//------------------------------// // 21. Metropolis (Part 1) // Story: Through The Multiverse // by Battwell //------------------------------// Foundation Prime Exiled's Fortress Exiled chuckled as Rapunzel's lost tiara floated over to one of the many pedestals in his throne room, sitting comfortably next to Woody's badge. The Ancient looked down at the draconequus, who was inspecting his talons, and said, "Well done, Discord. Even though your tactics are childish, you are to be commended in retrieving the Foundation Element." Discord bowed, "All in a chaotic days work." "But I must ask, were Twilight Sparkle and her new friends a hindrance to your mission?" The Lord of Chaos waved his hand dismissively, "Puh-leese!!! That little nopony couldn't even hold a candle to me!" "Hey! Don't talk about Twilight like that!!!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, coming to her friend's defense. Popping over to the Equestrian's containment orb, Discord laughed in the pegasus' face. "Oh? And what exactly are you going to do about it?" He asked, riling her up even more. "I'm out here, and you're in there." Celestia, stepping past Rainbow Dash, glared at the draconequus and declared, "You will not prevail, Discord. Twilight will stop you!" "And here we have Sunbutt once again using Nerdy McNerdy Pants as a weapon." She took a step back, stunned at what Discord had just said. The thought of her ever using her faithful student made her sick to her stomach. She loved the unicorn like a daughter. How dare this chaotic being accuse her of such a despicable act. But before she could say anything, Exiled stood up from his throne and proceeded to walk down the steps leading to it. "As amusing as this is, we haven't the time for this." Captain America, who was leaning against the forcefield, asked, "What are you planning to do?" Exiled chuckled as one of his Soulless Commanders appeared next to him through a portal. He nodded to it, instructing it to begin. Its visor lit up before casting a holographic image of a familiar lavender unicorn mare. "Twilight Sparkle." The image changed to a blue hedgehog, "Sonic the hedgehog." The image then shifted to a certain plumber, "Super Mario." It then morphed into one of an Armored Avenger, "The Invincible Iron Man." Finally, it shifted to an image of the Caped Crusader, "And finally, the Batman. Each of them a constant reminder of a preposterous prophecy foretold by that fool Starswirl. And yet, they don't seem focused on the Foundation Elements, only the Keystones. They don't even appear to be aware of my presence in all of this. I can use this to my advantage." The holographic image faded as Exiled turned to the Soulless Commander. "Bring me Ivo Robotnik." He commanded, to which it responded with a dutiful nod before dashing out of the throne room. He then opened the palm of his hand as the mysterious blue Keystone appeared in his palm. He then closed his claws around it as two portals appeared in the air. It was then that two sets of screams were heard as two individuals fell out of the portals. The first was a female equine like creature. She had a twisted horn, a pair of tattered insectoid wings, dark green eyes with elongated oval pupils, and sharp fangs. In addition to that she had a teal mane and tail, blue-green plating over her midsection, and she wore a small, black crown tipped with blue orbs. Queen Chrysalis looked around, confused as to where her current whereabouts was. One minute she was sitting atop her magical throne, starving and craving for love, then the next thing she knew she was whisked away through a portal and ended up here. The Mobian beside her wasn't faring any better. He had a white fur pattern on his back that resembles a ribcage, a bushy tail with five white tips, and long, white, stiff dreadlocks on the back of his head. His muzzle was white and protruding with cheek tufts, and he had a black nose and noticeable fangs. He had complete heterochromia, with his right eye being blue and his left eye being yellow. There was a large white scar across the right eye and he wore a white collar around his neck and black gloves with silver designs on the backs, covering his sharp claws. He also wore pointed, metal and black hi-tops, with his personal infinity symbol engraved on the red soles. Zero the jackal looked around for a moment, slowly processing what was going on here. The last thing he knew he was still searching for the Phantom Ruby after it was lost to him in the aftermath of the Eggman War. And then he was suddenly here. "What is this?! Where am I?!" Chrysalis demanded to know, baring her fangs. "Queen Chrysalis?!" Both Celestia and Luna shouted in shock of seeing the changeling in their midst. The Queen of the Changelings turned to face the Equestrians, her eyes widening as she laid eyes upon her enemies. "Celestia and Luna?! The Element Bearers?! What is the meaning of this?!" "I could ask you the same thing." Zero said suddenly, finally speaking up since his arrival here. It was then that Knuckles shouted, "What's Infinite doing here?!" After the Eggman War, Team Sonic had lost tabs on the jackal that had caused them so much pain for those long and endearing six months. So it was a shock to see the villain here. Zero turned to face the Mobians and scowled, "Knuckles the echidna. Amy Rose. Miles 'Tails' Prower." He stated their names as addressed them all individually. He folded his arms as he noticed, "And it appears you are short of a certain blue rat." He then gestured to the other prisoners in the throne room, "Quite a menagerie you have here. Why am I here?" The sound of someone chewing popcorn caught the attention of both villains. They turned around to see Discord hovering above them with a bucket of popcorn in his hands. "Well this is just too entertaining." The Spirit of Chaos said, enjoying these events a little too much. "Discord?" Chrysalis said his name questioningly. "You are free? Why did you summon me?!" "He didn't." Exiled spoke up, stepping forward towards the two villains, with Zero readying his sword and Chrysalis lighting up her horn, hissing menacingly at the ancient being. "That would be me. I am Talos, but you may refer to me as The Exiled." He introduced himself before placing his hands behind his back. "Queen Chrysalis and Infinite. Two beings of extraordinary power, yet due to the interference of two beings it was all taken away." Zero snarled, pointing the tip of his blade at his summoner, "Tread lightly with the next words you utter." Although amused at the pathetic attempt of a threat, Exiled continued, "I'm recruiting specific individuals to hunt down rare artifacts of power. Foundation Elements. In exchange, I grant them a piece of the multiverse when we're done." He outstretched his hand, offering the same to them, "And I offer the same to you two. You just have to do one thing." Chrysalis quirked an eyebrow, "And what's that?" She asked. "Destroy Twilight Sparkle, Sonic the hedgehog and their new friends." If they weren't sold on the idea before, they were now. Zero smiled as he lowered his sword, "Where do we start?" "They have been travelling to worlds that contain a Keystone, a relic of Ancient technology. For some unknown reason they have been scattered across the multiverse, and one of them has ended up in the dimension designated as Earth 1, in a city known as Metropolis." Exiled explained to the two. "You are to go there and claim the Keystone for yourselves. Once Twilight Sparkle and her friends enter that reality, you will destroy them." Chrysalis cackled, she loved the sound of that, "Nya ha ha ha! Finally, the mare who stubbornly got in my way will finally meet her end! She will pay for ruining my siege of Canterlot! When do we depart?" Exiled turned to her and said, "You are to amass your Changeling army. Expect resistance from the natives of that world. Once all opposition has been wiped out, the love of that world will be yours." As Chrysalis beamed in excitement, the Ancient set his sight on Zero, "And you will need a little upgrade." Suddenly, the doors leading into the throne room opened, revealing Dr. Eggman as he walked in with a vicious smile on his face, holding a magenta icosahedron ruby with black ripple patterns along its surface. Upon seeing the Phantom Ruby, Zero dropped his blade to the ground and slowly walked over to it. His eyes were wide with a hint of longing, a hunger for power, an obsession for the gem that lay in the doctor's hand. "The Phantom Ruby..." Zero whispered in awe before stopping in front of the man with the master plan. When Eggman offered him the gem of power, Zero took it without hesitation. Without waiting any longer, he planted it onto his chest, the power surging through him once more. He had almost forgotten what it felt like. Infinite cackled madly as he hovered above the floor, a glitchy red aura surrounding his form. He set his sights onto the Mobians and grinned madly, "At last! No more weakness! No more waiting! At long last! I am REBORN!!!" An explosion of Phantom Energy pulsed from within him before he landed on the ground once again. Zero was no more. Infinite was reborn. Exiled chuckled before commanding, "Now go! Show the world that the both of you are more than your failures! Claim your vengeance! You're victory! Show them that nothing will save them now, show them that nothing will stop you! Destroy Twilight Sparkle and her friends, then all will be yours." Chrysalis cackled before flying out of the throne room whereas Infinite simply teleported himself to another location. Eggman was about to leave, but was stopped by The Exiled. "Not you, Doctor." Exiled said as Eggman turned to face him. "I have a task of the utmost importance for you to complete." Eyeing him curiously, Eggman asked Exiled, "What do you need me to do?" Opening his hand, Exiled summoned a microchip into existence before handing it to Eggman. "This microchip will grant you access to the Catacombs of the fortress. There you will find a device, a portal, that I need to be fully operational as soon as possible." Taking the microchip, Eggman repeated, "A portal?" He then asked, "How exactly does this portal fit into your plan?" Chuckling, Exiled responded with, "That is for me to know, and for you to find out." He then turned away and made his way back to his throne, "You will have access to all the technology at your disposal while in the Catacombs. I expect there to be results, Doctor. Earn your keep by reactivating the portal, do not fail me." Eggman nodded and made his way out of the throne room, but not before he flashed Team Sonic with a mischievous grin that let them know that was up to no good again. Knuckles growled as he slammed his fists against the barrier. Eggman paid him no mind however, he had big plans, and now it was time to put them to work. Some time later "Wow! Who knew that it would go as deep as this underneath the fortress?" Orbot asked himself as he and Cubot followed their master down the spiral staircase that led to the Catacombs. Once they had reached the bottom of the stairs, they encountered a long hallway made out of stone. As they walked down the hallway, various torches on the walls lit up aflame as they walked past them, the blue flames lighting up the darkness. They had reached the end of the hallway, where they encountered a large, stone door with engravings etched within it. Eggman looked to the center of the door and noticed a tiny slot. He then placed the microchip inside the slot, which lit up the hieroglyphics on the door. The door then opened, revealing a large stone like gateway connected to a platform with claw-like appendages, most likely used to drain the energy of whatever it was that powered the gateway. "Um, what do you think the Ancients used this for?" Cubot asked. Eggman smiled as he made his way to one of the many computers next to the gateway, "That's what I intend to find out. Once I get this system back online, I want you two to download as many files as you can." "What exactly do you want to see, boss?" Orbot asked as both he and his idiotic companion hovered over to his side. Eggman smiled evilly as he typed onto the keyboard in front of him. Once the screen flicked to life, his smile grew wider as he said, "Everything." Unknown Earth Vorton "The Elemental Keystone!" The Gateway Keeper stated excitedly as Batman placed it in the slot next to the Creation Keystone. "I'll handle that." The Dark Knight also placed the motherboard he had taken from the fallen Soulless One on the console, wanting to examine it further when he had the time. Mario smiled up at the monitor as it projected an image of the Elemental Keystone, "This is great! We only need two more Keystones now, right?" He asked the Artificial Intelligence, hoping that they were one step closer to finding their friends. "If I could nod, I would. There's only two more Keystones left to get the Gateway to max capacity." Gateway Keeper said, informing the heroes that they were indeed close to their goal. Twilight couldn't help but bounce in excitement, a broad smile made its way to her face. But that didn't last long as what her counterpart, or rather, Discord in disguise, said to her about her friends. They had abandoned her on more than one occasion. The Want it/Need it incident. The wedding. That one hurt the most. Sure she had said that they weren't at fault, but they were all in grave danger at the time. Chrysalis had just defeated Princess Celestia, the changeling swarm was attacking all of Canterlot. They didn't exactly have the time to sort out all of that baggage. Then after that she had to plan the actual ceremony, so there wasn't much time there. Then the Crystal Empire returned, so there went another chance to clear the air. With all of those distractions, she had just put it all to the back of her head, not wanting to think about it. So that's exactly what she did. She went on with her life, having fun with her friends as much as she could. She put it behind her, it was in the past. So why did it hurt so much. Batman saw the pained expression on the unicorn's face and was about to question it, when the Gateway Keeper suddenly spoke aloud. "Luckily for you guys, I have the last two locations found and am able to send you all there whenever you are ready." Sonic turned and faced the Gateway, wiping his nose with his index finger. "Then we shouldn't waste anymore time. Let's get those final two Keystones and get our friends back!" "Funnily enough, this next dimension should be familiar to you, Batman." The Gateway Keeper revealed, confusing the Dark Knight. "Why's that?" "Cause you're going to Earth 1." Batman frowned, if the Keystone ended up on his Earth, then there was no telling how many villains would love to get their hands on something that powerful. "Where exactly on my Earth did it land?" "Metropolis. You guys had better hurry and get there." He said before activating the Gateway. Her mood seemingly brightened, Twilight trotted up to Batman and said, "We're going to your world? Oh, this is so exciting! I can't wait to see what your universe is like! Maybe you can show us around! Show us your technology! I'd love to study all the gadgets you've made, oh, the possibilities are endless!" Batman looked down at the unicorn and said, "Maybe some other time. Right now we have a job to do." Reminded of the situation at hoof, Twilight's face became determined as she nodded to the Bat. They both turned to face the Gateway as Iron Man said, "They've rolled out the welcome mat. Come on, we don't wanna miss our big entrance!" With that, he flew right into the Gateway with Sonic and Mario following close behind. Before she leapt in, Twilight turned and smiled up at Batman. Once she went through, Batman jumped in after her. "Time to go home." He thought as his vision was shrouded with light. Earth 1 Metropolis It was a chaotic afternoon in Heroes Park. A few hours ago a meteorite struck the earth below, resulting in a massive explosion of orange energy. Reporters were on the scene like flies to garbage. One such reporter was a female wearing a purple jacket with a white skirt. She had purple eyes and black hair, and a go getter attitude that usually got her in a lot of trouble. Lois Lane was the first on the scene, wanting to get an exclusive for the Daily Planet. Unfortunately the military were already there, securing the area to prevent any civilians from getting anywhere near the crash site. But Lois got a good look and saw that it wasn't a meteorite at all. It was a stone with orange hieroglyphics engraved into it. The Keystone radiated with power, highlighting the area around it a bright orange. She was about to question some of the armed guards, but was stopped as what appeared to be their commanding officer barged right past her, causing her to stumble. She wasn't going to let him get away with that, just who does he think he is? Lois marched forward as the general talked to one of his subordinates. She stopped and listened in to what they were saying. "Is this it?" The general asked. "Yes it is." The soldier replied before asking, "Shall we begin?" The general smiled deviously as he replied, "We shall." Lois got a bad feeling, a hollowness in her stomach as she proceeded to back away. This might be something her fiancée might want to know about. She was about to grab her phone, but was stopped when the general grabbed her by the arm. "What do you think you're doing?" Lois demanded to know. The general smiled, "Looks like we've got a pesky parasprite sticking its wings where it doesn't belong." Although confused by the term 'parasprite', seeing as she had never heard of it before, she ignored it and asked, "I had a feeling that there was something shifty about this whole operation. Whatever you're planning general, you can't hide it from me." "You seem confident." Lois smirked cockily, "Don't you know who I am?" "Nope. And I frankly don't care." The general replied before flashing his teeth at the reporter. Lois gasped in shock. In place of regular human teeth were very sharp fangs. The general began to cackle as his eyes glowed a bright green. Before she knew it, Lois saw a green tornado swirl around the general as he shapeshifted into her true form. Queen Chrysalis cackled as Lois backed away and screamed. "What the hell are you supposed to be?!" Lois screamed as she fell to the grass, the other reporters backing away as more than half of the soldiers transformed as well. They had black, carapace-like, furless exteriors, webbed manes and tails, blue non-reflective eyes, fangs, bent horns, jagged ears, insect-like wings, and holes in their legs. The Changelings all cackled as their queen rose to the air, her jagged horn lighting up a bright green. She amplified her voice and declared to her subjects, "My changeling swarm! Take the city, feed on all the love you can find! Let none stand in your way, destroy all who oppose my absolute rule over this city! Nya ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!" As various civilians and soldiers revealed themselves to be changelings and took to the skies, swarming the city, the soldiers who weren't changelings aimed their firearms at Queen Chrysalis. They were about to fire at the Changeling queen, but a sudden noise sounded off throughout Heroes Park. Everything in the surrounding area took on a red tint as multiple red cubes appeared in the sky, swirling around Heroes Park like a predator circling its prey. Lois Lane had no clue what was happening, but she couldn't focus on that right now. She had to get in contact with Clark. But the sudden sound of laughter stopped her dead in her tracks, just as multiple Soulless Ones glitched into existence, surrounding the entire area, stopping anyone from getting in or out. She looked back up to the cackling Changeling queen. But something else caught her eye. Or more specifically, someone caught her eye. It was a jackal like creature, but he was wearing a silver-colored mask with white and black circular patterns on the inside of the ears, with the right ear being black with white circular patterns and the left being white with black circular patterns. While his left eye was visible through a red visor, his right eye was covered by a black lightning bolt-shaped piece, similar to an eye-patch, that was connected to his mask's right ear, which glowed red whenever he used his power. Infinite cackled madly as he aimed his hand down at the soldiers. Without hesitation, he fired a red laser that destroyed each of them in an instant. As their ashes and firearms fell to the grass, Infinite released another burst of Phantom Energy, knocking everyone down to the ground. "Resistance is futile. You're suffering is at an end, there is no hope. No savior to save you from me." Infinite declared as millions of Soulless Ones glitched into existence, all thanks to the Phantom Ruby's power. He looked to Queen Chrysalis, who was smiling at the jackal. "Shall we, Queen Chrysalis?" "We shall." Chrysalis replied before shooting a beam of magic in the sky, signaling all of her Changelings to demolish the city. They all laughed as they fired off their horns, shooting blasts of magic that destroyed anything they came in contact with. Civilians were running amok, dashing for safety, only to be either taken out by Soulless Ones, or taken captive by changelings to be drained of their love. The mad jackal floated down and picked up the Keystone, "Come to me, Blue Savior. Let us settle the score. I underestimated you once, I will not make the same mistake again." He closed his hand around the Keystone and floated back up next to Queen Chrysalis. "I believe it is time for you to claim a throne of sorts, wouldn't you agree?" The Changeling queen chuckled as she looked at the jackal seductively, liking the way he operated. "You know, Infinite, I love the way you think." She looked around for a suitable citadel for her to claim and spotted Lexcorp, the biggest tower in all of Metropolis. "Perfect." "You have your objective, I have mine." Infinite said to his partner before tossing her the Keystone, which she caught in her magic. "I'll keep the rabble in line until our guests of honor arrive. Then the real fun begins." He adjusted his mask with two of his fingers before flying off into the burning city. Chrysalis chuckled to herself before going into full on maniacal laughter, flying off to Lexcorp to claim her throne. Down below, as Changelings and Soulless Ones surrounded the civilians in Heroes Park, Lois Lane had already pressed her panic button her fiancée had given her in case of emergencies. He and his League would be here soon to save them all. Things would hopefully get better, right now Metropolis was being invaded by horse looking things and an insane jackal with infinite power. "Things can't possibly get worse right?" Lois muttered to herself. As if tempting the universe, a sudden roar was heard from the far side of the city. There a large red portal tore through the universe itself and stretched open as two hands pulled it apart. The Changelings looked concerned. Whatever this was wasn't with them. There from within the Rift, stepped out the second Titan. It had a broad torso and large shoulders compared to its narrow limbs and lower body. Its arms ended in three-fingered hands, while its legs terminate in rounded stumps. Its head had a massive mouth with multiple nested jaws of squared teeth; a pair of protrusions extended from its chin, and it had a long neck that gives it a hunchback posture. Light coursed through various lines on its body, and it had holes around its body resembling eyes. Giganto let loose a massive roar that shook the heavens itself, the Rift closing behind it as it backhanded a building, causing the whole thing to collapse. Chrysalis eyed the Titan curiously before continuing to Lexcorp with a swarm of Changelings flying behind her. Infinite folded his arms as he examined the Titan. He chuckled before releasing another burst of Phantom Energy, submitting more innocent people to the Phantom Ruby's control. Lois took a step back in fear, that thing was larger than Lexcorp, larger than a skyscraper. She gulped as she muttered, "Me and my big mouth."