//------------------------------// // 38. The Haunted Mansion (Part 2) // Story: Through The Multiverse // by Battwell //------------------------------// Earth 1969 The Haunted Mansion Twilight was falling. Her legs were flailing helplessly as she went deeper into the darkness below her, her eyes wide with panic as her screams echoed throughout the abyss. She tried lighting up her horn to teleport, or just to do anything to help her current predicament, but alas, she was too scatterbrained to even concoct a cohesive thought. A pit formed in her belly, the thought of her story ending here scared her greatly, which is probably what that freak, Scarecrow , wanted. For her to feel true terror before her untimely demise. Her thoughts drifted to the only three people in Equestria she truly trusted. Cadance, Princess Luna, and Spike. The things that went unsaid between her and her adopted son, the time her and Luna never got to spend as friends, and the time to catch up with her former foal sitter that would never happen. She closed her eyes, readying herself for the impact. But a certain Avenger had other plans. Iron Man activated his thrusters and boosted down towards his falling friends, sweat dripping down his forehead as he focused on catching them. He got to Mario first as he outstretched his hand for the plumber to grab, which is exactly what he did. "Hang on!" Tony shouted, divebombing towards Sonic at high speeds while still holding onto Mario's hand. Hoping to catch the hedgehog, Iron Man swung Mario toward the falling blur. Catching onto what he was planning, Mario reached out to Sonic's hand and grabbed it, creating a chain between them. Batman was next as they all moved toward the Dark Knight and grabbed onto his hand, letting him join the chain of safety. Now it was time to save Twilight. The Dark Knight set his sights on the falling unicorn and kept his eyes on her as they all moved to grab her. They had to hurry though as the ground was starting to become visible through the fog at the bottom of the cavern. "BATS, GRAB HER!" Sonic yelled to the vigilante as the three of them swung the Bat of Gotham forward, letting go of the hero as he dove down and grabbed the unicorn, wrapping his arms around her belly as his cape opened, allowing him to glide down to the ground, slowing their momentum as they approached the bottom of the cavern. Once they landed on the ground, Batman rolled across the cold surface, Twilight still cradled in his arms, shaking like a leaf at what she had just experienced. Kneeling in a crouched position, Batman looked down to Twilight as her breathing began to slow back down to a normal pace, her anxiety levels decreasing once she knew that she was safe. Behind them, Iron Man had set Mario and Sonic down on the ground safely before landing as well. "Everyone good?" He asked, worried for the wellbeing of his allies. "Everyone alive?" Now that was very much obvious. Looking around at his surroundings Tony began to decipher where they were. There were a set of wooden doors with rail tracks that went underneath them. And set in front of the door was a minecart, albeit a broken one, as it was missing a wheel and it looked run down. To his left were other minecarts, although they had no wheels and were filled to the brim with coal and other assortments of metals that had obviously been mined down here. And the train track itself was damaged as well, as pieces of the track were positioned upwards, obviously in need of some repairs. "Looks like we're in an abandoned mine of some sorts." Tony surmised from looking around at the area that they were currently standing in. "A part of me wants to fly back up there and get that scarab back myself." But he knew that that would be a bad idea for two reasons. One: He would be facing Scarecrow alone since he wouldn't be able to carry them all up at the same time. Two: There would be no guarantee that he would even still be up there, not to mention the mansion is practically a maze, what with all the traps and hidden passageways. It would be a fools errand. Plus he didn't want to abandon his friends either. Yay friendship. Batman, having set Twilight down, approached the minecart and looked at the extent of the damage. It was repairable, all they would need is to reattach the wheel and fix the train tracks. "Our best course of action is to repair the minecart and see where this leads." He turned around and turned on his Detective Vision to try and search for the wheel as he ordered, "Twilight, are you up for moving the train track back into position while Tony repairs it?" The unicorn, still processing what had happened, strengthened her resolve and nodded, "O-Of course!" Looking to Tony, she asked, "You up for some repairs?" The Armored Avenger chuckled as he walked past the unicorn, ruffling her mane before crouching next to the train track. "Ready when you are, Twiggle." She rolled her eyes at the playful nickname as she lit up her horn. Once she focused her magic the damaged train track was engulfed in her magical aura, slowly repositioning back into its intended placement as Tony closed his fist, a tiny laser emerging from his gauntlet. A laser suddenly fired at the track, melting it back together with the rest of it. Meanwhile Sonic was dashing around looking for the wheel to repair the minecart. "Nope." He zoomed. "Nada." Once more. "Not here." And again. "That's a no go." He continued to do this as Mario walked up to a wooden deck to see if there was anything of value. Sonic zipped over to his friend, who simply shook his head. Batman noticed a pile of rubble over to the far right of the room and walked over to it with the intent of investigating it, turning on his Detective Vision as he did so to get a better look. He allowed a small smile to grace his lips as he saw the broken wheel buried beneath the rubble. "Mario!" He called over his shoulder, getting the plumber's attention. As he walked over Batman said, "Clear this rubble. The wheel's buried under there." The plumber gave his friend a knowing smirk before he and the Dark Knight began clearing the rubble. After a few moments, sure enough, they had uncovered the wheel needed to fix the minecart. "Bingo!" Mario shouted happily as he took the wheel. The two heroes moved over to the minecart as Twilight and Stark finished repairing the train track. "Is this what you're looking for?" The plumber asked knowingly, already aware that this was what they needed. After attaching the wheel to the cart Mario and Sonic hopped into the cart, with Batman and Twilight following shortly after. Tony aimed his palm at the door as he announced, "This is you conductor speaking. We are ready to disembark, please keep all limbs inside the cart at all times. Now sit back, relax, and we hope you enjoy the duration of the trip." Once his joke was over he fired a Repulsor Blast at the door, breaking it apart. He then flew behind the cart and gave it a push, his thrusters working overtime as he pushed them into the darkness, ready to get out of this place. Inside the mines "This place couldn't look anymore sketchy if it tried." Sonic commented as he and the others tilted the cart to the left to prevent them from falling off the rails. The mines were... Unusual to say the least. It was more like a race kart circuit than an actual mining operation. It made no sense whatsoever, the windy bends, the massive ramps, it was like something out of a children's cartoon show. Twilight couldn't help but agree, this was highly impractical and dangerous. "I don't understand, what kind of sane pony would work in these conditions?" She suddenly yelped, ducking down to avoid a swarm of bats that flew over her head. "This is nuts! Why would anypony work here? Matter of fact why is this even here? I thought we were in somepony's house, why is there a mine shaft down here? This doesn't make any sense!" "That doesn't matter," Batman interrupted her before she could go on a tangent, causing her to look up at him. "What matters is that we get that scarab back." Mario, however, was skeptical. "Hang on, how do we even know that he's still here?" That caught everyone's attention. He was right, Scarecrow got the scarab, he had the Foundation Element. What was to stop him from leaving with it? "He got the scarab, he could've already left by now." "No, he wouldn't." Batman shut that theory down straight away. "Crane wouldn't leave without finishing us off, it's not his style. He knows that were still alive, he knows that the fall wouldn't have killed us. He wants us to suffer first, to break us mentally with our own fears before he kills us." Sonic smirked, understanding Batman's reasoning, "So he's still here. That gives us a chance to--" "SONIC, LOOK OUT!" Mario suddenly shouted, but it was too late. When the hedgehog turned around he was grabbed by the throat and pulled out of the cart. He struggled against whoever it was that grabbed him, opening his eyes to see the Ghoul before they both nosedived down to the darkness below. "SONIC!!!" Mario wasted no time and hurdled over the cart and dived down after his friend. Twilight screamed as she looked over the cart, "MARIO, WAIT!!!" She could only make out his outline for a second before he disappeared into the darkness. She looked over to Iron Man, who was flying alongside them, "TONY!!!" "I got 'em!" He responded before adding, "You two focus on getting that scarab back!" Leaving no room for debate. "B-But--!" She stuttered before going quiet when Iron Man went down after them. She looked to Batman, who turned to her gave her a reassuring nod, letting her know that they would be okay. "Have faith." Was all he said. He was right, she just needed to have faith that they knew what they were doing. Twilight nodded back as she and her friend continued to steer the cart to avoid falling off, hoping that they would be okay. In the chasm below the mines Sonic couldn't help but groan as he rubbed the back of his head, his skull ringing like a bell. "Ugh, what hit me?" He got to his feet slowly, blinking the bleariness from his eyes as he took notice of the circular chasm he was in. His left ear twitched at the sound of water dripping, that was going to get annoying real quick. But something else sounded off in his ear, the sound of... engines whirring? He turned around to see Iron Man land behind him in a crouched position, with Mario landing behind the Armored Avenger. "Jesus, that was a long fall." He drowned on as he approached the azure hedgehog. "You good?" Besides the ringing in his skull, and the sting to his pride, the hedgehog was all good. "Yeah, I'm good." He rubbed the back of his head with a groan. "Skull's ringing like a bell though." The sound of Mario's amused chuckles echoed throughout the chasm. "Yeah, being hit in the head by a ghost dressed in black will do that to ya." That was when Iron Man noticed the absence of a certain ghoul in the vicinity. "Speaking of which. Just where is our 'Hot Topic attired spectre?" He looked around, scanning the area for any potential danger so that they wouldn't be caught off guard. "Dunno." The hedgehog answered truthfully, turning his body around to see if the Ghoul was anywhere in sight. "I just woke up here alone." But as they looked around they failed to notice the pair of red eyes that watched them from the darkness, setting their sights on the Blue Blur specifically. He clenched his fists, waiting for the hedgehog to turn around so he could finish him off for good. Sonic then turned around. The Ghoul rushed forward. But before he could get any closer he was noticed by Iron Man, who's eyes shot wide open in alarm. "Blue, move out of the way!" He wasted no time in charging his Arc Reactor, hoping that Sonic was quick enough to get out of the way in time. Like there was ever any doubt about that. Sonic smirked and backflipped over the Ghoul just as passed under him, leaving himself wide open to be attacked. Iron Man unleashed the full force of his Unibeam upon the Ghoul, striking the mysterious 'spirit' directly in the chest which sent him flying across the chasm, colliding against the wall. He crashed on the dirt floor, tiny pieces of rocks that were dislodged from the wall landing on top of him. When Sonic landed on his feet he turned to face the fallen ghost as Tony walked up beside him and offered his fist for a fist bump. The hedgehog pounded his knuckles against the Avenger's and then proceeded to walk over to the Ghoul, crouching over his fallen form. "Now let's see who this Ghoul really is!" Sonic exclaimed as he pulled back the Ghoul's hood, revealing a familiar looking robot hedgehog, who appeared to have pink markings painted on the right side of his head, torso, and legs. "Metal Sonic!" The real Sonic shouted in surprise, not expecting Eggman to have already rebuilt him after their last bout. Tony and Mario were confused. "Wait, didn't we already total this guy back in Galaxy Toys?" "No, that was Mecha Sonic," Sonic corrected his friend before adding while pointing to his duplicate, "This is Metal Sonic. Toootally different." Mario eyed the robot carefully, not believing that this was over just yet. "Yeah well, it looks like he ain't done just yet." "Huh?" The hedgehog questioned before turning around, only to receive a kick to the face by Metal which sent him falling back on his posterior. He looked up to see Metal Sonic hovering before him, eyes set upon him and him alone. He then reached for something behind him and pulled out.... "Another Keystone?!" Shouted Mario in surprise. "But I thought we got them all!" Iron Man added, setting his Repulsor Rays upon the metallic hedgehog. Sonic took a closer look at the Keystone, noticing the green hieroglyphics engraved into it. It was the exact same Keystone Eggman had back on the Death Egg. From what he could remember this Keystone gave Eggman's latest mech a boost in power. So that means.... "Shoot." Metal inserted the Power Keystone into his chest, the markings on his person glowing pink as the power of the Keystone flowed through him. He then aimed his hand at the other side of the chasm and fired a pink laser from his hand, destroying the wall. Once the dust cleared it revealed another passageway. "Of course there's another secret passageway." Mario groaned, already sick of this place and its trickery. Metal Sonic then boosted into the passageway, but not before wagging his fingers to the heroes, wanting them to follow him to their demise. "Don't let him get away!" Iron Man bellowed before activating his rocket boots and following after the metallic menace. He wasn't the only one as both Mario and Sonic rushed in after the robot, nodding to one another before taking off. Once Mario and Sonic caught up to Iron Man, the three of them followed along the passageway in pursuit of Metal Sonic, who flew ahead of them. The robot motioned for them to attack him with both hands, acting just as smug as Sonic would. Metal Sonic released a burst of energy before creating some distance between him and the heroes. He snapped his fingers, summoning pillars of pink electricity that extended from the floor to the ceiling, blocking their path. Stark, Mario, and Sonic all moved carefully, making sure to avoid the pillars of electricity so they could continue their path to Metal Sonic. Sonic boosted forward, initiating the attack as his robotic duplicate pushed out his arm, sending forth three orbs of pink electricity to try and sizzle the Blue Blur. Sonic slid under one, then jumped over the second, but couldn't react in time to avoid the third one, his recklessness resulting in him getting scorched. Sonic flew backwards and would've been taken out of the fight had it not been for Iron Man, who caught the hedgehog in his arms before he could tumble back further. Sonic gave him a thumbs up before curling into a ball, showing his friend what he wanted him to do. Tony smirked behind his helmet and tossed him into the air as Mario jumped. The plumber then kicked Sonic like a soccer ball directly towards Metal, spinning at high speeds as he soared through the air. Sonic struck Metal in the chest, sending the robot tumbling across the floor, leaving him vulnerable for attack. Iron Man fired a rocket from his shoulder that sent Metal Sonic tumbling even further, while Mario rushed forward and punched Metal Sonic's visor, which sent the robot flying into the air. Once the plumber regrouped with the Avenger and the Freedom Fighter, Metal Sonic boosted into the air, flexing his fingers before pointing to them angrily. "Oooh, he's angry." Sonic taunted his metallic rival. Mario smirked, "Just the way we like it." "Boys, let's take this home!" Tony encouraged them. But Metal wasn't done yet as he clapped his hands together, sending waves of pink electricity down towards the trio across the floor and the ceiling. While Mario and Sonic had to jump over the wave across the floor, making sure they didn't jump to high as to avoid getting shocked by the electricity on the ceiling, Iron Man had fly slightly lower to avoid being electrocuted. Once the waves ceased, Metal Sonic began charging his Chest Beam, aiming directly at Iron Man, before opening fire upon the Avenger. Tony saw this coming and rolled out of the way of the beam before activating his thrusters, boosting forward as he launched multiple Stark Mines at the metallic hedgehog. Explosions all around Metal, sending him flying to a fro before being blasted by a Unibeam attack from Iron Man. The attack sent him tumbling across the ground, leaving him open to be Homing Attacked by Sonic and shoulder charged by Mario, damaging him further. Sonic laughed as he taunted, "C'mon Metal, surely you've got more than that?" Metal Sonic's eyes flashed menacingly before a bolt of pink lightning appeared in his hand, slowly morphing into an electrical scythe. Sonic blinked. "Well that's new." The robot spun his scythe around a few times before plunging it into the ground and dragging it along as he flew. In the trenches out shot bolts of pink lightning that the heroes had to take care in avoiding. Mario unfortunately mistimed it and was zapped in the chest, scorching his overalls. "Ow! Hoo hoo hoo!!! Hot hot hot hot hot!!!" As Mario patted his overalls to put out the small flame, Metal Sonic swung his scythe through the air, creating a a slash that tore through the passageway. Iron Man was struck by it, which sent him flying back, while Sonic slid under it and boosted forward as Metal sent more slashes to deal with his loathsome copy. Sonic moved left and right, up and down, avoiding each strike as Mario and Iron Man caught back up. Mario rushed forward and jumped into the air, jumping over Metal's scythe as he swung for him, and then proceeded to stomp on his head, causing his visor to glitch out, and sent him falling towards the ground. Once he tumbled across the floor, Iron Man hit him with a Stark Mine while Sonic hit him with a Homing Attack. Once he regained control, Metal couldn't help but notice that we was severely damaged, spurts of electricity crackled off of him as small fires burnt his black cloak. He also noticed the Power Keystone dislodge slightly from his chest, draining his power significantly. "Now's our chance!" Iron Man shouted. "Take him down!" "With pleasure!" Both Mario and Sonic shouted together as all three of them charged forward. Once he was close enough, Iron Man boosted forward and removed the Keystone from Metal's chest, removing his power, before kicking him in the side of the head. Metal flew through the air right into Mario, who stomped on his head once more and sent him crashing towards the floor. Sonic grinned before curling into a ball and delivering the finishing blow, striking Metal in the chest before uncurling and kicking him in the face, sending the metallic menace into the air, crashing against the ceiling and falling in a crumpled heap as multiple boulders and rocks fell atop of him. Sonic landed on the ground and dusted off his hands before looking to Metal Sonic, "Do you know who I am?" He chuckled before wiping his nose with his thumb. "I'm the real Sonic the hedgehog!" The real deal walked away from the pile of rocks and moved toward his friends with a smile on his face. When Iron Man landed he took a closer look at the Keystone in his hands. "So it looks like there are more Keystones than we thought." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Who knew?" "Probably X-PO." Mario quipped. "Touché." Sonic couldn't help but laugh at the exchange before looking back at the pile of rocks that Metal was buried under. "Well now that that mystery is solved," He gestured ahead, "Let's regroup with Twi and Bats, hopefully they got the Foundation Element back from that creepy Scarecrow guy." They both nodded before making their way down the passageway. "Y'know this is a long hallway." Mario felt the need to mention. "Oh my God, thank you! I thought I was going crazy." A few moments after Iron Man and Mario went after Sonic "Um Batman?!" Twilight shrieked, holding onto the front of the cart for dear life as a noticeable lack of tracks made itself known up ahead. "We're running out of tracks!" The Dark Knight saw this and looked around for any sign of a solution for their dilemma, anything at all that could save the two of them. His eyes stared up at a tunnel that was boarded up just above the waterfall up ahead. That was their way out of this mess. "Twilight use your magic to raise the tracks into a ramp." Batman ordered much to her confusion. He then directed her sight to the tunnel and said, "Make it high enough so that we can reach that." The unicorn nodded before closing her eyes, focusing her magic into her horn as it lit up, as did the end of the tracks. She stuck her tongue upward, sweat dripping down her brow as she telekinetically raised the tracks to create a makeshift ramp. "Hurry Twilight!" Batman rushed, the minecart approaching the edge ever so closer. "Almost.... There...." She grunted out before setting the tracks in place just as they approached it. She fell backwards right into Batman as the minecart went up the ramp and flew through the air, crashing into the wooden planks blocking the tunnel and entering it. There were many sharp turns as they traversed the tunnel, going up and down, under water and through a swarm of bats, until they saw a light at the end of the tunnel, quite literally in fact. The smile on Twilight's face dropped instantly when they flew out of the tunnel and soared through the air, the unicorn clinging to Batman in fear of her life. Wrapping his arm around Twilight's barrel, Batman pushed himself out of the cart and glided through the air, the old fun-fair coming into view. He wrapped himself around Twilight protectively as they crashed through the top of the circus tent, landing harshly on the sandy ground below. The Faithful Student of Princess Celestia groaned painfully as she slowly rose to her hooves, blinking the spots out of her vision as she took note of her surroundings. The area was surrounded by a tent with a red and white stripe color scheme. They were in the fun-fair, away from the Haunted Mansion. Twilight sighed and turned around to see Batman slowly regaining consciousness. She walked over and smiled at him as he got to his feet. "Are you okay?" Asked Twilight, worried for her friend's wellbeing. "I've been through worse, I can tell you that." Was Batman's reply before he himself asked, "What about you? Are you hurt in any way?" Twilight inspected her form, only noticing some bruising on her sides and legs, but other than that she was fine. "You took the brunt of the fall, I should be asking you that." She sighed before looking up and smiling gratefully at him, "Thank you for saving me." "No thanks needed." Batman assured her. "Come on, we need to get back to the others." He turned around to lead them out of the tent, with Twilight following dutifully behind him. But once he turned around four syringes stabbed through his cowl and penetrated his neck. Scarecrow grinned as the Fear Toxin entered his system. "BATMAN!" Twilight screamed in fear for her friend before galloping over to help him. But when she got over there Scarecrow removed the syringes and sprayed her with face with Fear Toxin. She stumbled over her hooves and fell to the ground, sliding across her belly as she hacked and coughed, the toxin already filling her lungs. She opened her misty eyes to see the ground literally break apart around her, everything turning to fire and brimstone as her greatest fears manifested. "You're not dying." Scarecrow informed the terrified unicorn as she thrashed around on the floor. "It just feels like you are. My toxin is filling your lungs, drowning you in your greatest fears." He began walking around the two of them, holding the Diamond Scarab in his hands as he addressed the both of them. "What can you see?" He asked as Twilight began to hyperventilate. "A city engulfed in fear?" Directed at Batman. "Betrayed by those you trust the most?" Directed at Twilight. "Your darkest secrets revealed?" Directed at them both. "As I tear your minds apart, all will watch and see the fear in your eyes. Then they too will understand." She dared not open her eyes, the crawling feeling on her skin wasn't there. The feeling of breathing on her neck wasn't there. The blistering heat was real. But her curious mind bested her and when she opened her eyes, she was surrounded by gravestones. She was in a cemetery, a cemetery floating in a void of fire and fog. She got to her hooves as the sounds of taunting voices reached her ears. "You have a lot to think about." "And no-one will think to look for you either!" "In fact if I were you, I wouldn't show up to the wedding at all!" "C'mon ya'll! Let's go check on the princess!" She shook her head as the taunts grew louder, her ears falling flat against her head as she backpedaled in an attempt to get away. She bumped against a tombstone and turned around, seeing the name engraved onto it. "Twilight Sparkle" "Element Bearer - Faithful Student - Alone Forever" "Nononononononono...." She mumbled to herself as she backed away. Twilight had to get away, she had to escape, get back to her friends. She turned to run away but was stopped when multiple tombstones appeared and surrounded her. Each of them having the same thing engraved into them. She had already gone through something similar with Sombra, but this felt different, it felt more potent. More real. You could tell that Sombra was using Dark Magic to mess with you, but this toxin made it all seem real, and that was all the more terrifying. The caws of crows sounded off from behind her, causing her to turn around and witness a giant version of Scarecrow appear through the mist of toxin, his massive form looming over her as his glowing, orange eyes pierced her soul. "There is no savior." Her resolve cracked. "No more hope." Her heart broke. "No more friendship." This was all in her head, but Twilight couldn't help but feel terrified as her physical body thrashed and twitched on the ground. Scarecrow smiled before turning to Batman and crouching down to his fallen form. "You tell yourself you are not like us. You tell yourself you are something more, something better. But fear reveals the truth, it will erode your self control. Soon you will kill and become that which you hate the most. Soon, the Bat will be broken." Batman opened his eyes and saw himself in an abandoned warehouse, blood on the floors with meat hooks dangling from the ceiling. He looked around in the darkness for any sign of Twilight or Scarecrow but found no-one. He then looked down and saw a bloody crowbar in his hands, and the beaten form of Jason Todd lying dead at his feet. He could hear that mad cackling in the background. He could hear the gunshot that changed his life forever. He blocked them all out and focused, for none of this was real. He closed his eyes, blocking the various whispers that urged him to finish the boy laying at his feet, to take that final step to becoming everything that he hates. He denies them. For he is The Batman. His eyes shot open and he grabbed Crane by the neck as he got to his feet. As the deranged man struggled in his grip, Batman got into his face and growled, "I'm not scared of you, Crane." Scarecrow looked scared as he uttered, "Impossible..." He clenched his fist, activating his syringes. "Without fear life is meaningless!" He went to stab him again but his arm was caught by Batman. His eyes widened when the Dark Knight repositioned his arm so that he would stab himself. "N-No." He strained as he struggled against his adversary, but it was for naught as Batman stabbed the syringes into Crane's neck, injecting the toxin into his system. "What's wrong, scared?" Batman asked rhetorically before shoving Scarecrow back. The villain stumbled back as his fears became a reality, he swatted away a stray bat that came into his vision, the world around him blinking between normal and nightmarish, nothing but fire and fear fog surrounding him. He blinked again, trying to resist the effects of his own creation but it was for naught as he caught sight of a nightmarish Bat-Demon standing before him, mouth agape with fear fog exiting his maw. Crane screamed in terror as the demon lunged forward. Batman delivered a right hook to Scarecrow's jaw, knocking him unconscious and making him drop the Diamond Scarab. But he paid the relic no mind as he quickly rushed over and crouched down beside Twilight, her form still twitching, her eyes darting around frantically. He held Twilight's head up and reached into a pouch on his belt, pulling out a syringe with a blue liquid inside of it. He then slowly injected it into Twilight's neck, curing her of the effects of Scarecrow's toxin. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she fell unconscious, the toxin's effects having taken a toll on her body. Batman stared down at his friend sympathetically as the sound of footsteps reached his ears. He turned around to see Iron Man, Mario, and Sonic enter the tent with smiles on their faces, but those smiles disappeared when they looked at Twilight. "Twilight?" Sonic asked before zooming over and crouching at her side. "What the heck happened here?" Mario asked, taking everything in. Batman scowled at the unconscious form of Scarecrow before picking Twilight up bridal style and making his way out of the tent. He blamed himself, he always did when someone close to him got hurt. "It wasn't your fault." Tony tried to reassure him, but was ignored as the Dark Knight walked straight past him with a scowl on his face. He sighed before walking over to pick up the scarab. A portal opened up where Batman was walking to and he went inside without a word. Mario and Sonic looked at one another with sad expressions on their faces before proceeding to the portal with Iron Man not too far behind them. But unknown to them a portal opened behind Scarecrow and sucked him in, and inside the portal stood The Exiled, who eyed the portal carefully before coming onto a realization. "So you're the one helping them, X-PO?" He realized, talking to himself before flexing his fingers. "Interesting. Now which dimension did I banish you to?" Both portals closed promptly as two figures ran into the tent. "I heard it in here!" Said Scooby Doo as he ran in front of his buddy Shaggy, looking back at him with a frightened expression. Shaggy retorted with, "Then, like, why aren't we running in the opposite direction?!" He suddenly let out a scream when a black cloak dropped on top of him, causing him to crash into Scooby. As the two of them regained their senses, they failed to notice Metal Sonic hovering above them, having discarded the black cloak he was wearing before disappearing into another portal. Scooby screamed as Shaggy tossed the cloak away in fear. And the rest of the gang just so happened to walk in when they did. "You guys already solved the case?!" Fred asked, genuinely surprised. Velma adjusted her glasses upon inspecting the black cloak, "And had the police take away the bad guy?" She then smirked and asked, "Was it the fun-fair owner again?" Both Shaggy and Scooby shrugged and just went along with it. They may as well take the credit right? Plus it meant getting out of this freaky place quicker so that was a bonus. "Yeah, that's right!" Shaggy boasted with a prideful smirk. "Yeah!" Scooby agreed before laughing and exclaiming, "Scooby-dooby-doo!" Looks like that was another mystery solved, all thanks to Mystery Incorporated, and with help from the shadows from the Guardians of the Multiverse!