifted in the air and thrown at a wall. The blob moved at fast speeds through the halls.
“What the hell?” He whispered.
“Its coming this way!” The guard exclaimed. The man shook his head and stood straight.
“That things got a whole prison to deal with before he can get to us. I’m putting the whole prison in quarantine.” He said. He walked over to a desk and pulled out a microphone. He clicked the button on the side and spoke.
“This is Montagne speaking. The whole prison is in quarantine. Do not let the prisoners escape. Lethal force is authorized.”
Crackdown, Nitro Blast, and Razor, rushed down the corridors with an army of prisoners behind them. They heard Magnum over the intercom and scoffed. Crackdown turned and entered a hallway with guards holding riot shields. They fired at Crackdown with their assault rifles and held their position. Crackdown glared at them and charged towards the guards. They held their position and continued firing, bracing for impact. Crackdown roared at lifted both arms in the air. He slammed his arms on the guards shield and broke them instantly.
“Fall back! Fall back!” A guard said, running away.
Crackdown smacked a guard into the wall, cracking the metal. The other guards retreated and closed the door on them. The last guard inside the hallway screamed as he was assaulted by the prisoners.
Crackdown walked up to the metal door and stared at the window in the center. He saw the guards running away and closing another door behind them.
“Well now what?” Razor exclaimed.
“I’ll ram it open.” Crackdown said, stepping back.
“No. I got this.” Nitro said, stepping in front of Crackdown.
“What are you gonna do?” Razor asked.
“Just step back and watch.” Nitro said, flexing his arms. He looked at the metal door and focused. He raised his hand and opened his palms. Crackdown and Razor watched as Nitros hand glowed a lime green. They could hear a strange vibration oscillating in his hand. Nitro smiled and dropped his focus, he pushed his hand forward and the metal door glowed lime green.
The prisoners watched the door crack and groan until it exploded. The blast knocked a few pieces towards the prisoners. Crackdown brushed the pieces aside and looked at Nitro wide-eyed.
“How long you been hiding that?” Crackdown asked. Nitro looked st him and cracked his knuckles.
“Since the Incident.” He explained.
“We still got that door to deal with.” Razor said, pointing at the metal door at the end of the hallway.
Crackdown glared at the door ahead and tensed his body. He clenched his fists and feet, preparing to charge. He roared and charged towards the door with all his might. He ran through the hall quickly and reached the door. He stared at the approaching door and braced his body for impact.
He roared as his rock body made contact with the door. The door and the walls surrounding it, clanked and dented. Crackdowns charge at the door proved successful. He turned around and saw he had breached the door and rammed it open.
BEEP BEEP
Crackdown heard the beep and turned around. In front of him was another turret. He saw the chain on the machine gun turn and immediately raised his eyes.
“Get down!” He shouted out into the hallway. The prisoners heard the shout just in time to barely miss the barrage of bullets.
Crackdown stood in front of the door and held his position. Punching his arms into the ground. He gritted his teeth and stared at the turret as it unleashed hell on his body. The bullets tore through his rocky exoskeleton like paper. He felt every bullet dig into his body and take a chunk out of his rock form.
He clenched his fists as the rage inside built back up. He glared at the turret as his anger took over his mind. He kept his position and refused to falter. When Crackdown broke his limit, something astonishing happened. Crackdowns body began to thicken. The rocky exterior in his body changed to a solid black. Steam was starting to pour out of Crackdowns back. The rocks on his body began to expand rapidly, allowing them to become more rigid.
He was so focused on the turret that he didn’t notice the transformation he was undergoing. Nitro Blast looked up from the hallway as he laid prone on the floor. His eyes widened at the colossal size that Crackdown had grown. The turret fired at Crackdown with enough strength to take down a tank, but when Crackdown transformed, it was barely making a scratch.
Crackdown stood up to his full height, rising high above the turret. His body was no longer pushing back from the bullets impact. He glared at the turret and tensed his body up. In his rage, he roared at the turret with a nightmarish sound. The roar echoed through the room and carried itself through the airducts.
Out in a hallway, a shadowy figure traversed the prison with intense focus. It stopped in its tracks when it heard a roar carry through the air duct. He stopped and moved into the wall. His human outline appeared on the wall. He looked at the air duct that was on the ceiling and formed an idea. He clenched his fist and punches the air duct open. The shadow grinned and moved into the air duct, traveling inside.
Crackdown charged at the turret with steam coming out of his back. The bullets bounced off Crackdowns skin as he rushed towards the turret. He raised his fists high above his head and leaped in the air. He roared as he dropped towards the turret. He landed on the turret and slammed it with his fists. The turret bent down at an inoperable position. The turret beeped rapidly, knowing something was wrong. Smoke came out of the turret as it beeped.
Crackdown stood up and stared down at the turret with rage. He roared and slammed his fists into the turret again and again. The prisoners stood up in the hallway, realizing the turret wasn’t firing.
The turret cracked and bent under Crackdowns punches. He punched the turret several times. Smoke poured out the turret as it could no longer handle the attacks. He slammed his fists into the turret one final time. His fists made contact with the turret and ignited a chain of explosions inside the turret. The prisoners took cover inside the hallway as the explosion quickly filled the room.
Nitro raised his hand in the air and concentrated. The huge explosion began to move unnaturally. The air forced it to travel into the hallway and flow into Nitros hand. Razor watched as the blast traveled into Nitros hand. Within seconds the explosion was absorbed by Nitros hand. The prisoners inside the hallway stood up completely dumbfounded. Razor closed his eyes and gasped, clutching his chest.
“Lord I’ll never judge your creations again.” Razor said, forming a cross with his hand.
Nitro walked out of the hallway and entered the room with Crackdown. He looked up at Crackdown and clapped his hands in applause. Crackdown panted heavily as his rage subsided, the adrenaline leaving him. His rock body started to fall off him as he panted. He struggled to stand and leaned to the side, falling into a wall. The wall broke as Crackdown fell, leading to a different hallway.
Nitro watched as Crackdown decreased in size and shed his rock body. He raised an eye at the transformation and stood his ground. Crackdown fell onto the floor, causing the floor to tremble. His rock body fell off completely, leaving his human form lying on top of the rocks. Nitro and Razor rushed over to Crackdown and lifted his arms. They lifted him and put his arms on their shoulders. Crackdown breathed heavily in exhaustion.
“Don’t die on us. You’re our ticket out of here.” Razor said.
“You alright?” Nitro asked, dropping him to a seat in the room.
“I’ve never done that before.” Crackdown said, feeling tired.
“That didn’t happen the last time I let my rage take control.” Crackdown said, looking up at Nitro and Razor.
“You find out something new everyday.” Razor said.
“Can you stand up?” Nitro asked, giving Crackdown a open hand.
“Yeah... I don’t know if I’ll be able to change back anytime soon.” Crackdown said, grabbing onto his hand.
“We need to get out of here.”
“What we need is to get in the control room and opened up these doors.” Razor said.
“Easier said then done. This place is a fortress as is. Without Crackdown we’re nothing against those turrets or the guards. We’re lucky to have as many guns as we do already.” Nitro said.
How about that hole in the wall? It leads to a different hallway. We could go through that and see where it takes us.” Razor said.
“It’s worth a shot.” Nitro said.
“Then let’s go.” Crackdown said, slightly out of breathe.
Inside the control room, Montagne watched the prisoners climb into the hole and enter the hallway. He narrowed his eyes and put a hand on his chin.
“They’re heading into the infirmary. If they there they-
“They’ll have access to the elevators.” Montagne finished.
“Tell the guards to head to the infirmary. We have to stop them at all costs.” He ordered.
Suddenly the air duct door kicked open, flying towards the wall on the other side. Montagne and the guards quickly raised their guns at the air duct. Inside the air duct, they could see a shadowy blob crawl out of the duct. Their eyes widened in realization at the sight of the blob.
“Fire!” Montagne ordered. The guards fired at the blob with their rifles and put bullets into the air duct. The blob was unphased by the attack. Montagne realized this and waved his arms.
“Hold your fire! Hold your fire!” Montagne shouted. The guards stopped shooting and stared at the blob. The blob shifted towards the floor and expanded in a purple glow. Montagne crossed his eyes and stared at the human figure rising out of the blob.
A black skinned human with a black hat and bandanna covering everything except his eyes rose out of the blob. He wore a black overcoat that covered his body. His legs turned into shadow at his knees.
“What are you?” Montagne asked, glaring at the shadowy human.
“Call me the bogeyman.” He said. Montagne heard the voice and thought it was familiar. He put that thought away and crossed his eyes. He dropped his rifle and clenched his fists, flexing his muscles.
“Drop him!” Montagne ordered.
The shadow raised his hand and lunged at a guard. The guard was pushed into the wall by the shadow. He screamed as he hit the wall in pain. The guard groaned as he fell to the floor.
The other two guards jumped into action, punching at the shadow. The 2nd guard threw a punch at the shadows back, his hand phasing through him. The guards eyes widened at the sight of his hand going through the man’s body. The shadow turned around and uppercutted the guard, hitting his jaw. The punch knocked the lights out of the guard, dropping hard on the floor.
The shadow looked down at the unconscious guard with pity. He raised an eyebrow when he felt a gun click behind his head. The gun fired and a bullet came flying out of the shadows head. He looked at his unscathed forehead and rolled his eyes. The bullet phased through him. The shadow turned around looked at the guard. The guard looked at him with the gun raised and shrugged. He dropped the gun and punched the shadow, getting a successful hit on his face.
The shadow glared at the guard, rubbing his face through the bandanna. He raised his fist and released a blast of dark energy towards the guard. The blast hit the guard in the chest, forcing the air to escape from his lungs. He wheezed as he was thrown to the floor. The shadow glared at the downed guard and shook his head.
“Hey!” Montagne shouted, throwing a wrench at the shadow. The shadow heard the incoming wrench and quickly dived. Montagne glared at the shadow, the two of them making eye contact.
“You gonna fight me like a man?” Montagne asked, raising his fists. The shadow man looked at Montagne and smirked behind the bandanna.
The shadow stood to his full height and snapped his finger. The shadowy mist surrounding him crawled into his legs and vanished. He glared at Montagne and showed his whole body, no longer hiding his legs in shadow. Montagne raised an eye at the shadows human form. The feeling of familiarity grew inside him. He shrugged the feeling away and walked back and forth in front of the man.
“You’re quiet. Got a friend in here? That why you went through all this trouble to get here?” Montagne said crossing his eyes. The shadow man clenched his fists and narrowed his eyebrows. The two of them began to circle around the room staring at each other.
“You’re smart. You went here first. You knew you could have complete control of the prison if you had this room. But you’re not gonna get it. I’m not gonna let some Unique break into my prison and help his friends escape. If you want to unlock this prison, you’ll have to go through me.” He said, glaring at the shadow.
They stopped circling each other and stood there quietly for a moment. The shadow scoffed and smiled behind the bandanna. He clenched his fists and listened to them crack. Montagne did the same and tensed his muscles. The shadow stared at Montagne and nodded.
“Your funeral.” He said, raising his fists. Montagne narrowed his eyes and focused on him. They stared into each other and slowly moved closer. The two of them inspected their form, both looking for an opening.
Montagne looked at his opponent and groaned inside his head. He couldn’t see any opening for him to go on. His opponent was an experienced fighter. Perhaps more experienced than himself. He moved closer to him and thought of an idea. He needed to see how good his opponent could counter his attack.
Montagne went for the punch, aiming at his head. The man grabbed Montagne's fist and stopped it in his tracks. Montagne smacked his hand away from his fist. He took steps back and glared at the man. They circled each other in silence.
“He’s stronger than me. He stopped my fist without straining. I’ll need to rethink my approach.” Montagne said in his head.
Montagne rushed towards him and threw another punch. The man grabbed it as expected, allowing Montagne to punch his stomach with his other hand. The man’s grip fell from the hit. Montagne quickly broke his hand free and punched him in the face.
Montagne quickly pushed him away, allowing him to catch his breath. The man clutched his stomach and face, he looked up at Montagne panting.
Montagne clenched both fists and advanced towards the man. Montagne threw a punch towards the right side of his face. The man dodged the attack and kicked Montagne in the knee. Montagne stumbled back, letting himself open. The man quickly rushed forward and punched Montagne twice in the chest. Montagne gasped as the air flew out of his lungs.
The man grabbed Montagne shoulder and clenched it. Montagne winced as he felt pain from his pressure point. Montagne inhaled as much air as he could and pushed him away. The man groaned as he was pushed back. Montagne stood tall and raised his fists again.
“Come on.” Montagne said, motioning his fingers towards him. The shadowman raised his fists and lunged towards Montagne. The two made contact and threw punches at each other.
Montagne punched at the man with all his might. The shadowman blocked his every attack and made punches of his own. Montagne winced at every hit, but kept on. He’d push the man away only for him to come back immediately. He blocked an incoming punch and saw the man’s other hand going in for the stomach. He pushed the hand he held onto away and quickly gripped the other hand with both hands.
The man looked up at Montagne and shook his head. Montagne gritted his teeth as he tried to hold onto the fist. The shadowman pushed him and forced him to step back. Montagne held onto the shadows hand as he was pushed towards the wall.
Montagne strained and started to turn red at the strength being put into the man’s fist. He looked for an escape and quickly had an idea. Montagne smacked the fist away and quickly sidestepped, catching the shadow by surprise. He roared loudly, pushing the man towards the wall. The shadow hit the wall and growled. Montagne punched the shadow in the back repeatedly. He put as much hits as he could on the man. The shadowman groaned in pain at the punches on his back and tried to recover. He lifted a hand in the air, only for Montagne to grab onto it.
He roared again and lifted the man into the air, dropping him to the floor. The shadowman audibly groaned, his chest pulsing a lot. Montagne looked at the downed man and sighed. He clenched his fists and put his boot on the man’s chest.
“Give up yet?”
The shadowman lifted his head and stared into Montagnes eyes. He glared at him with his eyes flashing in a red glow for a second. The action caused Montagne to lose his guard.
“Never.” He said, grabbing onto Montagnes boot with both hands. He closed his eyes and lifted Montagne with his foot. The action made Montagne trip to the floor. The shadowman quickly stood up, still holding onto his boot. Montagne hit the floor with a thud and struggled to recover.
He attempted to kick the shadowman with his boot but failed. The shadowman roared through his bandanna and threw Montagne across the room. Montagne shouted out as he was flung across the room. He hit a desk with buttons on it and accidentally hit the control panel on it. He fell to the floor and barely managed to catch himself.
The room changed from its red glow to a normal yellow. The room was no longer in emergency shutdown. Montagne looked up at the ceiling and saw the normal lights were back on. He gasped and slowly lifted himself up. He struggled to stand and held onto the desk for support. He looked at the controls and quickly realized the whole prison was no longer quarantined.
“No.” He gasped in a low voice. The shadowman walked over the downed Montagne and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around. Montagne looked up at the man and glared exhaustingly.
“You just put the whole city at risk.”
“ I don’t care.” He replied in a deep voice. Montagne listened carefully to the way he said that and got the strange feeling again. His thoughts were interrupted when the shadowman grabbed his neck and squeezed it. Montagne struggled to breath and attempted to push his arm off.
Montagne looked into the man’s eyes and realized he recognized them. He weakly lifted his arm towards the man’s bandanna and pulled it down. The man raised his eyes when he realized what he was doing, letting go of Montagne. Montagne moved the bandanna down and saw his face. Shock quickly filled him as he stared at his face. Montagne raised his eyes wide and coughed, struggling to breath.
“Sombra...? Why..?” Montagne barely said out loud. Sombra stared at Montagne and narrowed his eyes.
“Sorry.” He said. He clenched his fist and punched Montagne hard in the head, knocking him unconscious. He watched Montagnes unconscious body slump to the floor. Sombra gently set him down on the floor. He stood up and groped his hand, cracking his knuckles.
He winced at the pain in his hand and stared at the machine on the desk. He could see the whole prison through the monitors. In one of the monitors, was a whole army of guards armed to the bone with firepower, walking down a hallway. He looked at the keyboard and pressed a button. He looked up at the monitor and saw the door in front of them closed. He quickly pressed another button and closed the other door behind them. He grinned when he successfully trapped them. Less work for him to deal with.
Meanwhile, deeper inside the prison. Crackdown, Nitro, and Razor, led the prisoners into a part of the prison that was quickly identified as the hospital. This side of the prison was meant for recovering prisoners, the insane, and the permanently crippled men serving a life sentence. They walked by a locked room with a large window. Razor peeked inside and saw a man in there sitting silently in the middle of the room. He looked at the man and noticed he was laughing, tears falling off his face. Razor gulped and quickly moved away from the glass.
Up ahead, Nitro heard a monitor beep and walked over to the sound to investigate. He saw a room covered by blankets and could see the monitor through the sheets. He lifted his hand and moved the sheet to the side, staring into the room. Inside the room was a table with a man laying on it. The room dimmed lightly from the lightbulb above the table. He raised an eye and grew curious. The monitor beeped at a normal pace. Nitro quickly realized it was a heart monitor.
He stared at the monitor for a few seconds before getting interrupted by the man coughing. Nitro looked at the man and took a step back. He coughed into the air loudly.
The man on the table opened his eyes and coughed, turning his head to the side. The two of them made eye contact and stared at each other for a minute. The man was old and wrinkly. His face was covered by a long white beard. His skin was crimson and very aged. The grey hair on his head had fallen off from old age, leaving hair on the sides above his ears.
Nitro frowned at the old man and felt a small bit of pity for him. The man stared at him slightly wheezing. A loud cough would break the silence every now and then.
“Do you have a name?” Nitro asked. The man stared at him with narrowed eyes.
“Of course.” He answered with a harsh whispery voice. The old man coughed loudly and groaned weakly.
“My name does not matter. You’re not dressed like the doctors here. You are a prisoner?”
“We’re breaking out of this hellhole.” Nitro said.
“I commend you for your escape.” He said. Nitro nodded and looked at the old man’s arms. His wrists were strapped down to the table. Nitro stared at the old man and grew intrigued.
“We’re you a prisoner here?”
“I was... at one point. Now I’m here, serving my sentence. I was once the best. Strong. Influential. But... my glory days are over.
The sheet covering the room reeled back. Razor walked in with Crackdown and looked at Nitro with confusion.
“We gotta keep moving.” Razor said.
“Who’s he?” Crackdown asked looking at the old man. Nitro turned his head and stared at them. He looked back at the old man and sighed. He leaned over the table and unhooked the restraints on the man’s wrists.
“I know a guy. He can get you back to good health.” Nitro said.
“No. It’s too late for me I’m afraid. If I leave this room I’ll surely die in minutes.”
“If you’re gonna die without this shit then what’s the point in living?” Crackdown asked. The oldman looked behind Nitro and saw the large muscular man staring at him.
“I recognize you from the TV. You’re a Unique. An extraordinary one. It’s a shame you were stopped by the Agency before showing your true power.” The old man said. Crackdown looked at the old man and narrowed his eyes, folding his arms.
“He’s a Unique, too.” Razor said, pointing at Nitro with his hook hand.
“I also recognize you. A mob boss like you stooping down to the level of a burglar. You even lost a hand? Pathetic.” He said, getting a reaction from Razor.
“Yeah? I can still shove this up your- “ Nitro put a hand on his chest and stopped him from advancing.
“You still didn’t answer my question.”
“Quitting is for the weak. That’s how us monsters survive.” He said, coughing up. Crackdown scoffed and smiled.
“So, why’d they put you down here with the rest of these maniacs in confinement?” Razor asked.
This is where they keep the ones who are too dangerous. It’s why they put me down here with the rest of these... freaks.” The old man explained.
“You must’ve been some badass in your day.” Razor commented. The man got a laugh from that while coughing weakly.
“Oh, I was...” he smiled weakly, coughing up again. He wheezed when he stopped coughing, relaxing on his pillow.
“Is the rest of your army here?”
“They’re waiting for orders in the hall.” Nitro answered.
“Say you don’t happen to know a way out of this place, do you?” Razor asked.
“The main elevator is to the left. It takes you to every floor in the prison. Even the East Entrance.” The man answered, wheezing a bit.
“Thanks.”
“No, thank you. I needed to stretch my hands after staying still for so long.”
“We didn’t introduce ourselves. I’m Nitro Blast.”
“Call me, Tirek.” He said, getting a reaction from the three of them.
“Holy shit...” Razor whispered.
“You’re kidding?” Crackdown asked, completely dumbfounded.
“I assure you that is my name. You have my respect. Now leave before the guards figure out you’re in here.” Tirek said.
“You have ours as well. Thank you.” Nitro nodded.
“Let’s go.” Nitro said, leaving the room. Razor soon followed with him. Crackdown stared at Tirek for a second before leaving the room as well. Tirek laid there with a smile. He coughed a little and started to wheeze again.
The three of them left the medical wing and entered the elevator. The prisoners took the stairs while they went on the elevator.
The elevator opened, revealing the open room with a massive hole leading to the outside. They looked around the room and saw guards on the floor that were either unconscious or dead.
“Crackdown! You made it!” Neo said, spreading his arms wide. Crackdown walked over to Neo and exchanged a handshake. Neo looked to the side and saw Razor looking at him.
“Well look who it is. My rival.” Neo said, walking over to Razor.
“Sorry about the hand.” Neo said, going for the handshake.
“At least I still have both my eyes.” Razor said. Neo snorted out a small chuckle.
“Good one.” He said.
“I did my job and tested the Uniques for you. I have a lot of things to say.” Razor said, shaking his hand.
“We’ll get to that later.”
“Brother!” Misty exclaimed.
“Sis.” Nitro exclaimed.
Crackdown watched the two reunite and shrugged. He walked over to Neo and Razor and asked a question.
“So when are we leaving?”
“Not till Spooky gets here?” Neo answered.
“Spooky?” Crackdown repeated. On cue, a door opened and a shadowy blob crawled on the floor.
“There he is. Speak of the devil.” Neo grinned. The shadow rose out of its blob form and shifted into a human figure. The shadow walked over to Neo, fully transitioning to human.
“Who is he?” Crackdown asked. He looked at Sombra’s face and felt like he had seen him before.
“Friend of a friend. He unlocked the doors for us.”
“Does he have a name?” Crackdown said.
“Yeah, get this. His name is Sombra.” Neo said. Crackdown grew even more confused at the revelation.
“Sombra? Isn’t that the guy who-“
“That was another Sombra. Don’t think about it too much. I’m over it.” Neo said. Crackdown narrowed his eyes and folded his arms, feeling confused. He shrugged and let it go for now.
“Come on. The guards outside are all taken care of. Let’s get out of this shithole.” Neo said, walking towards the van.
The group of criminals entered the van and strapped in. They quickly drove out of the prison in a rush. They drove past Tartarus county line and entered Everfree county. The drive was so long that the sun had fallen, leaving the forest dark and eerie. They reached a small clearing and drove through it. Crackdown looked out the window and recognized the building. Neo’s house.
“Can you believe the police cleared out of here in a week? Dumbasses. Dicks took all my shit though.” Neo laughed.
The van pulled up to the garage and exited the vehicle. Sombra was quiet the whole time. He walked by everyone with a serious face and quickly entered the house. Crackdown watched Sombra enter the house and narrowed his eyes. He didn’t trust that man one bit.
Neo and the others entered the house and walked over to the living room. In the center of the room was a very well-kept man. Beside him was another man wearing a leather jacket. His face was completely frozen in ice. Neo learned about his name before he left to the prison. Freezer Burn stared at the group and nodded when he saw Sombra. Sombra nodded back and stood beside the well-kept man.
“Missed me?” Neo asked.
“Who the hell is this guy?” Razor asked.
“Silence.”
“Excuse me? Did you just say silence at me?” Razor glared at him, taking full offense. Freezer Burn narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. The man looked at Freezer and lifted his hand. Motioning him to stand down. Freezer looked at the hand and understood the meaning. He reversed his advance and returned to his position.
“My name is Dr. Prion. I am the one who orchestrated your escape with the help of your boss, Neo. I assume you all followed Neo's orders with much respect. However, the role of leadership will no longer be under Neo hands, but mine. I will be your leader for the present time and you will listen to everything I say and follow my orders without question. Failure to do so will result in making an example of you. You will have only one warning. No more and no less. Do I make myself clear?” Prion said solemnly. Razor stared at Prion with anger and grew more offended. He stepped forward in front of the group and clenched his one hand into a fist.
“Like Hell you will! Listening to Neo and taking his orders like one of his stupid henchmen was bad enough. I'm a goddamn mob boss and I'll be damned if I'm gonna take orders from you or anyone in this house." Razor glared. The room went eerily quiet at Razors outburst. The group exchanged glances at each other, unsure about this. Prion looked at Neo, who looked like he was about to crack a smile.
"Very well. It seems I will be making an example tonight." Prion lifted his hand and glared at Razor.
"You trynna fight me, grandpa? If so, this is gonna be a lot of fun for me." Razor said, raising up his hook hand into a combat position. Razor stepped forward and started to walk towards Prion. He started to grin at the sight of punching this fool in the face. Razor was about to reel in for a punch but he stopped. He felt extremely dizzy all of sudden and see his vision start to get blurry.
He took a step back and started to wobble, "ugghhhh..." He groaned. He unclenched his fist and touched his forehead, feeling sweat begin to drip out his pores.
"What the hell is happening to me?" He thought out loud. It was all he was able to say before he suddenly felt a huge blast of pain erupting inside his head. Razor stumbled backwards and gripped the sides of his head with his hands, feeling the cold metal hook on his side. The group took a step back and avoided Razors path as he fell to his knees in front of him. Razor closed his eyes and winced in pain as his head felt like was pulsating, a massive headache and ringing in his ears only added to the pain he could feel. Crackdown watched Razor with arms crossed and began to grow disturbed. It was at this moment he realized the well-kept man in front of them was a unique that did not care about or show any restraint to the people who disobey him. Crackdown stared at Prions emotionless face and wondered what he was doing to Razor.
Razor groaned even more and started to scream in pain. Neo looked at his rival on the floor of his house screaming in pain. This was something he used to dream about, but even Neo couldn't help but cringe at the sight of Razors torture. Nitro was terrified at the level of pain that the man was causing to Razor. He didn't know what else to do but stand and watch. Misty covered her mouth in horror and hid behind Nitro. She couldn't bare to watch whatever was happening to Razor. Prion seemed to notice her not watching and raised his voice.
"Look at this, people. See what happens when you dont obey." He said, keeping his hand facing Razor. Razor screamed louder than even he knew he could. He knees grew wobbly and he dropped onto the hardwood floor, curling up like a child. He opened his eyes and could barely see the people around him. He felt a strange feeling grow inside him. Like something had just grabbed hold of his spine and refused to let go. Sharp pains lit up his back like he was lit on fire. Then he felt the bumps. Looking at his hand, his tear-filled eyes watched in horror as his hand and arm grew red and swelled up. Razor quickly realized his whole body was swelling up and his veins looked like they were about to explode. He could only scream even louder at the feeling of blisters forming on his body and face. It was at this moment that he could no longer scream, instead he gurgled and choked as he felt his throat begin to close.
Razor grabbed his throat in an attempt to breath and accidentally poked himself with his own hook. Razor could barely look up at Prion through his blurred vision and hideously swollen face. The pain was so intense yet he never fainted. He wondered if Prion had somehow prevented him from fainting in order to experience the pain. He looked at Prion with fear for his life, his eyes begging to show him mercy so the pain would stop. Razor watched Prion drop his hand and just stare at him with blank emotionless eyes. Razor wondered if this was how he was going to die. Dying in his rivals house, from the power harbored by a unique that showed no emotion to the action he was causing. Razors mind went back to wondering how he could still be conscious even when going through this immense pain.
"You're probably wondering how you're still alive in your current state. That is because of the power I have within me. I've infected you with a disease that causes you to instantly swell up and blister throughout your entire body. I've been told it feels like you're on fire. That feeling you have on your spine that feels like its being grabbed? I've placed tumors on a single vertabrae on your spinal cord. The paralysis should be setting in right about now."
Razor felt the pressure in his spine disappear and he immediately fell to the floor face first. Prion snapped his fingers on his right arm, cuing in Freezer.
"lift him up from the hair." Prion ordered. Freezer Burn approached the paralyzed Razor and grabbed him by his hair. Razor could only move his eyes and mouth, but he could still feel the pain caused by Prion throughout his paralyzed body. Unable to move his face, Razor could only see Freezer shoes approach him. Freezer grabbed Razor by the hair and made sure his face was looking at Prion. Razors badly swollen face had turned a deep purple, tears streaming down his face. Razor looked at Prion with begging eyes, he could still feel the pain throughout his body yet he was unable to move anything below his neck.
"By now you must realize you're paralyzed from the neck down. Thats the tumors. I've created them to block the ability for the brain to make movement. I did not make them block your pain receptors. In a way, you're experiencing a false paralysis. Cant speak because of your throat, correct? It's not. I've simply tricked your brain into thinking your throat is blocked. You are still awake and breathing simply because I allow it." Prion stated. Razor could not believe what he was hearing. The fact he was still awake was because Prion was controlling everything in his body.
"You see, Razor, I have a gift that I have been able to use to its full extent in order to help fuel my own research. I have experimented my powers on countless people both living and dead hundreds of times to the point I have reached complete control and precision of my powers. All it takes is a wave of my hand and your brain will cease to function and you're life will end in a second. However, I can also reverse this pain and make it end in an instant. I can tell you want this to end so badly, Razor. I can regenerate your body and undo all the harm I've caused it. I can even bring your hand back if I wanted. All it takes to make it stop is to blink. So I ask you this, Razor. You will listen to and follow everything I say. If you fail to do so again you will die a horrible and painful death just like this one. In exchange, I will give you back your hand and even help you get revenge on whoever took your hand. So what will it be Razor? Blink twice and I'll save you. Don't blink and I'll make this the most painful last minutes of your life." Prion said. Razor looked at him with fear. Fear that left him unable to think correctly. Prion had beaten him without even laying a finger on him. Even worse, he had done it in front of his rival, Neo. Razor could barely see what was on his right but in his peripheral vision he could see Neo. For the first time in his life, he saw Neo physically disgusted and just as horrified as him. Prion showed no visible regret or care about him at all. He couldn't even tell if Prion was feeling any sadistic pleasure out of his torment. Seeing no other way out of this but death, Razor had made his choice. Razor looked back up at Prion and stared at him for what felt like eternity until he had finally blinked.
"Smart," He said, raising his hand up,"Drop him." He said, Freezer let go of Razors hair and watched with amusement as Razors paralyzed face fell on to the floor again. Freezer walked back to his original spot and watched the group for anyone else that dared to challenge Prion. He could see the look of terror in the groups eyes, even the annoying old guy was terrified.
Prion waved his hand over Razors body and the group watched in shock as the swelling and blisters vanished from his skin. The blemishes that once covered his face were gone as well. Razors eyes widened as the pain in his body started to go away. He felt a strange feeling in his body that felt as if a huge burst of energy formed inside him. Razor realized that Prion was telling the truth and was fixing him. The feeling that his throat was closed disappear and he slowly regained his movement. In a matter of seconds, Razor lifted himself up with both his arms on the floor and gasped for a breath of air. Feeling relieved he could breath again.
"My God..." Nitro said in shock. He along with the group were at a loss of words at Razors near instant full recovery. Even Crackdown had stared at Razor with his mouth gaping at the sight of him.
"That is what you can expect to happen when you disobey me from now on. I can see the fear in all of your eyes. You dont know what to think of me. You might be wondering just who I am exactly. In time, you will know and you will learn. But for now I simply ask that you find a room and rest for tonight. Tomorrow morning you will meet down here again and we will have a discussion on our future course of action. Am I clear?" Prion asked.
"Yes, sir." The group answered in unison.
"Very well then. You are dismissed." Prion said. Watching as the group rushed upstairs. Razor had gotten himself back onto his feet and felt revitalized. But at the moment, Razor wanted nothing more than to get away from Prion. However, he was brought to a halt by the sound of Prion calling out his name.
"Razor." Prion said.
"Yes, sir?" Razor said, unintentionally cracking his voice. He turned around and gulped.
"I have read your file. I've read you're prone to anger rather easily. I suggest managing your anger in the future. Such a weakness is easily exploitable, especially now." Prion said with a smile. Razor froze up and stood there in silence at what he just heard. It was at this moment Razor realized he was setup. Prion had always intended to use him from the moment he arrived. Razor thought back to the moment it happened and realized just how much control of the situation Prion had. He knew he would be the hardest to convince so instead he was used as an example. Prion had planned this all from the very beginning.
Prion walked away with a victorious smirk on his face. Freezer Burn and Sombra both followed him out of the living room. Razor thought back to his meeting with Neo and fully realized just what a huge mistake he had made. He should have never listened. It was hours later when Razor finally fell asleep. He laid there in bed thinking of Prion. In all his years he had never been more afraid of someone in his life. The years of crime and near deaths in his career couldn't even compare to the pain he felt that night. And for the first time in 30 years, he fell asleep crying.
Inside the prison at the hospital. Dead bodies painted the floor red. In the middle of the mess, a guard crawled weakly. His skin had turned a very pale grey. His bone structure clearly visible on his face. He crawled to another guards body and reached for the walkie talkie on his pants. He grabbed it and pulled it towards his face. He clicked the button and could hear the static through the speaker. He mustered up the strength to speak and made an attempt.
Just as he was about to speak, the talkie was grabbed by a bony red hand. The guard looked up and shuttered. It was the man who did this. Tirek.
“I won’t kill you. You have a very special role to play. I have a message for you to deliver.” Tirek said. The weak guard looked at him with intense fear. He was unable to say anything and could barely keep his head up. Tirek grabbed the guard by the collar and lifted him up.
“When the guards find you, and they will. I want you to tell them this.” Tirek ordered, he looked at his arm and tensed it. He could see muscles begin to form on his bony arm.
“Tell them, the Lord of Canterlot has been reborn.”
Sunny Flare sat on a bench inside the Agency locker room. She frowned at the image on her phone. It was a picture of Chirp that one of the scientists took. She stared at the little crystal dinosaur on the screen and sighed.
“Hey.” A voice called out.
Sunny Flare looked up at and saw Bonbon staring at her with concern.
“Are you alright, Sunny?” Bonbon asked.
“No. I’ve been thinking about all that’s happened. I can’t stop worrying about Chirp. Not to mention the power I have inside me now.”
“Sounds like you need a vacation.” Bonbon said.
“That’d be nice. But I don’t have anywhere to go, but home.” Sunny frowned.
“I have an idea. Me and Norman are supposed to go on a field trip to Camp Everfree for Canterlot High. Why don’t you come with us?”
“With you? To Camp Everfree?”
“Yeah. Think about it. A nice forest to get away from everything, you won’t have to worry about anything. It’ll be relaxing.”
“Do you think I’ll be allowed to go? I’m still a student at Crystal Prep.” Sunny asked.
“Of course you’ll be able to go. I can make up an excuse for you, easy. That is if you want to go?” Bonbon said, smiling. Sunny looked at Bonbon in silence and started to smile a little.
“Sure, I’ll go.” Sunny answered. Bonbon smiled and nodded.
“Good. Get to Canterlot High at 6. That’s when the bus leaves.” Bonbon said.
“I will.” Sunny said.
Author's Note
The last chapter is coming already. Please leave a comment for any spelling or grammar mistakes that you see. Thanks for reading.
Update 5/14/2020 I made several touch ups to the villain meetup. I'm sorry to anyone who had read this far and had been waiting. The truth is I entered college and with the national quarantine going on right now, I decided to check out my story. The last chapter is in 2 parts and I have finished the first part. However I will not post part 1 until I'm done with part 2. The problem is between then and now I have been so focused on other things going on in my life that I neglected coming here. The show ended and it looks like equestria girls has ended too. The point of what I'm saying is I don't know if I can finish this story. But I will try. I think about this story everyday and where it could lead and it inspires me. I hope I can find time to finish this year and continue writing again. Until then I thank you for reading my story. And as I reach my 5th anniversary on this site all I can say is wow.