//------------------------------// // Injustice 02 // Story: Injustice for All // by Kaliann25 //------------------------------// Rescue ‘party’ Grogar looked incredulously at the single line on the card. He turned it over; the back was blank. A wave of scanning magic revealed nothing except the visible text. Unconsciously, he growled. It was bad enough that the was taking orders. However, being forced to do something ridiculous was beyond humiliating. At his wit's end, he crumpled the card and threw it into the trashcan. “Mister Grogar, sir?” asked Cozy, confused. “The worm is testing my patience. Clearly, he wants me to embarrass myself in front of the entire nation before he gives me the real instructions. This nonsense stops here. I came to conquer Equestria, not play games with a deluded charlatan. Sombra levitated the card from the rubbish. With his magic, he opened it. Reading the contents, he grinned. "Do as you please. It will be my pleasure to do this; the pathetic pretender who ambushed me won't know what hit her until it's too late." In a mocking tone, Tirek asked, "What happened to 'crushing the Justice League' with your power?" For a second, Sombra glared. He regained his composure and said, "A great leader knows when to admit his mistakes. I now know I underestimated them. I now know better. I looked inside Batfilly's mind; the clown we've been asked to free terrifies her like nothing else in this world. I want to see the pony who fear itself fears." Cozy Glow face-hoofed. “Seriously? She's afraid of clowns? Were you beaten by a preschooler, or what?” Sombra glared at the filly. “She’s not afraid of just any clowns. This one is special; she calls him 'the Joker'.” Twilight’s Castle, War Room: Beneath the basement of the Castle of Friendship was secret facility that was never envisioned by harmony. It was designed to be safe from prying eyes and ears, and, in addition to be reinforced against physical attacks, it was warded against unauthorized magic. The return of Celestia's and Luna's parents had shown how woefully unprepared the new heroes had been to assemble and strategize. This new construction was their headquarters. At its heart was the war room, a conference room with an interactive three-dimensional map of the planet, table and chairs for league members, and thrones for the four alicorn princesses. To foster teamwork, the space included a large gymnasium that could be transformed to different types of terrain to allow practicing tactics, albeit not at full power. Just as important, it included several lounges where members could unwind as themselves, either individually or in groups. As they waited for the field team to return from the Crystal Empire, the remaining league member calmly sat, poised to spring into action as soon as they received the call. The elder princesses were similarly relaxed, but alert. The youngest, however, paced around the table, vibrating with nervous energy. “No, not King Sombra! Can they stop him in time? What about Spike? Can he make it out in one piece? Why haven't they communicated with us? What if King Sombra put them under his control?! WHAT IF THE CRYSTAL TYRANT PUT THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON IN THE UNIVERSE UNDER HIS CONTROL?” Blue Blood sighed. “For the last time, Green Lanterns must conquer their fears to qualify. Batfilly literally became her worst fear. There’s nothing to worry about.” “I have the courage of Equiles! Why didn’t let me go?” Scootaloo pouted as she crossed her forelegs. As with the 9,432,627 times before, this complaint went ignored. “And what about Sweetie Belle?” asked a masked vigilante, ten times more dramatically than Twilight's rant. “If the doctor’s technology ends up in the wrong hooves, who knows what could happen?” The Dash put a hoof on her shoulder. “Easy Rares! Everything will be okay. They're more than a match for somepony like Sombra.” Everypony looked up when the lights in the room flashed green. Twilight's horn glowed, projecting the scene from within the cloaking field above the castle. An emerald green transport faded away, revealing the Green Lantern. He flew down to the landing pad to direct a bat-shaped black airship into the hidden hangar in the upper stories of the castle. Moments later, Batmare strode in, followed by Sweetie Borg. Green Lantern took up the rear. Before anyone could react, Twilight flew across the room and trapped Lantern in a tight embrace. "Spike! Thank Faust you're all right!" Lantern struggled to free himself before generating a force bubble to release the alicorn's grip. "I'm fine, Twilight. Sombra won't be thinking about having foals for a while, though." Cadence smiled. "We can only hope there'll never be another tyrant like that. So, tell me. What did you do with him?" Batmare looked away, catching Luna’s attention. “What happened, my Dark Knight?” asked the night princess. “He got away. Some unknown magic teleported him away before we could capture him. We don't know where he is." The princesses exchanged a worried look. “He wasn’t working alone?” asked Twilight. “They must have sent him to test our responses,” explained Sweetie Borg. “But it is strange that Sombra is cooperating with somepony. It doesn’t sound like him, or any of our enemies,” mused Celestia. Luna nodded. “'Tis indeed troubling, Tia. Someone even more powerful must have brought him to heel. We must prepare for our most powerful enemies working as a team." Silence filled the room as the implications hit home. Batmare said, "Now, we must prepare to fight as a team against a team of ponies more powerful than Sombra." The league members looked at each other with concern. "On to the next topic. Princess Twilight, we never did thank you properly for letting us set up Justice League Headquarters in your castle." "You're welcome," replied the junior princess. Batmare nodded in acknowledgement. "What we will need, though, is something better suited. We need some place that will allow any of us to be on site anywhere on the planet in minutes, if not seconds. We need some place where we can train at full strength. We need some place invisible to the eyes of our enemies." Pointing, Batmare continued. "Princess Luna, the Doctor, and I have been working on a new base of operations, one that flies far higher than Cloudsdale." Luna added, "This base, or watchtower, is designed to move over anyplace in Equestria in a matter of seconds. It can move over anyplace on the planet in minutes." “Meh, I can do that without help!” said Dash with a mocking smile. “Yes darling, but the rest of us are not so blessed,” said Rarity. Batmare smiled. “I’m very excited about this project. When it’s finished, the doctor will install transportation crystals in your personal hideouts.” “And Luna and I will reinforce the training room so you use your powers at their full power,” said Celestia. “How generous from you, Princess Celestia!” said Rarity, bowing. “Yes, auntie, you shouldn’t have bothered!” said Blue Blood. “It's the least we can do,” replied the white alicorn. Batmare put a photograph on the table. It showed a blighted mansion in the center of Canterlot. “And I also took the liberty of buying this property.” Blue Blood examined the photograph. He said, "That dump has been on the market since before I became the Arrow. It's nothing but a money pit, kid." "You're thinking way too small," said Batmare. "It's not the building we want; it's the land. That is where the official Justice League headquarters will be built." Puzzled, Scootaloo said, "Wait. What about the Watchtower?" Batmare replied, "Watchtower will be our real headquarters. The mansion will be where we tell everyone our headquarters is. We'll have a museum and gift shop, and we'll have an observation lounge where ponies can watch us work out -- for a modest fee." “You didn’t mention that there would be a transportation crystal at the bottom of this property as well,” noted Luna. “I was just about to do that.” Spike frowned. "I don't like the idea of us being paid performers. Besides, I thought this was supposed to be a decoy, not a tourist attraction." Shrugging, Batmare said, "It's a little bit of both. As for turning a profit, business is in my blood; this is my way of honoring my ancestors." “Knowing who your ancestors are, I have no choice but to believe you,” joked Sweetie. Everyone laughed. Iron Gate Asylum: Iron Gate stood as a monument to failure. The former maximum security prison was purported to be escape-proof with absolute security. From the outside, it had seemed solid as a rock. Arrow and Flash, however, had proven that it was rotten to the core. Unmasking the officers who had attempted to use a riot to cover the execution of the drug lord Street Junk had shown the depth of the problem. The prison's unworthiness was irrefutably proven when, despite added security, the mastermind Sun Burst managed to murder that would-be informant. Celestia and Luna had taken that act as an affront to their authority. It had spurred them to completely reform the penitentiary system from top to bottom. Underperforming personnel had been fired. Corrupt officers had been prosecuted. A system of checks and balances had been implemented. The princesses were certain that all was under control. Iron Gate was to remain abandoned as a reminder of their failure. Months later, the princesses learned that their confidence had been misplaced. A psychotic patient had managed to release the entire psychiatric ward at Canterlot General, unleashing a plague of the criminally insane on the unsuspecting city. When the smoke had cleared, the deficiencies of that part of the system had been laid bare. After the Justice League had worked with the authorities to restore order, they all agreed that something more secure than Canterlot General was needed for the most dangerous cases. Those could not be housed with the general prison populace, but, at the same time, they could not be kept in solitary confinement. With the princesses' help, the League had repurposed Iron Gate as an asylum for the criminally insane, those who were too much of a risk to incarcerate in Canterlot General. Fifty soldiers, seven psychiatrists, and twelve nurses now staffed the facility. Although they had only one prisoner, nopony doubted that there would be others to follow. Days at the newly-commissioned Iron Gate Asylum were punctuated by routine. Daily meals, daily cleanings, daily doctor visits, and constant, maniacal laughter filled the hours. The message that popped in via dragon fire was a welcomed relief. The captain read aloud, "Code Harmless." He blinked and read the message again. Lighting his horn, he amplified his voice. "Code Harmless. Repeat, Code Harmless. This is not a drill." He then dropped a scroll into each of four dragon fire lamps. Frantically, everypony moved into position, shifting furniture and readying their equipment and weapons. Now, all they could do was wait for the inevitable. The voices came, faintly at first, but growing stronger as they came closer. A deep male voice grunted ferally while a female one moaned. The male said between grunts, "So . . . tight. You . . . could . . . have warned . . . me." The female replied between moans, "You're . . . so . . . big. Aaaah! . . . I . . . told you . . . not . . . to . . . rush." "Should . . . have used . . . lube," said the male between grunts. Simultaneously, the two screamed. The door splintered into thousands of pieces as they burst through. The giant centaur Tirek was first, followed closely by a now-prone Chrysalis. Both were drenched in sweat, and Tirek's armor was deeply scuffed from the walls, floor, and ceiling of the corridor. Sombra picked Chrysalis up with her magic as he entered while Cozy Glow brought up the rear. The captain walked to them and asked, "Should I get you two a room?" In the moment of confusion, Cozy Glow walked to the front and said, "We're here for the prisoner." "That's a little filly!" exclaimed the captain. "What sort of perverts are you?" Tirek roared, "Silence!" He punched he wall for emphasis. "We've come for the prisoner. WHERE IS HE?" The guards looked at each other, confused. One asked, "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" Another added, "You have to be crazy to want him." Cozy smiled at them. “Oh, I think that you are the ones who have no idea who you’re dealing with. Give us the prisoner or things will get ugly. Do I make myself clear?” The captain levitated a covered tray from a table and set it on her back. He whispered into her ear, "Wait outside his door after you give this to him. You'll be safe there." He then stood and said, "You can find him one level up; it's the door at the end. You can't miss it; it's the only one that's closed. You might want to step back after you slide the tray under the door. He's been known to throw things." As Cozy started toward the stairs, Sombra growled, "What sort of cowards are you? You're fully armed and armored, and you just sit around playing cards and giving in to our demands." Pointing at Cozy Glow, he said, "I swear, that filly has bigger b . . ." Tirek clamped a hand around the former king's muzzle. "Mind your language. There's a foal here." Sombra brushed away the hand as he glared at the filly. “You, go find this Joker. We’ll deal with them.” “On it!” said Cozy, carefully balancing the tray as she went through the doorway. Sombra walked menacingly toward the seated guards and said, "Get up, you cowards! I want some action!" One of the guards shuffled the cards and asked, "Did you bring enough for the ante?" Sombra raised a forehoof, ready to strike the dealer when a sudden pain forced him to stop. He now saw a bat-shaped blade embedded in his hoof. A harsh voice said, "I'll cut." The tyrant turned to face his foe. "I was going to kill that baby dragon first, but I guess I should use my manners. Fillies first." The crystal set in the blade began to flash. The guards took cover as the room became a sea of white. When the lights faded back to normal, a cyan pegasus with rainbow-hued mane and tail stood casually in the middle of the room. She casually buffed a forehoof on her blue bodysuit as the villains toppled over with their legs wrapped in chains. While the others tried to free themselves, Tirek said, "So, the stories are true. I'll put your magic to a proper use." A ball of magic formed between his horns and it shot out a tentacle at her. The speedster dodged. "Too slow!" She sidestepped and then ducked under the next grab. "Getting warmer." Suddenly, she was covered in a blue aura. "Hey! What gives!" Tirek growled, "Hold her." Just before the tentacle struck, a red blur ripped the pegasus out of the way. Sombra screamed as his magic was drained. He then collapsed. The blur resolved itself into an orange alicorn with purple mane and tail. She wore a red body suit with white cape and white boots. Tirek grinned as he used his power boost to break his bonds. "Alicorn!" he exclaimed as he aimed the tentacle. A grim voice said, "Cyclops." Tirek screamed as an arrow entered his eye. The tentacle dissipated. Dash and Marevel moved in to secure him. A green blast came from the shadows. Marevel raised a gold-colored magic shield and reflected it back. It exploded against the wall, revealing two Arrows. "I need backup!" said one of the Arrows. "She's the imposter," said the other. A feminine voice said, "Secure the prisoner." Walking to the two Arrows, she said, "You should save yourself a world of pain. If you surrender now, I promise you will come to no harm." One of the Arrows said, "Don't let her get away." The other added, "Blast us both!" Canary took a deep breath and shrieked. One of the Arrows clutched his ears and writhed in pain while the other pummeled him mercilessly. The defending Arrow succumbed to the attack and once more took the form of the changeling queen. “All of us wear special ear-protection, idiot.” said the Arrow. The Canary sighed. “She can’t hear you. That should leave her deaf for at least fifteen minutes.” “I know. Shall we go and secure the prisoner?” “I'm on it," said Batmare. The other two moved to secure the queen. Cozy Glow frowned as sounds of the fight filtered up to her. They were clearly losing. She had to act fast. Moving to the closed door at the end of the hallway, she set the tray down and looked at the tag. She knocked and said, "Hello? Mr. Sandwich?" A maniacal laugh came in response. "Sandwich? You'll need to go to the kitchen for that. There's no sandwich here, just the Joker." Cozy glow gulped. “Right, Mr. Joker. I'm a friend; I brought you dinner! And, I’ll release you!” The Joker grinned. “I’ll help myself, thank you very much. Just bring me the box behind the toilet paper in the supply closet. I hid a couple of surprises in there.” Cozy did as she was told. When she returned, she found that the door was open. Waiting inside was a stallion with poison green mane and tail and bleached white fur, standing next to a straitjacket. His cutie mark was a grilled cheese sandwich being torn in two. Shivering, Cozy placed the box in front of him before moving to the side. The stallion eagerly tore it open and pulled out a purple poncho and a black gaucho hat. He collected his belongings and donned the clothing. “You have lots of interesting things in there, Mister J!” said Cozy, unnerved by the look of this pony. Now, she couldn’t blame Batmare for being afraid of him. The Joker winked at her as he put on some red lipstick and black eyeshadow. “Oh, yes! You never know when it’s time to party. And it seems your friends are having a big one down there. It’s time for the big finale!” A small figure leapt into the room and bucked the clown in the face. “It's already over!” “Batsy! YOU’RE HERE! YOU’RE ACTUALLY HERE, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Joker grabbed Batmare, and soon, the two were grappling on the floor. Joker laughed manically with each blow thrown and taken. “Shut the buck up! Your laugh irritates me!” "Language! There's a little filly here!" "I'm Batmare!" Cozy gulped and desperately looked through the box for a weapon. Her mouth closed around a rubber chicken whose bottom was weighted down with steel shot. Whipping her head, she swung at the Dark Knight. Batmare groaned in pain and turned to her. “A filly?!” “Look who’s talking! At least I don’t have a potty mouth!” Joker snatched the rubber chicken from Cozy and pressed his advantage. Batmare covered up, absorbing blow after blow, unable to find an opening. “Hahahahahahaha! It’s been a while since we've had this much together, right Batsy?” They heard the sounds of silence. “Mister J, I think that’s our cue to go!” “Oh, right!” The Joker smiled. “You did an excellent job filly! Want to join me? I need a new partner since Boneless Two was stolen from me. I’ll pay you with lots of fun. What do you think?” Cozy shivered not knowing what to say. “Um . . . I . . . can I . . .” “You'll get a better costume than Batsy's," said the Joker. “I happen to have a harlequin outfit that would fit you like a glove. What do you say?” “What about the finale you were talking about, Mister J?” said Cozy, trying to change the subject. “See? You’re helping me already. I almost forgot the fireworks.” “Fireworks?” “There’s no party without fireworks filly! I hope you brought a strong unicorn, or we'll all go out with a bang.” Cozy flew into the room with Joker close behind. She shouted, "Retreat!" Tirek bit down hard. There was a loud crack, and a green aura flowed from his mouth and covered the villains. In a thrice, they vanished. The whole building trembled as the tower exploded. “Oh no . . .” “Batfilly!” gasped Dash, flying to rescue Batmare. With super speed, she brought the filly back into the room and gathered all the personnel. Marevel cast a bubble shield around everyone. Explosion after explosion rocked the castle until its magazine was breached. In a fraction of a second, the failure of Iron Gate was complete. Golden magic reached out and cleared away the debris, revealing that all the ponies were safe and sound. "I hate that clown!" exclaimed Batmare as she kicked a stray rock. "Now the supervillains have Joker on their team!" The Arrow gave her a comforting pat on her back. “Look on the bright side. They have the Joker.” Batmare gave him a death glare. “HOW IS THAT THE BRIGHT SIDE?” “Do you seriously think anypony in their right mind can stand being around him?” The Dash agreed. “Yeah. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Then again, it's already happened.” Grogar’s lair: It was a demoralized trio of supervillains that accompanied Joker and his sidekick. It was hard to say which was worse, Joker's happy laugh, Joker's angry laugh, or Joker's demented laugh. After a while, they all started to sound the same. Grogar could scarcely believe his eyes when he looked them over. Tirek still had the arrow in his eye. Chrysalis had cracks in her horn and exoskeleton. Sombra was faded and shriveled, breathing with difficulty. It would cost Grogar quite a bit to return them to fighting form. The old ram groaned. "Please don't tell me a bunch of little fillies beat you up again. So, where's the clown?" Laughing hysterically, Joker pointed to Cozy. "This is the harlequin." In a stage whisper, he said, "She's naked; don't stare." “YOU! Who are you supposed to be?” said Grogar The demented clown gave him the best of smiles. “Me? Don’t mind me; I am simply a pony who dyed. From green or orange, I can’t actually remember, to snow white. You can call me . . . Joker!” Grogar nodded. “Fine. Joker, show me why you should be on my team.” The Joker’s smile grew wider, as he put a pencil on a table. “How about a ‘magic trick’? I’m going to make this pencil disappear!” Before Grogar could react, the clown grabbed him by the neck and slammed his head on the table, making the pencil to go through his eye. “See? It’s gone!” Joker laughed in delight as the ram slumped onto the floor. He turned to the others who watched him in awe. “Well?” Joker spun around, finding himself face to face with Grogar. The ram grabbed him with his magic. "You have guts a smidgen of skill. But, do anything like that again, and I swear I'll show the real meaning of pain." “Aw, did my trick upset you?” asked the Joker as he gave Grogar a flower. “Accept this as my sincere apology!” The flower spit acid onto Grogar’s face as the Joker rolled in the floor, laughing again. “Squirting flower; there's nothing like the classics!” A black and yellow blast sent him to the other side of the room. “NOT SO FUNNY NOW. RIGHT, CLOWN?” shouted Grogar. There was no answer. He and the rest of the villains prepared to retire to another room when they heard something. It started quietly enough, a chuckle that slowly turned into a giggle and then into a demented laugh. “Ahahahahahahahahahahaha! You’re funny! Shall I show you something else?” Grogar turned and with his magic, grabbed the clown by his poncho and smashed him through the table. “ENOUGH WITH YOU! DON’T YOU GET IT? YOU ARE UNDER MY COMMAND NOW! DO AS I SAY OR . . .” “Or what?” asked the Joker, laughing. “With all your strength and power, you have nothing to threaten me with. You can kill me but I don’t care. I'll die as I live, partying until the end. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” “Listen to me freak, I have lived more than enough lifetimes to know the worst ways to inflict pain. I would normally spare my minions, but if you keep bothering me, I swear I’ll make you an example. DO I MADE MYSELF CLEAR?” The Joker looked down, seeming regretful, and Grogar smiled. Sheepishly, the Joker offered Grogar a hoof. The ram accepted it, only to receive a massive electric jolt. His limbs went wide as his fur turned to ash. The Joker laughed harder as Grogar recovered. The ram blasted him with dark magic, but the Joker shrugged off pain that would cripple a normal pony. Finally, Grogar put him in a stasis bubble. “What’s wrong with this one?” asked Chrysalis in disbelief. The old ram sighed. “Unbelievable. In all my years, this is the first time I’ve seen anything like this. I don’t know what happened to him, but his mind is completely broken. There is no way to threaten or bribe him. He is no pony; he is an unstoppable force of destruction.” “I don’t understand!” said Tirek. “What do you mean?” “Let me put this in simple terms. He doesn’t want anything logical, like position or power. All he wants is to see the world burn.” “And what should we do about him?” asked Tirek. "We find some way to work for us. It's a pity he would betray us at the first sign it might be fun," replied Grogar. "What if I befriend him?" asked Cozy. "I'm sure I could get him to listen to me, he looks like a sucker for a cute face." Tirek rolled his one eye. “Seriously?” “He seems interested in my services. I may have to wear a stupid costume, but that’s a small price to get this lunatic under control.” Grogar ponder for a moment. "That idea is just crazy enough to work. Do it soon, or die with him. Do you understand, little filly? No pressure." Cozy gulped. “Of course, sir! Whatever you say sir! Just wait, and you’ll see how easily I turn him into our perfect ally!”