Storms didn’t roll through Maretropolis often, but when they did, they were vicious things. The skies were dark as midnight, only illuminated by the streets below and the occasional flash of thunder as rain came down upon the city in torrents. Spike didn’t know how to feel about nights like this, but he certainly didn’t mind the cover they provided him as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, steadily making his way to a secluded corner of the city.

When he finally reached his destination, a derelict and destitute looking warehouse, he was grateful for the reprieve from the rain as it continued to pour violently down upon him. Slipping in through a cracked skylight and shutting it behind him, he rose up from where he landed and scanned the scene before him, grimacing slightly.

Blood stained the concrete floor before him, long dried but still keeping a red hue. The actual evidence had long since been hauled away by the MPD hours before, but the type restricting off the area was still up. Stepping under it with ease, he looked about the area once more after tapping his mask, the tactical lens clicking into place as he started to take in information from the area.

No discernable footprints, only blood present checked out with the two victims…whoever’s behind this attack might as well be a ghost, since they left no evidence behind.

He was about to switch to a different method of scanning when he heard a creak from behind him, somewhere in the rafters above. He set his jaw and turned around slowly, looking up the rafters while he activated the thermal mode on his mask…only to find nothing, just empty space.

“Sheesh, guess these long nights are getting to me…” He muttered, shaking his head as he switched off his goggles and looked away--

“I mean, talking to yourself is evidence enough of that, if you ask me.”

Spike whirled around frantically just in time for a blast of electricity nailed him in the chest. He flew back with a wheeze of pain, landing against one of the steel bars that supported the floor above him. Looking up with a scowl, his gaze fell upon an…odd sight.

The woman before him sported blue skin and a dark blue, near skin tight suit emblazoned with lightning bolts. A visor obscured her eyes, but not the wicked smirk that played on her lips as she sauntered closer to where he’d fallen, the crackle of lightning flashing past the windows outside.

“You don’t look like one of Mane-iac’s usual goons, but with how bizarre this city is, wouldn’t be shocked if you’re some kind of dorky upstart.” She chortled, her hands crackling with more electricity as the storm seemed to surge unnaturally outside. “Look, just stay down and make this easy for us both, okay dude?”

Spike grit his teeth and rose back to his feet, cracking his neck as he did so and slipping a hand back against one of his utility belt pockets. His attacker seemed entirely unaware, eyeroll visible despite her visor as she groaned and raised her hands.

“Alright, have it your way. Hard it is--”

Before she could let out another volley of energy, Spike’s hand extended and he hurled three black pellets at her face. Catching her off guard, the woman barely had time to bring her arms up and shield herself from the explosion that followed…of black smoke, that is. She opened her eyes and coughed violently as the smoke from the pellets filled the room around her.

“Gonna be like that, is it?” She hissed between coughs, raising both hands and swinging them down as a gust of wind suddenly flooded in from the nearby windows, rain now pouring into the warehouse. She was astonished to find that even with the smoke blowing away, the masked man she’d been fighting was nowhere to be seen.

“Missing something?” A familiar voice quipped from above, prompting her to spin around just in time for a kick to the face as Spike swung down using his grappling hook. Rolling to dodge a furious blast of energy after the fact, he extended a collapsible bo staff as he sprang back towards her. He only got a few whacks in before the woman let out an agitated cry and suddenly..

Wings. Wings that he’d somehow missed before emerged from behind her, sending a powerful gust his way and sending him skidding back a few feet. His mask hid most of his surprise, but not all of it, as evident by the way the woman smirked upon seeing him rise back to his feet.

“Heh, weren’t expecting that, were you, punk?”

Spike said nothing, gripping his staff tighter. This was…not ideal, frankly. It was bad enough going against Maretropolis’ usual sort of criminal, but powers like this…even he had to admit, this was beyond him.

“Who the hell are you…?”

To his surprise, the woman’s bluster seemed to falter for a second, and she actively scoffed in disbelief while staring him down. “Dude, are you for real right now? I’m Zapp.”

The blank look he shot her must have once more pierced his mask, because she looked even more offended now, throwing her arms up as her wings folded away once more. “Are you kidding me?! I’m a member of the Power Ponies, Maretropolis’ newest team of heroes?”

Suddenly, a few things snapped into place for Spike, and he sighed in irritation as he collapsed his staff. He recalled the news broadcast he’d seen only a few weeks ago, talking about the debut of a new team of heroes in the city that had taken out Mane-iac single handedly. The name was a bit much, but given Mane-iac’s status and how powerful she could be…clearly, these guys were no joke.

“Right. Apologies for not recognizing you, I’ve been a bit…busy.” Spike muttered before stepping forward and extending a hand, much to the woman’s seeming bewilderment. “You’re not the only hero in this city, y’know. The name’s Noir, pleasure to-”

Snort!

Spike fought the urge to scowl and instead shot Zapp an unimpressed look as she tried to restrain her laughter. Sure, Noir was a bit…edgy, but it was better than his original hero name. If he could travel three years into the past and slap his seventeen year old self for calling himself Humdrum of all things…

“S-sorry, still getting used to the whole hero name thing. Can’t even take my own friend’s names seriously.” She explained between giggles, before taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. “Sorry about the misunderstanding, man. Just saw you slip into this place while I was on patrol out in the storm and kinda assumed the worst.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Spike snorted, as her instincts certainly weren’t wrong on that front. Stopping a B&E should be standard for most heroes, after all. “I just needed to give this crime scene a scan, pick up anything that the MPD missed.”

“Oh, right. That whole mess from last night.” Zapp nodded in understanding, grimacing as she looked back at the crime scene behind them, a bit scuffed from their scuffle but little more damage than some ripped police tape and slight dampness from the rain. Thank goodness all the important evidence was already long gone. “Twi--er, I mean, Masked Matter-Horn told me about this. Sounds like a rough scene to come across.”

“It was.” Spike muttered, frowning as he recalled the gritty details. Two dead security guards, both having seemingly been gassed to death by some kind of unidentified toxin. Chemicals were also stolen from numerous crates in the warehouse, the specific contents of which hadn’t yet been identified. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to pick anything up, even before you interrupted me.”

He sent her a slight scowl with that last part, earning a sheepish grin in response with an anxious chuckle. Shaking his head, he started back for the skylight, only to pause as Zapp spoke up again.

“H-hey, uh…since I kinda screwed things up for you here, how about I help you with this case? Me and the rest of the Power Ponies, that is.”

He arched an eyebrow under his mask, surprised by the offer but all the same skeptical. He hadn’t seriously worked with someone in…well, it’d been a spell, and for good reason.

“Thanks for the offer…but I work alone.” He replied, aiming his grapple gun up at the skylight and firing, pausing before he zipped away to throw in one last exchange. “If something comes up, I’ll find you. Until then…”

And just like that, he was off again. A shadow darted across the stormy night sky as the rain poured on and thunder rumbled deep across the city. Zapp bit her lips and sighed, before tapping ehr communicator and opening a line back to her HQ.

“Hey, Twi? You remember that thing you told me to look out for, about other heroes in the city…? Yeah, I think I found one…”

Author's Note

Hello, hello! Been a long while since I've written anything MLP, but I got the bug for it again recently and thought, "Hell, why not?"

Hope you've enjoyed, as there's a lot more to come in the future if all goes well.