The Nightwatcher Chronicles: Hunt Turned War

Chapters

The Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 6

The Introduction

You may have heard of me, or maybe not. If you’re reading this, and you worked with me or fortunately knew me as a friend, you already know who I am. Some know me as the “Guardian of Canterlot” but my official name is Nightwatcher.

Of course, those are not my real names. I mean, who in their right mind would want Nightwatcher for a real name. My real name is Matthew Wilson.

Before I became Canterlot’s vigilante hero, I was a teenage assassin for the CIA. The CIA had me eliminate terrorist leaders, tyrant leaders (including US government officials suspected of treason), etc. Sometimes, on rare occasions, The CIA sent me to investigate suspects, then kill them if proven guilty of their suspicious acts. I had approximately 1,000 confirmed kills that included the henchman. For these missions, the CIA sent me worldwide, including Sydney, Hong Kong, and Rio de Janeiro.

You are probably wondering how I managed to get around 1,000 kills without getting killed. Like the X-Men, I’m a mutant. There’s an invisible shield that surrounds my body. Anything going over 5 miles per hour can’t penetrate it. In other words, no bullet or any other projectile can hurt or kill me unless they put a gun on my chest. I’m still prone to punches, kicks, and sword and quarterstaff strikes, but I also have enhanced speed, stamina, and reflexes. Plus, my five senses (touch, smell, hearing, sight, and taste) are also improved. In addition, my ligaments are so well enhanced that I can do impressive acrobatic maneuvers. Also, I grew a little taller. I was five feet and four inches, but when I turned 15, I produced 15 inches.

Also, my strength increased. As a sophomore, I used to bench press 180 pounds, but now I can bench ten times more. Plus, I somehow had a memory chip implanted in my brain. Because of it, I know every martial art known to man, with a black belt in each one. I can fluently speak, write, and read over 100 languages, including Arabic, Swahili, Dutch, and Japanese. For another unknown reason, I can play the electric or acoustic guitar. I can play beginner music up to progressive music, like hardcore, head-banging awesomeness.

Since I work for the government as an assassin, I have weapons. I use an array of unorthodox weaponry: two katanas made up of proto-adamantium (the most robust metal on earth, so my sword can’t be broken), two.45 ACP caliber pistols with unlimited ammunition and a vibranium eleven-inch KA-BAR knife from the African country of Wakanda.

Eleven other mutants, including Hamato Kornata or Headhunter, went to my high school.

This book series is based on my and the Teen Mutant Alliance’s hunt for Headhunter after he escapes the Arkham Asylum (Thank you, Joker, and Harley Quinn) and goes to an alternate dimension. We make new and strange friends along the way. I hope you enjoy this series.

Chapter 1

It all started on a sunny spring afternoon when I arrived at the Carleton Elementary and Junior High School buildings. I arrived at the most unusual sight in my tiny hometown. The police, state troopers, Texas Rangers, and even the SWAT team were there.

A Texas Ranger was directing traffic while I drove my motorcycle up to the SWAT team van. He allowed me to go to the marked-off area. I assume his superiors told him to let me in. After stopping the motorcycle, I got off and turned it off. I removed my jacket hood and breathing apparatus with sunglasses attached to them. I could hear a lot of radio chatter from police cars and personal radios.

I walked to a plastic, fold-up table with some SWAT team personnel around it and a man with a jacket with "FBI" written on the back. The guy was an FBI agent and a good friend of mine, George Hartling.

Agent Hartling was a heavy-set man in his late forties. He, ironically, was from England and used to work for MI5 and Interpol, but he moved to the United States for a better line of government work.

Anyway, I walked up to him and tapped his shoulder. He turned around and smiled.

"Oh, Agent Nightwatcher. You made it just in time, old chap. I made sure the CIA notified you as soon as I heard about this," Hartling said as he motioned at the school buildings.

"Glad I could make it," I replied.

"Do you even know his real name?" one of the SWAT team members asked.

"Only the CIA director has the privilege of knowing Agent Nightwatcher's true identity. Not even the President of the United States knows it," Director Hartling responded. "Mainly because he doesn't know he exists."

"What's the situation, Director Hartling?" I asked, trying to cut to the chase.

"The elementary and middle schools have been taken hostage by a Japanese terrorist group called, the Burakkusunēku led by a man named Jon Kornata," responded Director Hartling.

"Oh crap," I mumbled.

The Burakkusunēku or the Black Snake was, as mentioned, a Japanese terrorist group. More specifically, a ninja terrorist group, as cliche as that is. They were started in the 13th century by a man named Hideki Kornata. The Black Snake began as a samurai war clan but later became a ninja terrorist group. The Black Snake began fighting the samurai they once served with and terrorizing the innocent people of Japan. Around the 19th century, they mysteriously disappeared. When I faced Headhunter the first time, he had raised the terrorist group from their ashes but with a group of other mutants, and I defeated them. Now, they were back for the second time, and I could only assume, stronger than before.

The name Jon Kornata rang a bell. Jon Kornata is Headhunter's older brother.

"Why in the world would he take the elementary and middle school hostage but not the high school," I asked, "What do they want?"

"They want fifty million dollars in cash by 4:30 pm, or they will start executing hostages," replied Director Hartling.

"Who would dare come out and say that?" I asked. If I am being honest, I was panicking because we were running out of time and fast.

"A young man named Hamato, I'm guessing he's Jon's younger brother," responded Agent Hartling.

My panic was replaced by shock. Over two years ago, I fought Hamato after he had both of my parents killed. Eventually, I defeated Hamato, and he was sent to Arkham Asylum. He was sentenced to stay there for the rest of his life and from Commissioner Gordon's account, was the youngest inmate Arkham Asylum ever had.

Hamato has the same powers as me, except he has x-ray vision, heat vision, and telekinesis. Also, he has a memory chip in his brain.

"How did he escape from Arkham Asylum?" I asked. I was pretty sure Joker had something to do with his escape.

"We don't know, and the GCPD didn't know either. They think that Jon Kornata helped him escape." Agent Hartling responded. "Anyway, we've decided to trick them by placing duffle bags that have fake money in front of the middle school, but they will be taken there by the best SWAT team members in the nation. We will rush in and save the day when the Black Snake representative comes out."

"In other words, I'm pretty useless," I grumbled, "That's not fair."

"Not exactly. You'll lead the SWAT team into the building. That sounds pretty fair to me," Agent Hartling continued.

"The plan sounds pretty stupid. I would rather have some Navy SEALs, the Army Rangers, the Green Berets, or something-"

Two gunshots cut me off. The shots didn't come from the police. They came from the junior high building.

One bullet hit my invisible shield, which would have hit me in the side of the head. The other bullet hit Agent Hartling in the left side of his chest. Blood splattered as Agent Hartling grasped his chest as he fell backward. I quickly knelt beside him. There was a hole through his jacket and blood surrounding the wound. The SWAT team member to my left called for a medic. Hartling tried to talk, but instead, he coughed up blood.

"Nightwatcher," Director Hartling whispered.

"Yes, sir, I'm here," I responded.

"Make sure you send Hamato's wretched soul back...to...Hell," Director Hartling forced out.

"Yes, sir," I said

Then Agent George Hartling's eyes rolled back in his head. I heard him take his last breath. Right about then, the medic showed up. I looked up at her and shook my head.

The SWAT team member hung his head in sorrow. The medic crossed her heart.

My face reddened with anger. At that moment, I decided it was time to end Hamato Kornata's reign of terror. I pulled my breathing apparatus over my mouth and jacket hood over my head. I casually pulled out my pistols and cocked them.

"What are you doing, Agent Nightwatcher?" asked the SWAT team member.

"I'm going in," I responded.

"You can't go in there! You'll get yourself killed!" the medic warned.

"If I can kick Hamato's butt once, I can do it again."

After silencing her, I turned around and walked towards the school, crossing the barrier. Whoever killed Director Hartling tried to reshoot me. A window was open, and I could see a person holding what looked like an Mk-47. When he saw me, he opened fire, but the bullets ricocheted off my shield.

"Naze anata wa shinanaideshou?!!"

(Japanese) "Why won't you die?!!" the shooter yelled in frustration.

I raised my pistol that was in my right hand and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew and hit the terrorist between the eyes.

I walked up to the front door of the middle school and pulled the door handle. It was unlocked, which surprised me. I opened the door and walked toward the office. I opened the door and, much to my astonishment, saw a clown. Well, it wasn't your usual circus clown. The clown wore brown cargo pants, a black t-shirt, and a creepy clown mask. The clown pulled out an Uzi, pointed it at my chest, and fired but the bullets merely bounced off my invisible shield.

I raised my left hand, aimed at the clown's head, and pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced the clown's mask and killed him. Two other clowns came out of the principal's office. I did have time to squeeze off two more shots, but I put my pistols back in their holsters. I pulled out my katanas and one clown charged at me with a knife. I plunged my katanas through his chest. He grunted and fell to his knees. I pulled my katanas out, and the other clown charged at me. I swung my right katana and decapitated him. I put my katanas back in their sheaths on my back.

I walked into Principal Alexander's office as he, a male student, the secretary, were on their knees and had their hands behind their heads.

"Don't worry, I'm here to get you out," I said.

"Thank you, mister. Who are you?" asked the kid.

"That's not important at the moment. All I need you to do is to get out of this building. Once you get out of the building, run like a criminal running from the law," I ordered

The three hostages ran out the door while I walked into the hall where a large trophy case was. Then, I realized I had walked into a trap.

There were at least a dozen Burakkusunēku terrorists on my right, armed with Mk-47s, MP5, AA-12s, and katanas. They were appropriately dressed like ninjas, besides the Kevlar body armor. Leading them was a man who was at least six foot five. He was a very muscular man. The man was Jon Kornata.

On my left were a dozen and half heavily armed clowns. They had assault rifles and an assortment of melee weapons. Leading the clowns were two people. From the way the clowns dressed, one of them was Harley Quinn. Right next to her was her boyfriend, the Joker.

"Hello, Joker and Harley Quinn. It's good to see you again," I greeted sarcastically.

"Hardly, Agent Nightwatcher. Hardly," Joker responded

"Shouldn't you be terrorizing Gotham City instead of little ole Carleton? Or cackling and laughing in a cell at Arkham?" I asked.

"If you must, Nightwatchy, I've been invited to participate in a little deal by our little friend, Hamato Kornata. Hopefully, that FBI friend of yours told you before he kicked the bucket, "Joker explained.

I growled as I lunged toward the Clown Prince of Crime.

"Uh, uh, uh. I wouldn't do that if I were you," Joker warned.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Harley, where's that boy I told you to keep an eye on?" asked Joker.

"Right here, Mistah J," replied Harley Quinn.

A clown slung a small boy at the foot of Harley Quinn. Then, the Joker pulled a syringe out of his suit coat, making him nervous.

"You want to know what's in this syringe?" Joker asked. "It's quite interesting."

I shrugged. Knowing Joker, he held a deadly weapon. I honestly could care less what was in it, but he started talking anyway.

"In this syringe contains the chemical used to execute criminals. Potassium Chloride, if I am not mistaken. From Harley's account, this chemical could kill a teenager in a few minutes. Long story short, if you take one step towards Jon or me, you will see this poor boy die an agonizing death," Joker said.

"You wouldn't dare," I snarled.

"I would do what Joker says. Just leave and let the Burakkusunēku do what we were destined to do," Jon Kornata suggested.

I didn't move a single muscle. I couldn't risk having a teenage boy die on my watch; I wouldn't want that on my conscience.

Joker held the needle at his side, so I raised my pistol and shot the needle. The needle burst into millions of pieces and the liquid splashed on the floor. The teenage boy made a run for it and ran past me and out the front door.

"Aww… you're no fun," Joker sighed.

"I didn't want to be," I said through gritted teeth.

Joker snapped his fingers at Harley Quinn, and she pulled a bat from behind her and charged at me. She swung at my head, but I ducked and drop-kicked her. I grabbed the bat and threw it like a spear at the Joker. The bat hit Joker in the forehead. It didn't kill him, but it knocked him out unconscious. Harley tried to get up, but I slammed her head to the ground.

Then, Jon swung his fist at my face. He must have snuck up behind me. I caught his fist in mid-flight and twisted his wrist at a 270-degree angle. Then, I heard the cracking of bone. Jon winced in pain. Next, I head-butted him, I don't recommend doing that, and he staggered back.

"Feels good, doesn't it," I taunted

“Anata, Naitou-otcha o nejikomu.”

(Japanese) "Screw you, Nightwatcher," Jon snarled.

Then, he pulled out a katana and swung at my neck, but I leaned back to avoid the deadly blade. I holstered my pistol and drew both of my katanas. Then, he brought down his katana to slice my skull from the temple, but I made an "x" with mine to block the blow.

“Anata wa kono tatakai ni katsu koto wa arimasen.”

(Japanese) "You won't win this fight," snarled Jon.

“Watashi wa sore ni kazoemasen, Jon.”

(Japanese) "I wouldn't count on it, Jon," I responded.

I kicked Jon in the thigh, and he dropped to the floor, katana still in hand. Then, I bashed his head into my knee; I don't recommend doing that either.

"You're gutsier than I thought," Jon groaned.

"It doesn't take any guts to fight a seasoned terrorist. They always underestimate me," I bragged.

Then, I realized I had made a bad mistake by bragging.

Jon slammed the hilt of his katana against my shin, and I collapsed in pain as I dropped my katanas. Jon got up, chuckling as I was holding my leg in pain. He pulled an M9 from his holster and pointed it at my head.

"Hamato warned me not to underestimate you. I didn't heed his warning, but now I have the upper hand. Now you will die, Agent Nightwatcher," Jon growled.

He pulled the trigger, but the bullet merely bounced off my shield. He raised his left eyebrow and fired twice more as I grinned.

"Why won't you die?" yelled Jon.

"Because I can't," I snarled.

I pulled out my pistol on my left leg, aimed quickly, and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew and hit Jon between the eyes. He groaned and fell sideways as I got up and picked up my katanas. Then, I slid them back into my sheaths.

As I looked around, the rest of the clowns and terrorists were silent. They were amazed that I defeated the Joker, Harley Quinn, and Jon Kornata so quickly.

"Well, what are you looking at?" I asked.

Five clowns and five terrorists stepped forward. The clowns charged, but I pulled out my other pistol and twisted around with guns blazing. I dispatched the charging Joker goons and terrorists quickly. Within two minutes, I killed the rest of the Joker goons and the terrorists in the hallway. Then, I saw a dark figure from the corner of my eye.

The figure was a teenager with long black hair, red pupils, and dark gray skin. He was wearing a black shirt and black jeans. The strange figure was Hamato Kornata.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here. Agent Nightwatcher, or should I say, Matthew Wilson. What should I call you today?" sneered Hamato.

"Let's go on a fake name basis," I snarled. "I didn't expect you to be smart enough to side with the Joker and Harley Quinn, escape your cell at the Arkham Asylum, and take two-thirds of the campus hostage."

"Well, I'm Arkham's best motherfucking juvenile delinquent," Headhunter sneered.

Hamato was also known for his profanity which didn't make him too popular with school administrators.

"Watch your language. There are children around," I said tauntingly. "I doubt you want little kids beating you up."

I regretted saying that because I felt myself being lifted off the ground and thrown into the trophy case. Trophies, basketballs, and photos fell onto my body.

He did that because I brought up a bad memory of his. He called a little kid's parents "gay penetrating assholes" when they chewed him out for cussing out a cop. Then a bunch of five- and seven-year-olds attacked him. They beat him up with socks filled with mud, shoes, and even a bicycle helmet. It was funny at the time. Headhunter was always sore when that memory came up.

"Don't ever bring that up again, you…you," Hamato stuttered.

"Can't think of a good insulting name, can you?" I snarled.

Hamato's eyebrows furrowed, and he charged at me. I had hit his soft spot. When he got close enough, I swung my fist for a throat shot move. I felt my fist connect to his neck and the impact knocked him off his balance. He jumped back up and swung a wakizashi short sword at my throat. He missed by a few millimeters and turned his free hand at my face, which I dodged and punched him in the ribs. He doubled back and attacked again. Hamato swung for an uppercut and slammed into my diaphragm. I staggered back and tried to catch my breath, but as you know, in martial arts fights, there are no pauses. I felt a cold, painful blade slash my right cheek and cry out in pain. I touched my cheek, and blood covered my hand in my blood.

"What's the matter, Agent Nighwatcher," taunted Hamato.

He does another uppercut and hits me in the chin. I fell backward and hit the floor. My vision was blurry and fuzzy, but Hamato made the mistake of standing over me and laughing. I quickly drew my knife from its sheath and stabbed it into Hamato's left leg. Blood gushed out, and he cried out in pain.

"Damn you, you motherfucking asshole," he cursed out loud. By then, my vision had gotten better.

I got up and performed a side-thrust kick to his face. I heard the cracking of the cartilage of his nose. Once again, Hamato catches me off guard. He uses his telekinesis to throw me against the wall

"You will pay for this, Matthew," Hamato sneered.

He pulled my knife out of his leg and threw it down the hall. He limped towards the door leading to the bus lane behind the elementary and junior high. I rolled onto my stomach and pulled out my right pistol. My aim was off due to the pain I endured. I squeezed the trigger, and the bullet pierced his right shoulder. Hamato, once again, cried out in pain. Despite the bullet in his shoulder, he pulled open the door and made a run for it. I got up, but I heard a whoosh of air. I ducked, and a bat slammed into the wall. I turned around and stood straight up. The bat was partially submerged into the wall. The Joker was trying to pull the bat out.

"Need help, Joker?" I asked

Due to my enhanced strength, I could yank the bat out of the wall. I slammed the tip of the handle into the Joker's chest. He let go and staggered back.

"You are becoming a pain in my ass," Joker choked.

"I guess you know how Batman and Robin feel."

Joker ran at me with a small pocket knife in his hand. I did a flip kick when he was close enough and with perfect timing. I felt my boot connect to his jaw. I landed on my feet, and Joker went flying to the ground. He landed head-first into a wall, and the impact knocked him out for the second time

I ran after Hamato as I opened the door and turned to the bus lane. I saw Hamato driving a golf cart, of all things, down the bus lane. I took off after him, hoping to catch him. When I rounded the corner of the junior high, I saw the golf cart enter an invisible portal. When he entered the portal, the portal flashed pink. I felt a surge of anger course through my body.

I knew I would have to chase him wherever he went. But my body was killing me. I needed to rest and recuperate. This was the start of my long and difficult odyssey.

Author's Note

Editing and revising were performed on 10/18/21

Chapter 2

After helping the police and SWAT teams take out the rest of the Black Snake terrorists, I returned to my girlfriend's house on my motorcycle. I was outraged that I missed Hamato. He was an enemy that I thought I could put behind me. That wasn't the case anymore. He was back, and I had let him get away. On the way to my girlfriend's house, I boiled in anger and frustration there.

My girlfriend was Jessie Anderson. Her family took me in after my parents were killed in a store shooting that Hamato orchestrated. She was 18 years old at this point.

Her dad, Timothy (Tim) Anderson, was an employee at one of Wayne Enterprises' local offices. Her mom, Diana, died after a five-year battle with cancer. Her brother, Todd Anderson, was a US Army Ranger stationed in the Middle Eastern country, Afghanistan.

As I drove up in the Andersons' driveway. I noticed that there was a limousine parked in my spot. I typically hate it when someone does that but saw a familiar "W" printed on the side. I parked my motorcycle next to the side of the house. As I walked up to the door and knocked on it, someone opened the door, and standing there was Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's loyal butler.

"Mr. Wilson, it is a pleasure to see you again," Alfred chirped.

"Right back at you, Alfred," I said as I entered the house, and he closed the door.

Sitting on the couch was the famous billionaire playboy himself, Bruce Wayne. Next to him on his left was his son, Damian. On Bruce's right was Jessie. She had a relieved look on her face.

She jumped out of the chair and ran into my arms. Jessie pulled off my damaged breathing apparatus and kissed me on the lips. Jessie pulled away and glared at my forever scarred cheek.

Jessie is about 5 feet and 8 inches, has long blonde hair and the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen. Unlike my friends and me, she is not a mutant.

"Thank God you are safe," Jessie said. "What the heck happened to your cheek? Mr. Wayne, take a look at it."

"Jessie, it's just a cut. I've had worse," I responded.

Jessie constantly worries when I get a cut like this. She even had Todd take me to the ER to get a tetanus shot when I cut myself on a shard of metal. I have a belonephobia, so that wasn't a pleasant experience.

"Damn, Matthew. I think a 'cut' is an understatement. You may need stitches," Bruce said as he examined my face.

I walked over to the kitchen sink. I turned the water on and splashed it on my cheek. It stung like crazy. I sucked in air through my teeth as the water ran over my cheek. The dried blood caused the water to turn bright pink.

"What happened besides those Joker clowns and ninjas taking over the elementary and junior high?" Jessie asked.

"You remember Headhunter, right?" I asked. Bruce nodded. "Joker, Harley Quinn, and Hamato escaped Arkham Asylum," I explained. "He also enlisted his older brother, Jon Kornata, to help him. Fortunately, Joker and Harley Quinn are on their way back to Gotham, and Jon is dead, but Hamato got away."

"Yeah. That is why I came," Bruce said. "Joker and Harley escaped with Headhunter two to three days ago, and I came to warn you, but I got here a few hours late."

"Didn't think to use the Batwing?" I asked.

"I didn't want to attract too much attention to the Andersons," Bruce responded.

"Where did Hamato go?" Jessie asked as I grabbed a cup towel and wiped my face off.

"The funny thing is he went through a portal," I responded.

"A dimensional portal to Earth-Two?" asked Damian.

"I don't think so. This portal was invisible, unlike the ones to Earth-Two. Those portals are blue. This one, in particular, flashed pink when Hamato went through it."

"What the hell is going on here? Hamato escaped Arkham Asylum, and now this?" asked Bruce.

When he asked that, an orange rabbit walked down the stairs. The rabbit was my sidekick and friend, Orange Bunny. Orange, which is her nickname, was more than a regular rabbit. She can talk due to being a part of an experimental project created by the military and sponsored by Stark Industries.

The experiment was to make animals more human-like. Anthropomorphic, if you will. They would use them primarily for espionage. Large animals, like deer and bears, were more successful, but Orange was not. Some parts of her fur turned orange, and she gained human intelligence. She went into a rage and killed two scientists with a syringe. She escaped a black military site under darkness and made it to East Texas. I found her drinking from my grandpa's pond and took her in as my "pet".

"Wait, did I hear you say something about Hamato Kornata?" Orange Bunny asked in her somewhat natural stuffy nose squeaky voice. That's the best way I can describe it. Don't ask me how she got that voice.

"Yeah. He escaped Arkham Asylum, along with the Joker and Harley Quinn, and enlisted his older brother, Jon, to help him," I responded.

"I also heard something about a pink portal that leads to a different dimension," announced Orange Bunny.

"I'm pretty sure Matthew created that story, so he doesn't have to deal with the fact that he let Headhunter get away," Damian suggested.

"Can it, Boy Wonder-," Orange snarled, "-or I'll slit your throat."

And yes, Orange Bunny is homicidal due to the mutation. And the reason we know who Bruce and Damian's alter egos are that Orange and I found out when we went to Gotham City for a mission.

"Wherever he went, Hamato can't be up to any good. You probably need to go after him," Bruce said.

"I was planning on it, Bruce," I responded.

"WHAT?!!" Jessie yelled.

Everyone shifted their gaze at Jessie. She rarely ever raised her voice.

"Matthew, are you out of your mind?! You nearly got yourself killed when you last went after him. I can't lose you to that...that...monster. Besides my family, you're the only one I love."

I walked over to her and placed my hands on her shoulders. I planted a kiss on her forehead. I have to admit; she had a point.

"Look, Jessie, I know how much you love me. I do. It's nice to know you worry about me when I go on my assignments," I soothed. "What if you came with me?"

"Dad really wouldn't go with that idea," Jessie notified.

"Don't worry about it. I got you covered," Bruce assured.

"Hey, Orange. Go pack my computer and such while I call a few friends," I ordered.

Orange turned and went back to my room upstairs. I pulled out my phone and dialed my friend, Brody Kriegel.

Brody is one of the mutants that went to my school. He has the same enhanced abilities and invisible shield I have, with a little extra. He can shoot lightning from his hands. He can also control the voltage, too. Brody calls himself Shadow Charger. When he graduated high school, he worked as a "government assassin-for-hire", or that's what the CIA called it.

My phone rang for about thirty seconds. Then, Brody picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Brody. Listen, get a hold of the rest of the gang and meet me at the bus lane at the Junior High at 6:30 pm tonight. We have a mission to do-" I explained, "-and Jessie is coming, too."

"What is the mission, and why does it require all of us, including your girlfriend? Plus, why do we need to meet at the bus lane?" Brody asked.

By the way, he asks a lot of questions. He's a global learner, if you know what I mean.

"The 'Jessie' part is complicated. I need the rest of the gang because I need all the brainpower and strength to catch Hamato Kornata. He escaped from Arkham, took the Junior High and Elementary School hostage, and escaped to a different dimension," I responded.

"Wait…did you say Hamato escaped from Arkham Asylum?"

"Yep."

"Oh, crap. Alright, I'll get a hold of the rest of the guys. What about Hannah?"

"I talk to Hannah. You do the rest. They'll listen to you."

"Alright, bye." Brody hung up, and I put my phone in my pocket.

You are probably wondering who Hannah is. She's my adopted little sister. Well, both of us are adopted from Brazil by American missionaries. She isn't my biological sister, though.

Hannah is who is also a mutant. She's what she calls a speedster, like the Flash. At that point, she was living in Central City. Unlike me, she was a hero-in-training. The Flash was teaching her. Her hero name was the Neon Streak since she has bright colors on her super suit.

I dialed Hannah. She picked up quicker than Brody.

"Hey, big brother," She sounded tired and worn out.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I just ran around Central City 150 times."

That caught me off guard. At our local track, she would run around it 150 times and be worn out.

"How fast can you run now?"

"The speed of light, or a little faster," Hannah responded.

"I'm impressed, Hannah. But I didn't call you to chat," I said.

"Then, what's up?"

"I need you to come to the Andersons' house," I ordered.

A few seconds later, light green lightning flashed past me. I turned around to see a person dressed in neon green and purple suit, with long, flowing brown hair. It was the Hannah.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Neon Streak," Damian said.

"Damn, you're fast. You were in Central City just a few seconds ago, and now you're here," Bruce said, astonished.
"Barry has taught you well.

"Thanks, Mr. Wayne," Hannah responded as she removed her mask.

"Anyway, we have a problem. Hamato Kornata escaped Arkham Asylum. Long story short, he took the Carleton Elementary and Junior High captive and escaped to a different dimension. Don't say a portal to Earth-2 because the portal was pink," I explained. "I have to go after him."

"Wow, sounds like fun. And you called because…."

"You need a better gig than being number three to the Flash. I could use your powers as an advantage," I responded. "Besides, Kid Flash is the sidekick, not you."

"That's true." Hannah was quiet for a moment, then she spoke. "Okay, I'm in. Who else is coming along on this little adventure?" asked Hannah.

"The rest of the guys."

Hannah rolled her eyes. It isn't like she hates the rest of my friends. She just doesn't like my friend, Justin Williams, aka Arsenal. They've gotten into several arguments over various things. I won't get into the details.

"Meet me at the bus lane at the Junior High at 6:30 pm," I said.

"Okay, I'll see you tonight," Hannah said as she slipped on her mask. She gave Jessie a high-five and opened the door. Hannah ran off and caused a sonic boom down the driveway as she ran. Once again, Alfred closed the door.

"Well, I hate to shit on this reunion, but Damian and I have to go to the hotel. Jessie, I'll call your dad when I reach the hotel," Bruce notified. "Good look on catching Headhunter, Matthew… or Agent Nightwatcher."

"Thanks, Batman. Hey Damian, tell Ace I said 'Hey'"

"I let the dog know," responded Damian.

Alfred followed the Waynes and closed the door behind them.

I turned around to get upstairs when Jessie stopped me. She had a look in her eyes I recognized. She wanted something from me.

"Hey, Matthew. I meant to tell you this before you went to Lima. You should get TOCB back together. It was amazing to watch you play along with the rest of the guys," Jessie said.

As I mentioned in the introduction, I can play the guitar. About six months before the death of my parents, I started a Christian heavy metal rock band. The band was named Teens of Christ Band. I was the lead singer and lead guitarist. Later, we added rappers for some variety.

Jessie was the band's manager as she booked all of our gigs. She spent two-and-a-half hours trying to convince our principal to do a concert at the Junior High Football Practice Field. It eventually became a fundraiser for the High School Band to go to Disney World for a week. That took a lot of convincing on her part.

"That isn't a bad idea," I said as I pulled my phone out.

"Dude, I'm the band manager. I always have good ideas," Jessie responded.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me. She went upstairs to pack.

I texted Brody to tell the rest of the guys to get their band equipment and bring it to the band's van. The van was his responsibility.

Brody responded, "For what reason?"

I texted that TOCB was getting back together, and Brody texted "👍🏻". I turned off my phone and slipped it back into my pocket.

As I went upstairs into my room, Orange had already packed her laptop, weapons, and stuff. I pulled my suitcase out from under my bed and put it on it.

I packed most of my clothes and pulled out my gun case from under the bed. Well, it's a clarinet case I converted to hold my guns as a disguise. I removed my gun belt and put it in the case along with my guns. After I closed it, I set it aside.

Then, I pulled out another case that looked like a trombone case from under the bed. This case was also a disguise as it held my katanas and my sheaths. I opened the case up, removed my katanas and my sheaths from the patient, and closed it.

I put all my cases and luggage on the edge of my bed. I sat on my bed and scanned the room for anything I had forgotten. In the corner of the room, closest to the closet, there was a large plastic guitar case. I walked over to it, grabbed it by the handle, and placed it on my bed. I undid the buckling and opened it.

The body was a glistening dark blue with light blue lightning streaks across the body. Along the edges of the body was pitch black. The neck of the guitar was the same. The six strings are black or blue that will glow if strummed.

I cracked a smile at a memory of TOCB playing a song that Brody, Hannah, and I wrote called The Last Night.

"This is the last night you'll spend alone. Look at me in the eye, so I'll know you know I'm everywhere, you want me to be," I sang. Orange gave me a funny look as I closed the case and put it in front of the bed.

I walked down the hall to Jessie's room, and she had no idea I had walked into her room. She placed a sports bra in her suitcase when she noticed I was standing there. Embarrassed, she threw a softball as hard as possible, but I caught it mid-flight.

"Do you mind?! I don't need you to watch me put my underwear in my suitcase. I don't need you to see what my underwear looks like," Jessie lectured me angrily.

"Chill. I've seen a girl's underwear before," I responded.

"I'm not going to ask," Jessie said.

You probably think I asked a girl to send nudes, but that isn't the case. When I was younger, I had to do laundry and fold my mother's and Hannah's underwear. I stood there, with my back turned, until she finished packing her unmentionables.

"Matthew, do you need something?" Jessie asked.

"We might need to use your truck," I said.

"What for?"

"We have more luggage than I anticipated, plus Brody's band van will get full with everyone's luggage, our amps, instruments, and weapons."

"That makes sense. Alright, we'll use my truck but under one condition." Jessie said.

"What is that?" I laughed.

"You have to let me book all of your gigs of my choice. I'll choose good ones. I promise," Jessie notified.

"You got yourself a deal. Although it is a stupid condition just to use your truck."

"Oh, whatever. Now, if you excuse me, I need to… um… pack my clothes."

I left Jessie's room and returned to mine. Orange Bunny was sharpening her knife. She might be an adorable bunny, but it will be dead if any threat comes her way.

I laid down on my bed and started thinking about Jessie's safety. If Hamato had figured out she was with us, he would kill her.

The reason is that Hamato had a crush on her when I did. We didn't realize that until later. He asked Jessie out, but she turned him down due to his horrible character. When I asked her, she said yes. That made Hamato angry. After that, he swore to Amatsu Mikaboshi, the Japanese god of evil, that he would kill her. Fortunately, he never carried out the threat.

I eventually closed my eyes and fell asleep. I heard my mom's call and noticed that I was at my old house with my BB gun in hand, playing "War" in the woods. I ran onto the porch, hungry for my mom's delicious food and emotionally hungry for Mom and Dad's smiles. But when I somehow stepped into the darkness, I heard the thundering rattle of an AK-47 and the slicing of a bladed weapon. Then, the chapel of the funeral home replaced the darkness with the chapel of the funeral home. I was on the front row of chairs, dressed in my blue dress shirt and tie. Hannah is dressed in her black and white dress. The chapel was full of people who were crying or had downcasted faces. Then I noticed two stained pine caskets, Mom and Dad's. Out of nowhere, I heard the evil laugh of Headhunter, and a burst of rage tore through my body. I yelled and tried to run down the aisle, but my vision was blurred due to the floods of tears pouring out of my eyes.

I started yelling for Hamato to show himself. Then, I felt someone trying to restrain me. As Hamato's evil laugh grew louder and louder, I gave one final yell, and my eyes flew open, and I saw Jessie holding my shoulders to the bed. I gave a deep sigh of relief.

Chapter 3

“Are you okay?” Jessie asked, sounding concerned.

“No, not really,” I groaned as I sat up. “It has been two years since Mom and Dad died and the nightmares are just now haunting me.”

I got out of my bed and walked over to my dresser. In the top left drawer, where I put my small belongings, were three checkbooks. The checkbooks were given to me by Bruce Wayne when I stayed in Gotham City during my mission there.

“What do you need those for?” Orange Bunny asked.

“Just in case. We’ll need a place to stay. Plus Bruce said I could use them for anything that isn’t illegal,” I replied. "Well anything that could be traced back to him."

I grabbed my wallet which had at least $2,000 in it. We spent the next 15 minutes loading our things in Jessie’s truck and I went over to my motorcycle while Jessie closed down the house

I glanced at my watch, it was 6:50 pm. We were twenty minutes late. I got on my motorcycle and cranked it. Then, drove down the driveway towards the highway. I turned left and sped off toward the Junior High.

The wind howled as I reached the speed of 80 mph and I arrived at the bus lane two and a half minutes later. All of the guys were there. Hannah was in the band van. Frankly, they looked bored. I told them to meet me there about half an hour ago. The front of their vehicles was facing the gate.

Ten of my friends were there, including Brody and Hannah. Consider this an introduction to the team. All of them had the same physical and sensory enhancements as me. All of them, except Hannah, had the memory chip installed in their brains. A few had the invisible shield surrounding them.

The first two mutants I laid eyes on were Dylan and Devin Cochran, a pair of fraternal twins. Dylan could teleport to anywhere that was in his line of sight. Devin could read anyone's mind and see memories without touching them. They both can communicate telepathically, which kind of weird me out. Dylan and Devin carry a pair of Desert Eagles as firearms. Dylan carries the Hollywood-famous ninjato sword, while his brother carries a bo staff that has retractable spearheads on each side. Both of them also carry M3 trench knives. Their bladed weapons are made of proto-adamantium. Dylan calls himself the Blitzing Knight, and Devin calls himself Mind Probe. In TOCB, Dylan plays secondary lead guitar, and Devin plays the bass.

Then there was Dalton Lunday. During a Skrull attack in Dallas, Texas, Dalton was exposed to the energy that Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) used. A blast landed near him and he absorbed the powers. Instead of his hands having a red aura when he uses his powers, there is a light-green aura. He also carried a pair of Desert Eagles. As his bladed weapon, he wields the same kind of katanas as me along with the M3 trench knife that is the same as the twins. Dalton calls himself Brain Freak. In TOCB, Dalton was a rapper.

Next is the friend I mentioned earlier, Justin Williams. His powers are similar to the X-Man, Colossus. Except for a few things. Justin can transform his body into a proto-adamantium. Plus, he can form any weapon that exists in his hands, with proto-adamantium bullets and unlimited ammunition. Think of an M1911. Boom. There is one in his hand. Most of us have weapons that Justin created. The guns and swords are the generic weapons he makes for us. He calls himself the Arsenal. In TOCB, he plays rhythm guitar.

After he is Daniel Baxter. Think of the character Heatblast from the TV show, Ben 10, and that is the gist of what Daniel can do. His fire form is different, though. The rock is obsidian and his veins, arteries, and eyes turn into lava. He can produce unbreakable obsidian katanas from his back and throw obsidian shards that are six inches long. Since he was born in Hawaii, he calls himself Lava Pit. In TOCB, he plays the violin.

Lance Wallace is another mutant that went with us. He can turn invisible, and anything touches will turn invisible if he is invisible. He uses a collapsible compound bow and, of course, he has plenty of arrows. He also has a proto-adamantium katana, which he rarely uses. He calls himself the Cloaked Hunter, and he plays the cello in TOCB.

Eric Molina is another mutant that went with us. He has Iceman's powers, but with a little extra. He can shoot ice that has a temperature of absolute zero and throw icicles. He is armed with a proto-adamantium katana painted with ice-like colors. Eric calls himself Iceberg and, as a part of TOCB, he is a rapper.

The last mutant to come with us was Leviticus Rodriguez, but we call him Levi. He can turn into a snake-humanoid, which is cooler than you think. He can extend his fingernails that can secrete fast-acting neurotoxin. He has two proto-adamantium sais and katanas. As a part of TOCB, he is a rapper. He calls himself Black Mamba.

Just in case you are wondering, Brody is armed with, you guessed it, a proto-adamantium katana that Brody can channel his lightning through. It was developed by the government, by the way. He also has two Beretta 96A1 pistols. Brody is also our drummer. As for Hannah, she is our female vocals, rythum guitar, and keyboard player.

Sorry for the information dump there, but the mutants have to be introduced. Anyway, back to the story.

“Look who decided to show up,” Brody said sarcastically.

“Sorry, I’m late. I overslept,” I explained.

“As far as excuses go, that’s a good one, mi amigo,” Levi interjected.
“It’s because you take a siesta every day,” Devin replied.

“Hey. Where's your girlfriend and Orange Bunny? Aren't they supposed to come with us?” Dalton asked.

As soon as he asked that, Jessie pulled into the bus lane. Orange Bunny rolled down the window. From her facial expression, she was pissed.

“Fuck you, Matthew for leaving us behind, asshole,” Orange yelled.

I rolled my eyes. I turned to the guys and Hannah and I told them to turn on their vehicles. Hannah was driving the band’s van. Then, all of their vehicles came on along with mine. The smell of fuel filled the air.

“Davayte razberemsya, rebyata!”

(Russia) “Let’s rollout, guys!” I yelled.

We all hit the acceleration, or gas pedal, and we sped forward. As we neared the gate, there was a flash of pink. It was like I was driving through mid-air. Bright pink, blue, and green stripes were all around us. I turned around to see if my group had come through as well. They did.

“How much further?!” yelled Daniel.

“I don’t know!” I yelled back.

We drove for about a few more seconds until we came out to the other end of the portal. For some odd reason, we were teleported onto a highway. I noticed the sun was barely poking out from the horizon. I glanced at my watch, and it was 6:30 am.

Eventually, we left the highway and arrived at an intersection in the suburbs of a large city and I noticed an empty lot across the street. Despite the laws of running a red light, I ran it and drove into the empty lot. The rest of my crew followed as we turned off our vehicles and got out, or in Jessie’s case, and off them.

“Where are we?” Brody asked.

“I don’t have a clue. Did we go to a different dimension,” I responded?

“I would think so because I don’t think there’s any city that is named Canterlot City in our dimension. There was a billboard that was advertising the local news, the Canterlot City Channel 10 Evening News, about three miles back,” Daniel put in.

I looked over across the street and found a small building that had a sign that read, “Sugar Cube Corner. Canterlot’s Favorite Cafe.”

“So are you saying that we found a new dimension?” asked Dylan.

“Yeah, am. This is cool. When this little adventure is over, we need to tell everyone. This will change everything about what we know about the universe. This isn’t some Earth-2 or -3 stuff. This is a whole brand new dimension,” Daniel said.

“No. We can’t just tell anyone. I don’t feel like sitting in a holding cell at a UN black site answering questions about alternate dimensions.” I interjected.

“Wherever we are, I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.” Dalton said.

“What the fuck is wrong with you. You need to eat something,” Orange snapped.

“For your information, I was working on an 18-page essay for a psychology class,” Dalton countered.

“Wait, you’re in college?” I asked. “I thought you decided not to go.”

“Oh, I’m a part-time student. Just in case, you decide to jerk me into one of your missions.”

“Are we going to eat or not? I’m starving.” Brody asked.

Quite frankly, I was hungry, as well.

“That cafe is open. I’m pretty sure they have some grub,” I suggested.

I told Orange to stay in the truck while we got something to eat. I said I would get her a cinnamon roll if she didn’t mess anything up.

We walked inside, and I was a bit surprised at what I saw. There was a woman behind the counter, but here’s the catch. Her skin is light blue and her hair is pink. Despite this revelation, I walked up to the counter and acted like everything was perfectly normal.

“You guys find a place to sit, and I’ll get you something to eat. My treat,” I told the group.

The lady looked at me and smiled. Now that I was closer, she was sort of a plump lady with a neatly designed apron on.

“What can I do for you?” the lady asked, kindly.
“I would like 7 cinnamon rolls and 4 kolaches, please,” I responded.
“Sure thing.”

She set two bags of cinnamon rolls and one bag of kolaches on the counter. The lady looked at me funny, and I could tell she was staring at my facial scar from Hamato’s sword cut.

“If you don’t mind my asking, what happened to your cheek?”

“I don’t like to talk about it but since you asked nicely. I got cut by a guy who tried to rob me,” I lied. “How much does the food cost?”

“Ten dollars,” the lady responded. I pulled out my wallet and set a ten-dollar bill on the counter. Strangely, enough the bill had changed it to what I assumed was that dimensions currency.

“Do you mind if I get your name? Just in case.” I asked.

“Sure. My name is Cup Cake. What’s yours?” the lady asked.

“Matthew Wilson.”

“That's an odd name but nice to meet you, though.”

"Nice to meet you, too."

I grabbed the bags and walked over to where everyone was sitting. I passed out the food to everyone. Then, I sat down in a booth next to Jessie and handed her a kolache. She looked tired and sad. She normally was not like that.

“Are you okay?” I asked

“No, not really. I don’t know how and why you talked me into this. I didn’t want to leave Dad. With Daniel in Afghanistan and Mom gone, Dad gets lonely and restless when he is alone,” she responded.

“Then why did you come?”

“I guess I wanted to have an adventure that I can be a part of. I’ve always stayed within my comfort zone. I tried getting out of my ‘zone’ by doing cheerleading, drama club, and even the debate. Now it's my chance. You know what I mean, don’t you?”

“Sure, I do. The band for example. That was stepping out of my comfort zone for me,” I responded. "Or becoming a teenage assassin for the CIA."

Jessie leaned forward and kissed me. I was facing the window with my eyes closed. When Jessie pulled away, I reopened my eyes and noticed four people in the empty lot where our vehicles were.

“Matthew, are you okay? You seem distracted,” Jessie asked.

“Look at the empty lot where we parked. There are four people near our vehicles. Three people are dressed in sweats and one is wearing an armored ninja uniform,” I responded.

Jessie turned around and looked at the suspicious people. I looked at the ninja. There was a symbol on the shoulder armor. It was the Black Snake terrorist symbol. A black snake with two red sais crossing behind it. He had a single katana on his back with a single pistol on his hip. The civilians were dressed in sweats and hoodies. Their faces were obscured.

“Holy crap,” I whispered.

“What is it?” Jessie asked

“The ninja is one of the Black Snake terrorists. See the symbol on his shoulder? The symbol is… “

“I don’t need a history lesson, Matthew,” Jessie interrupted.

“My question is who is he talking to? They are not being very discreet, either. Hamato’s terrorists usually prefer to meet with people on top of buildings, alleys, and abandoned buildings."

I didn’t like that a Black Snake terrorist is near three innocent civilians. However, there was something suspicious about the civilians. My suspicions were confirmed when the terrorist handed the civilians what looked like a flash drive. That did it.

I got up out of the seat. I sprinted out of the cafe. Jessie yelled at me but I couldn’t tell what she said.

I made a mad dash across the street. I’m used to running on tip-toes so I can run silently, so the terrorist didn’t notice me until I was about twenty feet away.

“Nē! Soko ni tomaru!”

(Japanese) "Hey! Stop right there!” I yelled. The Black Snake terrorist pulled out two katanas from the sheath on his back.

As I approached him, he swung the katana in his right hand horizontally. I ducked and performed a typical roundhouse kick. My shoe hit the terrorist in the chest. The terrorist quickly recovered and thrust his katana at my head. I leaned back to avoid the katana, and then I dropkicked him. He dropped his katana, and I picked it up.

As soon as he stood up, I plunged the blade into his chest. He fell to his knees. I pulled out the katana and decapitated him.

Then, I heard two gunshots. Rifle shots, to be exact. I felt the two bullets bounce off my shield. They would’ve hit me in the head and throat. I honestly didn’t care where they came from. My main concerns were the three strangers that were dressed in sweats and hoodies. When I turned around, the civilians were gone.My guess, they fled the scene to avoid being killed. Justin, Dylan, Devin, and Brody came running out of the cafe.

“What is going on here?” Dylan asked

“This Black Snake terrorist handed a flash drive to some people,” I explained.

“Do you know what was on it?” Justin asked.

"No clue. It could be anything," I replied.

“And what about this body?" Devin questioned.

"Put it in the dumpster over there and hurry. Somebody has to have heard the gunshots. Take his katana while you are at it."

Devin carried the body to the dumpster behind the cafe. He returned shortly after.

“That’s going to start stinking soon,” Brody said. “I hope the trash people don’t notice on trash day.”

There was a problem with that statement. The blood was at the spot where the Black Snake terrorist died and a trail across the street to the dumpster.

By this time, everyone was there. Some of them were still eating. They were all talking, but the two gunshots made me nervous. For all knew, Mrs. Cake could've called the police. Getting arrested before even finding a place to sleep. I needed to get that ball rolling.

“Alright,” I said to get everyone’s attention. “This mission last minute. In other words, we need a game plan.”

“We need to find a place to stay, for one thing. Also blend in, as well. We don’t need to be wearing our assassin clothing all the time,” Devin said. “Except for Hannah and Jessie, of course.”

“I have an idea, just spitballing here, we can enroll in a local high school and pose as students. I mean, technically we are high school age,” Justin suggested. "Maybe Levi will get a girlfriend."

"That’s a very good idea, the high school part that Is,” Levi responded. "However, I'm not what girls call attractive."

“If you didn’t turn into a humanoid snake, the girls would think otherwise,” Justin added. Levi stuck his tongue but it was in its snake form so it flicked out like a snake.

“You do realize we are out of high school? Why would we pose as students for cover? We look nothing like students, except for college-age,” Eric said. “Tracking Hamato and capturing him will take years since we don't have the technology that we used to track him with us. Plus, he is probably not going to let us find him like he did last time.”

“That’s why we lie, Eric. We’re mostly assassins for crying out loud. Lying is what we do.” Justin responded.

“Your argument collapsed on itself. One, Jessie is not, by any means, is an assassin. No offense. Two, Hannah is a heroine-in-training under Flashy Boy,” Daniel informed.

“You get my point.”

“No. You need to clarify more. Some people will get confused, especially when you don’t enunciate your words.”

“I do enunciate my words.”

“No, you don’t. You sound like a drunk-"

“For the love of everything holy on Earth, can we please cut to the chase? We need to find a place to stay. I’m not going to sleep in that bucket of bolts you call a van. Much less, drive it,” Hannah said irritably.

“I agree with Hannah. Can someone look up to see if there is an apartment complex nearby? If our phones even work here?” I asked.

Only one person pulled out their phone, and that was Jessie. She usually spends around seven to eight hours on her phone each day. Well, not on school days.

Before she even put in the password to her phone, Orange opened the passenger’s door to Jessie’s truck. She had her laptop open with something on the screen. I was pleasantly surprised.

“I looked up if there were any apartments near us. The closest one is two and a half miles from here. What’s even better is that a high school is about four-hundred yards away.”

“How much is the apartment?” Dylan asked

“I haven’t gotten that far but I’ll take a look.”

Orange moved the cursor to a tab and clicked on it. The website looked like an inexperienced web maker made it.

“From what this website says, if you want to rent one, the cost is $3,500 a month. If you want to buy one, it costs $10,000,” Orange informed. “More or less a ripoff.”

“How many square feet is it?” I asked.

“It’s about 530 square feet. It has a master bedroom with a queen-sized bed. A large, open concept living room, and medium-sized kitchen. The complex, on the other hand, has a laundry room, a workout room, and an Olympic-sized… wait, I misread that. It says the pool Equestria Games sized pool,” Orange Bunny responded.

“I’m guessing that is this dimension’s version of the Olympic Games,” I said.

"My question is why it's horse-themed," Levi added.

“What about the high school?” Justin asked.

Orange “x-ed” out of the webpage and took a look at the map that showed the location of the apartment complex. She zoomed in on the picture. She leaned in and squinted at the picture.

“According to the map, the school is called Canterlot High School. I guess it looks okay,” Orange Bunny responded. “I’ll take a look at their website.”

She resumed typing on her laptop. Within seconds, Orange had the school website pulled up. From where I was standing, the website looked a lot like Carleton High School’s website.

“From the high school’s website, new student enrollment applications are always welcome. Also, they are at the beginning of their spring semester. Plus from what I can tell, their mascot is the Wondercolts. That seems like a dumb-”

“Orange, stay on task,” Eric snapped. Orange gave him the finger.

"I think we are set. Let’s go buy an apartment and track down Headhunter,” Jessie said.

“I agree. Everyone, load up,” I responded.

Everybody got onto their vehicles. Daniel had to ride with Hannah since he can’t be seen flying in public. Orange text-blasted the address. We drove for a couple of minutes until we eventually drove up on the apartment complex named Edgewood Estates. We pulled into a parking lot close to the main office.

I motioned for Brody, Devin, and Dylan to come with me. I turned off my motorcycle, got off, and put down the kickstand. As Brody, Dylan, and Devin followed, we walked over to the main office and went inside.

Standing behind the desk was a man with remarkably long hair that was put in a ponytail. He looked a bit taller than six feet tall. He also had a very long and scruffy beard and skin almost glowing along with piercing blue eyes

On his name tag, it had “Иисус Христос” written on it. Russian for “Jesus Christ”. I raised an eyebrow.

“Oi, Meu nome é Jesus. Como posso te ajudar?

(Brazilian Portuguese) “ Hello, my name is Jesus. How can I help you?” he asked.

What he said surprised me. Since it was a different dimension, I expected it to have very different languages. Then, what he said next through me for a loop.

“Oi, Mateus. Tudo bem, meu filho?”

(Brazilian Portuguese) "Hi, Matthew. How are you, my son?” the guy asked.

“ Você sabe meu nome?”

(Brazilian Portuguese) “You know my name?” I asked

“Of course, I do. I created you,” the guy responded.

Brody walked up to the desk and slammed his fist on the desk. A glass container of pens fell over. I saw Brody’s eye crackle with electricity.

“Listen, bub. I don’t know who you think you are but-”

Realizing who the clerk is, I elbowed Brody in the stomach. Brody doubled over, trying not to throw up. He started mumbling something in Spanish.

“What was that for?” Jesus asked, sternly.

“Brody was disrespecting you, Jesus. I couldn’t let him keep doing that,” I explained.

“You could have handled that much differently,” Jesus responded calmly.

“Nope. I deserved that,” Brody groaned.

“Why are you here and how. It thought you only came back in person was at the Rapture?” Devin asked Jesus.

“ I’m here to help. And I'm only here via as a projection of myself. Hamato is a tricky young man. Satan twisted his mind and as you can tell, he’s become more evil than any terrorist. Satan is helping Hamato. First, he revealed the location of the portal that leads to this dimension and has been creating and expanding his army,” Jesus explained.

“That’s unfair. We are fighting our arch-nemesis, who is allied with the creator of all evil,” Dylan complained. “ Now Headhunter is more OP than ever.”

“As you know, I’m the only one who can fight and beat Satan. Without me, you wouldn’t stand a chance. I’ll give you mental and spiritual ammunition. I will only appear to you four for the moment. Do not tell anyone we met, yet,” Jesus informed. Jesus turned around and took a key off the wall. What was strange was my vision went black and when it returned, there were eleven identical keys on the counter.

“These are the keys to your apartment. Give these to your friends,” Jesus ordered.

“Aren’t we supposed to pay for the apartment?” Dylan asked.

“Don’t worry, Dylan. I’ve got you covered. I’ll supply your needs. Go home and relax. Watch TV, play video games, or something. Be sure to enroll in that school.”

Brody, Dylan, and Devin grabbed the keys, leaving one for me, and left. I had a feeling that Jesus wanted to have a private conversation with me. I grabbed the key and stuffed it in my pocket. Then, I decided to break the ice.

“How are Mom and Dad?” I asked.

“They are doing just fine, Matthew,” Jesus responded.

“Jesus, I’m sorry for accusing you of ruining my life by taking them away. It was wrong and I am sorry. I know I've apologized a lot but-”

“Matthew, Matthew. You should know that you already apologized and I forgave you. But that’s not the reason I wanted to talk to you.”

“Really?”

“You have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders as the leader of this group. You can only reveal your identity to people you can trust.” Jesus said. “Not to anyone else.”

“Why would I reveal my and everyone else's identities to a random civilian? What if they freak out and report us?” I asked.

“Clark Kent revealed his identity to Lois Lane. She didn’t freak out. Joe West didn’t freak out when Barry Allen revealed his identity,” Jesus responded. “And every vigilante has civilian allies.”

“How will I know that I can trust that certain civilian?”

“I’ll let you know. In the meantime, settle in your apartment. You’ve got a terrorist to catch.”

I turned around and walked towards the door. I pondered what Jesus had said. He considered us vigilantes instead of government assassins. Well, Hannah was already a vigilante but that’s not the point. I turned to say goodbye to Jesus but he had already disappeared.

Chapter 4

I walked into the sunshine, closing the office door behind me. I saw everyone standing around. Dylan and Devin were arm wrestling, Hannah and Jessie were in the middle of the thumb war, and everyone else was talking.

"Alright, everyone, we've got to settle in. Did you pass out the keys to Dylan, Devin, and Brody?" I asked. Dylan, Devin, and Brody nodded their heads.

"Someone's in a hurry," Hannah mumbled as she used her super speed to pin Jessie's thumb.

"Look who's talking," Jessie said.

I saw Orange Bunny typing on her computer, as usual. I was about to tell everyone to load up when three girls, who looked between 14 and 16 years old, came up to us. They were dressed in Girl Scout uniforms.

One had pale yellow skin and reddish pink. It didn't look dyed, and it looked natural somehow. Another had white skin. Not Caucasian, but a sour cream color. Her hair was purple. The last one had a dark shade of orange for skin color and dark red hair. The one with pale yellow was pulling a beat-up, old red wagon behind her. It had boxes and boxes of peanut butter.

"Hi, my name is Apple Bloom. This is Sweetie Belle, and this is Scootaloo," said the girl with pale yellow skin. I noticed she had a country accent. "We are a part of the Filly Scouts, Troop 281. We are having a fundraiser so our local troop can spend three days at Equestria Land."
"What the heck is Equestria Land ?" asked Devin.

Dylan immediately punched Devin in the arm. Devin gave him a dirty look.

"lamaa faealt hdha?"

(Arabic) "What was that for?" Devin grumbled.

“La tus'al 'asliyat mn hdha alqibayl, 'ant 'ahmq,”

(Arabic) "Don't ask questions like that, you idiot," Dylan snapped.

"You've never heard of Equestria Land?!" asked Apple Bloom.

She had us. So I came up with an excuse. I was hoping the girls would buy the reason.

"We are new, so we don't know most places here," I asked.

"That's okay," Scootaloo said. "Equestria World is the best place in Equestria,"

"No kidding," Daniel mumbled. I could tell Daniel wasn't impressed by the tone of his voice.

I looked at the wagon the girls were pulling behind them. The boxes had twenty count package boxes and fifteen boxes altogether.

"How much are the boxes of wafers?" I asked.

"$3.50 apiece," responded Sweetie Belle.

I pulled out my wallet and pulled out three twenties. I took a wild guess at the tax rate. Although, I didn't think these girls would charge tax.

"Do you charge tax?" I asked. The girls shook their heads. I did the math, and the price was around fifty-five dollars. I handed the girl named Apple Bloom the money.

"Keep the change," I said.
"How many are you buying?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Your entire wagon is full. You have fifteen boxes in there," I pointed out.

"From the looks of it, your wagon has seen better days," Lance said.

"Well, it is my granny's old wagon. She got for Hearth's Warming when she was a youngin'," responded Apple Bloom. "It's over sixty-five years old."

"That wagon on its last legs. I noticed the last two wheels are almost about to come off," Brody said.

"Granny has been meaning to fix it, but she has arthritis in her wrists."

While Brody was looking at the wagon, I tried to figure out what Hearth's Warming was. I guessed it was this dimension's version of Christmas.

Levi and Lance removed the boxes and put them in the bed of Jessie's truck. Brody picked up the wagon and examined it.

"I see your problem. The nuts on the wheels are coming loose—just the back wheels. You'll need to use a Philips screwdriver, though. Also, your tires are kind of flat," Brody informed. He set the wagon back down.

"Thank you for checking out my wagon… Mister… um, what is your name?" asked Apple Bloom.

"My name is Brody Kriegel. The guy who bought the snacks is Matthew Wilson," replied Brody.

"Well, thank you, guys," Scootaloo thanked.

"You are welcome."

"I don't want to be rude, but we must move into our apartment," informed Lance.

"That is true. I guess we'll see you around," I said.

The girls waved and walked away.

I looked around at the apartments made of brick and mortar, and the roofs were steel or metal. They were two tall buildings with two rooms on each floor. A triple-digit number numbered each building, and right next to the buildings were covered parking spaces.

I looked at my key. The number on the key was 204.

"Okay, now that we are here, look for a building with 200 written on the side of it," I ordered.

"I got you," Hannah said. She used her super-speed to run around the complex.

I'd see Hannah's lime-green lighting pass us or behind something every few seconds. Ten seconds later, she stopped in front of us. Her shoes were smoking. Then, they burst into flames. Hannah's eyes grew to the size of softballs.

"Holy crap!! My shoes are on fire!!!" Hannah shrieked. "Daniel, help me!!"

"Take them off and toss them to me," Daniel said.

Hannah again used her super speed to remove her shoes and tossed them to Daniel. He turned himself into his obsidian form. I could see his veins turn to streaks of lava. Then, Daniel absorbed the fire and returned to his human form. The only thing that was left of Hannah's shoes were black, charred husks.

"I thought I told Cisco to make my shoes fireproof," Hannah complained.

"Who's Cisco?" Devin asked.

"Do you know who Reverb is?" Hannah replied.

"He's the guy who can slightly predict the future through visions who helps the Flash."

"That's him," Hannah replied.

"Hannah, where is building 200?" I asked irritably.

"It's on the other side of the complex. About 300 feet that way," Hannah said, pointing her thumb behind her.

"Then let's go, assholes," Orange said as she rolled down Jessie's window. "It's hot in this fucking truck,"

We loaded up our vehicles and drove to the other side of the complex. While we parked under the covered parking spaces, I noticed Jessie was still sitting in her truck, looking down at her phone.

I got off my motorcycle and went over to Jessie's truck. Orange opened the door, got out, and flipped me off as I approached her.

"Your girlfriend wants to talk to you. Something private, I guess." Orange said.

I got in the truck and closed the door. Jessie's long blonde hair hid her face. From her posture and breathing, I could tell Jessie was afraid.

"Are you okay, Jess?" I asked. Jessie looked at me with the most terrified look she could give. She was so scared that Jessie couldn't even talk. Jessie just pointed at a text message on her phone.

I took her phone and read the text. Then, I could understand why Jessie was scared. Here's what the text message read:

Hello, Jessica Taylor Anderson. This is Hamato Kornata. Tell Matthew to call me at 519-389-3329. Tell him don't keep me waiting because I have a sniper pointing a .50 caliber rifle at your beautiful little head. You better hurry if you don't want your brains splattered everywhere. See you, you little bitch.

I pulled out my phone and dialed the number. It rang for about five seconds. Then, Hamato picked up the phone. Let me assure you; it wasn't pleasant to hear his voice.

"Hello, Agent Nightwatcher. It's good to know that you and that band of yours have followed me into this dimension," sneered Headhunter.

"What do you want, Hamato," I asked angrily.

"I wanted you to call to discuss a deal I have to offer. Privately."

I motioned for Jessie to leave. She opened the door, got out, and closed the door behind her.

"Alright, Hamato, I'm alone. What is this deal you are talking about?"

"Here's the deal: If you leave within twenty-four hours, I'll leave you alone until my dying day."

"Now, why would I leave? I have to bring you back to our dimension. I'll never leave until you're captured."

"How about I throw your beloved Jessie into the deal, your friends, and your sister?"

"The answer is 'no,' Hamato. You will have to face the music and take us on."

"Well, that's too bad. You have refused a one-time offer deal, and since you refused, there's a price to pay. When this dimension is mine, so will Jessie. When I've had my way with her, she will be six feet below," sneered Headhunter. "Should have made the right decision, Agent Nightwatcher."

"You leave Jessie alone, you homicidal freak. You get even one mile of her-"

I was interrupted by the ringtone. Hamato had hung up. Anger boiled inside of me. The guy's and Hannah's lives were in danger, and Jessie's life was also in danger.

"What am I going to do now? I've got to be focused on protecting Jessie instead of finding Hamato Kornata," I said.

"Don't be such a worrywart, Matthew. I'll protect her," a voice said. I knew it was Jesus, but I couldn't see him this time.

"Not to argue, Jesus, but I have every right to be a worrywart."

"Why is that, Matthew?"

"Jessie's life is in danger. If I leave her alone, Hamato will find a way to get her." I explained. "I know he will."

"No, he won't. He's bluffing to get you to leave."

"Oh."

I felt embarrassed. Up to that point, Jesus never yelled at me. He's made me feel convicted but never ashamed.

"Don't worry. I'll protect Jessie, I promise," Jesus calmly said.

"Okay, Jesus. We must unpack," I'll talk to you later."

Jesus went silent as I got out of the truck. As I closed the door, I told the crew to unload. We grabbed as much as possible and left the TOCB band van loaded.

We walked up the stairs to the second floor. On the door of our new apartment was a yellow sticky note with some cursive writing on it. It read

I'll always provide for you. I will meet all your needs.

I could tell Jesus wrote the note because after I read the letter, it disintegrated, and the door opened.

The best computer equipment filled the room that I've ever seen. The kit had multiple screen monitors and interactive holograms. The only times I've seen that equipment was at the Justice League Watchtower and the Avengers Compound. Orange seemed to notice, too.

"Holy motherfucking shit, man!" Orange shouted. "This is the best fucking equipment that I've ever seen! Fuck you, Justice League. Fuck you, Avengers."

The apartment had a 60-inch screen TV with an Xbox 5k underneath it. Ten Army cots were set up. They had memory foam pads laid on them, with sheets, comforters, and blankets laid on them. Also, the cots had lovely pillows that had pillowcases on them. Nice ones. Each one had a name embroidered on them.

"Don't just stand there, Matthew. Let us enter," Dalton said.

I went to find my cot, but it wasn't in the living room. I found the main bedroom with another sticky note on the door. Written in print, my name was on the sticky note.

I opened the door, and much to my surprise, I saw a bunch of the items I left behind in my room at the Andersons' house. A photo of Mom, Dad, Hannah, Orange Bunny, and I was on the desk that had my plastic lamp.

"I must admit, I'm impressed, Jesus. I didn't think I needed this stuff, but-hey-it works."

"Who were you talking to?" Eric asked. I turned around and saw Eric standing in the doorway.

"Um… I was talking to myself. I do that when I'm in awe," I replied.

"Uh-huh." Eric didn't seem convinced. "Anyway, did all of this stuff come from? The refrigerator is stocked with food, and so is the pantry!" Eric informed

"Jesus performs miracles every day. He's looking out for us," I answered. "Now, let's go get the rest of our stuff."

We finished unloading our stuff. I set up my room the way I liked it. Orange Bunny was wandering around the apartment. She seemed confused and irritated.

"Hey, Matthew, where the fucking hell am I supposed to sleep? There isn't a bed for me," Orange Bunny asked.

"I guess in my bed, or I can get someone to buy you a dog bed," I responded.

"That'll work."

I grabbed my laptop and lay down on my bed. I turned it on and went to Canterlot High School's website to find the new student enrollment form. After looking for it, which took about ten minutes, I filled it out. Some of the questions on the application I had to lie on. Like a question of what my age was and what grade I was in. I put my age as 17 and my grade level as a junior. Most of the questions I didn't have to lie or fill out.

It had about twenty questions on it. After about fifteen minutes of working on the enrollment form, I submitted it and closed my laptop.

I entered the living room, and everyone was on their phones or computers. Orange Bunny was toying with the new computer equipment.

"How many of you submitted your application to Canterlot High?" I asked.

Everyone but Dalton, Devin, Levi, and Hannah did. I told them to get to it.

I grabbed Jessie's truck keys off the coffee table and left the apartment. I walked over to her truck. After cranking the car, the radio was on. It was on the news channel. I didn't think much about it until I pulled out of the apartment complex. A story came on that caught my attention.

Here's what the news host said:

"Well, good morning Canterlot City. Man, this week has been the week for crimes. Just two days ago, the Bank of Equestria was robbed by eight men dressed in armored ninja costumes. They were armed with assault rifles and ninja swords. Two security guards were gunned down, and the teller is in critical condition due to a bullet wound to the chest. The thieves got away with $500,000 in cash and gold coins. That doesn't even include the money stolen from the people inside that bank. The thieves are still at large. Yesterday, city council member Hoarse Hooves was assassinated by an unknown sniper. When Councilmen Hooves was giving a speech when he was shot. The sniper is also at large. I have just been given information about a decapitated male, dressed in the clothing of the armored ninjas, who was found in a dumpster near a local cafe. The autopsy report said he died around 7:25 this morning. The cafe's owner, Mrs. Cup Cake, told the police a group of kids entered the cafe around the same time. They ordered some food and sat down. A little while later, one kid ran out of the cafe. A few seconds later, there were two gunshots. A little bit after that, three kids ran out. Not long after that, everyone left. A group of vehicles left within ten minutes, including a black, jacked-up truck. They are on the look…."

I shut off the radio. We were in a giant mess.

As I was pulling onto a highway, my phone rang. It was Orange Bunny, and I answered.

"Hello?"

"Matthew, you and you're dumb as fuck decisions!" Orange Bunny snapped.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You know what the fuck I'm talking about! I saw a news report on the damn TV!" Orange yelled.

"Yeah, so?"

"You're driving Jessie's goddamned truck. That cafe bitch ratted us out. She told the cops about the truck, and they're looking for it."

"Don't get your cottontail in a twist. Jessie's truck is black, and if Mrs. Cake told the police that the truck she saw was black, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. I passed about five black trucks in the last two miles."

"Fine, but be fucking careful." Orange Bunny hung up the phone.

Fifteen minutes later, I found a supermarket and pulled into the parking lot. After getting out, I walked around the truck. When I began walking casually, I saw Mrs. Cake loading groceries in her car. I froze for a moment. If she saw me, she would call the police. I ducked behind an SUV and watched her.

Every three or four seconds, she would turn around, grab a few bags, and load them. I needed to find a distraction.

In the basket were two toddlers: a boy and a girl. Even though I didn't want to, I needed to make one or both of them cry.

Despite feeling stupid, I got their attention and made the scariest face I could. The girl started giggling, but the boy began wailing. Mrs. Cake turned around and picked up the boy and faced away from me. Seizing the opportunity, I sprinted as fast as I could. Within a few seconds, I went to the front door without being seen. Silently, I thanked God for the victory.

I grabbed a basket and walked to the pet care aisle. I quickly grabbed Orange's stuff. Then, I went to the electronics aisle. As I walked, I noticed the computers in this dimension were the same: the phones, tablets, and almost everything else.

Since my old computer is so old, I bought a new laptop at the electronics checkout. It wasn't as advanced as some of our dimensions, but it was suitable for the moment. Despite it being costly, it worked excellently.

As I was checking out Orange's stuff, my phone rang. It was Canterlot High School.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Principal Celestia from Canterlot High School. I wanted to let you know that I've reviewed your enrollment form, and you have been enrolled," she said.

"That is the best news I've heard all day. What day do you want me to come in?".

"How does tomorrow sound? We are preparing posters and signs for a musical showcase this weekend for the first half of the day. I guess it will allow you to meet our students and receive a tour of the high school."

"I guess I could come in tomorrow. It would be perfect."

"Okay then. Before you hang up, I have a question. Twelve other forms came in around the same as yours did. Do you know anything about that?" Principal Celestia asked.

"Yes, I do. My friends and I live together, so we sent our forms around the same time," I responded as I paid the clerk and received my change.

"Oh, okay, I was making sure. Tell your friends the same message I told you."

"Alright, see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

I hung up and placed my phone in my pocket. I pushed the shopping cart out of the store and towards Jessie's truck. Thankfully, Mrs. Cake's car was gone. As I loaded Orange's stuff, I began pondering what Jesus had referred to me. He called us vigilantes instead of assassins.

Honestly, I knew I was nowhere near a vigilante. Heroes and vigilantes don't kill, or at least I don't think so. The only heroes I know of that kill are the Avengers. But being considered a vigilante was better than being an assassin.

I finished loading and got into the truck. After starting it, I decided to talk to Jesus more since I didn't know what to do next.

"So Jesus, what do I need to do next?"' I asked as I drove out of the parking lot. I was hoping He would respond out loud.

"Go to that school tomorrow morning. There will be eight people and a dog that I will show you, that you can trust with your and your friends' true identities with."

"Hold up a second, man. Did you say a dog?"

"Yes, I did. Trust me; you'll see why."

"Anything else I need to know?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. You will face an enemy that uses an unorthodox way to fight."

"Can you give me an idea so I can prepare for it?"

"Nope. You have to be able to identify the enemy yourself."

"Thanks for the heads up, though."

"No problem, my son. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright. Catch you later."

For the rest of the drive home, I rode in silence. I knew that Jesus watching over my friends and me was comforting.

I unloaded Orange's stuff and my new laptop when I returned to the apartment. As I walked into the apartment, Devin, Dylan, Brody, and Justin played Called to War: World War 1. Dalton and Levi were eating popcorn and watching them play. Hannah was playing a game on her phone, and Jessie was reading a book she had brought. Orange Bunny was still messing with the new computer equipment.

"Orange, I got your stuff," I called.

She immediately jumped off the chair she was sitting in, grabbed the bag, and went into my bedroom.

"Hey, guys. Pause the game real quick. I've got good news," I ordered.

Justin paused the video game, and everyone faced me.

"Spill it, Matthew. I'm about to crush the 'Kings of CTW' at their most played game," Justin said

"Are not. You have like twenty kills to go, and we have five before the goal of one hundred kills. Plus, you are using the Gewehr 98, the crappiest gun in the game," countered Dylan.

"Anyhow, Principal Celestia from Canterlot High School called me and said that we are officially students of Canterlot High School," I announced.

"That was quick. I thought it would take longer than that. Not that I'm complaining," Daniel states.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"When do we start?" Dalton asked.

"She said we could start tomorrow. They are using the first half of the day to prepare for a musical showcase that is taking place this weekend," I responded.

"Seriously?" Jessie asked. "We could enter the showcase. Matthew, you said I could book any gig of my choice."

"That's true. You can ask tomorrow. In the meantime, I have some work to do."

I went back to the bedroom. Orange Bunny had set up her new bed right next to mine. I started unpacking my suitcase. Right next to the chest of drawers. After that, I spent over an hour setting up my new laptop.

I had to sign back into some websites and transfer data from my old laptop to my new one. Then, I started searching for Hamato.

Since I wounded Hamato badly, he probably went to a hospital nearby. I searched for a hospital within a two or three-mile radius of the portal. I managed to find one hospital in the vicinity.

I had Orange Bunny hack into the hospital's database. I looked for people with both stab and gunshot wounds. Out of 600 patients, the type of wounds narrowed it down to 250.

After about two hours, I found someone with a stab wound in the calf or the leg and a bullet wound in the shoulder. The bullet was a .45 caliber bullet. The file said that he had dark grey skin and straight black hair. The person was six feet and six inches. I had a feeling it was Hamato Kornata. The only problem was that the person had a different name. I guessed it was an alias.

Then I saw red letters at the bottom of the file that said "MISSING." I assumed that he ran away once the doctors finished his treatments. Then, I decided to read to see when he arrived at the hospital. It was around 12:20 when he came into the hospital, and then he disappeared four later.

"Did you find anything?" asked Orange Bunny.

"Yeah. Hamato may have gone to the hospital after arriving in this dimension. After he received treatments, he went missing," I replied.

"Hm. I have a hunch of how to know for sure it was him. I can see the security camera footage and see it was him."

After a few minutes of hacking and watching footage from the hospital cameras, Orange Bunny found something.

"You were right. Around 4:00 am, I spotted someone leaving the hospital from the East Wing. After watching the footage a few times, the 'someone' is Hamato," Orange said. "He's a sneaky bastard."

"I heard that a city councilman was assassinated, and the Black Snake robbed a bank. The police say a group of armored ninjas robbed the bank," I informed.

"Assassinating politicians sounds like Hamato. Robbing local banks isn't his usual MO," Orange said. "How long do you think he has been here?"

"Long enough to plan a bank robbery."

"True that. I've learned that professional criminals take months to plan a robbery. Do you think he knew about the portal before going to Arkham?"

"Maybe. That does explain why he was looking for something six months ago," I explained.

"What do the fuck you mean?" Orange asked.

"Hamato threw me into a dumpster with his telekinesis when we had our last showdown. As I climbed out, he looked for something in the same area where the portal was."

"Hmm. I'm going to keep looking. You should chillax."

"I should. I have a big day tomorrow. Starting high school once again."

"What grade will you be starting?"

"I'll be a junior. It gives me time to track down Headhunter before I' graduate'."

"Smart,"

I closed my laptop and set it on my nightstand. Then, I lay down on the bed and slept. I slept for about six and a half hours. The adrenaline of worry about cops and searching for Hamato had worn off. My dreams were mainly memories of Mom and Dad.

Eventually, I woke up late in the evening. I got out of bed and went to the living room. The rest of the gang was sitting down eating pizza and MY Choco-Bars.

"Hey, Matthew. Grab some pie while it is hot," Eric said.

I walked over to the counter and grabbed a slice of cheese pizza. I took a bite out of it. Surprisingly, it tasted better than our dimension's pizza.

"Mm. This is good. Where did you get it, Eric?" I asked.

"A local pizza place called Pisa's Pizza. The guy who owns it was voted 'Best Pizza Maker in Canterlot.'"

"And whose idea was it to eat my Choco-Bars?"

Everyone pointed at Orange Bunny, but she pointed her finger at Devin. Devin threw his dirty napkin at Orange.

"Way to sell me out, bitches. Fuck you, guys," Orange grumbled.

"So Matthew, what is the plan for tomorrow?" asked Levi.

"We go to school tomorrow. We make a few friends and try to blend in. Jessie is going to sign us up for that music showcase," I informed her.

I sat down and continued eating. While I was thinking about returning to school, everyone was talking about the band and mainly pounding poor Jessie with boatloads of questions. Sometimes, I would respond to the question. This went on for another five hours. The conversation part, that is.

Around 11:30 pm, I took a shower and went to bed. Thankfully, the main bedroom has its bathroom. I was still nervous about Jessie's safety and the rest of the team's.

Eventually, my nervousness wore off, and I fell asleep. This time, I didn't have haunting nightmares. I had visions of the future.

I heard a teenage girl say, "I'm Sunset Shimmer. Welcome to Canterlot High."

Then, I heard a trio of girls singing. I couldn't make out what they were singing.

Next, I heard a gunshot and yelled, "Run." What weirded me out was that I heard but had not seen TOCB playing Not Gonna Die. The rest of my dream was unclear.

I thought the devil was screwing with my mind for some reason. Thankfully my assumptions were completely wrong.

Chapter 5

I woke up around 6:30 am the following day. I began waking everyone and telling them to get ready for school. As one could expect when you interrupt someone's beauty sleep, I got several groans or muffled complaints. Orange Bunny gave me her famous one-finger salute face down on her pillow.

I did my morning routine. The rest of the group did the same. Well, not exactly. About a third of the group didn't even make up their cots. Of course, I made sure they did that. After getting everyone going, I finally ate breakfast: nothing too big, just something to hold me over to lunch.

When I returned to my room after eating, Jesus was sitting on my bed. I sat down next to Jesus.

"Matthew, I sent you visions last night. I'm sure you didn't understand them," Jesus said as he placed his arm around me.

"That was you? I thought it was Satan messing with my head. The ending seemed terrifying."

"No, that was me. Remember, don't fear the future. As King Solomon once wrote: Have no fear of sudden disaster or the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be at your side and keep your foot from being snared. Proverbs 3:25-27."

I glanced at my watch. The time was 7:10 am. We had about fifty minutes until the tardy bell at CHS rang. I wanted to be there early. When I turned to Jesus to tell him I had to finish getting ready, he had disappeared, but he left a little note that Jesus wrote in cursive.

It read:

Matthew,

Remember that you will reveal your and your friend's identity to eight people and a dog (Trust me on that one). They will be essential to your mission here. I'm always with you.

Love,

Jesus Christ

When I read the note, it turned into dust. I got up and went into the living room. Everyone was eating cereal. Jessie was eating two granola bars. She's a health nut. Then, I walked over to the group. They were mainly making small talk. Nothing too interesting.

"Why do we have to go back to school, man?" Levi complained groggily.

"It's a cover for the public. They can't know who we are. Kind of like the Flash. He works as a forensic scientist at the Central City Police Department as cover," I responded.

"Dude, he was already working there when he became the Flash," Hannah corrected.

"Okay, bad example. You catch my drift?".

"Lo que."

(Spanish) "Whatever," Levi mumbled.

For about fifteen minutes, we talked about random things and finished eating. After that, I went into my room and grabbed my jacket. I put one of my pistols into a built-in holster—courtesy of the CIA. The coat was thick so that no one would notice the pistol. The coat was made of synthetic material that would throw off metal detectors. You never know when the Black Snake will show up. Then, I slipped on a black baseball cap.

I walked back into the living room. Almost everyone else had the same clothing on. Hannah and Jessie didn't carry guns, so they didn't have a jacket. A few minutes later, we were walking to high school.

We had to leave Orange Bunny behind because Canterlot High didn't allow pets. I also needed her to monitor the apartment so no one would try to break in. Plus, it would be weird to have a talking rabbit at school—especially a rabbit who cusses people out or can kill someone. I didn't want to explain that to the police, either.

Everyone walked in silence. Jessie and I walked together, holding hands. I could tell she was nervous. Going to a new school was hard for her. Jessie had to make new friends and try to fit in, which she was never good at. No offense to her.

When we arrived at the school, the front was crowded. The jocks were arm wrestling. The geeks were doing whatever geeks do, etc. Every once and a while, some students would glance in our direction and stare.

The group and I made our way into the building and spent the next few minutes looking for the office. Eventually, we found it. Principal Celestia welcomed us into her office.

She was a tall lady. She looked like she was at least six feet tall. She had white skin. Celestia also had light pink, blue, and green hair. Like the girls in the parking lot, her hair color looked natural.

"Hello, you must be Matthew Wilson," she said.

Principal Celestia stuck her hand out for me to shake.

"Yes, I am," I responded as I shook her hand. "This is Brody Kriegel, Dalton Lunday, Dylan and Devin Cochran, Hannah Wilson, Jessie Anderson, Eric Pantoja, Lance Wallace, Daniel Baxter, Levi Rodriguez, and Justin Williams."

"Pleasure to meet all of you. Welcome to Canterlot High School. Please have a seat."

Her office was more extensive than most, although it looked like the others I've been to. I saw some basketball trophies that I later learned were from her high school days twenty years ago. One of them was a city championship trophy. Just for us, she had put out eleven chairs. We sat down. Then, she handed us a few papers. The papers were stuff we had to sign and things like that.

The bell rang in the middle of Principal Celestia talking to us. She paused to give a few announcements and told everyone to go to the gym over the PA system. She finished and continued talking to us for a few more minutes until she asked if we had any questions. Jessie raised her hand.

"Matthew told me that Canterlot High is having a musical showcase this weekend. Can we sign up for that?" Jessie asked.

"Sure. If you have a band, that is," Principal Celestia responded.

"We do. Matthew is lead guitar and vocals. Dylan plays the guitar and vocals. Devin plays bass and vocals. Brody-"

"Jessie will give you a list of who does what later. We'll sort out the details at a different time," Dalton said.

Jessie gave Dalton a dirty look for interrupting.

"Matthew, may I ask you a question?" Principal Celestia asked.

"Sure," I replied

"What happened to your cheek? It looks like you were cut with a knife."

"Oh, that. I was walking down the street, and a guy tried to mug me, and I fought back. He cut me with a knife during the fight."

"Well, I am glad you are with us here today. I'll let you and your friends go to the gym to meet the students. If you have any questions, my door is always open. My sister, Vice Principal Luna, is also available."

We walked out of her office. I was about to walk away when I realized I didn't know where the gym was. Brody must have had the same realization because he asked for directions from another student. Much to my stupidity and embarrassment, the gym was fifty feet down the hall in our direction.

After we arrived at the gym, we tried to find a place to sit. I got a dirty look from a group of kids after accidentally stepping on a poster they were working on. We managed to find a spot in the bleachers.

The gym was highly different. On one end was your typical basketball goal, but on the other was a stage. The stage looked like the builder placed it there permanently.

Students were scattered everywhere like ants. They were making posters for that musical showcase.

We sat there for a few minutes until a girl approached us.

The girl had orange skin with red and orange hair. She wore a black leather jacket and an Orange, yellow, and pink skirt. The girl wore tall black leather boots. I assumed she was going for a biker look. She had a maroon shirt with a sun that matched her hair colors.

"May we help you?" Hannah asked.

"You are new kids. I've never seen you before," the girl questioned.

"Yes, we are," I replied. "My name is Matthew Wilson."

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Sunset Shimmer. Welcome to Canterlot High."

I froze. What Sunset Shimmer had said was in my dream the night before. Then Jesus spoke to me in the quietest voice a human could hear.

"This is one of the people you are supposed to reveal your identity to," He said.

I raised an eyebrow at this.

"Same to you," Jessie said.

Then, there was that awkward silence when you first met somebody.

"Do you want to meet some of my friends so that you can meet some people here? They are a good group of kids," Sunset asked.

"Sure," I replied.

The group and I got up and followed Sunset Shimmer.

As we walked across the gym, people started mumbling and giving us weird looks. One kid grabbed my arm and gave me a pleading look.

"Whatever you do, don't trust her," the kid whispered, pointing his finger at Sunset Shimmer. "She's bad news."

"I'll trust who I want to trust," I snarled as I yanked my arm from the kid's grip.

Sunset led us to a group of girls sitting next to the gym door.

There were about six girls in the group. They were making a poster like everyone else was. They stopped what they were doing and looked at us. The girls looked like they were between 16 and 18 years old. One of them motioned for us to sit down.

"Hello!! Welcome to CHS!! My name is Pinkamena Diane Pie, but you can call me Pinkie!!" one of them said, greeting me loudly.

The girl who greeted us had curly, long pink hair. Also, she had light pink skin. She wore a white undershirt with a blue jacket. I noticed she had on blue knee-high shoes. She also had a soft pink skirt that had three balloons on it.

"Thanks. My name is Matthew. And these are my friends, my sister, and my girlfriend."

"Oh, cool. What are their names?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Going in alphabetical order of their first name, I introduced them. Everyone in my group waved when I called their name. The group of girls introduced themselves.

"Howdy. My name is Applejack," said one of the girls.

Applejack spoke with a country accent. She wore a white shirt with a denim skirt. On her head was a worn-out cowgirl hat with a crescent cut out of it, and she wore cowgirl boots.

"Hello. My name is Rarity," said another one of the girls.

Rarity had a British accent, which was very interesting. Considering the fact this was a different dimension. She wore a light blue shirt and a purple skirt. Her skin was white like the girl, Sweetie Belle, that approached us the day before. Also, she had on knee-high shoes like Pinkie Pie. She also had dark purple hair that looked like the hair was done by one of those professional movie stylists.

"Hi, my name is Rainbow Dash," the next girl said.

Rainbow Dash had light blue skin and rainbow-colored hair. She wore a striped pink-and-white shirt with a cloud and a rainbow-colored lightning bolt coming out of it. She also wore a light sports jacket. Rainbow Dash had a raspy voice, like she had screamed too much. She also had blue and white knee-high shoes. I had assumed that was the style there.

"Hello, um… my name is Fluttershy," said the last in a soft and quiet voice. I probably wouldn't have heard her if I didn't have mutated senses.

She had pale yellow skin and pale pink hair. She had a white tank top and a light green skirt with pink trimming. She also had on knee-high shoes.

"It's a pleasure to meet you guys," I said.

"Are you guys in a band since you are making a poster together?" Jessie asked.

"Yeah. We call ourselves the Rainbooms," replied Rainbow Dash. "What about you guys."

"We are in a band. I'm the manager. We call ourselves Teens of Christ Band or TOCB."

"That's cool. Who plays what?"

I play lead electric guitar on the first part and lead vocals," I said. "Hannah, who is my sister, is also vocals."

"Same here. How many play guitar?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Hannah, Justin, and Dylan raised their hands.

"I play bass," Devin said.

"Well, stuff me with feathers and call a pillow, I also play the bass and the vocals," Applejack said.

"Who plays the drums? There's always drums in a band," Pinkie asked.

"I do," Brody replied.

Pinkie nearly knocked the twins down, trying to high-five Brody.

"I play tambourine. Does anyone play the tambourine?" asked Fluttershy quietly.

"I can play tambourine. Any percussion instrument you have, I can play it."

"What do you play, Rarity?" Hannah asked.

"I play the most elegant of instruments. The instrument is the crown jewel…."

"Just tell them already, Rarity," demanded Rainbow Dash.

"I play the keytar," Rarity said. Then she stuck her tongue out at Rainbow Dash.

"What do you, Daniel and Lance?" asked Fluttershy.

"Daniel plays the violin, and I play the cello," replied Lance.

"What does Levi, Dalton, and Eric do?" asked Sunset Shimmer.

"They are in a different part of TOCB. The main part, which is us, is heavy metal. They are rappers," I responded.

"I can tell they rap because of their outfits. The caps facing backward give it away," Rarity said. "The rest of you don't look like you play heavy metal."

"Looks can be deceiving, amiga," Levi replied. There was more truth to that statement than the girls realized.

"What do you do, Sunset Shimmer?" Jessie asked.

"I'm not in a band. No one has asked me yet. I wouldn't mind being a band manager, though."

"I could show you a few things about being a manager if you'd like," offered Jessie.

"Thank you."

Then, there was that pesky awkward silence. To break the silence, Rarity asked us questions that sent us scrambling for answers.

"What brings you to Canterlot?"

I started to sweat. Levi's dark skin somehow managed to turn a deep red. Devin started to speak, but I interrupted him.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," I said nervously.

"Try us. We've seen things that are pretty different," replied Sunset Shimmer.

"Sag nichts, Matthew."

(German) "Don't say anything, Matthew!" Eric snapped.

I mouthed that he needed to trust me in Russian.

This time, Jesus didn't say that these were the people I should trust. Instead, He told me to go with my gut instinct. Thankfully, I was right.

"To be honest-" I said in a low voice. "- we are from a different dimension."

My group was silent with shock.

"Been there and seen that," Rainbow Dash said, much to my surprise.

"Do you know Princess Twilight?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Princess, who? No, we are from another dimension," I responded. "I operate as a government assassin. Everyone except Hannah and Jessie is a government assassins-for-hire. We are looking for a terrorist leader named Headhunter. He leads the terrorist group called the Burakkusunēku or the Black Snake."

"I know who you are talking about. What is horrible is that the police can't catch him or his group," Rarity stated. "They either get away, fight until they are killed, or...commit suicide."

"That's the Japanese for you," Brody said.

"Anyway, he escaped a mental hospital and raised an army of terrorists. He has committed many crimes in our dimension."

"Who do you work for?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"A national security intelligence agency called the Central Intelligence Agency."

"Why did they enlist teenagers to do adult work," asked Fluttershy.

"We all have powers, except Jessie. People call us mutants," I replied. "You can't tell anyone about this. I don't feel like sitting in an interrogation room explaining that I'm not insane."

"Then why are you telling us this?" Applejack asked.

"I have a feeling I can trust you enough to keep it quiet," I said.

Pinkie Pie picked up her poster and smiled. It was a painting of a pink guitar and a blue drum set. It was lovely. It smelled good.

"What is that smell?" I asked.

"Oh, I used cake frosting instead of paint," responded Pinkie Pie.

"Let me smell," Daniel said.

Pinkie shoved the poster in Daniel's face, almost knocking him over. Daniel pulled the sign off of his face. There was frosting and sprinkles all over his face. Lance and Dalton chuckled.

"Umm…Daniel, you got a little something on your face," Applejack announced.

Daniel immediately wiped his face off with his sleeve. Then, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna walked into the gym.

Vice Principal Luna had dark blue skin with the same color hair. She was a little shorter than her sister. She seemed to be the silent but thoughtful type.

"Good morning, students. I just wanted to tell you how pleased I am that so many of you are going to participate in the first-ever Canterlot High School Musical Showcase," Principal Celestia shouted as she walked through the amassed students.

The students cheered. The noise was louder than the Gotham City Knights Stadium. It took the principals a few moments to quiet the students down.

"This is an opportunity to raise money for all our after-school programs here at CHS, so keep working on those signs and posters. I think this will be one of the most exciting events we've had at CHS since the Fall Formal," continued Principal Celestia after quieting the students.

Every student turned and glared at Sunset Shimmer with hateful glares. Some students, who were close to us, said some pretty awful things under their breath. Let's say it was similar to what Orange Bunny would say. Someone shot a spitball, behind the principals' backs, at Sunset Shimmer, but Devin caught it mid-flight. He then tossed it into a nearby garbage can.

Sunset hid her face in her hands, slumped against the wall, and put her head in her lap.

The group and I were confused about why the students looked at her that way.

Principal Celestia walked over to us and told the girls they could go to the music room. Rainbow Dash invited us to come with them. We accepted, and we followed.

Brody walked up behind me and slapped me behind the head as we walked down the hall. Eric pushed me into the lockers to my right. There was a dent in the locker door.

“Ben je gek geworden. Waarom heb je onze identiteit onthuld?”

(Dutch) "Are you out of your mind? Why did you reveal our identities?" Eric asked gruffly.

“Ich weiß was ich tue. Vertrauen Sie mir diesbezüglich.”

(German) "I know what I'm doing. Trust me on this," I replied.

“Ik vind het moeilijk om dat te doen, Matthew.”

(Dutch) "I'm finding it hard to do that, Matthew."

The music room was several doors down the hall to the left. The room was large. In the back was a large window. The window was near the room, so only tall people could look over it. To my left was a grand piano. On the other end was a bunch of percussion stuff. In the middle of the room were the Rainbooms instruments.

Sunset Shimmer sat on top of the piano and put her head in her hands. She was upset about the thing that went down in the gym.

"I'm never going to live that down," Sunset Shimmer groaned.

"You were pretty bad at the Fall Formal," Fluttershy said as she grabbed her tambourine.

"Okay. What did you do at the Fall Formal that gives you such a bad rap," Hannah asked.

"It's what she did before, too," Applejack said.

"Care to elaborate," Jessie added.

Rarity looked over at Sunset Shimmer. She picked her head up and gave Rarity a look of approval. Probably to tell the story. Sunset Shimmer put her head back into her hands.

"When Sunset Shimmer first came here, she was, for lack of better terms, a jerk. She was like that for a long time," Rarity explained. "A girl named Twilight Sparkle, a princess from another dimension, came looking for her crown with magical capabilities, which Sunset had stolen from her. Long story short, Twilight helped Sunset begin a path of reformation."

"What kind of magic did the crown have?" Dalton asked.

"The magic of friendship," Sunset Shimmer replied.

My group, including Jessie, cracked up laughing. It was the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Dalton laughed the hardest, being a Chaos Magic wielder.

"That's the most stupid kind of magic I've ever heard of," he said.

"It is not. It's probably the most powerful kind there is," retorted Applejack.

"What makes it so powerful? That sounds like something from a TV show for kids," I asked, trying to calm myself down.

"It is mighty. Sunset Shimmer is from that dimension, so she knew about the crown. In the crown, had something called an Element of Harmony. The Element had the Magic of Friendship in it. Sunset Shimmer stole it from Princess Twilight. She used to turn herself into a… what were you exactly?" Applejack said.

"A she-demon. I turned into a raging she-demon," responded Sunset Shimmer.

"And she tried turning everyone here into teenage zombies for her army," Pinkie Pie added.

"Compared to our chaotic dimension, that's pretty mild," Brody said.

"How is that mild?" Sunset Shimmer asked, sounding surprised at Brody's statement.

"A New York city was invaded by an alien army led by an Asgardian named Loki. The army was borrowed from a Titan named Thanos, the third most powerful being in the universe. Another alien, named Darkseid, is the second," Brody explained.

"You guys have quite a few alien problems," Fluttershy said.

"It happens less than you think," Jessie added.

"Who is the most powerful being in your universe?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"The guy we worship. His name is God."

"That's original."

"He's been alive forever, so in his defense, that's pretty original."

The girls went over to their instruments and put them or sat behind them in Pinkie's case. The girls started to tune their instruments. A part of me was jealous that they were playing.

"Do you mind if we play a song for you?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"No, we don't mind," Jessie said.

Some of the guys tried to object, but Jessie shot them down.

"This song is called Better Than Ever," Rainbow Dash announced.

The song was perfect. It was a toe-tapper.

During the song, something happened that caught all of our attention. The girls magically grew pony ears and long ponytails. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy grew wings. To be honest, the sight was pretty cool. When the girls stopped playing, their bodies returned to normal. The group and I were stunned.

"What the heck was that?" Devin asked.

"I don't know what it is. It always happens when we play," Rarity said as she took off her keytar and put it on the rack.

"I would like to know why it happens. Princess Twilight took her crown back to Equestria. Shouldn't the magic have gone back with her?" Applejack.

"Here's what has happened. Think of this magic as a virus. When the magic was released, you were 'infected' with it. It still resides in you even if the source is gone," Jessie explained.

"That makes perfect sense," Pinkie said.

"Who cares why it happens! It makes my band awesome," Rainbow Dash put in.

"Oh. Your band?" Rarity asked.

"Well, duh. My idea was to create the Rainbooms so we could be in the showcase. Plus, I'm the lead guitarist and singer of the band."

Suddenly, the door opened, and a teenage boy walked in.

The boy was a tall, skinny kid. His skin color was light Orange. He had blue hair that was swept back and spiked. He wore a light blue shirt and blue jeans. On his was a navy blue shield with a large yellow lightning bolt. Also, he wore a navy blue jacket. He looked like a rock star or something like that.

"I heard you outside. You guys sound really tight."

"Uhh... We're getting there. Rarity is still coming in late on the second verse, and Applejack's bass solo needs better work. They'll get it by the time of the showcase," Rainbow Dash said.

Applejack and Rarity gave Rainbow Dash a dirty look. I automatically felt some growing tension between the girls.

"And who are you?" Lance asked.

"I'm Flash Sentry. I'm the lead guitarist and vocals of my band, Flash Drive."

"Hey, I'm your position," I announced.

"You guys are new. What are your names?" Flash asked.

I introduced the group and myself. Each one waved as I said their names. Flash tried to keep track because I babbled.

"Nice to meet you, guys," Flash said.

"You, too," Jessie replied.

"I don't suppose any of our friends from...uhh…from out of town would come to the showcase. You know, it is a special charity event and all." Flash asked.

"Sorry, Flash. I don't think Twilight will be back at Canterlot High anytime soon," answered Applejack.

"Haha...yeah...okay. I...you know...thought I'd ask," Flash said, embarrassed. "Keep in rocking it."

He tried to walk back out the door but backed into the wall. Flash blushed and moved over, and backed out the door. Anyone would've guessed the Flash had a crush on this princess from another dimension.

Rarity chuckled and said, "Well, someone is quite the smitten kitten."

Sunset Shimmer looked a bit hurt. I couldn't tell if she was jealous or remembered a terrible memory.

"Oh, sorry. I always forget that you and Flash used to be an item," Rarity apologized.

"It's okay. Flash is a great guy, but I never really liked him. I was only using him to get more popular," Sunset Shimmer replied.

"That is what we call a 'player,'" Daniel announced.

Right about then, I heard some glass shatter. All of us pulled whipped around and pulled out our pistols. The Rainbooms were shocked at the sight of guns.

A large circle, about two feet in diameter, had been cut into the window. Then an orange bunny hopped out behind the drumset. It was Orange Bunny. We all put our guns away, but Fluttershy made a bad mistake. She approached Orange, pulled out a carrot, and knelt in front of her.

"Um... Fluttershy. I wouldn't do that if I were you," I warned.

"What could a sweet, little, cute bunny do to me?" Fluttershy said.

"I heard bunnies will attack you if threatened," Dylan announced.

"They will not," Fluttershy replied. "They are the sweetest creatures ever to roam the earth. Come here, bunny rabbit. It's okay."

Suddenly, Orange jumped at Fluttershy with her knife pulled, ready for the kill.

Chapter 7

After reading this chapter, you will probably view the group and me and how we do things differently. If you can bear with us during this chapter, we do things we wouldn't do as a first resort. Thanks for understanding.

When we returned home, Jessie went to the pool for a "swim and some well-deserved relaxation time in the hot tub." I made sure Hannah went with her for safety.

While the girls went swimming, Orange ran tests on the green gas-like stuff she collected in the cafeteria. I explained to the rest of the group what she was testing. Surprisingly, the guys seemed interested.

After two hours of testing and experiments, she came up with results. Despite having an answer, the answer caused more questions.

"Well, what is it?" Justin asked.

"I don't fucking know," Orange Bunny responded. "I've never seen anything fucking like this before."

"Is there anything else we can do to figure out what it is?" Dylan asked.

"Nope."

"Do you think one of the kids here knows what it is? Maybe we can ask them?" Eric asked.

"That's a good idea. Orange Bunny, check the school's security cameras to see if anyone is still at the school," I ordered.

Orange Bunny hacked into the school's security camera system. She checked every single one. Only one showed that a student was at the school. The camera pointed toward the student parking lot behind the school. The student was Flash Sentry. He was leaning against the hood of his car and talking on the phone.

"Let's see if he knows anything," I said.

"How the heck are we getting over there? By the time we arrive, he would probably have left," Dylan asked.

"Dude, did you seriously just ask that?" Devin asked.

"You can teleport over there," Eric said.

"Plus, anyone who touches you will be teleported, too," Daniel added.

"Dylan and Justin, let's go over there and ask him a few questions," I ordered. "Eric, send me a picture of the stuff so I can show Flash."

Dylan and Justin followed me out of the apartment. Justin and I put our hands on Dylan's shoulders. One moment we were on the porch, then next, we were at the school. After the teleportation, I felt a little dizzy. The effect wore off quickly, though.

We ran around the back of the school to the student parking lot. Flash was on the other side of the parking lot, and his back was facing us, still on his cell phone. The guys and I walked casually across the parking lot.

As we walked up behind Flash, I saw Justin speed walk to get to Flash. Instead of tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention, he hit Flash on the side of his head. Flash fell to the ground, unconscious. His phone clattered to the floor, and the screen shattered.

"Dude, have you lost your mind?!" Dylan yelled.

"When Matthew said, 'Let's see if he knows anything.' I thought you meant to capture and interrogate Flash," Justin replied.

"I wasn't using a code, Justin. I meant legitimately to ask him questions," I responded. "Now we have to bring him to the apartment."

Dylan picked Flash up and motioned for me to open the back door. Thankfully, Flash had left the door unlocked. He laid Flash in the backseat and closed the door.

I got in the driver's seat, Dylan got into the passenger's seat, and Justin got in the back. I looked for a keyhole but found a 'Start' button. I pressed it, but the car into drive and drove away. When we reached our apartment, I parked the car next to Jessie's truck. Justin got out and carried Flash over his shoulder.

After we entered the apartment, everyone stared at us. Hannah and Jessie had returned and were surprised to see Flash unconscious.

"What happened?" Eric asked.

"We were about to ask Flash Sentry about that green mist stuff until Justin knocked him out. He thought we were going to bring him here," I responded.

"So now what?" Levi asked.

"Justin, get a chair and some rope and tie Flash to the chair. Eric and Daniel move a table and put it in front of Flash. I'll plug in a lamp and turn off the lights. Jessie, you go to my room. Everyone else, suit up," I directed.

We put on our masks and our uniforms. When I walked into the living room, I turned off the lights and turned on the lamp. About five minutes later, Flash woke up. He immediately freaked out and began to ask frantic questions.

"Don't worry, Flash Sentry. You are safe," I said in a low voice.

"What? Who are you?" Flash asked.

I hesitated. I was used to saying my CIA agent name, Agent Nightwatcher. To me, saying "Agent Nightwatcher" was a mouthful. Therefore, I went with something else.

"You can call me...Nightwatcher," I responded.

"Okay, Nightwatcher. What do you want? Why was I knocked out?"

"One question at a time, Flash. First off, I need to ask you a few questions. Second, I needed you to come along quietly."

"What questions do you want to ask me?"

“Eric, ngilethe inkungu eluhlaza.”

(Zulu) "Eric, bring me the green mist."

Flash looked at me funny as Eric handed me the test tube. I put the box on the table and pushed it toward Flash. He didn't seem interested.

"What is this?" he asked.

"I don't know. I figured you would know," I replied.

"Is this a joke? ?because if it is, I'm not amused."

I reached out and pulled Flash close to my face by his collar. When I spoke, I lowered my voice to add intimidation.

"I can guarantee you, Flash Sentry, this isn't a joke."

I released him, and the chair fell back, almost breaking it.

"As I was asking, what is this? One of my associates at Canterlot High School's cafeteria collected this," I growled.

"Phht. I don't know. Ask a scientist, genius," Flash replied sarcastically.

“Brody, va derrière Flash et pose tes mains sur ses épaules. Choquez-le sur mon ordre. Ne le tuez pas cependant.

(French) "Brody, go behind Flash and put your hands on his shoulders. Shock him on my command. Don't kill him, though." I told Brody

"Licuit, Matth."

(Latin) "Alright, Matthew."

Brody followed my order and placed his hands on Flash's shoulders. Flash jumped and looked behind him only to see Brody's mask.

"This is my friend. We call him Shadow Charger. Don't be frightened by him. He wouldn't hurt a fly."

As if by chance, a fly flew in front of Brody. He snatched the fly and killed it. He returned his hand to its place on Flash's shoulder.

"I'm going to ask you again. What is this stuff?" I asked.

"I told you. Ask a scientist, genius," Flash replied.

"Adesso!!"

(Italian) "Now!!" I yelled.

Brody sent electricity coursing through Flash's body. Flash tensed up and cried out in pain. I made Brody stop after seven seconds. Flash started to breathe heavily.

"What was that?" he panted.

"Shadow Charger here can shoot electricity from his hands. He can control the voltage, as well. Next time you respond like that, you will get something worse. Now, what is this?"

"I told you. I don't know what it is."

It seemed like Flash was hiding something. I made Brody shock Flash again. I made sure the voltage was about 1,000 volts. It only lasted for five seconds.

"What was that for? I wasn't being sarcastic or a smart elicit," Flash panted.

"You're hiding something that involves this green stuff! Tell me what you are hiding!" I yelled.

"No, I'm not. I swear. I don't know what that stuff is."

I made Brody shock him again, but the voltage was at 2,000. This lasted for ten seconds, and Flash screamed in pain.

"I mean it, Nightwatcher. I don't know what it is," whimpered Flash.

“debin, geuui ma-eum-eul ilg-go geuga jinsil-Eul malhago issneunji malhae bwa.”

(Korean) "Devin read his mind and tell me if he's telling the truth," I ordered.

"Nakuha ko."

(Filipino) "Got it," Devin replied.

"Next time you lie to me, I'll have Shadow Charger kill you. You already know the question."

"I. Don't. Know," Flash uttered softly.

I looked at Devin. He gave me a thumbs-up, which meant Flash was telling the truth. Then, Jesus spoke into my head.

"Matthew, stop this madness. Release him because he is one of the people you need to trust."

"Shadow Charger, stand down. Blitzing Knight, turn on the lights," I commanded.

They followed my instructions. When Dylan turned on the lights, Flash squinted his eyes as he was slightly blinded. When his vision adjusted, he looked a little stunned to see several masked people in the room.

"Can I go now?" he asked.

"No. You have yet to serve your purpose," I replied.

"What purpose? I thought we were done with the torture."

"We need an ally. One we can trust. That one is you."

"Me? Ha! That is hilarious. You torture me to get the information I don't have, and then you dare to ask me to be your ally. Hell no."

I figured Flash would say that. I pulled out two one-hundred dollar bills and put them on the desk. There was no way that Flash would turn down $200. Thankfully, he seemed interested.

"I'll pay you two hundred dollars if you work with us on this assignment, for lack of better terms," I offered.

"Deal," Flash said.

I had Dalton cut Flash loose. Flash and I shook hands to confirm the deal. Then, I motioned for everyone to remove the masks. Eric was hesitant.

“Matha, chuir tú ár bhféiniúlachtaí in iúl go ró-mhinic.”

(Irish) "Matthew, you have revealed our identities too many times," Eric snapped.

“yah ullekh chhodo, Erik. jaisa ki mainne pahale kaha tha, aapako mujh par bharosa karana hoga.”

(Hindi) "Quit mentioning it, Eric. As I said before, you have to trust me," I said.

"shì de。 wǒ zhī dào nǐ shuō guò。”

(Chinese) "Yeah. I know you said it before."

Everyone removed their masks. Flash's eyes grew to the size of softballs. He looked astonished at our identities.

"You… you're... the new kids!" exclaimed Flash.

"Guilty as charged," Brody said.

"Unfortunately," Eric mumbled.

"So what are you? Assassins?" Flash asked.

"Kind of, sort of," I replied.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I would use the term 'vigilantes,' but 'assassins' will do."

"Do all of you have powers?" Flash questioned.

"All of us except Jessie."

"Dude, this is legit. I can't wait to tell my…."

"Oh no. You are not telling anyone about us. The money is also to keep your mouth shut," Eric ordered.

Then, I told Flash about the predicament with the green mist, what was happening at CHS, and why I interrogated him. He said that he would help us in any way he could. I told him that he had to act like he was still under the spell, even if it meant being rude to people. Flash demanded fifty more bucks for that part. I agreed and tossed a fifty-dollar bill on the stack. Flash took the money and pocketed it.

Jessie came out of the bedroom and greeted Flash. She apologized for me allowing Brody to torture him.

"Back to our previous intention, what the hell is this stuff?" asked Orange.

"What the heck is that?" Flash asked, referring to Orange Bunny.

"I'll explain later," I said.

"Maybe you could ask Twilight. She's into that magic bullcrap," Devin suggested.

"How come you didn't say that before?" I asked.

"It didn't come to me earlier," he replied.

"Hold on; WE are going to see Twilight. You're not going to torture her," asked Flash.

"Wasn't planning on it. Devin and Orange, come with me. Flash, do you know where Twilight is at?" I answered.

"As one of my band members walked out of the school, he heard Pinkie mention a slumber party at her house. You could try there." Flash replied.

"Perfect. Do you know how to get there?"

"Yeah. I can drive you there if you want me to."

"Even better. Orange, you should bring your computer just in case."

I grabbed the jar of the green mist from the table and headed out the door.

The four of us got into Flash's car, with Flash driving. We drove through the suburbs for about seven minutes until we reached Pinkie's house. I ensured that Flash parked where we could be hidden in plain sight. There was a parking lot near a park just across the street from Pinkie's house. We waited until it was dark before moving on to the place.

While we waited, I explained in detail how our powers worked. I wasn't surprised that Flash was interested in our abilities. Especially Daniel and Levi's powers.

Eventually, it got dark outside, and the lights in the house were off, except for the one in the kitchen. We waited until we were sure that everyone was asleep. What was weird was that Twilight Sparkle got up and went into the kitchen right when Devin and I were about to get out of the car. She sat on an island doing something. She had a pencil in her mouth. I guess she was either writing or thinking. Flash was staring at her, and I had to slug him to get him to stop.

"Well, let's go in. We don't have all night," Devin said.

"Hold it. Don't be a dumbass," Orange said.

"What do you mean?"

"If you look in the yard, there is a sign that says that an alarm system protects the house."

"Can you hack into it and shut it off?" I asked.

"Let me look." Orange Bunny replied.

Orange resumed typing on her computer. Within moments, she was finished.

"From the company's web page, it has military-grade encryption, so hacking isn't an option because it would take the time we don't have. But cutting the power is another option. If I knew their electrical company, I could cut the power."

"Oh, my dad works at the electrical company that powers the Pies' house. It's called Canterlot Urban Electric Incorporated."

Orange returned to typing on her computer. Within a few minutes, she announced she was in.

I put on my breathing apparatus and put it in my earpiece. Devin put on his mask. As we walked over to the Pies', Devin pointed at a box that looked like an air conditioner. After looking at it for a few seconds, I realized it was one of those backup generators.

I pushed on my earpiece to activate the comlink in the breathing apparatus.

"Orange Bunny- do you read me?" I whispered as Devin, and I crouched at the front door.

"What is it, bitch," Orange replied.

"There's a backup generator next to the house. We are going to have to get in quickly. How long do you think we have?"

"From the looks of it, the generator looks like one of the off-brand pieces of shit." I heard Orange Bunny typing on her computer. "You have about thirty seconds before the power comes back on."

I pulled out my driver's license and tried to unlock the door. Thankfully, Orange Bunny shut off the power before I began. I finished with ten seconds left, so Devin and I snuck into the house.

Devin closed the door, and we found the kitchen. Twilight looked a bit confused at the loss of power. I snuck in and stood in front of the counter in the middle of the room.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle," I said in a low voice as the power returned.

"Who...who are you?" Twilight gasped.

"I go by many names, but you can call me Nightwatcher," I replied.

"es uk've meored tkva: "shen shegidzlia mitkhrat Nightwatcher."

(Georgian) "That's the second time you said, 'You can call me Nightwatcher.'

"Shut up," I growled.

"Who is that?" Twilight asked, looking at Devin.

"This my friend, Mind Probe. I came here to ask you a few questions

"Okay." Twilight sounded nervous. I pulled out the test tube with that green mist and laid it on the counter.

"This green, whatever this is, was collected during lunch today. My sources ran tests, but they didn't come up with anything. Then, they told me to ask you. So, what is it?"

I saw a look of recognition come over Twilight's face. She picked up the test tube, stared at it, and set it down.

"I don't know what it is," Twilight responded flatly.

"For some reason, I get the feeling you're lying."

"Well, I'm not."

I looked over at Devin. He signaled that she was lying, which was a thumbs down. My suspicions were correct.

"Mind Probe, here, says you're lying. He can read your mind. No lie is safe; therefore, tell the truth. What is this?" I growled as I pointed a pistol at her face. I pressed the barrel against her forehead and pulled back the hammer.

"What is that you are pointing at me?" Twilight asked as her eyes rolled upward to look at the pistol.

I completely forgot she was from a different dimension. I would assume, from her question, that guns didn't exist. So I tried to give the best explanation of a firearm.

"Well, a gun is a ranged weapon typically designed to shoot solid projectiles. The solid object is called a bullet. The bullet can fly at supersonic speeds. Long story short, lie to me again, and I will not hesitate to pull the trigger and kill you," I explained.

Twilight sighed and spoke, "It's negative energy. It's magic leaving the body that consists of hate, mistrust, and anger. The creatures called the Sirens, use it to gain power. I'm sure your sources told you about them."

"They did. If they gain full power?" I asked, hoping to get more information.

"They can cause people to follow them blindly. To put it simply, the Sirens put a spell on the people. They are extremely dangerous."

I looked over at Devin to get a signal. He gave a thumbs up.

Now, I knew how Hamato's plan was going to work. His plan was bigger than I thought. He would use the Sirens to cause the people to follow them. Then, the Sirens would make the people follow Headhunter's orders. They had to be stopped.

"Thank you for your cooperation," I said as I pocketed the test tube.

"HEY! Who are you!!" someone shouted to my right.

Devin, Twilight, and I looked to my right. A man with a shotgun resembling a Mossberg 500 pointed at me.

"I'm Nightwatcher, and my friend over there is Mind Probe," I replied.

"What the hell are you doing here, and how did you get in here?"

"First, that's none of your business. Second, I have my methods of breaking into houses. This isn't my first rodeo."

"I'm going to call the police. If you move a muscle, I'll shoot you."

"That's cute," I sneered.

I turned around to face Devin; a loud gunshot rang out. I felt shotgun pellets hit my shield. Then, I shot out the window. Another gunshot rang out. This time, the bullets hit the dishes that were next to me. Devin charged the man. He pulled the shotgun out of the man's hands; then the Spartan kicked the man in the chest. The man flew back into the wall. He was unconscious. I dove out of the house. Devin followed me, and we ran across the lawn.

I saw Flash turn on the car. Orange must have told him to get into the passenger's seat because he hurried over.

I opened the car door and got in. Devin got in the back. Devin almost didn't have time to close his door before I floored it. The tires squealed, and we took off from the parking lot and down the street. Flash grabbed the seat, and Orange started screaming, "Woo-hoo." Devin wanted me to drive faster. I hit about one-hundred-fifty miles per hour; then, I slowed down after about five miles.

"I think that went well," I said.

"That did? You threatened to kill Twilight and started fucking shooting," Flash yelled.

"You don't know shit about fucking aggressive interrogation, do you?" Orange Bunny asked.

"Apparently," Flash replied.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Flash. I was bluffing," I assured.

"And the shooting?"

"Normally, people would be dead. You can ask everyone who's worked with me."

Flash calmed down, and he directed me back to the apartment through a series of roads. Once, we saw a few police cars, with their sirens blaring, racing down the road.

Eventually, we made it back to the apartment. Flash dropped us off and went home.

When Devin, Orange Bunny, and I entered the apartment, everyone was lying on their cots, playing on their phones, or reading.

"It's been a long day," Eric announced as he looked up from his phone.

"My fingers are sore from typing so much, and my eyes hurt," Orange Bunny complained as she put on her laptop.

"That's what you get for being at your computer most of today," Dalton said.

"I'm going to shower and hit the sack," I announced.

"Good for you," Justin mumbled. I went into my room and did my nightly routine.

After about twenty minutes, I finally got into my bed. Orange came into the room about ten minutes after I went to bed. She got into her bed and went to sleep.

I lay there thinking about how to defeat the Sirens. If I killed them, it would be suspicious that the favored competitors of the Battle of the Bands turned dead after eleven new students showed up. Then, I remembered Jesus said we had to defeat using an unorthodox method. That concerned me, but I knew that Jesus would help us. All I had to do was put my faith in him and trust that he would do what was best for us.

Chapter 8

The next arrived quickly, thanks to a lack of sleep. It was the day of the Battle of the Bands. I received a text from Pinkie, which confused me since I never gave it to her. When I asked how she got my number, Pinkie didn't explain it well. I interpreted as she said that she got it to fill in a major plothole in the story. Considering what I had experienced in the last three days, I simply ignored it.

Anyway, Pinkie Pie said that she knew about Devin and me breaking into her house. And understandably so, but she was also impressed that we managed to break into the house without setting off the alarms. I said that we had some outside help

Sunset Shimmer, on the other hand, was not impressed. When we were invited to Applejack's farm to the Rainbooms practice before the Battle of the Bands, Sunset was out in the driveway waiting for us.

I got off of my motorcycle and walked over to her. Honestly, I expected her to say "hi". Instead, she tried to punch me. I managed to block the punch and pinch a nerve in her arm with my other hand that numbed her arm for a few moments.

"Good morning to you, too," I said as I released her arm.

"What the heck is wrong with you? You break into Pinkie's house, threaten Twilight with a gun, and start shooting. Not only that, Pinkie's dad is in the emergency room," Sunset Shimmer hissed. She rubbed her arm.

"Relax, no one is dead or permanently hurt. I needed to extract information that Flash told us she probably had."

"Wait, you interrogated Flash?"

I nodded my head. "Don't worry, he's fine. You can blame Justin for that one."

"Hey, it was a simple misunderstanding," Justin announced.

"Which occurs more often than we're comfortable with," I hear Hannah grumble.

"You could have come to me, instead of probably scarring two people for life. I'm from that dimension, as well," Sunset Shimmer said.

"Yet you didn't tell us who and what the Sirens were. If I remember correctly, we figured who they were before you did," Levi added.

Sunset Shimmer raised her eyebrow. "How?"

"They are similar to creatures in a story from our dimension. The only problem is that we needed to know what that green mist stuff was," Jessie interjected.

Sunset Shimmer pinched the bridge of her nose with her hand that wasn't numb. She shook her head.

"Just warn me next time you try to extract information using aggressive interrogation, so I can try to give you an answer," Sunset Shimmer pleaded.

"I can't make any promises," I replied.

She motioned for us to follow her, and she explained The Rainbooms' plan to defeat the Sirens. They had to play a song that was being written by Twilight. The way it would work was the song acted as a countermeasure to the spell. I think I speak that was a stupid idea. Then, they told us that Twilight joined the band, as well. When they told us that Twilight was the Rainbooms’ newest member, Sunset Shimmer looked emotionally hurt. I guess that the Rainbooms favored Twilight instead of Sunset Shimmer.

Eventually, we arrived at a large shed where the Rainbooms were practicing. We watched their performance in silence.

The song that Twilight wrote was complete crap. The rest of the band didn’t seem interested in playing the song. What was even worse, Twilight’s voice was The Rainbooms’ magic transformation thing didn’t even show up. The entire thing was so bad, it was laughable.

When the song ended. Lance, Daniel, the twins, Hannah, and Justin were stifling a laugh. I was trying to hold in a negative comment, but it was hard to. However, Daniel didn't have that problem.

“That was the worst performance I’ve ever seen in my life,” Daniel announced.

“I agree,” Lance said.

“Yeah. What is wrong with you guys? Were you even trying?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I was trying,” Fluttershy replied quietly.

“We could play better even with new songs,” Daniel said.

“Oh, yeah?” Rainbow Dash challenged.

“Yeah. I bet we would demolish you in the Battle of the Bands,” Daniel said.

“Prove it.”

We hadn’t played together in two years. Rainbow Dash thought we were going to forfeit because we weren’t good. Our group got a little ticked off that Daniel "voluntold" us to play a song to shut Rainbow Dash up.

Within a few minutes, we brought all of our instruments. Then, we ran into another problem. We didn’t have a song to play. Since Daniel and Lance were with us, we had to play a song with the cello and violin.

“Let’s play The Last Night,” Devin suggested.

“Devin, the song is a bit depressing. We need a song that will blow Rainbow Dash out of the water,” Brody said.

“That's true.”

“ What about Salvation?” Hannah suggested.

“ The only reason you want to play Salvation is because you have the main part,” Dylan said.

“So?”

“How about Comatose?” Brody asked.

We all agreed on the song. Applejack told Rainbow Dash that she should ask the rest of their band what they want to play. Rainbow Dash ignored her statement.

Sunset Shimmer and Spike agreed to judge. Since they knew how the Rainbooms performed at their best, the “judges” told us to play. Brody counted us off and for the first time in two years, we played.

I took a deep breath as Lance and Daniel started to play. I knew the chords and the vocals, but I was nervous. I guess it was because of how long it was since we played. However, that nervousness melted away when I strummed the first chord.

The song flowed perfectly. Despite not playing together for two years. I honestly thought my voice would be offkey, but it wasn't. We played perfectly from the beginning to the end.

“So what do you think, judges?” I asked as the last chord rang out.

“I'm going to be honest, here. I think that Matthew's bad is the better band,” Sunset Shimmer replied.

Rainbow Dash groaned as we gave each other high fives and fist bumps. Then, Spike made his choice. I was concerned that we allowed a dog, of all things, to be a judge.

“Matthew, what is your band’s name?” Spike asked.

“Teens Of Christ Band,” I responded. “Or TOCB, for short.”

“My vote goes to TOCB," Spike announced.

My group started cheering. Rainbow Dash looked a little ticked off. She called Sunset Shimmer a “traitor” and started mumbling something under her breath.

“As I said, Rainbow Dash, you are not awesome at everything. The sooner you figure that out, the less it will crush you later,” Daniel taunted.

“He isn’t wrong, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said.

“I think we need to rethink our game plan,” Pinkie Pie said. “No offense, Twilight, but you can’t sing.”

“How about Twilight and I switch roles?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“I agree with her,” Levi said.

“I think that idea would be better,” Twilight agreed.

“Since it is fresh on my mind, let’s talk about our costumes,” Rarity announced.

Rarity pulled out from in front of it a mobile clothing rack. On the rack, there were at least twenty costumes. My question was how much free time Rarity had to make a large number of costumes.

“We could try this one,” suggested Rarity as she slipped one on over her clothes.

The costume looked like a marching band uniform but with a skirt and a lot of glitters. If you wanted to dazzle the judges at a marching contest, that uniform would do the trick.

“Um, Rarity. You do know this is a battle of the bands, not a marching band contest,” Devin pointed out.

“You’re right. We could go with something more modern,” Rarity said.

“For the last time, Rarity, cut it out with the costumes,” Applejack complained. “You have y too many costumes."

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you guys supposed to be at the high school to sign in at nine o’clock?” Sunset Shimmer interjected as she looked at her phone.

“Yes,” replied Fluttershy.

“It is 8:45 right now,” announced Sunset Shimmer.

The Rainbooms started to panic and pack up their things. They loaded everything in Applejack’s older brother’s trailer that was hooked to her truck. Some of the girls sat inside the truck while the rest rode in the bed. The dimension allowed people to ride in the back of trucks if they went 25 miles per hour or slower.

After the Rainbooms left, we started picking up our band equipment and loading them onto the van. Within ten minutes, we had everything loaded. Then, we left for CHS in our vehicles.

When we arrived at CHS, the student parking lot was packed. Students, who were in bands, were lined up to sign in for the Battle of the Bands. I counted over ten bands lined up and several more arriving. Our group went up to the door, but we were stopped by the guy signing people in. We're cutting in line.

“Hey, back of the line,” he told us.

“ We aren’t competing. We pulled out of the competition,” I told him.

“Okay, go on ahead," the kids said.

I held the door open and found a soda can on the ground. When Lance went through the door, since he was last, I closed the door and walked down the hall.

We went to the gym and found a seat in the bleachers. The Rainbooms saw us and they sat with us. They told us they didn’t have to perform until a couple buys named, Snips and Snails, finished. Jessie asked me to come with her to the bracket board, which was in front of the stage.

As we walked to the board, I saw the Sirens talking amongst themselves.

The fact they were working for Hamato made me nervous. One way or another, they needed to be stopped.

The bracket board had the set-up of the March Madness college basketball tournament. Except there were fewer teams. In total, there were thirty-two bands. The Rainbooms were the third band to play. They were competing against two girls playing a duet on the piano.

“This Battle of the Bands looks fierce,” Jessie said.

“Considering most of the school under a spell, the word ‘fierce’ fits or an understatement. A friendly showcase turned sour. This sounds like our school plays our freshman year,” I replied.

“Don’t remind me. Sarah shouldn’t have gotten suspended. The girl bull rushed her and Sarah defended herself.”

“Nothing we could do.”

As we turned around to go sit back down, Sirens were standing behind us. The leader had her arms crossed and a sadistic smile on her face. The other two also had sadistic grins on their faces.

“Scoping out the competition?” asked the leader.

“No, we pulled out of the Battle of the Bands. Our band is only for entertainment,” I responded.

“Your loss. I’m Adagio Dazzle,” the leader said.

“I’m Matthew Wilson. This is my girlfriend, Jessie Anderson.”

“Pleasure to meet you both,” replied Adagio.

“Who are your companions?” Jessie asked.

“On my right is Aria Blaze and on my left is Sonata Dusk.”

“My pleasure to meet you. We’re going to sit down and watch the show,” I lied.

Jessie and I walked back to our seats, I heard Adagio ask me, "Are you sure you don’t want to prove you are the best?”

I turned around and replied, “There is always someone better than you.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing you getting proven wrong.”

Jessie and I returned to our seats. Daniel asked what happened and I let Jessie explain. After about ten minutes, the two principals walked into the gym.

“Hello everyone. Welcome to CHS’s first annual Battle of the Bands,” Principal Celestia shouted

“Ez egy éves esemény, most?”

(Hungarian) “This is an annual, now?” Lance asked.

“Það mun ekki vera after að Steinarnir eru barnar.”

(Icelandic) “It won’t be after the Sirens are beaten,” I replied

“Minu küsimus on, kuidas. Et Twilighti plaan on läbikukkunud.”

(Estonian) “My question is how. Twilight’s plan is doomed to fail,” Daniel added.

“Wir werden einen Weg finden, die Sirenen zu besiegen.”

(German) “We’ll find a way to beat the Sirens,” I said.

Celestia told the students that Luna and herself would be the judges. I thought that everybody knew that already but not. She also discussed the rules of the competition and how each performance will be judged. The way the principals would be judging seemed like they were going easy on the bands. It was quite pathetic.

Then, Vice Principal Luna said something that caused the arguing to start up again.

“There can be only one winner. Who is going to win?”

The entire gym, except us, started to argue. It was very irritating, considering that Orange and my friends' butt heads a lot. I saw Flash and his band arguing with another band. So far, he was doing what I paid him to do. Then, I saw more of that negative energy hovering around.

Eventually, Principal Celestia became fed up with the arguing and calmed the students down. Then, Vice Principal Luna announced a guy named Bulk Biceps was up first in two minutes. A bulky guy walked onto the stage with a violin and tuned his violin.

I admired that he used his two minutes wisely. Then, the principals told him they were ready.

I had to admit, Bulk Bicep’s performance was amazing. What was amazing was that he played a hard piece of music from our dimension, called Con and Gigue, by memory. Daniel looked impressed. I guess he has the right to think that since he’s our violin player.

When he was done, only Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and very few people clapped, which is very sad. I noticed that our group was about to clap but stopped when the clapping ceased.

The next group to perform was Snips and Snails. They were dressed like a couple of 90’s rappers. You know, the sagging of the pants, flat-bill hats facing sideways, and sunglasses. Most of our group looked like we're about to laugh. Then again, so was everyone else in the gym.

Before Snips and Snails began, the Rainbooms and Sunset Shimmer went to the side of the stage since they were “on deck”. Rarity ran off to the bathroom for an “emergency”. Whatever that meant.

I think I speak for everyone in the gym when I say the performance was outright terrible. Snips and Snails were trying to freestyle the entire time. It was like they weren't even trying. Dalton was almost rolling on the floor, but he was snickering, along with Levi. Eric was clenching his jaw to prevent himself from laughing. What sent Dalton running for the bathroom laughing his head off was when the duo tried to beatbox at the end. Then, they tried to do “drop the mic”, but the only result was the worst microphone feedback I ever heard. Celestia ordered the two not to drop the microphones. Then, Levi shouted something that got the principals and Bulk Biceps, not like him.

“Hey, they attempted to ‘drop the mike’! You should let them win!”

The entire gym stared at him. The principals gave him a dirty look. Bulk Biceps looked like he was about to kill him. Snips and Snails chuckled to themselves.

“That wasn’t necessary, Mr. Rodriguez. I suggest you keep your mouth closed or I will put you in detention,” snapped Celestia.

Levi gave them a thumbs up. I was trying to not go off on Levi since I was the most embarrassed.

Luna and Celestia went up onto the stage with a couple of clipboards but remained behind the curtain. I guess they were discussing who would advance to the next round. It only took about thirty seconds to decide. They went over to the bracket board and took a red dry-erase marker and marked out Snips and Snails. Then, they moved Bulk Biceps to the next round.

Then, I saw Rarity running across the gym and over to the band. She had changed clothes and had on a buckskin hippie outfit with metal all over it. It was a bit ridiculous. They talked for a little bit, and then they took the stage.

The Rainbooms performance was exceptional. They played a song called “Shake Your Tail”. The song was related to partying. Not the drinking, smoking weed, and refusing to remain a virgin type partying. I was beginning to think that the dimension didn’t have that kind of problem.

During the song, there were a few problems that occurred. I saw other bands trying to sabotage the Rainbooms. One attempt caused Rarity’s outfit and the sleeves to tear and her to cry. Pinkie fired a confetti cannon, that was also the floor tom, and the confetti got stuck in Rainbow Dash’s guitar frets. One-piece flew into Twilight’s throat and caused her to choke which was bad since she had backup vocals. Fluttershy did her a solid and hit her in the back. The piece of confetti flew out. Speaking of Fluttershy, since Fluttershy is very shy, she hates being in the spotlight. Anyway, a band used light to shine on her. She ran back and forth on the stage trying to avoid the spotlight. Despite the sabotage and Pinkie’s confetti cannon, the Rainbooms moved onto the next round.

Our group went to the music room and hung out there. The Rainbooms joined us but were arguing about what song to play next. While they were doing that, Twilight frantically wrote in that notebook she was writing In last night. Fluttershy tried to suggest playing her song, but Rainbow Dash ignored her. It got to the point where I chewed the Rainbooms.

“Will you guys shut up?!” I shouted.

Everyone looked at me. The Rainbooms were shocked that I had yelled at them.

“Do you girls even hear yourselves? You’re becoming exactly what you are trying to fight. You are arguing with each other, and you’re acting like the bozos that are under the Sirens’ spell. How do you expect to beat the Sirens if you are acting like this? Rainbow Dash, you are the main source of the problem.”

“How am I the main source?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Your enormous ego is getting in the way of everything. ‘ I’m so awesome and blah, blah, blah. Believe me, it gets on everyone’s nerves. You think you are the boss of the entire band. I know that the rest of the band gets extremely annoyed by it. Can I get a witness?”

“Preach it, pastor,” Devin said.

“Amen,” Dylan added.

"Oorah!” Justin shouted.

“Um…I agree,” Fluttershy mumbled.

“Every single day, you are sounding like your dad,” Lance announced.

“Then Dad raised me right,” I replied.

Rainbow Dash sat in a chair pouting like a six-year-old. The rest of us tried to make conversation. We did this until the Sweet 16 round started.

This round, Principal Celestia used the PA system to call people to the stage. A little in the Sweet 16 round, I watched the Sirens, or the Dazzlings as they called themselves, perform a song. Talk about not being subtle. The song was called Under Our Spell. Everyone that was under the spell was unaware of the song’s true nature.

When the Sirens were done, Adagio looked at me and gave an evil grin. That inspired me, even more, to take them out.

Eventually, the quarterfinals began around 1:30 pm. During Bulk Biceps's performance, which he was going to lose, Rainbow Dash pulled a muscle in her right arm. The one she strummed with. The Rainbooms began to panic. Someone had to take their place. Even though I didn’t want to, I asked my band to take over. They agreed, but I didn’t think that the principals wouldn’t go with it.

We ran out to the van and grabbed our instruments. Then we went to the gym as Principal Celestia gave the last call for the Rainbooms. The principals were confused to see us instead of the Rainbooms. There was a soft murmur across the gym.

“Where are the Rainbooms?” asked Vice Principal Luna.

"Rainbow Dash pulled a muscle in her arms. Her strumming arm. Which is her right arm. She pulled her bicep,” Justin replied.

“Justins, slēdziet. Tu stāsta skaņu kā meli.”

(Latvian) “Justin, shut up. You’re making the story sound like a lie,” I said.

“Buʙaxşed. Man kūşiş mekardam, ki ʙa savoli xud çavoʙ diham.”

(Tajik) “Sorry. I was trying to respond to her question.”

I saw Celestia about to say “no”, but I had a backup plan. I had Dalton do one of his most dangerous magic abilities. He was going to control Principal Celestia and Vice Principal and make her say yes.

Dalton was sitting at the top of the stands, with a light green aura surrounding his hands, and sent what looked like green energy into their heads. Celestia and Luna's bodies tensed up and their eyes stayed open. Dalton did his dirty work and she said “yes”. After Dalton unpossessed Celestia, she looked confused but shook it off.

“Can you give us a couple of minutes so we can decide on what to play? This was sort of a last-minute thing?” I asked.

“I’ll allow it,” replied Principal Celestia.

The band and I stepped off to the side and had a little conference.

“So, Matthew. What song should we play?” Devin asked.

“I don’t know. You guys got any ideas?” I replied.

“What about It’s Not Me, It's You?” Brody asked.

“We have to play something with the cello and violin,” Hannah responded.

“What about Awake And Alive?” Daniel suggested.

“That’s a good one. Everyone agrees?” I replied.

Everyone gave a thumbs up, and we returned to our spots. Of course, I was in the middle with Brody behind me. Dylan was to my left and Devin was, as well. Hannah and Justin were on my right. Lance was in front of Dylan and Devin. Daniel was in front of Hannah and Justin. We had adjusted our microphone stands to our height. Finally, we were ready to play. Of course, Brody counted us off.

The violin and cello started first. Then the headbanging awesomeness began. Despite not having played this song in two years, we killed it. Then, I played the guitar solo of the song. When I started playing the solo, the crowd went nuts. Even the Rainbooms seemed impressed. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna looked impressed after we finished. The crowd did as well because they were clapping extremely loud.

“That was the most incredible performance I’ve seen all day,” Vice Principal Luna announced as she clapped.

“I concur. You shouldn’t have dropped out of the competition,” Principal Celestia added.

“No disrespect, ma’am, but I said before my band is for entertainment purposes not for competitive purposes. Except for this one time,” I said.

“Fair enough,” Principal Celestia said.

The group and I walked off the stage as the two principals walked on stage. Then they headed off stage to decide who went to the semi-finals. It was about ten or fifteen seconds later, the two principals came out on stage. I already knew who was advancing to the semifinals.

“After much deliberation, the ‘Rainbooms’ will advance to the semifinals,” Principal Celestia announced.

Our group didn’t even celebrate. We picked our instruments and we went to the van. The Rainbooms ran into us while we were going to the van. All of them looked nervous.

“So? How did it go?” asked Twilight.

“I guess it went well. Except for the fact that you owe us one,” I replied.

“What do you mean ‘you owe us one?” Rarity asked.

"I had to go back on my word that my band is for entertainment not for competing. In that case, you owe us one.”

“Sure, fine. Did y'all get us into the next round or not?” Applejack said.

“ Have fun at the semifinals,” Justin announced.

The Rainbooms went ecstatic. They were jumping around and cheering. Pinkie ran up to Brody and hugged him tightly. I thought she was going to squeeze him to death, from the way his face turned a deep red. Sunset Shimmer backed up a bit and kind of had a depressed look on her face.

“Let go of me now,” Brody grunted.

Pinkie Pie let go of Brody and he started coughing. I was about to laugh until I saw Sunset Shimmer slip away and walked down the hall. She seemed like she was upset about something. I motioned for Jessie to follow me so we could find out what was wrong with Sunset Shimmer.

We followed Sunset Shimmer back to the library. She sat at the table and laid her head down. Jessie and I walked over to her. I tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped. Sunset Shimmer turned around and had a startled look on her face. She relaxed when she saw us.

“You’re a little jumpy,” Jessie said as she sat next to her.

“I didn’t hear you come up behind me,” Sunset Shimmer replied.

“That happens a lot. When I was a kid, I used to play hide and seek with my cousins. I had a strategy of moving quietly so I could hide in multiple places. It takes a while to perfect it,” Jessie explained.

“What’s your excuse?” Sunset asked me.

“I am an assassin,” I replied.

“That's fair. I assume you didn’t follow me here to talk about whatever we were talking about,” Sunset Shimmer said.

“You seemed depressed all day long. What’s going on?” Jessie asked.

“I wasn’t asked to be a part of the Rainbooms. They asked Twilight instead of me. I think they didn’t ask me because no one would want to see them play. You may remember, I didn’t have the best of reputations,” Sunset Shimmer replied.

“I know how you feel,” Jessie said.

“You do?”

“Before I began dating Matthew, I gave everyone a hard time. Mainly, I was still hurting after my mom’s death. She died of cancer when I was fifteen. I wasn’t liked by a lot of people. Matthew saw what I was going through and helped me through my suffering. People were suspicious of my change of attitude but they saw that I truly changed. Sometimes, trust takes time.”

“I would have never guessed that about you,” Sunset Shimmer said.

“At our old school, she joined the debate team. Although Jessie needed to speak up when she was arguing with people,” I pointed out.

“My voice cracks when I speak up like that,” Jessie announced.

We talked for a couple of hours. We missed the rest of the quarterfinals but it was worth it.

Later, I went to look at who was in the semifinals. The first battle was the Dazzlings and a group called the Crusaders. The Crusaders were the girls who sold us cookies. The second battle was the Rainbooms and a girl named Trixie. Her group was called Illusions, I think. The semis was going to be a tough one.

Of course, the Sirens knocked the Crusaders out of the competition and advanced to the finals. Trixie and the Illusions performed pretty well, except that Trixie accidentally threw her guitar pick. The principals didn’t seem to notice, nor did the crowd. The Rainbooms performance, well, went south. Mainly due to my impulsiveness and Sunset Shimmer freaking out.

Here’s what happened:

Our group stood just off the stage with Sunset Shimmer. Despite the number of people offstage, no one noticed we were back there. The Rainbooms ended playing Awesome As I Want To Be. I could tell the rest of the Rainbooms weren’t happy to play the song.

Rainbow Dash played her guitar solo loudly and slightly obnoxiously. Eventually, she started to play her guitar behind her and upside down. Then, her transformation thing began to show. From what I found out later, the plan was to avoid doing that so the Sirens didn’t know what was happening.

Thanks to my impulsiveness, I drew my pistol and fired. The bullet flew and severed the cord that connects Rainbow Dash’s guitar to the amp. The bullet continued and struck the amp, which sent sparks everywhere. Sunset Shimmer ran and tackled Rainbow Dash. People started screaming and running everywhere.

Just like in my dreams days ago, I shouted: “Run!!”

I ran backstage as fast as I could. The rest of the group scattered amongst the screaming students. I found an emergency exit and ran out of the door.

Chapter 9

NI ran towards the woods that were behind the school. As I ran through the woods, branches and briars scraped against my body. I plowed through a dead tree, which hurt like crazy, but I didn’t care. I ran right into a live pine tree.

I bounced off the tree and collapsed to the ground. My chest and abdomen were screaming with pain. I punched the ground with all of my might. I forced myself off of the ground and started punching the pine tree I had run into. There was no form or precision to my punches; I was straight striking the tree.

Slowly, the bark began to fly off the tree. The tree turned red from my bloodied knuckles. My fists felt like Daniel had set them on fire, but I kept punching the tree. After a while of rage-punching the pine tree, I calmed down and sat on the bank of a small, nearby creek. I began sucking the blood off of my knuckles.

I did this for a good ten minutes until I heard footsteps behind me. I quickly stood up and turned around with my knife drawn. The blade was pointed at Fluttershy’s face. To my surprise, she didn’t flinch.

“You dropped this,” Fluttershy informed me. In her hand was my pistol.

I didn’t even realize I had dropped it. I remember putting it in my hidden jacket holster after running out of the emergency exit. The pistol must’ve flown out when I ran into one of the trees.

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I took back the pistol. “Where was it at?”

“I saw it laying by a knocked-down tree,” she replied.

“How did you know I came out here?” I asked.

“When everyone was running around and screaming, I noticed you ran backstage and I remembered there was an emergency exit door back there. I went out the door and saw you running into the woods. I decided to follow you.”

“That’s not creepy,” I said sarcastically.

“And you sneaking into Pinkie’s house wasn’t,” Fluttershy countered. She put her hands on her hips.

“That was for interrogation. It was necessary.”

“The interrogation, maybe. Putting Pinkie's dad in the hospital and shooting up her kitchen? I don't think so.”

"For the record, it was Devin who kicked her dad. Also, I didn't plan on shooting out her lights. I see your point, though."

Then, Fluttershy’s phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her skirt pocket. It was a text from Rainbow Dash. I was happy that it wasn’t an angry text. She told Fluttershy about what happened after I shot the amp.

Dalton managed to wipe the incident from everyone’s mind. Including Twilight and Spike. The people's memory he didn't wipe was the Rainbooms and my group. However, he passed out after performing the memory wipe. The only thing that didn’t get wiped was Sunset Shimmer tackling Rainbow Dash. Now everyone went back to hating her. What was extremely strange was the Rainbooms advanced to the finals and would face the Dazzlings. Rainbow Dash said that the Sirens manipulated the principal’s minds to let the Rainbooms advance to the finals. Sound checks would be at 3:00 pm and the main performance would be at 5:30 pm at the Wondercolt Theater.

I didn’t know what the Wondercolt Theater was. Fluttershy showed me a picture on her phone. It looked like one of those amphitheaters from Ancient Greece.

“If you have to be at soundchecks at three, what time is it now?” I asked.

“It is-” Fluttershy said as she looked at her phone “-almost 2:30.”

“Where is this Wondercolt Theater?” I asked.

“It’s about two or three miles away,” Fluttershy responded.

“Okay. I may show up. My group is probably mad at me for almost blowing our cover again. Your band is probably mad at me for shooting your amp."

“Rainbow Dash is madder at Sunset Shimmer than she is with you.”

“I don’t see how. I shot her amp and her connection cord.”

"If I'm being completely honest, I don't know how either. At least, she isn't mad at you."

"That's true."

Then, there was that awkward silence.

"Hey, I've got to get going. See you at the finals?"

“I don't know. My friends might not let me. Either way, I hope your band wins tonight.”

“Thank you. I'll tell the rest of the girls.”

Flutter shy left to go back to school while I sat back on the bank of the creek, thinking about how I was going to apologize to my friends. Apologizing wasn’t an easy thing for me to do, especially for my friends and my sister.

Ever since our powers surfaced, I have put my friends constantly in danger. Revealing our identities was a big no-no, especially for us. Getting arrested is another one of them. That almost happened when Brody, Dalton, and I went to take down a drug ring in Rio de Janeiro.

Eventually, I left the creek and returned to the apartment. As I walked in, everyone looked at me. Dalton was lying on his cot, but he looked like he was asleep. Eric glared at me as I shut the door.

“Where have you been?” Eric asked, sounding reasonably angry.

“I was in the woods,” I replied, as I closed the door.

“Do you have any idea what we had to do to fix the huge problem you caused?” Jessie asked.

You know it is bad when your girlfriend is mad at you. The only other time that Jessie got mad at me was when she made a 20/100 on a test review that I helped her with.

“Yes, I do. Dalton wiped everyone’s memory. I had no idea he could do that. I guess telling him to push his limits worked.” I didn't know if that made my predicament worse.

“Yeah, see where that got him,” Jessie said as she pointed at Dalton.

“Look, everyone. I’m going to come right out and say it. I’m sorry for what happened at the school. There’s no excuse for what I did. I need to stop thinking with my trigger finger,” I said.

“We'll forgive you for that. Although, one more incident like that, I’m going home,” Eric said.

"Honestly, I don't blame you for wanting to leave, Eric. I screwed up pretty badly in the last few days. Even though I've screwed up, I'm glad you guys forgive me."

"We're family. A messed-up family, but we are family," Justin added.

I smiled and went to lay on my bed. I watched a movie on my laptop. My favorite movie genre, rated-R war movies, was all on my hard drive. The gore in those movies was nothing to what I had seen. Despite the unrealisticness of the majority of the movies, I enjoyed myself.

About thirty minutes into the second movie, I saw Brody walk into my room. He had a distressed look on his face. I paused the movie and removed my earbuds.

"Hey, BK. What's up?" I asked.

“We have a problem,” Brody said.

“What kind of problem?”

“Come and take a look,” Brody replied.

I set my laptop aside and walked into the living room. Spike was in there with a girl dressed like a DJ with him. If I remember correctly, her name was Vinyl Scratch.

“Spike, what are you doing here?” I asked. “I thought you were at the finals with the girls.”

“That’s just it. They aren’t there,” he replied. He seemed extremely frantic and panicky.

“What are you talking about, mi perro amigo?” Levi asked.

“It was Trixie and her band. She opened a trapdoor and the girls fell through. They have been under the stage for hours. Trixie and her band performed instead of the Rainbooms.”

“That scheming, self-centered, asswipe,” Orange Bunny said as she walked into the room.

“I KNEW there was a rabbit in Levi’s backpack!” Spike exclaimed.

“About fucking time you figured it out,” Orange sneered.

“What role do you play in this mess,” I asked the girl.

She shrugged and continued to stand there.

“Couldn’t you have gotten her to rescue the Rainbooms?” Eric asked.

“I thought you could help us out. You helped them out at the Sweet 16 round.”

“We didn’t have a choice. Now we do,” Daniel said.

“Who cares if you have a choice. You helped us out because you wanted to,” Spike said.

What Spike had said bounced around in my head. He was right. I helped out because I wanted to. That was true for all of us. Besides, this dimension’s future was at stake. I couldn't let it fall into the hands of Hamato and the Sirens.

When my friends were first learning to use their powers, I helped them out. The time I could have spent hanging out with Jessie or training myself, I took to help my friends. I helped them out because I wanted to.

“He’s right, guys. I want to help them out. No matter the cost,” Levi said.

"Oorah,” Justin agreed.

“As much as I don’t like the idea, I’ll help out,” Eric said.

"Alright, let’s go save our friends,” I announced.

We left the apartment and got in our vehicles. Hannah drove the band van. Eventually, we arrived at the Wondercolt Theater. All of us parked at the parking lot which was behind a tall hill. Spike led us to the side of the stage, where we weren’t visible to the crowd.

There was a door about seven or eight feet below the stage. Justin walked over to the door. He pressed his ear against the door as if he was trying to hear what was going on inside the room.

"They are definitely in there," he informed.

Then, there was a soft thud against the door. It sounded like they were trying to knock the door down. My eyebrows furrowed as I heard sounds of straining. Vinyl Scratch didn't seem to notice the sounds, but everyone else did. I assumed it was our enhanced senses.

"Justin, jiggle the doorknob," I said.

Justin nodded his head and jiggled the said doorknob. The door opened and the Rainbooms fell to the ground. They were wearing costumes. I guess they were getting ready when they got trapped under the stage.

Vinyl Scratch face-palmed and shook her head. I had to admit that they could have checked if the door was unlocked.

"Are you serious?" Rainbow Dash groaned as she stood up. "The door was unlocked the whole time?"

"I feel really stupid," Applejack announced.

A couple of us chuckled.

“Thanks for saving us, guys,” Pinkie Pie said.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” Rarity added.

“It was Spike who came to us. We just opened the door,” Levi said.

"As much as we would exchange pleasantries, but the Sirens are almost at full power. We have to stop them," Twilight announced.

“There’s a hill behind the amphitheater. You guys can play from there?” Devin suggested.

“That sounds good, but how are we going to get up there quickly,” asked Rainbow Dash.

"Run as fast as you can. Unless we can…” Justin said as he looked at Dylan, more than likely wanting Dylan's teleportation powers

“Oh, no. We are not doing that. You can forget it. I’d rather run,” Dylan objected.

“But I hate running,” Rarity complained.

“Do it anyway. I’ll carry you if I have to,” Devin ordered.

Everyone took off in a dead sprint. Well, Rarity looked like she was barely jogging. Being a guy of his word, Devin ran back, picked Rarity, and carried her over his shoulder. That was funny to watch. That got the majority of us to laugh. Eric and Lance pulled out their phones and began recording. Rarity didn't seem to enjoy it, though.

When we made it to the top of the hill, we had another problem: there weren’t any amps. The Rainbooms and my group began to panic. I thought we were screwed until Vinyl Scratch pulled up in her car.

You may be wondering how her car could help our predicament. Here’s the catch:

After she pulled up, she pressed a button, and her car transformed into a DJ’s turntables and a soundboard that had subwoofers attached. All of us were amazed. Even Orange Bunny was amazed. That typically doesn’t happen.

“Holy fuck. This shit is amazing.” Orange Bunny said.

Twilight and Vinyl Scratch looked down and stared at Orange Bunny. I had forgotten Orange had gone with us. A gave Vinyl Scratch a nervous grin. Her presence would end up me being interrogated by Twilight. The tables have turned, as the saying goes.

"Matthew, why is there a talking bunny," Twilight asked.

"I'll explain later," I replied, cringing as I said that.

Then, I saw a flash of red that came from the stage. I turned my head towards the stage. The Sirens did the same magic, levitating, the pony-transformation thing that Rainbooms did when they sang. However, they looked extremely different. The Rainbooms looked pony-like, but the Sirens looked like fish people like a Greek Siren would with wings. My eyes grew wide as I looked at my team. They had the same facial expression.

We connected the girls' instruments to the turntables and soundboard via HorseTooth. Equestrian's version of Bluetooth, if you didn't catch on. Then, the Rainbooms decided to interrupt the Sirens' winning streak.

The Rainbooms played a song called I’ve Got The Music In Me. It was written by Fluttershy. Quite frankly, the entire music score was written by her. I was very impressed. Then Adagio Dazzle said something that sparked a literal Battle of the Bands.

“The Rainbooms want a battle of the bands? Alright, then. Let’s battle.”

The Sirens sang a single line. There was a single bright red flash, then, they "projected" what I guess what they looked like in Twilight's dimension. Which happened to be fish ponies. They flew around us a few times. All of the Rainbooms looked frightened, save for Rainbow Dash. My group got ready for a fight, some even drew knives that I didn't know they had one of them. However, I ordered them to stand down. The projections stopped about 300 feet in front of us. They charged forward. My group braced for impact but the Rainbooms counterattacked.

Pinkie Pie took a drum solo and began drumming. What looked like rainbows flew from the subwoofers. It caused the Siren projections to scatter and attempt to avoid the rainbows. Rarity took her solo on the keytar. Diamonds flew from her keytar and at the Sirens. The Sirens were stopped and got hit. Fluttershy rattled her tambourine, along with a well-placed twirl. Butterflies flew from the tambourine had the same effect as Rarity's diamonds. Twilight vocalized and stars flew forward. This time, the Sirens counterattacked. The Sirens localized, and red arches pushed back Twilight's stars. The Rainbooms were pushed back a little. Twilight's face went from a focused look, to angry. The Sirens vocalized and red arches hit us and the Rainbooms fell to the ground, overwhelmed by the power of the Sirens.

Sunset Shimmer and our group were the only ones standing up. Vinyl Scratch and Orange Bunny had ducked under the soundboard and were poking their heads up.

“Sunset Shimmer, we can’t win without you. We need you,” Twilight said as she struggled to get up.

Sunset Shimmer shook her head and replied, “You don’t need me. You need them.”

She pointed at us. All of us were shocked that she said that. I was confused.

“Hold up. Why do they need us, Sunset?” Eric asked.

“Yeah. Why?” Lance added.

“Earlier this week, you said your God is the most powerful being in the universe. Maybe if you helped us out one more time, your God could help us,” she replied.

“We don’t get to choose how God helps us,” Levi informed.

I had a different idea. I remembered Jesus told me we could fight an enemy using “unorthodox methods”. The Sirens were that enemy, and using music to defeat them was the unorthodox method.

“I believe that God wants us to play,” I announced.

“Huh?” Brody asked.

“We’ll fight the Sirens.”

“How? We don’t have our instruments and you know how you hate going back on your word,” Hannah said.

“That doesn’t matter, now. I believe God is wanting to fight them, and I know just the song. Orange, do you have your computer?”

“Always,” Orange said as she held it up.

"Hook it up to the soundboards. Play the Despairintro when I tell you."

Orange Bunny gave me a thumbs up.

“Are you sure God wants us to fight them?” Brody asked.

As if to answer Brody’s question, God changed our clothes to our concert clothes.

The guys’ clothing was white, slightly skin-tight slacks. A white, short-sleeved dress shirt with a black and blue tie and vest. We had black shoes to go with it. Hannah’s clothes were blue, white, and black dresses, with black and blue boots, and blue leggings. The funny thing was that we didn't bring the concert clothes. Along with our concert clothes, our instruments and microphones appeared, as well. Everyone, including me, was amazed. Probably because magic wasn’t used at all.

“Ready to give up, yet?” asked Adagio Dazzle in a “we’ve won” kind of voice.

“Not yet,” I replied. “The Teens Of Christ Band have officially re-entered the Battle of the Bands. Hit it.”

Orange Bunny pressed the button on her computer and the intro to the song, Not Gonna Die. I remembered in my dream earlier that week that I heard the band playing Not Gonna Die. That’s why I chose it.

As the intro played, I decided to give the band a pep talk before the performance.

“Alright, guys. This is the biggest performance of our career. What we do here determines if Hamato takes the victory. Play well and play hard. Let’s do this.”

As the intro ended and Lance and Daniel started to play, I decided to say something to the Dazzlings. I felt it was well played in the song.

“You want a real Battle of the Bands, you got one. Get ready because WE’RE NOT GONNA DIE!” I yelled into the microphone.

The music rang through the amphitheater. Everyone in the amphitheater began to get into the song. This Siren’s projections were pushed back. I guess they thought we'd take turns exchanging musical blows but we didn’t give them a chance to vocalize again.

When we got to the bridge of the song, I saw the clouds open up. A glowing face, who I assumed was Jesus, appeared. That was pretty legit, compared to meeting the Avengers in person. Then the guitar solo of the song came.

That guitar solo was the best one in my life. The sound of the solo filled the amphitheater. I saw some rockers in the crowd start to headbang. As I was playing, I saw my parents in one of the clouds. I saw Mom tapping her toe and bobbing her head, and Dad did the “rock on” sign and jammed out.

When we played the chorus for the last time, I heard my entire band singing. The Rainbooms sang with us, as well. The entire amphitheater was singing along.

Then, out of the clouds, a large glowing had extended. It stopped underneath the projections. The projections looked below themselves and looked at each other. Their faces had looks of defeat. We had won the fight.

As the last chord rang out, the hand clenched its fist. The Siren’s projections shattered into a thousand pieces.

Chapter 10

The Sirens collapsed in shock. They had pendants hanging around their necks that held their power. The pendants had broken.

The Sirens stood up and tried to sing but their voices were out of tune. People started to “boo” them. I could've sworn that a tomato was thrown. The Sirens ran off the stage, carrying the shattered remains of their pendants. I was surprised that Adagio didn’t have a “we’ll be back” speech. Probably because it would be to cliche.

Then, the crowd turned to us and began cheering. My group and the Rainbooms looked at each other, wondering what we were supposed to do. I guessed the crowd wanted an encore or something like it. I motioned for the group to follow me. However, I told Orange Bunny to stay behind.

We walked down the side of the hill until we reached the entrance. Then, we ran up on stage. The crowd went nuts. They were louder than before.

Flash Sentry jumped onto the stage. Then he ran and hugged Twilight saying we were awesome. We started to chuckle and the two released each other, blushing and embarrassed.

Then, the girl named Trixie Lulamoon stormed onto the stage. I could tell she was pretty mad.

“How could you do this to me? The victory was mine!” complained Trixie.

“You don’t deserve the victory since you cheated,” Brody replied.

“Cheated? I don’t know-”

“Save it. We know what you did,” I said. "You purposely caused the Rainbooms to not show up. We have a witness, as well."

“Cheaters risk everything but gain nothing,” Dalton said.

Trixie didn’t have a comeback. She threw something on the ground and some purple smoke came up. The old magician smoke bomb trick. Pinkie thought that Trixie had disappeared but she spotted her climbing the fence near the exit.

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna walked on the stage. I thought they were going to chew my band out for hijacking the finals. They did the exact opposite. They praised us for helping save the school from magical freaks. It was almost impossible to not get big-headed but I made sure to stay humble.

Luna had a 16-inch tall trophy in her hand. On the base, it had “Best Band” written on it. Honestly, I thought they would give the trophy to the Rainbooms, but I was wrong.

“The winner of the Battle of the Bands is-” Principal Celestia paused to add suspense “- the Teens of Christ Band.”

My group was shocked. We only helped out because the dimension’s safety was at stake. We didn’t want to win the Battle of the Bands.

“What did we do to win?” Hannah asked.

“When the Rainbooms couldn’t play, you stepped up. Even if that meant going back on your band’s purpose. That is very honorable.” Principal Celestia replied.

“Plus, you saved the school. That is why we chose you,” Vice Principal Luna added.

Principal Celestia handed me the trophy and I raised it over my head. The crowd went nuts. They started chanting “TOCB” over and over. It felt good to win something and have it recognized.

“Hey, Sunset Shimmer. I heard you sing with us,” Hannah announced.

“I didn’t know you could sing,” I said.

“Sure, I can. I can play guitar, too,” Sunset Shimmer replied.

“Prove it,” Rainbow Dash requested, sounding skeptical.

Dylan handed Sunset Shimmer his guitar. She got adjusted to it and she began to shred. All of the guitarists in our band were impressed. The Rainbooms were amazed that she could play like that.

“Now I regret not asking to join our band,” Rainbow Dash announced. “Would you like to?”

“Heck, yeah,” Sunset Shimmer replied.

Principal Celestia announced it was time to pack and go home. She said she hoped that the next time would be better. People started to leave, but most of them came by to say “congrats” or “thank you for saving the school”.

I could tell our group wasn’t being told “thank you” for saving people. We all saved countries or cities without being thanked. The only “thank you” I usually got was a multi-thousand-dollar paycheck.

The Rainbooms invited us and Flash Sentry to join them for some victory pizza at a pizzeria. I spoke to the group and said we would go. We packed up the instruments in the van and drove our vehicles back to the pizzeria. As we drove off, I saw the Sirens standing behind a tree. Adagio glared at me as I drove past her. I had a feeling that wasn’t the last time we’d see each other.

We arrived at the pizzeria about five minutes later. It reminded me a lot of CiCi's, but it looked appetizing. As usual, I told Orange Bunny to stay behind, but with a promise of food later. I paid for everyone's meal, which the price had me wincing but I decided to worry about my cash later.

I piled my plate full of pizza. Cheese, pepperoni, supreme, spinach alfredo. You name it. And yes, I'm that weird guy that likes spinach alfredo. As I sat down, Twilight gave me this questioning look, like she wanted to know something. I automatically knew what she was about to ask. I decided to sit in front of her, so I didn't have to speak too loud.

"I believe you owe me an explanation about the talking rabbit," Twilight said.

"Umm...Eric. Do you mind if I...explain in a simplified fashion of what we and Orange Bunny are?" I asked as I turned my head toward Eric.

"Go ahead. It's not like she's going to tell anyone," Eric replied before taking a bite out of his pizza.

For the next fifteen minutes, I explained who, what we were, and what we were capable of. I told her about our powers and how we got them. Then, I explained why we were there. I explained that we were from a different dimension. With every sentence I said, Twilight's eyes grew wider and wider. When I got to the part about us being mutants, Twilight's facial expression turned from surprise to excitement. Of course, I explained the whole Orange Bunny bit.

"So basically what you're telling me is that you are mutated human beings that used your powers for the sole purpose of being government assassins?" Twilight asked.

"A bit oversimplified, but yes," I replied.

"So under the guise of the Nightwatcher, you broke into Pinkie's house, threatened to kill me, and injured Pinkie's dad?"

"Yep, and remember that it was Devin who kicked Mr. Pie."

"Thanks for throwing me under the bus," Devin grumbled.

"Wow. You guys are pretty hardcore assassins," Twilight said. "I guess your mutated abilities had something to do with it."

"I guess you could say that," I replied.

"Do you mind if I ran some tests on you guys?"

"Absolutely not," Levi, who was sitting on Twilight's left, hissed. A little too literally.

"Why not? I could understand how you operate."

"You wouldn't want to run tests on Leviticus Juan Rodriguez. You might get bit," Daniel said.

Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion. Then, Levi did his snake-humanoid transformation.

His light-brown skin turned into shiny, black scales. His eyes turned yellow, and his pupils turned into snake-like slits. Levi's tongue became a snake's tongue. Lastly, his canines turned into four-inch-long fangs. He tapped on Twilight's shoulder. When she turned her head, Levi hissed in her face. She screamed and fell back against Flash Sentry.

My group laughed at Twilight. She panted heavily as Levi transformed into his human form.

"That was scary," she gasped.

"Try fighting him," Brody said.

The Rainbooms, Flash Sentry, and my group stayed at the pizzeria until closing time. My group went back to the apartment. I had to go grab Orange Bunny some food as promised. Eventually, I made it back to the apartment. I went through my nightly routines and finally went to bed. I gotta tell you, I slept well that night. Thank God, there weren't any ominous dreams that night.

The next morning, I was awakened by somebody knocking on the front door. Despite the comfort of my bed, I crawled out of my bed and went to go see who was at the door. Orange Bunny said something under her breath as the knocking continued. About the time I reached the door, everyone was awake. Most of them were groaning and complaining about the knocking.

I opened the door and I saw Sunset Shimmer standing there. She looked at me funny. Probably because I was shirtless and half-asleep.

“ Do you know what time it is?” I asked in a low voice.

“ Um...it is around eight,” she replied. "Wait, you have a tattoo?"

I looked down at my chest. On my left pec, was a black Japanese character. I had gotten it after eliminating a Yakuza leader, who was also the Prime Minister, in Yokohama, Japan.

“ Yeah, it means 'sacrifice'. Every assassin has to sacrifice a part of themselves to complete this mission."

"Mind if I ask what happened?"

"Umm...no. It's classified. And what is so important that you had to wake us early."

"Twilight and Spike are going back to their dimension. They wanted to know if you wanted to say ‘goodbye’,” Sunset Shimmer explained.

“Mateo, quién está en la puerta?”

(Spanish) “Hey, Matthew. Who’s at the door?” Levi asked as he rolled over.

“Sunset Shimmer,” I replied.

“What does she want?” Brody said, groggily.

“Twilight and Spike are leaving. They wanted to know if we wanted to say ‘bye’,” I said.“ How about it?” Levi asked.

To save the pointless dialogue, everyone agreed to say goodbye. I asked Sunset Shimmer where we are meeting. She said the statue in front of the school. I said we'd be there and closed the door.

I went to get dressed. Orange Bunny had no intention of getting out of bed. She tried to fight me, but she was too lazy. Finally, I convinced her to get up by buying her some root beer.

About ten minutes later, we left the apartment and went to say goodbye to Twilight and Spike.

The Rainbooms were standing near the statue like Sunset Shimmer had said they would. Some of them waved at us.

“Howdy, guys. Y'all look like you just rolled out of bed,” Applejack said.

“You can thank Sunset Shimmer for that,” Eric mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

“I'm glad you guys came to see us off,” Twilight said.

“Sure...um. I want to apologize for interrogating you as I did,” I apologized.

“It’s okay. Just let me know next time you put a gun to my head,” Twilight teased

“Will do,” I chuckled.

“I want to thank you guys for helping us out. You guys and your God saved our school,” Rainbow Dash.

“No problem but we stopped them from helping someone take over this dimension,” Lance replied.

“Helping someone? They were helping someone?” Fluttershy asked.

“They were helping Headhunter take over this dimension by using the music,” Orange Bunny replied.

“I hope you catch him,” Spike said.

“It will take more than hope,” Eric stated.

“Well, thanks for everything. This won’t be ‘forever goodbye’. It’s just goodbye till next time,” Twilight said. “Until then, goodbye.”

We waved as Twilight Sparkle and Spike went to a portal that was IN the statue. I thought that was cool and also a “should-be protected” spot.

“That was an adventure,” I announced.

“As Papa used to say, ‘ Another adventure is another chapter in the story of your life,” Levi added.

“Your father is a wise man,” Fluttershy said.

“There is a reason why he is a pastor at the church in our local town.”

"What's a pastor?"

"I'll explain later."

“Let’s get off of the topic of Levi’s father and think about some fucking breakfast. I’m hungry as fuck,” Orange Bunny announced.

“That sounds good at the moment,” Dalton said.

Everyone else agreed. Then, we walked down the street towards Sugar Cube Corner.

Chapter 11

You were probably thinking that was the end of the story. Fortunately for you guys, that is not true.

That night, I told my group to meet me on top of a hill outside the city. The hill overlooked Canterlot and a river that ran on the edge of it. From that angle, the view reminded me of San Francisco. The lights from the buildings and streetlights gleamed like the stars in the night sky. Cars moved on the roads below like ants on the sidewalk. A bridge that looked like the Golden Gate Bridge, which also bustled with cars. It was peaceful up there on that hill.

Around 9:30, everyone pulled up in their vehicles. Hannah had run to the hill. Everybody got off of their vehicles and walked over to me.

“Okay, Matthew. We’re here. What’s up?” Dylan asked.

“Thanks for coming, guys," I said. "What do you see behind me?"

“A big ass city,” Orange replied.

“We came to Canterlot to bring Hamato and the Black Snake to justice. The mission has changed. The mission is no longer a hunt. Instead, the hunt is now war. Hamato wanted to use the Sirens to take over this dimension. It was a secret invasion. The people of Canterlot need our help. The people of this dimension may not realize they are in trouble, but they are. I can’t do this alone. I need you guys to help me. The question I have is, ‘Are you with me?’”

“Matthew, ever since our preteen years, our relationship has been rocky. The surfacing of our powers, the death of Mom and Dad, facing Hamato the first time, and this time. Despite the rockiness, you are my brother. I will stick with you,” Hannah replied.

“We’ve been friends ever since the third grade about ten years ago. I haven’t left your side since then, and I won’t do it now,” Lance replied.

“I honestly don’t know how we became friends but friends help each other out, no matter what,” Justin answered.

Everyone had answered my question like the previous answer. What surprised me was that Orange Bunny had a heartfelt answer. I think that surprised everyone. I felt like we were an actual team of battle-ready assassins. Then, Eric asked about a team name.

“It seems like we should have a team name. Like the Avengers and Teen Titans,” he said.

“How about Marvel League?” Brody asked.

"That sounds a bit...generic,” I replied.

“How about the National Heroes Team?” Dalton asked.

“Where did you come up with that?" Levi replied. Dalton shrugged.

“What about Superpowered Teens League?” Justin suggested.

“What the fuck, guys. Now, you aren’t even trying,” Orange announced.

“How does the Teen Mutant Alliance sound,” Jessie suggested.

“I didn’t think you cared, Jessie,” Devin said.

“I do, since technically I a part of the team, I decided to help because you guys are incapable of doing it yourselves,” Jessie responded.

“That name sounds good. It has a nice ring to it,” Eric said.

“All of you agree?” I asked.

Everyone agreed to the name of the group. The Teen Mutant Alliance was our official name.

“We’ve got an early day on Monday, everyone. School starts in the morning. At eight tomorrow night, our war against Hamato Kornata begins and we will destroy the Black Snake once and for all,” I announced.

The rest of the Alliance cheered and they went to their vehicles. I stayed behind after they left. I turned around and faced Canterlot.

It was a big city, but it wasn’t big enough for both the Teen Mutant Alliance or the Black Snake. One of us had to leave.

“I know you’re out there, Hamato,” I mumbled. “I won’t rest until I avenge Mom and Dad’s death and the Burakkusunēku are destroyed. This dimension belongs to the people, not you. If you want it, come and take it.”

I walked over to my motorcycle and got on it. Then, I turned it on and drove into the night.

Author's Note

Hello, everyone. Thank you for reading The Nightwatcher Chronicles. The second book will be released on July 4. If this series isn't your cup of tea, check out my other story called I Am Anonymous. Other than that, thank you for reading this story.

Chapter 6

Every one of us was shocked that Orange Bunny had attacked Fluttershy. As I mentioned before, Orange will attack anyone that supposedly threatens her. The problem was that Fluttershy didn't threaten her in any form.

"I'll fucking kill you, you ugly sack of horseshit," Orange screamed.

Orange tried to stab her. I stepped in and threw her against the grand piano. Her knife clattered to the ground along with Orange Bunny. The Rainbooms rushed to Fluttershy's aid. Everyone else holstered their guns.

"Of course, no one gives a fuck about the mutant rabbit who got flung across the damn room," Orange remarked.

"You've gotten thrown off a roof, fell off Matthew's motorcycle going 80 miles an hour, and hit by a baseball bat. Do I need to go on?" Hannah said.

"No one asked you," Orange retorted.

"Can someone tell me who the raging and talking rabbit that tried to kill me is?" Fluttershy asked as she sat up.

"Rainbooms, meet my jerk of a sidekick, Orange Bunny. She is a mutated rabbit that is our computer and tech whiz and the brains behind our equipment," I announced, gesturing my hand to Orange Bunny.

"Nice to meet you," Orange said sarcastically as she picked up her knife. Then, she gave the girls her equally famous double middle finger salute.

"When you said she was a jerk, you meant it," Rainbow Dash stated.

Suddenly, a timer went off. Devin drew his trench knife. Like one can assume from a trained assassin, his knife hit its mark. The timer fell to the floor with the knife protruding from it. Dylan, Eric, and Lance laughed. Devin grabbed his knife and put it back in his sheath. He cracked a half-smile and shrugged his shoulders. That's his way of showing embarrassment.

"Well, we have to move our stuff to the gym. Trixie's band has to use the room now," Applejack said.

"Way ahead of you," Hannah announced.

Hannah used her super speed to move all Rainbooms' instruments from the music room to the gym. The only thing you could see was a neon green blur moving back and forth through the space. Within a few seconds, Hannah finished moving all of the Rainbooms equipment. Rainbow Dash gave Hannah a knuckle bump. Then, Principal Celestia's voice came over the PA system.

"Sunset Shimmer, please report to the main foyer," Principal Celestia said.

"I've got to go," Sunset announced. "I volunteered to show three new students around the school. Matthew, you and your friends can come along,"

My friends and I decided to wait until later. Primarily, we didn't want to overwhelm Sunset Shimmer. Even though Sunset claimed it wouldn't be a problem.

After Sunset Shimmer left, the Rainbooms and my group went to the gym. Orange hid in the backpack Levi brought.

Since Orange Bunny is practically the brains of our group, she studies a lot. Levi is a chemist, by interest, of course, so he kept chemist and alchemist books in his backpack.

Then, we made our way back to the gym. The gym was less crowded than before. A few bands were still there. I saw a hippie band sitting on top of the stands on the left. They were playing a few bongos and a sitar. Flash's band was in there, as well.

There were a few chairs in the gym. We set them in front of the stage, so my friends and I sat there. Pinkie Pie asked us to judge how they did. Since we had nothing to do, we agreed.

I hated judging because I had to judge a play in high school. I gave my honest opinion, and the cast wanted to jump me. Now that I think about it, the play wasn't written very well, so I couldn't entirely blame them.

The Rainbooms began to argue about what song to play. Fluttershy wanted to play a song she wrote. Rainbow Dash ignored her and suggested playing a song called Awesome As I Want To Be. The rest of the band groaned and got their instruments.

I thought the song was very indulgent and full of pointless guitar solos played by, you guessed it, Rainbow Dash.

Most of the solos were around fifteen to twenty seconds long. I could tell the girls, who didn't have exciting parts, weren't motivated to play the song. I couldn't blame them. Only Rainbow Dash did magic, transformation thing. She seemed like the "take all the glory and look good doing it" kind of girl. Finally, the song ended. A blessing, if I'm being honest.

"What did you think?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say that song sounded self-indulgent," Dalton replied.

"Self-what now?"

"It means being self-centered. That sort of thing."

"I still don't know what that means."

"What they are trying to say is that the song was only about you," Rarity said.

"Well, because I am awesome. I am the captain of every sports team here at CHS. I've won many trophies and other awards."

"I can guarantee no one gives a shitty rat's ass about how fucking awesome you are! Only you do!" shouted Orange from Levi's backpack.

Her shout was muffled enough to where no one in the gym could hear it but us and the Rainbooms. I didn't agree with Orange's choice of words, but I had to agree with her.

Rainbow Dash didn't say anything in retaliation and turned to her band. This time, the Rainbooms agreed to a song. This went on for a couple of hours. Sunset Shimmer showed up about an hour into this miniature concert. She looked somewhat concerned. Jessie asked what was wrong, but Sunset said it was nothing.

When the bell rang for lunch, we had to wait until the Rainbooms put up their instruments. The rest of us made it there and found an excellent spot to sit. Some people were a bit ticked that we all took up an entire table.

Finally, Sunset Shimmer explained why she was concerned. The three new students that she showed around acted strangely.

"They just acted off. Normally, new students don't act like that," she said.

"Like this kind of off," Pinkie asked.

She had two carrots sticking out of her mouth and a piece of lettuce over her eyebrows, forming a unibrow. I had no clue how Pinkie managed to pull that stunt off. Dalton must have found it ridiculous because he used his telekinesis to remove the food from her face.

"No, they didn't look strange, Pinkie, but they acted like it. Maybe someone had already talked to them and told them what I did. So much for a first impression," Sunset Shimmer said.

"Uh-huh," Fluttershy said.

Everyone glared at her. The looks were more of a "what the heck is wrong with you" or a "not the time." Fluttershy realized the reason we were glaring at her.

"That's probably not it," Fluttershy corrected herself.

I picked a carrot from Pinkie's plate and handed it to Levi. He asked who the carrot was for. I told him it was for Orange Bunny. Levi opened his backpack and gave it to him. To thank him, Orange flipped him off.

All of a sudden, the cafeteria doors burst open. Three girls came in and began to vocalize. Sunset Shimmer's eyes widened. My eyes did the same thing but for a different reason. These girls were the civilians from the empty lot next to Sugar Cube Corner! Except they were wearing clothes that looked like punk rock stars would wear. I began to pray that they wouldn't recognize my group since I beheaded a Black Snake terrorist in front of them.

They were vocalizing, then one of them, who I assumed was the leader, began to sing. I found it odd that it seemed natural for them to burst into song. She sang it was alright to have a little competition; it didn't matter who you hurt as long as you were trying to prove you were the best—that sort of thing.

Eventually, the song morphed into trying to convince the students to have a battle of the bands instead of a friendly musical showcase. What was even worse was that the students were going along with it. They turned against each other and began to fight.

The song ended with people yelling and arguing. It was awful.

As that was going on, I saw the light green gas-like stuff hovering above the floor. I opened Levi's backpack and got Orange Bunny to look at it. She pulled out a test tube. Orange Bunny got some of that green stuff in the test tube and returned it to the backpack. No one else noticed that Orange had captured the green stuff.

"Oh, that kind of odd," Pinkie said.

I motioned for the group to leave to avoid any more trouble. The Rainbooms came with us. We stayed in the hallway and waited until the bell rang.

What surprised me was that the principals didn't show up to shut down the fights. I think everyone thought that, too because a couple of us began to ask about Principal Celestia and her sister.

Finally, the bell rang for lunch to end. People were pushing and shoving to get to class. Somebody even a punch was thrown.

"What do we do now?" Hannah asked as we walked down the hall.

"Beats me," Lance replied.

"We could go to Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna and tell them what happened," Brody suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea. Once they find out about this, these girls will be kicked to the curb in no time," Applejack said.

There was a teensy problem with our plan. The principals had been affected by the girls. The new students had talked to the sisters to let them have a battle of the bands and sang them a song. The principals thought a battle of the bands would be a good idea.

I told the principals that my band was no longer a part of the showcase-turned battle of the bands. Jessie tried to object, but I made sure that it was clear that TOCB was not for competition.

The Rainbooms went back to the gym to practice a little. I saw them walk in the other direction of the gym. Our group went to the library.

The library was big. It had two floors with a glass rotunda on top. On the bottom floor, there were at least seven expensive-looking desktops. They looked similar to the iMacs® of our world. We went to the top floor and found some comfortable beanbags. Orange poked her head out of Levi's backpack.

"I think I speak for everyone when I ask, 'What the heck happened in the lunchroom?'".

"I don't know. All this magic crap is giving me a headache," Levi said.

"What went down in the cafeteria was weird, even for me," Dalton remarked.

"Those three girls seemed familiar," I announced.

"How so?" asked Eric.

"When I fought that Black Snake terrorist at Sugar Cube Corner, I got a glance at the civilians. Those girls were the civilians that the terrorist was talking to."

"Well, that makes things interesting. Magical evil freaks are in teaming with Hamato," Devin grumbled.

"I think those singing magic bitches loosely resemble certain characters from the story, The Odyssey," Orange Bunny announced.

"Who?" Hannah asked.

"The Sirens."

"What the heck are those?" Brody asked.

"The Sirens were dangerous female creatures that lived on an island at sea. They lured nearby sailors, with their enchanting music and voices, to wreck their ships on the rocky shore. In a sense, the sailors were put under a deadly spell," Orange Bunny explained.

"I don't think those girls are trying to lure high school students to their deaths," Jessie said.

"I think that they are using the spell to manipulate them. The Siren-like girls manipulated the students into wanting a battle of the bands. Also, they manipulated the principals to allow the battle of the bands. It is kind of smart," Dalton said.

"How are we going to stop them, Matthew?" Brody asked.

"I don't have the slightest idea," I replied.

"I thought we were here to catch Hamato, not to stop singing, magical freakshows?" Lance asked.

We spent the next three hours trying to figure out what to do about the Sirens. Later, the librarian, Ms. Cheerilee, kicked us out. The reason was we were supposed to be in class and not lounging in the library.

I heard Orange Bunny say, "Fuck you" to the librarian. I'm glad Ms. Cheerilee didn't hear that.

The school was close to the end so we decided to at least sit out front but not leave the campus. The group and I went out and found the Rainbooms sitting on the front steps of the school. I saw that there was another person with them and a dog.

The girl had light purple skin and regular purple hair. Also, in her hair was a pink stripe and a dark purple stripe. She had on a light blue button-up shirt and a purple skirt. The girl had on purple high tops, as well. This girl was a big fan of purple like Mom was. The dog had purple fur and green fluff on his head. The dog also had green fluffy ears. He looked like a Yorkshire Terrier or something like that.

"Look who showed up," Rarity said. "Twilight, this is a new group of students that came in. Guys, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you," Twilight said.

I introduced the group to Twilight. The group made sure I kept my mouth shut about our true intentions in Canterlot. Although, at the same time, Jesus told me she was one of the people I could trust and the dog.
The dog walked up to the steps and started sniffing Levi's backpack, which he set down.

"Is there a rabbit in there?" asked the dog.

"Holy crap. A talking dog!" Justin shouted, trying to sound amazed.

"Spike, don't scare them," Twilight ordered.

"I'm not scared, it is a freaking talking dog. You don't see that every day," Justin said.

"As I asked, is there a rabbit in there?" Spike asked.

"I don't think so. I accidentally left my backpack outside last night and a rabbit may have slept on it," Levi lied as he picked up his backpack and put it on.

About half of our group tried to stifle a laugh, and the Rainboomslooked at me funny. To be quite honest, Levi's lie was more or less unbelievable.

Sunset Shimmer walked over to me, as Twilight chatted with our group, and asked why Levi lied to Spike. I told her that I don't think I need to tell her about what we were doing in Canterlot City, where we are from, or about Headhunter and the Black Snake. Sunset Shimmer gave me a thumbs up.

Then the bell rang and the students came barging down the steps. They were still pushing and shoving. Many of them were still arguing about who was the better band. The Rainbooms and our group moved away to avoid being trampled.

Our group started walking back to our apartment when Fluttershy ran over to us. She invited us to hang at Sugar Cube Corner with them. I had to explain to the Rainbooms what happened yesterday and told them Mrs. Cake would call the police on us. Then, Daniel came up with a great idea.

"Dalton, can you remove the memory of an incident with your magic?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, I can, but there is a tiny problem," Dalton responded.

"What is it? It can't be that bad."

"Yes, it could. My eyes roll back in my head and the sclera of my eyes will glow light green. Plus, I might levitate a little."

"Wait. You use magic?" asked Fluttershy.

"Benefits of absorbing energy fired from a hero who uses powers gained from a powerful stone," Dalton said.

"How close do you have to be to remove a memory?" I asked.

"I have to be able to see her, and the closer I am the quicker it will take," Dalton replied.

"How does standing outside the cafe sound?" Justin asked.

"That sounds good but what about my eyes?"

"Hannah, grab my sunglasses out of the top dresser drawer," Daniel ordered.

Hannah ran to the apartment. In under three seconds, she was back with Daniel's sunglasses in her hand. She handed them to Dalton. He slipped them on. To be truthful, he looked better in the sunglasses than Daniel did. Even Daniel admitted it. We walked with the Rainbooms the two and a half miles to Sugar Cube Corner.

Twilight was much nicer than most royal people. Some of them were snobs and self-centered. Apparently, in Twilight's dimension, which is a pony parallel dimension of the one we were in, she was the Princess of Friendship. Spike, on the other hand, was a baby dragon and the assistant to Twilight. It was hard to see that out of a small dog.

The Princess of Friendship part made my group laugh because of how stupid it sounded. Surprisingly, Twilight understood why we thought that.

When we got to Sugar Cube Corner, Dalton and I stayed outside the building while the rest of the group went inside. We saw Mrs. Cake serving a couple of kids. Then, she spotted my group while she served the Rainbooms. She began eyeing us suspiciously.

"Dalton, it's now or never," I said.

"Alright, make sure I don't pass out," Dalton replied.

"Huh?"

"One time passed out when I tried to remove memory from my Aunt Shelli."

"You could've mentioned that earlier, Dalton."

"Sorry. I didn't think about it until now,"

"Whatever. Just go on with it."

Dalton's hands had a light green aura around them and his back stiffened. He made a strange gurgling sound and groaned a little. Even with the sunglasses on, I could see Dalton's eyes glowing light green. Finally. Dalton was finished with memory extraction. He looked down at his glowing hands. There was a blue orb in the middle of his left hand. I assumed that was the memory. Dalton clenched his fist and I heard the shattering of glass.

"The extraction is complete. She won't remember us leaving, gunshots, or calling the police. She'll remember us, though," Dalton informed.

We walked in and sat with the group. I glanced over at Mrs. Cake. She waved at me, no longer looking suspicious. I waved back.

The group was sitting in a booth/table sort of thing. Random conversations were going on. Mainly, the Rainbooms trying to get to know us. I was happy that Rainbooms didn't ask about our intentions in Canterlot. I noticed that Spike was still staring at Levi's backpack.

Finally, Applejack brought up the Sirens. I had been trying to do that for about forty-five minutes.

"What are we going to do about the new girls?" Applejack asked.

"I say we give them a good butt-kicking," suggested Rainbow Dash.

She did a few karate moves and ended with a final punch that Daniel caught mid-flight. Going a bit overboard, he quickly stood up, twisted Rainbow Dash's hand, and used his free hand to push her head against the table. The Rainbooms gasped at Daniel's actions, including everyone in the cafe.

"That's what happens when you are impulsive. You get the butt-kicking. You have to make a plan," Daniel sneered.

He let Rainbow Dash go and she stood up. She stared at him with fury in her eyes. I saw the beginning of an annoying rivalry.

"I want a real fight. We'll see who's better," Rainbow Dash challenged.

"Name the time and place," Daniel replied.

"Next Tuesday, 6:00 pm, high school student parking lot,"

"You're on. It seems like the Sirens aren't the only…"

"Both of you, cut it out. Everyone is staring at us," Jessie hissed through her gritted teeth.

The two new rivals sat down and exchanged glares. I thanked God that the situation ended before anything else happened.

"On a more positive and non-violent note, a certain blue-haired guitar player was just asking about you, Twilight," Applejack informed.

"Flash Sentry asked about me!!" squealed Twilight.

Then Twilight blushed and gave that girlish I-have-a-crush-on-somebody grin. To be quite frank, that grin always annoyed me.

"No offense, Twilight, but are you sure you a princess from a different dimension, and rocker wanna-be are a good match? It makes for a good low-budget kids movie made by corporate overlords but not in real life," Justin said.

"In theory, Justin, in theory. But some theories are proven wrong. In this case, the theory is proven wrong. 'How?", you may ask. Look at Matthew and Jessie, for example," Dalton said.

"Us?" asked Jessie.

"Matthew is a heavy metal rocker and you are a shy, bassoon player. They are complete opposites, yet they have been together since freshman year. Point made," Dalton explained.

"I hope Flash wasn't affected by Siren's spell," Twilight sighed.

"I would assume so since I saw him arguing with Bon Bon and Lyra Heartstrings after school," Fluttershy said quietly.

The Rainbooms resumed discussing how to defeat the Sirens. All of the suggestions or ideas were bogus or bad in general. It was very pathetic and very amusing at the same time.

Then, Pinkie Pie suggested using the Magic of Friendship to stop the Sirens. That suggestion got us laughing our heads off. Not literally of course.

Fluttershy mentioned a party in the gym that was originally to get everyone psyched for the music showcase. Then, Rainbow Dash said they could use it there. Daniel said he would take his chances in a rap battle with Levi, Eric, and Dalton.

To avoid another fight between Daniel and Rainbow Dash, Rarity asked our group and me to join them at the party. Before I could turn them down and said we needed to do something at the apartment. Thankfully, Twilight and Spike believed the lie. The rest of the Rainbooms knew we were lying.

The group and I told the Rainbooms, Twilight, and Spike goodbye and walked home. I was honestly glad today was over. Later, I would realize that the day was far from over.