Across The Multiverse

Chapters

1. A Beautiful Day
2. The Meeting
4. Babel
5. The Heart of the Matter
6. Snowed In
8. A Happy Day in Hell (Part 1)
9. A Happy Day in Hell (Part 2)
10. A Happy Day in Hell (Part 3)
11. A Happy Day in Hell (Part 4)
12. Doomed (Part 1)
13. Doomed (Part 2)
14. Here Comes the Boom (Part 1)
15. Here Comes the Boom (Part 2)
17. Here Comes the Boom (Part 4)
Prologue: The Legion of Doom
3. The Crystalling
7. Calm Before the Storm
16. Here Comes the Boom (Part 3)

1. A Beautiful Day

Earth 2010

Equestria

The orange glow of the sun shined through her curtains, stirring her from slumber and awakening her to a brand new day. Truth be told she was still getting used to her new accommodations, it had only been a week since she had become the student of the Princess of Friendship.

The pony in question was a unicorn mare with a pinkish-purple coat, purple-blue eyes, and a dark purple mane and tail with lighter purple and mint green streaks, with a Cutie Mark of what appears to be a star with two streaks of magical light green energy coming from it.

Nervousness fluttered within Starlight Glimmer's belly.

She felt like throwing up, why was this the case? Apparently her mentor had an important meeting today and wanted to introduce her to some close friends. But that was where Starlight was confused, she had already met the girls, so who else could she mean?

When she tried to change history she could've sworn that the Element Bearers were her only close friends.

Questions plagued her mind, questions that would be answered later on today, but for now, she was scheduled to meet up with the other girls for a brief picnic before her excursion to who knows where. Starlight honestly didn't know why the girls had accepted her so easily, she had tried to ruin their lives, to tear their friendship apart, who just forgives somepony like that?

It didn't make sense to her.

While she got suspicious glances from one of the girls, the others seemed okay with her.

Which unnerved her even more.

Hooves clopping against the floor, Starlight got out of bed and made her way towards the bathroom to get ready for her day. Her horn lit up as she used her magic to turn on the shower, stepping under the shower head when the water was the perfect temperature.

As the water fell from her mane and dripped down her face, the butterflies in her tummy worsened when flashes of those other timelines entered her mind. In all honesty, there was a part of her that felt like her mentor had only taken her in to keep an eye on her, to make sure that she couldn't cause anymore problems. But that wouldn't make sense, she was the Princess of Friendship, she wasn't capable of something so dishonest.

...right?

Starlight shook her head, she had spent enough time in the shower. With that, she turned off the water and dried herself off, exiting the bathroom and leaving her room. She stopped dead in her tracks, looking left and right, trying to figure out where the main lobby was.

This castle was much bigger than it looked.

After what felt like hours, Starlight finally managed to find the main lobby and made her way to the door. She had an hour until she was to meet up with the girls, she didn't want to show up empty hoofed, so she decided that she was going to head into Ponyville and pick up a few things.

She looked around for a moment, no sign of her mentor nor her faithful assistant.

She shrugged, they must've been preparing for their trip.

With that thought in mind, Starlight walked out of the door and stepped out into the sunlight.

When her hooves trotted along the dirt path leading from the castle into Ponyville, Starlight felt a little invigorated to get her day going. With a bounce in her step, she made her way into the town, passing by many ponies who greeted her with a smile and a wave.

"Okay! First things first!" She was about to begin listing off her 'to-do' list, when an unhappy grumble from her stomach caused her to stop. Turns out in her rush to get the day going, she forgot to eat breakfast. She turned her head and looked down sheepishly at the offending organ, patting it softly with her hoof, the heat rushing into her cheeks. "Heh heh, right. First things first, get some food into my belly. I think Sugarcube Corner would be the best place to go. That way I can get some food not only for the picnic, but for my gut as well."

Another gurgle made her blush even more.

"I'm going, I'm going." She said with a chuckle, resuming her trek into Ponyville.

She couldn't help the smile that stretched across her muzzle, it wasn't the same smile she had while she ran Our Town, no, this was a real smile. Everyone was so kind here, not that she deserved it, "NO! Stop it, Starlight, you're a different pony now." She thought to herself. "You have friends now. Friends that gave you a second chance. And you're not going to waste it away feeling sorry for yourself."

Sugarcube Corner came into view, "Thank Celestia! I swear my guts are going to implode from hunger." She entered the store and looked around at the array of sweets on display. "Okay, what to get, what to get." She tapped her chin in thought, what would be the best thing to bring to a picnic? When her eyes locked onto the pink, frosted cupcakes and the cherry, cream pie on display, she knew what to do.

After she left Sugarcube Corner, she quickly ate the cupcakes, filling her belly, and made her way to Sweet Apple Acres to meet up with the girls. As she walked past the gates, the smell of freshly baked apple pie entered her nose. It seemed that the Element of Honesty was bringing her own pie to the picnic.

The more the merrier, right?

As she trotted through the property, Starlight remembered that Sweet Apple Acres was huge. To think that the Apples owned so much land, it actually impressed her, but she couldn't help but wonder how they manage to harvest everything without any outside help.

She was getting off track, so to get back on track, Starlight made her way to the barn, where they all said they would meet. As she drew closer to the barn, a mare came into view: The Element of Honesty herself. An orange mare with a golden mane and emerald green eyes, with a Stetson on the top of her head and three apples on her posterior, smiled and waved at her.

Applejack trotted over to Starlight with a smile on her face, "Well howdy there, Starlight! Mighty fine day we're havin'!"

Her nerves flared up again, causing her laugh to sound strained and forced, "H-Hello Applejack! Yes, g-great weather indeed!" Although she could tell that Applejack saw right through her forced smile, she continued to smile anyway, what else could she do?

Noticing her new friends distress, Applejack chuckled and wrapped her leg around Starlight's neck. "Now come on, Starlight! No need ta feel nervous, we're friends now, all tha things that happened in tha past is in tha past. It's water under the bridge, sugarcube. So quit shakin' like a leaf and relax a little."

The mare looked away in guilt, her eyes drooped and her head lowered. "I just don't know how you guys could just... forgive all the things I did."

"Easily!"

Both mares shrieked at the sudden appearance of a pink pony with a poofy mane, blue eyes, and three balloons on her flank. She just popped out of nowhere, startling the two mares something fierce.

Pinkie Pie giggled before bursting into full blown laughter, falling onto her back and flailing her legs about as snorts escaped her. "Y-You should see your faces! I was all like "Easily!" and you were all like "AAAAAAHHHHHH" and I was all like "Heheheheheheheheh" and then I was like "You should see your faces! I was all like-""

"Simmer down there, Pinkie Pie." Applejack calmed the excitable mare down, gesturing for her to chill with her hooves.

This seemed to have the desired effect as Pinkie Pie stopped laughing and slowly got to her hooves, shaking herself off to get rid of the dirt in her coat. She then turned her attention onto Starlight Glimmer and said, "Don't be so silly, Starlight! We've forgiven you because you're our friend now! You're fun! And you're a blast to have at parties! And suuure, you nearly destroyed the whole timestream cause we stopped your cult and gave them their Cutie Marks back, but that's... Like... not even the worst thing done to us."

Applejack couldn't help but nod in agreement, "Eeyup! 'Member when we were kidnapped and held hostage by that crazy Ancient fella?"

"That was a weird week! Plus everything nearly died, so there's that too!"

Before Starlight could get clarification on what it was they were talking about, a bright blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, red eyes, with a thunder cloud striking a rainbow lightning bolt Cutie Mark, landed on the ground not too far from them, kicking up dirt where she landed.

Rainbow Dash flipped back her rainbow mane and trotted over to the others, "Sup, guys?" She greeted with her trademark smirk, "Sorry for the landing, I just got back from training."

"For the Wonderbolts, right?" Starlight guessed, remembering what she was told by her mentor when she first starting to get to know the girls.

"Good guess, but nope!" Rainbow answered before clarifying, "I'm training to get faster!"

To Starlight's confusion, both Pinkie and Applejack groaned, with the latter rubbing her forehead with her hoof and saying, "Not this again. Rainbow, when are ya gonna learn that he is just faster than you?"

"Hey! I can totally beat that spiked furball!" Rainbow claimed, her brows furrowed in frustration.

"Didn't he leave you in the dust when you two raced?" Pinkie recalled, poking her chin with her hoof. "Like, literally left you in the dust. He was miles away before you even got started, I'm pretty sure that he lapped you twice."

"I thought I told you not to speak of that again." Rainbow growled, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment and frustration. When both mares started laughing, Rainbow folded her forelegs over her chest and huffed, "You guys are jerks."

"Awe, come off it, Rainbow!" AJ admonished playfully. "We're just kiddin' with ya."

"Is Rainbow talking about the race again?" The posh, sounding voice asked from behind them.

When the girls turned around, they were greeted by the appearance of two distinct mares. One was a white unicorn with a curled, purple mane, blue eyes, and three diamonds on her flanks. The other was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane, light blue eyes, and three pink butterflies on her flank.

Fluttershy and Rarity both approached the group, the former more subdued than the other. Starlight wasn't surprised that Rarity was still a little wary of her, heck she was still wary of Discord, but what surprised her was how welcoming and understanding Fluttershy was. She thought that out of all the mares in this little group, she would be the most scared of her.

The more you know.

"Oh my!" Fluttershy 'exclaimed', with a whisper, before continuing, "I remember that day, he was so nice, so were his friends."

"You did get along well with them, darling." Rarity agreed. "I'll be quite honest, I can barely remember what happened at that party."

"Probably because you and Princess Luna were drunk off your heads on wine." Rainbow laughed, recalling the party after Exiled's and Eggman's defeat. "I still can't get over that concert though!"

"You better lose yourself in the music, the moment you want it, you better never let it go!" Pinkie sang, suddenly wearing a white singlet, a neck chain, baggy pants, and somehow changing her mane color to blonde instead of pink. She shook herself and she was back to normal.

Rarity, finally noticing Starlight, smiled and nodded politely, "Starlight darling, I'm glad to see you've kept my recommendations on your mane into consideration."

Glimmer looked away with a blush on her face. She actually loved the change in style when it came to her mane, Rarity knocked it out of the park. While she was still wary of her, rightfully so, she still made an attempt to become friends with her.

She was taken out of her thoughts when Fluttershy asked, "Um, where's Twilight?"

That was a good question, she would normally be here by now, most likely the first to arrive. One year ago they vowed to treat Twilight better, and they came through on that. They took her worries into consideration, and actually treated her as a friend. There was one incident where Discord had a plan to make Twilight feel jealous, and she gave them a stern talking to, but in the end they made up.

But what surprised them was how she acted toward Discord.

While most of them were indifferent or friends with the reformed villain, Twilight refused to interact with the draconequues unless she needed to. While they weren't enemies anymore, she still held some form of resentment for him, and who could blame Twilight for feeling that way?

Discord broke Twilight in ways none of them could describe, made her question who she was. And when he betrayed them and captured them for Tirek, Twilight, despite saving him, made it clear that they weren't friends in the slightest. She would be polite to him for Fluttershy's sake, but she didn't have to like him.

The girls were honestly surprised, despite showing clear dislike and distrust for Discord, that Twilight decided to take Starlight in under her wing. Was this genuine trust or was there something hidden underneath?

Despite all that, the girls trusted Twilight's judgement when it came to Starlight.

Speaking of Starlight, all eyes were now on her, waiting for answers. She gulped and said, "Well, I didn't see her this morning. I just assumed that she was getting ready for the meeting we're supposed to attend today."

The girls all looked at one another for a second before looking back to Starlight, "What meeting?"

The Castle of Friendship

The Princess of Friendship was galloping all around the library in a frantic panic, holding multiple scrolls, quills, and other documents in the air with her magic as she moved from one area of the library to the other, sweat dripping down her face as anxiety overtook her.

And her faithful assistant was struggling to follow her for two reasons: One, the weight of the tower of documents, scrolls, and other necessities slowed him down greatly. Two, he couldn't exactly see over the tower, which is why he suddenly tripped over and was trapped under the mountain of papers on the floor.

Twilight paid him no mind.

Yes, Twilight Sparkle was the Princess of Friendship!

Her appearance hadn't changed much over the course of one year, except for two things. Her coat was still a lavender color, her mane and tail were still as beautiful as ever, an indigo color with streaks of purple and pink, her eyes were still a nice shade of purple, and her starburst Cutie Mark was still there.

No the key differences were her height and the additions of wings on her back.

It was a safe bet that she was nervous about this meeting, but why would she be? They've had multiple meetings over the course of the year that their team was established, so why was this one any different? It might have something to do with the fact that she's introducing her student to them. Her student, who used to be the leader of a cult, and almost destroyed the timeline in an attempt to ruin her friendship with her friends.

And added onto that, she'll have to somehow convince them that Starlight shouldn't be locked away for everything she's done and that she's worthy of redemption. Which was going to be even harder since her best friend is even more stubborn that Applejack and Rainbow Dash combined and will probably lock her up the first chance he gets.

No pressure, right?

A strand of her hair popped out of place, it was official, Starlight was doomed.

She dropped her head in exhaustion, they already chewed her out for giving Discord another chance, despite everything he had done. She remembered that she had to physically stop Mario and Sonic from going to Equestria to bring him in. Eventually she had convinced them all that she would keep an eye on him and that Fluttershy would keep him in line. And while they all eventually agreed with her decision, Batman didn't exactly trust her judgement, which hurt, but not as much as she thought considering it was Batman being, well, Batman.

She tried calming herself down.

She failed.

Underneath the mountain of documents was Spike the dragon: Twilight's Number One Assistant. He was purple in color, while his underbelly, the underside of his tail, eyes, fins, and head spikes were all green.

Spike's head popped out of the stack of papers just as the library doors opened, revealing the Mane 5 and Starlight Glimmer, who trailed behind them slowly with a look of hesitation on her face. The young dragon climbed out of the mountain of paper and scampered over to the girls. "Hey girls!" Spike greeted with a smile before tilting his head, "What brings you here?"

"Twilight didn't show up to the picnic we planned and we got worried." Fluttershy answered with her soft voice.

"That was today?" Spike asked, having honestly forgotten. He laughed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head when the girls all shot him the same look. "Sorry, we've been a little busy getting ready for Twilight's meeting. Things haven been crazy around here lately."

"Starlight mentioned that she and Twilight were attending a meeting today." Rarity mentioned, much to Starlight's embarrassment. "Do you have any idea what it could be about?"

Now it was Spike's turn to shoot them all a look. "You mean you don't know?" When they all shrugged, not having the slightest clue, he sighed and asked, "Girls, what's the date today?"

It was Applejack who answered, "The 23rd." Now she was confused, as were the others. "But why would that...." She trailed off before realization struck her, "Well, HOO WEE! Is it that time again already?" The other girls, sans Starlight, all seemed to have realized what today was as well.

"That came by fast." Fluttershy said, a gentle smile on her face.

"Time sure does fly by when you're having fun!" Pinkie piped up, bouncing on the spot.

Starlight couldn't help but feel a little excluded, probably because she had no clue what they were talking about. "I'm a little lost." She said, all eyes now on her, again. "What's exactly the difference between today and any other day?"

"Oh right! You don't know!" Rainbow laughed.

"Know what?"

"Allow me to explain, darlings, if you would be so kind?" Rarity asked, to which she got agreeing nods from everyone. She looked to Starlight and explained everything to her. How everyone standing in the library were kidnapped by the Ancient known as The Exiled, including the Princesses. How Twilight met with the other Guardians, her destiny to lead them in defending all of creation, the pivotal role the Foundation of all Dimensions plays into giving life into the Multiverse.

All of it.

Starlight couldn't help but listen on in wonder and awe, as well as a little bit of terror. She couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if these Guardians of the Multiverse got involved when she tried to mess with time. She wouldn't've stood a chance.

If they could take on a literal God and win, what chance did she have?

She considered herself lucky in that regard.

But she also couldn't help but wonder about the Multiverse itself, how vast and huge it was. Maybe there was a reality out there where Sunburst never left her? Maybe a world where everypony was equal? Or maybe a reality where she was an alicorn? The possibilities are well and truly endless.

The takeaway she got from that was that A) Twilight was more important than she realized. And B) She goes to meet up with the Guardians every six months on the twenty third.

Which was today.

And she was meant to be going to this meeting with Twilight.

Oh.

....Crap.

As Starlight dealt with her own inner turmoil, Rainbow took notice of Twilight's Twilighting. "Um, anypony gonna do something about that?"

"WE NEED MORE SCROLLS!!!" Twilight shrieked as papers went all over the place. She began to hyperventilate, using her magic to bring over a paper bag and breathe into it in an attempt to calm herself down.

"We should probably..." Pinkie motioned towards the panicking alicorn in their midst with her head.

"Eeyup!" Applejack agreed as they all trotted over to try and calm Twilight's nerves. But Starlight felt glued to the ground, unable to move from that very spot. She couldn't deny it. She was terrified. Panic rose in her chest, swarms of butterflies fluttered around in her belly, causing it to groan nauseously. She felt sick. What if they arrested her on the spot? What if they hated her, deeming her unworthy of redemption?

Anxiety bubbled in her guts as nervous bile rose in her throat. It took all of her willpower not to throw up on the spot, no, she swallowed it and began focusing on her breathing. Twilight wouldn't let any of that happen. She was her student, her friend. She would fight for her, defend her, and show the Guardians that she was truly worthy of redemption. Everything was going to be fine, it was all going to play out how it should, she was sure of it. While her nerves were going haywire, she couldn't help but wonder what the Guardians were doing right now.

Or rather, where they were.

But for now, she finally willed herself to move and help her teacher calm herself down. After all, they had to look their best for the meeting. "Hah hah." She laughed in her head, sweat dripping down the side of her head. "I'm so screwed."

Earth 1991

Mobius

Just Outside of Station Square

The world was right below his feet, his notorious speed kicking up dust in his wake. He moved as quick as the wind, undoubtedly even quicker, the wind rushing against his face as he moved at impossible speeds. A beaming smile etched itself onto his face as he maneuvered through the trees, quick stepping at the right time to avoid colliding with them.

He let out a joyous laugh as he picked up the pace, creating a sonic boom, causing all the trees to tussle about. The hero of Mobius had been having a great day, he was about to meet up with his friends at Vanilla's house for a victory celebration. It was only yesterday that they had stopped Eggman's latest plot.

He tried using Cream to gain control of The Reverie, which would allow him to make his twisted dreams a reality. Of course he stopped him, as was the norm. But he didn't do it alone of course, he had his friends there to back him up. And once they dealt with Eggman and returned Cream home, Vanilla, grateful for the return of her daughter, invited them for this little celebration.

The Blue Blur couldn't help but feel joy, not only was he hanging out with his friends, but he also had his meeting with the other Guardians as well. He couldn't wait to see them, he was hanging to tell them about this latest adventure, and by the sounds of it Twilight had some big news as well.

Sonic picked up the pace, he didn't want to wait any longer. Speaking of the hedgehog, he was a blue color, with the exception of his hands, arms, muzzle, and stomach, which were a tan color. His eyes were an emerald green, and he wore white gloves on his hands. And on his feet were his signature shoes, which were a red color with a white strap over the top of them, held in place by a golden buckle.

The sun's glow shined through the darkness of the forest up ahead of him, there was a clearing, which meant he was close to Vanilla's house. A blue aura appeared around him as he boosted forward, exiting the clearing and following the windy, dirt path leading to the house on the hill.

The hedgehog skidded to a stop at the front door before knocking and wiping his feet on the welcome mat. The house had a welcoming presence about it, its beige color and red roofing made it look ordinary, and Sonic took whatever forms of normalcy he could get.

The door was opened by a tall, cream-furred rabbit with a white muzzle, a small brown nose, brown eyes, and a tuft of dark orange hair on her forehead. She wore a long lavender dress with a white trim at the bottom of the puffy sleeves and the skirt, a burgundy-fitted vest with golden buttons, an orange ascot on her neck, white gloves with golden cufflinks, burgundy low-heeled shoes with a yellow detail and gray soles, and pink lipstick.

"Sonic!" Vanilla greeted happily, a kind and gentle smile on her face. "I'm so glad that you could make it."

The hedgehog brushed his thumb against his nose and said, "Heh heh, I wouldn't miss it. Thanks for having me over." She stepped aside and invited him inside. Sonic accepted the invitation and entered the house. "How's Cream doing? She holding up okay?"

"Oh, she's doing wonderfully!" Vanilla answered the hero, leading him through the house towards the backyard, where everyone was waiting for him. "I can't thank you enough for saving her from the clutches of that evil Dr. Eggman. Oh, he is simply awful!"

"Amen to that." Truth be told, this wasn't the first time Cream was involved with one of Eggman's schemes. Whenever he brought her into the war between them really made Sonic mad. The mad scientist truly had no morals, she was just a child. Not to mention when she was turned into a Zombot due to his Metal Virus.

Sonic tries to see the best in everyone, he even gave Eggman a second chance when he lost his memories. But when he got them back and unleashed the Metal Virus, that cemented in his head that Robotnik was never going to change. That incident brought back memories of when he Roboticized Mobotropolis, renaming it Robotropolis.

Luckily he and his siblings managed to stop him and free their home, reuniting with their mother in the process. But when he learned that he was spreading his evil outside of Mobotropolis, Sonic left to stop him. He didn't even say goodbye. Better that way, they wouldn't understand that Eggman would never stop, and that he couldn't allow what happened in Mobotropolis to happen anywhere else.

He should really think about going to see them.

No, it would be too complicated.

His thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind when he entered the backyard, where all of his friends were waiting for him.

Sitting on a wooden table was an echidna and a bat, bickering with one another.

The former had purple eyes, red fur and wore white boxing gloves with spikes on the knuckles. Across his chest was a white stripe, his tail was crooked, bending down at an angle, and he wore red and yellow shoes with green socks on his ankles.

The latter was a bat with white fur, turquoise-green eyes with two eyelashes on each one, tan skin and a curvy figure. She had large pointy ears, small fangs, a small black nose on her muzzle, a short pointy tail, and a pair of dark purple wings on her back. She wore a black, skin-tight and strapless low-cut jumpsuit that sported a pink heart-shaped chest plate. She also wore a set of elbow-length white gloves and thigh-high high-heeled boots with pink cuffs to match them, with the latter featuring both gray soles and heels, along with steel toes in the appearance of pink hearts, matching her jumpsuit's chest plate.

"I'm telling you the answer is no!" Knuckles yelled, slamming his fist into the table, launching his sandwich into the air. "You're not going anywhere near the Master Emerald. That is final!"

Rouge chuckled at the echidna's reaction, knowing just how to press his buttons. Truth be told, she had grown out of being a thief some time ago, after that whole Infinite debacle. But she knew that Knuckles didn't believe her, especially when it came to the Master Emerald.

But he didn't know that she was a full-time spy now, and that made it even funnier.

She rested her head in her hands and shot him a coy smirk, "Awe, come on, Knuckie~ Don't you trust me?"

"No."

"You do realize that I've snuck onto Angel Island multiple times, right?" She informed the last of the echidna's, much to his shock. "And of course, I've laid my eyes on that Emerald too." She leaned forward and whispered, "And I've touched it~"

"STAY AWAY FROM MY EMERALD!!!"

Rouge fell off the seat, holding her stomach as she laughed at the expected reaction. Knuckles simply pouted and folded his arms, grumbling under his breath as Rouge continued to die on the floor from laughter.

Sonic laughed at the scene before looking over to see his other friends gathered on the floor on a picnic mat, all eating their lunches and laughing together.

The first to catch his eye was his best friend and little brother. A yellow fox Mobian with a set of twin tails and blue eyes. He wore white gloves and a pair of red and white shoes on his feet. He was yellow in color, except for the fur covering his chest, mouth and belly. His set of tails also had tuffs of white on the end of them, and his fur made three bangs that rested on his forehead.

Tails was sat next to a pink hedgehog wearing a red dress with a pink headband in her hair. Not only did she have green eyes, but she two wore white gloves with golden bracelets on both of her wrists. Her boots were red with a white stripe going downwards towards the sole of the footwear.

Amy took a bite out of her sandwich and looked over to the little, tiny rabbit sitting next to her. She was a small, cream-furred, rabbit with cinnamon-brown eyes, a small brown nose, and a white muzzle. She had Princeton orange markings around her eyes, on her head and at the tips of her long ears. She wore a simple sleeveless vermilion dress with a white collar and a light blue cravat, white gloves with a gold cufflink on each cuff, white socks, and vermilion and yellow slip-on shoes with gray soles.

Cream instantly shot to her feet and rushed over when her eyes laid on Sonic. Their bond was nothing small, they each considered themselves to be siblings, and were like family to one another. The bond wasn't as strong as the one between Sonic and Tails, but it was strong nonetheless.

As soon as she was close enough, Sonic picked her up and spun her around in circles before setting her down. The two then embraced for a moment before separating. "I knew you'd come! I knew it!" Cream said happily, bouncing up and down on the spot.

Sonic ruffled the top of her head and said, "I wouldn't miss it, Cream." He then let her guide him to the mat and sat down with everyone. "Sup guys? Did I miss much?"

Amy shot him a sly smirk, "Sonic the hedgehog, how is it that you're the fastest thing alive, yet you're always late?"

"Hey, give me some credit!" Sonic defended himself with a smile. "I'm only--"

"An hour late." Tails, Amy, and Cream all said collectively, each with deadpanned expressions on their faces.

Sonic chuckled sheepishly, "Okay, that's fair." He looked over to Cream and asked, "Heard you went to visit Ariem. How'd that go?"

"Oh, it was so wonderful to see her. I knew Mr. Tails was going to figure out a way for us to see her, but I didn't think he'd figure it out that quickly!" She looked to the blushing fox and said, "He's very smart!"

"Yeah, he is!" Sonic agreed, flashing his brother a smile.

Heat rushed to Tails' cheeks as he turned away in embarrassment, "I-It wasn't anything, really..."

Sonic took in the scene before him, blinking to give his eyes momentary ease, only for them to widen in horror when his friends were gone, as was Vanilla's house. He looked around and shot to his feet, fire and brimstone fell from the sky as red lightning split it apart. The sky itself appeared to be glitching, digitizing somehow as a looming shadow with eight eyes towered over him.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." He instantly knew what this was, why was this happening now, now of all the times it could have happened. Why now? He hadn't had a vision in over six months, he was finally getting sleep again, ironic, given how he was asleep for the majority of his last adventure.

The wind was knocked out of him when a streak of red zoomed past him, but it wasn't just a red streak, it was followed by red lightning and a swarm of bats. As he got back up he saw five figures loom over him, with the hedgehog looking one glaring at him with pure hatred in his cold eyes.

The unicorn leading the group was wearing an amulet, a silver amulet with wing tips, the head of a unicorn with red eyes, and a red jewel in the center of it.

The unicorn placed the Alicorn Amulet on her chest and power surged through her. The only distinguishing features he saw on the unicorn was her glowing, red eyes, and the sun Cutie Mark on her flank. That was all he saw before her horn lit up and he was blinded by a red light.

"SONIC!"

The hedgehog was pulled back into reality as he heard Tails scream his name. He was panting, his chest heaving, he noticed sweat falling down his head as he looked around to see the concerned faces of his friends.

"Sonic, you were unresponsive for five minutes!" Amy informed him, her own panic finding its way into her voice. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Sonic didn't answer straight away, looking to Tails knowingly. They both knew what this was, but decided to keep it to themselves. But the look he got from Tails told him that they were going to have a discussion about it later. After saying that he was fine, with some assurance from Tails, they dropped it for now.

But that was the most lively vision yet. And the worst part was that he had no idea what any of it meant.

Earth 1

Gotham City

The door leading to the roof was kicked down, and soon enough the entire rooftop was swarmed by armed thugs wearing black, skull masks. They spread out and searched for their target, the rain pelting down on them and bouncing off of their black jackets. Each thug searched the rooftop, determined to catch the one ruining their boss' operation. This had been the third drug den hit that night, the Bat was on the prowl, that's for sure.

As they moved around the rooftop, the city's lights shined off of the puddles on the ground, illuminating the area somewhat, but it wouldn't help them though. A strike of lightning revealed a shadowed, bat figure crouching on a stone gargoyle, watching them from the nearby roof.

This was the last of Black Mask's drug dens in the city. Over the past week, drug crimes had gone up as did the shootouts that occurred just to get a taste of the poison. After multiple nights of clearing out the gangs, interrogating the Mad Hatter for answers, and sending Commissioner Gordon enough evidence to put Black Mask away for life, he had finally found where the drug boss was cooped up.

"REPORT!" He heard the drug boss shout, having already hacked into their communications sometime ago. "Any sign of the sonnuva bitch?!"

"Nothin' yet, boss." One of the thugs informed while the others kept a lookout. "Maybe he ain't gonna show up?"

The optimism was nice, but it wouldn't save him and the others.

"No, he's definitely here. The rat bastard destroyed my entire cocaine supply in a single night!" Black Mask shouted, frustrated that his operation was well and truly done for. "I have a plane waiting for me at the airport, it's your job to make sure that I get there! And I ain't moving an inch before I know the Bat's dead! Ya got that?!"

"Sure, boss. Loud and clear." With that, he cut off the communications and continued patrolling the rooftop.

"Oh dear, it seems that Mister Sionis plans to make a quick getaway, sir." A posh voice said inside his cowl. He felt a warmth inside him, he could always rely on Alfred to back him up. "The GCPD has been sent the location of the drug den. Might I suggest you get in there and disarm Black Mask?"

The Dark Knight stood upright, lightning striking in the background as his cape flapped in the wind. "You read my mind." As the lightning flashed, his full form was visible for a mere moment. In the year that he had become a Guardian, he had decided to upgrade his batsuit with the latest technology. It looked the same as before, with the bat shaped cowl, the bat symbol on his chest, and the long cape, except it now had advanced flexible plates overlaying a MR-fluid (magnetorheological fluid) armor layer, to make him faster, and to make his punches harder.

Without warning, Batman glided down, spreading his cape open as he took out his Grappling Hook and fired it at an unsuspecting thug. Once the claw clamped itself onto the gun, the wire stiffened as Batman kicked down the guard behind him, rolling across the roof and pulling the gun out of the thug's hands, using the built up momentum to hurl the gun at another thug's head, knocking him to the ground.

Batman darted over and slammed one crook to the ground, his head hitting the wet surface, rendering him unconscious. He then dashed over and uppercut another before turning around and throwing six Batarangs at three incoming thugs, disarming them before rushing over and bashing two of their heads together and roundhouse kicking the other.

One thug tried hitting him from behind with a lead pipe, but Batman saw it coming, and grabbed the pipe before using his elbow to break the thug's arm, delivering a headbutt to knock him out. He heard a rush of footsteps behind him and threw the pipe behind him, striking the thug in the face and sending him sliding across the roof.

Batman looked around at the roof full of unconscious thugs and turned around, activating his Detective Vision to see Black Mask packing his bags. He wasn't alone as six guards were also helping him pack any drugs or weapons that they could get their hands on.

Six guards, one drug boss. This was gonna be easy.

Inside the drug den

"MOVE YOUR ASSES, YA USELESS MUTTS!" The guards scurried around the room, which was lit up due to the moon that shined through the massive window that overlooked the street. "KNOWIN' THE BAT, HE'S ALREADY HERE, AND I DON'T INTEND ON SPENDING ANOTHER SECOND IN THIS CITY IF I CAN HELP IT!"

The one shouting at his henchmen was the drug lord known as Black Mask. He was a lean man wearing a white, stripped suit, with a matching white vest over his black, buttoned up shirt. He wore a black skull mask on his head, reflecting the inner feelings he had to hide while in high society.

Roman Sionis, which was his real name, was stuffing money and drugs into his duffel bag frantically. He had come too far and had made too much money to stop now. He wasn't going to let the Bat stop his operations without a fight. Knowing how the hero operated, he knew that he had little time to get what he needed and get out of there.

"ARE YOU IDIOTS FINISHED YET?!" Sionis asked, panic starting to set in as he zipped up his bag. But when he received no answer, he growled angrily and snapped his body around. "ARE YOU MORONS DEAF?!" His breath hitched when he turned around and saw all of his guards on the ground, having been knocked unconscious.

Quickly taking out his handgun, Black Mask cautiously walked forward, eyes darting back and forward as a chill went down his spine. He jumped at every shadow, unsure if the Bat was there or not. His footsteps echoed throughout the room, his breathing the only sound he heard as it quickened.

"WHERE ARE YA, YOU SONNUVA BITCH?!"

"Behind you."

That was the last thing Sionis heard before darkness clouded his vision.

The Batcave

The waterfall concealing the runway leading into the Dark Knight's base of operations split apart as The Batmobile roared through, the secret passageway closing behind him as he slowed down the car. It hadn't taken long for Gordon and the rest of the GCPD to arrive at the scene, the workload having been lifted due to Sionis and his goons unconscious and wrapped up waiting to be arrested.

After that whole debacle, Batman spent another hour patrolling the city before deciding to return home for the night, not wanting to be late for the annual Guardians meeting. When he became a Guardian, he made it abundantly clear that Gotham came first, and that there would be times that he could not attend the designated meetings. Out of the few meetings that they had had over the course of the year, he had only missed one.

Gotham was still recovering after the war between Bane and Joker.

That was a long week.

The Batmobile slowed to a stop on the platform in the middle of the Batcave, the engine turning off as multiple bats flapped away from the cave and out into the night. The door slid open and Batman leapt out of the seat, his cape shrouding his form as he made his way to the Batcomputer.

He took a seat and closed the most recent case in Black Mask's file.

The sounds of footsteps approaching caught his ears, yet his eyes remained on the screen before him, if he was going to finish all of the case work he had before his meeting, he couldn't get distracted.

"I take it that Mister Sionis is now behind bars, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked as he placed the tray down beside the computer. It had a cup of tea laid upon it and some dinner too, Alfred having already known that Bruce would have forgone eating to get back into the city.

Alfred was an old man, with receding black hair and a moustache. He wore a black suit jacket with long lapels on the back, with purple suit pants to match, completing his attire.

"With Sionis' drugs off the streets, hopefully things will start to calm down." Alfred hoped optimistically.

"When are things ever calm, Alfred?" Batman rhetorically asked, with Alfred chuckling behind him.

"That is true, sir." Alfred then asked, "I assume you will be attending your meeting tonight?"

"Right."

Alfred nodded, turning away from Bruce, before saying, "Give my regards to Princess Twilight, and tell her to visit more often. It has been sometime since she has graced us with her presence."

"She's a busy woman, Alfred."

"Of course, sir."

With that, Alfred walked away, knowing that Bruce wanted to be left alone so that he could finish his work.

Batman interlocked his fingers after opening the Injustice Files, watching intently as the various Babel Protocols popped up on the screen. There were various contingency plans made for each member of the Justice League, because there was a slim chance that they could turn against them. Whether it could be due to mind control or of their own volition.

If that were to happen the planet wouldn't survive.

Which is why these contingency plans were created, made to neutralize, not kill, each member of the League just in case they ever went rogue.

So it made sense for Bruce to make plans regarding the Guardians of the Multiverse. With their knowledge of the Foundation of all Dimensions, the various dimensions out there, the threat would be too great for there not to be any plans in place in case any of them went rogue.

He let out a sigh as Twilight's came up, he knew that if she ever found out about this, she would feel betrayed beyond imagining. But, and he hated to say this, but she was far too trusting for her own good. She sees the best in people, while Batman saw the worst, all the flaws, the lies, the potential threats.

She was already formidable as a unicorn, but now that she was an alicorn, her power increased astronomically.

Part of him felt bad for doing this behind her back, but she couldn't know about this. None of them could. It would be too damning and it would go against the very reason these plans were in place. They could figure out ways to counteract them, and then they would be doomed.

He did trust them, especially Twilight, but not enough for these plans to not be in place. In his heart Bruce knew he was doing the right thing. And he prayed that he would never have to use any of these plans. But if it came down to it, he would without hesitation.

Shutting off the computer, Bruce got up from his seat and walked away, leaving to go get ready for his meeting.

Earth 616

New York City

Stark Tower

Tony Stark was having one of those days.

You see today Loki decided that today would be a great day to try and conquer the planet, starting with the big apple, of course. So he transformed all of New York into a frozen wasteland and declared it his new kingdom, subjugating all of the innocent people under his rule.

That is, until The Avengers stopped him.

It took a while, but they eventually beat him and used that ancient casket thing to undo Loki's mess. He was then taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody and that was that. After spending hours upon hours of helping with cleanup, Tony was ready to get some work done before he had to go to his meeting with the other Guardians.

Tony Stark was currently wearing a casual jacket, glasses with holographic capabilities over his eyes, trousers over his legs, and a shirt under his jacket, his Arc Reactor glowing underneath the fabric. Tony clapped his hands together, the lights brightening the main lounge in the tower dimming as multiple holographic screens appeared in thin air. "Alright, J.A.R.V.I.S., let's pick up where we left off, shall we?"

Stark stretched his fingers and got to work, swiping through multiple screens while simultaneously running various simulations for this little project of his. He ran through the numbers, trying to crack the code, but no matter how close he got, he always hit a roadblock.

Creating a working communications system that could work between dimensions was a near impossible task, but Tony will be damned if he let something like this beat him. If X-PO could figure out how to do it, then he could too. Curse that little robot for wanting to continue his explorations around the Multiverse. But that aside, this device would make things a lot easier between the Guardians if he could get it to work. They wouldn't have to wait for a meeting every six months to inform one another of their current situations.

And the benefits this could have would be astounding!

Say if one of them needed help with a threat or a problem, they could just call one of them up and ask for assistance, as simple as that. But finding a way to allow the communication to break through the vibrational frequency of their respective earths was proving to be a challenge.

But Tony was persistent and wouldn't give up on this. There had to be some solution to this problem, and if there was one, he was going to damn well find it.

After all, he was Tony Stark, the Invincible Iron Man, an Avenger and a Guardian of the Multiverse. If he could save the lives of everybody in existence, than he could do this.

The sound of an alert in his glasses caught his attention, and alert from Nick Fury. He rolled his eyes and ignored it, he could deal with it tomorrow. Knowing that he wasn't going to crack this tonight, Tony decided to quickly check in on his fellow Avengers.

Steve was dealing with the press.

Natasha and Barton had gone undercover somewhere in Latveria.

Thor had returned to Asgard.

Banner had gone off the grid.... again.

And T'Challa had gone back to rule Wakanda.

After doing that, Stark took a look at the time and decided that it wouldn't hurt if he was a little early for the meeting. He swiped his hand, closing the screens and walked over to the bar, just as a metal case slowly rose from the floor.

"Alright buddy, could you bring out my spiffiest outfit?" Tony asked the A.I., "Gotta look good for the meeting, y'know?"

"Already ahead of you, sir."

When the case opened, it revealed Tony's latest addition to his 'wardrobe' as he liked to call it. Inside was the Mark 43, it looked similar to his previous armors, but it had a more frequent use of the color yellow on the shoulders, torso, and legs.

Tony smirked as a chuckle escaped him. "You know me so well."

Earth 1983

The Mushroom Kingdom

The sun shined down on the grassy hill the two lovers sat upon, their picnic nothing but peaceful and serene as they interlocked hands and stared down at the Go Kart course below the hill. With the Mario Kart Grand Prix coming up in a few weeks, everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom was itching to practice their racing skills on Mario Circuit.

And with their friends currently racing one another on the circuit, Mario and Peach decided to take this time to have a little romantic picnic, seeing as they never really got the time to do so. Ever since the incident on Foundation Prime, Princess Peach couldn't stop thinking about her hero, or the many times he's saved her from Bowser's clutches.

So when they got back, she decided to ask him out.

And he said yes.

They had this back and forth thing going on for years, and they were pretty clear on their feelings for one another, so they decided to make it official. They would date one another for am while and see where it would go. And so far, things were going very well.

Of course, when Bowser found out, he was furious and upped his game when it came to taking over the Mushroom Kingdom and claiming Peach's love. But once again, he was sent packing and the day was saved.

The two stared at one another as a small, white bird landed on Peach's shoulder, which caused the princess to giggle, her voice music to Mario's ears.

Peach was wearing her signature pink dress with a blue pearl on her chest, along with blue earrings to go along with it. Her blonde hair went down past her shoulders, and her blue eyes were a marvel to look at. Her tiara shined, thanks to the sun, making her look all the more radiant.

She stared into her lover's eyes, Mario, who still wore his blue overalls over his red shirt, with his red cap to match. A blush came to his mustached face, causing him to turn away and cough into his gloved hands. He cleared his throat and stared lovingly into Peach's eyes.

Peach sighed wistfully and looked up into the sky, "It's such a beautiful day today, isn't it, Mario?"

"Not as beautiful as the girl I'm staring at right now." Mario flirted, causing the princess to blush profusely. He took her hand in his, causing her to look into his eyes. "You know, growing up, heh maaan, I spent hours of my life stomping... ugh, Koopas." He said their name as if it disgusted him, well, anything reminding him of Bowser disgusted him. "That was my day to day for the majority of my life, but it didn't really begin until I rescued you for the very first time."

"I'll never forget that day, you were so handsome, so confident... For the most part." She snickered that last part, causing Mario to pout playfully.

"Hey! I'll have you know that it was my very first time saving the kingdom, thank you very much!" He informed her with a playfully. "But I just want you to know, I'll always be there to protect you, no matter where I am, if you need me, I'm there."

With that, the two shared a gentle kiss, the sun shining upon them. Mario had a few hours until his meeting, they could stay like this for just a while longer.

Earth 2010

Equestria

This was it, it was time to go.

After having calmed down Twilight, her ramblings about how if things went wrong Giant Quesadillas would storm the Multiverse riding on top of Mutant Ladybugs came to a stop. Starlight took note that maybe her mentor wouldn't be in the best of mind sets whenever she had a panic attack.

As the girls all talked to one another, Starlight watched as Twilight trotted over to one of the many bookshelves in the library and pulled out one of the books with her magic. At least, that's what it looked like anyway. No, what she really did was pull a secret lever that activated the secret door behind the bookshelf. It popped open, and Twilight used her magic to pull it open, revealing a Gateway with Ancient Runes surrounding it.

So this was how they were getting to their destination.

Neat.

She then trotted over to a command console and pulled down the lever. Once she did, the Gateway whirled to life, its sheer power sending multiple papers flying through the air. The alicorn turned to her student with a smile on her face and asked, "Ready to go?"

Starlight didn't want to answer that. Her belly was doing summersaults right now, it was groaning with anxiety, bubbles of fear made her want to back away. Her breathing quickened as her heart raced, her eyes darting around the room for any signs of escape.

Sensing her student's anxiety, Twilight trotted over and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder, halting Starlight's nervous breathing. "Hey." She gave her a comforting smile and said, "The Guardians are some of the nicest creatures you could ever meet," Well, except Batman, but she wouldn't mention that at the moment, "And I just know that they'll love you as much as we do." She gestured to the ponies and dragon gathered behind her, all giving Glimmer comforting and encouraging smiles.

"B-But what if they lock me away for everything I did?" Starlight couldn't help but ask.

Twilight's smile never wavered, "Then they'll have to deal with me." Her mind recalled the various arguments she and Batman had. He may be her best friend, but he really got on her nerves sometimes. "And I'll be by your side the entire time. You're not alone, Starlight, and you never will be again."

Taking these thoughts into account, and the fact that Twilight would be by her side the entire time, Starlight took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled, calming her nerves. "I can do this. I can do this." Part of her still wanted to run for it, but Twilight's comforting smile halted her movements.

It was just a small step into a whole new world, she could do this.

For Twilight, for the one who believed in her, the one who gave her a chance when nopony else would.

It was time.

With a final goodbye to the others, Twilight guided her student towards the portal. "Ready?"

Starlight nodded, "Ready."

As she stepped into the portal, all Starlight could think about was what would happen on the other side. One thought was more prevalent than the others.

"I am sooooo screwed."

Author's Note

Abra-abracadabra
(And for my last trick) I'm 'bout to reach in my bag, bruh

Ahem, sorry, song's stuck in my head, been listening to it on repeat as I wrote this chapter.

So sorry for the long wait on the chapter guys. Been busy as all hell, but hopefully this will do! As you can see these chapters may be longer in length than my last story, which means that they'll take longer than normal. So don't expect a consistent upload schedule, not that I had one to begin with.

Now, onto the notes.

I'm sure that some of you noticed the parallels between Starlight and Twilight's days in the opening scene, ranging from the title of the chapter all the way to the picnic. That was intentional. For those of you who got it, good job! Have a mustached Spike! :moustache:

As me and many fans agree, Starlight's redemption and characterization was complete bullshit, hence why she is a main character, I'm going to maker her character actually go through a redemption process. Try and stop me Hasbro!

And yes, in this universe, Sonic Underground is canon, as are the IDW comics. I just thought that I'd address that considering that something may come of that in the future, but not in this story. :raritywink:

Batman has finally got the Arkham Knight armor, finally! I contemplated giving it to him at the end of the last story, but I decided against it, seeing as a year has passed since then, it would make more sense to use it here.

Not much going on with Tony, he's still an Avenger, still rich, still single. Although ignoring Fury like that after what happened in the prologue is sure to bite him in the arse.

Mario and Peach finally got together officially. I know that they have romantic feelings in canon, but it's never been made official, so I decided to make it happen here. Safe to say that they're very happy together.

And if you caught the Chris Pratt reference, then you get a happy Twi! :twilightsmile:

Also, FYI, we won't be visiting the first world for a few chapters, but trust me when I say you'll never guess which world it will be. But I'll just leave you with this. "I know something you don't knoooow~"

If you know, you know. Don't spoil, just say a quote from the property so I know that you got it. Remember, no spoilers, any spoilers are to be hidden otherwise they will be deleted, I'm not taking any chances.

With all that being said, sorry again for the long wait, hopefully the next won't be as long, but I make no promises, I've got a pretty busy week ahead of me. See you cool kids next chapter!

Knuckles - All belong to Noe0123

Rainbow Dash - AndoAnimalia

Fluttershy - wcwjunkbox

Iron Man - IARU2

Black Mask - Asthonx1

Vanilla -

Princess Peach - All belong to Nibroc - Rock

Mario - ShineSpriteGamer

Tony Stark - DarthSpiderMaul

2. The Meeting

Foundation Prime

The Eternal Apex

Starlight's vision was blurred, the light from the portal blinding her temporarily as she walked out of the Gateway. She couldn't see much of anything really, only blurred spots in her line of sights, and a splotch of purple to her left, presumably Twilight Sparkle. As she blinked multiple times to clear her vision, she heard her mentor giggle and say, "Don't worry, it took some time for my eyes to adjust as well. You'll get used to it."

"Maybe I should bring some shades next time." The student joked, her eyes finally adjusting, now seeing where exactly she was. She was in some kind of portal room, a white room with blue highlights glowing all around it, from the floor, to the walls, and the ceiling. And draped from the ceiling were banners with Twilight's Cutie Mark on display. She took a hesitant step forward, noticing the various bookshelves, the lab equipment, and even the bed off to the left.

This must've been Twilight's bed chambers.

As she looked around, mouth agape, she felt a hoof land on her shoulder. Twilight smiled at her, Starlight stared at her stupidly. Her mentor giggled before she announced, "Welcome to The Eternal Apex. The home base for the Guardians of the Multiverse." The Princess of Friendship walked forward with a smile, her student following close behind her, taking it all in. The door to her chambers slid open once they approached it, "Follow me." Twilight said as she began leading Starlight through the pyramid. Much like her chambers, everything was white with blue highlights glowing all around it, it seemed very holy, like a futuristic version of Canterlot.

As they traversed the halls of The Eternal Apex, Starlight noticed multiple images engraved on the walls. One depicting Twilight fighting who she presumed to be Lord Tirek. Another of a blue hedgehog and other creatures fighting a metal dragon above a floating island. One depicted an armored individual leading a team of heroes alongside a man holding a shield against a Titan holding up a golden gauntlet. Another showed a man dressed as a bat fighting the Lord of Apokolips alongside the Man of Steel. One showed a mustached man wearing overalls battling a giant turtle in outer space.

The final one showed all five Guardians of the Multiverse battling not only The Exiled, but also The Forge of all Creation, with an orb blossoming strands of life behind them.

These must've been depicting the Guardians' greatest accomplishments.

"Woah." Was all Starlight Glimmer could say.

"When we were brought together the first time, The Eternal Apex used to be The Exiled's base of operations." Twilight began to explain, turning a corner and approaching a set of large doors. "After he was defeated, we repurposed his fortress and made it our own. With the limitless resources inside of The Eternal Apex, we're able to detect any threats that we deem are a top priority. Any threats that would threaten the entirety of the Multiverse, for example." She looked back at Starlight and smiled, "Come on, there's some people I would like you to meet."

The doors opened.

Starlight gasped.

The room was unbelievable, it was majestic, holy, eternal.

Much like the rest of The Eternal Apex it was colored white with blue highlights going to and from the ceiling, but in the middle of the room was a round table with five thrones placed around it. Each throne had a different symbol engraved into it, each glowing a different color, just like the highlights throughout the apex.

One throne was engraved with a golden ring.

Another with a red 'M'.

A blue Arc Reactor.

A yellow Bat.

And finally a pink starburst.

Twilight couldn't help but smile at her student's expected reaction, because truth be told, she too had the same reaction the first time she had entered this very room. The Room of Eternity, as Iron Man had labeled it. "Pretty cool, right?"

Starlight struggled to get the words out, soft gasps escaping her mouth as she tried to get out the right words, but it seemed practically impossible to do so. All she could really do was slowly walk forward and approach the round table in the center of the room. She reached a hoof forward to touch it, but squeaked when the table came to life, a holographic image of multiple orbs which appeared to be connected together by white lines, with The Eternal Apex hovering in the center of them, all the lines connected to the pyramid.

Those weren't just orbs.

They were parallel earths.

From Earth 1 all the way to infinity.

Once again, Starlight couldn't look away, not even when her teacher approached from her left and explained, "This is the Holo-table. It allows us to monitor any and all dimensions that may need our help. It also detects for any foreign or dangerous forms of matter that could be of harm to the Multiverse itself. Apparently there was an Anti-Matter Wave that wiped out the Multiverse before the Guardians were formed, but thanks to somepony called The Spectre and the unknown aid of The Foundation of all Dimensions, it was able to be restored."

"H-How do you know that?"

"Turns out Batman has known of the Multiverse longer than any of us knew."

When Twilight thought about it, the encounter with The Exiled and, what Batman had dubbed, The Crisis on Infinite Earths, were very similar, but with one key difference. The Foundation and The Spectre were able to reset everything, but if Exiled had succeeded in destroying The Foundation, there was nothing that could've brought everyone back.

That was something Twilight didn't want to think about.

So she didn't, instead, she approached the table and used her horn to shut off the map of the Multiverse. "But now that we're here to protect the fabric of reality, an event like that will never happen again." Twilight reassured her student with a confident smile.

"S-So, you're the leader of these 'Guardians'?" Starlight asked, clearly nervous and kicking herself for thinking that Twilight couldn't be as important as she was.

"Well, she likes to think so."

The two mares turned at the sudden voice, one with curiosity and the other with a look of pure excitement. They both watched as Tony Stark entered the room, helmet in hand, donning his armor, wearing a sly smirk on his face. "I mean, I rebuilt the place, paid for all the tech, hooked us up with the latest of said tech, so yeah, Twilight thinks she's the boss, but it's really yours truly."

"TONY!" Twilight beamed as she galloped across the room to meet her friend. She leapt through the air as Stark got on one knee and opened his arms for a hug. He let out a small grunt as Twilight crashed against his chest, nuzzling his neck as she felt the man wrap his arms around her. "It's so good to see you!"

"Right back at'cha" Tony responded in kind as he broke away from the hug, getting off of his knee while Twilight recomposed herself. The man finally noticed the pink unicorn lingering in the back and looked down to Twilight and asked, "Who's the sidekick?"

While her student huffed at the nickname, Twilight simply giggled and said, "This is Starlight Glimmer! She's--"

"I'm sorry, did you just say Starlight Glimmer?" He cut her off as he turned to look at the unicorn behind his friend, the unicorn who really wished that she couldn't be seen right now. "The unicorn who started a cult and went all Hitler on an entire town?"

Seeing that this wasn't going anywhere good, Twilight quickly said, "Wait. wait, Tony, stop!" She flared her wings protectively and promised, "I swear I will explain everything, I promise, just please, don't hurt her." Her eyes looked pleadingly at her friend, begging for him to give her a chance to explain.

It seemed to work as Tony slowly exhaled and physically relaxed. "Alright Twi, I trust you."

"Thank you." She thanked, smiling appreciatively at her friend. When all was calm, Twilight turned and looked to the shaking form of Starlight Glimmer. She trotted over and placed a comforting wing over her back, "It's okay, just give me time to explain, alright?"

Her student nodded slowly, clearly still scared out of her mind.

The tension in the room was lifted by the appearance of a blue streak, speeding by everyone in the Room of Eternity and kicking back on his throne, resting his hands behind his head and placing his feet on the Holo-table. Sonic couldn't help but grin when all eyes were centered on him, he did love the attention after all.

"Sup everyone?" Sonic said simply, offering them all a small wave before his feet were forcefully removed with a gust of magic. He chuckled as he got up and prepared himself to be crushed by Twilight, it had become routine at this point. And he came to enjoy Twilight's hugs.

As the two friends embraced one another, they failed to notice the wary look Tony was giving Starlight, who covered the side of her face with her hoof, not wanting to be seen by the Armored Avenger. Of course she didn't blame him for being skeptical, but hopefully it would all be cleared up when Twilight explained everything. She hoped so at least. Her ears caught the sound of the doors opening, causing her to turn and see the next Guardian enter the Room of Eternity.

Mario gave them all a two fingered salute, "Imma not late, am I?"

Twilight laughed as she trotted over, "You're right on time!" Another hug was incoming, one Mario was all too eager to accept. The two friends embraced one another, with Twilight asking, "How's things with Peach?"

"Every day with her makes it a good day." Was what Mario said, but that was all that needed to be said. It was the truth after all, they may have been taking it slow, but that worked for them, and Mario wouldn't have it any other way. He stroked Twilight's mane with his hand before ending the hug, smiling at the alicorn, "I keep forgetting how tall you are now!"

Blushing with embarrassment, Twilight giggled softly, "Comes with the perks of being an alicorn, along with the wings, the longer horn, the weight of the world on your shoulders..." She trailed off before Mario shushed her with his finger.

"Hey now, deep breaths." Mario reminded, not wanting her to have a panic attack.

The alicorn nodded and went through her breathing techniques, Mario doing them with her. The closeness of the Guardians surprised Starlight greatly, it appeared that they were almost as close as the Element Bearers were. Maybe even closer.

She didn't know why it surprised her though, her teacher was the Princess of Friendship. It came with the title, duh!

The doors opened again, the final Guardian had arrived.

And Starlight knew terror.

Her and The Batman's eyes met, and she really wished that they hadn't. Just one look into his eyes amplified the terror she already felt, she had never been so scared in her entire life. He had this aura about him, one of discipline, authority, darkness, vengeance, and coldness.

And that was only a fraction of what made up The Batman.

He continued to glare at her, studying her, surveying her for any signs of suspicion. The look on his face made it perfectly clear, he did not like her one bit.

His glare was only cut short by the sound of Twilight squealing, "BRUCE!!!" She used her wings to fly across the room and tackle her best friend in a bone crushing hug, her legs wrapped around his neck, not wanting to let go. As she expected, he didn't reciprocate the hug, merely standing there with his cape enclosed around him. "I missed you so much!"

"It's good to see you too, Twilight." Batman said, his voice actually sounding sincere.

She gave her best friend one last squeeze before dropping to the floor, "Now that you're here, we can get our annual meeting started!" She pranced on the spot excitedly, giggling like a school filly before noticing the stern look Batman was sending her student. Twilight rubbed the back of her head nervously, "Heh heh, as you've probably noticed that I have a lot to tell you guys."

"Evidently." Batman pointed out, eyes never leaving Starlight Glimmer.

Twilight really hoped that this meeting went well, for Starlight's sake.

Unknown Earth

Vorton

Vorton had seen better days, it hadn't been used ever since the final assault of Exiled's army, having been abandoned ever since. That is until a certain evil speedster had made it his refuge and decided to bring his new allies here. Once the red streak that was The Reverse-Flash entered the Gateway room, Vorton was filled with life once more.

The Legion of Doom looked around at their surroundings, confused as to where they were currently located.

"Where are we now?" Tirek was the first to ask.

Thawne dematerialized his mask and dusted off his hands, "This is a world in between worlds, a place that exists outside of space and time. It used to be a refuge for The Ancients before being abandoned once they were all dead. And it is going to be used as our base of operations."

Although Tirek wanted to know more, he was interrupted by Loki before he could ask any more questions, which admittedly annoyed him more than he'd like to admit. "As nice as this is, I believe you stated that you had a way for us to change our fates?" He eyed Thawne as he set down the amulet he stole from the Helicarrier. "Tell us how."

Red lightning flashed in Thawne's eyes as he scoffed, "Wow. You're very direct." He leaned on the table separating him and the rest of the Legion, staring directly at Loki. "But I did say that, and I intend to explain everything, if you'll let me." When he received nods from the other villains, he began. "Let me start by asking you all a question. Have any of you gentlemen heard of the Spear of Destiny?"

Eggman looked to the other villains, who also had bemused looks on their faces, before turning back to Thawne, "Can't say that we have. Care to enlighten us?" He asked the speedster, curiosity evident in his eyes.

"Allow me to explain." Thawne then began, "It was an Ancient weapon created by a being called Supreme, who used his infinite power to give the spear life in hopes of reviving his home reality. But when he realized the ramifications it could cause if it fell into the wrong hands, he separated it into four pieces and spread them throughout space and time, each in different universes so that they'd never be found."

Now Loki was intrigued, and he wasn't alone, as the other villains listened to the tale intently. "And tell us, what exactly could this spear do that would warrant such a reaction?"

Thawne's smile grew larger, "It had the power to rewrite reality itself." He knew that he had them hook, line, and sinker at that. Their eyes were wide open, various thoughts going through their heads at what that could possibly mean for them.

"So that's what you meant when you said that we could change our fates." Bowser recalled, a mischievous smirk etching its way onto his face. "You want us to help you get this spear and reassemble it. Am I getting that right?"

"And in doing so, change your destinies." Reverse-Flash confirmed, folding his arms behind his back. "Once we find all the pieces of the Spear of Destiny we will each get to use it when we create a brand new world, a world where we get everything we've ever wanted."

The idea of changing reality itself was very enticing to the centaur in the room, the amount of magic required to accomplish such a feat was unheard of, even when he had all the alicorn magic in Equestria he couldn't even come close to that kind of power. This little alliance was becoming more and more irresistible by the minute. The amulet on the table caught his eye, and his curiosity piqued. "Am I correct in assuming that the amulet you collected will aid us in this endeavor somehow?"

Eobard picked up the amulet in his hand and explained, "This amulet is part of a set, the other piece is located on Earth 1, hidden away in some Ancient tomb. I only found this one on Earth 616 due to S.H.I.E.L.D. having dug it up a few years ago, the idiots having no idea what they had in their possession. When the two pieces are reunited, it creates a map that will take us to the pieces of the spear." He placed the amulet back down, leaning forward on the table. "That is, if you're all in?"

While each villain had their own reservations about all of this, the offer was too enticing to pass up, they would never get this type of opportunity ever again. They could literally change their fates, make it so that their previous defeats never happened, ensure their victory every single time.

Their past failures? Gone.

Their destinies? Fulfilled.

Their victories? Assured.

But there was one problem, or rather, fiveproblems.

"What about our enemies?" Tirek pointed out, killing the mood in the room. "It is obvious that if they catch wind of what it is that we're planning, they will try to intervene and stop us from achieving our goals." He looked to Thawne and asked, "How do you suppose we deal with them, Thawne?"

Eobard flashed Tirek an evil smile, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, after all, that job's been done for us."

"What do you mean?"

"In time, but first," His eyes turned red and his voice became deep and distorted, "I have to pay a visit to Earth 1."

Earth 1

Gotham City

Time seemed to slow to a standstill instantaneously.

The wings of the bats in the cave stopped flapping. The water ceased crashing against the floor. And Alfred's movements became so incredibly still that one would almost perceive the man to be frozen. But time was still moving believe it or not, just at a very slow pace.

This was due to an ability each speedster possesses in their arsenal; Flashtime. It is a phenomenon that occurs when time slows down relative to a speedster so as to make it appear as if everything else is at a complete standstill. It is a very handy, yet very taxing ability that speedsters must use sparingly, otherwise their bodies could completely shut down on them.

And for Eobard Thawne, that was something that he could not risk, not with time chasing him. Quite literally. So he had to make this fast.

He phased through the walls of the Batcave and approached the Batcomputer, eyeing Alfred as he past him, before cracking his fingers and getting to work on hacking the Batcomputer. It had been easy enough to deduce that Bruce Wayne was Batman, Eobard struggled to believe that nobody in this time period could figure that out, but they were all idiots so it made sense.

Using his super speed, Reverse-Flash went through every possible password combination before finally cracking through the defenses with a single name.

Martha.

He was in.

Feeling the effects of Flashtime on his body, Thawne decided to stop dawdling and get a move on. So he accessed the Babel Protocols and went through every file, speed reading all of it and retaining all of that information in his head. He now knew each Guardian, how they operated, their allies, their weaknesses.

He smiled, time to get what he came for.

Thawne took out a small USB and placed it in the computer, downloading all of the files in the Babel Protocols and stealing them for himself. As the file was completely copied into his USB, he noticed time begin to speed up again, and an overwhelming presence nearby.

His watch went off, it was close.

He needed to go.

Thawne removed the USB and scoffed, "Thank you for your contribution to the birth of a whole new world, Mr. Wayne." Without further ado, Reverse-Flash zoomed out of the Batcave, time resuming as if he was never there. But he was, and he had what he came for.

It was time for the next phase; kill the Guardians of the Multiverse.

Foundation Prime

The Eternal Apex

"So let me see if I've got this right?" Sonic asked, wanting to see if what he and the others had heard was correct. They were all currently sat around the Holo-table, each Guardian in their respective throne, while Starlight merely stood to the side of Twilight's, having finished retelling her tale with Twilight. "In response to Twi and her friends stopping you, justifiably, by the way, you decided to alter a time travel spell to make it so that she and her friends never met, therefore dooming Equestria to not one, but multiple doomed futures." He pinched the bridge of his nose, making his agitation quite clear. "And your whole reasoning for wanting to get rid of Cutie Marks in the first place... Was because your friend... Moved away to go to school? What, you didn't, like, try to make contact with him? Not even once?"

Starlight couldn't help but look away at the glares of the Guardians, shame etched onto her face. "Y-You make it sound like it was a stupid reason for everything I did..." She couldn't help but mutter.

"It was a stupid reason." Batman instantly said, not in the mood for games.

Mario couldn't help but add, "Talk about an overreaction."

Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing, they had just explained everything Starlight did in vivid detail, relaying her heart wrenching story, about how she had restored Starlight's faith in friendship, and they didn't feel even an ounce of sympathy for her? The same people who were there for her when her friends had abandoned her? And they had the gall to call her story stupid?

She looked over to see Starlight look down with tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Nuh uh! This wasn't happening. She raised a protective wing around her pupil and glared daggers at her friends, "What's wrong with all of you? She just opened herself up to you and you're just dismissing her?"

She expected them to feel bad, but they doubled down.

More so Tony than anyone else. "Twi, what happened to her does not justify what she did." He leaned forward and continued, "She could've permanently destroyed the timeline, she indirectly destroyed the world multiple times just because... Her friend moved away?! God, it sounds stupid even talking about it."

Twilight had had enough, she slammed her hooves on the Holo-table, causing it to flicker, and defended her friend. "It's not stupid! Guys, she was hurt, it was a misunderstanding. Does that make what she did right? No. Not in a million years. But do I sympathize with her? Absolutely. Is that because I'm the Princess of Friendship? Maybe. But regardless I understand why she did it, she believed her friend was taken from her. But now she knows better, she wants to be better."

As her teacher continued to back her, Starlight could only stare in astonishment. Twilight believed in her. She was standing up to her friends for her. The same mare who tried to ruin her life. It made no sense to her, why she would go against her closest friends for somepony like her.

Was this true friendship?

Her mind drifted back towards the conversation taking place, specifically when Iron Man said, "Look Twi, you're gonna have to give us something more to work with here. Cause the way I see it, she should be locked up already." The Armored Avenger ignored Starlight's whimper and added, "So why isn't she?"

The Princess of Friendship sucked in a deep breath, it was now or never, ride or die. This was going to determine Starlight's fate. She had to make sure she said this right. So without waiting, she said, "Guys, I understand your concerns about Starlight. What she did, her actions caused a lot of problems, and her reasons for doing so may seem trivial or foolish to you. But let's not forget that everypony has a story to tell, and that everypony deserves a chance to change."

She got up from her seat and placed a hoof on her student's shoulder, "Starlight was driven to her path by a profound sense of loss and loneliness. When her closest friend left her, she felt abandoned and powerless. She made a terrible mistake, believing that equality through force was the solution to her pain." She turned and gave Starlight a smile, "But deep down, she is not evil; she is simply a pony who lost her way."

Giving Starlight a reassuring nod, Twilight looked back and locked eyes with her fellow Guardians, "Locking her away won't solve the problem. It will only reignite the cycle of anger and misunderstanding. I've given her a chance to learn under me, to learn about friendship, guidance, and understanding. By taking her under my wing as my student, I believe I can show her the true Magic of Friendship and help her find a better path." Her eyes softened as she looked to each of her friends. "Please, don't judge her on her past mistakes. I'm not asking you to trust her, I wouldn't expect you to. I'm asking you to trust me." She wrapped her wing around Starlight protectively once more, reaffirming her stance on this matter. "Please. Trust me on this."

As the princess' words sunk in, the Guardians couldn't help but see her point. They didn't have to like it, but they did trust Twilight, there was no question about that. Because without trust, they'd fall apart. So with that in mind, Tony, Mario, and Sonic looked to Twilight and Starlight and conceded.

"Alright, Twi." Tony sighed before a smile made its way onto his bearded face, "We trust you."

"We back you one hundred percent." Sonic added helpfully. "If redeeming Starlight is what's calling to you, then you'd better get running. I can already tell you're gonna be the best teacher, you're gonna kill it!"

The two Equestrians let out breathless laughs at the confirming nods, looking to one another before crushing one another in a celebratory hug. They did it! They actually did it! Starlight felt relieved and elated, all of her previous worries were no more, the butterflies in her guts had flown away, she felt lighter than before. Twilight felt accomplished, she managed to get the support of her friends in this endeavor. She was so excited, she just couldn't wait to...

"Twilight."

...Crap.

She looked to the stern gaze of Batman, who stood up from his throne and motioned to the door with his head, "We need to talk. Now." With that, he made his way out of the room, knowing Twilight would follow close behind. The alicorn looked to her fellow Guardians for support, but all she got was looks of either sympathy, or humor, mostly from Sonic and Tony. Twilight gave Starlight a small smile before trotting out of the Room of Eternity to talk with her best friend.

This was going to be a fun conversation.

Once the door closed, Twilight turned around and immediately looked unimpressed. She saw Batman giving her 'The Look' as she labeled it. It's his attempt at intimidating her, but in the year that they've been friends, she's been able to see right through it. He gave Starlight the exact same look earlier, which she would talk to him about later on.

"You clearly have something to say, Bruce, so why don't you just say it?" Twilight said tiredly, already knowing where this conversation was going.

Batman's glare remained on his face, his expression hard and stern, calculative and monotone. "You're being too trusting of Starlight."

"And?" Twilight said, not really understanding what the problem was.

"She tried to ruin your life, she managed to destroy your life more than once, and she caused near irreparable damage to the space-time continuum." Batman listed off, walking over to his friend as he went on. "You're giving her a lot of trust for someone who loathed your very being not too long ago."

"Well, sorry if being trusting comes with the title of Princess of Friendship." Twilight rebutted, meeting Batman head on. These arguments were normal between the two of them, and Twilight never took them laying down. If he wanted to fight, then he was going to get one. "I'm trying to teach Starlight the Magic of Friendship, and if I want to truly show her that, then I'm going to have to trust her."

"You're letting your title cloud your better judgement." Batman shot back, not showing any signs of backing down. "This is a mare who stalked you for months on end, watching your every move, your day to day, she was obsessed with you and seeing your downfall. What if she snaps under your care? What if she does something she can never come back from?"

"That won't happen, Bruce! Not while under my tutelage."

"You don't know that, she's a sociopath, she's unpredictable."

"Don't call her that! She's not some crazy person waiting to be locked up! She's a misguided mare who needs a guiding hoof to lead her to the right path! The path of friendship!"

"She enslaved an entire village because her only friend left her without saying goodbye. No sane person would go to those lengths to prove a point. She's unwell, she needs to be put away where she can be treated and get the help she needs."

"So, what?! You want me to lock her up in a padded room in Arkham?! Leave her and throw away the key?! She's not a mental case, Bruce, she needs to be taught right from wrong! We can allow Discord to roam free and do what he likes but not Starlight?! Where's the fairness in that?!"

"And what about all the lives that were lost in those alternate timelines?"

That shut Twilight right up, she had no comeback to that, how could she? Truth be told, she never really thought about all the casualties in those other timelines. The Sombra Timeline. The Changeling Timeline. She didn't even want to know how The Wasteland Timeline came to be.

But Starlight couldn't be blamed for those.

Right?

Batman pressed further, "Starlight changed the timeline, not only altering history, but claiming so many innocent lives in the process. Where's their justice? Instead of facing the consequences of her actions, she instead gets a pat on the back and gets to become the student of a princess. Let me ask you, Twilight. Where's the fairness in that?"

With his point made, Batman left the hallway and made his way back into the Room of Eternity to resume the meeting, while also keeping a close eye on Starlight Glimmer, leaving Twilight to think about their recent argument.

She had to admit that Batman had a lot of good points, all those lives that were lost, Starlight indirectly caused all of them. But they made sure that those events never happened, but they still happened, even if they were erased from existence. She stood there in thought, her ears flattened against her skull. Was she being to lenient with Starlight? Was she letting her excitement over being a teacher like Celestia cloud her better judgement?

For the second time in her life, Twilight had a lot to think about.

Author's Note

Okay, first of all, so, so, so, sorry for the late upload. A lot of shit kept me from writing. Let me break it down for you lot. So my friends came down from Queensland (A state 12 hours away from where I live) and stayed over, played Poker, broke even by the way, and once they left I said, "Okay, now I can write!"

Then I got Covid.

FUN TIMES!!! :pinkiehappy:

So my whole weekend got fucked over and I didn't have any time to write, great experience so far.

Only thing that was missing was an anvil falling on my head.

Ugh.

Anyways, a lot happened this chapter! The Guardians and Starlight finally met, much to their apprehension. But they accepted Twilight's plans, well, everyone except Batman of course.

And the Legion of Doom is after the Spear of Destiny, they just need to find a second amulet and they'll have the map to find the pieces. But they have to deal with the Guardians first, and since Thawne stole the contingency plans from the Batcomputer, that goal is more realistic than ever.

Anyways, thank you for reading me rant, and I'll see you lot next chapter for The Crystalling.

4. Babel

Earth 1991

Mobius

Sonic ran.

He ran as fast as his feet could take him.

Not even a few days after foiling his latest scheme, Eggman had made his move. The hedgehog didn't know what his plan was this time, he frankly didn't care, all that mattered to him was getting his friends back. They had each been captured by the mad doctor, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, even sweet, little Cream.

Every last one.

Of course the egotistical doctor had to rub it in his face and left him a message.

"Hello, hedgehog. As you've probably surmised, I have captured your friends. If you ever want to see them again then you'll meet me at this location, failure to do so will result in the destruction of your furry, little friends. You have one hour to get over here. I'm waiting, rodent."

It hadn't even been a minute after the message had ended that Sonic took off. The message showed a location once the recording had ended, they were located in the Luminous Forest. Knowing Eggman he had probably taken them to some sort of lab.

Didn't matter, Sonic would tear through every Badnik if he had to.

Egg Base -1

The alarms began to blare, the room flashing red as Badnik after Badnik marched out to intercept the threat. Dr. Eggman grinned, it was about time that he showed up. Standing atop a circular platform in the center of the room, Robotnik surveyed the chamber, the five rodents were secured in large cylinders, each prisoner was trapped in circular, energy binders to prevent their escape.

The trap was set.

The hedgehog was here.

All according to plan.

The doors leading into the room exploded open, a blue blur blitzed into the room, uncurling out of his ball-like form and landing in a crouched position. Sonic stood upright and smirked cockily at his arch enemy, "Really, Egghead? Not even a few days after we kicked your butt and you're already back at it? You're committed, that's for sure."

"Oh, I'm committed, all right." Eggman responded, folding his hands behind his back. "Committed to destroying you!"

Sonic scoffed, rolling his eyes and waving his hand, wanting Eggman to get on with it. "Let's just get on with it, c'mon, we both know you've been waiting to give your big, evil speech. So, let's get it over with so I can kick your butt for the millionth time."

Eggman scowled, "You're confidence will be your undoing, rodent, but I'll humor you. By now, you've probably noticed your friends trapped within these cylinders, unable to move or escape. But what you don't know is that these cylinders are a familiar design to at least three of us in this very chamber." He gestured to him, Sonic, and Knuckles, both heroes eyeing him with suspicion.

"What are you talking about?" Knuckles dared to ask.

Eggman grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Sonic, Knuckles, allow me to introduce to you the new and improved Roboticizers!" Both the hedgehog and the echidna let out horrified gasps as the mad genius let loose his iconic chortle, relishing in this moment.

"You rebuilt it again." Sonic whispered in horror, memories playing back from his very first encounter with Robotnik. He never wanted any of his friends to go through what he and his siblings went through, especially Tails, he wanted to keep him as far from this as possible. But if Eggman had gone through the trouble of rebuilding the Roboticizer, then that meant that he was desperate.

And that made him all the more dangerous.

"Allow me to explain how this is going to go, blue boy." Eggman bared his teeth, enjoying every moment of the hedgehog's despair. "In a few moments, my Roboticizers will activate, turning your friends into lifeless androids that will forever do my bidding. Your job is to stop that from happening, you have two minutes to do so, lest you wish to never see your friends ever again. But I won't make it easy for you!" He let out a whistle and the center of the room opened up, a blue blur flying up and landing in front of the hero.

His form was eerily similar to the blue hedgehog, it was downright imitation. His claws were sharper than knives, his strength was near unmatched. His rocket booster charged, his core humming with power, his soulless eyes set upon Sonic with pure, utter malice.

"Metal." Sonic gritted out, clenching his fists, his metallic doppelgänger doing the same. The two adversaries stared at one another, awaiting the other to make the first move. The organic hedgehog looked away from his counterpart and glared at Eggman, "Alright, Eggman, I'll play your sick game, and I'll win, just like I always do!"

Eggman simply smirked down at the hedgehog, "We shall see."

Metal made the first move, boosting forward at high speeds while Eggman pressed a button on his console, activating the Roboticizers.

Okay, the pressure was on, and time was running out.

Time to do it, to it!

Sonic met Metal Sonic head on, at least, that's what he wanted Metal to think, as he slid across the floor right underneath the robot, confusing the imposter as his arch nemesis bolted behind him, making a beeline for the Roboticizers. Metal Sonic quickly turned around and chased after the hero.

The two ran along together, the real Sonic ducking under Metal's slash before boosting forward, with Metal in hot pursuit.

The Roboticizers began to glow, only a minute and a half left.

Sonic tapped into his speed to get there faster, but he was slammed in the side by Metal Sonic, sending the hedgehog rolling across the metal floor. He didn't have time to get back up as Metal was already on him, grabbing him by the throat and holding him in the air, squeezing his windpipe in his deadly grip.

"You're not very good at this, are you?" Eggman taunted, leaning on the rail on his platform.

That didn't roll with the Blue Blur, so he kneed Metal's chin and backflipped out of his grasp, sending the metallic duplicate across the room with a Spin Dash. Wasting no time, Sonic boosted forward to save his friends. Less than a minute remaining, he had to hurry otherwise his friends were done for.

The sound of an engine behind him caught his attention.

Metal Sonic.

He just wouldn't quit.

But neither would he!

He curled into a ball as Metal Sonic tried grabbing him from behind, bouncing upwards when Metal was above him. He uncurled and kicked the robot away from him, boosting through the air towards the Roboticizers. Twenty seconds left. He was going to make it. He was going to save his friends from a fate worse than death. And then he would send Eggman packing for even trying to think that he would let him turn his friends into robots.

That bravado disappeared when Eggman shouted, "GOTCHA!!!"

Sonic was suddenly slammed onto the floor, screaming in agony as he felt his bones crushing against an immeasurable weight. "W-What is this?!" He continued to scream as the pressure intensified, he could hear the hundreds of bones in his body cracking, he couldn't move.

"OH HO HO HO HO HO HO!!!" Eggman laughed as he shut down the Roboticizers and signaled for Metal Sonic to stand down. "You've fallen directly into my trap, well done, Sonic!" He applauded his adversary mockingly, grinning at his pain filled screams.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?!" Amy screamed, panic evident in her voice.

"Allow me to explain, you see, this entire chamber is not what it seems." Eggman began as the platform began to lower to the ground. "This chamber is, in fact, a Gravitational Field that focuses on beings or items that move at impossible speeds. Or, in this case, Sonic! Right now his body is experiencing lethal levels of stress and pressure, limiting his ability to move while crushing his body at the same time. First his nerves will shut down, damaged beyond repair that any transmission to the brain would be impossible. Then his bones will be the next to go, then his organs, an instantaneous death for the Fastest Thing Alive."

Blood began to stream out of Sonic's nose, his vocal chords strained from all the screaming.

"STOP THIS, PLEASE!!!" Tails begged, tears threatening to fall. "YOU'RE KILLING HIM!!!"

"Yes, that's the point."

"YOU'VE MADE YOUR POINT, ROBOTNIK!!!" Knuckles roared, struggling to try and break free from his bonds.

"DON'T YOU GET IT, YOU'VE WON!!!" Amy cried out, tears falling from her eyes. "PLEASE STOP THIS!!!"

Eggman couldn't help but chuckle, "Yes, I have won, haven't I?" The platform landed on the floor, just in time for Metal Sonic to approach his master and stand by his side. Robotnik took out a device from his pocket and pressed it, activating a beacon for his accomplice to follow. He looked to the hedgehog, still being crushed against the floor, and smiled. "Farewell, Sonic. Though it pains me that you won't live long enough to witness my brave new world, know that I will make it so that Mobotropolis seemed like child's play." He gave his enemy one, final bout of laughter before he and Metal Sonic were whisked away by a red streak.

Sonic's friends could only watch helplessly as Eggman got away, and as their friend was being crushed to death.

Earth 1983

The Mushroom Kingdom

"PEACH!" Shouted the worried Mario as he kicked down the doors leading into the throne room of Peach's Castle, having already dealt with the Koopas and Goombas guarding the entrance. From the look of things, Bowser was back up to his usual tricks, kidnapping Peach, declaring that the Mushroom Kingdom was finally his to rule. So, Mario, being the hero, was going to put a stop to the Koopa's plans.

But something was off here, Bowser hadn't taken Peach back to his castle like he normally did. No. He remained in the castle, waiting for Mario. That unnerved the plumber somewhat, Bowser seemed confident enough in his plan that he wasn't hiding away like normal.

No, he had something up his sleeve.

But that didn't matter, he had his girlfriend hostage, and that wasn't going to fly with Mario.

Upon entering the throne room, Mario noticed a couple of things. Number one was the Koopa sitting atop Peach's throne. Two was the various Item Blocks hovering in the room. Number three was Princess Peach held prisoner in a metallic cage, dangling from the roof.

The Koopa King smiled, his head resting on his fist as he made himself comfortable on the throne. "Lookie here, the man of the hour has finally arrived." Leaning forward on the throne, Bowser continued, "You sure took your sweet time getting here, moustache. I was actually starting to think that you weren't gonna show, and after all the effort I put into this latest scheme. Heh heh heh. I'm glad that my efforts weren't gone to waste."

"That's where you're wrong, cause I'm gonna send you packin' right back to the Dark Lands where you belong." Mario disagreed. "Now save us all the trouble and let my girlfriend go before you embarrass yourself yet again."

Bowser wasn't threatened, he wasn't even outraged at Mario's blatant disrespect. No, not this time. To show his confidence, Bowser arose from the throne and marched down the steps and approached his nemesis. "For so many years, I've been waiting for the day I can wipe that smug look off of your face." He folded his arms over his chest, a look of confidence on his features. "And today is that day."

Mario took a look at the Item Blocks hovering in the room, "You realize that you've overplayed your hand, right? You've literally given me the tools to stop you."

"That's intentional." Bowser revealed, confusing Mario. "Today is the day that our rivalry ends. Today is the day that I earn Peach's eternal love. Today is the day that you cease to exist, your stain in my life will forever be gone, and nothing will stop me from claiming what is rightfully mine!"

"So this is a battle to the death then?"

"You could say that." Bowser gestured to one of the Item Blocks with his hands, not threateningly, not smugly, just casually. "Go ahead, hit that block and give me your all. Cause if you don't, then I'm gonna kill you where you stand. No hesitation, no questions asked. Go ahead, Mario. Make my day."

Mario simply rolled his eyes at Bowser's dramatics, not taking him very seriously. He looked up to his girlfriend, who also didn't look very scared at her current situation. "Don't-a worry, Peach. I'll have this sorted out before dinner time." He adjusted his cap and rushed forward towards one of the Item Blocks. He smirked at his enemy before jumping in the air, his fist colliding with the Item Block.

"Perfect." Bowser thought to himself as the block glowed brightly.

But instead of releasing a Power Up like normal, the block exploded and released a green gas that surrounded Mario, causing him to fumble through the air and crash against the floor, gasping for air.

"MARIO!!!" Peach cried out as she watched her hero grasp at his throat, no air entering his lungs. She didn't understand, what was happening here? Why was this happening? Why wasn't he getting back up? Why was her hero struggling to breathe?

She turned her gaze down to Bowser as he chuckled darkly, "Aw, where's that smug confidence now, Mario?"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?!" Peach demanded to know, her hands grasping the bars that concealed her.

Bowser looked up at the love of his life and smiled sweetly, "Peaches, your little hero has just been dosed with a deadly neurotoxin that his currently filling his lungs, preventing any air from entering, therefore, suffocating him." He turned away and looked down at the gasping plumber, "He'll be dead within minutes."

He perked up when he heard a sudden 'beep' from behind him. He turned around and walked up to the throne, leaning down at picking up a small device. He smiled and tapped it, sending out the signal so that he could be evacuated from the castle.

He looked up to Peach and gave her a loving and longing look, "Just you wait, Peaches, when I get ahold of that spear, we can finally have the life we've been longing for. We'll finally get our happily ever after." He looked down at Mario, who was still gasping for air, his face losing its color, and glared hatefully. "Without any third wheels getting in the way of our love."

"GET IT THROUGH YOUR TWISTED HEAD!" Peach roared at the Koopa, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I WILL NEVER, EVER LOVE YOU!!!"

Bowser never lost his smile. "You will."

That was all he said before he disappeared, having been taken by a streak of red lightning.

Earth 616

New York City

A Repulsor Blast flew right past Loki's head, the God of Mischief turning his body to the left to avoid the projectile. He responded in kind by shooting a blast of magic from his scepter in an attempt to take down the Avenger flying around the main lounge of Stark Tower.

You see, Tony Stark was enjoying a quiet night on his balcony with a glass of scotch in his hand, when a certain Asgardian decided to spoil his night with a surprise attack. Calling in his armor, Tony took flight and took on the trickster God, not wanting to go out without a fight.

"Y'know, I hate it when people show up unannounced." Tony quipped, launching a missile from his back at Loki. "I mean, it doesn't give me enough time to prepare for guests. Hell, I'm sorry, I didn't even offer you a drink."

Loki actually chuckled as he stomped the butt of his scepter on the ground, creating a shield to protect him from the missile. "You didn't actually think that I was done after New York, did you?" The shield disappeared and he fired another blast at the Armored Avenger, the hero managing to dodge the attack. "No, that pales in comparison to what I have planned now."

"Uh huh, keep telling yourself that." He wasted no time and dove downward, intent on tackling Loki to the ground. Instead, he simply phased through him and slammed into the bar behind him. As several bottles of alcohol fell on top of him, Iron Man slowly got to his feet to see Loki disappear, revealing that he was fighting an illusion the entire time.

No, the real Loki was sitting on the black couch with a glass of scotch in his hand. He took a sip and smirked at the Avenger, "Don't worry, I helped myself to one of your many beverages, I hope you don't mind." He set the glass down and leaned back on the couch, getting comfortable.

Tony aimed his palm at the comfortable villain, his Repulsor Ray humming slightly, as he he walked around the bar and approached the Asgardian slowly. "So what? You escaped S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, came here, tell me again, what exactly was your plan? Haven't had enough of getting your ass kicked?"

"Oh, I believe it will be you who will have his posterior handed to him this evening." Loki laughed, standing up from his seated position. "Since it is I that hold all of the cards." He said, placing his hands behind his back.

"Like I've told you before, there's no version of this where you come out on top. Just wait until The Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. get here, oh boy, you'll be screwed then."

"Oh, I do believe that they are not coming."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Because your entire tower has been hacked." Loki revealed.

That actually made Tony laugh, the idea of Loki knowing how to hack anything, let alone his tower, was laughable. "You're telling me that you hacked my tower. That's hilarious."

Loki shook his head in denial, "Oh, not me. You see, my accomplice, the time traveler, hacked and breached the firewalls in your systems a few minutes ago. Your communication devices are down, meaning there is no way for you to contact my idiot brother or his allies."

Tony frowned as he tried calling for backup within his suit, but when he couldn't get through, he knew that Loki was telling the truth. No Comms, no backup. He thought back to this supposed accomplice, more so what Loki called him. "Your accomplice, you called him a time traveler. What time traveler? Who is he?"

"I'm afraid I am not a liberty to say." Loki responded with a devious smirk. "But you shouldn't focus on that, no, you should be more focused on your wellbeing."

"What are you talking about?"

"My accomplice didn't just hack into your tower, mortal. No, he also managed to hack into your armor when you weren't looking. Even I didn't know he did it until now, but you'll find that your weapons are no longer working."

Okay, it was time to shut him up.

Tony fired his Repulsor Blast, but nothing happened. It just fizzled away, tiny sparks flying out of his hand. He tried again, but once again, nothing happened. "How the hell...?"

"And that's not all." Loki smiled. "Not only are your weapons down, but you'll find that your suit is now a living deathtrap." He walked closer to the Avenger, continuing, "In mere moments, your armor will enter its self destruct sequence, and once the countdown is complete, it will explode." He patted Tony on the shoulder condescendingly, "And don't even try escaping the armor, for all intents and purposes, you are locked in, with no way out."

Tony's breathing hitched as HUD began to blink red, with a countdown appearing in the bottom left.

2:00

"Make peace with your life, Tony Stark, for it is about to come to an explosive end." Loki smirked before he was taken away by a streak of red lightning.

Igniting his rocket boots, Iron Man blasted out of the tower and took off into the night sky, "J.A.R.V.I.S.?!"

"Sir, Loki was not lying. In two minutes the Mark 43 will explode."

"Can you halt the countdown?"

"I can stall it, but not for long. I'm afraid that I am also unable to unlock the armor. Whoever managed to hack it is using a program I have never seen before. I'm sorry, sir, but unless you can think of something, you will die."

Earth 2010

The Crystal Empire

How did things go so wrong?

It was supposed to be a beautiful day, she would get to meet her niece for the first time, she would help Starlight reconnect with her first friend and complete her first lesson in friendship, and they would get to witness the first royal Crystalling in over a millennia.

But it all went wrong with that explosion.

That one, singular explosion.

Now they were all injured, the Crystal Guards were dead, and the baby was currently being held hostage by the one behind all this destruction.

The one who destroyed Twilight's library, her tree, her home.

The one who should've been locked away in Tartarus.

Lord Tirek.

He had returned.

Judging from the size of him, he had been feeding on the magic of the crystal ponies this entire time, using the preparations for The Crystalling to his advantage. Now he had caught them by surprise and was now holding the baby alicorn in the same type of bubble he held her friends in during their last encounter.

Tirek smiled at the horrified and shocked expressions of his enemies, relishing in their moment of horror. "Now why all the sour faces? Don't tell me I missed The Crystalling."

"Tirek." Twilight whispered, her voice nothing more than a deadly whisper, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"But that's impossible!" Luna exclaimed.

"How did he escape Tartarus?!" Celestia shouted, asking the question of everypony's minds.

"MY BABY!!!" Screamed Cadance, stretching out her hoof to reach out for her child. She snarled at the smug expression on Tirek's face, unfurling her wings, ready to strike, but stopped when the centaur wagged his finger.

"Uh uh uh, you'd better not move." Tirek warned, his smirk disappearing, now replaced with a merciless scowl. "Unless you wish for me to drain the infant of her magic right here, right now. So, be a good pony and furl those wings."

And the Princess of Love did exactly that, knowing that Tirek would hold up on his threat. So she died down her magic and rested her wings and her sides, not wanting any harm to come to her baby. She looked at the centaur hatefully as he laughed at her.

"Good girl."

"What do you want, Tirek?" Celestia asked through gritted teeth.

Tirek placed a hand on his chest, feigning being hurt by her harshness. "Now is this any way to treat an old friend? Especially one who's just escaped Tartarus? Now I came back to pick up right where we left off, and then I find out you ponies are holding a ceremony without me. For shame. And here I thought you ponies were all about 'friendship'."

"Like we'd ever invite a meanie like you to a party!" Pinkie shouted, pointing an accusatory hoof at the villain.

"And despite that, here I am, back again to finish what I started so long ago."

Twilight, having had enough, stomped her hoof on the crystal ground and said, "Enough! Why are you here, Tirek?"

The centaur turned his head and stared at his nemesis, "Simple. I am here for retribution, for what you stole from me. I finally had all the alicorn magic in Equestria, I was the most powerful being in the land, until you and your friends ruined everything. You somehow used foreign magic that was unknown to me and sent me back into that dark hole in Tartarus. Now I am here to reclaim what is mine, starting with my vengeance against you. So, here's what's going to happen. You and me will fight, uninterrupted, and to the death!"

The ponies present gasped at that, while Twilight simply stared at the centaur, a hateful look on her face. If there was a list for who Twilight would consider to be her greatest enemy, Tirek would be on top of that list, followed by Discord. He already took her home from her, she wouldn't let him take her friends and family as well.

"And our fight is to be between you and me." Tirek continued, ignoring the ponies. "And if any of these fools dare to interfere, I will cut off the flow of oxygen into the bubble and the infant will die. You know me, I always follow through with my threats." He smiled evilly and smugly, "So, Princess Twilight, what's it going to be? Your life? Or hers?" Tirek looked to the baby in the bubble, who was crying and trying to reach our for her mother.

The Princess of Friendship looked back to her friends and family, all of their eyes pleading with her not to do this, that they could find another way to resolve this. But they didn't. They were out of time. Tirek was holding all the cards now, and he's played his hand.

She had no other choice but to play hers.

"Alright, Tirek." Twilight started, locking eyes with the red centaur, the smirk never leaving his face. "I'll fight you. Just me, not them," She tilted her head to the others, who all let out exclamations for her not to fight him. "And I'll win, because you've made a great mistake. You messed with my family, and I'll see to it that you're sent right back to Tartarus."

Teeth bare, Tirek chuckled and said, "Then we have a deal, Princess Twilight." He snapped his fingers and suddenly, all of her friends were trapped in bubbles similar to the baby's. When Twilight looked at him in a shocked manner, the centaur simply said, "To ensure that they do not interfere with our duel."

In response, the alicorn flared out her wings and leaned down low, snarling hatefully at the villain. Tirek simply cracked his neck and his fists, orange electricity spiraling up his curved horns, his eyes glowing a menacing orange.

The two adversaries stared at each other, magic also spiraling up Twilight's horn as she waited patiently for Tirek to make the first move.

Go time.

Tirek roared as he launched a magic blast from in between his horns, the centaur laughing as the blast soared through the air. He frowned when the alicorn gave her wings a mighty flap and took to the air, the explosion from beneath her flapping her mane and tail.

Twilight pushed her hoofs forward and flew toward the centaur, firing a magic blast of her own. But to her misfortune, Tirek raised his arms in a crossed formation and blocked the magic, the sheer force of the assault sending the villain sliding back. She saw Tirek plant his hooves in the ground, digging trenches as he was being pushed back.

Eventually the magic ceased and Twilight flew right past his head to try and get behind him. But Tirek anticipated this and proceeded to grab her tail mid flight. Her eyes shot open in fear as she was pulled back and raised into the air before being slammed right onto the crystal floor.

The air left her lungs as she tried to scream in pain, but not even a whisper escaped her, only a pathetic squeak, before she was thrown away, tearing through the torn curtain behind her and crashing into a nearby stall. The nearby crystal ponies scattering away in fear for their lives.

The Princess of Friendship heard her friends cry out her name as she rubbed her head with her hoof to try and get rid of her dizziness. Her vision was blurred, but she could make out the image of Tirek staunching his way toward her, pounding his fists together.

She shook her head and got back to her hooves, her horn lighting up as chunks of the ground raised up into the air. Twilight launched the chucks at the villain, hoping to distract him momentarily.

Tirek batted two of the projectiles away with his hands before punching the last one, destroying it with a smug look on his face. But that look of smugness disappeared when Twilight came into view, flying directly towards him, swinging her hoof directly into his face.

The punch was strong, strong enough that Tirek stumbled back a bit, rubbing his jaw with his hand, chuckling softly. "So, the Princess of Friendship has a few tricks up her sleeve? Interesting." He flexed his fingers before turning around to see a certain alicorn flying in his direction.

She fired a blast of magic.

So did he.

The ensuing explosion from the two blasts shook the entire Crystal Empire, sending both combatants in opposing directions. The houses on the street leading to the castle were all decimated, the crystal ponies themselves being sent flying through the air.

Slowly getting to her hooves, Twilight could only see smoke clouding her vision. But it was soon consumed by red as Tirek galloped forward and rammed right into her with his horns, sending her flying through the air. But before she could hit the ground, she was grabbed by the tail and thrown in the opposite direction.

She spun through the air but managed to regain the use of her wings, steadying herself before she could crash again. She looked to the left and saw her friends and family looking at her with worry evident in their facial features.

A nearby roar got her back into the action, as she turned and saw Tirek launch himself into the air, his right fist held back and crackling with orange electricity, and come down like a meteor right on top of the princess. Luckily she used her magic to conjure up a shield spell before Tirek landed.

His punch shattered the shield immediately, but she was somewhat unharmed, and she was sent flying through multiple houses while the streets were reduced to nothing more than a charred wasteland.

As Twilight rolled to a stop on the ground, Tirek took this opportunity to laugh to himself, maybe he didn't need the contingency after all. He began walking through the holes made by Twilight, the bubbles containing her friends and family trailing along behind him.

He enclosed his fist and levitated the fallen alicorn to him, "Looks like this is the end for you, Princess Twilight." He grinned right in her face, "A shame, but now your magic is up for grabs, and you know me, I just can't resist the temptation."

But before he could drain her of her magic, he saw a smirk tug on the alicorn's lips. Confused, Tirek failed to noticed the build up of magic in her horn. Before anyone knew it, a raw, magic based explosion shook the empire, sending Tirek flying back, roaring in outrage before digging his hooves and right hand into the ground to stop his momentum.

Now that he did not anticipate.

Twilight had released an explosion of magic that she had been building up within her. She was pulling out all the stops, so it was his turn to do the same. He remained in his crouched position as Twilight teleported in front of the centaur, her friends cheering her on from inside their bubbles.

"Had enough?" Twilight asked, ready to go another round.

But Tirek simply smiled and reached behind him, "Not quite yet."

Suddenly, before Twilight could react, Tirek had hurled a metallic ball at her. A ball that exploded into an orb of electricity that quickly consumed her, and when it did, she was in agonizing pain. She let out a horrid scream as her body convulsed, falling to the ground as she continued to seize.

"TWILIGHT!!!" Her loved ones cried out in despair, watching as she continued to scream and convulse on the ground.

Deep chuckling caught their attention and they turned to see Tirek with his arms folded, admiring his handiwork. "Do you feel that? Your nerves on fire? Your organs seeming like they might just explode? Your head flaring up in agony as your pain receptors respond to the pressure? Neat little thing that, I call it the Agony Matrix. Y'see, your biggest strength is not only your friends, but also your magic. You're a prodigy, I'll give you that, but it is also your greatest weakness. A fitting end to your pathetic story."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, DEMON?!!!" Luna roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Tirek smiled as he began to explain, "I took your greatest strengths and turned them against you, just like I did before. I took somepony you love and made them my leverage, getting you to do what I want. Then, I used your own magic against you! The Agony Matrix locks onto your unique magical signature and emits a pulse that puts your body through agonizing pain. You need focus to use your magic, so I took that away." He placed his hands behind his back as he slowly approached the screaming alicorn. "Direct neural stimulation of pain receptors. All of them. Imagine the worst pain you've ever felt in your life, times a thousand. And now imagine that pain continuing forever."

He looked down at the crying alicorn, tears streaming down her cheeks as she continued to scream and cry. She had never felt pain like this, she wanted it to stop, she wanted it to end. Why was she being put through this? Who could ever come up with such a cruel and spiteful weapon? She wouldn't wish this kind of pain on her worst enemy, this was agonizing.

"Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it STOP! MAKE IT STOP! MAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOP!!! PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA!!! MAKE IT STOP!!!"

Tirek let a cruel smile grace his face, "Oh, that's right! You don't have to imagine."

Earth 1

Gotham City

Bruce Wayne groaned as he drifted out of unconsciousness, his vision was hazy and his body felt extremely hot. He felt sweat drip down his forehead, as well as blood on the back of his head, due to the impact on the tombstone. He tried getting up, but hit something solid, rendering him immobile for the time being.

He took in his surroundings, all around him was the same white, cushioned material, with specs of dirt layering it. He was inside a closed casket of some kind.

In front of him he saw an audio recorder, ready to relay whatever had been recorded onto it. Bruce reached forward and pressed the 'Play Button', beginning the recording.

A deep, distorted voice played, "Good evening, Mister Wayne. Normally, I'd be intrigued to meet the great 'Dark Knight', but unfortunately, today, I don't have the time. Apologies for being unable to attend. I must say that I am a bit disappointed. I'd heard the legends of the heroes of this time, you being among them. But after dealing with you, a rich boy in a suit, I must admit, that you're not all that you're cracked up to be. By now my associates and I have already dealt with your fellow Guardians, and are now on our way to change the world as you know it, so this will be goodbye. Oh! You were concerned with where I put your parents? Don't be, they're very close."

Looking down, Bruce gasped as he came face to face with a corpse.

His father's corpse.

He tried backing away, but couldn't.

His father's hollow eyes burying deep into his soul.

His breathing hitched, but a low growl escaped his throat when the voice came back.

"Rest in piece."

The recording stopped there and Bruce looked away and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before his hardened gaze returned to him. He rolled onto his back and dug into his pocket, pulling out his keys. He lied on his back, holding the sharp end of the keys in between his fingers.

He started punching the roof of the casket, breaking it slightly. He punched again, and again, and again, and continued to do so even when his hand was covered with blood. After a few minutes of punching he stopped and looked to his father's corpse, shivering slightly.

He shook his head, he was not going to die here.

He continued to punch at the hole above him, the keys in his hand having already bent, but stopped when he noticed a small hole in the wood. His eyes widened, that was his way out. Bruce grabbed both sides of the hole and tore it open, a cascade of dirt entering the casket, burying him.

That would've been it, had it not been for a hand to shoot out of the grave.

The man in yellow buried Bruce Wayne.

But The Batman had risen from the grave.

Author's Note

Holy shit, that was intense. Yup, told you lot it was gonna get dark.

As you've probably guessed, I've taken some inspiration from Justice League: Doom. Great movie, go check it out!

Now the plans and how they were altered.

Sonic's was meant to hold him in place, the Gravitational Field was meant to restrain him, but it was altered to crush him instead. Leave it to Eggman to make Sonic's defeat as humiliating and excruciating as possible.

Mario's was supposed to be simple. He hits the block, a sleeping agent is introduced into his system, and he's knocked unconscious. Simple. Of course, Bowser went and altered it using a nerve agent Thawne had given him.

Typical. :ajbemused:

Iron Man's was meant to disarm him, hacking into his armor and shutting it down. But Thawne and Loki took it one step further and made it so that his armor would explode and kill him.

And Twilight's was meant to be quick and painless. The device would be thrown, it would explode and focus on her magical signature, and shock her until she went unconscious. But Tirek and Thawne altered it so that she would suffer for as long as she lived.

And Thawne, after figuring out Batman's identity, decided to bury him alive.

I think it's safe to say that Eobard Thawne is a sick and twisted bastard.

I mean the guy erased Barry Allen's only friend from existence just to mess with him, he basically murdered a child to make Barry's life miserable.

Guy's a psycho.

Anyways, things are heating up, stay tuned and I'll see you lot next chapter.

Metal Sonic - HGBD-WolfBeliever5

5. The Heart of the Matter

Earth 1

Gotham City

Bruce rushed into the cave, dirt smeared all over his tuxedo, drenched in rain water, and shoved his chair aside as he began typing on the Bat Computer. He quickly went through the files to see who it was that grave robbed his parents and tried to bury him alive.

But he stopped when he noticed a notification down in the bottom corner of the screen.

A small, but noticeable pop up.

It read, 'Files successfully copied.'

Eyes wide, Bruce quickly closed the open window and accessed the Babel Protocols, hoping, praying that he was just being paranoid. But when he opened the files, his worst fears were confirmed. He saw that the Babel Protocols had indeed been copied off of his computer.

But how?

There had been no alerts to any intruders in the cave.

This shouldn't have been possible.

Wayne then thought back to what his assailant had said. "By now my associates and I have already dealt with your fellow Guardians, and are now on our way to change the world as you know it, so this will be goodbye." He had mentioned the Guardians.

Tony.

Mario.

Sonic.

Twilight.

"Sir, where have you been?!" The worried voice of Alfred Pennyworth echoed throughout the Bat Cave as he rushed over. "When I saw that your parents' graves had been restored, I'd assumed that-"

"Alfred, get the portal ready!" Bruce shouted in a dreaded tone as he rushed over to the display case housing his suit. "The Guardians are under attack!"

Alfred was now concerned, but also confused. "By whom?"

"By me!"

Earth 1991

Mobius

Knuckles, Tails, Amy, and Cream could only look and scream in horror at Sonic's still form. He hadn't moved an inch, not that he could since he was being held by a Gravitational Field that was currently crushing him and every bone in his body. The red echidna was pounding on the fake Roboticizer, trying to break the glass containing him so that he could save his dying friend.

Cream was currently sobbing, being too young to do anything. She hated feeling so helpless and afraid. The little rabbit wished she was as half as brave as Sonic was. It was heartbreaking to see her adopted big brother so helpless, dying on the floor, it was agonizing.

Tails was in a similar state, except he was panicking while trying desperately to hack into the device powering the Gravitational Field with his Miles Electric, but the firewalls securing it were nigh to impossible to break through. Whoever designed this field was a genius, even he couldn't disable it.

Amy was a sobbing mess, crying in hysterics as she bashed the glass separating her and her hero with her Piko Piko Hammer, screaming louder and louder as her efforts yielded no success. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she thought to their supposed happily ever after. The one she dreamed up in her head for years and years. She had since grown out of her obsession with the blue hedgehog, but that didn't mean that those feelings disappeared.

Rouge hovered in her container, striking the glass with her feet, unrelenting in her kicks. She resorted to shoulder charging the glass, desperate to get out and save the Blue Blur. While they started off as enemies, with her working for Robotnik in secret, in time, they grew to be friends. And she wasn't ready to say goodbye just yet.

They all tried to get to him, Sonic couldn't help the swell of warmth that entered his chest, despite the unbearable pain that he was currently in. His train of thought went through every happy memory he had of his friends. Reuniting Cream with Vanilla after he rescued the former from Eggman. Playing with Chao while having a picnic with Amy. Sparring with Knuckles after tormenting him to no end. Working with Rouge and Team Dark to stop Neo Metal Sonic. Meeting Tails for the first time.

He could feel his body and spirit waning, he couldn't keep it up for much longer.

Eggman really had him beat this time.

He didn't think that his race ended here, but if that was supposed to happen, who was he to question it?

He gave his friends one final smile, knowing that they would keep Mobius safe after he was gone, before his eyes started to grow heavy. He lived his life to the fullest, living with no regrets. But the only one that did bother him was not rekindling his relationship with his family.

Sonia.

Manic.

Queen Aleena.

He never got to say goodbye.

Now he never would.

But before he crossed the finish line, a portal opened up behind him where a Batarang flew out and struck the device on the ceiling, releasing an EMP blast that short circuited the Gravitational Field. As the pressure on the hedgehog was lifted, the Dark Knight leapt through the portal and darted over, grabbing the fallen hedgehog in his arms, and moved to the other side of the room before the field came back online.

Batman turned around just as the Gravitational Field came back online, the hedgehog groaning in pain in his arms. He was no longer in range for the device to have any effect on the hero of Mobius. Gently setting Sonic down, Batman turned around and approached the containers holding Sonic's friends.

"Batman?" Tails questioned, having calmed down from his earlier panic.

The Dark Knight nodded to the fox before placing a circular device on the glass, "You might want to step back." He advised before moving and placing more devices on the other containers. Taking his advice, the Mobians moved to the other side of the fake Roboticizers as the gadgets lit up, burning a hole in the glass big enough for each of them to fit through.

The first thing they all did was rush out and made sure that Sonic was okay.

The hedgehog was currently in the process of getting to his feet, his body aching all over, blood dripping from his mouth. The pain was amplified when he was tackled by Tails, Amy, and Cream. When he let out a groan of pain, they relented and let go of the wounded hero.

"We're glad you're okay, Blue." Rouge said sincerely, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Sonic chuckled, then let out another groan of pain, before pointing at the Batman. "Well, I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for my brooding friend there."

As Batman approached, he suddenly felt pressure on his left leg. He looked down and saw a small rabbit clinging to him, tears of happiness falling down her face. "Th-Thank you so much!" She thanked, crying into his leg, her tears dripping down his armor. "Thank you f-for saving my friend!"

The Bat of Gotham simply patted Cream's head before she was pulled away by Amy, who looked at the Batman with a sheepish expression, mouthing an apology to the hero. He looked to his fellow Guardian and asked, "How're you holding up?"

"I'll manage." The hedgehog said, his body disagreeing with him, hitting him with another wave of pain. "Hey listen, not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but what are you doing here? And how did you know I was in trouble?"

Rouge gave the Bat a suspicious glance, "And how did you know how to disable the machine?"

"That doesn't matter," Batman instantly shut down, annoying the spy, "We have to move quickly."

"Why?" Sonic couldn't help but ask.

"Because this wasn't just a random encounter. This was an orchestrated attack on the Guardians of the Multiverse, and if we don't get to the others in time, they'll die."

Earth 1983

The Mushroom Kingdom

Mario couldn't breathe, no matter how hard he tried, no oxygen was entering his lungs.

He gasped for air, for the sustenance needed for his lungs to help him live, but whatever that gas was that Bowser dosed him with was preventing any air from entering his body. He grasped at his throat, choking as he looked up at the tearful eyes of Princess Peach, who was trying desperately to reach her hero from behind the bars of her cage.

But before he could choke on his dying breathe, a portal opened up in the center of the room and a blue blur shot out and struck the chain holding the cage to the ceiling, sending the prison crashing down, with Princess Peach along with it.

The princess groaned, looking up to see the happy, yet, exhausted face of Sonic the Hedgehog smiling down at her, offering her a hand to help her to her feet. She accepted it and looked over to see Batman crouched over Mario with some sort of concoction in his hand.

In Batman's hand was a jet injector with a blue liquid contained within. Without hesitating he stabbed Mario in the chest and injected the antidote. The reaction was almost instantaneous as the plumber shot upright and sucked in a massive breath, gasping for air as he felt the oxygen enter his lungs.

Peach sprinted over when Mario went into a coughing fit, crouching in front of him and wrapping her arms around him. "Mario, are you alright?! Can you breathe?!" She asked frantically as she held the coughing plumber in her arms. "It's okay, I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

"I-I thought... I wasn't gonna make it..." He said in between spurts of coughs, gazing lovingly into his girlfriend's eyes. "I thought of all the things I never got to say to you. About how you would go on if I wasn't here to protect you. As I was dying, all I could think about was you." He cupped her cheek and whispered, "Only you."

The two lovers then closed the distance between them and sealed their lips together, engaging in a romantic kiss, passion and love soaring in the air around them. The kiss that wouldn't be had his friends not saved his life from certain death.

The Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom turned and looked at the two Guardians standing behind them, "Thank you. Thank you for saving my hero." She thanked, eternally grateful for their help.

"Seriously, thanks guys." Mario inputted before noticing Sonic's appearance, how disheveled he looked. "You look like you've seen better days."

"Well, as it turns out, we're not the only ones who got attacked." Sonic responded with a strained smile.

Mario looked at his friends with concern, "Wait, you guys got attacked too?"

"This was an orchestrated attack, planned out to take out every member of the Guardians of the Multiverse." Batman informed the plumber.

"I was nearly crushed to death." Sonic piped up.

"CRUSHED?!" Both Mario and Peach exclaimed in horror.

Sonic scoffed and pointed to the brooding hero beside him with his thumb, "You think that's bad? This guy was buried alive next to his dead parents."

"Thank you for the reminder." Batman remarked sarcastically.

"But if you two were targeted..." Peach drifted off as she slowly turned to Mario, who also turned to look at her, the same dawning horror on his face.

"The others...." Mario finished in a hushed whisper.

Earth 616

New York City

"Sir, we are out of time." J.A.R.V.I.S. informed his creator, who was still flying inside of a living deathtrap.

Not that he would ever admit it, but Tony Stark was actually terrified. He was stuck in an impossible situation with no possible solution in sight, the seconds were literally counting down to his death, adding to the stress he was currently feeling.

He swallowed some saliva that was built up in his mouth and stuttered out, "Hey bud, do me a favor and call Pepps, would ya?" He figured that if he was gonna die, he might as well admit his feelings to the woman he likes. He literally had no other opportunity to do so, so screw it, he was gonna do it now.

The call dialed for a few seconds before it went to voice mail, making the hero sigh dejectedly as he truly missed his opportunity. "Might as well add that to my endless list of regrets." He thought bitterly as the seconds continued to count down.

"I'm sorry, sir." J.A.R.V.I.S. sounded genuine.

Iron Man began to close his eyes, knowing that this was it, the end of the road.

But that was before a certain bat hacked into his Comms. "Tony, can you hear me?"

Tony did a double take, "Bruce?"

Meanwhile at Stark Tower

The Dark Knight of Gotham marched to the edge of the helipad while both Mario and Sonic fell out of the portal above them, the vigilante quickly typing on a holographic screen on his gauntlet as he addressed Tony. "Stark, you need to head back to the tower right now. Where are you?"

"Can't do it." Tony refused, causing the Bat to groan. "Armor's been hacked by some whack job working with Loki. I've been locked inside of it and in a few minutes--"

"It'll explode."

"Yeah.... Wait, how'd you know that?"

Batman decided to ignore him, "Listen to me. I'm in the process of breaking through the firewalls installed in your armor to try and stop the countdown. You need to head back here in case I can't so that I can free you from the suit before it explodes."

"Hang on, you have schematics to my suit?!"

"Tony, do you want to live or not?!" Batman shouted heatedly, having grown frustrated by trying to convince the Avenger to turn back while simultaneously trying to break through his own code. He hated how smart he was at times, this time being one of them.

There was silence from Iron Man for a moment before he suddenly said, "I'm on my way."

The Dark Knight nodded as he continued to try and break through the firewalls, not noticing both Mario and Sonic approaching from his left. "How long does he have before he blows up?" The former asked, dread in his voice as he worried for his friend's life.

"Not long." Batman revealed lowly.

As the Mark 43 came into view in the distance, Batman began to pick up the pace. He wasn't going to let the Armored Avenger die because of him, nobody was going to die tonight. Not because he wasn't prepared for the possibility of his contingency plans becoming compromised.

Iron Man was getting closer, he was running out of time.

"Alright, I'm closing in!" He informed the detective, the seconds counting down. "Whatever you're gonna do, you'd better do it now!"

Sonic looked up at the World's Greatest Detective, eyes laced with concern for his friend's wellbeing. "Have you hacked into his suit yet?"

"I've managed to unlock his armor," He informed the Blue Blur, turning to look down at him. "But I can't stop the countdown." He then addressed Tony, "Stark, on my mark, propel yourself upwards. We have to get the timing exactly right."

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

Letting out a sigh, Tony relented and said, "Alright, on your mark."

He came closer to the tower, picking up speed as the clock counted down.

Sonic watched with nervousness, his entire form fidgeting as he fought the urge to jump up there and tear through that armor. But Batman had a plan, he had never led them astray before. He had to trust in the plan, just like how he trusted Batman.

"Get ready!" Batman shouted as his finger hovered over a button on the screen labeled, 'UNLOCK MARK 43' He had one shot at this, he had to get the timing precisely right, otherwise Tony Stark was a dead man.

"NOW!" Batman gave the signal as he pressed the button. As he propelled himself upward, the armor opened and shot out its occupant; Anthony Stark. The billionaire flew through the air, flailing his arms before landing and rolling across the helipad. He groaned, raising his head to see the Mark 43 soaring into the night sky.

The Mark 43 blew up in a glorious explosion, lighting up the night sky in a fiery, blaze of glory.

The Avenger let out a sigh of relief as he dropped his head to the floor, rolling over onto his back to see the faces of Mario, Sonic, and Batman. "Wow, that's one way to get rid of a hangover." He quipped, sitting himself up and staring at the Dark Knight of Gotham. "You saved my life. Thank you."

"Job's not done yet." Batman revealed, pressing onto his gauntlet which created a portal behind the group. "We need to get to Equestria, Twilight's life is in danger. We've managed to prevent our deaths tonight, but we have to hurry before we're unable to save Twilight's." He looked down to Stark and asked, "You got something else to wear?"

All Tony could do was smirk, time to take the Mark 45 for a test drive.

Earth 2010

The Crystal Empire

Agony.

Pure, unadulterated agony tore through Twilight Sparkle's body.

She had never felt pain like this before, her nerves were on fire, her whole body seizing unwillingly, the pain unending. And she could do nothing to change that, no, she could do something. Scream. That's all her body allowed her to do.

All she could do was scream.

The Mane 6 were all crying for Twilight to get up, to fight through the pain and send Tirek packing like the coward that he was. But none of them could do anything, none of them were strong enough to break through the bubbles that contained them.

They could only watch helplessly as their friend cried out in pain.

They may not have been able to do anything, but that didn't mean that Cadance was going to watch this.

The Princess of Love snarled, a gruesome growl escaping her throat as she began to charge up magic in her horn. First this monster dared to drain her subjects of their magic, then kidnap her newborn daughter, and now he dared subjugate Twilight to such cruel and senseless torture?

No, enough was enough.

Not noticing the build up of magic behind him, Tirek stomped over and loomed over Twilight with a devilish smile on his face. "How does it feel? Knowing soon that your entire world is about to be forever changed, and that there is NOTHING that you can do to stop it?" He straightened himself and chuckled, "You have no tricks left, princess. No Rainbow Power to save you from me this time. Now you get to witness as I drain your loved ones of their magic, powerless to do anything to stop me. Because the truth is, princess, is that you lost this battle before it even began."

"DID SHE THOUGH?!" A sudden shout from behind him caused him to turn around, where he received a magic blast to the face that sent him flying down the street, crashing into the train station. The Centaur of Wrath climbed out of the wreckage with a snarl on his face, witnessing the ponies he had imprisoned escape their prisons.

He rose to full height and charged up a blast in his horns. With a mighty roar, Lord Tirek launched a blast of magic directly at the group of ponies. They would've been scorched had it not been for the combined efforts of Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, who combined their magic and created a magic barrier that deflected the blast.

The barrier dissipated and the three alicorns unfurled their wings and took off to face the charging centaur.

As the battle resumed away from them, Shining Armor led the Mane 6 to the still screaming Twilight Sparkle, the Agony Matrix tearing her body apart before their eyes. "HANG ON, TWILY!!!" Shining reached forward to try and grab his little sister, but once his hoof made contact with the Agony Matrix, he was sent flying back.

"SHINING ARMOR!" Rarity cried out as she and Applejack rushed over to the singed stallion. "Are you alright?"

The Prince of the Crystal Empire groaned as he got to his hooves, "I-I'm fine. What about Twily?"

"Whatevah Tirek did ta her," Applejack turned to look at her fallen friend, who was no better than she was before, "We can't touch her."

"Then what are we going to do?!" Fluttershy cried out as she held the newest alicorn in her leg, the baby wailing uncontrollably.

Before Rainbow Dash could say anything, she quickly ducked out of the way as Princess Luna flew right past her, crashing and bouncing against the crystal floor. The prismatic pegasus swerved her head around to see Tirek swinging Cadance around by her tail, slamming her into Celestia before slamming her against the ground.

She couldn't help but bare her teeth at the approaching villain, "I've had it up to here with this guy! First he ruins the Crystalling, then he tortures our friend, now he's attacking the princesses. I'm done waiting and I'm done with him!" Ignoring the pleas of her friends, the Element of Loyalty shot forward with her hooves outstretched, intent on wiping that smug smirk off of Tirek's face.

But that was as far as she got, having been backhanded into a house by Lord Tirek.

Seeing their friend get hurt was enough incentive to get involved. With Shining Armor leading them and Fluttershy remaining behind to watch the baby, the five ponies charged forward to take on the villain head on.

The centaur laughed, finding their attempt adorable, before raising his front hooves into the air and bringing them down on the ground, sending forth an orange wave of magic that sent the ponies flying back, crashing into Fluttershy and the baby on their way back.

They all groaned, struggling to get back onto their hooves, but they had to, otherwise the approaching centaur would drain them dry of their magic. And if he got the magic of five alicorns, they would never be able to stop him.

"I assume you each remember our last physical encounter?" Tirek asked, cracking his neck. "You couldn't even defeat me before I gained all of the alicorn magic in Equestria."

"You used Discord, you awful, awful creature!" Fluttershy exclaimed in an uncharacteristically loud voice.

"He was easy to manipulate." Tirek shrugged. "A perfect puppet to help me gather all of the magic in Equestria, he played his part, and then his usefulness was no longer needed. And now that I have dealt with the princesses and you, there is nothing to stop me from changing the world."

"What's that meant to mean?!" Applejack demanded to know.

Tirek laughed, clenching his fist menacingly at the apple farmer. "That is for me to know, and for you to never know the difference. Because in all seriousness, you'll never be able to tell the difference between the life you live now and the life you will live in my new world." His eyes glowed menacingly, "And my mission will be made easier with your magic added to my arsenal."

His shadow covered them, his maw opening as he prepared to drain them of all their magic.

He was only stopped by a Homing Attack to the face, which sent him stumbling to the side. Tirek rubbed his jaw and snarled, turning around to see the Guardians of the Multiverse standing before a closing portal. Except Iron Man was in a new armor, it looked shinier and more metallic than the other one. It was predominantly red, with hints of yellow on the arms, legs, and torso.

"Sorry, Elmo, but the show's over." Iron Man aimed his hands at the centaur, making sure that he didn't go anywhere.

And they weren't alone, as the three Princesses of Equestria all landed around the centaur, with the rest of the mane 6 and Shining Armor joining them, surrounding the villain in a circle, limiting his movements.

"It is over, Tirek!" Celestia declared, spreading out her wings and igniting her horn with the power of the sun.

Tirek hated to admit it, but they had him surrounded, if he had more magic he could easily take them, but there wasn't much he could do at this point in time. Except for one thing. With a sinister smile, Tirek lit up his horns and fired a blast at Cadance.

The Princess of Love prepared to teleport away, but stopped when the blast shot right past her. They all turned around to see the magic blast strike the Crystal Heart, causing the ponies to gasp in shock. That shock turned to terror when spider web cracks spread all over the heart.

It then promptly shattered into hundreds of pieces.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!" Cadance cried out in absolute panic and dread, tears brimming her eyes as the artifact protecting her empire fell to the floor in shattered pieces.

The taunting laughter of Tirek made her turn around to face the evil centaur. "I guess it's going to be a bit difficult to perform the Crystalling without the Crystal Heart." He then reached behind him and pulled out a small device, pressing the center of it, and sending out a signal for him to be picked up. "Unfortunately that is the least of your problems. Hope you packed some winter wear, cause it appears that it is going to snow."

Luna screamed in outrage, her eyes whitening with magic as she stomped her hooves on the ground and declared, "YOU FOOL, TIREK!!! YOU'VE DOOMED US ALL!!! YOU WILL BE OVERTAKEN BY THE FROST ALONG WITH US!!!" She bared her teeth and spread out her wings, horn crackling with the power of the moon.

But instead of being threatened, Tirek simply laughed, "That's where you're wrong, Luna. You see, I'm already gone."

Out of nowhere, a red streak of lightning zoomed past the princesses, knocking them out of the way as it zoomed past. As the alicorns flipped through the air, the Reverse-Flash took Tirek and ran through an interdimensional breach, leaving the Crystal Empire and this dimension entirely.

"Woah! What the hay was that?!" Rainbow couldn't help but ask.

Batman looked to where the breach was a moment ago, brows furrowed in realization. "A speedster."

Sonic's ear twitched, "A speedster? Like The Flash?"

"Faster." Was all Batman said before he rushed over and crouched beside Twilight. He pressed a few buttons on his gauntlet and the palm of his hand glowed a bright blue.

"Hey, wait a second!" Shining called out, watching the hero with suspicion. "Who the hay are you?! And what are doing to my sister?!" His movement was stopped by the wing of Celestia, who gave the stallion a look that said for him not to test The Bat.

They all watched with amazement as the Agony Matrix suddenly sizzled out of existence, the Alicorn of Friendship finally succumbing to unconsciousness, her head dropping to the floor. Batman raised his hand over the pony's chest, measuring her heart rate.

He turned to the group of heroes and ponies and said, "She has a heartbeat. It's low, but she'll be fine." He looked back down at the sleeping mare and moved a strand of her mane out of her face. "Her alicorn healing should kick in momentarily."

"Thank you, Dark Knight." Celestia said with a nod before a grim expression overcame her face. "But now we must focus on the current problem."

"What problem is that?" Mario asked.

"The Crystal Heart has been shattered." Luna said, glancing at the broken artifact with a longing expression.

"So? Just get a new one." Sonic said as if it were that simple.

But Celestia shook her head, shutting down the hedgehog's hopes. "I'm afraid that that is impossible. The Crystal Heart protected the Crystal Empire. Without the Heart, the Crystal Empire's about to be buried under a mountain of ice and snow."

She was met with the shocked eyes of the Guardians of the Multiverse.

"Yeah, that's bad alright." Tony said, breaking the silence.

"So... not only can we not take part in a fabulous ancient ceremony, but we're also about to be frozen solid!" Rarity cried out in fear.

Iron Man turned around and had J.A.R.V.I.S. scan the forming storm clouds. "Jesus, the amount of energy I'm getting off of those clouds is no joke." He faced the ponies and said, "If we don't do something about them soon, they'll be making Christmas songs about us."

"I'm afraid that Iron Man is correct." Celestia said in a grim tone. "The storm clouds are already forming."

The lightning cracked in the distance, the clouds merging together to create a menacing storm cloud that would soon overcome everything in its path. Batman, still kneeling next to Twilight, unwilling to leave her side, said, "We have to evacuate the empire, right now!"

Rainbow Dash, however, scoffed and dismissed the concerns with a wave of her hoof. "I can totally fly up there and bust those puppies! No problem!"

But that idea was shut down instantly by Princess Celestia, who informed the mare that that would be impossible. "I wouldn't advise it, Rainbow Dash. Those storm clouds are not like the ones you know." She walked past the prismatic mare and stared up at the clouds. "Tirek knew that this would happen. He knew that if he couldn't have our magic, then he would make sure that we wouldn't be alive to use it."

"And he had an escape plan to make sure that he could live to do whatever it is that he has planned." Shining said grimly.

Luna looked around at her friends, worry evident on her face. "This far north, the weather has a will of its own, and now it will only grow stronger, enveloping everything in its path."

"Including the Crystal Empire!" Cadance exclaimed.

"And us along with it." Batman finished, still holding Twilight while staring at the approaching clouds, the cracking of lightning echoing throughout the doomed empire.

And a part of Batman couldn't help but feel responsible.

Author's Note

Well, things turned to shit quickly!

The Guardians may have been saved by Batman, but Tirek had one last trick up his sleeve. Instead of Flurry Heart destroying the heart like in canon, it was Tirek's ace in the hole. And he knew that he could get away thanks to Thawne.

Now they have to somehow restore the Crystal Heart without Twilight.

I wonder how the Guardians will effect the flow of the episode with their inclusion? Guess we'll have to find out next chapter!

Stay tuned!

6. Snowed In

Earth 2010

The Crystal Empire

"Okay! Who's bright idea was it to base an empire in the middle of a freakin' snow storm?"

Everyone present ignored Iron Man's quip, too busy being focused on the approaching snow storm that would surely engulf the Crystal Empire, freezing and killing everyone who remained in the empire. And what's worse, Twilight Sparkle was still unconscious, and would be for the foreseeable future, the damage from the Agony Matrix having taken a toll on her body.

Batman refused to leave Twilight's side, ignoring the sneering glances from Shining Armor, not caring at all what the stallion thought of him. He didn't have a very high opinion of the Prince of the Crystal Empire, he thought he was a joke if he was being honest.

In fact the entirety of Equestria's Royal Guard were a joke.

But they were only that way because their former captain was incompetent. Bruce made up his mind on the stallion when Twilight told him about the issue at his wedding. He's read up on Changeling Magic, it could only make him see what the Changeling wanted, not influence how he felt.

And what he said to Twilight that day was unforgivable in his eyes.

To shun your family like that was inexcusable, especially to someone who's lost his family to the darkness of crime and villainy.

Holding Twilight in his arms, Batman rose from the ground, striding past Armor and eyeing Celestia. "Is there a way to restore this 'Crystal Heart?' A spell perhaps?" He asked, knowing that he was grasping at straws at this point.

As Celestia pondered to herself, Cadance took a look at Batman and felt a sense of familiarity, like she had seen him somewhere before. She was sure of it, she wouldn't forget something like him in Equestria. But for the life of her, she couldn't figure out where she had seen him.

"Perhaps." Celestia's voice breaking the Alicorn of Love out of her thoughts.

Luna looked at the group worriedly, "But it isn't something that either of us know."

Sonic looked back at the storm before turning to the alicorns, "Look, time isn't exactly on our side here, we'll take what we can get." He looked to Cadance, who was holding the baby in her legs, and asked, "You're the ruler of this place, right?" At her nod, he continued, "Do you have any ideas on how to fix this mess?"

"The library here at the castle is nearly as extensive as the one in Canterlot. There's a good chance we can find something there!"

Clapping his hands, Sonic announced, "Then that's where we start!" He then turned to the solar and lunar monarchs of Equestria. "Do you guys think you can hold off that storm while we search?"

"Yes, for a time, but even our magic will eventually succumb to the power of the Frozen North." Revealed Luna.

As Celestia took flight, Luna following on behind her, she said, "We will do what we can, but you must hurry." With that, the two alicorns took off into the sky and began dispersing the clouds with their magic, but their effort would prove futile as the clouds kept returning.

While the alicorns held off the storm, Iron Man surveyed the damage around the palace, trenches, craters, and injured ponies surrounded them. He looked to the group as his armor opened up, the man behind it stepping out as the Mark 45 closing behind him.

"We've got injured all over the place," He surmised as he turned to the armor, addressing the A.I. that was currently operating the suit. "J.A.R.V.I.S., I need you to help as many people as you can while we search for that spell."

"Of course, sir."

Nodding, he turned to Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy and ordered, "You three help him out, and get as many people as you can out of the cold, and help any injured people you see. This is a life or death situation, and we're not losing anyone today."

"Ya' got it, Tony!" Applejack assured the Avenger before turning to the other mares, "C'mon, girls!"

With nods of affirmation, the three mares went along with the Mark 45 to help any injured survivors, hoping to get them the medical attention they needed and to get them out of the harsh winter.

Looking at the remaining ponies, Mario asked the Crystal Princess, "So, just how big is this library of yours?"

"Big." She said with emphasis.

"Then we're gonna need your help!"

"You can count on us!" Pinkie gave a salute to the heroes.

"Not how I pictured us teaming up again, but I suppose the situation calls for it." Rarity added.

But before they could get a move on, Shining Armor spoke up, "Wait, hold on!" He eyed the Guardians with confusion. "Just who the hay are you guys? How do you know Twily and her friends?"

Sonic looked at him as if he were stupid, "Buddy, we're the Guardians of the Multiverse."

"And unless you want the lives of thousands of your subjects on your conscious, then you'll stop asking questions and get a move on." Batman stated harshly, still holding an unconscious alicorn in his arms, who stirred slightly in his grasp.

Before Shining could retort, the baby teleported out of Cadance's hooves and clung to Pinkie's face. She let out a scream and hurled her off of her face, sending her flying through the air. Shining and Cadance gasped as the former leapt to catch his daughter, but she teleported away before she hit the ground.

"Where'd she go?!" Cadance cried out, receiving her answer by the form of her baby giggling. The sound echoed from within the castle. "This way!" She led the group into the castle, in a hope to not only find her baby, but to also see if there was any way to restore the Crystal Heart and save her empire.

Meanwhile

Starlight never felt so disappointed in her life, she felt a heavy weight of failure in her tummy, a feeling like she ate too much food, except this was way worse. She not only let Twilight down, but she let herself down too. So much for showing Twilight that she was ready to be her student.

Spike, ever the loyal friend, scampered along her side, holding the list in his claws as he looked at the unicorn with sympathy in his eyes.

"Well, Spike, looks like my biggest fears came true. I wouldn't be surprised if Twilight decides to give up on me entirely." Came from a depressing looking Starlight Glimmer.

"Aw, it's not your fault. I'm the one who said all we needed was this list." Was Spike's response before he burnt the list to ash with his fire breath.

"It's not the list, Spike. Or you. Or Twilight. I'm the one Sunburst doesn't want to be friends with."

"I don't remember him saying he didn't want to be friends."

"He didn't have to say it."

Spike gave the unicorn a small smile, "Well, Twilight obviously thinks you're worth being friends with! And I do too!" He finished with a hug to Starlight.

The unicorn smiled, "Thanks, Spike. At least I have two friends, even if one of them has dragon breath."

Confused, Spike exhaled and his breath was visible for all to see, "Uh, that's not dragon breath. It's freezing!"

They continued along towards the castle, and Starlight was about to comment on the weather, when she suddenly let out a mortified gasp. Wondering what was wrong, Spike turned around and his jaw hit the floor. There before them, was nothing more than a barren wasteland, the street was in ruins, and there were many injured ponies roaming through the smoke.

And what caught his eye was the Mark 45 armor flying overhead.

"W-What happened?!" Starlight asked the obvious question.

"It's a total warzone out here!" Spike also exclaimed.

They heard lightning strike and they turned to see the storm clouds forming overhead. They also saw Celestia and Luna holding the clouds back, but they were growing tired and weaker with each strike. They wouldn't be able to hold them off for long.

"Something's happened! Come on!" Spike shouted as he led his friend towards the Crystal Palace, hoping to get some answers as to what's happened here.

In the Crystal Library

"Young filly... come back here!"

As the incompetent stallion chased after his infant daughter, the Guardians and Cadance were rummaging through the library in hopes of finding a way to restore the Crystal Heart. So far, their efforts have been unsuccessful, either due to not knowing what they were looking for, or due to the baby alicorn causing havoc in the library.

The baby had teleported away from Shining Armor, flying right past Batman, who was looking through various books, ignoring the pink pony currently chasing after the baby. "Come to your Auntie Pinkie Pie!" He rolled his eyes at the constant annoyance before glancing at the sleeping alicorn resting down on a pile of books a level below him. The sight of his unconscious friend reignited his steely focus.

On the other side of the second level of the library, Tony Stark was reading out each title of the books he'd manage to find. "Bridle Buck's Boat Chants? Hayhoof's Intonements? Mystic Maps and Mazes...? Who the hell comes up with these titles?!"

"You're supposed to be searching for any spells that may help restore the Crystal Heart!" Cadance reminded the billionaire, frantically rummaging through multiple books with her magic.

"I'm sorry, do I look like the Sorcerer Supreme to you?! I don't know any of this shit!" Was the Avenger's response as he threw another useless book behind him, ignoring the blue streak that sped by behind him.

Sonic had been moving from shelf to shelf, but by Chaos, there were soooo many books, it wasn't even funny. "Who needs this many books, honestly!" He sped off to see if he could have any luck in an entirely different section of the library.

Meanwhile Mario jumped down from the top shelf, landing next to Cadance, who spread out her wings and took flight to continue her search. "Any luck?"

"Not yet! I'm not even sure how these are organized!" She cried out just as her daughter popped into existence in the shelf. She smiled nervously as she reached out for her chaotic, bundle of joy. But the baby sneezed, unleashing a massive laser of magic that destroyed a nearby bookshelf. She teleported to the lower level and flew away from Shining Armor.

"Armor, for the love of all that is holy." Mario started calmly before shouting, "PUT A LEASH ON YOUR KID!!!"

"I'M TRYING!!!"

"Try harder!" Batman yelled sternly, jumping down from the railing, landing in a crouched position and made his way to another shelf. He looked over to Twilight and gently scratched behind her ear comfortingly. He blamed himself, and rightfully so, this was his fault.

He should've made sure that those plans were inaccessible to anyone but him.

He should've made the firewalls more secure.

He regretted not making them harder to access, but he didn't regret making them. They were needed, and nothing would change his mind about that.

As she watched Batman loom over her unconscious sister-in-law like a silent guardian, a look of realization appeared on her face as she remembered where she had seen him before. Why he looked so familiar to the alicorn.

He was at Twilight's coronation!

One Year Ago

"A little while ago, my teacher and mentor Princess Celestia sent me to live in Ponyville. She sent me to study friendship, which is something I didn't really care much about. But now, on a day like today, I can honestly say I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for the friendships I've made with all of you. Each one of you taught me something about friendship, and for that, I will always be grateful. Today, I consider myself the luckiest pony in Equestria. Thank you, friends. Thank you, everypony!"

As Twilight wrapped up her speech, Cadance couldn't help but look at the mare with a swell of pride, remembering the days where she used to foalsit her as a little filly. To think that the pony who thought friendship was a waste of time was now a Princess of Equestria.

She went to approach the mare to envelop her in a hug, but stopped when a shadowed figure in the distance caught her eye.

Off in the distance, crouched on a nearby tower, Twilight's old tower to be specific, was a dark, bat like figure with white eyes, watching the ceremony closely. She squinted at the figure as she watched him stand up and turn away, his cape moving in the wind as he returned to the shadows, but not before he gave her a stern look, his eyes creasing into a furrowed position.

She wanted to pursue the creature, but grew distracted as Twilight gave her brother a hug, the stallion of her dreams denying the fact that he was crying.

She smiled at the scene, but couldn't help but think of the bat creature, and why it was there.

The Present

That's why he was there!

He was Twilight's friend!

Cadance could tell that he cared for the Princess of Friendship, she could feel it in his heart. It wasn't a romantic type of love, but a deep love, something she could tell that he didn't feel for a lot of people. She couldn't help but giggle slightly, Twilight Sparkle did have that effect on people.

"THIS IS FREAKIN' IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Sonic snapped, finally reaching his breaking point.

The doors to the library suddenly opened, and in walked Spike and Starlight Glimmer. They were about to ask what was going on, but their hearts suddenly stopped at the sight of Twilight Sparkle.

"TWILIGHT!!!" They both shouted, rushing over to approach the unconscious pony.

But one sharp glare from Batman stopped Starlight dead in her tracks. He wasn't going to let her anywhere near Twilight, and she knew it.

Spike didn't notice, nor did he care, as he climbed the pile of books and clung to his mother, "W-What happened?!"

"You want the long or the short version?" Pinkie asked as she was being dragged by the baby's magical grip.

"Short?" Starlight didn't sound too sure.

"Well, Tirek came back and drained all the magic from a bunch of crystal ponies, so Twilight decided to fight him and take the magic back, but the meanie-bo-beanie had a trick up his sleeve and Twilight lost and was about to finish her and us off when the Guardians arrived to save the day, but Tirek blew up the Crystal Heart and got away, now Cadance and the Guardians are looking for a spell to put it back together and save the Crystal Empire from turning into a giant wasteland of ice and snow."

"That was the short version?"

"TIREK CAME BACK?!" Spike screamed in surprise before returning his gaze to Twilight. "Is she gonna be okay?" He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Batman looking down at him.

"She'll be fine, she's strong." Batman reassured the dragon. "Maybe stronger than all of us combined. If anyone can recover from this, it's Twilight Sparkle."

"I THINK I FOUND IT!" Cadance suddenly shouted, gaining everyone's attention. They all saw her with a book in her grasp, an elated smile on her face. "Here, look!" She threw the book down to Batman, who caught it in one hand.

"Trotter's Tome of Reliquary?" Bruce had to give Tony credit, these names were dumb.

"Look in the book! Page 45!"

He did so and saw what Cadance meant. ""Spell of Relic Reconstitution"." He read out before closing the book. "I think this might be what we need."

"About time!" Sonic groaned as he sped down to the lower level of the library. "Now let's figure out how to use that spell and--"

A yellow laser tore right through the book.

You could hear a pin drop.

Everyone turned to Pinkie, who held the baby in her grasp. The child sneezed and it reflected off of Rarity's mirror, bounced off of a shield Shining conjured up, which then reflected off of a shield barrier Starlight created and tore right through the tome.

"Oops." Pinkie said meekly.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!" Sonic shouted, grabbing at his ears in exasperation.

Frustrated, Batman let out a long exhale and tossed away the book. He then walked over to a nearby bookshelf and punched a hole in it. Everyone took a cautionary step away from the Dark Knight before he resumed searching for anything else that could help.

"Great, back to square one." Tony sighed before resuming his search.

Mario dragged his hand down his face, "That spell was the only thing we found in the whole library that was even close to what we needed!"

"I'm so sorry." Starlight said, feeling guilty for aiding in the destruction of the tome.

"It's not your fault, Starlight." Sonic reassured the mare.

"Yes it is." Batman said simply, ignoring the harsh glare Sonic was giving him

"Is there anything I can do?" Glimmer asked, hoping to redeem herself.

"We don't need help from the likes of you." Batman sternly said, causing the mare to look down in sadness, her ears splayed against her head as tears brimmed the edges of her eyes.

Before the hedgehog could admonish his friend, a sudden groan from behind them caught their attention. There, awakening from unconsciousness, was Twilight Sparkle. With excited gasps from everyone present, sans Batman, who just stared with concern, everyone gathered around.

"Twily!" Shining yelled happily, ready to be enveloped in a hug from his sister.

But to his shock, his name wasn't who she called for.

"B-Bruce...." Twilight cried out weakly, reaching her hoof out weakly, wanting nopony but her best friend by her side.

The Dark Knight approached and crouched down beside the mare, not caring that she just revealed his real name, now wasn't the time or the place. "I'm here."

"I-I-It h-u-urts....!" She cried, tears falling down her face. She felt her best friend stroking the back of her head comfortingly and reassuringly. "P-Please m-m-make it st-o-o-o-pppp!"

"I'm sorry." Was all he could say. What else could he say to her? "You should've never experienced this, I should've done better."

A sudden wind from one of the holes in the walls caused by the baby made everyone turn around in alarm. They were running out of time.

"Hate to draw everybody to the obvious, but we're running short on time." Tony reminded the group, really wishing he packed a jacket. Somebody could've told him that it was so freaking cold here, just saying.

"We need to begin evacuating right now!" Batman ordered. "Try to get as many people to safety as we can before we literally freeze over." He looked over to Armor and said in a commanding tone. "You need to lead everybody to the train station before the tracks freeze over!"

"But what about Twilight?!" He protested, hating the idea of leaving his sister.

"I've got her! Now go!"

Starlight looked down in sadness as Shining rushed out of the library, "Great, we're all about to die, and Sunburst wants nothing to do with me."

"Sunburst?" Mario repeated, unsure of who she was referring to.

"My oldest friend. Twilight assigned me my first Friendship Lesson while we were here." She explained, facing the plumber. "I was meant to rekindle our old friendship, but we have nothing in common. He's a big important wizard! And I'm re-learning everything I ever thought I knew."

Cadance squinted at the unicorn, "Sunburst? I don't recognize the name, but if he's an important wizard, you should bring him here. Maybe he'll know what to do if the spell fails."

This caused Starlight to gasp, a happy smile on her face. "Of course!" She quickly galloped out of the library, leaving Spike and the others behind.

Batman, not trusting the mare one bit, looked down to Spike and said, "Spike, go with her and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." When the dragon looked at Twilight, who was still crying in pain, Batman said, "I've got her, I won't leave her side. Go, she'll be fine."

Reassured, Spike gave Twilight a small hug before climbing down and rushing after Starlight.

Unknown Earth

Vorton

The Legion of Doom was gathered in front of the Gateway, having already completed their assignments. But when Tirek returned he had informed them of the Guardians' presence in the Crystal Empire, meaning that their plans had failed. Of course, Eobard was nowhere in sight, having rushed off back to Earth 1 to collect the second amulet.

The members of the Legion were, understandably, a bit miffed that their plans were foiled once more, and that the Guardians were alive. But Tirek had assured them that their demises were imminent as he had destroyed the Crystal Heart, the only thing protecting the Crystal Empire from a fatal snow storm.

And there was no possible way for them to find a way to restore the heart in time.

They were as good as dead.

But that still left them with their current directive, locating the fabled Spear of Destiny. With it, they would be able to rewrite reality as they saw fit, all of their dreams, their destinies, would be a reality, and there would be nothing that could stop them.

They just had to find the pieces and reassemble it first.

A flash of red caught their attention, signaling the return of the Reverse-Flash, the second amulet in his vibrating hand. Eobard's form ceased vibrating as he approached the group with a smug expression on his face. "Gentlemen!" He greeted with a chuckle. "I see that your missions were a success."

"Except they weren't!" Eggman reminded the speedster, slamming his hands on the table in front of him while Thawne simply looked bored. "The Guardians were in the Crystal Empire, they were alive! You assured us that those contingency plans would be the end of those feeble annoyances! But if Tirek is to be believed, then our plan has already been derailed!"

But instead of being concerned that their plan was not off to a good start, Thawne had the audacity to look smug, like this wasn't as big a deal as they were making it out to be. "It doesn't matter. So what if they're still alive? It changes nothing, we know the mission, and they know nothing. They don't even know that the Spear of Destiny exists." He zoomed away and returned with the other amulet. "But we do, and we now have the means to find the scattered pieces."

The two amulets shook in his hands, longing to be reunited with their other halves. Bringing them closer together, white electricity connected the two pieces like a magnet before they collided, becoming whole once again.

The two amulets, now together, had recreated the Longinus Medallion.

Holding the medallion face up, it suddenly projected an astral map detailing multiple earths in the Multiverse, the earths housing the pieces of the spear being highlighted in yellow.

Earth 666.

Earth 2003.

Earth 597.

And Earth 2010.

The Legion of Doom gazed at the map with evil and intrigued eyes, with Eggman and Bowser giggling with evil glee, Loki with a smirk on his face, and Tirek rubbing his hands together, ready to get started.

"Now!" Reverse-Flash spoke up, regathering their attention, his eyes glowing red. "Shall we get started?"

Earth 2010

The Crystal Empire

"But I thought you were an important wizard!" Starlight cried out, confused as to why Sunburst wouldn't help her. She and Spike had traversed through the storm to reach Sunburst's house to ask for his assistance in restoring the Crystal Heart. He was a wizard, so it shouldn't be that hard, right?

But he said no.

He flat out said no.

And Starlight had to know why.

"Well, you were wrong, okay?! I'm not an important wizard! I'm not even a wizard at all!" The liar sighed and wiped his glasses with his magic, closing his eyes so that he didn't have to look at the shocked faces of Starlight and Spike. "I know it's hard for you to understand, but not all of us end up achieving greatness."

"What? Why wouldn't I understand that?"

"Really? You're the protégé of the Princess of Friendship! I don't think she picks just anypony for that!"

Spike couldn't help but point out, "Technically, she's more of a student than a protégé."

"Whatever. I'm sorry I'm not the big important wizard you were expecting."

Giving Spike a warning glare, the dragon quickly stepping away with an embarrassed smile, Starlight looked at the unicorn stallion and said, "Sunburst, I don't care if you're a wizard or not. I'm just surprised. You always knew so much about magic. I mean, look at all these books!"

"Yeah, well, reading about magic is one thing, but you don't know what it was like at magic school! To know so much and not be able to do any of it!"

Having had enough of Sunburst's self pitying, Starlight decided to shut him up. "Well, you don't know what it was like to be left behind! And then getting so bitter that you steal the cutie marks from an entire village and then get defeated by Twilight and her friends, so you travel through time to get back at them, but they beat you again and teach you about friendship, but you're so terrified ponies will find out what you did that you can't make any friends!" She was visibly panting after having snapped at her oldest friend, if that's what they even were anymore, she honestly didn't know.

But there, it was all out in the open, he knew everything.

And she could tell that he hated her for it.

He didn't need to say it.

So she wouldn't even give him the chance.

"C'mon, Spike." She motioned to the door, ignoring the gaping expression on Sunburst's face. "We're leaving."

"W-Wait, Starli--"

She didn't even let him finish as she gave him a sad look before she and the dragon left without another word. There was no way that Sunburst would help them now, so they were just gonna have to find another way to stop the storm.

Sunburst looked down in sadness, he should've reached out to her sooner, maybe he could've made sure that Starlight never went down that path. Maybe she could've helped him at magic school. He should've told her the truth, he just wanted to impress her.

Now the Crystal Empire was done for, no more studying, no more magic, and no royal Crystalling.

...Wait a second, Crystalling!

"THAT'S IT!"

Meanwhile

Thorax wasn't sure what was happening, he thought this was a place of friendship and peace, but all he saw was a warzone. Currently disguised as a pony, he watched as Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, and the Mark 45 aiding with the evacuation and helping any pony that needed it.

He was confused, what was that strange, metal creature helping the ponies? Why was everything on fire? Why was there a snow storm about to destroy the Crystal Empire?

That didn't matter right now, he had to blend in, lest he be caught and prosecuted. So he decided to help out, aiding any pony that was injured, making sure not to drain them of their love, but he did notice that the majority of them lacked their magic.

A crack of lightning startled him, causing him to turn around and gaze up fearfully at the approaching storm.

He saw the Princesses of Equestria taking on the storm head on.

"Push them back, my sister!" He heard Celestia cry out, ice and snow covering her and Luna. But alas, he saw them become consumed by the dark clouds, unsure if they had survived. He looked over towards the palace, seeing Prince Armor leading a swarm of ponies towards the train station, with even more strange creatures running alongside him.

He squinted, he swore he could see the other alicorn he had heard about quivering in the bat one's arms, tears turning to ice down her cheeks.

Thorax looked around, it was clear that his original plan was not going to work out. The Crystal Empire was done for, so, he galloped towards the group and joined them.

So much for making friends with the ponies of Equestria.

So much for a better life.

With The Guardians and Shining Armor

"This way!" Armor shouted as he and the Guardians pushed forward, with the other mares helping out any stragglers that were left behind.

Fluttershy helped a mare that had fallen into the snow with a kind smile.

Rainbow was busting through the dark clouds, ice overcoming her entire form. Her wings wouldn't move any longer, it was too cold and they were incased in ice. So she landed and galloped alongside the others. Rainbow looked to see Sonic dashing ahead, breaking through any icebergs that had formed with his super speed.

She rolled her eyes, "Show off."

Dash looked over to see Twilight sobbing into her protector's chest, it killed her seeing her friend like this. Normally Twilight was the strong one, so seeing her so vulnerable and broken was heart wrenching. When she saw Tirek again, he wouldn't be walking ever again.

"Just a little bit further, y'all! The station's just ahead!" Applejack shouted, reassuring the scared ponies that this was almost over.

To their surprise, as they approached the station, Starlight and Spike ran through the mist, betrodden expressions on their faces. It appeared that their idea came up short. There was no way to save the Crystal Empire now, it was all over.

"WE HAVE TO GO BACK!!!"

Whipping their heads around, Starlight and Spike were the first to see Sunburst approaching with saddlebags on his back. Glimmer quickly backpedaled and hid amongst the masses, not wanting to bear the ire of her former friend.

"I KNOW HOW TO STOP THIS!!!" Sunburst revealed just as Celestia and Luna joined the mass, the former looking at the latter with a knowing smile.

"Who are you?" Batman questioned, doubting that this random pony could save the day. Most, if not all of the Crystal Empire was engulfed in snow.

"My name is Sunburst, and I can save us all!"

At the Crystal Palace

Cadance paced around, her mind racing, her stomach in knots. Right at this moment, she felt like a failure, she couldn't even protect her empire from that monster; Tirek had taken everything from her, the magic of her ponies were now gone, they were powerless, the deaths of her Crystal Guard was on her, she should've been further prepared.

And that monster threatened to kill her baby.

He wouldn't get away with that.

She looked down at the cooing baby in her legs and smiled softly, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Oh, my child." She whispered to the infant. "I wish you could've been around long enough to see the empire in its entirety. It was wonderous, each pony was filled with love for their empire, for each other. The Crystal Empire would've loved you." She let out a defeated sigh, "I don't know what to do."

"An old student of mine believes he does." Celestia's voice cut through the wind, causing Cadance to turn around to see Celestia and Luna leading the group toward them, the Guardians standing behind them, Twilight still shaking in Batman's arms.

As Sunburst approached the shattered heart, Batman's voice broke the sudden silence. "You said you could restore the Crystal Heart." He looked sternly at the stallion, who nervously gulped at the Dark Knight. "Tell us how."

"The Crystal Heart's been around for millennia. Restoring a relic like this is way beyond one spell." The nervous stallion explained.

"We were going to use a spell called the The spell of Relic Reconstitution." Batman said.

But the stallion shook his head, "No, that won't do it." He then went on explaining, "You need to combine it with something else. Something unique to the relic itself. Something that strengthens it and provides it with power...?" He led on, expecting them to catch onto what he was dishing out.

"The Crystalling!" Cadance realized, finally catching on.

"But none of us had time to read the spell." Rarity reminded them.

Sunburst quickly reassured her fears, "That's okay, I have my own copy!" He pulled out another copy of the tome that the baby destroyed from his saddlebags. "Combining that spell with the light and love of everypony gathered for the ceremony, together with..." He pulled out another tome, "Somnambula's Weather Abjuration to clear away the snow..." Cue another tome, "and a little Fledgling's Forbearance for the parents... Heh. That should curb the little one's power fluctuations."

The baby giggled in Cadance's legs.

"You must be Sunburst. Starlight said you were a powerful wizard." Cadance remarked the stallion while Starlight looked away, tears in her eyes.

"Oh, I'm no wizard." Sunburst corrected.

While the Mane 5 gasped, Batman glared at the stallion, "WHAT?!"

"B-But let me assure you, I've been studying magic my entire life. And since nopony has any better ideas, what do we have to lose?"

They all looked to one another, skeptical, but he had a point, they had nothing to lose now.

Shining Armor took a step towards Sunburst, grabbing the baby from his wife's hold, "I had planned on asking Twilight to be our crystaller, but since she's..." He took a look at his sister, still curled up into Batman's chest. She had since stopped crying, and the pain had dulled slightly.

The mare looked to the group and whispered, "I-I can help..."

"No, you're still injured." Batman shut that idea down immediately.

"I-If I don't then we'll die." Twilight reminded her best friend, putting a shaky hoof onto his shoulder, "It's okay, Bruce. I'll be fine. Please let me do this. Let me have at least one victory today. Let me not feel like a failure."

Bruce sighed, exhaling through his nose, before gently placing the still shaking alicorn on the floor. She stumbled a bit, but was quickly caught by Sonic, who dashed over to keep her upright. "I got ya." He smiled at her, to which she responded in kind.

Sunburst looked to the prince and said with a bow, "I'd be honored!"

"Then what're we waiting for?" Tony asked as his armor landed behind him, opening up as it walked to him, sealing him inside, the helmet's eyes lighting up. "Time to work for a living."

The three alicorns, plus Starlight and Sonic, the latter holding onto his friend to keep her upright, gathered around the broken heart, ready to initiate the spell. Twilight gave Sonic a weak smile before lighting up her horn, firing a beam of magic at the shards.

The shards levitated into the air and formed together to reform the Crystal Heart, she strained as she let out a pained cry, her magic faltering slightly.

Celestia and Luna fired their own beams to keep the spell in tact, hoping to give the others enough time to complete the Crystalling.

Starlight looked over the spell once more and added her own beam of magic, hoping to help in some way.

Together, they all kept the heart together just long enough for this.

The Mane 5, The Guardians of the Multiverse, Shining, Cadance, and Sunburst all walked onto the stage, the crowd of ponies watching with anticipation. Despite the barren wasteland they were standing on, that didn't matter, all that mattered was this.

Shining and Cadance both planted a kiss on the baby's cheeks before touching their horns together, the combined power of their magic and love engulfing the baby in a yellow light, levitating her into the air, giggling and the tingling feeling she felt.

Rarity approached Sunburst and handed him a pure crystal from the box, the stallion taking it in his magic.

"Citizens! May I present the newest member of the Crystal Empire!" Sunburst announced to all in the empire.

The baby spread out her wings and giggled, the light encompassing the Crystal Empire. In response, the crystal ponies all bowed, light sparkling under their hooves and lighting up the roads of the empire. Sunburst smiled and placed the crystal on the ground, the magic spreading to it as well.

He then rushed into where the Crystal Heart was and leapt into the air, placing the shard into the center of the heart, the shard being absorbed into the relic. The alicorns and unicorn ceased their magic and watched as the heart spun around, the cracks disappearing and becoming whole once more.

With the Crystal Heart restored to its former glory, it released a burst of magic that engulfed the entire empire.

As the magic washed over her, Twilight not only felt all of her injuries disappear, but her mane had become curled and tied up at the back, her entire form glistening with the magic of the empire. And she wasn't the only one, as everypony present was now glistening with magic.

The magic spread throughout the empire, everyone now having a crystal-like glisten about them. Apart from the other Guardians, as they were not from this dimension, and thus, had no magic within them to give them that cosmetic. As the magic went through the Crystal Empire, the snow dissipated, as if it were never there, until the storm clouds were no more, finally held at bay by the shield that once again protected the Crystal Empire.

With the peace restored and the cheers that filled the air, the group turned away and returned to the heart, where Twilight instantly galloped forward towards her brother. Shining spread out his right leg, ready to hug his sister.

She ran right past him.

Turning, he saw that Twilight leapt into the air and wrapped her legs around Batman's neck, the Dark Knight taken aback slightly as he awkwardly patted her back. Grumbling, he looked to see Sunburst looking for Starlight, but for some reason she still thought that he hated her.

He wanted to tell her otherwise, but he couldn't do that if he couldn't find her.

"Of course it's you who saves my flank again." He heard Twilight tell Batman in jest.

"I wouldn't have to if you stayed out of trouble." He responded.

"How was I supposed to know that Tirek was gonna return?"

"Twilight presents a good point." All the attention was set on Celestia. "Now that the present danger has been dealt with, we now must focus on what Tirek has planned."

"It's not just Tirek." Sonic butted in, gaining everyone's attention. "Eggman attacked me too, nearly killed me."

"Ugh, I hate that human." Luna grumbled to herself.

"This was a coordinated attack on all of us." Batman revealed. "The speedster that took that centaur had tried burying me alive with my parents."

Twilight let out a horrified gasp, knowing how traumatizing that must of been to her best friend. "Bruce... I'm so sorry."

"Loki tried to blow up my armor. I'm assuming this speedster was the one who hacked into it in the first place." Iron Man added.

"Bowser poisoned me." Mario said.

"And we all know what Tirek did to Twilight." Rainbow added bitterly.

The alicorn looked away in shame, she had let her guard down and Tirek exploited that. She was reckless, and the empire was almost destroyed because of it.

All of this was her fault.

If only she knew.

"Soooo... What?" Spike asked. "What's the connection?"

"The connection, Spike, is that these attacks were not random." Luna said, eyeing her sister.

"They were working together." Celestia finished for her sister.

There was a chill in the air, almost as if the snow storm had returned. Four of their greatest enemies working in conjunction for a common goal, each from different worlds? That was a recipe for disaster.

"But why?" Rarity asked the obvious question. "And how did they even meet one another to begin with?"

A thought suddenly occurred to Twilight. "The speedster! He must be the one who brought them together! He hacked Tony's armor and tried burying Bruce alive!" They all looked to one another, that did make sense.

"But what for?" Fluttershy asked.

"Tirek mentioned something about changing the world." Twilight thought back to her encounter with the centaur.

"So did Eggman!"

"Bowser too!"

"How could they do that?" Cadance asked.

"I don't know, but we can't let them!" Twilight said, determination written all over her face. "We have to stop them, no matter what!"

"No offense, Twi, but we got our asses handed to us last time we fought them." Tony reminded the mare. "It's gonna be difficult to fight them all together."

"The speedster clearly wanted us out of the way." Batman said. "This was a coordinated attack intended to kill us... or, failing that, put us out of commission for an extended period."

"Obviously the first step of a larger scheme, something that we would stop." Twilight couldn't help but add.

"From what you've told us, the attacks were strategically brilliant." Luna contributed to the conversation, receiving nods from the other ponies present.

"They were specifically targeted at our physical and psychological weaknesses." Mario added, looking down in anger, he hated the fact that Bowser caught him off guard.

"Obviously by someone who knows us very well." Iron Man said.

"The plans were mine."

Silence.

Pure, and utter silence.

Everyone slowly turned their heads to the source of the sentence.

The one who uttered it.

The one who betrayed them.

Batman.

"W-What...?" Twilight asked shakily, her eyes showing nothing but complete and utter betrayal. "What did you just say...?"

The other Guardians looked as if they had seen a ghost, their eyes wide, Tony's mask sliding up as his jaw hung low.

Batman simply looked at them with an expressionless face. It didn't matter how they would take this news, if they wanted to continue, then they had to know.

Best to clear the air here and now.

"The plans that were used against us." Batman repeated, making sure that everyone was listening. "They were mine. I created them."

Author's Note

And that concludes The Crystalling! Holy shit, what a chapter!

Time to break it down!

It was fun adding the Guardians to an MLP episode, it was super fun to write, especially that library scene, that was a joy to write.

Unlike in canon, Starlight and Sunburst didn't rekindle their friendship. Uh oh, that totally won't come back to bite them later on! :raritywink:

And Batman was at Twilight's coronation, that was actually planned from the very beginning of this series, so it's nice for it to finally come to fruition.

And hey, it's Thorax! He's... here. (Gonna be honest, don't really care for Thorax or Sunburst. They both annoy me, don't know why, they just do.)

We got a glimpse of the worlds we'll be visiting this time, and let me tell ya, they're fun ones! And readers of the previous story will recognize one of the worlds mentioned.

It's bound to be quite entertaining!

And Batman finally revealed that it was his plans that the Legion used to try and kill the Guardians. And not just to the Guardians, but to the other Equestrians too! :rainbowderp:

Poor Twilight, she was put through the ringer this chapter, not only was she in agonizing pain the entire chapter, but now she has to live with the fact that her best friend betrayed her.

The mare can't catch a break.

Anyways, that's all have for you lot this chapter, I'll catch you all in the next one!

8. A Happy Day in Hell (Part 1)

Author's Note

Oh, hey! I'm up here now! Wow, certainly different, that's for sure! I can see my house from here!

What was I doing again? Oh! Right!

Ahem...

WARNING

This chapter contains themes that may not be suitable to younger audiences. It contains violence, sexual references, vulgar language to an extreme extent, cause it's Hazbin Hotel, c'mon. If these themes make you uncomfortable, then for your own health and wellbeing, I implore you to skip this chapter. I'm a Christian so I completely understand if you wish to skip this chapter due to its themes and setting.

Also musical numbers, beware!

But if not, then enjoy!

With that out of the way, onto the art credits!

All renders and characters relating to Hazbin Hotel belong to Vivienne Medrano and Spindel Horse.

Now go on and read the chapter!!!

8. A Happy Day in Hell (Part 1)

Earth 2010

The Crystal Empire

"Absolutely not."

Twilight frowned at the Dark Knight, having grown tired of his constant distrust of Starlight, who lowered her head in sadness. Not a moment after the two had re-entered the throne room, the Princess of Friendship had declared that Starlight Glimmer would be joining them on this endeavor.

Batman, of course, shut this idea down immediately. "We're not babysitters, Twilight. This is a mission to save all reality, not some high school field trip. And if you think that I'm going to stand here and let a mare who thought it was a good idea to disrupt the space-time continuum join us on this mission, then you're misinformed."

"Well, I don't remember asking for your input, Bruce." Twilight shot back, not backing down on this matter. "Besides, if trust is such a big issue here, then how can we trust you?" Twilight ignored the ooh's from the spectating ponies, focusing only on Batman.

"You're letting your emotions cloud your judgement, like you always do." Batman was about to keep going, as was Twilight, but they were stopped by Iron Man, who boosted over and stood in between the two.

"Woah, woah, woah! Chill." Tony ordered the two of them, causing them both to stand down while Starlight took a tiny step back. "Alright, this is getting us nowhere, and in case you've both forgotten, we just got our asses handed to us and the Legion are already ten steps ahead of us. So, instead of fighting over this, let's put it to a vote, shall we?"

The two contemplated for a moment before nodding.

"That's reasonable."

"I concur."

"Okay, so in all honesty, I gotta agree with Batman here." He raised a finger to silence Twilight, who looked ready to protest given the betrayed look on her face. "This mission is important, and we have to make sure that we're at our A-Game here. Can't exactly do that if we have to babysit Starlight." He looked at the saddened mare and said, "Sorry, it's not that I don't trust you, it's that we can't afford to be slowed down."

"Well, I disagree." Sonic piped up, gaining everyone's attention. "While I don't trust Starlight one hundred percent yet, I do trust Twilight." He smiled at the alicorn and continued, "And if she says that we should let Starlight tag along, then I say we let her."

"Thank you, Sonic." Twilight gratefully smiled at the hedgehog before addressing the others. "Okay, it's 2 for 2, that leaves the deciding vote to you, Mario." She said to the plumber, who had a contemplative look on his face.

The plumber looked at the floor with his arms folded over his chest, going through all the pros and cons if Starlight were to join them on this endeavor. A sudden ping coming from Batman caught his and everyone's attention. They watched as a holographic display appeared on his gauntlet, showcasing a burst of energy originating from a singular Earth in the Multiverse.

Having connected his armor with the Holotable back at the Eternal Apex, he was able to pick up on any anomalies that the table would pick up. He zoomed in on the dimension the pulse came from, Earth 666, the Legion of Doom were on the move.

The race to recover the pieces of the Spear of Destiny had started without them.

"We're out of time." Batman informed the group.

"Whatever choice you intend to make, do so now." Celestia said to Mario before turning to Twilight. "Know that while you are gone, we will do whatever it takes to keep Equestria safe."

"Yeah! No villain is gonna catch us slacking off!" Rainbow boasted.

"Wish the same could be said for you at your day job." Applejack jested, much to Rainbow's chagrin.

"Hey!"

Everyone looked to the plumber expectedly, awaiting his answer as to whether Starlight Glimmer would be joining them on this grand adventure across dimensions.

Starlight looked at the plumber with disappointed eyes, already expecting the worse outcome. So, she simply lowered her head and looked away, knowing that her chance at the adventure of a lifetime would be ripped from her. Not that she felt worthy for such an adventure anyway.

Mario felt sympathetic for the unicorn, his eyes softening as she turned away from him.

It was then that he made up his mind.

He opened his mouth and gave his answer.

Earth 666

The Hazbin Hotel

Charlie Morningstar burst through the doors leading into her hotel, her passion project, her way to finally save her people.

The Hazbin Hotel.

It had been a week since the battle between the hotel and the Exterminators, which resulted in not only multiple deaths on both sides, but also the death of the head exterminator; Adam, the First Man. The misogynistic human had met his end by the tiny hands of Nifty, who had stabbed him in the back with an Angelic Blade, the only thing capable of killing an Angel and fully killing a Demon.

The Princess of Hell wished it didn't have to come to that, but Adam left her no choice. She was just lucky that she had her girlfriend; Vaggie, there to support her, as well as the rest of the Hazbin Crew. Charlie dusted off her red suit and made her way through the hotel lobby.

She wore a red suit with a nametag on her lapel. Her skin was a ghostly white, with blonde hair, rosey cheeks, and yellow eyes with red irises.

As Charlie waltzed through her lobby, her eyes drifted over to the portrait of Sir Pentious, who had bravely and selflessly met his end at the hands of Adam. He gave his life so that his friends could live, showing the values that should've redeemed him.

But he never got the chance.

Charlie blamed herself for his death, it was her fault that Adam had targeted them in the first place. He was so hateful of her family that he stopped at nothing to make sure that her dream would never become a reality. As tears threatened to fall, she felt her heart jolt when she felt a hand holding hers.

"Hun? You okay?"

She sighed and turned to meet the eyes of her girlfriend.

Vaggie was a former exterminator, so she looked a little different from your regular demon. She had long, white hair with a red bow tied in the back, a small, red shirt with long leggings on her legs, and matching grey sleeves on her arms. Her skin was grey in color, her singular eye was a tan like color while her other eye, no longer there due to being taken by Lute, was covered with an eyepatch, which in turn was covered by a red X.

"Oh! Vaggie, hi!" Charlie shouted awkwardly, quickly drying her tears with her sleeve as she stammered to come up with an excuse. "I was just.... um.... Well, you see..... If you look at it like this--" She was cut off from her rambling by Vaggie, who pressed her index finger onto her girlfriend's lips.

"Babe, I get it." She removed her finger and turned her gaze to the portrait, smiling at it sadly. "I miss him too." Turning back to Charlie, she couldn't help but stare lovingly into her eyes. "How did it go this morning with your dad?"

"It went well... I think?" She didn't sound too sure of herself. Despite having Lucifer's help in the reconstruction of the hotel, Charlie couldn't help but still feel estranged from her father. It was like whenever she talked to him, it went through one ear and out the other. It infuriated her to no end, but they were progressing, at least they were talking again.

"STAB! STAB! STAB!!!"

The couple both let out shrieks as Nifty scampered past them, ferociously stabbing the floor with a needle trying to kill the cockroaches that plagued the hotel. The little housekeeper was short, had a singular, large eye, had white skin with sharp teeth in her mouth, wore a red and white maid's outfit with a black scarf around her neck.

The little housekeeper laughed maniacally, scampering after the little pests as she continuously stabbed the carpet, rushing up the stairs while leaving Vaggie and Charlie to stare at the retreating housekeeper with widened eyes.

"We really should put a bell on her." Charlie commented, still staring where Nifty retreated off to.

"Or a leash." Vaggie suggested with a sly smirk to her girlfriend, who giggled behind her hand.

"Would a leash even hold her still?" Charlie played along with a smirk.

"It wouldn't." A deep and gruffy voice informed the two women. "Believe me, we've tried."

The couple turned their gazes to the new and improved bar to the left of the lobby, where a black and white cat with red and black wings, wearing black suspenders with a red bow tie on his neck. He had red, black, and white patterns on his wings, heart shaped marks on his palms, red and black eyebrows, black and yellow eyes, with a black top hat on his head to complete the look.

Husk took a swig of his bottle, clearly drunk, and pointed up the stairs, "You think that red asshole hasn't already tried putting a leash on her? The little bitch finds that shit kinky, so we had to throw that fuckin' idea in the trash." He took another swig before tossing the bottle behind him and opening another.

"And there he goes with another bottle..." Vaggie muttered to herself, rubbing her forehead in frustration. "How many is that today? Your fourth?" She asked the bartender, clearly frustrated with the former Overlord while Charlie simply rubbed her arm, clearly uncomfortable.

"Try sixth." Husk answered with a shit eating grin, taking another drink while flipping Vaggie off.

"maldito bastardo alcohólico" Vaggie growled in between her teeth, but stopped feeling so tense when she felt Charlie rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.

"Oooookaaaay..." Charlie strained, moving Vaggie to the side so she could talk to the gambling cat. "Husk, while you are doing an amazing job running the bar, could you maybe cut it back with the alcohol?"

"Heh. Fat chance, princess."

As Charlie sighed exasperatedly, holding Vaggie's hand in her own, the doors leading into the hotel were slammed open, causing heads to turn to see the hotel's first resident drag himself into the lobby. He was a spider demon with a slender build and was estimated to stand around 8 feet with his heels on. His fur was white and he had a mop of fluffy white hair that extended from both the front and back of his head, with splotches of light pink. He wore pink gloves that reached past his elbows on his upper arms, a white shirt with pink stripes, and large, black boots. He had sharp teeth, with a golden tooth to stand out, and his left eye was black with a red iris while his right was white with a red iris.

Angel Dust sat on one of the barstools and slammed his head down on the bar, gesturing for a drink with his hand, which Husk obliged by sliding his usual shot into his awaiting hand.

Charlie, noticing Angel's depressed and exhausted state, slowly approached her friend from behind and placed a hand on his back. "Angel? Are you okay?" She asked, despite already knowing the answer.

The response she got was an exhausted sigh before he sat up and downed his shot. "Shooting today was rougher than usual. Val had a fuckin' field day with me today, the smug prick." He motioned for another shot before continuing. "Valentino's been acting a lot different lately. More commanding, really tugging on the old chain here." He gestured to his neck, feeling the pressure of his deal weighing heavier and heavier.

"I wish he'd go easier on you." Charlie commented sadly, awkwardly rubbing her hands while looking down dejectedly, hating not being able to help her friend. But as long as Valentino owned his soul, there was nothing that she could do. "I could try talking to him again?"

"NO!" Both Angel and Vaggie shut down immediately, causing the princess to flinch, reminded of her last experience with the Porn Demon. She still absentmindedly rubbed the arm that Valentino licked seductively, hoping to get her to star in one of his many pornographic movies.

"Babe, as long as I live, I'm not letting you go anywhere near that fucking psycho."

"Thanks for the offer, Charlie, but I'll be fine. I don't want you to get involved."

Charlie nodded sadly, remembering how she made things worse for Angel the last time she tried talking to Valentino... That and how she set his set on fire.

That wasn't a good day.

"COMING UP ON VOX-2-NITE!!!" Came the sudden announcement from the tv in the lobby, gaining everyone's attention. "THE HAZBIN HOTEL: A HELLISH FAILURE?"

Everyone in the lobby rushed over to the couch in front of the television, where they saw Vox's smiling face. Vox was the Tv Demon, the leader of the Vees, and the owner of Voxtech. He had a flat screen television for a head, with the monitor projecting eyes with red sclera, small cyan pupils and different-colored outlines - black for his right and cyan for his left. The screen also showed a mouth full of sharp, cyan-colored teeth and a long pointed tongue. Vox wore a navy-blue tuxedo with the jacket sporting coattails, red-trimmed cyan lapels, thin cyan stripes and cyan lining, worn over a red-and-black-striped waistcoat which itself was worn over a collared bluish-white shirt with an upside-down broadcast symbol and a rather large, red bowtie. He also wore heeled dark gray dress shoes with cyan-colored laces, toes, and tips on the heels. He had a small black top hat on his head, with red and blue designs reminiscent of a broadcast symbol and radio wave symbol, respectively. He had TV antenna that stuck out the top of the hat, the left one bent into a zigzag.

The Tv Demon spun around in his chair, holding a coffee mug that read 'Alastor sux' in his hand. "Top of the hour, we're discussing the most misguided attempt at redemption since... well, ever! Yes, dear viewers, I'm talking about the Hazbin Hotel - where misguided souls check in and never check out!" The obnoxious demon burst into full on laughter, slamming his fist on the table in hysterics.

The reactions of the residents of the hotel varied.

Husk took a swig of his bottle, but had glanced at Charlie sympathetically.

Angel groaned and placed his head into his hands.

Nifty watched the screen attentively, resting her chin into her hands.

Vaggie grit her teeth, digging her nails into the arm rest of the couch.

Charlie looked disheartened and crushed. Why? Why were the Vees and everyone at their tower constantly dismissing and making fun of her dream? Did no one else give a damn about her people? Vox clearly didn't.

The leader of the Vees continued his slander piece on the hotel, "I mean, who knew Hell needed a rehab center? Am I right?" The screen switched to distorted images of the hotel with exaggerated cracks and graffiti labeled 'FAILURE' plastered across the walls. The image switched back to Vox, who was grinning insanely. "The brainchild of one Princess Charlie Morningstar, who somehow thinks that she can cure the souls of the damned with a little song and dance. Sounds adorable, doesn't it? Well, let me tell you, folks, it's not all sunshine and rainbows over there."

The screen cut to Charlie's interview with Katie Killjoy, specifically where she cut into a musical number on live tv, but the audio was distorted to make her sound off-key, with boos and laughter added in the background.

"Oh, but don't take my my word for it. Let's take a look at the hotel's... Ahem... 'Guest List'." Vox said with a sly grin. "You've got addicts, killers, and whatever the hell the Radio Demon is. What a delightful group! A real recipe for success, if success means making a complete fucking idiot of yourself!" He leaned forward, blood dripping from the side of his mouth. "And speaking of that old-timey fucker, he certainly belongs at that shit hotel. I mean, helloooo!!! It's called the 'Hazbin Hotel', for God's sake! An irrelevant prick like him fits right in with the rest of those losers! And nobody is a bigger loser than Alastor, let me tell ya. I mean, the guy ran away cause I kicked his ass seven years ago!"

It was then that the lights in the hotel flickered.

Uh oh.

He was listening.

"And another thing-" Vox was suddenly cut off as the lights in his studio flickered, causing him to look around frantically. He got that old bastard's attention, good, just what he wanted. Vox looked over to the left and saw a radio had been teleported into his studio, causing him to frown.

"So sorry to interrupt your broadcast, old chum!" Came a static filled voice from the radio. "But it seems that you're getting too big for you britches."

And atop the radio tower in the Hazbin Hotel, sat the Radio Demon himself.

Alastor.

Alastor was a slim, dapper sinner demon with beige-colored skin, and usually has a broad smile full of sharp, yellow teeth. He sported a pinkish-red cropped, angled bob-cut with black tips at the ends and two large, black tipped tufts of hair extending from the top of his head, evoking the ears of a deer. The style had an undercut at the back, and two small black antlers protruding from the crown. Alastor's eyes had dark-red sclera, bright-red irises and thin black pupils. His forearms and lower legs faded to dark grey, and he had red hoofed toes and red fingers. He wore a red pinstripe coat with dark-red lapels piped with white, which was ragged along the bottom hem. Underneath this he wore a bright red dress-shirt with a black cross on the chest, and long black dress pants with matching bright red cuffs. He also wore a dark-red oval-shaped monocle, rimmed with black, over his right eye. He accessorized himself with a black knotted bowtie with a bright red center, black gloves with red at the fingertips, and black pointed-toe boots with red deer hoofprints emblazoned on the soles. Alastor also carried a thin cane with a sentient vintage style microphone attached to it, which he uses to play sound effects and broadcast his voice.

The Radio Demon's permanent smile grew, "Allow me to put you in your place."

"Well, look who decided to show up!" Vox greeted with gritted teeth, his nails scraping against the table. "You've got a lot of nerve interrupting my airwaves, radio fucker. What? You couldn't get anybody to listen to your old ass so you decided to hijack my show instead?"

"I would hardly call this pathetic excuse for a program a show, old pal. People tune into my broadcast because I'm entertaining, meanwhile you use propaganda and what I believe is called 'Clickbait' to garner viewers to tune into your idiotic picture show."

"HAH! Your listener count is laughable, asshole! We wouldn't even bother making you an offer to be apart of our airtime cause it's so pathetic and shit! Just like you! You miserable fucker, why don't you go back into the hole you came from and let the real entertainers do their job!"

"Or what?" Alastor wasn't threatened, no, he was enjoying every minute of this. He could tell that he was getting under Vox's skin, he knew him best after all.

"Or I'll kick your ass again like I did seven years ago!"

"Oh, yes. The fight that nobody but you and me were present for, the fight that you claimed to win."

"I DID WIN!!!"

"Did you, though?"

"YOU KNOW I DID, MOTHER FUCKER!"

"You simply must get over the past, old pal, focus on the future."

"I AM THE FUTURE!!! YOU'RE THE ONE STUCK IN THE PAST!!! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CAN'T LET GO OF THE OLD DAYS!!!"

"Says the one obsessed with me."

Vox burst into full blown laughter, holding his sides as his screen glitched. "Obsessed?! ME?! You're so full of yourself!"

"Oh? Then why is it that you constantly stalk me with those cameras of yours? Or how you watch me when you think I don't know that you're there? Or the fact that you’re still obsessing over my last bout with Adam? Or the fact that you have a hate boner for me because I refused to join your little club? You could never let that go, could you, Vincent?"

That did it.

The use of his human name made Vox lose it, blue electricity sparking off of him as his screen glitched. He dug his nails into his table and yelled in outrage, the various screens in his studio exploding due to his power.

"HoW dArE YoU!!!" Vox's voice glitched as he slammed his hands on the table. "Do YoU kNoW wHo YoU'rE fUcKiNg WiTh?!!! We CoUlD'vE rUlEd HeLl ToGeThEr, BuT yOu LeFt Me!!! We We'Re BeSt FrIeNdS aNd YoU LeFt WiThOuT a WoRd!!! WeLl, I dOn'T nEeD yOu, YoU wErE hOlDiNg Me BaCk!!! I aM bEtTeR tHaN yOu WiLl EvEr HoPe To Be!!!"

Instead of getting angry, Alastor simply laughed in his rival's face, causing the Tv Demon to scream in outrage.

"Would you care to repeat that, Vincent?" He used his real name to really get to him.

"ArE yOu DeAf?! I sAiD tHaT I aM bEtTeR tHaN yOu!!!"

"That's what I thought you said, now let me offer this as a rebuttal"

"If I had a dime every time someone tried me and my pride
I'd be richer than I am right now
But I live a life so sublime, all the fire's on my side
Watch it flicker in my hand like "Wow!"
This world is mine
And jumpin' up the ladder is nothin' but matter of time
Where treachery and treason is just another reason to rhyme
Embark on some havoc and charge up the master of minds
It's the perfect crime!"

As Alastor sang, much to Vox's annoyance, multiple shadow demons appeared onto his set. He looked around as the shadows surrounded him before they scampered away from him, rushing off to destroy his set. Pushing over lights, breaking cameras, murdering demon staff, just causing all forms of chaos for Vox.

"Like dust on the radio, one day
That's what we'll all be in the wind
I live my life like my soul is on stereo, press play
Become emulsified in sin
They say, video killed the radio star last night
'33, like a deer in those flashing lights
Let Mr. Vox know that I'm still around
Yeah I'm back and I'm beamin', the radio demon's in town!"

Try as he might, Vox couldn't get rid of the bothersome demons, despite destroying multiple with his electricity blasts. He growled in anger before releasing a burst of electricity from within himself, destroying the shadow demons. He looked around to see that the damage was done, his set was destroyed, fires everywhere and dismembered body parts lined the walls.

Vox suddenly got an alert from his fellow Vee; Velvette, who sent a text in all caps stating that her dressing room was being torn to shreds by tiny shadow demons.

"Alastor!" Vox growled before using his power to turn into a current of electricity and using the camera to get up to Velvette's dressing room.

"Now I wouldn't lie
Or deny that my eyes are on the prize
And I promise you, I'll stand my ground
But I'm not to fight
All the lives that reside within these heights
Don't you worry love, you have my vow
This world is mine
The cretins will have a season and they will shine
But we can become a beacon for all the blind
A demon of my allegiance can burn the sky
This is so divine!"

Vox appeared in Velvette's dressing room, where he was greeted to many shadow demons tearing apart models and dresses. He looks around for Velvette, but is suddenly struck in the back by a shadow tendril. He shook his head, which now had a crack in it. His vision blurred due to his anger before he got up and teleported to Valentino's studio, wanting to see if that was being targeted too.

Vox appeared in the studio to see that it was on fire, with many of Alastor's shadow demons tearing the place to shreds. He shook his head in disbelief, this wasn't right, they were The Vees! Nobody should be able to take them apart so easily! Especially some old-timey radio bitch! He heard Alastor's taunting laughter echo throughout the tower before feeling a large tremor.

Something large had struck the side of Vee Tower!

Teleporting into the penthouse, Vox rushed outside onto the balcony to see Alastor, who was raising himself into the air with his shadow tendrils while simultaneously using them to strike the tower.

"They say, video killed the radio star last night
'33, like a deer in those flashing lights
Let Mr. Vox know that I'm still around
Yeah I'm back and I'm beamin', the radio demon's in town,
in town, demon's in town, in town"

Vox stared up in anger before he was struck in the chest by a shadow tendril, sending him flying back and crashing through the wall behind him, damaging his screen further.

"They say, video killed the radio star last night
'33, like a deer in those flashing lights
Let Mr. Vox know that I'm still around
Yeah I'm back and I'm beamin', the radio demon's in town!"

As the song reached its conclusion, Alastor gave Vox, who was limping back to the balcony, clutching his severely damaged screen, a wave before vanishing in a swirl of shadow. With his nemesis slipping his grasp, Vox couldn't help but let out a scream of rage that echoed throughout Pentagram City.

There was one thing Vox was certain of.

Alastor was not going to get away with this.

On the outskirts of the city

On a hill leading into the borders of Pentagram City, a Rift swirled to life, kicking up the smoldering hot stones that lay on the ground. The sheer force of the dimensional tear in reality only grew when the Armored Avenger leapt through and entered the realm of Hell.

He was followed by the Blue Blur; Sonic the Hedgehog.

Then Super Mario.

The Dark Knight; Batman.

And the Princess of Friendship; Twilight Sparkle.

The Guardians of the Multiverse turned back to the Rift expectantly, it hadn't closed yet. That's because they were waiting for one more person to come through. Batman scowled while Twilight beamed at the appearance of a pink hoof, followed by another.

When Starlight Glimmer exited the Rift, the first thing she felt was the rush of heat on her face, as well as the drastic change in environment. But the latter was to be expected, considering that this was an entirely different world. The unicorn could hardly believe it, she had officially jumped realities. Granted she had before when she went to Foundation Prime, but this felt different.

She was excited!

She was nervous!

She was.... Nervoucited?

As the Rift shut behind her, Starlight slowly trotted forward to her mentor, shying away at Batman's look as she stood beside her teacher.

"Okay!" Tony clapped his hands and looked around. "Where the hell are we?"

When Batman glanced upward he arched a curious eyebrow, "I think you answered your own question."

Wondering what he meant, Iron Man tilted his head upward and slumped forward slightly. "You've gotta be shitting me."

A massive, red pentagram hung over their heads, looming down menacingly. While Mario, Sonic, Twilight and Starlight looked up in concern and confusion, Batman and Iron Man simply looked up in recognition, very familiar with the symbol and what it stood for.

"Huh. Y'know a few of my exes told me that I'd end up here one day." Tony quipped as the others turned to look at him questioningly.

"Um, pardon my asking, but where are we?" Starlight asked, unsure of what the billionaire meant by that.

"Hell." Was Batman's curtly reply.

"Hell?" Twilight repeated, unsure of what he meant.

"Think of Tartarus, only thousands of times worse." Tony referenced so that the Equestrians could understand. "Basically if you're an evil person, you come here when you die, but if you're good, you go to Heaven."

Twilight's face brightened in remembrance, "Oh! Is this the concept of Religion that you two told me about?"

"Bingo, Twi!"

"Okay, now that we've established where we are, how about we figure out a way on how we're gonna beat the Legion to that piece of the spear." Mario said, wanting to get back on track.

Starlight peered down the hill, noticing a city up ahead. "How about we start there?" She suggested, pointing towards Pentagram City. The Guardians followed her hoof to where she was pointing and saw the city, that would probably be the ideal place to start searching.

"Great idea, Starlight!" Twilight praised, to which her student looked away and blushed.

Batman crouched and tapped the side of his cowl, activating his Detective Mode so that he could get a scan of the city, trying to determine how large it is in size and how long it would take for them to search. He ignored the distrustful glares he got from Mario and Sonic, who were still more than peeved at the Dark Knight for his contingency plans.

Mario felt like he didn't even know who his friend was anymore, not that he had that good of an idea in the first place, but at least back then he knew that he could trust him. Now, not so much.

Sonic was honestly hurt that Batman didn't trust him, but he would forgive him eventually. Heck, this isn't even the first time he had been betrayed by a friend. Knuckles had been manipulated by Eggman on more than one occasion, and they were still best pals. And the amount of times Shadow had turned on him for what he believed what was right, well, Sonic didn't want to get into that.

Their attention was brought back to reality when Batman spoke up, "The city is too big to search as a single group." He rose up and turned to his teammates, all of them having gathered around him. "We're going to have to split up into groups of two to cover more ground."

"That's a sound plan, Bruce." Twilight agreed before looking to each of the Guardians and Starlight Glimmer, who offered her a small smile. "Okay, Mario and Tony will search together, I will go with Starlight, and Sonic and Bruce will watch each others backs."

"You can count on us, Twi!" Sonic reassured his friend with a wink and a thumbs up while Batman gave her a curt nod.

She looked sadly at Bruce, who quickly turned away and gazed at the city again. Twilight sighed sadly before feeling a comforting hoof on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw Starlight giving her a reassuring smile and nod, letting her know that it would all be okay.

Even though the unicorn wasn't so sure herself.

"All right, Guardians.... and Starlight." She added, much to the student's appreciation. "We have to find that spear first, and the Legion already has a head start on us. I know things are tense between us right now, but if we want to make it through this, then we have to trust each other." She looked pointedly at Batman at that. "I know we can do this together, we're the Guardians of the Multiverse, we can do this."

"All that's missing in that speech is 'Friendship is Magic.'" Sonic joked to Mario, who snickered silently.

Twilight shook her head fondly before spreading out her wings, ready to take Pentagram City head on. "Let's move out, Guardians! Reality isn't gonna save itself!"

9. A Happy Day in Hell (Part 2)

Earth 666

Pentagram City

Entertainment District

It would've been nice if Twilight had told her that it was going to be sooo hot.

Starlight couldn't help but wipe the sweat from beneath her horn, letting out an exhausted exhale as they traversed the rooftops in the Entertainment District. From what they gathered as they observed the populace, the two Equestrians came to two conclusions.

One was that everyone here was vile and disgusting.

Two was that everyone was enchanted with those television devices.

Personally Starlight couldn't wait to get out of here, she had seen more sex here in one day than her entire life. Seriously if she walked into two demons having sexual intercourse in an alleyway one more time she would scream. She already made a mental note in her head to find any form of bleach and then proceed to place said bleach into her eyes.

She looked to Twilight, who seemed to look disturbed at something going on in the streets below.

Peering over the edge of the rooftop, Starlight watched as multiple demons tore each other apart in some form of gang war. Blood filled the streets, limbs flew through the air, and explosions tore the streets apart. And in the middle of it all were two demons going at it.

That did it!

The unicorn galloped away from the ledge and proceeded to throw up her lunch, with Twilight rubbing her back with a look of sympathy on her face. But to be frank, she too, was struggling to hold in her lunch.

This was too much.

But she had a job to do, they all did.

One thing was for sure though, after this adventure was done, Twilight would immediately place both her and Starlight into therapy. Just as Starlight was finishing up, a dismembered arm landed right next to them, and thus, the throw up session resumed.

Cannibal Town

A town filled with cannibals, that was a first for Tony. It wasn't the fact that they were cannibals - granted that unnerved him beyond belief - that was unsettling, no, it was the fact that they were all so nice. As he and Mario traversed the surprisingly docile town, the two heroes received friendly waves and were greeted kindly.

Despite the fact that they were surrounded by blood thirsty cannibals with soulless, black eyes and razor sharp teeth, the duo surprisingly felt safe. They got lucky that they got stuck in one of the nicest places in all of the Pentagram.

"Never thought that a place called Cannibal Town would be so friendly." Mario commented, watching in awe as a group of kids ran past them, their laughter filling the air around them. He looked around at the antique structures that made up the district in wonder and amazement. "Also surprised that we aren't being eyed like a large bowl of spaghetti."

"Well, it's not like they'd be able to chew through my suit." Tony said confidently, causing Mario to frown, looking at him with an expression that said 'What about me?' "I'm sure you'd be fine." He reassured with a dismissive hand wave.

"Yeah, thanks." The plumber thanked sarcastically. As they both continued walking through the streets, Mario couldn't help but ask, "So, how the heck are we supposed to find this Spear of Destiny in time. I mean we have a lot of ground to cover."

"You're not wrong." Tony agreed, glancing down at the plumber. "We're already behind, so we've gotta move fast if we have any chance of finding that spear before the Legion." His movement was halted when a spleen landed on his neck, dripping with blood. He stood there frozen while Mario looked horrified at the display. "Mario?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Is there a human spleen on my neck?"

"Y-Yeah..."

Industrial District

Batman moved through the shadows, eyeing the state of the streets and the filth that occupied said streets. Filled to the brim with scum, sexual deviants, criminals, he hated how much it reminded him of Gotham, he hated that his home could possibly be Hell on Earth.

But something awakened within the dark hero when he realized that the only thing keeping Gotham from the brink was him and his crusade. Because without him, his city, his domain, would be reduced to nothingness and would simply be a cesspool of chaos and destruction.

Just like this... Pentagram City.

He frowned, no, rather scowled at the sight of a demon butchering another with nearby bystanders simply walking as if nothing was happening. Bruce couldn't help but clench his fists and bare his teeth at the disgusting display before him, normally he wouldn't let this stand, but this was Hell, it was kind of the standard here.

Rising from his crouched position, Batman watched intently at the smog filled sky, the pollution evident in the Industrial District. He wasn't surprised that corrupt business people had made it down here, The Penguin would fit right in, he couldn't help but think.

A gust of wind was felt behind him, Sonic had returned.

"This place.... is disgusting!!!" Sonic whined as he shook his head a super speed, getting the droplets of blood out of his quills. "From the air, to the people, to the heat, to the mountains of intercourse, don't even get me started on that!" He involuntarily shivered before approaching his... friend? Sonic wasn't really sure at the moment, but he approached anyway. "I'm pretty sure I trotted on someone's ear back there."

"This is the worst of humanity." Batman pointed out, sparing the hedgehog a sideways glance. "This is what I have to fight everyday, vile, villainous, scum who think that this form of behavior is acceptable." He glanced down at his hand before he clenched it, closing his eyes solemnly, "This is the kind of scum that took my parents away from me. I made a promise that I would never let Gotham fall further than it already has. Seeing this is a good reminder of what I'm fighting to prevent."

As Batman spoke, the hedgehog beside him couldn't help but look at him with a twinge of sympathy, sometimes he forgot all the darkness and evil Bruce has to fight night to night. The Dark Knight's world is a lot darker than his own, while he'd just stop Eggman and go home, Batman has to continuously fight vile and disgraceful individuals that wish harm upon the innocent.

With what he has to fight, no wonder Batman doesn't trust anyone completely.

With what he knows about him, could Sonic really blame him for creating contingency plans just in case they ever went rogue? He couldn't help but see the worst in people, even his friends, which sucked, but he couldn't really blame him, could he?

Sure he should've told them about the plans, but does he blame him for creating them in the first place?

Sonic wasn't sure what to think.

But he was sure when a sudden explosion went off in the distance, a very big explosion that caught everyone's attention, including the roaming demons. Explosions may have been common in Hell, but the two Guardians couldn't help but investigate.

Carmilla's Warehouse

There was a violent clash.

Metal against steel.

Sparks raised into the air before falling to the ground as Metal Sonic ducked under his opponents kick, the metallic hedgehog grabbing her leg before throwing her behind him. He clenched his fist tightly as the Overlord landed graciously, her form spelling excellence.

The office was in chaos, windows shattered and her desk flipped and destroyed, Carmilla Carmine was less than pleased. One moment she was filling out paperwork for the next meeting of the Overlords, the next she's being attacked by this robotic hedgehog.

Certainly not how she thought her day would turn out.

Carmilla Carmine was a tall demoness with an hourglass build, light grey-magenta skin, and long, thick white hair with black streaks. Her hair was kept into a pair of large beehive-like horns by thin, ballerina-like black ribbons. She had a marking colored in a darker shade of her skin tone resembling a mask that enveloped her eyes, which themselves had white irises, red sclera and slit-like pupils. Her arms and hands were colored white from her deltoids down, with her hands being rather large in proportion to her body with black nails. She also had bridged wrists, instead of the alignment of her arms narrowing at the wrists like most people or demons. Carmilla wore an attire similar to a ballerina, which consisted of an off-the-shoulder black dress with white buttons and white stripes located down the front and at the rim of the spiked skirt, which included magenta lining. She also wore black, waist-length stockings covered by white ballerina shoelaces.

She performed a pirouette before blitzing forward at high speeds, darting from left to right, dragging her Angelic Steel slippers across the floor, sparks igniting behind her, before launching into the air and boosting down towards Metal Sonic.

The metallic menace raised his arms in a cross-like formation and blocked the strike, his chest lighting up before Carmilla's eyes, causing them to widen before she was blasted out of her office. As she soared through the air, Carmilla straightened herself to dart back into the office, but was caught off guard when Metal Sonic flew forward and slammed her down to the ground.

Carmine snarled as she swiped the dust from the air with her large hand, glaring up at the metallic hedgehog hovering above her. It was then that she finally took in her surroundings, several egg shaped robots were carrying crates of her product out of her warehouse.

That's what all of this was about!

Somebody was robbing her for her Angelic Steel.

She was brought back into the heat of the battle when Metal Sonic boosted down with his claws bare, the Overlord ducking under the attack before kicking the robot in the back, sending him flying into the building behind her. She glared at the hole in the building, Metal's eyes glowing through the cloud of dust, and readied herself for his attack.

But the sound of galloping from her left caught her demonic ears.

She let out a small gasp as she was rammed in the side by Lord Tirek, the centaur letting out a growling laugh as she flew through the air. Carmilla bounced off of the smoldering hot ground as Tirek and Metal Sonic slowly approached her fallen form.

"This... is the supposed leader of the Overlords of Hell?" Tirek asked with a mocking laugh. "Mwahahahaha! How pitiful! I expected more of a challenge from you, Miss Carmine, but alas, you are as weak as those useless ponies. How disappointing."

"Whoever you are.... You will regret your actions this day..." The arms dealer promised as she slowly rose to her feet. "You creatures have made a powerful enemy today."

"Not as powerful as us, I assure you." A boisterous voice rebutted from up above. The Overlord looked up to see a rotund man standing in what appeared to be an aircraft of sorts. This was Dr. Eggman standing in his Egg Mobile, hands behind his back and a cocky smile on his face. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Carmilla Carmine! I am Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the greatest scientific mind you will ever meet."

Carmine's eyes shot open in surprise. "A human?!" This was an impossible development, a human in the realm of Hell? It shouldn't be possible, and yet, there was this human hovering above her with a grand grin on his face, clear as day. Just how was this possible?

"An obvious deduction." Eggman said condescendingly, adjusting his spectacles with his fingers. "From what we have gathered from our research, you are the top weapons dealer in all of Pentagram City, and on top of that, the only one with Angelic Steel in your arsenal. We hope you don't mind if we help ourselves to your entire stock."

Carmilla clenched her fists, glaring dangerously at the human, "I most certainly do mind. I do not know how you came to be here, human, but rest assured you will never return to the land of the living ever again!" She readied herself to launch at Eggman, but stopped when the human wagged his finger.

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

"MOTHER!"

Carmilla turned around and gasped in horror at the sight of her daughters; Clara and Odette.

Clara was a female demon with puce skin, curly cream hair tied up in a ponytail, black lips, eyes with red sclera and white irises, and small black horns atop her head. She wore a sleeveless black crop-top turtleneck, gray jean-shorts with a black belt, black fingerless gloves, white over-the-knee stockings and ballet shoes like her mother.

Odette was a female demon of tall and thin stature. She had white skin, light blonde hair tied up in a short ponytail, eyes with red sclera and white irises, and small black horns atop her head. She wore a pair of circular-rimmed glasses with red tinted lenses, a long white buttoned lab coat over a black turtleneck, long black gloves, black tights and a pair of silver pointé shoes resembling her mother's.

And both of her daughters were currently being held hostage by Bowser and Loki, the former grasping Clara by the neck, threatening to break it, and the latter holding an angelic dagger to Odette's neck, prepared to slit it if the Overlord dared try anything.

"It would seem that you have found yourself in a perilous situation." Loki pointed out with a sadistic smile, pressing the dagger deeper into Odette's neck, drawing a trickle of blood. "I believe it would be in your daughter's best interest if you surrendered, less of course you have no qualms with her blood lining these streets."

Carmilla was snarling, baring her fangs, but her face softened upon the fearful looks. Her daughters were petrified and there was nothing that she could do to help ease their pain. She had failed in doing the one thing she was destined to do the moment her girls were born.

Protect them.

First with the Exterminator and now this.

She turned her sights to Loki and snarled, "Release my daughters and I'll let you live, human."

Loki proceeded to laugh in her face, "Oh, my dear, I am anything but human. And I don't think you fully grasp the situation you find yourself in. With one swift motion, your daughter's life will meet an abrupt end, and by your own product no less. Tsk, tsk, how irresponsible of you, Miss Carmine."

"As you can see the odds are stacked against you." Eggman pointed out, regaining Carmilla's attention. "So, stand down and your daughters will live. Failure to comply will result in their untimely demise." When he saw Carmine look down in begrudging defeat, Eggman couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He looked to his right when Metal Sonic flew up to receive new orders from his creator. "Take the Angelic Steel to our temporary base of operations. Once you're done with that keep an eye on our potential allies, take note of their defenses, I want to know everything before we make an offer." Metal Sonic nodded and flew away to carry out his orders. The mad doctor floated down as he stroked his moustache. "Ah, a whole warehouse of Angelic Steel! We'll harness its power and once we do, nothing will stop us from claiming the piece of the Spear of Destiny! I know I say that every time, but this time nothing will stop us!"

"WHO YOU CALLING NOTHING?!"

At the sudden declaration, the Legion of Doom turn around to see two figures glaring down at them from a nearby rooftop. It was Sonic and Batman, having followed them into this dimension. The former wasted no time in boosting across the air, bouncing off of Eggman's Egg Mobile, causing it to spin around at high speeds, before striking Tirek in the face with a Homing Attack.

While the hedgehog blitzed through the air, Batman leapt down and threw two Batarangs at Loki and Bowser, the resulting explosions stunning them long enough for them to relinquish their grips of Odette and Clara, the two demons rushing into their mother's awaiting arms.

The Dark Knight looked to Carmine and said, "Get out of here while you can!"

The Overlord looked at the human curiously, wanting answers to what was going on, but decided against it as to protect her daughters. She eyed the Batman curiously before nodding gratefully at him before leaving the area with her daughters.

Behind the Dark Knight, Sonic was zooming around an angry Tirek, who swiped and clawed at the annoying hedgehog to try and get him to cease his actions. The centaur growled when Sonic suddenly appeared on his shoulder, "You're not very good at this are you?" Was all he said before kicking Tirek in the face, using the momentum to soar through the air and land next to Batman.

The two Guardians looked around to see that they were surrounded by the Legion of Doom, who didn't look very happy at all.

While Batman pressed a button on his gauntlet, sending an unknown signal, Sonic simply smirked up at his arch nemesis and said, "Yo, Eggman! Thanks for that little massage the other day!" He thanked sarcastically, referring to almost being crushed by the Gravitational Field.

The Man with a Master Plan slammed his fist on the console angrily, "I SHOULD'VE KNOWN YOU'D SURVIVE THAT, YOU STUBBORN LITTLE HEDGEHOG!"

"You're done here, Eggman!" Sonic declared, not allowing Eggman's plans to continue any further. "You and your little 'Legion of Doom' aren't getting that piece of the Spear of Destiny! So just pack up and head home!"

"WHAT!!!" Eggman exclaimed in shock, surprised that his arch enemy knows of his plans.

Meanwhile Loki simply looked at the hedgehog in confusion, "'Legion of Doom'?" He repeated, not really liking the name for their temporary alliance. "That's what you're calling us?"

"I actually kinda like it." Tirek commented with a smirk.

"You would."

"Grrrr... I don't know how you figured out our plans, but it doesn't matter!" Eggman dismissed, not worried in the slightest. "We beat you all once before and we'll do it again! Our alliance is unstoppable!"

"You all have a lot to answer for!" Batman declared, stepping forward with a stern look on his face. "Who is the evil speedster? Why did he bring you together in the first place?"

"Why would we tell you that? From where we are standing, you appear to be at the disadvantage." Tirek smiled, cracking his neck as he slowly advances on the two heroes. "You see there are four of us and only two of you. You have no feasible way of defeating us alone."

"Good thing they aren't alone, Horns McGee!"

"What?" Was all Tirek said before he got blasted in the face by a missile, causing him to topple over as his assailant flew overhead and landed next to his fellow Guardians. Tirek snarled as he slowly got back up, only to be stomped on the head by Mario, sending him face first back onto the ground.

When the centaur got back up to his hooves, he saw his most hated nemesis appear in a flash of light, standing next to that new unicorn and the other Guardians with her wings flared aggressively. Now the appearance of the other unicorn surprised Tirek somewhat, whomever she was, she must've been important enough to be brought along for this adventure. He hated not knowing things of vital importance, so he vowed to learn as much as he could about this stranger when he got the chance.

"Whatever scheme you were planning is over!" Twilight shouted, her eyes shining bright with magical rage, still rightfully angry with the Legion for their attempts to kill them. "This is your only chance, return to your universes peacefully or we shall make you by force!"

"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen, Princess Twilight." Loki shut her down with a smirk, his scepter lighting up brightly. "We don't like how our stories end, so we're going to do a little rewrite. Unfortunately you will not be alive long enough to see the finished product."

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle mirthlessly at his arch nemesis, "This is the second time you've pulled this trick, Eggman! Reality wasn't meant to be warped by jerks like you! Haven't you learned from the last time you tried this?! Aren't you worried about breaking reality?!"

"Oh, our world is so bent out of shape that it is bound to snap!" Eggman replied with a grin. "But all of that is moot! When I only had the Foundation of all Dimensions, I could only bend the rules of reality, cheat them, and so on. I had to follow its rules lest I risk destroying it like that fool Exiled! Like the Foundation, the Spear of Destiny has no limits, except any damage that will be done will be erased when we reshape everything else!"

"Like we're gonna let that happen, fat boy!" Mario frowned, clenching his fists as he faced down Bowser, who had fire spurting out of his maw. "Whatever that speedster promised you, he won't deliver on it!"

"Let us deal with that, plumber boy!" Bowser smirked knowingly. "You made a big mistake following us here, Mario! Cause you're never leaving!"

Eggman chuckled as he pressed one of the yellow buttons on his jacket, and when he did, the sound of jet engines could be heard from behind Carmine's warehouse. When Sonic and the Guardians turned around they saw a massive mech rise into the air. It was a grey, rotund mech, very similar to his Egg Pawns but without the head, with the Eggman Empire emblem in the middle of it.

Eggman flew his Egg Mobile into the open hatch on top of the Egg Devil, enclosing himself within it as it came online, the red lights shining menacingly. "LET'S SEE HOW LONG YOU LAST AGAINST THIS ONE, RODENT!" Eggman taunted within the mech, the right hand shooting forward, attached to the mech with a black energy chain, crackling with red electricity. Before Sonic could react, he was grabbed by the mech's massive hand, and was swung around in the air before being flung right through the warehouse, landing on the other side of it in a crumpled heap.

"Ugh... I know I can curl into a ball.... but that doesn't mean that you can treat me like one!" Sonic quipped as he got to his feet. He looked up in the air to see the Egg Devil flying overhead, Eggman's taunting laughter echoing from the mech. "You wanna chase, Egghead? You got one!" He quickly stretched before taking off after Eggman, knowing that his friends could handle themselves when it came to fighting the other members of the Legion of Doom.

Meanwhile

"Hi, there! Can I interest you in taking a moment to talk about--"

"GO FUCK YOURSELF!"

Charlie shut right up as the rude demon budged past her, causing not only for Vaggie to glare daggers at the demon, but Alastor as well.

The Radio Demon decided to accompany Charlie and Vaggie on their stroll, passing out fliers for the new and improved Hazbin Hotel. He had nothing better to do since he had humiliated Vox and the other Vees, so he to occupy himself somehow.

His shadows swirled beneath his feet as he slowly summoned tentacles to teach the demon respect. "Didn't your mother teach you how to treat a lady?" He said with a growl before being stopped by Charlie, who zipped in front of him and pleaded with him to stop.

"Al! Please!" She begged, using those adorable eyes of hers to reach the demon's black heart. "Just let it go."

...He hated when she did that. He relented, dismissing his shadows and stamping his microphone on the ground. "Very well. I'll just kill him later."

That was the best she was going to get out of him.

"We'd probably have more willing tenants if someone hadn't pissed off the Vees!" Vaggie looked pointedly at Alastor, who glared back with his permanent smile.

"Oh, the Exorcist has some fight in her! How fun!" Alastor laughed, causing Vaggie to snarl, her wings flaring out from her back. "At least I didn't lie to the person I supposedly love! Charlie knows who I am, she only found out about you a month ago! So, my dear, who's worse, hmmm?"

"SCREW YOU AND YOUR SHIT EATING GRIN, ASSHOLE!"

"Guys please, can we not do this today?" Charlie pleaded, standing between the two of them before this could escalate any further. "Look, let's just keep going and passing out fliers! Please don't fight!"

The two looked at the Princess of Hell and, begrudgingly in Alastor's case, relented and turned away from one another bitterly. It was safe to say that Vaggie still held a considerable dislike for the Radio Demon, even after everything they've been through.

There's also the fact that she's annoyed at how close he's grown to Charlie.

That bothered her greatly.

Alastor simply found annoying Vaggie a source of great entertainment.

That was all.

Charlie sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration. Even after beating Adam and rebuilding the hotel they still cannot get along to save their lives. Why Charlie puts up with it? Cause she loved them both. No, she didn't love Alastor like that, get your mind out of the gutter.

"Alright, now that that's been settled, why don't you two apologize to one another?" Charlie suggested, implementing a lesson of redemption into this situation.

"No way!"

"I shall do no such thing!"

Charlie groaned again, but before she could berate the two for their immaturity, a very large explosion went off behind her, causing the Princess of Hell to turn around and gaze with a wide eyed stare as the Egg Devil flew through the street while a blue blur chased after it, dodging multiple explosions.

As the three Hazbins stared at the retreating mech and blur, they could only say three words as they processed the very odd display.

"What." Alastor.

"The." Charlie.

"Fuck." Vaggie.

That was certainly something. Sure there were daily turf wars in Hell, but that level of destruction was only seen on Extermination Day. And that blur was definitely something Charlie had never seen before. And that robot was definitely too advanced to be Vox's. So Charlie, ever the curious demoness, dropped her fliers and rushed after them, following the trail of destruction left behind, much to Vaggie's worry.

"CHARLIE, WAIT!" Vaggie cried out, sprouting out her wings and taking after her girlfriend.

Alastor simply grinned and disappeared into a swirl of shadows, really glad he decided to go for this outing today.

With Sonic

"OH HO HO HO HO HO!!!" Eggman bellowed as the Egg Devil flexed its hands, crackling with red electricity, focused on the blue hedgehog currently chasing after him. "Good luck against this one, Sonic! Even you aren't fast enough to stop me this time!"

"I wouldn't put money on that, Egghead!" Sonic snarked, smirking at the mech as it readied for battle.

The Egg Devil spun its upper body around in a circular motion before uncoupling its right hand and swinging it around above its head. "TAKE THIS!" Eggman brought the mech's hand down on the street, intent on crushing Sonic where he ran. But the hedgehog moved out of the way as the makeshift wrecking ball made impact with the ground.

Quickly recalling the hand, Eggman spun it around again before swinging at the Blue Blur, wanting to smash him from the side. But the blue nuisance jumped over the attack, so he brought the hand back again, once more, Sonic having jumped over the attack.

When he went to swing again, Sonic jumped and curled, dashing into the fist with a Homing Attack which sent the Egg Devil's hand right back into its face, damaging it slightly. To add insult to injury, Sonic zoomed forward at impossible velocity and proceeded to hit the mech's left leg with a Homing Attack, bouncing off of it so that he could get close and personal with the Egg Devil.

It was then sent launching through a nearby building with a Homing Attack, destroying it completely as Sonic blitzed through the wreckage. "You were saying, Eggman?" Sonic taunted, trying to get under his enemy's skin.

"Don't get cocky!" Eggman reminded with a smirk. "Fight's just getting started!"

The Egg Devil then slowly began raising its enclosed fists into the air, red electricity crackling around them, before bringing them down onto the scorching street, sending a wave of red energy down towards Sonic. The hedgehog jumped over the continuous waves with ease, sticking his tongue out at his enemy, causing him great anger.

"You mischievous little...."

The Egg Devil raised its hands again, except they were open this time, and several buildings on the sidewalk were torn from the pavement and now hovered in front of the mech. "GRAH!!!" Eggman exclaimed as he threw the buildings forward to try and crush the little hedgehog.

Sonic's eyes widened before getting into action. He boosted forward and leapt into the air, air dashing through a broken window, bouncing off of some furniture, and dashing into the next building and doing the same thing. He repeated this process before smashing through the final window and hitting the face of the mech with a Homing Attack, sending it flying backwards.

"YARGGGHHH!!! NO!" Eggman exclaimed as he flew back at high speeds.

As the fight progressed, it was starting to gain a lot of attention from the various bystanders in Hell. This was due to the fact that unbeknownst to them, this fight was actually being recorded by a small surveillance drone created by VoxTech. This meant that it was being streamed to every television in all of Hell.

It garnered the attention of several Overlords, Sinners, Demons, Imps, even the Seven Deadly Sins were watching this epic battle. But the one who was interested the most was Vox, who was basically vibrating in his seat at the sight of advanced tech. Tech that he didn't own! As soon as he found out who made that mech, he would exploit them and create his own version.

That would show Alastor!

Back with the fight, Eggman fired a red, energy blast from the logo of the Egg Devil, decimating the street and everything it contained. Sonic, thinking quickly on his feet quickly made a sharp right and entered another street to avoid being destroyed.

Once the blast stopped firing, Eggman leaned forward in his Egg Mobile and searched for the remains of his nemesis. "Where'd you go, rodent?" He darted his head left and right to see if there was any sign of the blue pest.

He looked everywhere.

Except behind him.

"RIGHT HERE!"

"WHAT?!"

The Egg Devil turned around and was struck in the chest by a Homing Attack, sending it tumbling down the street, digging its hand into the ground to stop its movement. Eggman growled as Sonic boosted forward, launching the mechs hand forward in retaliation.

Sonic slid under the limb before getting back up and smirking cockily at Eggman.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" Eggman snarled as he brought back the mechs hand, quickly grabbing Sonic from behind before he could do anything to stop it. He laughed, swinging the hedgehog around in a circle before tossing him right through multiple windows before crashing through a brick wall, landing in front of a white and yellow building that looked out of place in Hell.

The Heaven Embassy.

Sonic slowly got to his feet as the Egg Devil burst through the building, demolishing it completely. The robot stood menacingly over the blue hedgehog, its lights shining brightly while Sonic simply clenched his fist and his teeth.

"Nowhere to run, Sonic." Eggman taunted, taking a step closer to his greatest enemy. "Now you're going to be destroyed in front of all these filthy sinners. Fitting that you die here, for your sins against the glorious Eggman Empire!"

Sonic yawned.

Eggman blinked.

He placed a hand on his hip and tilted his head to the side, "Ya done?"

"....Yes." Eggman grumbled before raising the Egg Devil's arms into the air. But before he could bring them down, a loud and familiar roar was heard by everyone. Before he could turn around, both him and his mech were slammed in the back by Lord Tirek, who was soaring through the air, crashing through multiple buildings before landing directly into Eggman.

Meanwhile at Vee Tower

"HOLY SHIT!!!" Vox stood up from his seat, popcorn spilling all over the floor as he twitched at the sheer power of the Egg Devil, watching through one of the many monitors in his surveillance room. After the little debacle with Alastor and the tower, Vox got an alert from one of the many drones he had surveying the pentagram, specifically one roaming the Industrial District.

To his surprise someone was attacking Carmilla Carmine directly.

He came to two conclusions.

1). Whoever was attacking was either very desperate or very stupid - most likely the latter.

And 2). If they did succeed - which was unlikely - There'd be less competition.

But what really got his attention was the fact that there was a human in Hell, alive and well, with robots at his command. And he wasn't alone as well, no, there was a massive centaur-like creature by his side, another human wearing some type of regal attire with a golden horned helmet, and a massive turtle-dragon thing, Vox didn't know.

So naturally he continued watching, wanting to see where this was all going, and he wasn't disappointed.

But he was even more confused.

There was now a man dressed as a bat and a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog on the scene, and judging by the way that they were conversing and glaring at one another, Vox could tell that there was history. He was even more curious when they mentioned a Spear of Destiny.

He had no clue what the fuck that was, so he quickly ran a search.

There was nothing.

So what the hell were they talking about?

Now there were unicorns, short plumbers, and an armored human on the scene.

"What the fuck is happening?" Vox couldn't help but ask. His face started vibrating; Velvette was calling him. "Ugh, ignore." He swiped the call away, leaning forward to focus on what was happening. He was glad that he did, since he proceeded to lose his shit when the Egg Devil appeared.

Now that was some tech, and that human had built it.

He was better than Sir Pentious, that's for sure.

Maybe he could use him? Force him to help him in his fight against Alastor? His attention was brought back to the fight when both the Egg Devil and the blue hedgehog took off at high speeds. Leaning forward intently he watched, practically standing on his seat when he saw the power displayed by the Egg Devil.

"Want. Want! Want! SO MUCH WANT!" Vox fanboyed over the robot, actually rooting for it.

And now that the centaur had arrived on the scene, things were getting interesting, and he wanted to know everything.

And when he did, he would-

When did the unicorns get there?

Back at the Embassy

Tirek brought his fist down onto the shield, trying to break it apart so that he could get to Twilight, but she proved her worth by fighting back. As Tirek growled angrily at the alicorn, he failed to notice Starlight Glimmer fly around him in a magical bubble until she fired a blast of magic directly into his face, causing him to roar in annoyance as he tried to block his face with his hand.

Twilight smirked, atta girl, before firing a massive blast that sent Tirek flying across the street, landing on a condemned building.

Right beside Charlie Morningstar, who just arrived on the scene with Vaggie landing beside her.

Vaggie moved Charlie out of the way as Tirek got to his hooves, clenching his fists, before galloping forward and firing a blast of magic from his horns.

"What the fuck is happening?" Vaggie asked, wondering what was going on.

Charlie could only stare in silence at the ensuing carnage, not noticing Alastor appearing behind them with his usual grin on his face.

They all stood together and watched in stunned awe, Iron Man flying over their heads firing a blast at a hovering Loki, who was using his scepter to fly around the city to try and gain some distance from the Armored Avenger. The watched as Iron Man fired a Repulsor Ray at Loki, but it just phased right through him.

An illusion.

No, the real Loki was busy fighting Batman on a nearby rooftop, swiping at the Caped Crusader's head with the sharp edge of his scepter. Batman ducked underneath the attack and went for Loki's legs, but the God of Mischief teleported away, reappearing behind the Batman with a group of clones by his side.

As the God of Mischief and the Bat of Gotham fought, Mario jumped from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit of Bowser, who was launching fireball after fireball at the illusive plumber, perched atop the Heaven Embassy in a King Kong-like fashion. "HOLD STILL, MOUSTACHE!"

And where were Sonic and Eggman?

They were brawling in the street, causing insurmountable damage to the surrounding area.

Tirek backhanded Twilight right towards the trio of Hazbins, and she would've crashed right into them had Alastor not produced a shadow shield that batted the alicorn away into a nearby car, the Radio Demon snickering at the poor mare.

Back with Tirek, he set his sights on Starlight Glimmer and grinned, "I don't believe we've been properly acquainted, my dear. I am Lord Tirek, soon to be ruler of Equestria, and whom might you be? A friend of Princess Twilight, perhaps?"

Starlight felt threatened, but stood her ground, "I am Starlight Glimmer! Student of Friendship!"

"Interesting." Tirek hummed before charging up his horns, "Very interesting, indeed."

He fired a blast from his horns, knowing that Starlight would teleport to safety. From what he observed of her, she appeared to be nearly on par with Princess Twilight in terms of magical prowess. But there was also some form of guilt in her eyes.

Tirek was perceptive, and he caught onto that in the first few moments of meeting her.

He grinned, he would need to know more about this mare if he were to make use of this. But onto the matter at hand, he backhanded an orb of magic from Princess Twilight before punching her to the ground, raising his front legs to crush her. She quickly teleported out of sight as Tirek brought his hoof down.

He snarled as he charged forward, sights set on Starlight Glimmer.

With Sonic and Eggman, the blue hero had sent forward multiple Sonic Wind attacks to try and stagger the mech, all the while darting around it at high speeds to confuse it. "SLOW DOWN, YOU PEST!" Eggman demanded, unable to keep track of his movements.

He was suddenly struck from behind, staggering forward before being hit in the front, sending the mech onto its back. As he tried to get back up, he was held down by a Unibeam blast, thanks to Iron Man. "You look tense, Eggman, lay down and relax." He quipped as Sonic rushed up the Heavenly Embassy and struck Bowser in the back, sending him falling to the ground, landing right on top of Tirek, creating an explosion of dust that shook the area.

The explosion distracted Loki long enough for Batman to throw multiple Batarangs, most of the phasing through the illusions and striking the real one in the chest, causing Loki to stumble back. Gotcha! Batman rushed forward and punched Loki directly in the nose, sending him flying off the building and landing on a car.

Delivering the Coup De Grace, Iron Man fired multiple missiles at the fallen Egg Devil while Twilight and Starlight fired beams of magic, destroying it upon impact, sending Eggman flying out of the mech in a cartoonish fashion.

When Twilight turned around to face the other members of the Legion, the rest of the Guardians gathered behind her, glaring intently at their adversaries. They were ready to continue the fight, and the Legion got up, with Tirek snarling, charging up his horns with magic.

He would've unleashed it too, had it not been for Loki, who teleported in front of them and held up his arm. "As much as I would like to destroy them here and now, we haven't the time for this." When Bowser went to protest, Loki sent him a look that shut him up, but that didn't stop him from pouting. He set his sights on the Guardians and said, "You may have won this battle, but rest assured you will not win the war. This is far from over."

With a stamp of his scepter, the Legion of Doom teleported away, escaping the Guardians so that they could continue their search for the piece of the spear.

But they had to find out where Eggman landed first.

"They got away!" Sonic exclaimed, frustrated that they evaded capture.

"Now what the hell do we do?" Iron Man directed his query to Twilight, who too, looked frustrated that the Legion got away.

She sighed, "I don't know. But we can't give up yet!" She smiled at her friends and said, "So we keep searching for that spear piece before the Legion can get their hands on it."

"Well, isn't this interesting!"

At the sound of the static voice, Twilight and the other Guardians turned to the sound of the voice and came face to face with the Radio Demon, the Princess of Hell, and her girlfriend, all with differing looks on their faces. Vaggie looked at them with distrust, hovering protectively around Charlie. Alastor was smiling, that was all he did. And Charlie looked uncertain, locking eyes with Twilight.

The two princesses stared at each other for what seemed like years.

In a lot of ways they were very similar, both saw the best in people, they were shining lights in their respective universes.

And now they were meeting for the very first time.

Whatever was said next would be ingrained in their minds forever.

So Charlie, ever the elegant princess, said, "WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!!!"

10. A Happy Day in Hell (Part 3)

Earth 666

Vee Tower

"Voxxy~" A flirtatious voice purred from behind the Tv Demon, choosing to ignore the sex obsessed demon behind him as he went over the footage of the battle between the Guardians and the Legion again. He'd been doing this for a while now, deciphering everything that was said between the two groups and analyzing the various abilities each of them seemed to possess, his glare hardening whenever Alastor appeared in the footage, his everlasting grin never leaving his static form as he watched the battle with great amusement. When he didn't get the response he desired, the Porn Demon tried again, "Ahem! Voxxy~ Mi amor~ Mi amigo de mierda~" He persisted, yet, remained ignored. The Porn Demon began growling in frustration, barring his sharp teeth as he stomped over to Vox, who remained leaning forward in his surveillance room, focusing on the screen as he rewound the footage again.

Speaking of the Porn Demon, Valentino was a tall, slender, somewhat muscular and broad-shouldered moth demon with lavender skin and lacking pupils and irises in his cerise-pink eyes, over which he was always wearing gold-rimmed, heart-shaped sunglasses with cerise lenses. His mouth was full of sharp, cerise teeth with a single golden fang that sits to his far left of center, his stature was tall, estimated to be around 10 feet, which he emphasizes with long black heeled boots. He has fluffy white neck fur with small red love-hearts that plumes up from his coat's break-line. He was bald with moth-like antennae; the right appearing like a large white with black heart-striped feather while the left appears smaller and lacking the white areas. He has an extra set of arms just above his hips. His hands and forearms are black, mimicking black gloves, while the upper halves are his normal skin color.

He has a pair of large red moth wings that features zebra print fur outlining the edges, while the interior is darker colored with several heart designs. These wings are usually wrapped around his body to form a floor-length coat with white fur at the wrists, as well as black-and-white-striped fur trim down the center-front to the bottom hem, and three white stripes on both hips with a heart shaped design on the back. This coat is pinned with a gold chain and gold love-heart shaped broach fastening at the breast. Valentino wore a red top hat with a wide, asymmetrical zebra-printed hat-band, in which his antennae poke out like feathers. Under his coat, he wore a chest-exposing dark grey shirt with rolled-up sleeves that are held together by two gold buttons, alongside white dress pants held by a black belt with a golden love-heart shaped buckle, and a pair of high-heeled black boots. He wore a gold chain necklace hung down to his chest, gold arm bands on his lower wrists, each hand having one gold ring, and sometimes gold nail guards on his fingers.

Valentino walked behind his business partner and began massaging his shoulders to help him relax. "Mi amor, you seem tense~ How about a good ole' fashioned fucking to help you unwind~?" His advances were awarded by the Tv Demon as he electrified his body, zapping Valentino, causing him to cry out and stumble back, shaking his charred and smoking hands, blowing on them to ease the pain. He glared at the demon who had his back to him. "What the fuck, Vox?! What've you got shoved up your ass, pendejo?!"

"Fuck off, Val." Vox told him calmly, well, as calmly as he could anyway. He really wasn't in the mood for Val's shit tonight.

The Moth strutted over and leaned over Vox's shoulder, adjusting his glasses as he watched the footage. "Who the fuck are they?" He asked, glancing down at his boy toy for answers.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Vox grumbled, grinding his teeth in anger. "Before being rudely interrupted."

"Bitch, you love it." Val squinted as footage of Batman throwing multiple Batarangs at Loki played. "Fuuuuuuck, look at him. Those abs, the body, even the suit is a turn on. What I would give to have someone like him in a shoot, the dark, brooding type is really popular right now."

"You're disgusting, Val."

"Fuck you!" Val shouted, offended as he took a step back, watching as Vox sat back in his chair and turned around to talk to his fellow Vee. "What the fuck is up with you anyway? You've been pissy ever since this morning and it's a real turn off, Voxxy."

Vox's eyes bulged out of his screen, staring at the Moth as is he had grown a second head. "The fuck do you mean?! Do you not know what happened this morning?! The tower shaking? The little shadow demons running around destroying shit?! Do you have the attention span of a five year old?!"

"Oh, I thought the tower shaking was me."

Vox was left speechless. Was he serious? His screen began to glitch as he laughed mirthlessly. "Are you seriously te-te-te-telling me... Tha-tha-that you thought... That the-the-the tower-r-r-r-r was sha-shaking because o-o-o-o-f you fuc-ck-ck-in-in-ing some whore in BED?!"

Val blinked and waved at the television dismissively, taking a puff of his cigarette. "Hey, I'm extraordinary in the sack, you should know, Voxxy~"

"ARE YOU FUCKING--!!!"

Vox was cut off from a breakdown by a sudden explosion from the upper levels of the tower, resulting in the tower shaking violently for the second time that day. Val looked around with a bored expression while Vox looked around panicked at the idea of another attack so soon after the last one.

They weren't ready for another assault, not yet, they needed to repair.

His face started vibrating; Velvette was calling him again, this time he decided to answer, swiping the screen and flicking his finger towards the screen to his left, Velvette's panicked visage appearing on the screen.

Velvette was a slim and rather petite demon with cedar-brown skin, and long curly hair kept into pigtails with bangs by black hair ties. Her hair was colored in a desire-red that features the insides colored in a faded dark navy-blue, and white swirled-streaks on her pigtails and one on her bangs. Her eyes had white irises, red sclera and slit-like pupils, and her makeup consisted of burgundy eyeshadow on her eyelids, and black lipstick on her lips with a strip across the center of her mouth, which has fangs inside.

Velvette's clothing was that of a set of skull earrings, and a sleeveless dark navy-blue coat with burgundy lining and two desire hearts on the left side of the fur collar. Her coat was usually worn over a sleeveless, black turtleneck crop-top that includes two desire hearts on the chest. Her loose pants were colored in navy-blue and desire-red in a striped pattern, held by a dark navy belt with a white heart-shaped buckle. For footwear, she wore navy low-heeled shoes with white pom-poms on top. Velvette accessorized with black-striped fingerless opera gloves with alternating colors - white for her right glove and desire for her left.

"Vel?! What the fuck is happening up there?!" Vox demanded to know, leaning forward to get closer to the screen.

"HOW THE FUCK SHOULD I KNOW, YOU MANGY TWAT?!" Velvette responded with a shriek, standing inside their penthouse as a massive explosion went off in the background, glass flying everywhere as the window was blown to pieces. "GET YOUR ARSES UP HERE, YOU FUCKING IDIOTS, BEFORE I COME DOWN THERE MYSELF AND SHOVE MY FIST SO FAR UP YOUR ARSES THAT YOUR GONNA BE VOMITING NAIL POLISH FOR THE NEXT SEVEN YEARS!!! ARGH!!!" She cried out as a massive red hand shot up and planted itself on the floor, the creature climbing up to get inside. "NOW QUIT FUCKING EACH OTHER AND GET UP HERE!!!"

The call cut off and Vox and Val looked at one another before the latter made a beeline for the elevator while the former teleported into a camera and traversed the cyberverse to get to the penthouse. Many thoughts were running through Vox's head. Was this Alastor again? Some other Overlord who got too big for his britches?

He really didn't need this right now.

He appeared in front of the door leading into the penthouse, with Valentino bursting through the doors below and rushing up the stairs panting heavily. The Tv Demon wasted no time and kicked the door down, the two Vees posing as they stood in the room.

"WHO WANTS TO GET FUCKED!!!"

"Aaaaand you had to ruin it." Vox drawled as he slumped forward, the cool pose ruined by Valentino. But the Television Demon straightened himself when he took in the sight before him. First was the state of the penthouse. It was trashed. And that was putting it lightly. Furniture was on fire, the massive window was shattered, and there was debris all over the floor.

And then there was Velvette.

Who was currently being held in the air by Lord Tirek.

The centaur smiled as Metal Sonic flew into the tower, arms folded over his chest as Loki appeared in a trail of green smoke that flew into the room. He looked to his left as Bowser leapt into the tower, with Dr. Eggman descending from above and floating in slowly in his Egg Mobile with a smirk on his face.

Val looked confused, his antennae tilting to the side along with his head.

Vox was hard. That was putting it lightly. "Holy shit." He said softly as he looked up at Eggman, who adjusted his gloves before placing his hands behind his back.

"Mr. Vox, I presume?" Eggman started, leaning down slightly as Metal Sonic flew to his side, just in case any of them tried anything.

"Who's asking?"

"I am Doctor Ivo Robotnik!" Eggman introduced with a slight bow. "And these are my associates, The Legion of Doom!" It seemed that he was embracing the name.

Loki rolled his eyes.

Tirek smirked, he really did like the name.

"And what do you want?" Valentino asked, glancing at the squirming Velvette still in Tirek's grasp.

Eggman adjusted his glasses and said, "We have a proposition, if you're interested?"

One hour before the Legion stormed Vee Tower

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!!!"

Those were the words that flew out of Princess Charlotte Morningstar's mouth upon finally regaining her senses after witnessing what just occurred. The battle that took place was something that neither she nor her two friends had seen since the battle against Adam and his Exorcist Angels. The destruction, the anarchy of it all, Charlie never wanted to see such a thing ever again.

But the weirdest part of it all was exactly who was fighting. At first they thought the giant robot was something a sinner demon purchased from Vox Tech, but to their surprise it was a human of all things piloting the mech, leading a team of individuals that neither sinner nor demon had seen before.

And what's even weirder was who fought against them.

A blue hedgehog.

Two unicorns, one with wings and one without.

And three humans.

Speaking of them, the blue hedgehog leaned toward the wingless unicorn and whispered sarcastically, "Colorful language, that's for sure." To which the unicorn couldn't help but nod in agreement, while the other unicorn slowly approached the Princess of Hell with a solemn look on her face.

"Is anybody hurt?" She asked, genuine concern laced in her voice, which surprised the three demons.

While Vaggie and Charlie looked at one another in confusion, Alastor squinted his eyes as he eyed the Princess of Friendship. There was something about her that intrigued the Radio Demon, something very similar to Charlie, a hidden potential within her that he could possibly exploit.

But first he had to get the details first.

But before he could open his mouth to speak, Vaggie glared at the princess with her singular eye and demanded, "Okay, who the hell are you? And why are there humans in Hell? That shouldn't even be possible!"

Her glare was met by Batman's, "That's none of your business, demon."

She was about to ready her spear, but was stopped by her girlfriend as she ran in front of her and placed her hands on her shoulders, her face pleading. "Vaggie, stop! They saved us, remember? The least we could do is give them the benefit of the doubt. Please, just let me handle this."

Vaggie looked conflicted, but relented after some consideration. If there was one thing Vaggie couldn't beat, it was the pleading eyes of her girlfriend. So she sighed and nodded, allowing her to handle this. "Okay, babe. I trust you."

Charlie smiled gratefully before dusting off her pantsuit and straightening herself, turning around to address the Guardians. "First of all, thank you for saving us, reaaaally appreciate it. Let me introduce myself! I'm Charlie! It's nice to meet you!" She held out her hand in a gesture of friendship, which normally ended with her hand being either smacked away or something much more vulgar.

It was Hell, what did you expect?

But to her surprise, the alicorn held out her hoof and used it to shake Charlie's hand. "I'm Twilight Sparkle! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Charlie beamed!

She had to fight the urge to squeal and bounce around on the spot.

But she maintained her composure, even though both Alastor and Vaggie could tell she was holding it all back.

The shake ended and Twilight looked back and introduced her friends, "And these are my friends! Sonic, Mario, Tony, and Batman." Each Guardian gave their own form of greeting as she introduced them to the Princess of Hell.

Charlie waved enthusiastically at them, "Hi! Soooo nice to meet all of you," before looking to Batman and asking, "Is Batman your actual name?"

"It's the only name you're going to get."

Normally she would be put off by his attitude, but the princess was too excited to care. She darted over and practically dragged her girlfriend over, not even trying to grab Alastor due to his no touching rule, and introduced her girlfriend, "This is Vaggie! My girlfriend and best friend!"

Although uncomfortable, Vaggie managed a small wave and a forced smile. "Um... hey."

"And this is--"

"Alastor!" The Radio Demon cut off the Princess of Hell as he walked over and grinned at the heroes. "Pleasure to be meeting you, quite the pleasure!"

Batman didn't know why, but this gentlemen reminded him a lot of The Joker. Maybe it was the smile. Actually, scratch that, it was most definitely the smile.

Alastor continued, ignoring Batman's glare, with a smile. "And I'm sure that I am not the only one who is curious as to what sprouted this little bout of entertainment a few moments ago! So, if you would be so kind as to indulge us?"

Vaggie glared at the Radio Demon while Charlie simply laughed awkwardly. Truth be told, she too wanted to know what the hell was going on. She watched as Twilight looked back to her friends, each with their own looks on their faces, Batman's particularly distrusting, before nodding and looking to Charlie and the others.

"Well... it started like this."

Vee Tower

The Legion of Doom followed behind Vox, who had an eager grin on his monitor with his arms placed behind his back, into the meeting room, with Val and Velvette following close behind, the former eyeing Loki seductively while the latter was scrolling through her phone.

The meeting room was surrounded by a shark tank, with technological sharks swimming around behind where Vox sat, the Tv Demon taking his place at the head of the table while everyone made themselves comfortable. Loki and Bowser sat at the far end of the table while Tirek and Eggman opted to stand.

"You said you had a proposition for us?" Vox recounted, getting the meeting between the two teams underway, clinking his claws together, producing small sparks of electricity. "Well, let's hear it!"

"You seem very eager to hear from us despite the fact that we attacked your tower." Tirek couldn't help but point out, arching his eyebrow.

Vox chuckled and spread out his arms, gesturing to his fellow Vees. "We're the Vees! Making deals with demons who've crossed us happens every other day!"

Loki smiled as he leaned forward, "We're not demons."

"No you are not~" Valentino licked his teeth, undressing the God of Mischief in his head.

Loki looked repulsed while Bowser snickered.

Eggman cleared his throat, having grown tired of these shenanigans. "If I could start now?" He asked through gritted teeth before bonking Metal Sonic on the head, causing his eyes to flicker for a moment before they began projecting a holographic image of various planets hovering around one another.

Vox stared at the projection with wide eyes, standing from his seat and leaning towards the image. Valentino raised an eyebrow while Velvette briefly looked up from her phone before looking down again. "What is that?" Vox asked, looking over from the projection towards Eggman, who had a smirk on his face.

"Have any of you heard of the Multiverse?"

"The wha?" Both Vox and Velvette asked simultaneously while Valentino looked at his nails as he began speaking.

"The Multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them." Valentino explained, much to the shock of everyone there. He looked up to see the slack jawed expressions of his business partners and the surprised looks of the members of the Legion of Doom. "What? I make porn for a living! You think science fiction isn't a part of that? I know things!"

"You definitely got that off of Voxipedia!" Vel laughed, pointing at the moth demon.

"FUCK YOU, PUTA!"

"If I may continue?" Eggman called out, noticing Vox glaring daggers at both Valentino and Velvette. "Yes, the moth is correct! But it is no theory, no, no, no, the Multiverse is very real and we each hail from different corners of it."

"And why should we believe you?" Velvette asked. "How do we know you ain't just chattin' shit?"

"No, no, this would explain why there are humans in Hell." Vox defended, finding validity in Eggman's claims. "Which shouldn't be possible."

"Well, let me assure you that I am no human." Loki pointed out with a grin. "I am the God of Mischief."

Before that could be elaborated on, Vox looked back to Eggman and asked, "So, you're telling us that there are other worlds out there?" When Eggman nodded, Vox began to fritz with excitement, think of all the potential deals he could make! All that power his for the taking. He then calmed himself down and asked, "But what do you want with us? And why are you in Hell anyway?"

"Have any of you chumps heard of the Spear of Destiny?" Bowser asked.

The three Vees looked at one another before shaking their heads. Tirek then began to explain, "It is a weapon of immense power that has been scattered into four pieces across various dimensions. One of the pieces of the spear has ended up here in this dimension and we seek to claim it."

"What can it do, exactly?" Velvette asked, having since put down her phone.

"Change the very fabric of reality." Tirek revealed.

Velvette dropped her phone while Vox stood up, sending his chair spinning backwards. Valentino didn't get it, but looked aroused, then again he always was. "C-Change reality?" Vox repeated.

"Correct!" Eggman confirmed. "Think of it, anything you've ever desired, all the souls you could ever own, they could be yours in this new world that we have set out to build. Any rivals would be none existent and you would be the most powerful demons not just in Hell, but in any realm or world imaginable!"

Vel and Val looked at him like he was crazy, but Vox, he looked like he was about to blackout again. He could not only bring himself back to life with all of his power, but he could make sure that Alastor never existed, or even better, make him his bitch.

A whole new world his for the taking.

How could he say no?

But there was one thing he didn't get, "Why come to us?" This garnered some attention as all eyes turned to face him. "You seem like you have the tools to find this thing by yourselves, so why come to us?"

"You are three of the most influential demons in all of Pentagram City." Eggman explained, "You know this city like the back of your hand, plus if we're to take the piece for ourselves then we would need extra hands on deck."

Hiding his excitement and ignoring the looks he got from Vel and Valentino, Vox placed his hands behind his back and walked around the table towards Eggman. "Before we agree," One look from him shut down any form of outburst from his two colleagues, "I would like some assurance that you'll hold up your end of our bargain."

"If you're talking about a soul contract, then I'm afraid that is quite impossible." When Vox looked confused, Eggman explained, "There are certain rules that must be followed when it comes to the Multiverse. And since our souls originate from other worlds, then any contract you make would be null and void once we leave this dimension. Meaning..."

"We can't own your souls." Vox finished, grumbling to himself.

"I suppose you'll just have to trust us." Loki smirked.

Vox didn't like it, he liked having control, but this was the opportunity of a lifetime and he wasn't going to pass it up for anything. He sighed and held out his hand in a normal gesture, no strings attached, for once. "In exchange for a piece of the power of the Spear of Destiny, you'll have the full support of the Vees."

"WHAT?!" The other two Vees shouted in outrage. They couldn't even own their souls and Vox was still accepting the deal?! What the hell was he doing?! They both stood up in outrage, only for cable wires to sprout from the floor and forcefully place them back into their seats.

"SHUT UP!!!" Vox commanded, something that irked the two other demons as they glared, the wires loosening before disappearing. "We need this! Don't you see that? Alastor mopped the floor with our defenses and has left us vulnerable. Once we get that spear we will be unstoppable and nobody will ever fuck with us again!"

The two other Vees looked unsure, not liking the fact that this deal had so many holes in it. Vox was taking a big risk all for revenge, a risk that could tear them apart and destroy everything they've built. But they knew there was no changing his mind so they both nodded in agreement.

"With that out of the way, where do we start?" Vox asked as he straightened out his suit.

Eggman and the other members of the Legion of Doom grinned, "In order to attract the attention of the one who holds the piece of the spear, we need to attack a building called the Hazbin Hotel." Loki told them, much to their delight.

A chance to attack and destroy that shit hotel, after all the trouble it's caused them and their soul contracts? Now Valentino was fully on board, this gave him the chance to get Angel back and remind him who owns him. Velvette could get so much attention with this, already preparing a Live Stream.

Vox was practically drooling, another chance to kill Alastor so he could show him who's boss?

"Hell yeah."

The Hazbin Hotel

"WELCOME TO THE HAZBIN HOTEL!" Charlie announced with her usual flair, presenting her grand dream and passion project. Even though there isn't really much passion going on inside the hotel that is. The Guardians entered the hotel and observed the impressive main lobby, and were fairly surprised that there wasn't a single patron inside the building.

You see after explaining who they were, what they were doing in Pentagram City in the first place, and how imperative it was that they find the piece of the spear before the Legion could, Charlie wasted no time in inviting them to the hotel so that they could gather their bearings and collaborate so that they could find the Legion before they could cause more damage.

Despite destruction being the norm in the city, these were still her people at risk, and Charlie wasn't going to stand by while her kingdom was at risk.

Alastor snickered behind Vaggie as they saw the surprised looks on everyone's faces. Husk stopped sculling his drink, Angel dropped his phone and kept his eyes on Batman, biting his lips, and Nifty kept cackling as she chased after a small bug.

"The fuck is this?!" Husk asked, asking the question on everybody's minds.

Charlie laughed nervously as she closed the doors behind her and walked to the head of the group, rubbing her hands anxiously. "Guys, these are our new friends! Twilight, Starlight, Sonic, Mario, Tony, and Batman!" She introduced with enthusiasm, presenting the Guardians with her arms while only a few of them waved awkwardly.

"H-Hi!" Twilight stuttered out, feeling the awkwardness in the room.

Husk looked back and forth between the strange individuals and the others before asking, "You mind explainin' to me why there are three humans, a rat, and two fuckin' horses down here?"

"Hey, I'm not complainin'." Angel said before walking over and leaning on Batman's shoulder. "Hey there, big boy~ Quite the fancy belt you got on their~ How's about we take it off and see what kinda tools we're workin' with~ And I ain't talkin' about what ya got in the belt~"

It took a lot of will power not to break the spider's arm, it really did, but Batman simply opted for walking forward and shifting his shoulder slightly, making Angel Dust stumble and fall to the floor. It was very rare and scarce for Batman to allow a smirk to grace his face.

This was one of those times.

Angel proceeded to flip off the Dark Knight as he got up and dusted himself off.

Batman stopped dead in his tracks and looked down to see the wide eyed visage of Nifty, who appeared to be transfixed with him for some reason. "You're not a bad boy..." He heard the little cyclops whisper in sadness before pouting. "You're not a bad boy at all!"

He was about to question what was going on but was stopped by Charlie, who appeared at his side and informed the Bat of Gotham, "Don't worry about Nifty. We're eighty percent sure that she's harmless." Charlie cringed when the maid repeatedly stabbed a cockroach that was already dead. Batman gave her a deadpanned stare, which caused the princess to laugh nervously. "Ummm... make that seventy five percent."

"Okay, no offense, Charlie, but ya haven't really explained all that much." Angel pointed out, flopping back onto the couch behind him.

The Princess of Hell looked to the Princess of Friendship, who gave her a kind smile before explaining everything to them in vivid detail. About the Multiverse, their roles as its guardians, the threat of the Legion of Doom, and of course, the Spear of Destiny.

It was a lot to take in, Nifty simply sat there listening with an innocent smile while Angel and Husk stood there slack jawed.

"...Holy shit." Husk muttered before taking a swig of his drink.

"Ya said it." Angel agreed.

Batman, looking to Charlie, approached her and said, "You know why we're here, yet we don't know a thing about you or your friends. What is this place? And who exactly are you, Charlie?"

Wow, way to put a girl on the spot. She looked to her girlfriend for support, which she got in the form of Vaggie taking her hand into hers. With a deep breath, she began. "For as long as I can remember, every single year Heaven has sent down angels to exterminate my people to cull the population. Year after year my people were being slaughtered, butchered, so I decided to do something about it.

"I started this hotel to help redeem sinners and get them into Heaven, to stop the Exterminations and save my people's souls. The Exterminations have stopped, but only after we fought back. But with what we're trying to do here, help these sinners so that they can redeem themselves, become better people and get into Heaven."

"That's a great idea."

Wait, someone beat Twilight to it, she was about to say that exact same thing. What surprised her was who exactly said it. Everyone turned around to face the stoic expression of Batman, because he was the one who had said it.

"Wait, really?" The Guardians and Starlight asked at the same time, not quite believing what he just said.

Batman arched an eyebrow, "What? I happen to believe in helping people become better people, helping them get the help they need. There's a reason I send the majority of my Rogue's Gallery to Arkham instead of Blackgate." He knew that they wouldn't get the help they needed at Blackgate, so that's why he sent them to Arkham.

"Wow. A compliment from Batman of all people." Mario said in an amazed tone. "That's a pretty hard thing to get."

"I don't think you can get anything better than that." Iron Man added.

Alastor gave Charlie a smile, "The princess has that effect on people."

While Charlie blushed at the attention, Twilight perked up and gasped, "You're a princess too?!"

It was Charlie's turn to perk up, "Wait, you're a princess?!"

"Uh huh!"

"Cool! I'm the Princess of Hell! What about you?"

"I'm the Princess of Friendship!"

"Oh my gosh, that's so cool!"

Vaggie couldn't help but smile at the scene, she loved it whenever Charlie was happy, it warmed her normally cold and hardened heart. Add to the fact that Charlie had made a new friend made her even happier, her smile growing when she saw both princesses jump on the spot.

Starlight smirked at Twilight, she just had this aura of kindness that was surprisingly matched by Charlie's own aura. The fact that Twilight was willing to give her another chance, after everything she had done, it just showed her the kind of pony she was.

The two of them were about to approach the pair of princesses, but were instantly halted by multiple cables shooting up from the ground and wrapping around them. Starlight went to light up her horn but the magic was snuffed out by another cable.

"STARLIGHT!" Sonic shouted as he bolted over alongside Mario, but they too were suddenly wrapped around by cables. The blue hedgehog struggled as multiple cables wrapped around Batman and Iron Man, the two of them had rushed forward to help their friends but found themselves bound as well.

Eventually everyone in the main lobby was bound by cables, well, everyone except Alastor, who fended off the cables with his own shadowy tentacles. He sent the tentacles down, slashing the cables apart with precision, before being struck in the back by a ball of electricity.

He landed on the ground and turned around, sending forth three tendrils that destroyed the incoming electric projectiles with ease. He was about to release his comrades but found that something was slithering up his leg. He looked down and saw a cable had latched onto his ankle. Before the Radio Demon knew it, his hands and neck were bound by electric cables and he was forced onto his knees as a taunting laughter echoed throughout the lobby.

Twilight looked to Charlie with worried eyes before the door suddenly blew up, causing everyone to wince at the sound as their attackers walked in with smug looks on their faces. The Guardians watched the three Vees enter the hotel with curious and serious eyes.

Who were these guys?

And why were they here?

Vox chuckled as he adjusted the lapels on his jacket, "Alastor! Good to see you, buddy!" He greeted sarcastically as he strutted into the hotel with a shit eating grin on his face. "You're looking like shit, keep it up!" He leaned into Alastor's face and smiled before turning his head to gaze at the Guardians. "So, you're the Guardians of the Multiverse, huh?" He walked over and scraped his blue claws over Tony's mask, "This tech is revolutionary! I can't wait to-" He was cut off by Valentino barging past him, causing him to stagger and grumble under his breath.

"Well, hello, Angel baby~" Valentino said as he leaned down into his worker's face and blew a puff of smoke into his face before cupping his hand under his chin, making him look into his eyes. "You've been a disobedient bitch, haven't you? I think you've spent too much time in this shithole for my liking, so it's time to come back to the studio so that I can remind you of who owns you~"

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Starlight shouted, trying to reignite her horn, but was stopped by Velvette, who slapped her across the face and grabbed the back of her mane to make her look up, chuckling as she grabbed her phone and began to record her, with various hashtags and slander popping up on the screen.

They looked over to see Valentino turn his pink smoke into a chain that wrapped around Angel's wrist, "Now be a good little whore, and get your ass moving." He growled into Angel's face, scaring the living shit out of him.

"GET YOUR FUCKIN' HANDS OFF HIM YOU PIECE OF-" Whatever Husk was going to say was ended abruptly by Vox, who wrapped a cable over his mouth, silencing him.

"Ugh, never liked him, even when he was an Overlord." Vox muttered before focusing his attention on the Guardians. "So, the Guardians of the Multiverse! You've been a pain in the ass for my associates, and frankly I'm surprised that they haven't put you out of your misery yet!"

"So, you are working for the Legion." Batman guessed, already having an idea of what was going on here.

"Not for! With, you dumbass!" Velvette corrected.

"Although the deal is a bit shady," Valentino commented, letting go of Angel Dust and strutting over to Vox's side, "We didn't even get their souls and there's no guarantee that we'll even see a piece of that spear."

"So that's what this is all about!" Sonic growled as he struggled against his binds.

"So what? You fight us and the Legion lets you use the spear's power?" Iron Man asked as he tried activating his Arc Reactor, only for his armor to short circuit due to Vox's power over technology. "They're just gonna double cross you and leave this dimension with the spear without giving you a second thought!"

Vox chuckled confidently, clinking his claws together. "You let me worry about that."

"You seem desperate, old pal! Are you still pissy that I completely tore your little tower apart without even trying?" Alastor taunted with a laugh, causing Vox to glitch angrily. "Let's face it, Vox. You were and still are a little, insecure brat with a God complex. The truth is you were ever only worth a damn when you were by my side, and even then I'm giving you too much credit." Alastor could see he was getting to the Tv Demon, he was visibly shaking now. Just a little more and he would lose focus and it would give him the chance to free himself. "The truth is you could never accept that I'm better than you. You're nothing with or without me! You're a failure, Vox! And you always will be!"

"F-F-F-F-U-U-U-UC-C-C-CKING AS-S-S-S-SSHO-O-O-L-L-LE!!!" Vox glitched out before being whacked on the back of the head by Velvette. "Ow! The fuck was that for?" He asked, rubbing the back of his monitor.

"You dumb fuck! He's trying to rile you up so that you lose focus and release them." Velvette reminded her partner, rolling her eyes as he mumbles under his breath. "Get a grip, Vox! This is your plan, don't fuck it up!"

"Why?"

The Vees all turned to the sound of the pitiful whisper; Charlie Morningstar, who had her head held down low with her hair covering her eyes.

"The fuck she say?"

"Speak up, princesa~"

Vox walked over and leaned in, ignoring the snarling look Vaggie was giving him, and asked, "Want to say that a bit louder, princess?"

She looked up and screamed, "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US?!" She was loud enough that Vox took a step back as her horns emerged from her forehead, her eyes turning red with rage and genuine confusion.

The other Vees looked to one another knowingly while Vox closed his eyes and chuckled deeply. Placing his arms behind his back as the lights in the main lobby dimmed, he snapped open his eyes, his left eye turning red with black spirals as he began hypnotizing them.

"My dear friends!
TV is all about escapism, yet you want to escape?
C'mon and stay a while as I share with you
The who, what, when, where, why and how of my genius plan"

He snapped his fingers and the room went completely dark, the Hazbin crew and the Guardians of the Multiverse finding themselves in a black and white room with Vox sitting in a directors chair holding a story book, singing with Velvette and Valentino backing his vocals.

"Our scene opens on a little Mr. Voxxy
Now cut to him having no friends
It was a struggle to find anybody who could be my buddy
So instead, I watched TV all day to forget about my troubles (ooh, ooh, ooh, ah)"

He rose from his seat and marched over to his audience with his hands behind his back, tilting his head from side to side as he sang.

"I was obsessed, I couldn't stop, I wouldn't stop (no)
Until I'd seen every moving picture that exists"

Suddenly a spotlight shined down on Valentino and Velvette who were swaying from left to right while singing into the microphone.

"So, he made the decision to get into television"

Vox then suddenly appeared in front of them in a spark of electricity and shouted in their faces.

"A Tv fell on my face and now it's taken its place!"

The scene shifted again to Vox sitting in his surveillance room playing the piano with the Guardians and Hazbin crew dangling from the ceiling.

"Patience is (ooh-ah)a virtue
Good things come to those who wait(ooh-ah)
Proverbs uttered by utter fools(ooh-ah)
I'll do anything it takes"

He then proceeded to flip the piano and snap his fingers, the scene glitching out and transitioning to the three Vees walking down the red carpet towards Vee Tower with camera's flashing from the sides.

"Are you ready for trouble?
Got you binge watching
You'd better make it double
You can't stop me from cooking up this instant classic (ooh-ah)
You and your friends will look fantastic(ooh, ooh, ooh, ah)"

He opened his left eye and they felt like they were being sucked in. The group suddenly found themselves in a red space with Vox and the other Vees looming over them, their forms colored black, save for their eyes, which were red to make them more intimidating.

Vox scooped them all up in his hand and began shaking them around like a pair of dice.

"The red carpet is rolled out
Come and get your tickets
Before they're all sold out
Don't wanna miss this moment(ooh-ah)
When that spear is mine
I get creative control of your real life"

He then threw them all like dice as the scene shifted to Tv footage of Vox-2-Nite, with the man of the hour spinning around in his chair holding a stack of paper.

"Ladies and gentlemen, excuse the interruption
The following message goes out to the stars of our show
The Hazbin crew
And we're rolling, let's go"

They then found themselves dangling in a black void with a giant Vox standing before them, his eyes wide and his grin large, blood dripping from the side of his mouth.

"Do you wanna know why I chose you?
Do you wanna know why I chose you?
'Cause you're stupidest show that I've ever seen
And if I can make you entertaining, I can do anything"

He then laughed maniacally as the world spun around, shifting into the main lobby, the group still tied up as the three Vees danced towards them, snapping their fingers from side to side as they sang.

"Are you ready for trouble?
Got you binge watching"

The scene shifted again to the three Vees looming over the city, with Vox at the top, his back turned to them as he clenched his fist, electricity crackling at his fingertips.

"You'd better make it double
You can't stop me from cooking up this instant classic(ooh-ah)
You and your friends will look fantastic(ooh, ooh, ooh, ah)"

They appeared in a blue, staticky void with a giant Vox rising from below, his hypnotic eye glowing brightly while Velvette and Valentino dancing and singing on flying platforms around him. He grabbed Alastor and Twilight with his giant hands and looked down at them.

"The red carpet is rolled out
Come and get your tickets
Before they're all sold out
Don't wanna miss this moment(ooh-ah)"

He threw them right into the others, sending them flying through the void as Vox continued.

"When that spear is mine
I get creative control of your real"

He appeared behind them in an electrical flash waved the back of his hand with flourish flair.

"Grab a seat and let's seal the deal!"

He then backhanded them through a Tv screen as he finished his song, Twilight, Starlight, and Charlie screaming in fear as they smashed through the glass.

"When that precious spear is mine
I get creative control of your real liiiiiiife!!!"

He then laughed like a deranged maniac as Velvette and Valentino spun around him on their platforms, singing the final notes of the song before Vox snapped his fingers. The three Vees then reappeared in the main lobby of the Hazbin Hotel, Vox grinning madly as he ceased his hypnosis.

"And scene!"

11. A Happy Day in Hell (Part 4)

Earth 666

The Hazbin Hotel

The Tv screen flickered to life as Vox began his broadcast that reached every single screen inside the Pentagram, that way everybody would see his moment, his triumphant gamble against the King of Hell, showing that he was not to be trifled with. He laughed as his face covered the screen, his hypnotic eye on full display. He had no idea if it would work on Lucifer, but it was worth a shot, right?

"Lucifer! I hope I'm not interrupting anything important, actually, I don't give a shit so pay attention cause I'm only gonna say this once!" Vox backed away and showed the commotion going on behind him. There on full display were the Hazbin Crew and the Guardians of the Multiverse hoisted up into the air by multiple television cables. He motioned with his index finger and used his connection with the cables to bring Charlie forward, laughing at her struggling, knowing that it wasn't going to do anything to help her. "As you can see, I have your daughter in my possession! And as it turns out, you have something in your possession that I want! I propose a trade, your daughter for the item in question!"

"Oh, for fuck sakes!" Velvette groaned before shoving Vox out of the way, ignoring his outcry, so that she can take center stage in front of the camera. "Listen, you old fossil. We know you have the piece of that fuckin' spear and we want it for ourselves. So either you move your arse here or-!"

She was shoved onto the floor by Valentino, who got into the camera's face, moving it so that it could properly see him lick Charlie's face with his long tongue. The princess cringed uncomfortably while Twilight and Vaggie cried out in outrage. "As Velvette was saying~ Bring the piece here Gran jefe, or else I'll fuck your daughter to death~ How's that sound?"

"GIVE ME THAT!" Was all that Val heard before being blasted away by an electrical blast. Vox sighed, shaking his head as he walked over and picked up the camera. "Just... Just bring the piece to this shit hotel in under an hour or your daughter's dead." He shut off the broadcast, tossing away the camera and rubbing his eyes in frustration. "God, I can't wait until this day is fucking over..."

"Hey, dumbasses!" All three Vees turned around to look angrily at Angel Dust, who had a smug look on his face. "There's a little flaw with your plan, ya know!"

Valentino strutted over to his employee and grabbed the back of his hair, pulling his head back forcefully and grinning in his face. "Oh? And what would that be?"

Angel had the gall to laugh in Val's face, which made him angry. And when Val got angry, he got violent. He delivered a headbutt to Angel's face, causing Husk to snarl in fury at the sight of his friend's bleeding nose. Angel simply laughed again before clarifying, "You're whole plan is to kill Charlie in order to bribe the big dick in charge to give you want you want? Smart. Real smart. Only problem is that Charlie's immortal, dumbasses! Ya can't kill her! Hah!"

Val looked puzzled, obviously having overlooked this detail.

But Vox, on the other hand, simply chuckled as he motioned for Velvette to take out her little toy. The Doll Demon walked over to Charlie and pulled out an Angelic Knife, made out of Angelic Steel, the only thing capable of killing Charlie and her father.

As Velvette held the knife to Charlie's neck, Vaggie continued to struggle, trying desperately to sprout her wings, but the cables prevented her from doing so. But unbeknownst to them, Batman had a tiny Bat knife fall from a secret compartment in his gauntlet and was filing away at the cable.

Walking right past the Dark Knight, Vox chuckled as he stood in front of Angel and beside Val, his arms clasped behind his back. "You were saying?" He asked before snapping his fingers, causing Angel to cry out in pain as the cables electrocuted him. Ignoring the glares sent his way by the Guardians and the other demons, Vox walked over to his nemesis to gloat. His face dropped when he noticed Alastor was still smiling. "I don't believe it. Even after you've lost, you still can get that shit eating grin off of your face."

"I have nothing to worry about." Alastor responded cockily. "Because as soon as I'm out of these bindings, I'm going to make you regret ever falling down to Hell."

"Oh, please! Don't you get it?! I've beaten you, you old timey prick! I literally have you in my grasp, you at your weakest, and I even have your new friends, or whatever you wish to call them! And once I get my hands on that spear, I'll make sure you live a never ending nightmare!" He didn't notice the looks on Val and Velvette's faces when he said that he would get the spear and not them.

Alastor hummed and nodded his head, "Interesting. Here's my rebuttal." Vox leaned in, he couldn't wait to hear this. "Fuck you, Vox."

"Fuck me? Fuck ME?! FUCK YOU!"

"Fuck you, two."

"FUCK YOU, THREE!"

"Well, I said it first, so you're the most fucked."

Before Vox could get another word in, he was pulled aside by Velvette and Valentino, tugging on his jacket angrily. "What the fuck did you mean by when you would get the spear?!" Velvette whispered agitatedly.

Vox tugged his arm back and dusted himself off, an annoyed look on his face. "Well, I meant what I said. I mean, it's pretty obvious."

"Enlighten us." Valentino growled out. Honestly Vox was starting to grate on his nerves these past few days. Ever since Alastor attacked Vee Tower, he's been different. More commanding, disregarding their inputs entirely. He wouldn't even give him the time of day anymore, they hadn't even done it in so long because of this, and it was pissing him off.

Vox had the audacity to laugh, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Well, I am the leader of the Vees, the best one out of all of us. Obviously I get to use it first." He closed his eyes and tilted his head up arrogantly, a smug look on his face.

Vel and Val looked at one another in shock before turning back to Vox and shouting, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Causing the Tv Demon to lean back in a stunned state, completely surprised by their insubordination.

Meanwhile as the three Vees argue over who gets to use the Spear of Destiny first, Mario looked over to Iron Man with worry on his face. "Tony, can't you use your armor to break us loose?" He asked, still struggling against the cables that held him and his friends.

Sadly Iron Man shook his head, "Not gonna work. Whatever Vox's connection is to these cables it's messing with my armor, short circuiting it somehow." To emphasize this, the lights on his armor flickered on and off. "I'm as stuck as you."

The two Guardians looked to Twilight and Starlight, who, too, were struggling against their bonds. No matter how hard they tried they couldn't use their magic due to their horns being ensnared by Vox's cables. "I-I'm sorry, Twilight..." Starlight apologized, looking down in shame while her mentor looked at her in concern. "I'm sorry that I'm not strong enough to get us out of this."

"No, no Starlight, you have nothing to apologize for." Twilight assured her student, to which she got a small and grateful smile in return. Twilight offered her a smile of her own and said, "We'll figure out a way to get out of here and stop the Vees and the Legion of Doom. That's a promise, and I intend to keep it." She then glanced at Batman, who still had his normal stoic expression on his face, but she could read him like a book, it came in the territory of being his best friend. He was planning something, and hopefully it was a way for them to get out of this.

Meanwhile Husk leaned over to check on Angel, "Hey, you good?"

Angel offered him a sly smirk. "Not the first time I've been pushed around by Valentino." His smile turned more genuine and his eyes softened. "I'll be fine."

"I'm sorry."

Everyone turned to Charlie, who had tears in her eyes and had her head held down in shame, her eyes obscured by her mangled hair.

"This is all my fault. They want my dad and are using me to get to him." Charlie's voice cracked as she held back a sob. She looked to Twilight and said, "I'm sorry that I've disrupted your mission, now you're caught up in this mess because... Because you met me."

"Charlie..." Twilight called to her softly.

"Hon..." Vaggie wanted nothing more than to tackle her girlfriend in a hug, to wish her pain away, to let her know that everything would be okay.

"And now thanks to me, the Vees are gonna extort my dad," she looked to the Guardians sadly, "you're enemies are gonna get what they want," she looked down, holding back tears, "and I can't do a thing to stop them. I can't even rehabilitate one sinner. My dad was right about me." She remembered what he said when she first proposed the idea to her, the words that stuck with her forever.

"She's an idealist! Doesn't know how things work!"

Those were the words she overheard him say not even a few minutes after she proposed the idea to him. The way he dismissed her, the way he said it so casually, it broke her heart. It was one of the reasons why she hadn't spoke to him for so long.

Even after mending things with him, he didn't even say that he was sorry.

She hiccupped and the sound broke Vaggie's heart and made Twilight feel awful.

"I'm a fucking failure."

Everything fell silent, well, except for the Vees arguing in the background, but beside that, nobody made a sound. The only sound came from Charlie, who was silently crying to herself. This was the second time that the people she cared about were put in harms way because of her.

Maybe she would've been better off alone.

Maybe that way they all would've been safe.

But before Charlie could continue to spiral, the sound of a radio tuning itself could be heard. The Princess of Hell looked over to her fellow Hotelier and saw him adjusting his voice, it was like there was a built in radio in his diaphragm. But once he was done, he gave her a smile, from what she could tell it was genuine, and music began to play.

As the music began to play, Alastor looked to Charlie and began to sing.

"Hey pal, hey friend, hey buddy
Why so sad, so downright unhappy?
That’s not my cup of tea

You know that this could be
Your last day here on earth so buddy, please
Won’t ya smile just for me?"

Alastor was... cheering her up?! The very thought actually caused Vaggie's brain to shut down and reset. The Radio Demon, who has made it very well known that he's only here to watch them all fail, was actually going out of his way to make Charlie smile.

And it was actually working, as Charlie let a small smile grace her features.

The Guardians and the Hazbin Crew all looked to one another in confusion and shock.

But none were as shocked as Vox, who stopped yelling when the sound of Alastor's voice reached his ears. "What the fuck?" He asked as he turned around to see Alastor singing to the Princess of Hell, the other Vees having also stopped arguing as they witnessed the spectacle.

"My dear, my dear, no you don’t have to cry
That ain’t a pretty legacy to leave behind
Stop and smell the roses while you’ve got the time
Pretty soon you’ll be pushing up daisies where the sun don’t shine
Pretty soon I’ll be pushing up daisies where the sun don’t shine"

As Charlie began to brighten up at Alastor's attempt to to make her feel better, she failed to notice the Radio Demon give Batman a knowing look.

Now Batman knew what he was doing.

He was causing a distraction so that he could free himself and, in turn, free them. Just a little longer and he would be free from his bonds, right now he was going at it with the Bat knife, cutting at the cables while Alastor distracted them.

Vox looked stumped, since when had Alastor ever gone out of his way to make someone else feel better. He'd normally laugh in their face at their despair. He knew he was up to something, he just knew it! "What are you up to?" He growled as he clenched his fists, electricity crackling off of them.

Alastor ignored him and continued, looking right into Charlie's eyes.

"You know I just gotta say
That you might not have a lot of time to waste
So lose that long face

None of us are here stay
So treat every day like it’s a holiday
Until the day you slip away"

While kind of morbid, which was pretty standard for Alastor, it did make Charlie feel better. Maybe he was slowly becoming a better person? Maybe he was showing a side to him that had never been seen before? It didn't matter, right now Charlie felt so proud of him. They had grown close since he came to the hotel, and despite their deal, despite the weight that came with that, their dynamic hadn't changed a bit.

They were still friends.

At least, that's what Charlie thought.

During the last portion of that, Alastor shifted his focus to Vox and his eyes had turned into radio dials, causing Vox to stop in his tracks. That proved to be a great mistake as Batman broke free of his bonds and shoulder charged the demon right into Val, knocking them both over.

Batman then threw an electrical device right at Velvette's head, causing her to seizure which resulted in her dropping the Angelic knife.

And because Vox lost his concentration, the cables loosened and fell to the floor, releasing everyone from their bonds. Most of them landed on their feet while Starlight, Charlie, and Angel landed on their rears, kind of ruining the cool image that was set when the two groups were freed from their bonds.

Alastor gave Vox a shit eating grin as he sang the final note. "Pretty soon you’ll be pushing up daisies where the sun don’t shine…"

Vox's claws dug trenches into the carpet as he slowly got to his feet, shoving Val aside as he began to glitch and electrify. "I-I Kne-e-ew you were up to someth-in-ing, you slippery fucker..."

"It's over." Batman declared, standing alongside Twilight and Charlie as they stared down the Vees. "Tell us where the Legion is."

"You have nowhere to run to, so give up now." Twilight ordered as she flared her wings and channeled her magic, feeling relieved to have her magic back again.

But to their surprise, Vox simply chuckled, raising his index finger like he was about to say something in response.

Before turning tail and running right out of the hotel.

Finally gaining their senses, Valentino and Velvette turned and ran after him.

"Don't let them get away!" Iron Man said as he took flight and flew right out of the Hazbin Hotel. Behind him Husk, Vaggie, and Twilight flew above the others, who were running after the Vees to make sure that they didn't escape. Turns out they didn't get far as they barely made it down the street before the three fliers landed right in front of them, halting them in their tracks. "Going somewhere?" Iron Man asked as he aimed his Repulsor Rays at the three demons.

Velvette and Valentino sweat dropped, turning around to see if they could escape that way, only to find that they were surrounded from both sides.

Nowhere to run.

Alastor fell into his shadow and reappeared in front of Vox with a gleeful smile on his face. "Looks like you overplayed your hand, old pal." He twirled his cane and stamped it on the floor, summoning multiple shadow tentacles from the floor. "It's been quite a show, but I'm afraid that your airtime has come to an end." He leaned forward, his antlers growing, his eyes darkening, his smile widening. "Nowhere left to run."

Vox chuckled.

He then laughed.

The other Vees were confused, as were everyone else.

He opened his eyes, manic glee filling them, as he shouted, "WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT RUNNING?!" He spread out his arms as the ground began to shake, causing everyone to stagger. He began laughing hysterically as green mist swirled up to the left, right next to Valentino.

Loki smirked as he appeared through the mist. "We're not too late, are we?"

Before anyone could respond, a familiar roar echoed throughout the Pentagram as Tirek leapt from building to building before landing on Velvette's right, his eyes burning with fiery magic as he cracked his knuckles. "I believe we're just in time."

The tremor's escalated as the ground in front of the hotel and behind the group that had covered the Vees from behind suddenly broke apart. There, from the depths, a large, red hand shot out as something began to rise onto the surface.

"What the fuck is happening?!" Angel asked as he aimed his Tommy Guns in fear.

"I-I don't know!" Twilight responded, eyes widening as the mech rose from below.

Everyone could only look on in terror as a massive metallic head with a familiar moustache emerged from below. It had fangs in its mouth, yellow scars running down its light blue eyes, massive red hands with spiked knuckles to inflict massive amounts of damage. But that wasn't all, as on the mech's forehead, rested a mechanical version of Bowser's head, its eyes and the inside of its mouth lighting up with blue energy. And hovering above the mech were another set of hands, although these were claws, very sharp and painful claws. The mech had no neck, only massive cables that dug below the surface, obviously powering the machine.

True terror! Behold the Koopa Egg Robot X!!!

"GOTCHA!" Eggman's voice shouted from within the mech. "The Vees were only a distraction!" He boasted, stroking his moustache as he sat next to Bowser, who was chuckling deeply with his arms folded over his chest. "True winners always keep their trump cards hidden until the end."

Down below, Vaggie's eye shot open as she took notice of the blades and spiked knuckles of the mech. She looked down at her spear. The same glint, same holy aura coming off of it. Dear God. "Tha-That thing is made out of fucking Angelic Steel!" She cried out in shock and horror, to which the other demons shared her sentiment.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!"

"What the shit!"

"...Oh no."

"Interesting..."

"BAD BOY!!!"

Sonic grit his teeth and stepped forward with Mario by his side, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

It was Bowser who answered, "BWAHAHAHAHA!!! We merely applied the Angelic Steel we stole from Carmilla Carmine into this Koopa Egg Robot." He leaned back, feeling quite proud of himself. "Wasn't hard, actually it was very easy to implement it into this killing machine."

"And the best part is that none of you were the wiser!" Eggman continued on, leaning forward with a grin on his face. "You were too busy singing songs and getting caught up in the debauchery that is Hell to stop us! And of course, we have Vox to thank for keeping you lot distracted! Now we'll finish what we started! We'll kill all of you, take the piece of the Spear of Destiny, and become the masters of reality itself!"

"You'll be crushed by this Koopa Egg Robot amplified by Angelic Steel! And in the end everything will be just as we planned!" Bowser declared before the two villains busted out into a combined evil laugh, the Koopa Egg Robot letting out a mechanical roar that sent everyone sliding back.

Vox gave Alastor the bird, a smug grin on his face.

Checkmate!

As the Hazbin Crew looked worried, Sonic, Mario, and the other Guardians weren't deterred as they approached the mech with steely focus. "Your plan will end like all your plans do!" Sonic declared as Mario nodded in agreement. "You sitting in a pile of busted robot parts wondering how you failed so badly!"

Mario looked to his buddy and gave him a fist bump. "Let's get 'em."

"With pleasure!"

Seeing the Guardians stare down certain death, it gave Charlie the motivation to stand next to her friends, her horns emerging from her head as her tail appeared in a flick of fire. Twilight looked over and asked, "Charlie? Are you sure?"

She looked over and gave her friend a smile, with Vaggie appearing by her side, her wings flared. "If they want to kill you, they'll have to get through us first!" She summoned her trident as Vaggie aimed her spear forwards. Angel aimed his Tommy Guns, Husk took out his playing cards, Alastor smiled as the shadows came to life beneath him, and Nifty cackled manically as she took out a knife.

It was time for the Hazbin Hotel and the Guardians of the Multiverse to stand together against the Legion of Doom and The Vees!

The fight was on!

The Koopa Egg Robot X let out a massive, mechanical roar that sent everyone sliding back, which gave Tirek the chance to charge forward while Vox turned into pure electricity and moved up to a nearby rooftop, with Alastor pursuing him through the use of his shadows.

Tirek's charge caused the group of Hazbins and Guardians to split apart, allowing Loki to stamp his scepter onto the ground, sending forth pillars of green fire towards his adversaries. Vaggie and Iron Man took to the air, the former gripping her spear as she and the Armored Avenger dove down to meet the God of Mischief. Loki laughed as he fired several blasts from his scepter at the flying hero and demon, the two of them dodging left and right before Vaggie threw down her spear, expecting it to impale the God.

Unfortunately it phased right through him.

Loki gave the confused demon a wave before she was blasted from the left, revealing the real Loki standing atop a car, looking quite smug. As Iron Man flew forward to meet the Asgardian head on, Vaggie slowly got up and rushed forward, picking up her spear and joining Iron Man in battling Loki.

Meanwhile Tirek, and The Vees were going at it with the others.

The Centaur fired a blast of magic that was deflected by Twilight, who ignited her horn and slashed it away while Husk flew by her and threw his cards down at Valentino. As the cards exploded, the moth demon spread out his wings and took out his four pistols. With a flirtatious smirk on his face, Val opened fire as he flew through the air, aiming directly at Husk. Just before a bullet could pierce his wing, a shield appeared around him and protected him.

The former Overlord looked down to see Starlight give him a kind smile before she refocused her attention on Velvette, who had punted Nifty away before sliding away and contorting her body unnaturally to avoid several bullets being fired at her from Angel Dust. She crawled across the ground like a spider, making her way toward Tirek, who clenched his fists and telepathically raised multiple cars into the air and hurled them directly at Twilight.

The alicorn spread her wings and flew forward, landing on one car and jumping from one to the other as she lit up her horn. Once she was close enough she released a burst of magic that sent Tirek sliding back. Not giving him room to breathe, Twilight charged up her magic and sent a massive beam towards her arch nemesis, tearing apart the road as it made its way to the centaur.

Imagine her shock when Tirek backhanded the beam away, destroying a nearby building as Velvette crawled up his body and rested on his shoulder in a comfortable position. The two villains smirked as Tirek raised his forelegs and brought them down onto the street, breaking it apart as lava burst out of the ground.

Twilight gasped and took to the air, grabbing Angel and Nifty with her magic as she took flight. But she didn't last too long as she was shoulder charged by Valentino, sending the three of them flying into the side of a building. The moth demon laughed as he took aim, only to yelp as a trident flew right past his head.

The weapon disappeared in a burst of flame, returning to Charlie's side before she twirled around and swung it, sending a wave of fire forward that knocked Val out of the air and sent Tirek and Velvette sliding back. As Charlie stamped her trident on the ground, a blue blur shot right past her, jumping into the air and catching a plumber as he flew back.

Sonic set Mario onto the ground as Batman swung above them, hurling multiple Batarangs at the Koopa Egg Robot. The explosions did minimal damage, enticing Eggman and Bowser's laughter as the Bowser head on the mech turned and fired multiple blue fireballs at the Caped Crusader. Batman let go of his Grappling Hook and rolled onto the floor as Mario and Sonic took charge, rushing forward as the Koopa Egg Robot swung its fist.

Mario took the brunt of the attack, raising his arms in an 'X' formation to block the attack while Sonic bounced into the air and hovered in front of the mech's massive face. He was about to curl into a ball, but stopped and twisted his body to fit in between the massive claws that were sent to slice him up.

He managed to avoid that attack.

But he didn't dodge the red fist that appeared in front of him.

He was sent flying back down the road, being knocked to the left by a shadow tentacle.

Alastor snickered before refocusing his attention on Vox, who was flying around with the bottom half of his body simply being pure electricity. The Radio Demon, meanwhile, was using the tentacles that sprouted from his back as a means of keeping up.

Vox threw multiple electrical balls while several cables shot out of the buildings around them, having come from multiple VoxTech products. Alastor laughed, angering Vox, as he swayed left and right to avoid the multiple projectiles, all the while sending forth multiple shadow tendrils to throw off his adversary.

Vox snarled before flying forward and spear tackling Alastor into the side of a building, wrapping his claws around his neck, grinning as his screen began to glitch. Alastor's eyes had since become radio dials, he was pissed, nobody was allowed to touch him.

Least of all Vox.

So Alastor gripped his cane, spun it upside down, and stabbed Vox in the ribs, causing the demon to cry out in pain, letting go of his grip on Alastor. The Radio Demon threw a punch and sent Vox crashing into a nearby car, falling to the ground while Alastor landed gracefully.

Not caring about the blood gushing out of his side, Vox flew forward, meeting Alastor in the middle of the street as Twilight flew backward and crashed into Charlie, knocking them both to the ground. They got up and looked at one another nervously before getting their heads back into the game.

Twilight galloped forward with Charlie by her side, focusing on Tirek battling Starlight and Angel Dust.

The unicorn let out a battle cry as she used magic to multiply Angel's bullets, causing Tirek and Velvette to shield their faces as the bullets flew. This left them open to be blasted back by Twilight, knocking Velvette off of Tirek as he flew into a nearby building, the infrastructure falling atop of him.

Velvette slowly got back to her feet, but let out a cry of pain as Nifty stabbed her calf, causing her to kneel down while the one eyed demon cackled and sprinted across the battlefield.

Meanwhile Valentino was blasted to the ground by Husk, who threw multiple playing cards at the Porn Demon. Husk unsheathed his claws and dove down, scratching Valentino's face before kicking him down below. As the moth held his nether regions in pain, Husk threw a punch to his face, shattering his glasses and sending him flying back into a car.

The cat looked up to see Vaggie swiping at Loki, who slid under the attack and fired a magic blast from his hand at Iron Man, who luckily raised a protective shield around himself just in time. He responded by firing multiple missiles at the God of Mischief, all of which were batted away by his scepter.

He chuckled as a spear went right through his chest.

Another illusion.

Vaggie looked confused as Loki asked, "Are you ever not going to fall for that?" Before the image disappeared and she was struck in the side by Loki's scepter, which was swung by the trickster himself as he revealed himself to be behind her the entire time.

She was flung off the roof.

Iron Man went to catch her.

But Eggman and Bowser got to her first.

They caught the former Exorcist and held her in front of them for the entire battlefield to see. "Enough!!!" Bowser shouted, gaining everyone's attention, halting the battle momentarily. "Now, Princess Charlie, you're going to do exactly what we say."

"Unless you want your little girlfriend here to have the afterlife squeezed out of her." Eggman finished as he tightened his grip around Vaggie, causing her to cry out in pain.

"VAGGIE!!!" Charlie cried out, reaching out to her girlfriend. She breathed heavily before those breaths became ragged, her nostrils flaring and her teeth bare, her eyes glowing menacingly. "Let her go!"

Eggman wagged his finger condescendingly, "You're not in any position to demand anything, little girl." He leaned forward as Bowser chuckled beside him, folding his arms over his chest. "Now, you're going to run along and get your father. When he arrives and gives us what we want, then and only then will we-- huh?!" Eggman stopped as massive energy readings flared up on screen.

Said readings coming from Charlie Morningstar herself.

She held her head as a tornado of fire surrounded her, raising her into the air as her screams became screeches of rage. Her eyes became completely red as six bulges appeared on her back. The bulges spasmed for a moment before they burst.

Revealing six white, bat-like wings.

Wings.

Charlie just sprouted wings!

As Eggman and Bowser let out cries of shock and disbelief, Vaggie looked at her girlfriend proudly before wincing in pain.

She wasted no time.

Holding her trident forward, Charlie flew forward and hurled the weapon right into the Bowser head of the mech, causing it to roar as it let go of Vaggie. The Princess of Hell dove down and caught her girlfriend before landing in an explosion of fire. Charlie looked down at the woman in her arms as she opened her eyes. Wasting no time, Charlie gave Vaggie a deep and passionate kiss, forgetting about the battle around them.

They parted and Vaggie said breathlessly, "Charlie.... You have wings...!"

Charlie looked confused for a moment before noticing the new bat-like appendages on her back. "Oh shit!" Was all she could say before setting her girlfriend down. "I have wings. I HAVE WINGS! VAGGIE DO YOU SEE THIS?!"

"Yeah, I do, hun."

"THOSE WINGS WILL NOT HELP YOU!" Bowser roared as the mech threw away the trident, the weapon reappearing at Charlie's side.

"Maybe not." Charlie responded before smirking. "But they might."

Before they could ask what they meant, they got their answer as Batman, Sonic, and Mario suddenly crashed through the eye of the mech, landing right in front of Eggman and Bowser. "Hiya! Miss us?" Mario asked before Batman threw a smoke pellet down, covering the cockpit in smoke.

As Eggman and Bowser let out coughs and screams of outrage, Sonic and Mario began to tear the place apart, making the lives of their enemies all the more difficult. Batman, meanwhile, took notice of a medallion sitting in a capsule on the console.

The Longinus Medallion!

Batman then had a thought. If there was the chance that they couldn't get this piece of the spear, then they could get the means of locating it. So without hesitation, Batman smashed the capsule and took the medallion.

"NO!" Eggman cried out as the smoke cleared.

The hedgehog, plumber, and bat all leapt out of the mech and landed in front of it. They turned to face it, Batman pocketing the medallion in his Utility Belt, as its eyes glowed blue.

"It's over, Bowser!" Mario declared, pointing up at his arch nemesis. "Give up now and we might spare you the beatdown!"

Bowser roared as he slammed his fists down onto the console. "It ain't over 'til I say it's over!"

Angel arched an eyebrow as he walked to Batman's left, "I don't know... Ya looked pretty fucked now!" He said with flair as the Guardians and Hazbins gathered around them, standing before the massive mech.

The Legion and The Vees did the very same, with Tirek bursting out of the rubble and Loki appearing in a mist of green smoke. Vox landed in between his two partners and crossed his arms, smirking at Alastor, who was still grinning, enjoying this fight immensely.

"It appears that we're at an impasse." Tirek commented, eyeing Twilight, who flared her wings as she readied her horn.

"So it would seem." Twilight agreed, her eyes whitening while Charlie's glowed.

The battle was ready to resume.

And it would have to.

Had it not been for the streak of red that rushed in front of them and sent them all flying backwards at high speeds, causing them all to land on their backs.

Alastor groaned, actually having been caught off guard by that attack. The last time he was caught off guard was when he fought Adam. "What in the blue blazes was that?!" He asked the question on everyone's minds. While the Hazbins looked confused, the Guardians' eyes were wide in revelation as they shot up to their feet.

There, standing in front of their adversaries, was the master mind.

The mysterious speedster.

The Reverse-Flash.

His form vibrating, his eyes glowing red as he craned his neck to the left, cracking it.

Loki gave Thawne the side eye, "About time you showed."

"Where were you?" Tirek asked, cracking his fists.

"Always busy gentlemen and yet never late." Thawne smiled as his eyes glowed menacingly. "So? Who do we kill first?" Before anyone had the time to act, Reverse-Flash zoomed forward and gave Vaggie an uppercut before moving onto Angel and punching him in the chest at super speed. One by one, in milliseconds, the Guardians and the Hazbins all fell before they even knew what was happening. Even Sonic, who could move at light speed, failed to register Thawne's movements before being thrown into a car. He blitzed over and seized Twilight by the horn, holding her in the air and dragging her as he dispatched with everyone else before throwing her overhead and slamming her into the ground.

Vox and the other Vees could only watch in astonishment.

He had dealt with them in seconds.

Who was this guy?

The Tv Demon looked to see the other members of the Legion smirking, although Loki rolled his eyes. Vox turned to look back at the spectacle before him.

Reverse-Flash zoomed over to Charlie and backhanded her trident away before seizing her by the throat and raising her into the air, tightening his grip as she choked for air. She tried punching him, hoping to get him off of her, but he simply smiled as he raised his other hand, vibrating it at super speed.

He was going to pierce her heart at super speed, shredding it apart.

"Your majesty." Thawne smirked as he prepared to kill her. Only to stop when the watch on his wrist began blaring red, causing his eyes to widen in horror. It was here. Already?! It was gaining on him, getting faster. He had to move, lest it catch him. "Lucky girl." Thawne growled before dropping her and zooming off into a portal, leaving this dimension.

The Guardians looked on in confusion, he had them dead to rights! Why would he let them live?

The Legion were thinking the exact same thing, some of them looking outright furious. Thawne was clearly hiding something from them, something important. But that would have to be dealt with later, right now they had peasants to squash.

Thawne had softened them up.

Now it was time to finish them.

And they would have had it not been for the massive fireball that struck the mech, the resulting explosion causing the Legion to fall down.

Everyone looked to Charlie, thinking that it was her that had dealt the blow. "It wasn't me." She said shrugging.

"HEY DUCKIE!"

Everyone looked up to the source of the voice. Floating above the battlefield with a goofy grin on his face was the King of Hell himself. Lucifer was a slender-figured fallen angel who sports a close resemblance to his daughter, Charlie - having her white skin with rosy-cheeks, blonde hair with thin light coral streaks on the thicker, paler-blonde highlights, and eyes with light yellow sclera and red pupils. He was shorter than his daughter, though not by a large amount. Unlike Charlie, his mouth was full of sharp teeth, his hair was cut short and had been slicked back in a ducktail hairstyle with one tuft sticking out, his pupils were slit like a snake, and his cheeks were a paler shade of red. In addition, he also sported sharp, black eyebrows, his eyelids were light purple, and his tongue was forked.

Lucifer's white and red clothing was somewhat like that of a circus ringmaster; he wore a wide-brimmed white top hat with a golden snake and a red apple over golden spikes, which resembled a crown, and a red-lined and red-trimmed white popped-collared suit with eight golden buttons - his coat worn over a light red-and-white striped waistcoat with two golden buttons and a small, accessorized black bowtie. He also wore a set of heeled black knee-high boots and forearm-length dark grey gloves. On his left pinkie, he sported a golden ring which was presumably his wedding ring.

"DAD?!"

"WAIT, DAD?!" The Guardians repeated, now realizing that they were now in the presence of the Devil himself.

"Fucking finally..." Vox grumbled as he dusted off his coat.

Lucifer landed on the ground and gave his daughter a bone crushing hug, "Sorry I'm late, Char-Char, had... um.... Important business to attend to. Y-Yeah! Important, very important business."

"This business wouldn't happen to be duck related, would it?" Alastor snarked, snickering at Lucifer's angered expression.

"Watch it, bellhop."

"So nice of you to join us, Lucifer." Eggman said with a grin.

The King of Hell looked between the group of Guardians and the Legion multiple times before asking Charlie, "What's this now?"

Vox glitched before asking, "What do you mean?! Didn't you see my video?!"

"Oh no, I don't watch that television crap, rots the brain." Lucifer laughed awkwardly before explaining, "No, I'd just come up with a new duck design that could help promote the hotel and I knew Charlie had to see it! So I flew over and now here we are!"

"AR-ARE YOU KI-KI-KI-KI-KID-D-D-D-DING ME-E-E-E-!!!"

Without warning a massive red hand shot forward to try and grab Lucifer. The Prince of Lies looked confused before stepping out of the way. "Was that meant to do something?" He asked, clearly confused and unimpressed.

Eggman and Bowser grinned as they got their target.

"DAD!"

Lucifer's eyes shot open as the hand moved back toward the mech with Charlie in its grasp, struggling to break free. "Charlie!" He shouted, sprouting his wings and ready to go save his daughter.

"Ah ah ah!" Bowser wagged his finger. "I wouldn't do that. Unless of course you wish for your daughter to die young because of our mech amplified by Angelic Steel."

"So, unless you wish for your daughter to become a shish kabob, you'd better do as we say." Eggman added, grinning like a maniac.

Lucifer tightened his grip on his cane as he snarled, "If you hurt my daughter, I swear I'll--"

"You'll do nothing other than what we tell you, King Morningstar!" Bowser reminded, making the mech tighten its grip on Charlie. "And that goes for you lot as well! One move and she's as good as dead!" He threatened, talking to the Hazbins and the Guardians.

The heroes wisely stood down, although they didn't like it. Like it or not, the Legion had them cornered, they held the cards now and they were playing their hand.

"What do you want?" Lucifer asked.

Loki smirked, holding out his hand expectantly. "The piece of the Spear of Destiny." At Lucifer's surprised eyes, the God of Mischief chuckled. "We know you have it in your possession."

"And unless you want your daughter to meet her end on this day, then you'll do as we say." Tirek laughed cruelly, knowing he had the king dead to rights.

Lucifer looked down in an unsure manner, if there was one thing Heaven was right about, in his eyes anyway, was that no mortal should wield the power of the Spear of Destiny. It was the High Council's order to keep the piece safe, it even came down form the very top, from the Big G himself.

Even Adam of all people took this seriously.

He had taken it from Heaven after he had fallen, just to spite them, but he too felt the call and refused. As evil as he was, he couldn't risk losing Charlie and Lilith, not over this.

And now his daughter was being held against her will because of him, because of the choice that he made.

The King of Hell sighed and twisted his cane until it clicked, splitting apart as the piece of the Spear of Destiny slid out from within the cane. He held the fragment in his hand, looking to Loki and the rest of the Legion before him. One look to Charlie's eyes sealed the deal.

He tossed them the piece.

Loki caught it.

"R̷̼͙̺̹͙͝ę̵̻̗̋̓̈́̕l̶̡͉̉͝ͅę̷̩̥͐͋̑ȁ̷̼͖̗̲s̴̡̗̓̀͗̂ê̸̹͊͛̈́ ̵̤͖͙̭̗̏̿̓̊̾h̴̼̳̞̩̣̿̏̂̊ḙ̵̛͔̂̚ṟ̵̡̩̃͑͂.̸̼͔͚̈́̋͒̎ " Lucifer growled demonically, his eyes turning blood red as his horns emerged from his head.

Without warning, the Koopa Egg Robot threw the Princess of Hell away, luckily being caught by Iron Man, who made sure that she was okay before landing and setting her down. The group stood behind Lucifer as he stared down the mortals that dared threaten his daughter.

Eggman and Bowser looked to one another and shrugged before declaring, "The Devil's daughter may live to see tomorrow! But you won't!!!" The mech let out a roar as Loki aimed his scepter, Tirek cracked his knuckles, Vox charged his electricity, and Velvette and Valentino grinned.

Lucifer spread out his six wings as Charlie and Alastor appeared to his left and right, the combined group of heroes and demons readying themselves for the fight.

"BURN! BURN TO ASHES!!!"

"Y̴͚̺̰̮͙̽o̴͕̾ͅủ̵̫͝ ̷̲̗̈̈̃̂͝f̷̟̈́͋̊͐̕í̸̧̬̣̀̑r̴̪̥̪̞͖̈́̚š̵̞̮̭̣̱́t̶̳̗̤͒!̵̢̛̬̗̤̏̀ " Lucifer retorted before flying up with Charlie by his side, Alastor having rushed forward to interlock hands with Vox while everyone else charged forward to meet the Legion head on.

The Koopa Egg Robot X sharpened its claws before shooting them forward to try and impale the two demons flying above it. Lucifer backhanded the claw away while Charlie dove down and shot forward towards the mech. She readied her trident but was blasted back by a fireball from the Bowser head of the mech.

Before the villains could laugh, they were struck by multiple fireballs from Lucifer, who kept them coming while Iron Man flew around the mech, avoiding the fists and firing missiles to distract it from Vaggie, who flew through the air and landed right on top of the mech, piercing it with her spear.

Meanwhile Loki was bouncing back, hopping on his feet as he avoided multiple slashes from Husk while his copies were busy dealing with Starlight, who was blasting the illusions with magic. She gritted her teeth and threw pieces of the road at the God of Mischief.

She galloped forward, not noticing Angel being held by his neck, trying to break free of the chain around his neck. He tried pulling away from Val's grasp, but it was no use, his contract over Angel was too strong. He would've gotten hold of Angel had it not been for Nifty, who pulled out some of his fur, causing him to cry out and let go of Angel, allowing him to be shoulder charged by Mario, who bounced off of him and multiple cars to get to the Koopa Egg Robot.

The cars he bounced on were suddenly destroyed by stray blasts of orange magic, being shot by Tirek in an attempt to slay Twilight for good. The Princess of Friendship flew around the street, avoiding Tirek's attacks while staying one step ahead of him.

Tirek was going to attack again, but was distracted by Batman, who swung around him and threw three, tiny pellets at his face. They exploded and covered his face with a glue-like substance that blinded him momentarily. When he finally clawed the substance off, he was blasted down the road by Twilight, who didn't hold back.

Velvette was swung into a car by a shadow tentacle, removing her as Alastor focused on Vox, his grin matching Vox's scowl as they swirled around one another before colliding their fists, creating an explosion of shadow and electricity.

Vox got to his feet just as Lucifer delivered a nasty punch to the mech, damaging it greatly. What damaged it further was the follow up kick Mario gave the Bowser head, tearing it off the mech. It was looking a little worse for wear, it appeared that it could only take one more strike.

That was Sonic's cue.

The Blue Blur bounced on the spot before shooting forward as quick as lightning. He grinned when the Eggman head opened wide and fired a massive laser at the incoming hedgehog. Had it not been for Lucifer, who snapped his fingers and stuffed multiple rubber ducks in the mech's maw, Sonic would've been toast.

He curled into a ball and shot forward, going right through the mech's mouth and out the back of its head, generating an explosion of rubber ducks and fire. Sonic skidded to a stop and turned around to see Eggman fly away in his Egg Mobile while Bowser hovered in the air with his Clown Car.

The two villains looked down at their arch enemies before scowling, "I think we've spent enough time here, wouldn't you agree?" Bowser asked Eggman, who nodded in agreement and slammed his fist on a button in his Egg Mobile which created a massive portal in front of the Hazbin Hotel.

"We're done here!" Eggman declared before looking down at Vox and the Vees. "And unless you want to feel the wrath of Lucifer Morningstar, I'd suggest you lot get your butts in the portal, now!"

Vox looked to his fellow Vees, all of them not liking the idea of staying in Hell at the moment, especially with a pissed off Lucifer gunning for their heads after threatening his daughter. With a collective nod, Vox looked back up at Eggman and nodded, "You don't need to tell us twice!"

Eggman smiled, "Welcome to the Legion of Doom!"

"Ugh! I hate that name!" Loki whined as he made a beeline for the portal, avoiding a Repulsor Blast as he ran.

As the Legion made their way into the portal, Vox gave Alastor the middle finger while Val gave Angel a flirtatious look before they both jumped in the portal with Velvette.

Tirek looked back to Twilight and Starlight, grinning, "I can't wait to see how the rest of this plays out. Until next time, Twilight, Starlight." With that, he leapt through the portal, escaping just as Twilight landed where the portal once was, sealing their escape.

The Princess of Friendship yelled in frustration, slamming her hooves onto the scolding, hot ground in anger so hard that it broke it, forming spider web-like cracks. She panted heavily before feeling a hand rest on her shoulder. She looked up to see Charlie smiling at her, which was comforting to say the least.

"Where da fuck did they go?" Angel asked as the others managed to catch up.

"Back to their base of operations, no doubt." Iron Man answered.

"With the Vees in tow." Vaggie added grimly.

Lucifer cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention, "Um, first of all, Charlie," his daughter looked to him, "are you okay?" When she nodded, Lucifer let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, good! Second of all, can somebody explain to me what the actual fuck is going on?"

Everyone looked to one another before facing the confused King of Hell.

Ooh boy.

After a very long explanation, Lucifer nodded, looking at his daughter worriedly before looking to Twilight and asking, "Okay, so what now? What exactly is your plan now that they have a piece of the spear?"

"Well, we may have suffered a loss today, but so did they!" Twilight declared as she looked to Batman, who held the Longinus Medallion in his hand. "With this we can be a step ahead of them and try to get the other pieces before them."

"So, you know, not a total loss." Sonic added.

"But their numbers have grown since those demons have now joined their ranks." Iron Man commented.

"Which will make things considerably more difficult." Batman added.

Starlight walked up to her mentor and asked, "What's our next move?"

"We head back to the Eternal Apex and try to see how the medallion works." Twilight said as she looked to Batman, who nodded in agreement.

"Hopefully we can gain a head start on them." Starlight added with a smile.

"Good thing you're not doing it alone."

Everyone turned to Charlie, who took a step to Twilight with a look of determination on her face.

"Charlie?" Vaggie asked in a concerned manner.

"I'm going with you." Charlie revealed, much to everyone's shock.

"What?!"

"Are ya nuts?!"

"Char-Char!"

"Ooh, fascinating"

"Charlie, we can't ask you to do that." Twilight said softly.

"You're not asking, I'm offering." Charlie said sweetly. "Vox and the Vees are a part of my kingdom, and I won't stand by while they cause chaos and pain in other worlds when I can do something to stop them. So, I'm going with you, no debate."

Vaggie, looking at her girlfriend in awe, knew that she was going to regret this, but did it anyway because she loved Charlie and wasn't going to let her get hurt if she could help to prevent it. "Well, then I guess I'm going too." When Charlie looked to her in shock, she simply said, "Where you go, I go. We're a team, I'm sticking right by your side."

"I too shall be in attendance."

Everyone turned to Alastor and collectively said, "NO WAY!"

Alastor chuckled and adjusted his monocle, "You all don't know Vox like I do. If you're going to be dealing with him, then I shall be there to put him in his place. Besides, his obsession with me could be used to your advantage."

Before anyone could express their outrage, Charlie spoke up. "Al." The Radio Demon looked to the Princess of Hell as she walked to him. "If we let you come with us, do you promise to not hurt or kill anyone?"

"Can't make that promise dear, sorry."

"What about a deal?" Lucifer piped up, getting everyone's attention. "As much as I hate the idea of Charlie going off to another dimension where she could get hurt, I know that with Vaggie and, unfortunately, you there, that she will be safe. So, if we make a deal, a favor for a favor, will you agree to it?"

"Dad, no!"

Alastor beamed, "Well, in that case!" He walked over to the king and held out his hand. "In exchange for a favor from you at a time of my choosing, I swear not to hurt or kill anyone on this little excursion. Do we have a deal?"

Lucifer gripped his hand without hesitation, "Deal."

The area suddenly exploded with raw energy, from voodoo magic and hellfire, the demon's true forms were visible for a mere moment before everything quieted down. They let go of each other's hands, with Alastor looking quite proud while Lucifer wiped his hand on his coat.

"Dad..."

"Duckie, it's fine." Lucifer assured her. "I know what I'm doing." He engulfed his little girl in a hug, one that was returned in earnest. "You just be careful, and stay close to your new friends, alright?" Lucifer sent Vaggie a look that screamed 'look after my daughter, or else.'

She nodded firmly, not intending to let him down.

As Charlie said goodbye to each of her friends, Twilight looked to Batman and said, "You're taking this well."

"We need the help." Batman answered honestly. "Plus I believe that miss Morningstar will keep that animal in check. And if he steps out of line."

"We'll stop him." Twilight finished with a smirk.

"Damn right." Batman pressed a button on his gauntlet and a portal opened behind the Guardians. "Let's move, we don't have time to waste."

"Promise you'll be okay, toots?" Angel said as he let go of Charlie.

"I will."

She and Vaggie joined Alastor and stood before the portal as it swirled with power. She held her girlfriend's hand as Alastor commented, "This is bound to be quite entertaining."

"That's not the word I'd use." Vaggie snarked under her breathe before smiling at Charlie.

Twilight looked back to the three of them and asked, "Ready?"

Charlie looked to her friend and girlfriend before smiling at Twilight, "Ready."

With that, they all jumped into the portal, ready to chase after the Legion of Doom and reclaim the pieces of the Spear of Destiny.

It certainly wasn't a happy day in Hell, but it was certainly a strange one.

12. Doomed (Part 1)

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13. Doomed (Part 2)

Foundation Prime

The Eternal Apex

"All right. Let's go over this again."

Everyone, sans Batman and Alastor, groaned in annoyance and frustration. How many times had they gone over what they knew now? Twice? Three times? Maybe more? Honestly they had lost count and just wanted to move on.

But Twilight was determined to figure this out. To figure out just who it was that they were dealing with, and how to stop them. Because they were at a disadvantage when it came to facing down this speedster, and that's something that they must rectify.

And the first step to doing so was to figure out just who they were dealing with.

"We've already been over it, Twilight." Sonic groaned, his head falling face first onto the table.

Mario nodded and hummed in agreement, "Mm-hmm, again and again."

"And again." Sonic added, his voice muffled due to being face first on the table.

Vaggie rubbed her temples in aggravation, looking over to Charlie, who looked like she was going to fall asleep herself. "We're obviously dealing with a new player." She said, looking at each of the Guardians with her singular eye. She placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder, squeezing it lovingly before continuing. "Whoever this speedster is, it's someone you and your friends haven't encountered before."

"But how is that possible?" Twilight asked, a curious look on her face. "This speedster obviously knows us, and knows us well enough to figure out our strengths and weaknesses. I mean he knew Batman's secret identity, so he's obviously met us before."

"But we haven't met him." Mario reminded the Princess of Friendship.

"Not yet anyway." Tony said in realization.

"What does that mean?" Starlight asked, tilting her head to one side, her ear flopping to the side as well.

While everyone was confused as to what the iron hero meant, Batman however, picked up what he was throwing down. "He means the speedster's from the future, which makes sense, because speedsters can time travel." This was news to the Hazbin Crew as their eyes, including Alastor's, widened.

"I'm sorry, are you saying that time travel is actually possible?" Alastor asked, quite surprised by this little development.

"And what do you mean speedsters can travel through time?" Charlie asked, leaning forward with curious eyes.

"Speedsters run so fast that they're able to break the barriers between time and space." Twilight explained to the Princess of Hell. "It's because of their connection to what I believe is called the Speed Force, which is the source of their power."

Now Vaggie was a little more confused, so she asked, "Then why would the speedster need the Spear of Destiny for?" She looked around, leaning on the Holo-Table with her hands. "He could just go back and change history himself."

"But not reality." Starlight said.

"That's why he needs the Spear." Sonic said, looking to Twilight, who looked down in thought.

"Question is, what is the speedster trying to change?"

Earth 616

Latveria

"Citizens of Latveria, this is your one and only sovereign, Doom. Hear my voice and remember this truth: there is nothing in this realm that escapes my gaze. My vigilance is eternal, my reach absolute. In the shadows where you think yourself unseen, I am there. In your whispers where your rebellion dares take root, I am there. In every heartbeat of this nation, it is I who grants it rhythm.

Know that disobedience is not only futile but unforgivable. To betray Doom is to invite annihilation. To falter in loyalty is to face consequences beyond imagining. But to serve, to honor, to obey—this is to thrive in the light of my protection.

Be ever vigilant, for Doom is always watching. There is no escape. There is no other future.

There is only Doom.

Doom is absolute.

Doom... Is... Everything."

The crackle of the speakers sounded off in every street in Latveria, the message of Doom playing on loop as a reminder to his subjects that there is no hope, no savior other than Doom. As long as they stay loyal to the monarch, his subjects shall remain under his protection.

But falter in any way, the consequences will be quite dire.

The green smog that covered Latveria added a layer of menace to the country, add to the fact that there were multiple Doombots that patrolled the cobblestone streets, maintaining Doom's order. These robots were nearly identical to Doom himself, except they had visible artillery on their shoulders, hands, and feet.

A squadron of Doombots stomped by, their eyes glowing as they surveyed the area for any signs of resistance. All was quiet, peaceful and tranquil, it was as perfect as Doom had envisioned. His vision of peace, his own method to saving the world.

Complete subjugation of all beings under his whim.

When they had detected no signs of anything in the area, the Doombots moved on to make sure nobody was out past curfew.

To resist Doom's laws was punishable by death.

They would carry out his word.

Because Doom's word is law.

As they stomped through the streets, mothers hid their children behind the curtains. Others turned off their lights. There was no other law than Doom's.

Doom is absolute.

When the coast was clear, Vox's screen lit up in the darkness and he chuckled mischievously as he motioned for the others to follow behind him. The Legion of Doom had managed to teleport into Latveria from Vorton, all they had to do now was make their way over to the hidden vault near Castle Doom and the Kalabros Manuscript would be there's for the taking.

So far the only thing that had been an issue was the constant surveillance, Doom's watchful eyes all over Latveria, but luckily Vox was able to short circuit the camera's with his electric abilities. As the Legion made their way through the streets, they couldn't help but notice the shocked faces of everyone in their homes.

Not for fear of them.

But for fear of what he'd do to them if they were ever caught.

"Well, this place is a turn-off." Val grumbled to himself, hissing to himself as he stepped in a mucky puddle, glaring at Velvette, who was snickering as she walked by.

Tirek, who had his hands behind his back, observed his surroundings. "Complete subjugation and control." He had a hint of amazement in his voice. "I must admit, this is my kind of place."

Eggman, who was walking beside Metal Sonic, looked around himself and shrugged. "I don't know about you, but it could be more... Mechanical, if you ask me." They turned a corner and found an entrance to a beautiful garden, the pathway donned with multiple stone statues of Doom. They had entered Doom's Courtyard. As Vox led the Legion through the courtyard, Eggman couldn't help but sneer at the abundance of plant life. "I'm just saying that there's too much nature here."

As they walked along the pathway, Bowser looked at Velvette strangely as she posed for multiple selfies, the camera flashing on her phone as she puckered up her dead lips. After a few selfies, Vel looked forward to the demon leading their group through the courtyard and asked, "Oi, Vox! Do you have any idea where the hell we're going?"

Vox turned his head and smirked at the doll demon, "You doubt my skills?"

"Yes."

The Tv Demon scowled and flipped off his partner. "First: fuck you. Second: we should be close now, so shut up and pay attention." He outstretched his hand and waved it slowly, as if looking for something. While he concentrated, Loki and Bowser looked up at Castle Doom, which loomed over them menacingly, and couldn't help but feel like they were being watched.

Because they probably were.

Their attention was brought back to Vox as he howled in victory. The reason for his celebration was because he had finally locked onto the vault. He twiddled his fingers, lines of electricity flowing in front of him as an electric rune was created before him. And at the same time, that same rune was now glowing in the middle of the courtyard. Vox grinned as the floor began to split apart, revealing a set of stairs that descended downwards into the darkness.

Dismissing the ancient code that opened the vault with a wave of his hand, Vox took a step to the side and bowed, gesturing to the now open vault with his arms. "After you, my friends." He said with a shit eating grin, his ego soaring right now.

Eggman chuckled and patted his friend's shoulder as he and Metal descended into the vault, leading the rest of the Legion into the vault.

When Val passed Vox, the moth sexually licked the side of Vox's screen, making the Tv Demon smirk and arch an eyebrow before following his allies into the vault, completely unaware that they were being watched. The fools believed that they could escape his gaze. Did they really believe that they would've made it as far as they did had he not allowed it?

No.

He allowed curiosity to guide him, this newfound discovery that lied beneath his country intrigued him. He wondered why the Asgardian and these lesser beings dared step foot in his lands, but now he had his answer. Something lied waiting beneath the stones of Latveria.

He would allow them to retrieve it.

And then they would know that none escape his wrath.

None shall ever escape Doom.

Foundation Prime

The Eternal Apex

"Why would a speedster need to change reality?" Was the question Starlight had asked aloud, trying desperately to piece the puzzle together. But with how little they knew, it was nearly impossible to put together. They needed more information so that they could come up with a feasible theory to go off of.

Iron Man leaned forward on his elbows, massaging his forehead to try and get rid of the headache that had formed a little bit ago. "How many times are you gonna ask that question?" He leaned back in his chair, glancing over at the Longinus Medallion, wanting to see if it had been decoded yet.

It hadn't.

Great.

The unicorn looked over to the Avenger and replied, "Until we have an answer."

Mario, leaning back with his arms folded over his chest, had a thoughtful look on his face. "She's right. Speedsters can time travel." He straightened himself and looked at everyone sitting at the table. "So what's stopping him from changing history even without the spear?"

That was the question on everyone's minds. Why would a being who was capable of travelling through the barrier of time need to change reality? Wouldn't be easier to just run back and change the past? Why go through all of this hassle? Why recruit the Legion when he could do it himself?

Unless...

Batman's eyes widened, he figured it out. Why the speedster needs the spear in the first place. Why he formed the Legion of Doom to help him get it.

It all made sense.

It was the only possible explanation.

"Unless he doesn't exist." Batman said suddenly, causing everyone to turn to him, looking at him as if he were crazy.

Vaggie and Charlie looked at one another in skepticism before they turned to face the Dark Knight, the former saying, "Hang on, that doesn't make any fucking sense. How can he not exist and yet still be running around? This is just crazy talk now."

"Yeeeeaaah..." Charlie droned on, agreeing with her girlfriend before continuing, "That sounds a bit silly. If he doesn't exist, how's he still alive? I mean, so what, he's a ghost?" She asked with a laugh, believing this to be far fetched.

Tony, however, was actually seeing the theory Batman was proposing and, as it turns out, was starting to make sense of it. "No, no, no, no, no, this actually makes a lot of sense." He looked to Batman and proposed a theory. "What if he's a Temporal Aberration?"

Alastor was lost now. He was actually impressed with himself with how he was able to keep up with everything, but now he was at a complete loss. "I'm sorry. A what?" He asked with a laugh, his staticky filter screeching slightly.

"A Temporal Aberration is a massive alteration to the already existing timeline." Twilight Sparkle explained, looking over to Starlight. "Like what happened when you changed history multiple times by stopping the Sonic Rainboom." The unicorn blushed and looked away, ashamed at her past actions. Twilight then continued, "What if the speedster changed the past, but somehow ended up wiping himself from the face of history?"

"Why would he do that?" Sonic asked, confused as to why the speedster would do this in the first place.

"I don't know, but it would explain why we don't have any evidence of his existence." Twilight answered.

Mario leaned further back into his chair, "Okay, so, we just need to ID someone who doesn't exist?" He laughed mirthlessly before sighing in frustration. "Great, that's totally not impossible, isn't it?" He remarked sarcastically.

"Eobard Thawne."

Who?

Everyone turned to Batman, having been the one to say the name, a thoughtful yet confused look on his face.

Charlie leaned forward, a concerned look on her face. "Um, is... Is he okay?" She asked Twilight, who also looked concerned.

But before she could answer, Batman clarified on the name. "Eobard Thawne is a name. The name of a speedster who doesn't exist."

"Then how do you know of him, my good man?" Alastor asked.

"I don't. I've never met him." Batman answered truthfully before looking to the other Guardians. "But someone we know does."

Dawning realization appeared on all of their faces as they pieced it together, the name of the one person they know who could possibly know who this speedster is. "The Flash." They all said together.

Batman nodded as he began explaining, "A few months ago, The Flash travelled back in time to save his mother. This changed the course of history, creating a whole new timeline: a doomed timeline where nothing survived. From what he told me, things were astronomically different. I was dead in that other timeline," he noted the shocked gasp from his left, knowing that it came from Twilight, "my father had taken up the mantle of the Batman. When he realized his mistake, The Flash wanted to restore everything to how it was. But Eobard Thawne wouldn't allow that to happen. So, in an effort to save The Flash's life, my father stabbed him in the heart, killing him." He folded his arms and looked down in thought. "Flash said that he died in that timeline and was erased along with it, meaning that he shouldn't even be here, past, present, or future."

Woah, quite the bombshell to drop, isn't it?

But it made sense. The reason Thawne was after the spear in the first place, why he recruited the Legion.

He just wanted to exist.

"But if that's the case..." Twilight started before realizing something. "How is he here?"

Earth 616

Latveria

The vault was a sight to behold, that's for sure.

Once the Legion descended down the staircase leading into the darkness, they were greeted with a long, stone pathway, surrounded by two bodies of glowing, blue water that lit up the room. The floor was covered in blue, glowing runes that each lit up whenever a member of the Legion of Doom stepped onto it as they walked.

And at the very end of the hallway, sat on top of a stone pillar, was an old tome with glowing runes etched onto the cover.

The Kalabros Manuscript.

Theirs for the taking.

Vox walked up to the stone pillar with an eager grin, rubbing his hands together, sparking small bursts of electricity in his claws. He grabbed hold of the massive book with both hands and picked it up before turning to his comrades, who each had varying levels of smiles on their faces.

"With that, my friends, the Kalabros Manuscript is—" The Tv Demon was rudely interrupted when a flash of red lightning zoomed past him, snatching the book from his hands abruptly. He looked down in surprise before looking behind the group to see Reverse-Flash standing there with a cocky smirk on his face along with the Kalabros Manuscript in his hands. "....Ours...."

The evil speedster chuckled at the annoyed expressions on the other members of the Legion before looking down at the book in his hands. "I must say, when I told you lot to correct your mistake, I certainly didn't expect this." He motioned to the book in his hands, turning around and looking at it. "I mean, using Supreme's personal logs to get an exact location on where each of the pieces are? I will admit, very smart." He turned his head slightly, addressing Robotnik, "I assume this is your handiwork?"

The mad genius stroked his moustache and replied, "I can't take all the credit." He pointed to Vox with his thumb. "It was Vox here who managed to crack the code."

The Reverse-Flash looked to the demon for a moment before turning to look down at the book. "Well, I must say that you've done well." His eyes flashed red for a moment as he let out an amused chuckle. "Although I have to wonder why you neglected to tell me of this little development here." He stroked the Kalabros Manuscript with his thumb as he continued, "Had I not been following you, I wouldn't have known that you managed to get the Manuscript in the first place. So that begs the question," he turned around and scowled at the other members of the Legion, his eyes glowing a menacing red as his voice became distorted, "why were you trying to screw me?"

Foundation Prime

The Eternal Apex

"Guys, I think I just figured it out." Iron Man stated, gaining everyone's attention once more. "Why a seemingly invincible speedster would need to take on partners."

Charlie smiled kindly and said, "By all means, Mr. Stark, please enlighten us." Vaggie nodded beside her, her hand still resting on her shoulders.

Tony stood up from the table and began, "Okay. What if Thawne isn't just chasing us?" When he received confused stares from everyone gathered, he elaborated. "What if he's running from something?"

"But running from what?" Sonic asked.

"Time." Stark revealed, causing the eyes of Batman, Starlight, and Twilight to widen as they processed this.

"Time takes time to harden." Twilight whispered in realization. "That's why I was able to change those parallel future's that were created when Starlight stopped the Sonic Rainboom!"

"And if Thawne ceased to exist the moment he was stabbed in the heart in that erased timeline, then, maybe, he has to keep moving in order for his own nonexistence not to catch up with him." Starlight continued with a slacked expression on her face.

"I do apologize, but that doesn't even begin to make any sort of sense." Alastor commented, adjusting his monocle.

Mario, however, was starting to see the sense in it. "I don't know, it could work." He said, having experienced a lot more crazy scenario's in his own universe.

"Batman? What do you think?" Twilight asked her best friend, who had a contemplative look on his face.

"Per the scientific method, there's only one way to prove it." Batman responded. "You'd have to trap Thawne in one place and then see what happens."

Earth 616

Latveria

Vox snapped his fingers, the runes in the vault glowing as the door began to slide shut, causing Eobard to turn around and look up in confusion. As the doors shut, he let out a bemused chuckle before turning to face the demon. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Renegotiating the terms of our partnership." Vox answered as Eggman and Loki walked up and stood by his side.

"And it is going to be a partnership." Loki declared.

"We need a bit more of a guarantee that you're going to uphold your end of our bargain." Eggman added.

Thawne looked at the three of them and began to laugh, highly amused at this situation, this little bout of defiance. He dropped the book to the floor and walked over to Vox with a threatening smile on his face. "I'll guarantee you one thing. If you don't open that door," he began vibrating his hand and lowering it to Vox's chest, "I'll kill you."

The Tv Demon, however, was not threatened, as he inspected his claws with a cocky grin on his face. "Yeah, see, I'm the only one with the code to open it." He arched an eyebrow at the speedster, knowing that he had him beat.

Eggman grinned, "And you and I both know, Eobard, that not even speedsters such as yourself are capable of vibrating their molecules fast enough to phase through Ancient Tech." He reminded the evil speedster with a Cheshire grin. "So, you're stuck here."

Thawne scowled as he stopped vibrating his hand, talking aloud to the other members of the Legion. "Perhaps some of you can convince our friends to cooperate?"

Bowser, however, answered for them, standing behind Eobard, surrounding him. "Us? No. We'd rather see how this plays out."

He turned around and saw that they were surrounding him. He smirked, knowing what was going on here. "Aww. It seems you all have formed an alliance." He walked past Tirek, The Vees, Metal Sonic, and Bowser, standing before the Legion he had formed, a smirk on his face, "There's just one problem."

"That you're the only one who could give us what we want... Yes, we know." Tirek cut him off, making the speedster scowl once more. "You're always so quick to remind us how much we need you, Eobard."

"But, clearly, you need us." Valentino said with a grin.

"You could have gotten in this vault all by yourself." Bowser stated, raising a curious eyebrow. "Why didn't you?"

It was then that the watch on Thawne's wrist began to beep, a panicked expression making its way onto his face.

"And for that matter... why would a man who can travel through time always be in such a hurry?" Loki asked.

"We don't have time for this." There was a hint of fear in Eobard's voice as the watch went off again, beads of sweat dripping down his face as his breathing hitched, his heart racing.

"Oh, we've got all the time in the world." Velvette cooed.

Thawne was beginning to panic, he couldn't stay here, he just couldn't. He didn't do all of this just to die here, no, no, he would not let these imbeciles ruin everything. He was smarter than them, how did he not see this coming? No, he was too busy running to notice.

Running from him.

A chill went down his spine.

His breathing began to quicken.

His heart beating non-stop.

They had him cornered.

The watch went off again.

Screw this!

"Okay!" He shouted, not bothering to hide the panic in his voice. "Okay, you all have made your point. I need you as much as you need me, all right. But if you do not open that door, he is going to kill us. He is coming for me!" He shouted in absolute fear, which was a rare sight for sure.

"Who's coming for you?" Tirek asked as Thawne began pacing around the room.

"It's not a who. It's a... it's a... A what? A thing."

"What thing? Can you be a little more specific?" Asked Loki as Thawne continued pacing.

Letting out a frustrated groan, Thawne began, "I was stabbed in the heart in a doomed timeline and was supposed to be erased from existence!" He walked in between the group, holding his head in clear frustration and fear.

"Well, you look pretty spry despite it." Vox complimented with a smirk.

Thawne turned to the Legion and continued, "I refused to let death have me. So, I channeled every bit of the Negative Speed Force into my body and allowed myself to cheat death." He looked down in fear, opening and closing his fists. "But when I ran back into this timeline, I found myself... pursued by something. I-I thought it was a Time Wraith, the monsters that hunt speedsters who mess with time." He had a distant look in his eyes as he whispered, "But whatever is hunting me is... far worse than a Time Wraith." He gulped in fear and looked up at his allies. "It can sense the Speed Force. And it's trying to kill me."

"Interesting, so that's why you keep running out on us." Loki put together.

Vox then said, "Huh. So you're kinda like a shark who'll die if you stay in one place."

"We are all going to die if you don't..." Thawne was cut off by the most terrifying roar anyone in that vault has ever heard. It sounded like a mix of someone screaming in agony and a demonic screech. And it sounded close. Too close. Everyone turned their heads to the vault doors as Eobard took a step back in terror, his breathing becoming uncontrolled. "It's too late. It's here. Ah, well, the good news is you all finally got what you wanted, you managed to balance our partnership. We're now all equally dead."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." Eggman grinned.

"This isn't the first scary speedster that we had to put in his place." Tirek added with a smile.

"We're gonna get you out of this bank vault, Eobard." Loki reassured, but not before raising an index finger. "But on one condition."

"You stop treating us like lackeys." Vox demanded, placing his arms behind his back.

Eobard scoffed and held back a laugh, pointing his finger toward the closed doors of the vault. "You think you can stop that? Good luck!" Safe to say that he had absolutely no faith in this plan whatsoever.

Val looked at everyone, feigning deafness as he held a cupped hand to his non-existent ear. "Was that a yes?"

Thawne looked at each of them, darting his eyes between the door and them before sighing. Guess he didn't have much of a choice here. So, he swallowed his pride and looked at them with a serious expression. "Yes."

Vox clapped his hands and shouted, "Great! Let's go to work!"

"Right, so, you say this thing is attracted to the Speed Force?" Tirek asked, getting his answer in the form of a nod.

"What if you don't use it?" Loki suggested with a knowing smirk on his face.

Thawne looked at him in confusion. "What are you suggesting?"

"That you stop running."

Outside the vault: in Doom's Courtyard

The air was cold and dreary.

There was a noticeable chill, the absence of life prominent.

Eobard walked out of the vault and into the heart of the courtyard, a hint of fear in his step as he looked around for his pursuer. He could be anywhere, pop up at any moment. He was shaking, eyes wide in terror, in a cold sweat as his eyes darted around before a chill ran up his spine.

It was here.

This was confirmed by the horrific shriek that echoed throughout the courtyard.

"It knows I'm here." Thawne whispered in horror.

"Good." Loki said over the Comms. "Because we've only got one shot at this."

A flash of red lightning zoomed right past Thawne, stopping a few meters behind him. Eobard stood perfectly still as the demonic entity slowly rose to full height, it bones cracking every time it moved one of its limbs. It was a speedster wearing a black version of The Flash's suit, the yellow parts of the costume replaced with red. The speedster itself was a literal walking corpse with lifeless, white eyes, dried up rotten flesh, and sharp, demonic claws on its fingertips.

The Black Flash let out a multi-layered, demonic screech that sent chills down everybody's spines.

Especially Eobard's.

"That is the ugliest looking thing I have ever seen." Val gulped in terror.

Eggman, however, regained his composure and stared at the speedsters from his vantage point. "Remember, as long as you stay still, he can't sense you." This seemed to be the case as despite Eobard standing right in front of it, the Black Flash couldn't see its target.

It looked around, its bones cracking as it moved, walking slowly past Reverse-Flash, snarling as it tried to sense where its prey had run off to. Meanwhile Thawne was doing everything in his power not to run away, to not make a single sound. For if he did, he would be as good as dead.

"Easy Eobard." Tirek cautioned him, noticing how tense he looked as death itself turned and roared in his direction, slowly making its way over to him. "Easy." Tirek reaffirmed as his horns began to light up.

Black Flash snarled as it leaned directly into Eobard's face, as if trying to sense if he was there. It let out a horrific roar, red mist exuding from its gaping maw, forcing Thawne to close his eyes in fear of what might happen.

It was then that the Legion of Doom made their move.

Appearing from their hiding spots, they all engaged the beast in a combined attack, hoping to throw it off balance.

Tirek fired a magic blast, Vel and Val both fired their guns, Eggman ordered Metal to fire a chest beam, Vox sent forth an electric blast, Bowser launched a fireball from his mouth, and Loki fired a blast from his scepter. But the attacks simply phased right through it as it vibrated its molecules to dodge the ensemble of attacks, letting out a massive roar as it stopped vibrating.

Now was his chance.

Without waiting, Reverse-Flash landed a speed punch to Black Flash's middle, sending it flying across the courtyard and landing directly into the vault. As it began to get up, Vox lit up his hand and swiped, closing the vault doors. Black Flash tried to escape, but the barrier inside the vault that kept Thawne held within not a few moments ago held it inside. It snarled as the vault doors shut, sealing it within.

But not for long.

It would soon retreat into the Speed Force and resume its hunt.

Thawne turned to the rest of the Legion and said with haste, "It won't stay trapped for long. We have to go."

Everyone looked at one another before Vox repeated, "We?"

Reverse-Flash smiled and nodded, "We... Partners."

"Better." Loki smirked, the Kalabros Manuscript in his hands, and turned... Only to come face to face with a squadron of Doombots. "Oh, dear."

The Legion were suddenly surrounded by a swarm of Doombots, all of their weaponry trained on them, forcing the group to huddle together back to back as the robots drew closer. "You will go nowhere." A deep, calculating voice declared to the team of villains.

The Doombots split apart and bowed as the sovereign ruler of Latveria approached them. He wore grey, metallic, titanium armor with a green tunic, cape, with a green hood that covers his head. He wore a metallic mask with a permanent scowl, concealing his disfigured visage.

Doctor Doom placed his hands behind his back as he studied the group before him. The team that dared invade his lands and defile his home with their very presence. Despicable. Unforgivable. Disgraceful. This shall not stand. He looked to Loki and scowled, "Trickster god." He greeted, his sights set on him and only him. "You dare to defile Doom's lands with your presence?"

"Always a pleasure, Victor." Loki said sarcastically.

Vox, looking baffled, then asked, "Wait, how'd you know we were here? I disabled all your cameras!"

Doom shut his eyes and chuckled, "If you believe my technology could be so easily beaten by a pathetic worm such as yourself, then you're more idiotic then I thought to believe." He opened his eyes, a cold, unforgiving stare that made Vox shiver. "These are my lands. Doom sees all. None escape my visage." He then looked to the vault behind the team and said, "I was unaware such a vault lied deep beneath my lands. A vault of the Ancients, if I am to assume correctly."

"Enough." Thawne growled before suddenly zooming forward to snap Victor's neck at super speed. They didn't have time for this, the Black Flash could escape at any moment and he sure as hell wouldn't be here when it did. He had to end this quickly.

He never got the chance.

A green energy pulse came from Doom that sent Reverse-Flash flying back, rolling to a stop on the ground. He groaned as he slowly got onto his feet, green electricity encasing his form. He looked at his hands in horror. The Negative Speed Force! He couldn't feel it anymore.

"What... did you do?"

"Nanites." Doom answered, his stance unmoved whatsoever. "Delivering a high frequency pulse that is disabling your speed." He then spoke to the Legion directly. "You are trespassing on Latverian soil." His eyes glowed green as he commanded, "Leave. Now."

Velvette scoffed, "What do ya think we were about to do, love?"

Once Doom set his gaze on her, she made the wise move of hiding behind Bowser.

"I shall give you all one chance." Doom stated. "Relinquish the tome in your possession and leave my lands, lest you wish for today to be your last."

Vox had the audacity to laugh, "Like hell we're gonna give you this book! We just busted our asses off trying to get it!"

"Besides, you seem to be outnumbered here, I'm afraid." Bowser pointed out, gesturing to his allies beside him. "Maybe you should just give up and surrender."

"Doom does not surrender."

"That's funny, neither do we." Eggman said as Metal's eyes lit up with a blazing fury.

Val pulled out his guns and aimed all four of them at the metal monarch. "We're not giving up this book, so how about you take your tight little ass and piss off." He licked his lips, his poison smearing over his mouth as he chuckled.

The rest of the Legion seemed to be in agreement as they readied themselves.

"While you are impressive for a mortal, Doom," Loki said while aiming his scepter forward, "Not even you can hope to stop all of us."

Doom let out a deep and frustrated exhale, closing his eyes before opening them and glaring at the group of villains before him. "Have it your way." The Doombots aimed their weapons at the Legion of Doom while the Latverian monarch simply stood there, clenching his fists behind his back.

Ingrates.

It's time that they learned their place.

With a slight motion with his hand, Doom started the battle, sending his Doombots forward. A barrage of missiles and bullets soared through the air, the calm silence in the courtyard no more. In response, Loki stamped his scepter onto the ground, creating a barrier that blocked the projectiles.

Without hesitation, Metal Sonic flew through the barrier and began tearing through Doombot after Doombot, with Val flying right behind him, firing off Angelic bullets as he flew through the courtyard, no Doombot was spared. Meanwhile Vel scurried across the floor, brandishing an Angelic blade while Vox and Loki held off the incoming swarm of robots.

Piercing the torso of a Doombot, Loki released a blast from his scepter that blew it apart while Vox simply snapped his fingers, sending forth multiple electrical orbs that struck multiple Doombots and sent them sliding back. He grinned as he summoned multiple television cables and sent them piercing through the heads of the robots, laughing as their heads exploded.

As Bowser tore one in half, Tirek set his sights on the approaching Doctor Doom, who had his hands clasped behind his back, his cape flapping through the wind. The centaur smiled and charged forward. Time to put this cretin in his place. Tirek threw a devastating punch, one that created a massive shockwave that destroyed the ground beneath them.

Doom caught it.

He caught the punch.

Tirek's eyes shot open as he felt Doom tighten his hold on Tirek's fist.

"I-Impossible...!" Tirek stuttered before being blasted away by Doom.

As the centaur flew through the air, crashing into one of Doom's statues, the monarch simply wiped his hand and muttered, "Insect." He then hovered into the air, his hands glowing green with arcane magic. "None lay hands on Doom." He then hit Tirek in the chest with a foot dive, sending the centaur onto his back, the side of his head planted on the ground by Doom's metallic boot. "Know your place before approaching me again."

He saw a fireball approaching him fast from the corner of his eye. A pitiful attempt. Doctor Doom merely waved his hand and the fiery orb was redirected into Vox's chest, sending the Tv Demon onto his back. Delivering a final stomp onto Tirek's head, Doom folded his arms and boosted upward, avoiding Metal Sonic's surprise attack from behind.

He heard Valentino zooming toward him from behind, so he turned around, pointed a finger at the moth, and sent a blast that sealed him in a green orb. "What the fuck?!" Val shouted before Doom swung him around with his index finger and slammed him into Loki, who tried getting a clear shot of the monarch but failed to do so in time.

Victor landed on the ground, scoffing before arching an eyebrow as Velvette crawled around him and held her knife against his neck. How disappointing. Before he knew it, he was engulfed in green electricity that caused the doll to cry out in agony as she felt her nerves flare up in pain.

As his defense mechanism ceased, Velvette fell to the floor as Bowser rushed over and threw a punch, one which Doom blocked with precision. He ducked under a right hook and held up his arms as he blocked a kick from Bowser. The two then interlocked hands before Doom delivered a nasty headbutt that actually caused Bowser to stagger.

He then backhanded the Koopa away, sending him bouncing off the floor.

His shielding suddenly appeared over him as Metal Sonic and Vox both sent forth individual blasts to try and incapacitate Doom. The villain scoffed and held up his hand, firing an arcane blast that hit Vox right in the chest, his back colliding with the stone statue behind him. Metal Sonic flew forward as the shield disappeared, intending on tackling Doom. But Victor stepped to the side, causing Metal to miss entirely. But as he zoomed past, the robot felt Doom grab hold of his leg, causing his optics to shrink before he was swung over Doom's head and slammed into the concrete.

Hearing a roar to his right, Doom turned and quickly ceased hold of the two large horns meant to impale him. Doom stood his ground as Tirek pushed against him, snarling as Doom managed to push him back. His eyes widened when Doctor Doom managed to get a good enough grip on his horns and tossed him away like he was nothing.

A swarm of television cables suddenly sprouted from the ground and wrapped around his body, forcing Doom to remain in place as Vox began to laugh, activating his hypnosis to place the monarch under his complete control. But after a few moments Vox looked flabbergasted, Doom remained in complete control and his hypnosis wasn't having the desired effect. Before he could do anything, Doom freed himself from the cables and seized Vox by the throat, holding him in the air and zapping him with arcane magic.

He tossed the television aside and soon found himself surrounded by multiple Loki clones. He arched an eyebrow before clenching his fists, unleashing a burst of magic from himself that dispelled the clones and sent the real Loki flying back into Valentino, who had gotten up and prepared to take flight only to be sent to the floor once more.

As the fight progressed, Eggman, who was standing next to the powerless Reverse-Flash, looked down to see Thawne growling in anger, the green electricity slowly turning back into red. It seemed that the effects of the nanites were beginning to wane. The doctor knew that they had to hold off Doom for a little while longer before they could make their getaway.

Back with Doom, he backhanded a magical blast from Tirek and redirected it right into Bowser, who was boosting over inside his turtle shell to try and get a surprise hit on Doom. But that unfortunately did not come to pass. He shot his arm out to the right and absorbed an electric blast from Vox before firing it right at Tirek, sending him crashing to the floor. He then teleported in a mist of green and reappeared behind the Tv Demon and backhanded him away, cracking his screen.

He quickly used his thrusters to boost back as Loki swung at him with his scepter, all the while simultaneously blocking a slash from Velvette, grabbing her wrist, forcing her to drop the knife, and swinging her right into the side of Loki's head, sending them both to the floor.

Bowser and Tirek had had enough of this and decided to work together. Using Bowser's fire breath and Tirek's magic, they fired a blast at the doctor, combining together to land a devastating blow. Doom, however, was not threatened, as he boosted into the air, folded his arms, and shot downward, propelling his feet forward and shouting, "FOOTDIVE!", kicking the massive orb back and hitting both the centaur and the Koopa, creating a massive explosion that sent each member of the Legion tumbling to the floor.

Doctor Doom landed gracefully and merely brushed off his shoulders.

Thawne had seen enough, they weren't winning this today. Eyes glowing red, Reverse-Flash vibrated his form, exuding the nanites from his body, before zooming around in circles, not only creating a portal for them to escape, but also generating enough lightning to hurl it at Doom.

While Doom caught the bolt of lightning flawlessly, red lightning crackling around his gauntlet, Reverse-Flash quickly gathered everyone and the Kalabros Manuscript and shoved them all into the portal. "Another day, Doom." He growled under his breath before zooming into the breach, leaving Latveria entirely.

As the dust settled, Victor merely stood there and folded his hands behind his back, silently seething at their escape. But it meant little to Doom. They had left his lands and he had gotten what he needed. You see while they were fighting, Doom had sent out a miniature robot to scan the contents of the tome when Loki had dropped it on the floor.

The little spider-like robot crawled over and up its master's leg before resting on his shoulder.

The contents of the book would take time to decode, however that meant nothing, Doom was anything if not patient. He would learn what was going on here, why that tome was so important, and what secrets it held within. And as for those interlopers who dared stand foot in his country. Well. He would see to it that they paid for their transgressions.

With their lives.

With that thought in mind, Doom turned around and began walking back to his castle. Those fools may have thought that they had escaped him.

But rest assured.

None ever escape Doom.

Author's Note

And this is why Doctor Doom is the greatest Marvel villain ever! Fucking fight me! I will die on this hill! I wanted to use Doom in the last story, but I couldn't find a way to include him without doing a disservice to his character. The amount of times writers have gotten him so wrong is so baffling to me.

And I get it, he's such a hard character to write properly. I just hope I've done him well here.

And this won't be the last time we see Doom, oh no, he may not have a big role, but we will see him again.

Anyways, I enjoyed focusing a chapter solely on the villains while the heroes began to unravel the mystery that is the Reverse-Flash. As you can tell, this story takes place after the Flashpoint Paradox in the DC Universe, where Thawne died in that story line, I've decided to use that as the reason that Black Flash is hunting him.

Now we know what Thawne's end goal is.

He just wants to exist.

Also how do we fell about the Hazbin Crew joining the adventure? Thoughts? Because I can promise you this. They won't be the only ones. :ajsmug:

And I want to know, who's your favourite character on both Team Legion and Team Guardians, and why?

Next chapter we head into the next universe and continue the hunt for the Spear of Destiny. Stay tuned, things are picking up now.

14. Here Comes the Boom (Part 1)

Foundation Prime

The Eternal Apex

A loud beeping noise caught the attention of everyone sat at the Holo-Table, their gazes drawn to the Longinus Medallion, which began to glow slightly before the cogs within began turning. As the locks loosened, a holographic display shot out from the medallion, showcasing three distinct earths.

Earth 597.

Earth 2003.

and, to the Guardians' shock, Earth 2010.

Twilight leaned forward, her eyes setting on Earth 2010; Equestria. "I-I don't understand... What is this?" The Princess of Friendship asked, confused as to what she was seeing.

"These must be the different Earths that the pieces of the spear are located in." Tony surmised as he stroked his chin in thought, walking around the table to observe the holographic display. "And judging from the looks of it, one piece of the Spear of Destiny is housed somewhere in Equestria." The Avenger approached the medallion and picked it up, studying it closely.

As he fiddled with the medallion, Tony unknowingly zoomed in on Earth 2010, more specifically, the Everfree Forest, where there was a large glowing mist surrounding the area in the display.

"The Everfree Forest?" Starlight questioned.

The image changed to Earth 597 and zoomed in on an island, surrounded by a vast amount of ocean with a much smaller, volcanic island with a white base sitting on the outskirts. And once again, surrounding the island, was a large mist.

The image shifted once more to Earth 2003 and focused on New York City, where it too, was surrounded by a glowing mist.

Everyone studied the images curiously, but it was Vaggie that asked the question on everyone's minds. "What's with the mist?"

It was Batman who answered her, "If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that those are the specific areas the pieces of the spear are located in." The Dark Knight had his sights set on the display, just like everyone else.

Mario, however, noticed something off with one of them. "Hey." He said, leaning forward and pointing to Earth 597. "What's with that one?" What he noticed was that Earth 597 had some form of distortion coming from it, a glitch-like effect that distorted the image somewhat.

Batman was unsure, so he took the medallion from Tony and placed it on the center of the Holo-Table. "Holo-Table. Focus on the distortion coming from Earth 597 and analyze it." The table glowed before a much larger image of the earth appeared in the room. Charlie looked on in awe, with Vaggie giggling at her girlfriend's reaction, while Alastor simply rolled his eyes as his eternal grin thinned somewhat.

After a few moments the results came in.

Tony swiped on the table, changing the image to the data the table had collected. "Huh. Look at this! Turns out that this dimension is severely unstable, like I'm talking 'end of the universe' unstable. For some odd reason if two of the same person occupy the same space in that dimension, it could cause a catastrophic anomaly that will destroy that entire universe." He leaned forward, focusing on a specific point. "And judging from this data the table collected, it went through a world ending anomaly very recently."

This made the Guardians concerned. Very concerned.

"Is there any way to prevent this anomaly?" Twilight asked, concern evident in her voice and eyes.

To answer her question, Batman skimmed through the notes before finding something interesting. "There appears to be a way." He looked to Tony, who nodded in confirmation, having seen the same thing he spotted. "Theoretically if we were able to bring another piece of the spear to that world, their combined power should be able to hold off the anomaly for a long duration."

"How long we talking?" Sonic asked.

"A couple thousand years, give or take." Tony answered casually.

That got a surprise from everyone present, with Alastor asking, "This piece of wood is really that powerful?"

"It can change reality, what did you expect?" Vaggie grumbled to the Radio Demon.

Starlight looked unsure, her sight varying between each world. "Okay, so we have the locations of the pieces of the Spear of Destiny." She looked down in thought before turning to Twilight to ask, "Which one do we go to first?"

The truth of the matter is that they didn't have a lot of time here. The Legion had more numbers than them and could easily split up to each world to claim the pieces for themselves. Even if they had a head start considering they had the medallion there was no guarantee that they would get each piece.

But then a thought came to her, and judging by the look on Charlie's face, she had the same idea.

"What if we went to all three?" The two princesses spoke at the same time.

Everyone turned to them with curious expressions, just what did they mean by that? Charlie and Twilight looked to one another with smiles as they explained what they meant.

"What if we split into teams..." Charlie started.

"Each team going to a different world..." Twilight continued.

"To work together to claim their piece of the spear..." Charlie beamed as she leaned on the table toward Twilight with a bright smile.

"Before the Legion has the chance to get to it!" Twilight finished, mirroring Charlie's movements exactly.

This made everyone think. It was a good plan, that's for sure. This way, if they split into three teams, they would be able to cover more ground and lessen the chances that the Legion get their hands on the spear. The more they thought about it, the more it made sense.

This could actually work to their advantage.

They could win this race by a landslide!

"You know what?" Tony laughed joyously as he picked up his helmet and put it on, the eyes lighting up. "I like it!"

"Me too!" Sonic exclaimed.

"It's as good a plan as any." Batman agreed.

Mario jumped from his seat and landed on the table, "Alright! We have a plan! Let's put it to work!" Stroking his moustache, he eyed the medallion before stating, "There's just one thing left to figure out!" He looked to everyone, who looked more than ready to get a move on and start claiming the pieces of the Spear of Destiny. "Who's going where?"

The race was on.

Earth 597

Bygone Island

Sonic was bored.

Like beyond bored.

How'd he get roped into this again?

Oh yeah, he was already bored, so he thought that going with Amy and the others on some sort of excavation of an ancient relic would be fun. They could be headed to a temple filled with death traps, and fire, and spikes! But no. Instead they were traversing through the forest at the slowest possible pace imaginable.

So safe to say that Sonic the Hedgehog was bored.

Except this wasn't the Sonic the Hedgehog we know. Oh no, quite the contrary, in fact.

This Sonic was lanky and skinny in physique, wore white sports tape on his arms, legs, and over his shoes. He wore a blue communicator watch on his right arm and wore a brown scarf around his neck. He had his signature gloves and red shoes, but the key difference was that his arms were blue.

And he wasn't the only one who was different.

Tails looked relatively the same, except for the brown belt with a strap that went over his chest and belly, with a yellow belt buckle in the center of it. He also wore goggles on the top of his head and wore a yellow communicator watch on his left hand.

Knuckles looked the most different compared to his modern counterpart, being very tall in stature and having a very muscular build. He had sports tape strapped around his forearms and biceps, wearing a red communicator watch on his right arm.

Amy wore a pink sleeveless minidress, purple stockings on her legs, golden bracelets much like her modern counterpart, a pink headband, and a pink communicator watch on her right arm.

The badger of the group was known as Sticks, who's attire consisted of a midriff-baring tube top and a skirt with an auburn rope belt, each made of worn-down gray fabric stitched together, and tan fur-skin boots, one which has a fur cuff and the other which has metal bands on it. As accessories, she was wearing a golden band on her right upper arm, a spiral bracelet on her left wrist and a necklace braided with seashells and a gold ring.

Team Sonic walked through the forest of Bygone Island, following behind Amy as she led the group towards the excavation site, having been the one to suggest the exhibition in the first place. She'd always been fascinated by the Ancients, hence why she was so invested in her archeology, to uncover the lost remnants of their world.

And why had the others bothered to join her despite the many times she had asked, always receiving the same answer in the form of 'no'? Well it was quite simple really. Tails had been picking up strange signals all throughout the island. Very powerful signals. So he decided to tag along to investigate this further.

The others were bored.

That was it.

It had been a few days since Shadow had almost managed to destroy their entire universe by keeping the two alternate Eggmen in the same dimension for a long duration. They'd almost lost that day. All because Eggman wanted to use Shadow to make a video game.

Typical.

Things had gone back to normal after that. Eggman would attack the village, Team Sonic would stop him, break the fourth wall, y'know, the usual. And that was no different from today, as after dealing with Eggman's latest 'Obliterator Bot', he had made the excuse of doing his laundry and fled.

And the gang had nothing better to do today, so they decided to tag along.

And Sonic was starting to regret it.

"Ugh, Amy, do we have to go so slow?" Sonic complained, leaning the upper half of his body back in pure boredom.

The pink hedgehog turned her head and smirked, "What? Can't stand going a little slow for a little while?"

The blue hedgehog folded his arms and pouted, "What do you think?"

Amy giggled before looking over to Tails, who was fiddling with his watch. "Y'know, you could stand not to be tinkering with your gadgets for an hour." She chastised, admonishing him with her hands on her hips.

The young cub looked up, having not been paying any sort of attention, "Huh? Oh! Sorry, Amy. I was just trying to get a reading on these weird signals I've been picking up all over the island."

Sonic's ears perked up at that. "Hey, I think I remember you mentioning something about that!"

"He did?" Knuckles asked with a confused head tilt.

"I did." Tails answered with an unamused look on his face before glancing down at his watch again. "Ever since that catastrophic anomaly that was caused by Shadow, I've been picking up energy levels that shouldn't be possible to pick up."

"What does that mean?" Sonic asked, slightly interested now.

"It means that these readings are so powerful in nature, that they seem implausible!" Tails answered. "After the anomaly nearly destroyed our entire world, I picked up its residue that was left behind once Lord Eggman left our dimension. These readings I'm picking up, make those readings I got from the anomaly seem miniscule in comparison!"

Now that unnerved the group. How could something like that happen? These readings were suggesting that there was something on the island more powerful than a catastrophic anomaly that could destroy entire worlds.

"So what does that mean?" Knuckles asked, having been lost the entire time.

It was then that Sticks piped up, "It means we're being watched! Someone is reading through our lives like some sort of novel! Watching our every move, hearing everything we say! It's the shadow government, I tell ya! There's eyes everywhere! Nowhere is safe!!!"

Everyone just stared at the badger as she ended her insane rant.

Tails shook his head, "That's not the case here, Sticks." He then looked confused. "I don't think." He shook his head and continued, "To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what this means. Which is why I decided to tag along instead of working on my plane. I wanted to see if these readings could be related to these digs sites Amy's taking us to."

"Well, let's hope so!" Sonic said with a fist bump. "I've been itching for some action!"

"We literally fought Eggman a few hours ago." Amy reminded the energetic, yet, lazy hedgehog.

"Yeah, and I'm already bored." Sonic responded with a smirk. "Come on, let's get a move on!" With that, the hedgehog boosted off, ignoring the unimpressed looks on his friends' faces. With annoyed sighs, they ran after the hedgehog.

In the skies of the island

"Fucking, shit!!!" Came the terrified screams of Velvette as she struggled to maintain her balance on the square platform beneath her feet. As she tried to stand still, both Vox and Valentino, who were standing tall on their own respective platforms, looked at her with amused expressions, the former snickering while the latter was lost in full on laughter.

As his business partner tried to stable herself, Vox couldn't help but take in a whiff of fresh air. (How does he do that? He's a Tv screen.) It had been centuries since he'd felt the wave of fresh air hit his face. He allowed himself a moment of piece, even though he was still dead, that didn't stop him from maintaining the façade of being alive.

That was gonna be one of the first things he changed once he got the spear. Bringing himself back to life, along with immortality and infinite power, of course.

He glanced to his left as multiple robots and VoxTech drones flew down from various portals and hovered around him and his compatriots. The robots that were made by his newest partner and friend were humanoid and highly futuristic robots standing over two meters tall. They had a slim and almost triangular torso with a pronounced chest area, digitigrade legs, and three-toed hook-like feet. They also had a small machine gun for the left hand and a missile launcher for the right hand. On their backs, they appeared to have a propulsion system shaped as two joined disks, and their heads were shaped like disks with a glowing light blue line on the front for eyes.

Vox looked over from the Egg Gunners and turned to Dr. Eggman, who hovered down inside of his Egg Mobile with Metal Sonic floating by his side, smiling viscously. "Well, my good doctor, would you care to do the honors?" Vox asked charmingly, bowing and gesturing to the island below.

The mad genius stroked his moustache and chortled. "It would be my pleasure, my friend!" With the glass covering him sliding back, Eggman stood up and pointed his arm forward, sending forth the legion of Egg Gunners and VoxTech drones down to the island to begin surveillance.

Valentino licked his teeth, still snickering at Velvette, who was now lying down on the platform, holding on for dear life, before noticing something in the Egg Mobile. "Why'd you bring that?" He asked, pointing to the piece of the spear inside the vehicle.

"If you had been paying attention, you'd know that we needed to bring this piece with us to stabilize the unnatural balance of this cursed dimension." Eggman answered condescendingly with a stroke of his moustache. "I'm not taking the risk of there being counterparts of any of us in this place and causing an anomaly that will not only destroy us, but the piece of the spear as well."

Val nodded in understanding before Vox said, "Hopefully locating the piece of the spear won't be a problem. What with all the armed forces we've brought with us to this... less than appealing place." He added with a disgusted sneer.

"You're just pissy because we're out in nature." Velvette pointed out as she stood up on her platform, finally gaining her balance. She giggled when she received a middle finger from Vox. She looked down to Bygone Island and frowned, "But with how big this island is, this could take a while."

"Which is why I'll be sending Metal Sonic down there as well." Eggman revealed, adjusting his glasses. "To hopefully speed things along." He looked to his greatest creation and nodded his head toward the island. "If you encounter any form of resistance, decimate them!"

With an acknowledging nod, Metal wasted no time in activating his booster and flying down to the island, murderous intent in his red optics.

Eggman chuckled as he pulled out a bucket of popcorn, offering it to Vox as he ate a piece of it. "Popcorn?"

"Fuck yes!" Vox answered passionately, taking a handful before grabbing hold of the bucket and offering it to Val, who accepted it wholeheartedly. He looked to Velvette and offered her the bucket. "Vel? You hungry?"

The doll scoffed. "Please. Unlike you lot, I'm trying to watch my figure."

*GROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAANNNNN*

Velvette's hands instinctively went to her belly, her face flushed with embarrassment as she stared down at her tummy with wide and mortified eyes. That did not just happen. She slowly looked over to the amused faces of her associates and opened her mouth to explain herself before her stomach cut her off, letting loose another monstrous growl, causing her to wrap her arms around her middle.

God, that was so embarrassing.

With a defeated sigh, she held out her hand and accepted the bucket of popcorn, muttering under her breath that her friends were assholes.

Val, Vox and Eggman grinned in victory when Velvette began eating.

And soon their grins would get even wider, as soon the next piece of the Spear of Destiny would be in their possession. And nothing would stop them.

Not this time.

The outskirts of the island

The calm of the beach was undisturbed for quite some time, the waves crashing against the sand, the breeze flowing through the sky. It was a true paradise. That is, until the particles in the sand began to shift as the current of the wind picked up. The sand began to swirl into the air as a rift in reality emerged into existence, swirling around as a blue streak sped by, exiting the portal and entering this whole new world.

The Blue Blur slid across the sand, stretching as he took in a deep breath.

And the hedgehog was not alone.

Because rom within the portal outstepped Charlie Morningstar, eyes full of wonder, alongside Vaggie, eye full of paranoia as she surveyed the area, watching for any hidden dangers. And then finally, with his everlasting smile plastered on his face, outstepped Alastor, hands clasped behind his back, holding his staff tightly as the portal closed behind him.

The demons took a look around at their surroundings.

Charlie couldn't believe it, this was the human realm, granted not her version of it, but still the human realm nonetheless. She covered her eyes to block out the sun, she didn't expect it to be so bright. And the wind blowing against her face, it was a feeling like no other. She looked down to see sand under her hooves. With an excited smile, she removed her shoes and allowed her hooves to feel the sand.

"Wow." She whispered in astonishment. For as long as she had lived in Hell, she had dreamed of visiting the land of the living. To feel the sunshine on her face, the wind blowing her hair back, to know what it felt like... to be alive. She looked over to her girlfriend, who looked conflicted herself.

Turns out that before becoming an Exorcist Angel, Vaggie had indeed been a human soul on Earth. So right now she must've been having conflicting feelings, some painful memories. While Vaggie hasn't been open about her past on Earth, Charlie does know that it wasn't a pleasant life she had lived.

Charlie, having put back on her shoes, wrapped her arm around Vaggie and gave her a comforting smile, which the former Angel greatly appreciated.

Alastor... was curious.

His life on Earth had been tough to say the least. Being a mixed raced child in New Orleans, Louisiana in the the 1930's had been tough on him and his mama. The ridicule. The senseless racism they had been experienced to. He'd never admit this openly, but that had been part of the reason he had gone down the path that he did.

But his mother had always put on a smile and was kind to everyone she met. Alastor didn't understand it, how she could be so caring to people who despised her and her son for what race they were. He hated it when they took advantage of her, he even got into many heated arguments over it.

But she always said the same thing to him.

"They need it more than us."

When Alastor had made a name for himself as a radio host, he decided some payback was in order. The kills he made, the thrills of hearing their screams, the vengeance that had been owed to him.

His mother would be horrified.

He felt his ears lower against his head at that thought.

How ashamed of him she must be.

All of that led to that fateful night where he had been mistaken for a deer and shot in the head.

So it was safe to say that Alastor had conflicting feelings about returning to the land of the living himself. And that's where he would keep such things. To himself.

"I must say, I wasn't expecting this other world to be so..." Alastor trailed off as Charlie piped up.

"Beautiful?" She offered.

"...Hot." Alastor finished as he waved his hand in front of his face. Perhaps it might have been for the best if he had ditched his jacket. He did not miss the feeling of sweating, that was for sure. It reminded him of home, for better and for worse.

Vaggie walked up to Sonic, who was staring at the ocean with a slight panic in his eyes. This made the moth smirk as she nudged his arm, "Not a fan of the water, huh?"

"Nope." Sonic answered honestly, shivering before turning to the demon and smiling. "I just hope that the piece of the spear isn't in there." He joked, pointing to the ocean with his thumb.

"Amen to that." Vaggie agreed as she unfurled her wings and examined them. "It's an absolute pain in the ass to dry these things off."

"Is this what your world's like, Sonic?" Charlie asked as she walked over, Alastor trailing behind her.

"Some parts of it." Sonic answered with a smile. "Other parts are frozen wastelands, uncovered seaside civilizations, mechanical empires, etcetera, etcetera."

Alastor tilted his head and stared at the hedgehog. "Your world sounds very strange."

"Eh, it's home." He replied with a shrug before stretching his legs and turning towards the jungle behind the beach. "Now come on! We gotta find that piece before Eggman and his Legion buddies get their grubby hands on it."

Vaggie and Charlie looked to one another, their wings out and ready to go, while Alastor descended into his shadows and opted to follow that way. With the team set and ready, Sonic boosted forward at impossible speeds and led the group of Hazbins into the jungles of Bygone Island, determined to beat the Legion of Doom to the piece of the Spear of Destiny.

Hopefully they weren't too late.

The Canyon

Team Sonic had long since left the forest and made their way to Amy's dig site to uncover the mysterious source of the energy spike Tails had picked up. But upon reaching the canyon where the dig site was, they were greeted with robots surveying the area.

And not the normal robots they fought on a day to day basis.

Oh no, these robots were a lot more... lethal.

The Egg Gunners were surveying the land, scanning for any signs of the Spear of Destiny fragment, with VoxTech drones flying around them to see if they had much better luck in the air. As the robots continued searching the dig site, Team Sonic were sprawled out on their bellies on the cliff leading down into the canyon, observing as these new robots desecrated the dig site.

"Woah." Knuckles said as he squinted down at the robots. "Who're those robots down there?"

"Oh, we know who built them." Tails claimed as he looked to the echidna.

"Wait, we do?" The confused Knuckles retorted.

Sonic, however, wasn't so sure. "I don't think this is Eggman, buddy." He looked to the young fox and continued. "These robots don't look.... Eggman-ey enough."

"Sonic is right. These robots actually look competent." Amy criticized before adding, "Plus they look a lot more lethal than Eggman's. Do you see the guns on their arms, these robots are not playing around."

"And the drones in the sky, definitely not an Eggman design." Sonic added. "I think we're dealing with someone new." The hedgehog stood up and dusted himself off. "Well, we're not gonna get any answers standing up here! Come on, let's give these guys a warm welcome to the island!" With that declaration, Sonic slid down into the canyon, his friends following close behind.

Upon detecting multiple unknown life signatures, the Egg Gunners turned around and came face to face with Team Sonic.

"Hey, bolts for brains!" Sonic called out, gaining their attention. "Why don't you focus on us instead of playing with a bunch of rocks!"

The visors of the Egg Gunners shifted from blue to a menacing red as they locked onto the hedgehog and his friends. "PRIORITY ONE TARGET SIGHTED." They all declared in unison, confusing the blue hedgehog.

"Priority one?" Sonic repeated, unsure of what they meant.

The Egg Gunners then opened fire upon Team Sonic, launching missiles and firing bullets through the air. The team split apart as explosions sounded off in the canyon. Sonic ran around the bots as Amy and Knuckles charged forward, the former swinging her hammer at the Egg Gunners while the latter slammed his fist onto the ground, causing the robots to lose their balance. Noticing his opportunity, Sonic rushed forward and curled into a ball to hit the bots with a Spin Attack. Hitting the back of the Egg Gunner, Sonic launched it right into the other one, causing them to fall onto one another.

Sticks rolled her tongue before yelling a battle cry, holding her staff as she rushed forward and jumped in the air, swinging her weapon and hitting an Egg Gunner in the head. It didn't actually do much other than cause it to stagger. Huh. Usually that works, Eggman's robots normally break apart with a single strike.

She let out a weak giggle as the robot aimed its gun at her head. She comically zipped away as it opened fire upon her, unleashing a barrage of bullets that would've killed her in an instant.

Meanwhile Tails flew around with his namesakes, managing to barely avoid the entourage of bullets that flew his way. "Woah! These robots are effective!" He dove down and hit an Egg Gunner on the top of its head with a wrench.

It did nothing in the slightest.

"Uh oh." The young fox gulped before flying upwards to avoid the missile aimed for his head.

Amy knocked down an Egg Gunner with her hammer, only to be blasted to the ground by a missile fired from another robot from behind her. She groaned and rolled onto her back to see the Egg Gunner stomp toward her, aiming its gun directly at her head. But before it could deliver the finishing blow, Sonic tore through it with a Spin Attack, saving the downed hedgehog's life.

Helping his friend up, Sonic commented, "Upgraded or not, these robots still go down with an awesome Spin Attack!" After finishing his boasting, he went back to back with Amy to face down the Egg Gunners that were currently circled around them. The two hedgehogs smirked to one another before breaking off, taking the Egg Gunners head on.

As Team Sonic continued to brawl, they were unaware to the fact that they were being watched.

Metal Sonic observed the fight from his position in the sky, his arms folded over his chest. Most curious. The blue buffoon down there looks very similar to his loathsome copy. But there were some differences. For one, this one's arms were blue. Two, his forehead was abnormally large, which would've made Metal laugh if he had the ability to do so. And three, and this was the most grueling difference of all.

This one was slow.

Very slow.

This hedgehog couldn't even go Mach three, which his loathsome copy travelled at naturally.

His eyes shifted to the other maggots down there. They also looked like his copy's idiotic friends. Why was the red one so muscular? And who was the badger? Metal had no record of her. Most infuriating indeed. He clenched his fists as his optics glowed suddenly, sending live footage of the battle to his superiors.

The sound of his master doing a spit take could be heard.

"WHAAAAAAT!!!!" Eggman roared in Metal's ear. He hated when he did that. "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! HOW DID THE HEDGEHOG AND HIS FRIENDS GET HERE SO QUICKLY?!"

"They have the Longinus Medallion, Eggy." Velvette snarked with her mouth full of popcorn. "Or did you forget that?"

"Is it just me, or does the blue one look odd to anyone else?" Vox asked.

Eggman was silent for a moment before realizing what Metal had deduced prior to this call. "You're right. The rodent looks different, and his speed has decreased dramatically." The doctor began chuckling, Metal assumed he was stroking his moustache. He liked to do that. "It seems I was right in bringing that piece of the Spear of Destiny with us, after all. It appears that we have arrived in an alternate version of Mobius. With an alternate Sonic here to ruin my fun." He added with a huff. Metal then swore that he heard his creator smile, "But he won't be around for much longer. A day that any version of the blue rat dies is a good day in my book!"

"I think I like where this is going~" Val purred in Metal's ear.

"Heh heh! Metal, my boy, it seems we have a rodent problem." Eggman observed, grinning ear to ear. "Be a dear and deal with these pests!"

He didn't need to tell him twice.

Optics glowing brightly, Metal observed as Team Sonic celebrated, having dealt with the last of the Egg Gunners, before clenching his fists, activating his turbo engine, and zooming down into the canyon at impossible speeds.

With one goal in mind.

Proving that no matter the universe, he is the one, true Sonic the hedgehog. And he would start by murdering the blue idiot down below.

If Metal could smile, he would be grinning. This was gonna be fun.

Author's Note

Looks like we've reached our next world! The world of Sonic Boom!!!

Very excited to explore this place. We'll be spending a few chapters here.

And honestly, cannot wait to write the fight between Team Sonic and Modern Metal Sonic. For those who don't know, Modern Metal is fucking broken. He would wipe the floor with his Boom counterpart with ease.

And with how fast he is compared to Boom Sonic, yeah, the blue hero doesn't stand a chance.

Add to the fact that Modern Metal is sentient while Boom Metal is not, that adds a whole other layer to this upcoming fight.

Honestly, I'd be very worried for Team Boom next chapter.

I know I am.

Anyways, stay tuned, you don't wanna miss what happens next!

15. Here Comes the Boom (Part 2)

Earth 597

Bygone Island

Dr. Eggman was on the cusp of a great victory, that blue beaver was finally done for!

The room inside his high tech fortress was dark, the lights off as the mad doctor held up a blunt weapon, eyes darkening as he prepared to land the finishing blow. "Sonic the Hedgehog. At last I, the great Dr. Eggman, have you right where I want you... And now, the final blow! NYUGH!!!" The doctor brought his weapon down upon the hedgehog, which turned out to be nothing more than a stuffed plushie resembling the hedgehog. He kept attacking the plush with his weapon; a wooden spoon, and continued to do so until he slipped on a wrench on the floor, causing him to yelp and fall onto the floor, injuring himself while the plush simply sat there, grinning goofily. The incompetent doctor sat up and pouted, crossing his arms as he huffed, "Curse you, Sonic!!! You've once again bested me!!! How do you keep doing it!!!"

His little temper tantrum was cut short by a blaring notification on his massive monitor. Curious, Boom Eggman turned to the massive screen and saw that one of his Flybots had picked up something while spying on Sonic and his friends. Standing up straight, and giving the Sonic plush a hard punt across the room, Boom Eggman walked over to his chair and took a seat.

Boom Eggman's attire consisted of militaristic garments; set of gray goggles with flappable green lenses, along with a pair of blue pince-nez glasses, covering his eyes. He wore a red jacket, which featured yellow cuffs, golden buttons, a yellow flap, and coattails hanging from the back. He also wore white gloves, dark gray pants with lighter gray stripes on the sides, and a pair of high-rimmed black boots. On his right wrist he had his wrist communicator to not only contact Orbot and Cubot, but to control some of his robots too.

Typing in a set of commands on his holographic keyboard, Boom Eggman began to bring up the live feed from his Flybot, resting his head in his palm in an annoyed fashion when the footage began to buffer and not render. To his right, the giant door to the room slid open and in came in Orbot and Cubot, the former holding a cup of coffee on a silver plate.

"Here you go, boss!" Orbot said cheerily as he placed the coffee onto Eggman's desk, to which the goofy doctor "oohed" at before taking the cup to his lips and taking a sip. His eyes lit up when the live footage finally rendered and stopped buffering.

Only to spit the coffee right back out and onto Cubot's face as he took sight of what he saw on the screen. "WHAT THE WHAT?!" He screeched as he stood up, sending his chair back as he leaned forward to really take in what he was seeing.

Metal Sonic, charging down from the sky, right toward Team Sonic, who were surrounded by destroyed robots.

"Cubot! Did you accidentally send out Metal Sonic while dusting the console again?" Boom Eggman turned to ask his robot underling.

The yellow robot raised his hands in defense, "Wasn't me, boss." Cubot defended as he hovered over to the broom closet and opened it, revealing that Metal Sonic was still offline, hanging in there like a coat on a rack. "He hasn't woken up since that whole video game fiasco."

Now Boom Eggman was confused. "If that's the case." He turned to look back at the robotic hedgehog on screen and squinted as his brain went to work to try and figure this out. "Then who's that?"

The Canyon

Team Sonic knocked down the last of the Egg Gunners with a combined attack from Sonic and Knuckles, clearing the area of any enemy forces. The group of heroes celebrated with cheers and high fives. Despite how tough those new robots seemed to be, there was nothing that could stop Team Sonic.

But that was all about to change.

Something fast and dangerous shot down from the sky and slammed down in front of the team, kicking up sand and sending them sliding back slightly. Moving their hands and arms from their eyes, they each saw a set of red eyes glowing from within the sand.

A pair of familiar eyes.

Once the dust cleared Team Sonic saw Metal Sonic standing there, looking at them menacingly with tightened fists.

"Metal Sonic." Boom Sonic announced as he got into a battle ready stance.

"So Eggman is a part of this!" Tails said in realization, twirling his namesakes and taking to the air, holding his wrench.

Unlike her friends, Amy noticed something... off with Metal Sonic. The way he was staring at them, it wasn't the same cold, emotionless stare that they were accustomed to. No. This was different. There was something different about the way Metal stared at them, she didn't know how she could tell, but there was pure hate radiating off of him.

Which didn't make any sense, Metal was a robot. He wasn't sentient.

Right?

"Guuuuys?" Boom Amy drawled out uncertainly, slowly tightening her grip on her hammer as she looked to her friends. "Something doesn't feel right."

Boom Sonic, ever the cocky hero, snickered, "Yeah. You're right Ames. What's not right is that Metal isn't smashed yet!"

"No!" Amy groaned, feeling a headache coming on. "I mean that this doesn't make any sense! We literally trashed Metal Sonic a few days ago during that video game incident. How did Eggman repair him so quickly? And why would he use him so soon?" She looked down in thought, "Something's not right."

"We'll figure it out later." Boom Sonic said with a roll of his eyes before smirking. "Right now, we've got a tinker toy to deal with!" Without warning, Boom Sonic shot forward toward the metallic duplicate, intending on sending him to the scrap heap with a good ole' fashioned Spin Attack.

"Sonic, wait!!!" Amy shouted, but it was for naught.

Because to their absolute shock, Metal moved first.

They didn't even see him move.

One moment he's standing there, the next he's in front of Sonic.

Boom Sonic didn't even get the chance to react before Metal Sonic kicked him in the side of the head with his foot, sending the blue hero directly into the side of the canyon. Team Sonic looked on in pure shock and fear as their leader fell from the wall and landed in a crumpled heap.

They all slowly turned to Metal, his eyes glowed brightly.

Uh oh.

Metal took one look at the group and began to walk forward, his eyes shining with hatred as he stalked closer to them. They took a nervous glance at one another before Boom Knuckles grit his teeth and charged forward, rearing back a punch before throwing it forward. His punches were strong, no Eggman robot could withstand his power.

Not this time.

Metal caught his punch.

He caught it.

Knuckles stammered and blubbered in confusion as he looked down at Metal, who simply regarded him with a head tilt before bending Knuckles' fist back, causing him to scream in pain, before Metal kneed him in the jaw, sending him to the sky.

The echidna landed behind him, creating a dust cloud, and struggled to get back up.

Metal paid him no mind.

No, instead, he had other fish to fry.

He shot forward at impossible speeds, his turbine whizzing as he stopped in front of Amy and punched her in the throat, grabbed her hammer as she held her neck, and slammed her side with it, the sheer force sending her crashing into Sticks, sending them both to the floor.

The robotic hedgehog flew upward, discarding the hammer, before appearing behind Tails and slamming him to the floor with both hands. Metal Sonic flew down and landed on top of the poor fox, he would've chuckled if he could. His optics darted to the left as a boomerang soared towards him.

He caught it in his hand and crushed it.

Sticks gawked at the sight before he was on her in milliseconds.

What the what?!

She had no time to react as Metal elbowed the side of her head, sending her down as he grabbed her by her hair and swung her around, flinging her into the sky. As she flew, he appeared above her and grabbed her by the neck and flew forward at impossible speeds.

He threw her forward and flew right past her, stopping in the middle of her flight path with folded arms.

He then front flipped and kicked her to the ground with his heel.

She wasn't getting up from that.

He looked down to see the inferior version of his loathsome copy running toward him. Metal's eyes brightened. Finally! With a boost of his turbine, the metallic menace met Boom Sonic in the middle and seized him by the throat. "Too slow!" Metal thought as he dragged him along for the ride.

"WHAT THE WHAT?!" Was what Boom Sonic thought as he felt his neck become seized by Metal. "This doesn't make sense! When did Metal become this strong?! T-This... FAST!!!" He barely had time to think as Metal shoved him into the wall of the canyon as he flew, dragging him through it. Boom Sonic grunted and bit back his pain as he felt his back tear from the rocks and his neck bleed from Metal's grip.

Metal Sonic threw the hedgehog forward and boosted after him, delivering punch after punch before activating his diamond shield and exploding it, sending Boom Sonic bouncing off the sandy ground. He didn't get a moment of reprieve as Metal stomped on his chest, winding him and causing all the air to leave his lungs.

He grabbed the back of his head and slammed it to the ground. He then did it again, and again, before raising his foot and slamming it on the back of his skull, digging his face into the dirt. His eyes were glowing menacingly as he grabbed the hedgehog's quills and and spun him around before delivering a nasty kick to his back, sending him flying.

A wrench was headed right toward him.

Metal didn't even turn around before teleporting behind the fox that had thrown it and karate chopping the back of his neck, shutting him down. But before he let him fall to the ground, Metal grabbed his tails and held on tight. He then spun him around and around before hurling him into the dirt.

Metal Sonic then dove down and landed in a crouched position, eyes glowing with malice.

He was having fun with this.

He saw the red one running toward him.

Time to toy with them some more.

He avoided and dodged every punch thrown, which wasn't hard as this echidna was a lot slower than the one he was familiar with. Although he could tell that the simpleton was shocked that he was as fast as he was. Metal redirected one punch before delivering a single strike to Knuckles' throat. As he staggered back, Metal grabbed his locks and pulled him forward, kneeing him in the gut before firing his chest laser, sending the echidna soaring across the canyon.

As Knuckles landed next to his friends, Amy slowly got up, badly bruised and bleeding. She rubbed her throat with her hand and croaked out, "S-Since when w-was Metal Sonic so... efficient?"

"So... brutal?" Sticks added, holding her arm.

Boom Sonic trudged over, eyes wide with fear, "He's.... he's faster than me...." His eyes were shaking as Metal began walking to them, a red aura surrounding him and kicking up dust in his wake. His eyes glowed. Sonic scowled, "Even when he had that gameplay data Eggman recorded he wasn't this tough."

"He's... not... gonna... stop..." Tails managed to get out as he slowly got to his feet.

Boom Sonic looked to his friends and seriously said, "Guys, I have a plan."

Metal wondered what those imbeciles were up to. He was curious. Nothing they could do would stop him, so what was the point? They were starting to bore him now. They weren't even the real deal. But he would get satisfaction out of their demise. He could just pretend that they're his loathsome copy and his annoying friends.

That would make it all the more sweeter.

He saw the red one, pink one, and the badger run off.

Cowards.

No matter. He would kill them later.

His sole focus was on the blue imposter before him.

The blue buffoon took a step back and shouted, "COME AND GET ME!" With that, he turned and ran.

If you could even call it that.

Metal shook his head. How amusing. His red aura diminished as he took to the air and flew after him.

It didn't take long for him to catch up, how boring, where was the thrill. He would ensure that this one would meet a most painful end for making this as boring and one sided as possible. He didn't even go full speed to get ahead of the hedgehog, but he managed to do so and turned around, intending on ramming right into him.

Metal didn't expect the imbecile to jump in the air and throw out an electric whip from his communicator. Nor did he expect the fox to catch it and swing him around.

Wait...

"TIME FOR A SPEEDING SWING SURPRISE!!!"

The next thing Metal knew was that he was kicked in the side by Boom Sonic and sent flying into the wall of the canyon. He shook his head and slowly got up and readied himself for retribution. But felt something fall on his head.

A pebble.

He looked up and saw the rest of those idiots standing there with smug looks on their faces. The red and pink one slammed their fists and hammers down and created a landslide. The boulders landed right on top of him.

Seemingly crushing him.

Team Sonic let out a combined sight of relief, sliding down the canyon to meet up with Sonic and Tails. They walked over to the two, exhausted beyond belief. Metal Sonic had never been that strong before. Eggman had really stepped up his game.

"I can't feel my everything." Knuckles groaned as he fell to one knee.

"I don't get it." Boom Sonic managed to get out before falling on his rear in exhaustion and pain. "Egghead's never been that brutal before."

"Maybe you were right?" Sticks whispered as she held her arm. "Maybe this wasn't Eggman."

"But who could gain control of his tech?" Boom Amy questioned.

"Our best bet is to find Eggman and—"

Tails was cut off by a metallic and electric kind of sound... coming from the boulders.

Team Sonic immediately shot up to their feet and watched the mountain of boulder with fear and horror in their eyes.

"Th-There's no way." Boom Sonic shook his head.

"E-Eggman's robots aren't that durable!" Boom Tails squeaked in fear.

(Play battle music from 3:24)

They watched closely as the boulders shook before exploding into the sky as a massive, red, flaming aura brightened the canyon. And inside that aura was Metal Sonic, not even slightly damaged. His heavy footsteps echoed throughout the canyon as he walked over menacingly to the heroes, eyes not leaving theirs.

His optics were also glowing red, showing nothing but pure, murderous intent as he drew ever closer to his prey.

Boom Tails took a step back before falling on his rear.

Boom Amy shook in fear.

As did Sticks.

Boom Knuckles' jaw fell to the floor.

Boom Sonic took a step back in fear.

Tails' instincts kicked in as he got up off the ground and turned to make a run for it. Only to come face to face with Metal Sonic as he skidded to a stop in front of him. Everyone turned around and braced themselves.

Boom Sonic hurled his electric whip forward, hoping to ensnare Metal to leave him open for attack.

Metal Sonic would've scoffed as he caught the whip with his hand and pulled heavily on it, pulling Boom Sonic right towards him. He punched the hedgehog, sending him back before tugging again, repeating the action again and again, using him like a lethal yoyo on a string before spinning him around in the air several meters up in the sky before bringing him back down.

The hedgehog's air left his body as his back collided with the ground, a scream not escaping him.

Metal flung him into the air again and spun him around before slamming him down again, creating a hole where he landed. He then activated his turbine and shot into the air, taking Boom Sonic with him, using him like a yoyo again before curling into a ball and doing so again, this time with more lethalness added to it.

He then delivered a massive spin dash to his core, sending the hedgehog flying again before spinning him around in a circle before releasing him, uncurling only to watch as the hedgehog crashed against the wall of the canyon.

Metal was on him in seconds.

Team Sonic watched in horror, tears pricking their eyes, covering their mouths with their hands, as Metal Sonic slammed both of his feet into Sonic's chest.

Metal flipped back and folded his arms. "I've let you live long enough." He thought before laying into him. Punching his gut, chest, face, his entire body in a flurry of hits invisible to the eye before seizing him by the throat and dragging him into the air, creating a trench in the canyon before zooming upward.

"YOU'RE DOOMED!!!" With a mighty toss, Metal Sonic threw the blue leader back down into the canyon, creating a massive crater where he landed, managing to blow the injured Team Sonic off of their feet. Metal Sonic looked down in disdain before folding his arms and landing softly on the ground.

Standing before the crater, he watched as Team Sonic slowly got to their feet. But they weren't in any condition to fight.

And Metal knew that.

Team Sonic could only look on in horror, the raw fear of death looming over them for the very first time. They weren't going to make it out of this unscathed.

And they knew that.

After all, Metal Sonic just completely demolished their leader without even trying.

And as Metal's eyes pierced their very souls, they knew that they were next.

Author's Note

Hey all, Merry (Late) Christmas!!!

Sorry for the lack of updates and for the short ass chapter. Between Christmas, my cancer diagnosis, and all around a bunch of bullshit, I've barely had any time to write. So, as a late Christmas present, and as the final chapter of the year, I give you what is most likely my most brutal fight scene yet.

Holy shit, SMBZ anyone?

Not gonna lie, I even surprised myself with how brutal I made this fight.

This chapter was meant to be longer, but there's no way I'm gonna get what I wanted to get into this chapter before the New Year and I wanted to at least give you guys something before 2025.

In regards to updates next year, it'll all depend on how I'm feeling during chemotherapy and shit.

That'll be fun.

Also saw Sonic 3.

Fucking masterpiece! 10/10!!! It's peak!

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this short, yet long fight scene chapter.

Not much plot progression, but it's something to tide you guys over as I get shit sorted out.

Anyways, thanks for the support this year, hopefully next year will be even better.

Happy New Years, and stay safe you guys!

17. Here Comes the Boom (Part 4)

Earth 597

Bygone Island

A sonic boom sounded off in the distance, gaining the attention of everyone playing volleyball on the beach. When they turned to the source of the boom, they saw a blue blur blitz right past them and come to a stop on a canopy bed with a coconut in his hand.

Sonic took a sip out of the straw in the coconut. "Sup guys?" He discarded the coconut as Alastor materialized to his left, still smiling, still creepy. He saw Charlie, Boom Amy, and Vaggie walking out of what he assumed was Amy's hut. When he saw Tails making his way to the group, he sped over and said, "Energy readers have been placed, bud."

"Great! Now we can trace the source of the energy spikes!"

"Which will hopefully lead us to the piece of the spear." Alastor commented. "The sooner we find it, the sooner we can leave this infernal place."

Charlie trudged up to the Radio Demon's side and nudged it in a friendly manner. "Awe, come on, Al. This place isn't so bad." She looked to the beachside and let out a wistful sigh, she truly was astonished by the land of the living.

"Let's agree to disagree, my dear. The sooner I can get back to Hell and start maiming and killing again, the better."

"You could've stayed behind, y'know." Vaggie reminded with a scowl. "You didn't have to come with us. You volunteered, remember?"

Alastor turned to the former Exorcist and squinted his eyes, still smiling, "And miss out the chance to show up that annoying picture box?" He laughed obnoxiously, wiping a fake tear from his eye. "That'll be the day."

Boom Amy, wanting to get back on track, cleared her throat and turned to Tails. "Let's get back to what's important. Ready to show us what's going on, Tails?"

"You bet! Let's head to my workshop!"

Boom Tails led both Team Sonic and The Guardians to his workshop, which also worked as a hanger for his bi-plane. Sonic couldn't help but compare it to Tails' workshop from his home dimension. It was less advanced than the one back home but it was impressive nonetheless.

The young fox pulled out his laptop and began typing on the keyboard. Charlie and Alastor peered over his shoulder, one in curiousness while the other was looking in disgust. "How is this miniature picture box supposed to help us find that Spear fragment?"

"Well, by tracing the various energy strands from the multiple dig sites, I'll be able to follow them to the source." Boom Tails explained.

"Which will lead us to the Spear fragment!" Charlie exclaimed happily, bouncing in place.

"Knew you'd be able to figure it out, buddy." Boom Sonic congratulated, rubbing his head affectionately.

Tails giggled in embarrassment before getting a ping on his laptop, "I think I've found it!" After typing in a few more commands, multiple images appeared on the screen, each showing a different dig site. The images then changed to a bird's eye view of the island and highlighted the energy strands and where they were converging. "According to these readings, the energy readings are originating from the heart of the village!"

"Which village?" Knuckles asked, completely lost as to what was going on.

"The village we defend on a daily basis." Sticks reminded the echidna with a deadpan tone.

"Oh."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Boom Sonic asked, cracking his fingers. "Let's go get that Spear fragment before anyone else has the chance to."

"Love the way you think, other me." Modern Sonic agreed, giving his counterpart a fist bump.

A sudden tremor paused the energy and ruined the moment. Everyone looked around before Boom and Modern Sonic rushed out of the workshop and looked in the direction of the village, everyone else joining them outside. When they turned to see what the two hedgehogs were staring at, they saw smoke rising into the sky.

Right where the village was.

Meanwhile in Hedgehog Village

Modern Eggman couldn't help but grin, this was going very well. Looking to his left he saw The Vees surrounding various villagers while his Egg Gunners, his counterparts robots, and Metal Sonic were tearing apart the town searching for that fragment.

Meanwhile he was sitting in his Egg Pod aiming a laser cannon directly at the mayor of this backwater town. The mayor was shaking where he stood, completely frozen. How his counterpart had failed to take over this stupid island was beyond him. But no matter, he was here for one thing, and that was the Spear fragment.

Speaking of...

"I'm not hearing an answer, Mr. Mayor." Eggman hummed as he began charging up his laser cannon. "Where is the Spear of Destiny?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

Boom Eggman hovered forward in his Egg Mobile with a smile on his face. "Come on, Mayor, it's simple! You tell us what we want to know, and we won't blow this town to smithereens. It's that simple!"

Unfortunately, the Mayor had no idea what they were talking about.

How annoying.

Vox zapped over to the steps leading to the townhall and the Mayor, adjusting his tie and clearing his throat. "Mr. Mayor, allow me to introduce myself. I am Vox, founder of VoxTech and leader of The Vees. We mean no harm to your," he cleared his throat, "fair town, we just wish to take something of great importance to our cause. And it would be in your best interest to cooperate." He leaned forward and got in the Mayor's face, smirking deviously. "Otherwise my partner over there," he pointed behind him towards Valentino, "will have to get 'frisky' with you. And trust me, you don't want that. He's into some kinky shit, so, how about we cut the crap and get down to business. I'll give you five seconds to tell me where it is. In five.."

"I-I don't know!"

"Ooh, strike one. Too bad. In four..."

"Y-You can't do this! I-I'm in charge here!"

"Awe, it's cute how you think that. Three..."

"Y-You...!"

"COME ON, WRACK YOUR BRAIN!" Vox shouted as he advanced on the retreating Mayor Fink. "Maybe you can come up with some half brained excuse to go on living! In two...!"

Mayor Fink could only sit there and shake in fear as he looked from Val, who licked his lips evilly, to Eggman, who smiled as he charged up his laser cannon.

He was done for.

"ONE!" Vox shouted as his eye began to swirl, time to do things the hard way.

But he never got the chance as he was struck in the back, sending his screaming form right into the wall of the town hall. Both Eggmen turned around to see a blue curled up ball bounce off the top of a nearby Egg Gunner land right in front of Team Sonic and the Guardians.

Modern Sonic stood next to his Boom counterpart and smirked, "Yo, Eggman! How you been? Nice change of scenery, am I right? You tried the food here?"

Modern Eggman spun his Egg Pod around, "Oh, I have. They have really good clam chowder here, and I'm about to add a side of burnt hedgehog to the culinary arts of this island."

"Yeah, right."

A tendril of electricity shot from the townhall and landed right in front of the Eggmen. "You get one of those." Vox growled at the hedgehog that struck him. "One."

Alastor snickered as he eyed his nemesis, "You're looking a little worse for ware, old pal."

"And you're still living in the past, Alastor." Vox let a smirk come across his face as he placed his hand on his hip. "I'm honestly a little flattered you followed me all this way. And you say that I'm the one obsessed with you? That's funny."

"Aren't you the one with an Alastor body pillow?" Velvette smirked, knowing she caught him red handed.

Vox's eyes shrunk while everyone looked disturbed, even the Eggmen. That... was creepy. Even Alastor was freaked out, like wow. "Vel.... You're dead." Vox snarled as his cheeks burnt in embarrassment. "DON'T YOU JUDGE ME, YOU ASSES!"

Boom Eggman cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Sooo, we gonna stick to the routine, or what?" He directed his question to Team Sonic, who all nodded, wanting to forget what just transpired. "Great!" He clapped his hands before tapping his wrist communicator. A loud boom sounded off from the sky before a large figure landed behind Boom Eggman. Once the smoke cleared they see what landed.

It was a version of his mech that they fought during the Lyric incident, except it had a few additions. On its back were two tentacles with clawed hands on the end of them, and its arms had since been replaced by very large and very sharp drills.

Boom Eggman floated into his Drill Bot and landed in the cockpit, rubbing his hands. "Now, with that little, very uncomfortable conversation out of the way... Robots.... ATTACK!!!" He shouted as his Badniks charged forward.

Modern Eggman snarled at his most hated enemy as the glass slid over the cockpit. "Come and get me, rodent!" He took off at high speeds, making his way into the forest with Metal Sonic trailing right behind him.

"You wanna get fast, Eggman? Let's get fast!" He then took off racing after him and his metallic duplicate.

Boom Sonic saw this and turned to his team, "I'm gonna go after other me and his Eggman. Hold off Baldy McNosehair for as long as you can!"

"We got this, Sonic!" Boom Amy assured her friend and leader, with the others giving him reassuring nods. It was just Eggman. They got this. With a thumbs up, Boom Sonic took off racing into the forest. He may not be as fast as his counterpart, but that didn't mean that he couldn't help out.

Boom Eggman let out a high pitched whine, "What am I? Chopped liver?" He waved his hand dismissively, "Whatever, now that the blue beaver is off to the races, I can destroy you lot! And then, once I take over the village, I'll have an evil ham to celebrate. Mombot is the best when it comes to making evil ham."

As Boom Eggman stomped closer to Team Sonic, Alastor, Charlie, and Vaggie were standing before The Vees. And Alastor, yeah he was not happy about that body pillow. His eyes had long since turned to radio dials and shadow tentacles had emerged from his back.

"Now, Alastor..." Vox warned before being seized around the waist by a shadow tentacle. "Aw, hell."

He was then tossed across town, with Alastor in hot pursuit, screeching demonically as he grew in size. Valentino spread his wings and took out his pistols, taking off into the air with Vaggie right on his trail, spear in hand. Meanwhile Charlie summoned her trident while Velvette scampered across the ground. "Woah, shit!" Charlie exclaimed. She really didn't want to fight, but she had to get them back to Hell, so she had no choice. She spread out her demonic wings, she was still getting used to that, and took off after Velvette.

With Modern Sonic

Modern Sonic dashed through the forests of Bygone Island, searching for any signs of either Metal or Dr. Eggman. His eyes darted left and right, looking in multiple directions for any attacks or surprises. Luckily he didn't have to wait long as a familiar chortle sounded off in the forest.

Behind the hedgehog hovered down the Egg Pod with Metal Sonic flying right beside it. "Mwahahaha!!! You're finished, rodent!" Taunted the egg shaped man as the laser cannon slowly emerged from the underbelly of the Egg Pod. "Let's see you dodge this!!!"

The Egg Pod charged up and fired a laser beam down right toward the Blue Blur. Fortunately Sonic side stepped just in time, letting the laser pass him. The laser beam ceased, but multiple miniature explosions went off where the laser impacted the ground.

Eggman fired again, and once more Sonic dodged the attack, making a sharp left to try and shake the mad doctor and his robotic companion.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dr. Eggman grinned as he made a sharp left, pursuing the hedgehog relentlessly. Multiple panels on the Egg Pod opened up, revealing miniature missiles and rockets. Eggman sped up to catch up to his long hated nemesis, launching the missiles and rockets.

Sonic had to sidestep, jump, bounce, and outmaneuver the projectiles before jumping forward and swinging on a stray vine, turning around and releasing his grip. He curled into a ball and struck the cockpit of the Egg Pod, bouncing off of it and landing on the ground. He rolled into a ball and spin dashed forward while Eggman recovered.

"Not bad." Eggman said before boosting forward and getting ahead of Sonic. He turned the Egg Pod around to face his enemy. "How about this?" He fired multiple projectiles at the hedgehog once more.

Sonic had to be careful here. He timed his movements and avoided most of the projectiles, but a few stray missiles went off around him, causing him to stagger and lose some of his rings. Metal saw this as an opportunity and boosted forward, unsheathing his claws.

The Blue Blur recovered and slid right under Metal Sonic, boosting forward to catch up to Eggman. Undeterred, Metal Sonic made a quick U-turn and chased after his loathsome copy. He managed to catch up and tackled him to the ground, the two rolling to a stop in the middle of the trail.

Sonic kicked Metal off of him and hit him in the chest with a Homing Attack. But Metal activated his Black Shield and deflected the strike, sending Sonic bouncing back. Metal Sonic would've laughed if he were capable as he hovered into the air and fired a chest blast at his copy.

The blast struck the ground and generated a massive explosion, an explosion that Sonic evaded as he ran around Metal, avoiding blast after blast. He curled into a ball and shot forward when he was behind the robot, sending him flying into a tree trunk.

But he didn't have time to think about his next move as he was suddenly sent flying through the air by a laser blast. Sonic bounced to a stop as Eggman stood up in his Egg Pod, the glass sliding back to revealing his smiling form. "Allow me to give you one genius piece of advice." He shook his head as he stroked his elegant moustache. "Don't run. It'll only hurt more if you do."

Sonic grunted as he got back to his feet, "You should know me by now, Egghead. I never stop running!" He clenched his fist and suddenly shot it forward, "SONIC WIND!!!" He sent forth a blue tornado that grew in size and enveloped the Egg Pod.

Eggman's eyes widened before he sat down, the glass sliding over him, before he was being spun around in a tornado. "YOU LITTLE...!" He tried to regain control but couldn't due to the sheer power of the tornado. "You'll pay for this!!!"

"If you can't beat 'em, blind 'em." Sonic shrugged before gasping, unable to react as Metal seized him by the throat. He was then thrown through multiple trees by the robotic menace before rolling to a stop. He slowly got up and dashed away, with Metal Sonic in hot pursuit.

The two hedgehogs bounced off one another as they ran, or flew in Metal's case, side by side. Neither one of them could gain the advantage over the other. They were evenly matched. After one final collision, Metal flew forward and hovered ahead of Sonic.

The hedgehog gritted his teeth, but noticed something in his peripheral vision. There, atop the cliffside, was Boom Sonic. He was running along the cliffside before he made a sharp turn and leapt off of it. He then delivered a nasty kick to the side of Metal Sonic's head, sending the robot down and crashing into a stone boulder, seemingly taking him out of the fight.

As the two Sonic's shared a fist bump, Sonic's tornado dissipated, allowing Eggman to regain control and continue pursuing his arch enemy. As he flew right past Metal Sonic, the robot slowly got to his feet and was about to rejoin the fight.

But he stopped.

He noticed something.

He looked up to the sky and zoomed in.

What was that?

After enhancing his vision, he saw that it was a flying city.

Fascinating.

And most curious.

Igniting his jet engine, Metal Sonic took off into the sky to investigate this flying city.

Back with the two Sonic's, they ran alongside one another as Eggman flew right past them. "You both think you're so clever, don't you?"

"I don't know, I mean, you're the supposed genius who constantly loses to me." Sonic quipped.

Boom Sonic laughed, "You tell us, McNosehair!"

"Smart Alec." Eggman snarled before launching multiple missiles at the two hedgehogs.

The two Sonic's smirked to one another before parting ways to avoid the projectiles. Boom Sonic jumped into the trees and propelled himself downward and struck the Egg Pod from the left. He then rebounded off the trees and hit it again and again and again, hitting it from the left, right, front, back, from every direction. The strikes came at a quicker pace each time, giving Eggman no time to react.

His console began to spark as the damage inflicted on the Egg Pod began to take its toll.

With a final strike to the glass covering the cockpit, Boom Sonic backed off and landed to the left while his Modern counterpart stood in the middle of the trail, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently.

The Egg Pod was severely damaged, it wouldn't hold out much longer. Eggman was shaking with rage as he leaned forward to glare at the hedgehog standing ahead of him. "Oh, now you've done it!"

"Guess what Egghead?" Sonic smirked as he crouched down. "You ain't getting that fragment! Hope you enjoyed your stay here, cause I'm kicking you out!" With that declaration, Sonic shot forward at high speeds.

Eggman, not one to give up, shot forward inside the Egg Pod, ready to meet Sonic head on.

The two blurs were on a crash course for one another.

And Sonic came out on top.

Once his curled form hit the Egg Pod, the sheer force of his strike disconnected the wings and shattered not only the armor on the Egg Pod, but the glass covering Eggman, revealing his screaming form for all to see. With a high pitched scream, Eggman was sent flying out of the forest and into the sky while the Egg Pod exploded in a blaze of glory.

Boom Sonic sped over to Modern Sonic and dapped him up before the latter performed a break dance while the former did a backflip. Modern Sonic finished in a relaxed position while Boom Sonic landed on his feet and folded his arms with a smirk on his face.

"Too easy!" Modern declared.

"Bring your A-game next time, Eggbreath!" Boom taunted with a laugh.

With both Modern Eggman and Metal Sonic taken care off, the two hedgehogs shot off back to the village to assist in taking down Boom Eggman and The Vees.

Back in Hedgehog Village

Sticks let out a battle cry as she threw her boomerang at Drill Bot, the projectile bouncing off of Boom Eggman's head, causing him to cry out in pain before snarling. "You jerk! You'll pay for that!" He sent forth a mechanical tentacle and slammed it right into the badger's side, sending her flying through the air.

As she landed, Boom Knuckles and Boom Amy charged forward, fists and hammer at the ready. Boom Eggman slammed both drills into the ground, causing the ground to shake and for trenches to be created that were headed right towards the two heroes.

Boom Knuckles grabbed Amy and launched her into the air, saving her while he took on the brunt of the attack. Boom Amy let out a battle cry of her own as she slammed her hammer into one of the tentacles on Drill Bots back, severing it from the mech.

"Hey! Do you know how long it took to connect that tentacle?!" Boom Eggman complained before whacking the pink hedgehog off of him with the other tentacle. As he stomped forward to continue fighting, Boom Tails slammed his wrench onto the head of a Crab Bot, dismantling it, before hurling it at an incoming Bee Bot.

He let out a yell as he flew away from the bullets fired from a couple of Egg Gunners, narrowly avoiding death.

Meanwhile Alastor and Vox were going at it, slamming into multiple buildings trying to tear one another apart. Shadow tendrils and cables wrapped around one another as the two got in each other's faces, delivering punches, bites, and shocks while flying through the village.

Up in the air Vaggie was evading the entourage of bullets being fired from Valentino and deflecting some with her spear, using precise movements to time her strikes to hit the projectiles. Val let out an annoyed groan, "Come on, Chica~ I just want to put some holes into you. And the possibly fill those holes~"

"Gross." Vaggie shivered before flying forward to meet the demon head on.

On the ground below, Charlie was dealing with multiple Badniks while also dealing with a scampering Velvette. Her trident demolished the Crab Bots and the Bee Bots, so there was no trouble there. No, what she was struggling with was avoiding the missiles and bullets from the much tougher Egg Gunners.

As she struggled to fly, she flew over Boom Eggman, who had Boom Knuckles wrapped up in his remaining tentacle. He let out a laugh before tossing him into a nearby stall. He looked to his left to see Boom Amy, Sticks, and Boom Tails charging over toward him.

With a grin, he pressed a button in his Egg Mobile and the tentacle aimed in on the group before firing a laser, impacting the ground beneath them and sending them sprawling out on their backs. He turned his Drill Bot and began stomping over to them.

But he never got the chance as two curled up blue blurs struck the mech in the back, causing it to stagger and fall on the floor. Boom Eggman growled as he slowly got back up to face both Modern and Boom Sonic.

"Have a nice trip, Egghead?" Boom joked while Modern laughed.

"Grr! Laugh it up, Sonic!" Boom Eggman growled as Drill Bot got back onto its feet. "In fact, stand still and keep laughing while I destroy you!" He fired another laser beam from the remaining tentacle, causing both hedgehogs to spread out and run literal circles around him.

They were moving so fast that he couldn't keep up with their movements.

And before he could do anything, Drill Bot was suddenly struck in the chest and both he and his mech were sent flying into a building, the roof collapsing on top of him. Boom Sonic whistled proudly while Modern looked around and noticed something... off.

His Badniks, compared to the Egg Gunners, were practically harmless. They had no strength, no fighting capabilities, and were practically made of paper. Heck, they were totaled by a boomerang for crying out loud. He also noticed another thing, the Badniks weren't going for kill shots.

They would strike the ground with laser blasts, but not aim at Team Sonic or any civilians.

And compared to his Eggman, this version of the doc seemed a lot less competent, heck his robots weren't even threatening, they were more comedic. And he noticed the banter between the two rivals, they seemed friendly with one another.

It was weird, but, in Sonic's eyes, Boom Eggman didn't seem to be totally evil like Modern Eggman.

No.

Granted, he nearly caused the end of the world, but his main goal was to make a video game to better his reputation.

Huh.

Maybe Boom Eggman isn't really that evil?

Maybe...

That's when he began approaching the beaten doctor, who was climbing out of the wreckage and dusting himself off. "Well, that was fun." He said before looking to Boom Sonic, "Same time tomorrow?"

Modern folded his arms, eyeing the doctor curiously. "I've noticed something about you, Egghead."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"You're not really a bad guy."

Did they hear him right? Did Team Sonic and the townspeople hear that correctly? Did the other Sonic just say that Eggman, of all people, wasn't really a bad guy?

Even Boom Eggman was shocked, he looked like he had just been slapped in the face. "What? 'Not a bad guy?' Do you not see the attack I'm conducting at this moment? Did you hit your head? Are you stupid?"

"Not stupid. Observant." Modern Sonic responded before elaborating. "You had multiple opportunities to kill Team other me over there. But you didn't. You weren't going for kill shots."

"Well, of course not! Why would I?"

"My Eggman would." Sonic revealed, causing the doctor to pause. "My Eggman threatened to blow up the planet if he didn't get what he wanted. He then literally broke the planet apart to build an amusement park and harness the power of a dark entity that was sleeping in the core of Mobius. He took over the world for six months and during that time, tortured me day in and day out. He created a virus that turned people into robot zombies. That's the lengths my Eggman is willing to go to to win. The worst thing you've done, from what I've been told, is almost accidentally cause the end of the world because you manipulated Shadow to help record a moveset for your own video game." He smiled knowingly at the goofy doctor. "And you did that because you wanted to better your reputation. In fact, when you're not busy trying to attack the village, you're actually a pretty chill guy, according to other me."

Boom Eggman looked away, not wanting to hear any of this.

"Are you lonely, Eggman?"

His head snapped to the blue rodent, his eyes wide.

"Is that why you do this? Because you're lonely?"

"L-Lonely?! D-Don't be ridiculous! How absurd! How... How..."

"True?"

Team Sonic couldn't believe their eyes, Eggman was stammering. Modern Sonic was doing what none of them ever thought to do. Talk to Eggman. And he was making good points as well. When Boom Sonic and Tails were waiting for Cowbot to attack Eggman's lair, they roasted marshmallows and talked about guy stuff. They even let Eggman stay over when he lied about his base blowing up. Heck, they even got Eggman to stop being depressed so they could get Sonic to stop annoying them.

And let's not forget the Buddy Buddy Temple.

Was it true?

Was Boom Eggman just lonely, and needed a friend?

Modern seemed to think so as he reached out his hand for Boom Eggman to take. "You don't have to be the bad guy, Eggman. You can start over, use your tech for good. Like a friend told me, it's never too late to let friendship into your heart." Thanks Twilight. "You don't need to be alone. We don't have to fight each other. Let me help you."

But before he could get an answer, Modern Sonic was sent flying back by an energy blast, rolling across the grass. He propped himself up onto one elbow and saw Modern Eggman hovering above him, having fired a shot from his Egg Mobile.

"You're getting slow, rodent!" Eggman taunted before turning to his Boom counterpart, "Nice job getting him to stand still."

"Heh, y-yeah! That was totally my plan!" It wasn't, but he didn't need to know that.

Modern Eggman looked around and saw that the battle was lost. His Egg Gunners had since been dealt with, and the Badniks, well, yeah they were trashed. And The Vees weren't fairing much better either. Vaggie was standing over Valentino, spear pressed against his throat, Vox and Alastor were at a standstill, and Velvette was glaring daggers at Charlie, who spun her trident around in her fingers before planting it on top of the head of a destroyed Egg Gunner.

Modern Sonic got to his feet and said, "Looks like you lose again, Eggman. Face it, you're never getting that spear!"

Snarling in absolute fury, Modern Eggman decided it was time to call it. "Everyone fall back!" He shouted. Seizing the opportunity, Val kicked Vaggie off of him and took off over to Velvette and picked her up. Vox, while furious beyond belief, retreated into a nearby television. Boom Eggman looked down uncertainly before hopping in his Egg Mobile and taking off. Modern Eggman glared down at Sonic, "This isn't over, Sonic. Not by a long shot. I swear that the Spear of Destiny will be mine!" With those parting words, he took off into the sky, presumably back to his counterpart's lair.

Modern Sonic placed his hands on his hips and shook his head, Eggman will never learn. He turned around and saw the approaching Team Sonic and the trio of Hazbins, offering them a smile. He clapped his hands, "Well, that was fun! Now, how about we get what we came for?"

Boom Amy smirked and turned to Boom Knuckles. "Knuckles, dig."

"Dig where?" The confused echidna asked cluelessly.

"Dig here." She exasperated, annoyed as she pointed to the ground where she wanted him to dig. "Weren't you paying attention?"

"You know I get distracted when other people are talking." He responded.

"Just dig." Amy rubbed between her eyes in annoyance while the rest of Team Sonic chuckled at the echidna's antics.

Alastor snarled as his eyes turned to radio dials, the air around him distorting and becoming static. "Dig or I swear I will tear your soul apart and broadcast your screams for everyone to hear."

Safe to say that Knuckles got to digging.

Meanwhile at Boom Eggman's lair

The team of villains entered the base as the doors slid open, Boom Eggman leading them in as he walked in a slumped posture. He was greeted by both Orbot and Cubot, "Welcome back, boss!" The former greeted while the latter waved. "I assume you lost once again?"

"Shut up." Boom Eggman groaned as he took a seat on the couch, Vox slumping right next to him while massaging his forehead.

"How the hell did everything go so wrong?" The Tv Demon asked himself, really wishing he had a glass of scotch in his hand right now.

"Thawne ain't gonna be happy." Velvette commented offhandedly.

"Gee, ya think?" Val snarked.

Modern Eggman was livid, he wanted to break something, anything really. He was about to go on a full on rant when the doors leading into the base slid open. He turned around to see Metal Sonic walking in. "And just where have you been?" He tapped his foot on the floor and scolded the robot. "Could've used your help back there, where did you go anyway?"

Metal's optics shined a bright red before they projected a holographic image of a floating, red city in the sky. Upon seeing this, Boom Eggman shot to his feet and walked over, leaning down to inspect the image. "Hey, wait a second... That's Roboken!"

"Roboken?" Vox repeated, unsure of what the buffoon was talking about.

"It's a floating. robot city in the clouds that hangs right above Bygone Island." He explained to the members of the Legion of Doom. "I once teamed up with a robot named Hypno-Bot to try and take it over. That plan didn't go well, let me tell ya."

While The Vees looked to one another with smirks, Modern Eggman's spectacles shined as he chuckled menacingly. He looked to his Boom counterpart and grinned evilly. "Tell me more about this... Roboken."

Author's Note

Chemo fucking sucks.

Seriously, I am so sorry for the long wait, but luckily I'm kicking cancer's arse, so there's that. The chemo is doing it's job.

Don't know when I'll be working on the next chapter, because I start Round 2 of chemo tomorrow and I'll feel like absolute shit for the next week and a half, but I assure you I'll get on it whenever I am able.

Anyways, looks like the Legion isn't done yet, as they have their sights set on Roboken. And the team are close to claiming the spear fragment. But next chapter, oh, next chapter. Remember when I said there would be character deaths?

Yeah, some side characters are gonna bite it.

And one character from the main cast are gonna bite it.

Theorize who it could be and whoever gets it right will receive a credit in the next author's notes in the next chapter.

Anyways, I'll see you lot in the next chapter, where we will say goodbye to the world of Sonic Boom.

Eggman Mech - TenebrisD90

Prologue: The Legion of Doom

Earth 2010

Equestria

Tartarus

Another day, another tally mark.

This was routine for Lord Tirek as he spent his days cooped up in his cage, put on display for all of Tartarus to see. He hated being caged, being put on display like some circus freak, but there wasn't a thing that he could do to change it. Not now at least.

He missed his strong build, the taste of magic dancing on his tongue, if he had any magic at all he would be able to break out of here no problem. But alas, he was a shell of his former self. Now he was simply a lanky centaur, or minotaur if you wanted to be technical. His lower body was comprised of four legs with hooves on each of them, a white tail on his rear, with grey coloration to match. His upper body was black, with his arms and face a faded shade of red, and a silver collar around his neck. His ears and the majority of his head was covered in black fur, which also managed to cover his tiny, stubby horns. He had a white beard, white, bushy eyebrows, a silver septum piercing in his nose, and his eyes were pitch black save for his irises, which were yellow in color.

He looked around at his surroundings, the grey and black that made up his prison, his permanent residence for a very long time. Tartarus was the embodiment of death, no escape, no hope of seeing the outside ever again. The worst of the worst ended up here, caged away for all eternity.

His placement was special, with a set of stone stairs that winded up to his platform, where his cage sat forever.

But despite all of that he wasn't alone.

After all, who could forget his gatekeeper, the raging three headed mutt that constantly checked up on him.

Speaking of...

A large, three headed, black bulldog walked up the stairs and eyed Tirek carefully, growling beastly as he leaned down and got right into the minotaur's face.

Cerberus snarled, his rank breath causing the imprisoned overlord to scrunch up his face in disgust. Tirek had escaped once due to Cerberus leaving his post, he wasn't letting him out of his sight again. He was a good boy. He would stay! And receive belly rubs if he was good enough.

That made his tail wag slightly.

Despite the massive bulldog currently snarling at him, Tirek wasn't intimidated in the slightest, quite the contrary. He was annoyed at the mutt, this was routine after all. Tirek would make a tally mark in his cage, Cerberus would come up to check on him, would snarl and try to intimidate him, and then leave.

It was becoming tiresome at this point.

"Would you cease your incessant attempts at intimidation?" Tirek groaned to the dog, having had his fill of it for the day. "I don't understand what you think I am doing up here besides wallowing in my own failure." He walked away from the bars and placed his hands behind his back. "I had my chance to finally claim what was lost to me. I had everything in place, all of those filthy ponies were trembling before their one, true master. Their magic empowering me like never before. I just don't understand how that fourth alicorn had managed to gather more magic to power her and her allies." He mused, stroking his beard in thought.

In truth, he had thought a lot about the pony that had bested him.

The fourth alicorn princess of Equestria.

Princess Twilight.

The revelation of her existence had put a damper on his plans, it had pushed back his timeline but didn't change much. In the end he had absorbed all of the alicorn magic in Equestria, she had given it up willingly, and who could blame her? He had put her in a rough spot, after all.

It was either the magic or the lives of her friends.

There was no choice.

He had thought about that day constantly and he believed he found where everything had gone wrong. He had cut Discord loose too soon. He no doubt played a role in Princess Twilight gathering whatever magic she had found to defeat him. In truth he should have finished that draconequues off when he had the chance.

When he got out of here, that mistake would not be repeated.

A sigh escaped him, who was he kidding?

He wouldn't be escaping here anytime soon, but that wasn't a bad thing. No, it gave him time to plan, to strategize against those ponies and find a way to claim his throne.

He just needed to wait, and then he could claim his vengeance.

A growl from Cerberus caused his to snarl in anger.

He whipped around and marched up to the bars, grasping them with his hands, and glared up at the bulldog, "Will you be silent?! I cannot stand listening to you any longer! What do you expect me to do anyway?! I'm not going anywhere!"

A streak of red lightning zoomed through the bars and grabbed Tirek mid rant, phasing him through the bars and rushing right out of Tartarus in the blink of an eye.

Cerberus tilted all three of his heads in confusion.

He definitely wasn't getting any belly rubs any time soon.

Just outside the Gates of Tartarus

Tirek stumbled forward before falling onto the dirt, his weak and frail body crying out at the sudden pain. He groaned loudly as he planted his hands against the ground and raised his body off of the ground, getting up onto his hooves and dusting himself off.

But his movements slowed as his eyes slowly widened.

Ground.

Air.

He could feel it all.

The grey, disgusting looking sky caught his eye, the swarm of flies that invaded his personal space, the hot, humid air that warmed his skin. To confirm his suspicions he turned around and saw the Gates of Tartarus off in the distance, still closed, keeping everything locked within.

This all but confirmed it.

He was outside of Tartarus.

He took a step back in disbelief, looking around frantically for an explanation. "How is this possible?"

"Lord Tirek."

He turned his body around at the sound of the deep, distorted voice. What he saw was a yellow figure, his body vibrating constantly, and his glowing, red eyes piercing through the vibrations.

Had this been the one to free him from his prison?

Looking at him carefully, the minotaur cautiously asked, "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" The figure repeated before chuckling, "Well, allow me to introduce myself." With that, his body ceased vibrating, revealing a man wearing a yellow suit. His mask had red lightning bolts on both sides of his head, matching the same red lightning bolt that he wore on his chest, striking through the black background of his emblem. Red lightning bolts circled around his forearms and his knees, two red bolts were also embedded on the black around his waistline.

The Reverse-Flash tapped the side of his mask with his fingers, and it dematerialized, revealing the smirking blonde man underneath it. "My name is Eobard. Eobard Thawne." He introduced himself with a tiny bow, his smirk never leaving his face. He straightened himself as Tirek eyed him carefully, he didn't blame him for being wary, he had that effect on people. "And I have come to make you a proposition."

"I don't understand." Tirek backtracked. "Are you the one who freed me?"

"I am."

"How?" Tirek asked seriously, wanting to know how he did it. "How did you accomplish this?"

Thawne simply wagged his index finger condescendingly before running literal circles around the centaur, red lightning following him wherever he went. He ran around the centaur a few hundred times, Tirek's eyes struggling to keep up with the man, before stopping in front of the centaur once again.

Tirek was flabbergasted, never before had he seen a creature with speed such as him. He didn't believe it to be possible for anything to be that fast. This Eobard Thawne was a force to be reckoned with indeed.

"You're fast." Tirek stated simply, unable to find the words.

"So I've heard." Thawne replied.

"How did you break through the gates?" Tirek asked, "Only the princess' magic is able to unlock the Gates to Tartarus."

Eobard chuckled, this centaur was full of questions, wasn't he? "I vibrated my molecules at the same density as the walls surrounding your prison, and phased right through them to retrieve you." He demonstrated by raising his left hand and moved it so fast that it began to vibrate. Tirek looked on in bewilderment before Thawne waved his hand, dispelling the effect.

Tirek nodded slowly, accepting that answer. Now back to the matter at hand, "You said you had a proposition for me. Explain."

"A few months ago you escaped Tartarus and drained all of Equestria of its magic." Thawne summarized as he began walking around Tirek, the centaur following him with his eyes as he did so. "You were felled by Princess Twilight and her friends and sent back to Tartarus."

"I know, I was there."

"What you don't know is that you would end up escaping again, but not by your own means." Thawne revealed, shutting Tirek up instantly. "I've just happened to accelerate those events so that they happened a little earlier."

"How do you know this?" Tirek dared to ask.

"I'm from the future." Eobard answered casually. "Did I not mention that?"

"You did not." Tirek replied, a hint of skepticism in his voice. That was a bold claim to make, if he were to believe him, he was going to need some proof. "How far--"

"One hundred and thirty six years from now." Thawne cut him off, already anticipating the question. "But you don't care about that, no, what you care about is how your story ends."

Despite being so rudely cut off, Tirek did have to admit that the man was right. "Go on. How does my story end exactly?"

"You're sealed in stone forever." Thawne revealed with little to no tact. "Forever a statue for the ponies of Equestria to admire."

To say that Tirek didn't believe him would be underselling it. "YOU LIE!" He roared, stomping his hoof on the ground, kicking up dust.

Thawne stopped walking and turned to face the centaur, arms held behind his back. "Lie? What reason would I have to lie? No. It is true, because I am from the future and I know this because it has already happened. And trust me, it will happen." To further prove his point, Eobard opened the palm of his hand and displayed a news paper article from two years in the future. "Observe, if you will, the future."

Tirek took a few hesitant steps forward, eyes wide as he read the article. It showed an image of him, a changeling, and a little pegasus pony sealed in stone within the Canterlot Gardens. He read the article, reading about his defeat, how the creatures of Equestria and beyond came together to thwart him and these two lesser creatures.

He shook his head in disbelief, "No, no, no, no, no, no." He muttered over and over until Eobard closed his hand, turning off the hologram. "This... This cannot be." He held his head in his hands as his breaths became ragged and unhinged. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, he refused to believe it.

"And that is your legacy." Eobard hammered in the final nail in the coffin.

"NO!" Tirek denied, shaking his head. He was supposed to be ruler of Equestria, he was supposed to prove to his father that he was worth a damn, he was supposed to claim vengeance against his traitorous brother. Not end up as a lawn ornament for those vile creatures to gawk at.

"It's your destiny to lose, Tirek. To be beaten by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, time has already deemed it so." Thawne continued as he walked towards the traumatized centaur. He could see him shaking with rage and confusion. His mind was obviously racing. And that's what he wanted. "But what if I told you it didn't have to be that way."

Tirek stopped shaking and slowly looked up at the villainous speedster. "H-How?"

"Ah, ah, ah." Thawne wagged his finger.

"TELL ME!"

"I know that rage. It's the same rage I feel almost every single day. Time has deemed it that you're destined to lose, but together we can change that." He extended his hand towards Tirek. "I'm giving you a chance to change your destiny, to change the game that you were destined to lose." He smirked at the centaur, "Don't you want that chance?"

Tirek contemplated to himself, he had two choices here. He could either continue on his predestined path that would lead to his defeat at the hooves of those ponies, or he could stray off of this path and take whatever it was Eobard was offering and change his destiny.

How the tables had turned.

He was now the one in a rough spot.

But it really was a no brainer.

He took Eobard's hand and shook it. "I do."

Thawne's smile grew, showing his teeth. "Then we'd better get started." His eyes glowed red and his voice became deep and distorted. "But first, to recruit the others."

Before Tirek could ask what he had meant, Eobard had already begun running, dragging him along for the ride. An interdimensional breach opened up in front of the two and Thawne had rushed the two of them into it, leaving Equestria entirely.

And with that, Tartarus was down one prisoner.

Across The Multiverse

Written by: Battwell

Earth 1991

Mobius

Eggman's Lab

Dr. Eggman was fast asleep, though not of his own volition.

No this was due to another failed plan, what else was new, and was forced to suffer endless slumber until one of his lackey bots arrived and woke him up. It had been one year since he attempted to take control of the Foundation of all Dimensions, and what a year it was.

When he disappeared through that Rift back on Foundation Prime, Eggman had been drifting through the tunnel until he was finally spat back out into his own dimension, albeit a few months after the final battle. While he was livid at the loss of an artefact so powerful, he didn't let that deter him from his dreams of global domination.

Speaking of dreams...

He had learnt of The Reverie, an ancient relic with the capability to translate dreams into reality. His plan hinged on using it to make his dreams of global takeover a reality, the only downside was the Dreamweaver wouldn't allow him access to its power. He knew the moment that Sonic and his do-gooder friends got involved it would all go downhill from there.

The sleeping doctor wore a red and black jumpsuit with yellow buttons on each side of his chest, with white straps beneath them. He had a long moustache, wore blue glasses and a set of goggles on the top of his head. On his hands were white gloves with yellow cufflinks on his wrists.

Eggman continued to snore, trapped in an endless sleep he could not awaken from, unable to notice the streak of red that had entered his lab.

Reverse-Flash let go of Tirek and stopped vibrating as the centaur dusted himself off while grumbling, "A little warning next time would be appreciated." Tirek looked around at their surroundings, noticing that they were no longer outside the Gates of Tartarus. "Where in Equestria are we?"

"Not in Equestria." Thawne informed the centaur, dematerializing his mask before folding his arms over his chest. "Welcome to Earth 1991."

"What does that mean?"

"I have taken us to a different world that exists outside of your own." Eobard chuckled at Tirek's bewildered expression. "What? You didn't think you were alone in the Multiverse, did you?"

Tirek made a mental note to learn more of this Multiverse whenever he got the chance. "That does not explain why we are here."

"Simple." Thawne said, walking forward and pointing down at the sleeping form of Dr. Eggman. "We're here for him."

The minotaur looked down at Robotnik for a moment before turning to Thawne with an unimpressed look on his face, "You must be joking." He gestured down to the villain with his hands and exasperatedly said, "Him?"

"Believe it or not, this man is a genius." Thawne explained, walking over to the console behind Eggman. "Well, a genius by this century's standards anyway."

"I don't know if you've noticed but he appears to be taking a nap." Tirek pointed out in a deadpanned voice. "What good could he do to whatever it is that you have planned?"

Eobard turned his head to Tirek, "This man nearly managed to take over the Multiverse a year ago." He looked back at the console, not noticing Tirek's surprised expression. "He's not to be underestimated. And as for your previous statement, allow me to remedy that." He began vibrating his hand and slowly lowered it to the console, phasing right through it and destroying it from the inside.

The result was instantaneous.

The sleeping human awoke with a gasp and shot to his feet, looking around frantically for that blasted hedgehog and his friends. "Where is he?! What happened?! What's-" He stopped asking questions when he noticed the two individuals standing in his lab. He eyed them menacingly and asked, "Who are you? What are you doing in my lab?"

"Dr. Ivo Robotnik." Thawne greeted with a smile, "We haven't met, I'm Eobard Thawne," He gestured to the centaur standing beside him, "This is Lord Tirek."

"The pleasure is yours." Tirek grumbled in greeting.

"And we've come to you to ask you a question." Eobard continued. "Do you believe in second chances?"

Eggman studied the speedster before him cautiously, "Depends." He answered hesitantly, still unaware what it was these two wanted. He looked to Tirek for a moment before asking, "What manner of creature are you? A minotaur?"

"Technically a centaur." Tirek answered, having had to answer that question a few times before, much to his chagrin. "But more to the point at hand, we've come to you to offer you a second chance."

"At what?"

"World domination." Thawne answered, knowing that that would get his attention.

Eggman gave the speedster a cautious side eye, "Go on."

"I'm offering to you what I've offered to Tirek here." Thawne continued explaining.

"Vengeance on Princess Twilight." Tirek added.

Eggman stopped and stared at the centaur, "Twilight? I know that name. She was one of those blasted Guardians that foiled my plans for Multiversal domination!"

Now that Tirek didn't know.

"We're getting sidetracked." Eobard said, getting back on track. "Our point is, would you like to see your fortune similarly reversed?"

Dr. Eggman could only smile, now they had his attention.

Earth 1983

Bowser's Kingdom

It was safe to say that Bowser hated lava.

He sat on his throne with his head rested on his hand, letting out a deep exhale as he watched his skin heal before his eyes. It was a painful experience but he had grown used to it by now, he had taken many dunks into lava beforehand.

And how had this happened exactly?

Bowser had once again travelled to the Mushroom Kingdom to declare his love for Peach, and to ask for her hand in marriage so that they could rule together, a kingdom in fire and brimstone. Bowser considered it to be quite romantic.

But of course that third wheel had to get involved.

Mario had shown up, again, and foiled his plans, again, and sent him falling into lava, again.

The King of the Koopas was yellow, with a green face to match his green shell. Speaking of his shell, it was covered in spikes, which coincidentally matched up with the two horns protruding from his head. His hair and eyebrows were red, as were his eyes. His maw was large and filled with sharp teeth, sharper than the spiked bracelets on his arms, and neck.

Bowser sighed again, closing his eyes in deep thought, pondering how everything had gone so wrong. He did everything exactly right, how had that plumber come out on top again? Why wasn't he sitting on top of the throne right now?

Why didn't Peach love him?

He was startled by the appearance of a red streak entering his throne room, followed by the appearance of one familiar face and two unfamiliar ones.

Bowser was about to ask what was going on but Thawne held up a finger to silence him, "Just give us a moment." The speedster turned around to see Eggman dry heaving and holding his stomach, looking quite nauseous. "Are you done?"

The doctor slapped his face a few times before straightening himself, "Travelling at superspeed.... Not a fan. I don't know how that hedgehog manages to keep his lunch down."

"What the heck is going on here?" Bowser demanded to know, rising from his throne and glaring down at the interlopers before focusing on Eggman, "And what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your own dimension causing trouble for that blue pest?"

Robotnik folded his arms, "Not going into detail about that." He grumbled.

"That doesn't matter at the moment," Eobard cut in, stepping forward to Bowser. "I am Eobard Thawne, and I am from the future."

"You didn't mention that." Eggman commented.

"Wasn't relevant at the time." Was Thawne's response before continuing to address Bowser, "We're here to offer you a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"Opportunity for what?" Bowser asked, arching his eyebrow in confusion.

"Changing your fate." Was Thawne's response. "What if I told you that you could have everything you ever wanted, everything you've dreamed for decades could finally be yours, I can make your dreams a reality."

"And how are you going to do that?" Bowser asked with a laugh, "With time travel?"

Thawne chuckled, shaking his head in denial of Bowser's assumption. "No. No, what I am offering is something far better." He began listing things off as he walked up the stairs leading to Bowser's throne, "Think about it, I can give you your throne on top of the Mushroom Kingdom, I can make it so that Mario will never get in your way ever again, and most of all, I can give you your princess."

Hook. Line. And sinker.

Bowser's eyes showed curiosity and intrigue before hardening, a grim smile etching across his face, "Go on."

Earth 616

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier

Now how had Loki gotten in this situation again?

Ah! That's right.

His latest endeavor to conquer Midgard involved turning the entirety of New York City into his own frozen kingdom, not a bad plan if he said so. He had broken into Odin's vault and acquired the Casket of Ancient Winters and unleashed the frozen tundra on all of New York.

He was seated on his own throne, but that didn't last long as those accursed Avengers had found a way to reverse its effects and once more denied him his rightful place as king. How he loathed them, especially his brother: Thor.

After they had bested him, S.H.I.E.L.D. had taken him into custody, where he was to be transported to The Vault, a secret supermax prison where S.H.I.E.L.D. held the worst of the worst. And it was where the God of Mischief was to spend the rest of his days.

Speaking of which, Loki was adorned in a black and gold Asgardian royal suit, with a gold and black coat over that, where his green cape hung behind him. He had long, black, hair, emerald green eyes, and a mischievous smirk plastered on his face. And on his head was a golden helmet, with two horns protruding upwards in a curved angle.

Loki was currently standing behind the glass separating his cell and the outside world, hands folded behind his back as he stood face to face with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director.

Nick Fury.

He was a tall, dark skinned man, bald headed with a goatee and an eyepatch over his left eye. He was currently wearing a dark blue suit, with white boots, gloves, a white belt, and holsters around his shoulders. And on his shoulders, the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem was stitched on, showing his rank and allegiance.

The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. looked to his left briefly to see two S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents leaving the room with the Casket of Ancient Winters, taking it to the vault in the Helicarrier. "Make sure that thing stays locked away." He said to the agents as they left the room. He refocused his attention on Loki and said, "In case it's unclear," He started, walking away from the cell and approaching a small console towards the left of the room. "You try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass," He pressed a few buttons and the floor beneath Loki's cell split apart, revealing the sky below. "Thirty thousand feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" He tapped the console again and closed the floor.

Loki simply chuckled, "You believe me threatened? You expect me to cower in fear of your mortal means of execution?" He asked as Fury walked and stood in front of the cell once more. "When I get out of here, and believe me, I will get out. I will slaughter every last one of you."

Nick smiled cruelly and said, "Big talk from the guy in a cell." With that, he turned around and left the room. "Good luck with that." The door closed behind him, leaving Loki and two S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, who were posted to keep watch of him in case he tried anything.

Loki simply smirked at the two guards, eyeing them carefully with a sly look on his face, pondering on just how to mess with them. He was going to be here for a while, and in The Vault for an even longer duration, so he had to keep himself entertained somehow.

"Just a quick question," Loki started, gaining their attention. His smile turned sinister when he asked, "When I get out of here, what's your preference on how you'd like to die?"

They didn't get to answer as a red streak zoomed past the both of them, snapping their necks as it moved. As the two guards fell to the floor, dead as doornails, The Reverse-Flash appeared standing in front of the cell with Tirek, Bowser, and Eggman standing next to him.

As Bowser snickered at Robotnik struggling to hold in his lunch, Thawne approached the cell, ceasing his vibration effect and removing his mask. "Loki Laufeyson, I presume?"

The God of Mischief recovered from his surprised state and eyed the speedster carefully, "Who's asking?"

"Eobard Thawne. A pleasure, I'm sure." He introduced smugly, much to the God's annoyance. As the other villains rolled their eyes at Thawne's smugness, the man from the future continued, "Let me ask you a question. Do you believe in destiny?"

Loki looked at the speedster as if he were a simpleton. "I am destined to be the ruler of Asgard, mortal. It is my destiny as the 'son'," He said, making quotation marks with his fingers, "of the King of Asgard."

"Then you would know that that destiny is not for you."

Loki gritted his teeth and stomped closer to the glass, looking Eobard in the eyes with a look that would kill.

But Thawne continued, "Let me make it simpler for you to understand, since you're too stupid to comprehend it." He chuckled at Loki's growl. "Thor is destined to take the throne of Asgard, stop Ragnarök from turning Asgard into a barren wasteland, and you, well, you end up being consumed by the All-Dark." Eobard relishes the stunned look on Loki's face as he walks closer to the imprisoned God. "And before you ask, I'm from the future, that's how I know your destiny." He raises his finger to silence Loki, a feat not many claim. "But I can help you change that."

Loki looked at him with skepticism, "And how would a mortal like you do that?"

"If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I am anything but mortal." Thawne replied. "And trust me when I say that you do not want to miss out on an opportunity like this. I am giving you the chance to claim what is rightfully yours, the throne, Asgard, anything your heart desires. Besides, what have you got to lose? You see, there's only two choices here. One, you come with us, change your destiny forever and become the king you believe yourself to be. Or two, you remain here, and the only throne you have any chance to sit on is of the percaline variety." Lightning flickered in his eyes as his smirk grew dark, "Your choice."

Loki considered his options carefully, if what this mortal was speaking was true, then he truly was destined to perish and never claim the throne. But what if he spoke false truths? As the God of Mischief, he was an expert when it came to manipulating others, and it seemed that this Eobard Thawne was as well.

But he was right, what other choice did he have?

"Even if I was to be interested, there appears to be one problem." Loki tapped the glass separating him and Thawne. "How do you intend on getting me out of here?"

Loki became a little unnerved when Thawne began to vibrate, his eyes glowing a menacing red, before he shot right into the cell, vibrating through the glass, and pulling Loki out of it. The Asgardian looked around for a moment in disbelief before turning to his left to see Thawne with a smug look on his face.

"Does that answer your question?"

Loki huffed and looked away, summoning his scepter in his hand. "I must admit that was impressive." Suddenly the door leading into the room opened, and they were surrounded by twelve S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, with Nick Fury walking in, gun in hand, leading the team to prevent Loki's escape. "It appears we are surrounded."

As the agents took aim, Reverse-Flash suddenly took off, moving from agent to agent, snapping their necks at super speed, before returning to where he stood, an evil smile on his face.

Nick could only look on in horror as each agent fell to the ground dead.

He barely had any time to react when Loki sent a blast of magic from his scepter, the blast striking him in the chest and sending him flying out of the room.

"Woah." Bowser commented while Eggman and Tirek smiled at the carnage displayed.

Loki twirled his scepter around in his hand, "Quite a display of power, Mr. Thawne, but I believe it is time to leave."

Eobard wagged his finger, tutting as he said, "Just need one more thing." He quickly zoomed off, running through the Helicarrier at impossible speeds, before suddenly returning to the group with a small amulet in hand. "Now we can go."

Fury slowly positioned himself onto his elbows, watching in pain as The Reverse-Flash flashed him an evil smile before vibrating his form, rushing the group out of the Helicarrier and this dimension. Nick tried getting back up but couldn't muster the strength and simply fell back to the ground unconscious.

With the pieces now falling into place, it was time for the Multiverse to change.

And the Legion of Doom was going to bring about that change, no matter how many people they had to kill to do it.

Author's Note

It is time for The Legion of Doom to have their time in the spotlight! Boy this came quicker than I thought, kind of ironic since the main villain is a speedster. I hope you're all ready for this, cause this one will be a little darker than the previous story, as you can probably tell by the death toll with the agents this chapter.

And while there will be noticeably less worlds than the previous story, we will be visiting some fun ones, but we'll also be spending quite a bit of time the Guardians, and we may be adapting an episode of MLP Season 6 in the beginning of this adventure, so get ready for that.

With that, I welcome all of you to Across the Multiverse

Let me tell you right now, you are not ready for what's going to happen.

See you all soon.

Reverse-Flash - Asthonx1

Dr. Eggman - Noe0123

Bowser -TotallyNotIncina

3. The Crystalling

Earth 2010

Equestria

"How the hay does anypony make their way around this place?"

Those were only one of the many thoughts that went through Starlight Glimmer's head as she traversed the Castle of Friendship, easily getting lost in the many halls that make up the castle. She wouldn't admit this to anypony, but when she originally broke into the castle, it took her a significant amount of time to find the throne room.

She was lucky Twilight was in Canterlot that day.

She was lucky in a lot of aspects.

It had been two days since her meeting with the Guardians of the Multiverse, two days since they gave Twilight their blessing to teach her in the ways of friendship. Two days since her encounter with the Dark Knight. Admittedly she was still rather unnerved from meeting the Batman in person, she found it hard to believe that he was Twilight's best friend.

They were polar opposites.

One saw the best in people, spreading friendship and harmony everywhere she went.

The other saw the worst in people, spreading fear everywhere he went.

It was fairly obvious that Batman didn't like her one bit, that he didn't trust her at all. She honestly expected that, but the way that he watched her every move for the duration of the meeting, safe to say that she checked every shadow in the room to make sure that he wasn't there watching her.

He could be right behind her and she would never know it.

She involuntarily shivered as she continued down the hallway, still searching for the library so she could meet with Twilight. Her teacher had asked her to meet her in the castle's library after breakfast so that they could go over a few things. She didn't want to be late, so she had to hurry up and find the library.

Why did this castle have to be so big?

"Okay. Library... Library... Where did they put the library?" Starlight asked herself as she peeked her head through the door in the hallway. She looked from left to right, only to find more hallways. She let out a deep sigh as she said, "This castle looked a lot smaller from the outside."

The unicorn approached the door opposite her and used her magic to open it, but instead of the library, she found Spike brushing his teeth with a bathrobe around his waste. Hearing the door open, Spike turned around and waved to his friend, toothbrush still in his mouth, "Morning, Starlight!"

"Whoops!" Starlight exclaimed, hastily shutting the door to let the dragon have some form of privacy. "Sorry, Spike!" She apologized, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. "I guess I'm still trying to find my way around. You don't happen to know where the library is, do you?"

The door opened and Spike popped his head out and directed the mare to the door on her left, "Next door on the left!" He promptly shut the door and resumed his business, leaving Starlight to feel even more stupid than she already felt.

"Oh. Thanks!"

She opened the door to the library and walked in, noticing Twilight straight away sorting through a very large list that she had compiled prior to her entry. "Acceptance, mm-hmm. Altruism, definitely." She listed off before her left ear twitched, enticing her to turn to the door. Her smile brightened upon the visage of her student. "Starlight, good morning, come in!"

"Sorry I'm late. I got a little turned around." Starlight explained as she approached her teacher. She looked around the library, the many books that dwarfed her, but her line of sight fell upon the bookshelf that was secretly hiding the Gateway leading to Foundation Prime. "I still can't believe you're letting me stay here... as your pupil... after everything I did." It was clear that Starlight felt guilty for actions in the past, believing herself unworthy of a second chance.

But Twilight didn't believe that, she believed that Starlight could change, and she was going to prove it to everyone. Honestly a part of her couldn't wait to rub it in Bruce's face, do a little dance, and be totally smug about turning Starlight's life around.

She couldn't wait to prove him wrong.

God, how she couldn't wait.

But more to the matter at hoof, Twilight raised her hoof and reassured Starlight gently. "Well, I'm not one to dwell on the past, and neither should you. The castle is your home now, and as far as being my pupil goes, I was just trying to figure out what your first friendship lesson should be!" They trotted over to the table as Twilight explained, the alicorn presenting her list to her pupil with her magic.

"Oh, well, it looks like you're really narrowing it down!"

Oh, the poor fool.

"Oh, these are just the A's. After this, I move on to the B's!" The alicorn gestured to the table behind her, a table full of scrolls, scrolls full of friendship lessons that Starlight was going to learn.

Twilight beamed at her student.

Starlight had sweat dripping down her brow. Was Tartarus still an option?

Unknown Earth

Vorton

The Reverse-Flash blitzed into the Gateway room, a small device in his hand.

He ceased vibrating and approached Lord Tirek, who was lost in thought, stroking his beard as he went over the plan in his head multiple times. They had spent the past few days going over the Babel Protocols that Thawne had stolen from Batman, memorizing it down to the very last details, altering them so that they were fatal.

If they were going to do this, then they were going to do it right.

"Well?" Thawne asked the centaur, taking him out of his thoughts.

Tirek looked to Eobard and said, "I've gone over the plan hundreds of times, looking for any flaws that could cause it to go sideways. And I have to say," His thoughtful expression turned evil as a smile tugged on his lips, "I like it." The smile left his face as a thought came to him, "This Crystalling. I'm not supposed to interfere, am I?"

Thawne shook his head, "No. In the original timeline, you'd still be locked away in Tartarus."

"So, we're changing history?"

"Correct."

Tirek looked down in thought before smiling, "Well, I'm not complaining." He placed his hands behind his back and turned away from the speedster. "But there still lies the problem of me not being at full strength. If this plan is to work, I need to feed on magic."

"I can help with that."

Now that caught Tirek's attention, the centaur turned around and eyed Eobard carefully. "Explain."

The evil speedster threw the small device in his hand onto the table, the device sliding over towards Tirek. "This little toy I developed, has the capability to drain anything with any form of magic contained within it. So, before I freed you, I made my way through the Everfree Forest and drained it of some of its magic." He saw the excited glint in Tirek's eyes and gestured for him to calm down with his hand. "I couldn't drain much, otherwise the Tree of Harmony would've noticed the shift and alerted the Element Bearers to what was happening. But there should be enough magic inside to get you started."

The centaur reached for the device with shaky hands and tapped the circle in the middle, unlocking the device, and unleashing a swirl of magic into the air. Tirek stared at the swirl of magic for a moment before opening his maw, the magic being sucked in and used to power the villain. Tirek's eyes glowed menacingly as orange electricity circled his growing form, his muscles growing bigger, his horn elongating in size. His faded red skin color becoming more pronounced and exaggerated.

Lord Tirek laughed as the magic coursed through his veins and empowered him, flexing his biceps with his arms as he proclaimed, "WELCOME BACK, BABY!" He punched his palm with his fist and grinned evilly, the anticipation of what was to come fueling him.

Eobard smirked at the centaur, "I assume that will suffice?"

"Oh, this will suffice greatly."

Earth 2010

Equestria

"Well, I think we should leave ASAP. I don't want to miss the Crystalling!"

The sound of Rainbow Dash's voice caught her ears as she entered the throne room. There, the Mane 6 were sitting in their respective thrones discussing the upcoming Crystalling in the Crystal Empire. They were excited to say the least, which was made obvious by Rainbow Dash, who honestly couldn't wait to leave.

"But, um, shouldn't we wait for the invitation?" Fluttershy said from her throne.

"Frankly, I'm not exactly clear on all the customs and traditions of the Crystal Empire, especially when it comes to a Crystalling." Applejack confessed, still unsure with the customs in the Crystal Empire.

Starlight approached the apple farmer and asked, "What's a Crystalling?"

It was Rarity who answered, "Well, that's just it, darling. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's baby is due any day, and we're still not sure. The Crystal Empire was gone for a thousand years. A lot of their customs are a bit murky."

"We know it's got somethin' to do with the new baby." Applejack added.

"And a party!" Pinkie exclaimed, popping up between Applejack and Starlight.

"And the Crystal Heart." Fluttershy added meekly.

"And a party!" Pinkie exclaimed again, appearing behind the shy pegasus.

Rainbow got off from her throne and floated over and hovered above Starlight, "And some kinda cool energy."

They all looked to the table, where Pinkie was currently standing with a huge smile on her face, "And... a party!" An explosion of confetti went off behind the party mare, the rest of the girls simply shrugging at their friend's antics.

It was then that Spike entered the room with a scroll in hand, "It's not hard to understand. Most things in the Crystal Empire aren't. Like how I'm a big hero there, for example!" He boasted by showing them a poster of him saving the Crystal Heart. His boast was met with unimpressed looks from the other mares, all except for Rarity, who giggled at the dragon. Seeing that he didn't get the reaction he wanted, Spike chuckled in embarrassment and put the poster away, leaning down and picking up a crystal vase and placing it on the table. "Eh... plus, I've had to help Twilight do a lot of research on Crystallings. Whenever a baby is born in the Crystal Empire, the parents bring it before the Crystal Heart. They get the purest shard of crystal they can find, then pick a crystaller to present the baby to everypony who comes. Then they all share the light and joy they feel, feeding it into the crystal that joins with the Heart, and increases its power! And this is going to be a royal Crystalling, so pretty much the whole empire will show up. That hasn't happened in a millennia!"

Even after that explanation, Starlight still had some questions, "What do you mean it increases the Crystal Heart's power?"

"The energy it uses to protect the Crystal Empire, I guess." Spike responded as he put the vase down on the floor.

"Protect it from what?"

Spike rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "I... didn't help Twilight with that part."

"Hey, Twilight, can I ask you something about the Crystal Empire?" Starlight asked as she re-entered the library, seeing her mentor shifting through various papers.

The alicorn turned to her student excitedly, "Huh! Funny you should mention it. Because I just narrowed your first friendship lesson down to three options, and one of them is in the Crystal Empire!" She presented Starlight with three different scrolls.

"Really?"

"I found out that's where the first pony you ever cared about lives!"

Starlight's heart stopped, "S-Sunburst?"

Whatever it was that Twilight said afterwards was drained out, the butterflies were back, causing her belly to feel like it was eating itself. She felt like she needed to throw up, her breathing became ragged and unhinged, her ears were ringing and she was on the verge of having a panic attack.

But it wasn't a big deal, right?

It wasn't like him leaving was the entire reason she went crazy to begin with, right?

It wasn't like that one moment in history charted her course for the rest of her life.

Her stomach rumbled, she was going to freak out, she needed to get some air.

She needed out.

Now.

"Starlight?"

She was brought back to reality by Twilight, who looked at her with concern evident in her eyes. She placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder and asked, "Is something wrong?"

She should tell her the truth, tell her that she's not ready to face Sunburst, that she's close to having another panic attack. But, then she would seem weak. Was she weak? No. No, she needed to show Twilight that she was willing to accept any challenge she would throw her way. So, she did what she did best.

She lied.

"What? O-Oh, no, heh, those all sound great!"

Twilight seemed to buy it, which was back up by her smiling at Starlight and saying, "I know! I guess you were right! It is gonna be hard to choose one!" With that, she trotted out of the room, oblivious to the terror that Starlight was feeling right now.

"Ugh! I am never gonna find my way around this place!"

After being crushed under a closet full of cleaning supplies, and walking in on Spike flexing in the mirror, Starlight had had enough and let out her frustrations, which Spike had heard and decided to follow her to see what was wrong.

"Gee, Starlight, what's wrong?"

"I don't know, Spike. Twilight's figuring out what my first friendship lesson is, and I guess I'm not exactly thrilled with the options. Well... with one of them." Starlight explained to the young dragon.

"Which one?"

Starlight sighed, "Reuniting me with my first friend."

"What's so terrible about that?"

Of course he asked that. With a heavy sigh, she began to explain. "When we were foals, Sunburst knew everything there was to know about magic. He always knew just what to do. And he was always there to help me. I guess it's not surprising that Sunburst got his Cutie Mark in magic and... went off to Princess Celestia's school. But when he left..."

"You blamed Cutie Marks and stripped a whole village of theirs, and when Twilight and the others stopped you, you went back in time and almost destroyed Equestria." Spike finished with a deadpanned voice.

Starlight rubbed the back of her head in shame, "Not really stuff I'm super eager to tell Sunburst about. I mean, he's probably some big important wizard now, and... I can't even find my way around Twilight's castle."

"Well, if Sunburst is that good at magic, maybe he'd appreciate your, uh..." Spike cleared his throat, clearly feeling awkward talking about Starlight's past. "...exploits. You should talk to Twilight about it. I'm sure she'd want to hear what you have to say."

"I know. But I don't want her to think I'm not ready to learn or that I'm not grateful for everything she's doing."

"Spike! Come quick!"

Upon hearing Twilight's exclamation, the two made their way to the balcony where Twilight was waiting with an excited smile on her face. As the wind blew, a letter in the shape of a snowflake made its way into Twilight's wing, where she caught it softly.

"It's a Crystalling invitation!" Spike shouted happily.

"Shining Armor's a father! I'm an aunt!" She declared with a posh accent, hoof planted on her chest. Twilight then approached Starlight and said, "Well, this settles it! Since we're going to the Crystal Empire, your first friendship lesson is going to be... reuniting with Sunburst!"

"....Greeeaat."

Just outside the Crystal Empire

A red streak tore through the snow after dropping off the red centaur, disappearing into an Interdimensional Breach and leaving this world. Tirek watched as the speedster left him, presumably off to prepare the next part of the plan. He turned his head and set his sight on the Crystal Empire, a smirk tugging on his mouth.

He carefully traversed the snow and made his way toward the train station, making sure that he wasn't seen by anypony. He watched hungrily as the crystal ponies walked around and went about their day. The magic within them, they didn't deserve it. They were unworthy of such power, it belonged to him.

It was time to feed.

But before he could, the Friendship Express pulled into the station, and when he set sights upon the mare he despised most, his hatred skyrocketed. He watched as Twilight Sparkle and her friends got off the train.

All... Seven of them?

Tirek watched closely as a new, pink unicorn stepped off behind Twilight.

His interest peaked, now who was this? She wasn't there during their last encounter, a new friend perhaps? Maybe somepony he could use to his advantage? There was something intriguing about this mare, but Tirek couldn't place his finger on it. She looked... Uncertain of herself. Her face displayed guilt and shame. Her body language screamed shame, she looked as if she would rather be anywhere than there.

She looked ashamed.

Tirek smiled devilishly, "And just who is that with you, Princess Twilight? A mare seeking redemption, perhaps? A new member to your merry band? Whoever she is, she intrigues me. I'll have to look into her in the future, she could prove of some use to me." His sights set upon the clueless civilians walking the streets. Tirek licked his lips, "But first, to enact the plan. And I think I know just where to start."

With the Mane 6

"Step one, head to Sunburst's house and get you two started on the right hoof. Step two, get to the castle with enough time to visit the ba—" Twilight listed off as she walked off the train, too busy focusing on the list that she didn't even realize that her brother was waiting for her, resulting in the two of them bumping into one another.

The unicorn stallion was white in color, with a blue mane, blue eyes, and a blue tail. And plastered on his flank was his Cutie Mark, which was a star inside of a shield.

"Shining Armor!" Twilight exclaimed her brother's name happily, but frowned slightly upon looking at him. He looked tired. It appeared that he hadn't slept at all since the baby was born, which wasn't healthy in the slightest.

"Twilight...!" Shining greeted tiredly, instantly slumping forward slightly.

"I didn't know you were meeting us!"

"Of course I am! It's me, right here. Here I am. Why wouldn't I come meet my sister? Though we have met before, heh heh..." Shining rambled on in a tired fashion, slumping forward again as if he wanted to go to sleep.

Twilight furrowed her brow in concern, "Are you all right?"

"Never better! Being a father is amazing! And wonderful, and amazing, and confusing, and amazing, but surprising too, you know? I mean, not that you'd know. You wouldn't know, I know... You know?" He continued to ramble before sighing, looking at his sister with exhausted eyes, "Sorry. I haven't really slept since Cadance had the baby. Come to think of it, she hasn't either. It sure would be great to get a break."

Twilight looked at her brother with sympathetic eyes, "Oh, of course! I don't know what I was thinking! You two probably need all kinds of help!" She turned her head to Starlight, who was feeling all forms of relief. "I'm sorry, Starlight, but I guess combining your first lesson with this visit wasn't such a good idea."

The unicorn student simply dismissed her with a wave of a hoof, "Oh, uh, don't be ridiculous! You're an aunt now! That's way more important than some friendship lesson."

"I just wish there was a way to do both."

Cue Spike!

The young dragon waddled up to his mother and said, "Maybe there is!" When both mares looked at the dragon, Spike explained, "You've already done the work for Starlight's lesson with this list. All we have to do is follow it!"

Starlight's hoof met her face.

"Spike, you're a genius!" Twilight beamed.

"Yeah.... a genius." Starlight repeated through gritted teeth.

"Then it's settled! Shining Armor and I will head straight to the castle, and you two can head straight to Sunburst's!" Twilight planned with a smile on her face.

"Aye-aye, Princess!" Spike saluted.

"Alright, big brother, let's go see this amazing baby pony!" Twilight said to her brother, who was quite literally sleeping while standing.

Earth 1

Gotham City

"Master Bruce?"

Bruce Wayne was currently sitting at the Batcomputer going through his contingency plans, considering adding Starlight Glimmer to the list, but he didn't know enough about her to come up with a feasible plan to counteract her powers. He was currently wearing a black suit with a blue buttoned up shirt underneath it.

He spun his chair around and came face to face with Alfred, who had a solemn and disturbed look on his face.

"What is it, Alfred?"

Alfred looked uncomfortable, like he was about to pass out. It was clear that he was disturbed by what has occurred, "I have some... Unpleasant news."

Bruce Wayne had never run so fast in his life.

Ignoring the rain pelting down on him, he crashed through the doors and sprinted up to the cemetery behind Wayne Manor, specifically to where his parents were laid to rest. Sweat mixed with the rain dripping down his head as anxiety overtook him, his normally composed self became unraveled and unpredictable.

Fear overcame him as he approached the graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

He sucked in a gasp as he came face to face with two empty graves.

"No..." Bruce whispered before clenching his fists so tightly that it drew blood, the crimson liquid dripping down his hands and falling to the grass. "How could this have happened?! WHERE ARE MY PARENT'S CASKETS?!!!" He couldn't stop the tears falling from his eyes, just like he couldn't stop whoever grave robbed his parents graves.

Just like he couldn't stop the red streak from slamming into his back, sending him crashing against the tombstone in front of him. Bruce's head crashed against the stone, rattling his brain, before falling into the open grave in a dazed state. His back crashed against the dirt beneath him, his vision becoming blurry.

The last thing he saw before unconsciousness overtook him was a vibrating man in a yellow suit looming over him.

Earth 2010

Equestria

"Before we go in, I should probably tell you. Seeing the baby might be a bit of a shock." Shining Armor warned Twilight as they stood outside the baby's room.

But Twilight dismissed his warnings, "Come on, big brother. I've met babies before. I expect meeting this one won't be any different."

As they entered the room, they were greeted to the sight of three alicorn princesses, one of which looked extremely exhausted. The first was large in size, her coat was a heavenly white that emphasized her greatness. She had both wings and a horn, showing that she was in fact royalty. Her mane was rainbow colored and flowed behind her as if the wind were pushing it. She wore royal regalia and had a sun Cutie Mark, showing her talent of being able to move the sun at will.

The second was a slightly smaller alicorn who had a dark blue coat with a flowing blue mane. She two wore royal regalia which had her Cutie Mark engraved on the chest piece. Speaking of her Cutie Mark, it was that of a half crescent moon, showing her control over the moon and the stars in the sky.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked to the third alicorn, who was pink in color, with a pink, purple, and white mane and tail. She wore golden regalia, which included horseshoes, chest plate, and a tiara on top of her head. Her wings faded from pink to purple, and she had the kindest of smiles anypony could have. Her Cutie Mark was that of a crystal heart, showing not only her status as the Princess of Love, but of her status as the Princess of the Crystal Empire.

Princess Cadance offered her sister-in-law a gentle smile as she approached her newborn.

Twilight let a smile appear on her face when she came in contact with her niece, she was adorable, perfect in every sense of the word. But that sense of happiness was overcome with shock when the baby's wings unfurled, removing her blanket, revealing that she was an alicorn.

She was pink, just like her mother, she had a curly blue and pink mane, very large wings, and very large, adorable eyes that anyone could love.

The baby cooed as Twilight turned to the shocked faces of her friends, before turning to Cadance and exclaiming, "The baby is an alicorn?!"

"It looks that way." Cadance responded with a yawn.

"But... But... But I thought alicorn wings had to be earned by accomplishing some great, princess-worthy deed!" Rarity thought aloud.

Applejack seemed to concur, "Yeah. How can you just be born with 'em?"

"Um, we were." Luna snidely reminded, to which she was slapped behind the head by the wing of her sister.

She grumbled as Celestia explained, "While we were born as alicorns, we were born outside of Equestria. The birth of an alicorn is something Equestria has never seen!" She smirked slightly at her sister's annoyed expression.

"It is beyond even our understanding." Luna agreed, still rubbing the back of her head.

"That's not very reassuring." Fluttershy said in a hushed tone.

Pinkie, however, was as excited as ever. "Wow! A unicorn, and a Pegasus! So she could be a super-strong flyer and have crazy baby magic!"

"Well, I know all about super-strong flying!" Rainbow boasted with a flip through the air.

Twilight turned to Cadance and said, "And I can help keep tabs on her magic!"

How hard could it be?

She was answered when the baby sneezed and fired a large laser from her horn, tearing multiple holes in the ceiling.

They all watched the baby as if she were a ticking time bomb.

"It appears her magic is more powerful than that of a newborn unicorn!" Celestia stated, nervousness evident in her tone.

Luna trotted over to the window and saw the crystal ponies making their way to the Crystal Heart, "The crowds have already started to gather."

In response, Pinkie Pie blew up a balloon and let it float her into the air. Her smile was humungous, she always did love making ponies smile, that's why she loved parties so much. "This Crystalling is gonna be some party!"

"Should we call it off?" Cadance asked with a worried tone. She didn't want the baby's magic to hurt anyone at the event, maybe it was best to call it off until they got her magic under control.

But Rainbow wasn't fazed in the slightest, "Um, we've all faced a lot worse than baby magic."

"I can't imagine cancelling such a beautiful and important ceremony over something so potentially adorable!" Rarity agreed, staring at the baby, cooing at her cuteness.

The rest of the girls all nodded in agreement, not wanting to cancel The Crystalling either. Twilight stared at her friends lovingly, things were going great lately. They had come a long way from where they were previously, she was really grateful to have them.

"In light of the little one's abilities, this Crystalling might be more important than ever." Celestia said before turning to Cadance, "Perhaps you should address your subjects and remind them of that."

Cadance nodded, leaning down and planting a kiss to her child's forehead. The baby cooed as the three princesses left the room to address the citizens of the Crystal Empire. Twilight turned to her brother, who was sleeping on the head of the bed, and trotted over to wake him up.

"Shining Armor! Do you have everything you need for the ceremony?"

The stallion suddenly screamed and zoomed away from the alicorn, "Oh, no! I still have to interview the honor guards, choose the purity crystal, and pick a crystaller!"

Before he could go into a full on panic, Twilight rubbed her brother's back comfortingly as a small smirk appeared on her face, "Alright, take it easy. Pinkie can stay here with me and keep an eye on the baby." She turned to Pinkie, who appeared to have a baby clung to her face.

Wasn't that painful?

It was Pinkie Pie. Why question it?

"And we'll all help you with everythin' else." Applejack reassured the stallion with a smile.

Said stallion was fast asleep.

"That is, if you can stay awake long enough to tell us how." Rarity commented with a smirk.

"So... the Princess of Friendship wants you and I to be friends again?"

Starlight wanted to die right then and there. It was sooooo awkward, so cringe inducing, her heart had stopped at least thirty times ever since she stepped hoof on Sunburst's doorstep. Speaking of Sunburst, he was an orange unicorn with a thin, yet, scraggly beard. A messy dark orange mane, with a stripe of white going down his face. He wore circular glasses, as well as a blue cloak with stars on it.

The nerves started flaring up when Sunburst didn't even recognize her when she and Spike arrived, which hurt to say the least. She nearly destroyed the entire timeline because this guy abandoned her, and he didn't even remember her. And she felt stupid enough already.

"Heh, I know. Weird, right?"

Sunburst adjusted his glasses and stammered, "Uh, I don't understand. Did something happen to you after I left for magic school?"

Busted.

"What?!" She exclaimed as she used her magic to refill her cup of tea. How the heck did he deduce that so quickly? Maybe it was some kind of hidden wizard trait? She honestly didn't know, but she needed to steer this conversation away from her, and fast. "No! I-I don't see what that has to do with anything. W-Why would you even ask that?" She looked at him closely before asking, "I mean, did something happen to you after you left for magic school?"

It was Sunburst's turn to panic, she couldn't know how much of a loser he was, he needed to impress her, and fast. "What? Um, no. L-Like you said, I'm a," he cleared his throat, "i-important wizard."

Meanwhile Spike was off to the left, going through Twilight's list thoroughly to see if there was anything that could help. "I'm sure there's something on Twilight's list that can help here."

Back at the Crystal Castle

"Well... at least she's having... fun!" Pinkie shouted as she was being dragged around by the baby. The party pony was currently clung to the baby's legs, in a feeble attempt of grounding her, but it seemed that she picked up on how to fly faster than anticipated.

Something that irked Twilight slightly, but she would just keep that to herself.

Speaking of the Princess of Friendship, she was firing blast after blast from her horn to stop the baby's own lasers, making sure that she didn't cause anymore damage to the castle. "Pinkie, hold her still!"

"I'm tryiiiiiiing!"

Twilight sighed, it was almost time for The Crystalling.

Hopefully nothing else would go wrong.

Cadance was surprised to say the least. Earlier it seemed like her husband couldn't even stay awake, but now he actually looked presentable for his subjects. She would have to thank Rarity later. She trotted down the stairs with Celestia and Luna trailing behind her, feeling her heart bloom when the love of her life galloped over to her.

"Okay. I chose the honor guard, picked the purity crystal, and I know exactly who I want to be our crystaller. So, all we need is..." He trailed off, tapping his chin with his hoof.

"The baby?" Cadance said in an unimpressed tone.

Shining froze, but let out a sigh of relief at the sound of her sister's voice.

"We're here!"

They all turned to see Twilight holding both Pinkie and the baby in a pink bubble, with the former holding onto the latter's legs for dear life.

"She's a really strong flyer!" Pinkie commented.

Cadance let out a giggle as she lit up her horn to retrieve her baby, but as she did so, Shining's ear twitched slightly. A feint sound catching his attention, it was the sound of something rushing through the air. He turned around and used his horn to open up the curtain behind them.

He wished he hadn't.

An insanely large orange blast soared across the air and struck the ground, causing a massive explosion that sent everypony flying through the air. The curtains were burned to ash, the Crystal Guards died on impact, and the castle above them shook from the impact.

Everypony present flew through the air and landed harshly on the ground. They couldn't hear anything due to the ringing in their ears, their vision was blurry, due to the damage they all sustained to their heads. Shining was the first to recover, then the princesses, then Twilight and the rest of the girls.

"Ugh... My skull's ringing like a bell." Rainbow commented, rubbing the side of her head painfully.

"I don't feel so good." Pinkie said weakly.

"What in the hay happened?" Applejack asked the question on everyone's minds.

Shining groaned as he checked on his sister, to which she nodded to assure his worries. He then got to his hooves, his ears still ringing as dust clouded his sight, and galloped over to his wife. "Cadance, honey?! Are you okay?! Anything broken?!"

Cadance groaned and slowly got to her hooves, her wings twitching from the damage, and looked around for a moment before her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. "The baby... Shining, where's the baby?" When his own worried eyes met hers, she panicked, "The baby!!! Where's my baby?!"

Twilight was now in full on panic mode, her breathing became unhinged as her worry for her niece finally set in. She looked around in a panic, really wishing that they had decided on a name for the baby so that she could call it out to see if she was okay.

Everyone looked around in a panic, hoping to see any sign of the newest royal alicorn.

Their hearts stopped at the sound of somepony chuckling.

The voice was familiar.

Twilight's eyes shrunk in horror. "...no..." She whispered as she slowly turned to the burnt curtains, where a massive silhouette stood, his orange eyes glowing menacingly through the smoke. But what caught her attention was the bubble floating above his shoulder.

A bubble containing the baby.

"Quite the festivities you have here." The voice said, stomping over to the ones he hated.

The ones who took everything from him.

His eyes set on her.

"My invitation must've been lost in the mail."

As the baby cried out for her mother, Lord Tirek stepped out from the smoke, a cruel smile on his face. He was noticeably larger now, his arms having increased in size, his entire form much bulkier, and his horns were now larger and curved upward.

Tirek smiled at the horrified expressions on the ponies' faces. They were afraid, stunned, and worried. Just how he wanted them, afraid, it made their magic taste all the more sweet.

He flashed them a grin as he said, "I hope you don't mind me crashing your party?"

Author's Note

DUN DUN DUN!!!

Things are moving here folks! The Legion has already begun their attack on the Guardians, with Reverse-Flash having dug up Bruce's parents graves, and Tirek disrupting The Crystalling, having drained the magic of multiple crystal ponies to power himself.

And now he has Flurry Heart!!! :pinkiegasp:

Looks like they aren't messing around this time, and with Batman's contingency plans, can they truly be stopped?

We'll just have to wait and see.

Next chapter we catch up with the other Guardians and things will really start to pick up. Stay tuned folks, it's gonna be a hell of a ride.

7. Calm Before the Storm

Earth 2010

The Crystal Empire

Twilight's heart stopped.

As soon as the words left Batman's mouth her heart, and she was pretty sure that everyone else's, had stopped beating. It was because the thought had never came across her mind, it was an inconceivable idea that she never even gave it the merit of thought.

But that all changed when those words left her best friend's mouth.

"W-What...?" Twilight asked shakily, her eyes showing nothing but complete and utter betrayal. "What did you just say...?"

"The plans that were used against us." Batman repeated, making sure that everyone was listening. "They were mine. I created them."

The reaction was almost instantaneous.

"WHAT?!"

"Yours?!"

"You're kidding!"

"That simply can't be tha truth!"

"What do you mean they're yours?!"

"B-But I thought..."

Those were just some of the cries of outrage that came from the ponies and Guardians present, disbelief shrouding the chamber like a cloud of smog. They just couldn't believe it, Batman was their friend and ally, there was no way that he would secretly plan their downfall behind their backs.

He had to be lying.

Twilight prayed that he was lying.

She couldn't go through this again, not again. Not another betrayal by one she trusted.

She couldn't go through this with him.

Especially him. Her best friend, the one she confided in when she was betrayed the first time. Surely he would know not to keep something like this from her.

But the look in his eyes.

Stern, cold, calculating.

No hint of deceit whatsoever.

That's when it truly sunk in.

Bruce Wayne had betrayed her, created a means of taking her out without telling her. This was really happening again, another she had considered family had broken the bond they had built. Her eyes were the size of dinner plates, speaking volumes, wanting an answer to one, simple question.

Why?

Recovering from her stupor, Princess Luna looked to the Guardian of Gotham and said, "Darkest of Knights, please tell us this isn't true." Her eyes pleaded for the Dark Knight to say that this was all in a cruel jest.

But it wasn't.

He looked to her and said, "I can't do that. Because it is true."

The quiet of the chamber was once again drowned out by various cries and pleas of outrage.

"I've carefully studied every Guardian of the Multiverse, and created contingency plans to neutralize you, should that become necessary." Batman explained with a stern and calculative voice, silencing everyone in the room.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Mario exclaimed.

"Neutralize." Batman emphasized, making it clear that they were not meant to be lethal. "Not kill. Whoever implemented my plans altered them."

"It's still a completely unacceptable breach of our trust!" Mario yelled back at the Dark Knight, fists shaking at his sides as he barely contained the rage he felt at this betrayal.

"The Guardians of the Multiverse are among the most powerful and potentially dangerous people in the entire Multiverse." Batman explained without raising his voice, maintaining that sense of calm and collectiveness as he gave his reasons for what he did.

Sonic, completely appalled, put his hand on his forehead. "This is unbelievable..."

"You think one of us would go over to the other side?" Tony asked, surprisingly calm about all this. He received some odd looks from the others present, but he ignored them. He seemed to be giving Batman a chance to explain himself, possibly giving him the benefit of the doubt, yet nobody knew why.

Looking to Tony, Batman nodded and said, "Or succumb to mind control. Yes, it's possible. That's why I developed plans for containing any or all members of the Guardians should the need ever arise."

"Why...?"

All heads turned to Twilight Sparkle, who's eyes were covered by her mane as she held her head down low. Spike and Starlight moved to approach her to offer her some comfort, but stopped dead in their tracks, their eyes wide and fearful, when her wings suddenly sprouted outwards and she raised her head.

She was crying.

Tears of anger and betrayal streamed down her eyes as her horn crackled with magic.

"WHY?! WHY, WHY, WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?!" She cried out, her voice echoing throughout the chamber, everyone besides Batman taking a cautionary step back. "NONE OF US WOULD EVER DO THAT TO YOU! I WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO YOU!!!"

Batman scowled at the mare and remained as calm as possible, he knew that if he raised his voice then the situation would go out of control. He couldn't lie to her, he knew that the plans were necessary, and that someone as smart as Twilight hadn't thought of something like that was baffling to him. So, he just looked at her and said, "Then you're damned fools."

Everypony stared at the Batman as if he were a different person. There was no way he had just said that to her, sure they knew he was blunt, but surely he could've at least said he was sorry to try and calm the Princess of Friendship.

But he didn't.

Because he felt like he had nothing to apologize for.

Twilight simply stared at her best friend, a look of disbelief on her broken face, her mouth agape as tears continued to fall. She honestly couldn't believe that he had just said that. Twilight had nothing to say, how could she? So, she just furled her wings and stood there, expressionless.

You could cut the tension in the room with a knife.

So, deciding to cut the tension himself, Iron Man said, "I'm not sure I have a problem with Batman's contingency plans." He knew that he would receive looks from everyone. And he did. Everyone turned to him as if he were a crazy man. He held up his hands in defense and explained, "I have a whole armory full of Buster Armors made for various members of the Avengers. So I see where he's coming from." He looked to Batman and said, "But letting somebody steal them was pretty damn dumb."

"I've had some time to think about that and I know how it happened." Batman said as he opened his palm and held it outward. Then a holographic projection appeared and played in his hand. Enhancing the screen, making it bigger for all to see, Batman explained as it played, "Security video from the Batcave."

The footage showed that everything was normal in the cave, the bats were flapping about, Ace the Bat Hound was sleeping in his bed, and Alfred was walking towards the Batcomputer with a plate of food in his hands. As the footage almost came to an end, it stopped and zoomed in on a flicker of red just at the bottom of the camera.

It was small, but noticeable.

A spark of red lightning.

"What exactly are we looking at here?" Shining asked bitterly, scowling at the Hero of Gotham for putting his sister in harms way.

"The speedster that orchestrated this entire attack, he was in the Batcave and somehow managed to gain access to my files." Explained the Dark Knight. "He must've used Flashtime to bypass my security measures. The only reason I was able to pick up that small flicker of lightning must've been because he was using too much of the Speedforce, therefore returning him to normal speed."

"B-But that doesn't explain what he wants." Sunburst couldn't help but point out, adjusting his glasses.

"They all said it." Mario looked around at their confused faces before clarifying. "They want to change reality, make their own perfect world."

"But how the hay are they gonna do that?" AJ asked.

Princess Cadance looked around for a moment, her baby cooing in her legs, and said, "Maybe we should discuss this inside the palace?" Truth be told, she didn't want to cause anymore of a panic than was necessary, they had had enough trouble for one day.

"Princess Cadance is correct," Celestia agreed, "Let us take this discussion into the Crystal Palace."

The three alicorns led the ensemble of ponies, Mobians, and humans into the castle, with Starlight Glimmer lagging behind, trying to remain as small as possible. She saw the dirty looks some of the ponies gave Batman, specifically Rainbow Dash, Shining Armor, and Applejack, and shuddered, unable to help but think of the way Sunburst had looked at her when she told him what she did.

She stopped, as did everyone else, when she noticed that neither Batman nor Twilight had moved, both locked in a harsh stare, waiting for the other to move first. "Twilight?" Starlight called out hesitantly, knowing how angry the alicorn currently was at the moment.

"Leave us alone for a moment."

At the request, everyone made their way into the castle, leaving the two best friends to their privacy.

"Well?" Twilight started once the coast was clear, expecting Bruce to say something, possibly an apology. She would be willing to forgive and forget if the stubborn man would admit to his mistake and say his sorry.

But she knew him better than that.

"Well, what?" Batman retorted expectedly.

"Aren't you going to apologize?" She asked through gritted teeth, doing a terrible job of hiding her anger.

The Justice Leaguer crossed his arms, his stance defiant. "I have nothing to apologize for." He defended sternly. "I'm sorry that you and the others got hurt because of my negligence regarding the Babel Protocols, but I will not apologize for implementing them in the first place. They're needed."

Twilight couldn't help but laugh bitterly, "You're so stubborn and clueless." When he arched an eyebrow, she elaborated, "Bruce, I'm not mad about the plans, I think that it's good that you're ahead of the ball and thinking ahead. But what I won't stand for is the fact that you completely disregarded us, went behind our backs, and didn't tell us about them in the first place."

"That would defeat the whole purpose." Batman defended, furrowing his brows. "If you knew that they were there, then what would be the point of them?"

"You still should have told us."

"I don't have to tell you anything."

"The fact that you can't see what's right in your face is astounding! After everything we've been through, after all the struggles and hardships, after sharing with me your greatest secret, you still don't trust me!"

"This isn't about trust, it's about security."

"Bruce, you concocted plans to neutralize us in case we went bad behind our backs! You lied to me, even after seeing what happened between me and the girls, how that affected me, you still went behind my back and did it anyway!"

"You're being ridiculous."

"My feelings are not ridiculous, Bruce! After so long, after finally learning to trust my friends again, the one person who I expect to be in my corner no matter what, my best friend, goes behind my back and plans my downfall and doesn't even feel like he has to say sorry! You hid things from me! You lied to me!"

Finally losing his patience, Batman snapped, "You want to talk about hiding things? What about you? I'm not going to stand here and be lectured by the mare who thought it was a good idea to hide how she felt about her friends before it blew up right in her face at the worst possible time."

"SCREW YOU!!!" Her voice echoed throughout the empire, her wings flared and her horn sparkling with magic, her entire form shaking with anger and hurt. She was panting heavily, her eyes narrowed at the Dark Knight. She was beyond hurt, she was distraught and angry, and who could blame her? It was very rare for Twilight to lose her composure, let alone speak in such a way to her friends, so in this instance, she made an exception.

Batman simply stood there and looked unimpressed at the alicorn. "You're impossible to talk to like this." Having said his piece, he turned around and began walking into the castle. "When you're done acting like this and start acting like a princess, we can continue this conversation."

Part of her wanted to blast the arrogant human right then and there, to shout and scream at him, to say that she would never forgive him for this. But she couldn't, because she knew that wasn't true. After this, after going behind her back and creating plans to take her down, she still loved him. He was her best friend, and to quote herself, 'Friendship isn't always easy, but there's no doubt that it's worth fighting for.'

While she was beyond angry at him, she couldn't bring herself to hate him.

She could never hate him.

Twilight furled her wings and took a deep breath, she had to calm herself, they had a situation at hoof. This conversation wasn't over, it was just on hold for the moment.

They had much more important things to focus on at the moment.

With that thought in mind, Twilight made her way inside the castle.

The Crystal Palace Throne Room

All eyes were set on the Batman as he made his way into the throne room, clearly annoyed, it appears that his and Twilight's conversation didn't go well. He ignored all the dirty looks he got from everyone in the room as he shrouded himself in his cape.

When the doors opened once again and Twilight Sparkle stepped in, only then did the Batman turn and acknowledge her. She looked at him with hurt eyes before turning away and clearing her throat, "Where are we with Tirek and the others?"

"Y'know, despite everything that's happened, I can't be the only one who thinks that it's getting annoying we don't have a name for their team yet." Sonic said.

"Why would we name them?" Luna asked, genuinely confused as to why the hedgehog was making this a topic of discussion.

"Well, I mean it's gonna get annoying just calling them Eggman and the others or whatever, so why not make it easier?" The hedgehog tapped his chin in thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. "I got it! How about--"

"The Legion of Doom!" Pinkie piped up suddenly, popping out of nowhere behind Sonic.

The hedgehog was about to reprimand her, but stopped for a moment before conceding, "That's better than what I had in mind. So you get a pass."

"Where did you hear that name?" Batman asked, suspicious as to how the party pony knew the name of Lex Luthor's anti Justice League.

"Oh! I just used the name that will probably come up in the future. Although part of me wonders how Hasbro didn't get sued for using it, but then again, the fandom kind of named them and it kinda stuck so I guess it's okay?" Pinkie didn't sound too sure.

Then again nobody knew what she was talking about, so they just ignored her.

"Regardless, this... Legion of Doom," Pinkie beamed at Celestia before being promptly pushed back by her magic, "We still need a means of figuring out what their end goal is."

"We know that though." Mario pointed out. "They want to change the world."

"But how?" Cadance asked, looking at Shining Armor worriedly. "How could they even accomplish such a task?"

"I believe that I can answer that."

All of a sudden, a tornado of sparkles appeared in front of the doors leading into the throne room, causing everyone to quickly stand on alert. But their alarm was misplaced as this wasn't the work of an adversary. It was the work of an old ally and friend.

The swirl of sparkles dispersed and in its place was a spectral projection of a bearded unicorn. He wore a blue cloak with yellow stars stitched onto it with bells on the edges of it. He also wore a blue pointy magicians hat with bells also stitched onto it, with one large bell stitched to the tip of the hat.

Upon the appearance of Starswirl the bearded, or rather, the astral projection of his magic, Sunburst then proceeded to fall over and faint. The elderly unicorn mage chuckled at the astonished faces in the room. "My friends, while it is marvelous to see you all again, I am afraid that I come bearing bad tidings."

Recovering from her initial shock, Twilight stuttered, "S-Starswirl? N-Not that I'm unhappy to see you again, but what are you doing here?" The last time she saw him was back on Vorton where he revealed their destinies as the new Guardians of the Multiverse, explaining the threat of The Exiled and the severe gravity of the situation. "And what bad tidings are you talking about?"

"Do you know something that we don't?" Shining asked, still stunned at the appearance of the legendary wizard.

"You would be correct in your assumption, Prince Armor." Starswirl confirmed with a nod. "This Legion of Doom that you speak of is after a relic, an ancient relic that could spell disaster for reality as we know it. As it stands, you are the only ones standing in the way of unspeakable evil."

The air chilled in the throne room, the gravity of the situation finally settling in. Cadance held her baby protectively, the alicorn nuzzling up to her mother as Shining planted a kiss on her forehead. The Princess of Love looked around to see uneasy looks on each ponies face, while they saw stern frown on that of the Guardians.

"What relic do you speak of?" Luna dreaded to ask.

"The Spear of Destiny."

"What's that?" Rainbow asked.

"An ancient weapon created by Supreme himself, forged through his own power with the ability to change reality itself." After that fact settled in, he continued, "After realizing the damage the spear could do in the wrong hands, Supreme split it apart into four pieces so that it could never fall into the wrong hands. This Legion of Doom wishes to locate and reforge the Spear of Destiny to change reality as you know it. If they succeed there will be nothing that can stop them."

"Where do we find this thing?" Sonic couldn't help but ask.

The astral projection shook his head, "Unfortunately the locations of the pieces are unknown to me. But there is a means of locating them; the Longinus Medallion. It is in tune with the pieces of the spear and it will lead you to them. If you wish to find them, then you must locate the medallion."

The Guardians looked to one another before Twilight approached the astral projection, "Whatever the task, if the Multiverse is in danger then we will always stand up to protect it." She looked back, receiving nods of approval from the others. She gave a sad look to Batman, who simply looked at her with a blank expression. With a heavy sigh, she steeled her look and turned back to the projection. "How do we find this medallion?"

"Whenever the medallion is in the same dimension as a piece of the spear, it emits a pulse to alert the other pieces that someone is looking to reunite them, reawakening them from their dormant state. This pulse should be large enough for you to pick it up back at the Eternal Apex." The unicorn mage began to fade away, turning into nothing but sparkles of light. "My time here is up, but allow me to leave you with one piece of advice, Princess Twilight. Despite the severity of this betrayal, you must have complete trust in your friend. Otherwise all will be lost."

With that foreboding warning, Starswirl the Bearded faded away.

Starlight had since left the throne room with a heavy heart and a sense of foreboding weighing heavily upon her. With everything at stake who could blame her, just this morning she was spiraling over meeting Sunburst again, that all seemed miniscule compared to what's at stake now.

A spear capable of rewriting reality itself.

It was unheard of.

The unicorn couldn't help but wonder what her life would be like if she got her hooves on that spear, but shook those thoughts away. She wasn't that mare anymore. She was better, a student to the Princess of Friendship.

But Sunburst didn't see it that way, she could feel the disgust radiating off of him when she told him the truth.

She wasn't worthy of his friendship.

And to pile onto that, Batman's revelation of his contingency plans made matters worse. She felt selfish, Twilight was feeling the sting of betrayal and here she was feeling sorry for herself.

After all this time, Starlight Glimmer was still a selfish pony.

She hated that about herself, she hated herself, she just wanted things to go back to how they were! She never wanted--

"Starlight?"

Her spiraling thoughts were ceased as she turned around to see the concerned gaze of Twilight Sparkle, who had her head tilted to the side.

"Are you alright?" She took a small step forward towards her student. "Is everything alright?"

Glimmer couldn't help but laugh. "I should be the one asking you that." Now turned completely to Twilight, she asked, "How are you feeling? What with everything...." She trailed off, not knowing how to best approach that particular topic.

She felt a heavy weight in her stomach when she saw her teacher look down in utter sadness, her tears glistening in the crystal hallway. "It's... It's a lot, y'know? It's not everyday you find out that your best friend is secretly plotting to take you down behind your back." She turned her head to gaze at the doors leading to the throne room solemnly. "And now with this situation with the Legion of Doom, it's quite a lot to process."

"At least Pinkie's name is catching on." Starlight attempted to lighten up the mood.

This got her desired reaction as Twilight giggled softly, covering her mouth with her hoof. "It sure is. Pinkie's creative, that's for sure." She looked away from the doors and gave her student a concerned look, "Why did you leave so suddenly? Did something happen?"

Ah, there it was. The one topic Starlight did not want to talk about. Gently cuffing the floor with her hoof, eyes averted away from Twilight, she sighed and said, "Sunburst wants nothing to do with me." At Twilight's shocked expression, she continued, "I tried, I really did! I wanted to reignite the spark of friendship between us, but when I told him.... about everything that happened..." She didn't need to look up to see that Twilight had an understanding look on her face. "I could just tell that he was completely disgusted with me, he looked at me like I was a monster! And who could blame him? I am a monster."

"Oh, Starlight... that's not true."

"Isn't it?"

"No. And I'm sure Sunburst doesn't think that either."

"Well it doesn't matter now." Starlight held back a sob, looking away from her teacher. "I completely blew my first Friendship Lesson and I won't even have the chance to make things right." Wiping her nose with the back of her leg, she slowly closed her eyes and lowered her head. "You're leaving now to go on some grand adventure across different universes while I'm stuck here with constant reminders of my mistakes. I just wish there was a way that I could prove that I have changed, that I can prove that I'm not that same pony I was before."

Wait... That's it!

If this would work as Twilight thought it would, then not only would Starlight get her chance at the redemption she craves, but she would also see that it is possible to reignite the spark of friendship between two friends that has since dimmed. Starlight would observe as she and Batman got past this roadblock in their friendship and see that she could do the same with Sunburst!

But could she do that and stop the Legion of Doom at the same time?

Hey, she stopped the Exiled and Dr. Eggman in the same day with the help of her friends.

Compared to that, this would be a piece of cake.

Twilight looked at her student with a knowing smile on her face. "Starlight?" The student turned to the teacher, confused as to why said teacher was smiling. That look of confusion was replaced with one of shock when Twilight asked, "How would you like to go on the adventure of a lifetime?"

Author's Note

Not gonna lie, writers block hit me hard when it came to this one.

Like, I knew where I wanted to go when it came to the story of this chapter, but the words wouldn't form, y'know?

Plus, I've been so busy with work and going places, I just haven't had the time to work on this. I deeply apologize for making you all wait, you're all awesome.

But hold onto your hats, cause next chapter we head to first world in this story.

Stay Tuned~

16. Here Comes the Boom (Part 3)

Earth 597

Bygone Island

Team Sonic stood still, they couldn't move due to the sheer terror they felt upon seeing the metallic menace with their leader's visage slowly approach them. The dust from the crater still rose as Metal marched forth, having just demolished Boom Sonic with pure ease. And now he was coming right towards them, pure murder in his optics.

Meanwhile the Flybot continued to observe, zooming in so his creator could see what was happening. Orbot and Cubot were shaking, their optics wide in fear. Boom Eggman leaned forward with his mouth agape, his eyes wide, his coffee spilled on the console. As if he didn't have a lot to deal with already, now there was an imposter out there who not only copied his design, but also had the gall to make it better than his?

He would never admit that openly, of course, he has a reputation to uphold!

But the point stands. Whoever this imposter was, he was good. Too good.

Further investigation would be needed.

But back to the matter at hand, Metal stomped forward, his claws ready to tear flesh, as he heard his master's voice in his ear. "Well done, my boy! Now that the blue imposter is out of the way, deal with the other rabble and move to the next dig site. We have a Spear of Destiny to collect!"

Metal Sonic nodded and continued forward, but stopped when his hearing processors picked up something shifting from behind him.

"H-Hey, Tin Can!" A weak and cocky voice called out, causing Metal to turn around sharply and glare at the shaking hedgehog limping his way out of the crater. Holding his arm, Boom Sonic smirked and said, "We're not done here yet."

Team Sonic practically begged for their leader to stay down, but he simply smiled as Metal turned to face him.

"He really is a resilient little maggot in any reality." Eggman hummed. "No matter, despite not being the real Sonic, the sight of a dead Sonic is enough to make my day. Normally, I'd tell you to make it quick." Eggman then grinned. "However, because of this idiot's decision to defy me, I want you to make it nice and slow."

Metal nodded before shooting forward and seizing Boom Sonic by the throat and hoisting him into the air, tightening his grip around his windpipe. Team Sonic cried out and tried to rush over, but they could barely move due to their injuries. Metal Sonic began chocking the life out of him, the blue hero gasping desperately for air.

"I'm going to relish watching the life fade from his eyes." Eggman laughed.

Metal couldn't agree more.

But before he could, something pinged on his HUD, causing him to loosen his grip on Boom Sonic and turn around. He zoomed in and saw...

Him.

He dropped the fake and gave the incoming force his full attention. The dust cloud behind the incoming foe was massive, and became even bigger when a sonic boom sounded off and he shot forward at unparalleled speeds. Everyone turned around as saw a blue blur zip right past them.

And collide right into Metal Sonic, sending the robot flying back.

Team Sonic gasped loudly as they saw who it was that saved them.

And Boom Sonic was beyond shocked as he stared at... Himself. "Y-You... You are..."

"SONIC?!" Team Sonic shouted.

"SONIC?!" Eggman and The Vees exclaimed right into Metal's ear.

"ANOTHER ONE!!!" Boom Eggman shouted from inside his lair.

Sonic smirked and folded his arms, pointing his index finger on his right hand upward. "The one and only." He boasted before zooming forward at speeds that even Boom Sonic hadn't been able to achieve. He saw that Metal had gotten back up and decided to end this quick.

The two rivals broke the sound barrier to reach one another before colliding in the middle of the canyon, interlocking hands as they fought to overcome the other. "You might know everything I'm going to do, but that's not gonna help you, as I know everything you're going to do! Strange, isn't it?" The Blue Blur grit his teeth as he pushed forward against Metal Sonic.

The two eventually broke apart, the both of them sliding away from the other. Metal would've continued the fight, had it not been for a shadow tentacle to sprout from the ground and wrap itself around his middle. He looked up comically before being flung into the side of the canyon.

Smirking knowingly, Sonic peered to the left to see Alastor swirl from his shadows, his everlasting smile not leaving his face. "What an odd contraption." He commented before stamping his staff on the ground, summoning more shadow tentacles and shooting most of them forward while using another to grab a nearby VoxTech Drone and crushing it.

"WHY THE FUCK IS ALASTOR HERE?!!!" Vox swore loudly.

Back to the conflict, Metal boosted forward, dodging left and right to avoid the tentacles and make his way to the waiting Radio Demon. Al's smile widened as he disappeared into shadows as a silver spear soared right into Metal's face, sending him crashing down.

He looked down at the spear and picked it up, looking up to a scowling Vaggie, who flapped her angelic wings to keep herself in the air. Metal's eyes glowed furiously as he threw the spear right back at her, intending on impaling her. But it was stopped by a trident, the spear falling into Vaggie's waiting hands.

She looked over to Charlie, who looked sheepish while struggling to fly with her new wings. She was new to this, okay! She scowled down at Metal as he clenched his fists in seething anger. Sonic tutted in disappointment as Metal readied himself for another fight, but stopped when Boom Sonic walked up and stood next to his counterpart. "Not sure what's happening here, but I wanna see how this guy can handle all of us together." He glanced behind him to see Team Sonic standing behind him.

Metal hated to admit it, but he was beat here.

And the Legion knew it too. "Metal, g-get the he-e-ell out of th-ere!" Vox ordered, his voice glitching from anger at seeing Alastor. "We have shit-shit-shit to do."

Shaking in rage, the robot had no choice but to comply. So, giving one final glare to his loathsome copy, Metal shot up into the sky and flew off. The Spear Fragment obviously wasn't here, so he needed to search elsewhere.

"Well, that's disappointing." Alastor sighed. "And here I was hoping for a little more mayhem."

"You're sick, you know that?" Vaggie grumbled as she furled her wings.

"And I could give a damn what you think."

Sonic sighed and smiled, before opening his eyes to see Sticks right in his face, examining his arms, shoes, quills, basically everything about his appearance. Sonic scratched the back of his head in confusion, a little weirded out by Sticks' observations. "Um... What are you doing?"

At that query, the badger got right in the hedgehog's face, causing him to lean back as she rambled, "You're Sonic's evil clone from another universe here to replace him! Admit it! Who do you work for?! The Government?! I bet it's the Government! You're shadow Government is here to replace us and make us our slaves!!!"

Sonic simply looked to the Hazbins, who shrugged at the hedgehog in either sympathy for his current predicament, or amusement in Alastor's case, before slowly glancing back at the paranoid badger before clearing his throat and leaning forward with a knowing and cocky grin. "If that's the case, then why did I just help save you from ole' tin can earlier? Hmmm?"

"To lower our guard to get us to trust you." Sticks huffed. "I know how you shadowy suit types work."

It was then that the rest of Team Sonic slowly approached with either astonished or bewildered eyes. "So you are Sonic from another dimension!" Boom Tails proclaimed excitedly.

Sonic looked down to his younger brother's counterpart and ruffled the top of his head with his hand. "Got it in one, bud!"

"But if that's the case, then how are we all not destroyed right now?" Boom Amy couldn't help but point out. It was a good point, the anomaly should've begun and threatened their entire universe. "If there are two of the same person coexisting in the same dimension for too long, it could cause a catastrophic anomaly that will destroy our entire universe!"

Sonic and the Hazbins looked at each other knowingly while Alastor licked his lips to spook out the badger slowly leaning towards him. "Yeah, uh, we may have an explanation for that." Vaggie laughed as she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

"Although it's a bit of a loooong story." Charlie walked over to the group, hiding her demonic wings before holding out her hand. "But first, hi! My name is Charlie!" She introduced herself to Boom Sonic, who slowly took her hand and shook it. "And these are Vaggie and Alastor!"

"Pleasure to be meeting you, quite a pleasure!"

"Hey."

Boom Knuckled unsubtly leaned down to Boom Tails and loudly whispered, "He doesn't look very friendly." He gestured to Alastor with his thumb.

"Oh, trust me, I'm not." His eyes turned to radio dials and the air around him began to shift before turning away and humming a merry little tune.

"Yeah, he's only here to settle a score with his boyfriend." Vaggie pointed to the retreating Radio Demon with her thumb, not noticing or caring as he stopped suddenly, his antlers slowly growing and a static screech sounding off from him.

"The very notion that I would be attracted to him of all people makes me violently ill." Alastor grumbled, hating the fact that he was under contract not to hurt or kill anyone. "You would be wise to remember to whom you are speaking to."

"Bite me."

"Okay!" Charlie shouted out, stopping the two from getting into another argument. "I think we have bigger things to worry about?"

Boom Sonic looked to his counterpart and smirked, "Gonna be honest, a liiittle jealous of you." He laughed as his counterpart smirked back at him. "I mean, I've only been to another dimension once! Man, wish I could have adventures like you."

"Never a dull moment, me."

"Apparently not, me."

Boom Tails looked up at Sonic, "So, why is it that we're all not dead right now?"

Sonic chuckled and folded his arms, a knowing smile on his face. "Well, it started with me ending up on a Yellow Brick Road..."

Meanwhile

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!!!" Came the angry shouts from not only the livid Ivo Robotnik, but from the furious Vox too.

"WHY IS HE HERE?!"

"WE'VE LOST THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE!"

"OF COURSE THAT OLD TIMEY FUCKER FOLLOWED ME!!! OH, AND OF COURSE HE BROUGHT THE TWO LOVEBIRDS TOO!"

"NOW IT ACTUALLY IS A RACE TO FIND THE SPEAR FRAGMENT!!!"

"THIS IS UNNACCEPTABLE!!!"

Meanwhile Valentino and Velvette simply watched with unamused expression at the two crashing out over their plans unfurling before their eyes. They were admittedly used to Vox's temper tantrums, but having two crybabies was too much salt for them to handle.

"Hey, dumbarses!!!" Vel shouted, causing their combined temper tantrums to cease and for them to turn to the doll. "Instead of whinging and whining, how about we figure out what we do next?"

The two villains stopped to ponder before something clicked in Vox's head. Something he noticed during the fight. An orb, insect-like robot was watching the fight. He looked to Eggman, and the evil genius came to the same conclusion. Someone was watching that fight.

And there was the high possibility that certain someone was a certain nemesis to a certain hedgehog.

After all, if another Sonic can exist here, then why not another Eggman?

Dr. Eggman's Base

The sound of the doorbell ringing caught Boom Eggman's attention, dispelling his theories as to who could've copied his Metal Sonic designs and improved upon them. The goofy doctor turned away from his whiteboard, which had crude drawings of Metal pummeling Team Sonic, one with Boom Sonic having stink strings rising from him, and one of himself looking all buff and muscular standing atop a hill with the residents of Hedgehog Village praising and cheering for him. "Ooh! I bet that's the girl scouts!" Boom Eggman squeed before rushing to the door, with Orbot and Cubot trailing behind him. "Now last time I gave them a 2 dollar tip. Now, I'll give them only one dollar! Mwahahahaha!!!" He laughed evilly before opening the door and dropping his jaw to the floor at who was on the other side.

It was himself, with three odd looking fellows standing right behind him, the moth looking one blowing him a kiss.

"Well, hello there, handsome." Dr. Eggman greeted with an egotistical smile.

Orbot and Cubot blinked their optics multiple times at what they were seeing while Boom Eggman took a cautious step back. "Steve? That you?" He was sure that this wasn't his robotic, shapeshifting brother from another dimension, but he had to be sure. "You don't look like Lord Eggman, and if you were another me, then our entire dimension would be destroyed by now."

"Oh, but that's exactly what I am, Ivo." Boom Eggman cringed, he hadn't been called that in a very long time, and it was weird to hear that name again. "You see, I come from a universe parallel to your own. For, I too, am Doctor. Ivo Robotnik."

But that didn't make sense! How could another version of himself be here without collapsing the entire universe? This was highly improbable and illogical.

"It's impossible!"

"Is it?"

"It couldn't be!"

"Couldn't it?"

"I'm-"

"Are you?"

Boom Eggman blinked again, turning to look down at Orbot and Cubot, who looked just as lost as him. He cleared his throat and turned back to his counterpart, who had an evil smile on his face, as did the tv man behind him while the short girl was staring at her phone.

The moth gazed at his lamp, seemingly entranced by it before he was elbowed in the side by the tv, breaking him out of the trance.

The goofy doctor took a step closer to his counterpart and got in his face, eyeing him distrustfully. "You do look like me." He eyed him up and down before adding, "But fatter."

"Okay."

"And older."

"Unnecessary."

"And there's that eggy smell."

"It's an expensive cologne!"

Boom Eggman raised his right hand, his modern counterpart doing the same, miming his movements. They both raised their left hands and held them close together. "But the resemblance is uncanny." Boom Eggman commented. "It's as if!"

They both tilted their heads to the side. "We're two characters in a fanfiction being voiced by the same actor!" They said together as they slowly turned their heads to look at the reader. Vox couldn't help but let out small snicker at that little forth wall break.

Both Eggman took a step away from one another while the slimmer one stroked his moustache, "If it is true that you are me, then you need to leave! You being here could cause a catastrophic anomaly that will destroy the entire universe!"

But Modern Eggman wagged his finger with a chuckle, "Ah, but I've already taken care of that." He reached behind him, causing his counterpart to arch an eyebrow, before pulling out the fragment of the Spear of Destiny. "Thanks to this, your dimension has been stabilized."

"How's a twig supposed to do that?"

"Ah, but this isn't any twig, my good doctor!" Eggman corrected. "This is a fragment of the Spear of Destiny!"

"Ooh!"

"Precisely! It is a weapon capable of altering reality itself, and the next piece we need to complete it resides in your dimension! And now that two fragments occupy the same world, it's stabilizing the anomaly that would destroy your entire world!"

"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you're here."

"Oh, Ivo." He shook his head, tucking the fragment away behind him. "Have you ever wanted to win? And I mean truly win? Seal your victory so much that the blue rat couldn't possibly undo it all?"

"Of course!" Boom Eggman answered honestly.

"Then help us claim the fragment of the spear, and everything you've ever wanted could be yours!" Eggman baited, slowly reeling him in. "Together, with our combined genius, we could not only rule this world, but an entirely new one at that! And the blue rodent, neither one, could be able to stop us!

Boom Eggman looked down and stroked his chin in thought. His latest scheme to make a video game to gain popularity had been a bust thanks to Shadow trying to destroy the universe, and he hadn't really been active lately. Plus, if what this fatter version of him was saying was true, then this could be the chance to finally defeat Sonic once and for all. He would be humbled, humiliated, and he would finally be the cool one while Sonic would be nothing more than a loser.

He couldn't help but grin at the thought.

He was brought back to reality when Modern Eggman spoke again, continuing his pitch. "Just think of what we could do together! You and me, finally claiming our rightful places, together!"

"Together?" He thought to himself. Yes. Yes, he could see it. They could not only destroy Sonic and his annoying friends, but they could do whatever they wanted without restraint, without any rules holding them back. Boom Eggman turned his head to the left and looked into the distance with a smile on his face.

Modern Eggman slowly leaned over, placing his head next to Boom's as he gazed on in confusion as to what he was looking at. Soon they were joined by Vox, Val, and Velvette, who were also wondering what it was that they were staring at.

Boom Eggman's "Perfect Day"

They started off at an amusement park, obviously called "Eggman Land" for obvious reasons, riding down a rollercoaster. As they plummeted down the slope, the two Eggmen raised their arms into the air and screamed to their hearts content while both Sonic's were being chased by Eggman fanatics with pitchforks.

The vision shifted to the two Eggmen ordering at the local "Meh Burger" and taking their lunches without paying, giggling like school girls while Team Sonic were taking residence in the trash, being pestered by nasty racoons.

It shifted again to Modern Eggman pushing him on a push bike that they had stolen from a little girl. His modern counterpart laughed joyously while he watched him peddle. Before falling off the bike painfully.

The vision shifted to the two Eggmen sitting on a park bench with Sonic strapped to a rocket. Boom Eggman pressed his communicator and sent the hedgehog blasting off into the sky, exploding into a firework while the two villains ate their fairy floss with smiles on their faces.

Back in reality

Boom Eggman sighed wistfully as he turned and shook his counterpart's hand enthusiastically. "I'm in."

But what Boom Eggman didn't know was that his more evil counterpart was sinisterly chuckling in his mind. "What an idiot. This was easier than I thought. To think that this buffoon is an alternate version of me. Bah! Ridiculous! Once we have that fragment I'll cut him loose, after all, what good are underlings if you can't use them?" He thought with a smile, secretly planning to use his counterpart to help secure the spear fragment for the Legion of Doom.

And the Vees were all on board with this plan.

It was time to get serious, no more games.

With Team Boom and the Guardians

"So, this "Spear of Destiny" can really house that much power?" Boom Tails as the group walked back to the beachside where Team Sonic had set up their respective huts. It wasn't much, but it was what they called home. After explaining the concept of the Multiverse, the Guardians, the Legion of Doom and the Spear of Destiny, safe to say that Team Sonic had quite a few questions.

"Basically." Sonic answered with a shrug. "That's why the Ancients split it apart in the first place. It was too powerful to be kept together, now Egghead and his new pals want to put it back together and we're here to stop them."

Boom Sonic shook his head with a smile, "Man, I'm jealous of myself. Never been on an adventure like that before."

"You know, I think we've been looking for the same thing." Boom Tails said, turning to the team he was walking with. "I've been picking up astronomical energy readings that shouldn't even be possible to pick up. They were even more erratic than the readings I picked up when our universe was nearly destroyed."

"That sounds like the spear!" Charlie exclaimed, happy that they have a solid lead in finding the spear fragment.

"Think you can get an exact location on the source of this energy reading, lil bud?" Sonic asked Boom Tails with a kind smile.

The young fox stroked his chin, stopping right outside his workshop. "Hmm, well the readings I'm getting are like ley lines, each connected from a different dig site Amy or some other archeologist discovered." His face suddenly brightened before he rushed into his workshop, making everyone look at each other with a shrug while Sonic chuckled while shaking his head, used to this sort of behavior from his own Tails. Boom Tails emerged from his workshop holding five miniature satellite looking devices in his arms. "Sonic." When both hedgehogs looked to him, he realized his mistake. "The alternate one." He clarified, his own Sonic nodding in understanding.

"Whatcha got there, Tails?" Sonic asked.

"These devices are energy readers!" He showcased the small devices before continuing, "I need you to place these at each dig site and activate them so we can triangulate the exact location of the origin of these readings." He passed the blue hedgehog the devices and nodded to him.

"Back in a flash" Was all he said before zooming off at speeds that caused his Boom counterpart to pout slightly, due to how much faster his counterpart was compared to him.

"So, this is your humble abode?" Alastor asked as he looked around at the multiple shacks that were built on the beach.

"Ooh!!!" Charlie's eyes sparkled as she pointed to Amy's shack. "That one looks fantastic!"

Amy looked up to the princess with wide and appreciative eyes, "Oh, you have to see the inside décor!" She grabbed Charlie's hand and dragged her into her hut, with a smiling Vaggie walking in behind them.

Alastor, meanwhile, rolled his eyes and descended into shadows. Might as well scare a few residents while he waits for some form of results to come about. Yes, he scared people randomly when he was bored.

Why?

Cause he's a dick.

Boom Sonic and the others decided to play some volleyball to pass the time. Not like anything big was happening right now, right?

Hedgehog Village

Another day, another Eggman attack.

The townspeople should really be used to this by now. Why were they even surprised anymore?

They were all currently being invaded by flying Bee Bots. Yes, that's what they were called. They were very similar to Buzz Bombers, but were more bee inspired in terms of design.

As they fired blasts at the stalls that made up the town square, multiple Crab Bots were snapping and tipping over trashcans, causing as much ruckus as they could. As per their template, the Crab Bots resembled typical crabs. They had a dome-shaped body that was covered by a red shell with stubby spikes on top, six knife-like red legs with silver edges, and a pair of red pinchers with yellow claws. Finally, they had a wide silver faceplate resembling a skull, with two mandibles and cyan eyes with slit-like pupils.

Now these robots everyone was used to, no, what threw them for a loop was the inclusion of these military-grade Egg Gunners that started destroying the town square, even firing upon innocent civilians, which was out of the norm since Eggman normally didn't target the civilians.

He mainly focused on Sonic and his friends.

The town's mayor walked down the steps with a concerned look on his face as Boom Eggman hovered down in his Egg Mobile. Mayor Fink was a relatively short anthropomorphic mouse with gray fur, pink skin and bright blue eyes. His head and torso came together in an almost egg-shaped figure. He also had round ears, a long naked tail, a bare belly, short legs, and a chubby bare muzzle with a medium-long black nose and a gray mustache. His attire consisted of an extremely narrow cream top hat with a green band, a cream jacket, an asparagus shirt with white collar and yellow rings, white gloves, a green-yellow neckerchief, and asparagus shoes with white gaiters around them.

"Ah, Mister Mayor!" Boom Eggman greeted with a smile, leaning forward in his vehicle. "Maybe you can help me? I seem to have misplaced a certain something and I'm having a bit of trouble finding it!"

"Whatever you're looking for, you won't get the chance to get it!" The Mayor said confidently, holding the lapels of his suit. "When Sonic gets here, he'll put a stop to this!"

"Did I forget to mention the "Eggman Twist"?" Boom Eggman retorted with a stroke of his glorious moustache.

It was then that a massive vehicle flew overhead, casting a shadow over the Mayor and the town. The vehicle was similar in appearance to that of a military jet. It had a central, egg-shaped cockpit with a glass cover and a seat for a single passenger. Instead of wings however, it had a hover ring on both sides. These rings were capable of folding up on the aircraft's sides. It also had a rocket engine on the rear for locomotion and thrust-based jet propulsion. Lastly, the vehicle had a black and white color scheme with red highlights, as well as black/yellow striped hazard strips on the sides.

The glass covering the cockpit of The Egg Pod slid open, revealing Modern Eggman in all his glory.

Mayor Fink let out a startled yelp, falling onto his rear and backing up in a hasty manner as he stuttered out, "T-Th-Th-There's two Eggmen now?!"

"Double your villains, double your fun." Boom Eggman said.

"Two Robotniks are deadlier than one!" Modern Eggman finished before pressing a button on his center console, activating the laser cannon that slowly emerged from the underbelly of the Egg Pod. Eggman aimed the weapon directly at the Mayor and chuckled, arming it as it crackled with red electricity.

As the Egg Gunners and Boom Eggman's Badniks continued to destroy the town, all the televisions in the town square suddenly turned to static before a massive, hypnotic red eye appeared on all of the screens. Vox took a step back from the screens, laughing as he managed to get everyone under his control. "Now that's good television!" He declared before teleporting out of the tv's and appearing in the middle of the town, adjusting his bowtie.

He looked to his left and saw a pink fog emerge from one of the alleyways in the square. There, from the smoke emerged Valentino and Velvette, with evil smiles on their faces. Vox chuckled as he snapped his fingers, activating the hidden VoxTech Drones that were placed all over the town square.

And finally, Metal Sonic descended from the sky and landed in a crouched position, his eyes glowing with hatred and rage.

Modern Eggman and his Boom counterpart cackled before the former leaned forward and asked, "Now, Mr. Mayor?" He stroked his moustache and asked the question burning in his mind. "Where's the fragment of the Spear of Destiny?"

Author's Note

Mayor Fink - Nibroc-Rock

Egg Pod - Langtanium

Wow, Happy New Year, you lot!

Glad I got this out, cause things are getting dicey! As most of you have probably caught on, the relationship between both Boom and Modern Eggman is highly inspired by the dynamic between Gerald and Ivo Robotnik from Sonic Movie 3.

Which is peak btw, movie of the year!

Anyways, I just wanted to point out that since we're not gonna be getting a continuation of the Boom universe, I'm deciding to make this arc a sort of ending to the series, which means that not everyone is gonna make it out of this alive.

Yes, there will be some character deaths, as I said, this story is going to get dark, and the Legion of Doom isn't messing around.

So stay tuned for that.

Because I can almost guarantee that none of you know how this is all going to end.

Take care and be ready for what comes next!