”Yeah! Right in the jaw!”
“God, I hate the homeless.”
“Someone get me Sergeant O'Brien!”
A young unicorn mare with a lavender coat, and a navy blue mane and tail, both of which had a magenta highlight, wearing a black blouse, blue jeans, and black heeled boots heaved a sigh as she attempted to block out the chatter of the 42nd Precinct of the Baltimare Police Department while she worked on some paperwork. Said chatter including the sound of SWAT beating the shit out of a homeless junkie until he was a bloody mess and continuing past that, officers threatening and intimidating minor offenders and innocents alike, and the general cheers of the onlookers.
When Detective Twilight Sparkle, head of the Major Crimes Unit, joined the BPD, she had of course heard the rumors about the supposed police brutality, dirty dealings, and overall corruption that ran deeply into the hierarchy of the Baltimare Police Department, perhaps up to Commissioner Tough Talk himself. Both her parents, older brother, and mentor, Princess Celestia herself, had suggested almost to the point of begging that she continue her studies. All too soon, she discovered that the rumors were true. Nearly all the cops on the force were on the take from some crime lord or another, and the number of cops that weren’t were shrinking at a rapid pace, either having given in, resigned after some most likely fabricated dirty secret of theirs came to light, or were killed in an “accident.” Thankfully, no one had offered Twilight a cut on the take, but some of the cops did give her funny looks, as though trying to figure out what her price was.
Thankfully, she had some manner of threat deterrent in the form of her partner and boyfriend.
“Hey, babe, shift’s nearly over,” said Spike Drakon, a burly purple and green dragon. He wore a black shirt covered by a grey overcoat, a matching pair of khakis, a grey fedora, and black dress shoes.
“Uh-huh,” said Twilight, not looking up from her paperwork.
Spike immediately picked up that something was wrong. “Twi, are you alright? No one threatened you, did they?” he asked.
“Huh? Oh, no, Spike, I’m just tired is all.”
“Uh-huh…” said Spike as he looked over his shoulder. “Well I’ll be damned… look who it is.”
“Who?” asked Twilight, looking up from her paperwork.
Making his way through the abruptly silent bullpen was a being Twilight immediately recognized as a human, one of many living amongst ponies and other creatures that called Equestria home. He had short dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and wore a black leather overcoat, a white shirt, blue jeans with a black leather belt, black shoes, and what appeared to be a black ring of some kind on his right ring finger. Everyone in the room stared him with shock, awe, and in some cases, what Twilight recognized as fear. The room remained silent enough to hear a pin drop until the human had entered the CSI Labs, before the noise started picking up again.
“Who was that?” asked Twilight, amazed by everyone’s reaction to the human.
“That was the new CSI probie that started about a few weeks ago. Hunter Zolomon. Although, if what I’ve heard about him is true, we may one day be calling him Commissioner Zolomon,” said Spike.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? What have you heard about him?” asked Twilight.
“Word is, Blueblood wanted him on his payroll, so a group of cops who work for him got instructions to offer him a taste, or else shove it down his throat. Zolomon refused, so they attacked him. People heard sounds of a scuffle, and when they get there, Zolomon’s standing over the beaten and broken forms of Blueblood’s guys, telling them that he couldn’t be bought, and that before they threw a punch to make sure they knew they knew they could win. Then he just went back to his lab like it was nothing,” explained Spike.
“Ah, so that’s Kickass, PhD,” said Twilight with a thoughtful look on her face. “He’s lucky this is the BPD. Hardly a cop in here who hasn’t done what he’s done. Although, that he did it single-handedly is kinda impressive. Where’d he learn to fight like that?”
“That’s what I asked him. He just said that he had a childhood rougher than most, then ignored me after that. Wonder what goes on in that guy’s head?”
Just then, their Captain, Iron Lock, called down to them. “Sparkle! Drakon! You’re up! Mugging in the Neon District!”
“Ah, come on! Shift’s nearly over!” said Spike.
“And since when does Major Crimes investigate common muggings?” added Twilight.
“Since some wacko in a Nightmare Night costume shows up and kills the muggers. And for the record, your shift is nearly over. Oh, and Sparkle?” said Captain Iron Lock.
“Yeah?” asked Twilight.
“Take Zolomon with you.”
…
A few moments later, Twilight, Spike, and Hunter were sitting in Twilight’s car, on their way to the crime scene. An awkward silence so thick that you could cut through it with a knife emanated throughout the car.
“So,” Zolomon said from the backseat, purposefully drawing out the word, “why did you two join the force?”
Spike looked over at Twilight, his expression suggesting that she go first.
Twilight picked up on the hint and began to explain. “My older brother has been a member of the Canterlot Royal Guard for as long as I can remember, and I always wanted to follow in his hoofsteps. Thing is, there aren’t any mares in the Royal Guard, some kind of government policy. So, I decided to become a cop. My parents, my mentor, and even the older brother I looked up to all begged me to continue my studies, but I knew what path I wanted to take.”
“Which was the path of a policewoman.” Zolomon said as he nodded in understanding, “So what about you big drake?” he said to Spike which quickly earned Zolomon a glare.
“First of all it's ‘Drakon’.” Spike told him coldly.
Hunter sped his hands in a sign of surrender saying, “Alright, alright. Don't bite my head off.”
Spike glanced back with a toothy grin, “Don't tempt me.”
Hunter smiled back at this, “I like you. I think we're gonna be good friends.” Spike merely shook his head and scoffed before continuing his reasons for joining the police force.
“I joined because I thought I could make a difference. Didn’t take long for me to be proven wrong, though,” said Spike.
“Same reason I joined up,” said Hunter. “This city is rotting. It’s, like, what, the fourth most dangerous city in Equestria? It needs something desperately. Someone who’s willing to do whatever it takes to save this city.”
“Someone like who, you?” asked Spike.
“Pff, of course not me. I’m just a guy. But, this city still needs something,” said Hunter.
Twilight parked the car, having arrived at the crime scene.
The scene was a relatively common one unfortunately, at least common when it comes to Baltimare. A homicide after a mugging but this time it was the muggers who ended up dead. Twilight, Spike, and Hunter exited the car to investigate the crime scene further for any clues.
“What have we got?” Zolomon asked one of the other CSIs present.
“Quintuple homicide, muggers were the victims ironically. From these blood splatters on the ground and the barely bloody knife being held in one of the corpse's hands they managed to cut one of their targets, the Dragon got his neck snapped, a Pegasus had his heart crushed, and a couple of them seemed to have died from nothing shortly afterwards.”
“Nothing?” Twilight said confused.
“Well, from what I can tell from the lack of any blood near those victims and the positioning of their bodies, they seemed to die from heart failure. However, I overheard one of the cops interviewing one of the witnesses. Apparently, when she and her girlfriend were leaving the Skyline Club over there,” he said indicating a nightclub a short ways away, “these poor bastards here tried to mug them both, and like I said the muggers managed to get a single cut on her girlfriend’s neck but something killed them before they could do anything else. Said it stabbed them through their hearts with its hands.” the CSI, an orange-furred pegasus stallion with a mulberry colored mane and tail wearing a black leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, blue jeans, black and white sneakers, and black leather gloves as a measure to avoid accidental evidence tampering.
“Did you get a description of this something to go in the reports?” asked Hunter.
“Yeah, get this, ‘a demonic spectre wearing some kind of black suit with blue electricity sparking off it.’ Personally, I think it’s just some guy in a costume with a LOT of LEDs,” said the CSI, causing Hunter to chuckle a little.
“Something funny, Zolomon?” Spike asked their current ‘partner’.
“Just something I remember from a comic.”
“Okay then,” said Spike. “Twi, let’s you and I go talk to the witness ourselves, leave the lab rats to their work.”
Twilight nodded and she and the dragon left to go talk to the witness while Hunter and the pegasus collected evidence.
“Excuse me! Excuse me!” a female voice called out to Hunter who turns to look over his shoulder to see a Pegasus with a lightning-like mane, and mint green skin walking towards him wearing a black jacket with a white shirt underneath, khaki pants, and black heels carrying a microphone. Behind her was her camerapony, a frail-looking Pegasus stallion.
“Yes ma’am, what can I do for you?” Hunter said standing up and turning around just as the camerapony all but shoved said camera into his face.
“Lightning Dust, Channel 25 News, I was wondering if I could get a statement from you about what happened here?” said Lightning Dust.
“Um, well, it’s a bit early in the investigation to say too much of anything just yet, but our witness claims that the victims were attempting to assault them when some kind of creature came out of nowhere and killed their attackers. Don’t quote me on that,” said Hunter.
“Okay… do you suspect this has anything to do with CRSDI’s experimental reactor exploding a few weeks ago, or the string of recent robberies committed by the so called ‘Freeze-ray mare?’”
Hunter paused for a moment, confused. “Say what now?”
“You oughta read the papers and watch more TV, pal,” said the camerapony, earning a stern glare from both Hunter and Lightning.
“Featherweight, shush!” Lightning said shushing her co-worker, turning back to Hunter, “And you really don't know about either of the events?” she asked Hunter curiously.
“Not really I just got here a few weeks ago, and I don't know of any scientist named Christy.” he said honestly. “Must’ve happened before I moved here.” Hunter said, keeping in character at the moment before he noticed the amused look on Lightning Dust’s face.
“CRSDI isn't a person, it's a building. Cosmo Research and Scientific Discoveries Incorporated, founded by a human named Harrison Wells and formerly known as STAR Labs before it was purchased by another scientist named Moondancer. Doctor Wells is still the one in charge, but Professor Moondancer owns the building and land it's on.”
“Uh-huh… well, I can assure you that the BPD is doing the best it can to investigate. If there’s a connection, we’ll let you know,” said Hunter.
“Thank you, Mr…?”
“Zolomon. Hunter Zolomon.”
“Hunter Zolomon… well, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon, Mr. Zolomon,” said Lightning before she turned and walked away. As Hunter watched her go, his eyes turned pure black.
”Looking forward to it. In the meantime, though, it seems I have an appointment at CRSDI tonight…” he said softly before his eyes reverted back to normal and Hunter resumed collecting evidence.
…
Professor Moondancer was pacing back and forth, muttering, with Harrison Wells watching her literally wearing away the concrete floor from his wheelchair.
“The reports of the ‘Freeze-ray Mare’ are making me crazy! The so-called ‘freeze-ray weapon’ she's toting about is a scientific instrument of my design which should be locked away in one of my private labs with the highest technological, and magical, defenses the planet currently has! HOW! DOES! SHE! HAVE IT?!” Moondancer said, pounding her fist on the table.
“Calm down, Moondancer,” Dr. Wells said, trying to get his landlord to calm down.
“CALM DOWN?!” yelled Moondancer, causing Wells to recoil a bit. “Ponies, people, and everything in between are dying! I thought we’d seen the worst of it with the reactor exploding and all the casualties. PRINCESS CELESTIA WAS ONE OF THEM FOR GOD’S SAKE! Our careers in bio-engineering are over, you’re in a wheelchair for life, and-”
”And you are about to have a close encounter of the speedy kind.” a voice that could only register as demonic was heard before the whole room was surrounded by a black blur and blue electricity.
“Wha-what’s going on?!” Moondancer cried out in fear.
“I don’t know!” said Wells lied as he secretly followed the blur’s motion before it stopped in front of them.
”So, you’re the one who created that freeze-ray and that reactor… care to tell me what that was all about? Name’s Zoom, by the way.” said Zoom as he stood to his full height and glanced at Wells, who was clenching his hand around the handle of his wheelchair.
‘He's afraid of me. That's good, Thawne, you should be.’ Hunter thought as Moondancer got over her shock and ran up to Zoom with excited eyes and started asking him a million questions like a little filly.
“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! How did you do that? What's with the lightning bolts? Why are you here? What are you? What's with your eyes and voice?”
”Tell you what, tell me what I want to know, and I’ll tell you what you want to know. Sound fair?” Zoom asked Moondancer, who nodded, still smiling broadly. ”Good. Now then, reactor, cold gun, start talking.”
“It all started a few weeks ago. Dr. Wells came up with the idea to build a particle accelerator. We had the hopes that it would change our understanding of both magic and physics. It was supposed to bring about advancement in power and advancements in medicine. We turned it on, we all felt like heroes, and then something went very wrong. Some kind of dimensional barrier ruptured, releasing unknown particles into Baltimare. Dark energy, anti-matter, X-elements, all kinds of theoretical stuff. We don’t know who or what was exposed. As for the ‘weapon’, I created a compact cryoengine to achieve absolute zero and a compact flamethrower to do the opposite for rescue and recovery operations, both of them were stolen a few days ago, and I have no idea how,” Moondancer explained. “Now it’s your turn.”
Zoom let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding as a small sense of foreboding washed over him. He shook the feeling away and started to explain his powers. ”Like I said, my name is Zoom, and I'm one of the people that was affected by the explosion. As for what I am specifically, I'm the fastest thing alive.” Zoom smiled beneath his mask as he saw the astonished and confused look on Moondancer’s face, and decided to elaborate on that last sentence. ”I'm a speedster, my powers revolve around speed and kinetic energy, I think my top speed is Mach 6 or 8, but I haven't really had a chance to check. My eyes and voice become like this every time I start to use my powers or for intimidation. The suit was custom made by yours truly in order to be able to run at my fastest, it's aerodynamic, wind-resistant, and made from microfiber so it can take a hit and keep me protected when I run into someone smart enough to outwit me. The lightning bolts are just for show and I think they make me look scarier.”
“I see…” said Moondancer thoughtfully. “Why do you focus so much on fear and intimidation?”
”Fear is a powerful weapon. A weapon that might just be powerful enough to save this cesspool of a city from the crime and corruption that is destroying it. Speaking of crime and corruption, I think we can strike up a deal. I help you round up the others like me and get you those guns back, which we do by my rules. In return, you help me learn to go faster. Do we have a deal?” asked Zoom.
Wells and Moondancer glanced at each other. “Deal,” said Moondancer.
”All right, then. I’ll check in with you guys tomorrow. Right now, there’s a city that needs saving.”
With a flash of blue lightning and a rush of wind, Zoom raced out of the building, leaving an awestruck Moondancer behind.
“What have I gotten myself into, Harrison?” asked Moondancer.
Dr. Wells said nothing. He was thinking about other things. Namely, about his past… and that young speedster he used to work alongside and his friends. All back on another world… another time.