Disclaimer: I realized I dun goofed and made Spike twelve years old. However, if he was born the day before Richard's parents were killed, he would only be ten years old. So I'm going to be editing the first few chapters so that Richard was travelling for twelve years instead of ten, and he and Twilight are now twenty. Sorry for being a dingus.
"You realize that the entire Royal Guard will be after you, now. Princess Celestia will probably put a bounty on your head, the mob will view your status as public enemy as an invitation to strike back against you... Not to mention you've assaulted my sister with whatever device you have in that belt of yours."
Small gusts of wind assaulted Nightwing and Shining Armor as they stared each other down. The pair were on brilliant white wall positioned on the edge of a cliff that seemed to stretch downwards for miles. Certain death by splatter on one side, the glowing city of Canterlot on the other. Just another perk of living in a city built into a mountain.
"If the Guards were capable of catching me, they would have done so by now, Shining. And if you think I'm scared of your beloved Princess, you're very sadly mistaken." Nightwing let his words hang in the air between the two men for a moment before continuing. "Just an hour ago I was forced into confrontation with Celestia and the Element's. Believe me, I never wanted to harm Twilight. Or Rarity, or even Celestia. Look, Shining, I'm sorry. But you need to face the facts; Equestria needs me."
The young Commander glared at Richard for a moment. "What Equestria needs is not up to you to decide. My men and I chased you all across the city, and you systematically took them down one by one. It'll be weeks before they can walk again, even longer before they can return to guard duty. I fail to see how that's making Equestria stronger."
"Open your eyes, Shining! I've done more to help this kingdom rid itself of the criminals that are... are feeding off of it than Celestia ever has! She's been crippled by the very system that she herself has created!"
"It's a system that's fair, though, Nightwing. It gives everyone a chance."
There was silence between the two for a moment. "If you believe in chances, then I'll give you one. Turn around right now. Let me walk out of this city. Neither of us get hurt."
"That's... not going to happen."
In the gentle glow of the moon, Dick smiled. "Fair enough. I don't suppose you're just going to let me go then, hey?"
Shining Armor returned the grin with one of his own. "Way I see, you don't have much of a choice. You jump, you die. You return to my city, you get arrested. There's probably one hundred men on their way to this very location as we speak. I'd say those odds are in my favour."
The Commander drew his sword, its blade glinting in the night. His horn glowed for a moment, and a blue hard-light shield materialized over his left fore arm. "Nightwing, I hereby place you under arrest for your crimes against Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia. Will you come quietly?"
Nightwing reached behind him and drew his two escrima sticks from their sheaths on his back, tapping a button at their base. The twelve inch weapons sprung out to their full two and a half feet, and electricity sparked at their ends. "Sorry Commander, but you're not really my type."
For a moment there was just silence between the two as they sized each other up. "So be it."
Shining Armor released a vicious grunt as he lashed out with his long sword, it's blade glowing with an ominous purple light as the young Commander pumped magic into it's edge.
His swings met only air, however, as the Nightwing nimbly ducked and dodged. The bitter reality was that Richard Grayson was too fast, and too skilled to be touched by the enchanted weapon.
"Too slow, Shiny!" Dick performed a quick back flip and reached into his belt, drawing a razor-wing. Landing in a crouch, he whipped the edged projectile at his foe. Shining Armor caught the weapon on his magical shield, sliced his arm upwards, his horn lighting up as he did so.
A blue glow suddenly appeared beneath Richard, and bits of the wall overlooking the cliff shot straight upwards, shards of sharp stone breaking apart from their collective form to become small bullets. Nightwing cried out as he flipped backwards again, narrowly evading the stone blades.
"So Shining!" Dick called as he threw an explosive razor-wing at the Commander, "How are things going with Cadence?"
The white-horned man's eyes widened for a moment before he summoned a full body energy shield to absorb the force of Nightwing's powerful explosive. "How did you know about-!?"
"You dating Princess Celestia's niece, and Twilight Sparkle's former babysitter? Or how you two sneak out of the castle in the middle of the night to the dance with no pants?" Richard leapt forward, closing the gap between the two, before striking with his escrima sticks. Shining Armor was no slouch when it came to single combat, however, and he managed to deflect the vigilante's blows. Still, Nightwing was strong, swift, and skilled, and Shining was slowly losing ground, being forced to back up gradually towards the edge of the cliff.
"If you so much as look at Cadence I'll-" Nightwing cut him off with a quick backhand to the cheek, and Shining rolled with the blow to minimize the impact on his face and get some distance from the heavily armed young man.
"Relax, Commander. Rainbow heads aren't really my type. Besides, you two seem cute together." Dick smirked at the look of outrage on his enemies face, and knew that he was making him angry. That was good. If he was angry, he'd make mistakes. "Besides, I'm more into the socially awkward librarian type. Speaking of which, your sister seems to have filled out nicely, hmm? Such a shame she's so tight knit with your impotent Princess."
"SHUT. UP!" Shining Armor screamed as he jumped forwards, swinging his sword wildly, desperate to draw the blood of the man who had the audacity to insult his family like that. Unfortunately for him, however, he was playing directly into Nightwing's high-tech hands. Literally.
Richard caught the blade between two open palms as it arced through the air, and realized that he wouldn't get a better chance than this. Drawing upon his iron willpower and peak human strength, Dick twisted the blade sharply and shattered it, sending thousands of shining purple fragments into the night, where the magic dissipated and left the silvery metal shards lying cold and useless on the ground.
Shining Armor balked at the broken weapon, and cast the hilt aside, his eyes alight with an inner flame. A fist shot out lightning fast, and made contact with Richard's jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. The young officer smiled as his armour plated knuckles drove into the what was widely considered to be the most dangerous man in Equestria. After having pursued Nightwing to this, the farthest extremity of the city, it felt nice to have the satisfaction of landing a solid blow.
Following up, the Royal Guard lashed out with his foot, and drove his boot into Nightwing's armoured chest, causing the vigilante to be launched backwards off of his feet.
Dick twisted in mid-air and landed in a crouch, wiping his mouth. A small line of blood had begun to trickle out of the orifice, and, while it was hardly life threatening, it was a testament to the strength and skill of his adversary.
Another burst of cold wind made both of the combatants suddenly aware of the world around them, and Richard knew that he didn't have long before Shining's back-up arrived. It was time to stop playing games.
Dashing headlong into his enemy, Nightwing performed a powerful uppercut to Armor's jaw, sending him flying backwards. Drawing the grapnel gun, he fired the gas-powered claw at the reeling unicorn descent, and yanked the near unbreakable cable hard, bringing him stumbling right back.
With a speed that would make the Wonderbolt's gawk in admiration, Richard stole forward and clothes lined his off-balance enemy, causing him to flip onto his back. Before Shining Armor could hit the ground, however, Nightwing brought his elbow down into the horned man's stomach, shattering the plate armour that he was wearing.
All of this took five seconds.
A sharp crack reverberated through the night, and Shining Armor's eyes went wide, his mouth opened as far as his jaw would allow. And yet, no sound escaped the Commander's windpipe. There was simply too much pain in that moment for Shining to do anything other than stare glassy eyed at the moon as he lay broken on the ground.
Nightwing wasn't finished yet.
Picking the defeated guard up by his ankle, Richard dangled Twilight's brother over the edge of the cliff. "Tell me what you know about Celestia's plans to stop me. You'd better hurry, my arm's getting tired."
Shining screamed, whether out of pain or fear Nightwing didn't know. The guard's eyes steeled for a moment, and he spat blood at Richard's feet. "Fuck you."
Dick sighed, and dropped the foolish guard. The unicorn descent screamed again as he fell down the face of the cliff, his adrenaline spiking. He saw his short life flash before his eyes, a million images of days long since passed. Twilight getting her finger-paints all over his football jersey, Twilight smiling at him as he was accepted into the Royal Military Collage, he and Cadence smiling at each other lovingly as they sat by a moonlit lake...
Suddenly, he was jerked roughly and his recollections dissolved in a fresh wave of pain. Was he dead? No, the ground was still so far away. Then what...?
Shining Armor looked back up the cliff, and saw a cable had connected itself to his feet, running all the way back up to Nightwing's grapnel gun. Not good. The silhoutted figure above him made a slight movement, and suddenly the magic user was being yanked back up the side of sheer rock wall, speeding towards his tormentor.
"I'm going to ask one. last. time. What is Celestia going to do to stop me?" His voice was low and menacing, a baritone that had shattered the resolve of hundreds of men before Shining Armor had ever heard it.
"Please... I have a girlfriend... a family..."
"Five seconds." Richard felt pangs of guilt wrack his heart, and he desperately wished that this wasn't necessary. Shining Armor was a good man, a dependable man. Hell, he had even managed to woo the Princess of Love, a feat that many men could only dream of accomplishing. Shining would probably be a shoe in for the position of Captain of the Royal Guard, if he played his cards right.
"... She's getting the Element's to hunt you down. They're going to try and... and heal you, or something."
"Not good enough. Three seconds."
"That's all I know." Shining Armor had regained all of his mental faculties, and Nightwing could tell that the man wouldn't be intimidated further. "Look, if my sister is going to be making contact with you... just... please. Don't hurt her."
Richard's eyes softened for a moment. "...We'll see." He twisted, and threw the blue haired man back onto cliff edge. Before Shining could rise, however, Nightwing flicked his wrist and fired a tranquilizer dart into his neck, knocking him unconscious within moments.
Dick thought back to earlier that night, when Celestia called him Richard. Why? While she was bluffing, she had obviously suspected Richard Grayson of being Nightwing. Most likely Twilight told the Princess that Dick had returned to Equestria, and she had just thrown the name out to get a reaction. Still, Celestia would likely launch a covert investigation into Richard's activities during his time away, and, while only Master Zen knew what he was planning to do with the skills he had gleaned, his education might be regarded as suspicious.
Grimacing, Dick decided that it was time to return to Ponyville. Tonight's goal was simply to pick up the chemicals Luna promised him. Instead, however, the night had devolved into a brutal slog through the dark. He had been confronted by Celestia, the Elements, and then had been chased across Canterlot by Commander Shining Armor and all of the guards he could muster on such short notice.
"Well, Luna won't be too happy with me."
Spike's emerald green eyes flickered open, absorbing the morning light that was currently filtering through the closed drapes of the bedroom.
For a moment, the spiky haired young boy just lay there, wallowing in the silence of the tree-house. Twilight had sent a him a letter last night while he and Richard ate dinner, explaining that she wouldn't be home until noon the next day. This news, after Spike's failed attempt to re-connect with his best friend, had left him feeling somehow empty inside, as if all of his inner fire had just... left.
"No." He thought to himself adamantly, clenching his teeth. "Stay positive. We can still make her and the girls brunch for when they get home, and maybe Richard can come over again if he's not too busy unpacking. Better yet, I'll go help him unpack. We can have like... a bro-level day."
Yes, that would work. Giving the ceiling above his bed a toothy grin that revealed his fang-like teeth, he leapt off of his mattress and pulled some clothes on. "First stop, market. Gotta pick up stuff for waffles and eggs. Then-"
A sudden knock on the door interrupted the twelve-year old's though process, and he gave a little jump in surprise. "Are they here already!?"
He sprinted downstairs, stumbling over a fallen book as he did so, causing him to tumble down the last couple stairs to the main floor.
"Ow."
Gingerly rubbing his side, the dragon boy opened the door, expecting to see the Element Bearers returning from Canterlot Castle.
Instead, he was greeted by Richard Grayson, holding a couple of shopping bags.
"Hey buddy, I hope you don't mind, I picked up some stuff at the market. I figured we could make the girls brunch or something. Oh, and if you had some free time later, it would be cool if you could come help me unpack some of my junk. I don't have much, so it shouldn't take too long."
Dumbstruck, Spike just stared at him with a gaping jaw, causing Dick to shift uncomfortably. "Or... uh... you know, we don't have too. I just kinda figured-"
"No, no, it's fine!" The reptilian little boy cut him off, raising his clawed hands. "I was actually gonna come over and propose the same things. Like... exactly the same things. It just caught me off guard, is all."
"Oh!" Dick exclaimed, wearing a look of surprise on his face. "Well I guess that worked out nicely then, I guess." He hefted the bags again, and Spike led his guest into the kitchen.
"So what were you planning on making?"
"Dunno. Waffles, maybe? You did pancakes yesterday, so that's out. Maybe we could bake some muffins or whatever to go with it."
"...Ya, sounds good Dick. Let's get started, I guess."
Richard flashed Spike one of the most genuine smiles that the boy had ever seen in his life. "Sounds good, buddy."
Buddy.
"You know, Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, used to call me buddy. Back when we lived in Canterlot, I mean."
A strange expression grew over Dick's face at these words, and Spike wondered at it. "Did he, now? And how is Shining doing these days? I don't remember him liking me very much."
"He's good, I think. We sort of lost contact with him when we moved into Ponyville. What with his guard duties and Twilight's studies, they're both pretty busy. Twilight especially, I find."
Richard poured some milk into a bowl filled with flour, and mixed it together. "Ya? Why do you say that?"
Spike sighed as he checked the recipe book, and cracked some eggs into a mixing bowl. "I dunno, man. I guess... I guess I'm kinda jealous. Of her friends, I mean. Twilight and I used to be so close, and now... it kind of feels like we're growing apart."
Richard stared at Spike for a moment with a pitying expression and put down the mixing bowl, the concoction inside sloshing slightly as he did. "Hey man, you okay?"
"Ya, ya, I'm fine. I mean really, I should be happy for her, right? You remember what she was like... you know, before she made friends."
Dick smirked and leant up against the counter he was working on. "I seem to remember her being more frigid than the dark side of the moon."
The green haired boy laughed at that, and nodded. "Ya, I guess she was kind of an ice queen, huh? But ya, she's grown a lot since then. You should see some of the magic she can do, it's incredible. And ever since she started hanging out with the other Elements, she's really opened up. As a matter of fact, two nights ago she didn't even read before bed. That's the first time she did that... probably ever, actually."
"Well at least she's a woman who knows what she likes."
"Mmm..." Spike mumbled, looking lost in thought. "Say, I've been meaning to ask... what's the deal with the blank arms? Do you seriously not have your cutie mark?"
The ebony haired man shrugged, and lifted up the sleeve of his t-shirt. "I dunno. I guess I just never really found my calling."
"That's... depressing."
Richard just smiled at him. "Is it?"
"Well... how do you know what your special talent is?"
"Does it really matter? As long as I'm doing what makes me happy, who cares if it's my 'special talent'."
Spike considered this unique outlook for a moment, and returned to the waffles. "Huh. Never really thought about it that way."
"Just one of the benefits of having friends, Spike. Let's you see things from different perspectives."
Spike didn't respond to that. He just nodded and went back to work. "Maybe it's time I get some new perspectives..."
"Alright Dick, the girls will be here in just a couple of minutes. Everything ready?"
Richard grinned and gave his young partner a thumbs up. "You bet your bottom dollar it is!"
Spike raised an eyebrow. "...What?"
"It's a Japonese thing. Don't worry about it."
"Alright, whatever, dude." He rolled his emerald eyes, and began gazing out of the window into the sunlit town of Ponyville. Soon, very soon, his best friend, the love of his life, and four other young women would walk through that door and enter the Golden Oaks Library. Thankfully, no one had come in today to check out a book, so Spike and his companion were left alone to their own devices.
"Huh... I figured they would have-" Spike gagged. "Aww COME ON!!!" Vomiting another gout of emerald fire, a letter materialized for the third time in two days. The boy allowed the letter to drop to the floor, and stared at it for a moment. It bore a wax insignia with Twilight's cutie mark on it, and tears began welling in his eyes.
"... You can take this one, Richard. I gotta go to the washroom." Spike ran out of the room, and Dick Grayson watched him go with sad eyes, knowing that it was partially his fault that Twilight Sparkle wouldn't be returning today.
Exhaling heavily, the undercover hero strode over to the letter and snatched it up off of the ground, unravelling the tightly wound scroll.
Dear Spike,
I won't be home until tonight, I'm afraid. We ran into a bit of trouble last night, and Shining Armor was put in hospital after an encounter with the Nightwing. The girls and I are going to check on him, and spend some of the day by his hospital bed. Maybe you can have dinner waiting for us when we get home? That'd be great.Oh, and say hello to Richard for me. We didn't get to properly catch up yesterday, so if you wanted to invite him to dinner tonight we could all get to know one another. I'm sure Rainbow Dash would love to meet him and pick his brain for details about the young Soarin!
Much love, Twilight Sparkle.
P.S, Try and fix the sink, please. It's been leaking for about a week now, and I can't concentrate with the noise.
Dick read the letter over twice, and placed it on the wooden table laden with the mountain of food that the two boys had made. As he looked over all of the confections and dishes that would go to waste, Richard began to understand Spike's pain. "Poor kid works so damn hard for Twilight. I wonder how much of it goes unappreciated? He'll probably never bring up this breakfast to avoid guilt tripping her, despite how obviously upset he is about it."
Well if Twilight wasn't going to be here for her young charge, Richard would be. As the young man climbed the stairs to the library bathroom, Dick reflected on his relationship with Spike. The poor kid only had Richard for a male role model, and Dick would be the first to admit that he was not a normal guy.
"Spike!?" Richard called out as he knocked on the door to the sealed lavatory. "Twilight says she won't be back until tonight. Apparently Shining Armor was put in hospital, and-"
"What!?" Spike burst through the bathroom door, his cheeks stained with tears and his eyes red. "Shining's in hospital? What happened?"
"Uhm... Well you see..." Dick blinked a few times, trying to put things as gently as possible. "Apparently, he came off for the worse in a fight with Nightwing, and-"
"I thought Nightwing only attacked criminals, though?"
Richard shrugged, his black t-shirt rising in falling in time with his well muscled shoulders. "I thought so too. But there must have been a good reason for it."
"Ugh... Poor Twilight, she must be totally stressed out. Man, I suck. I should have known that Twi wouldn't have blown me off unless something important came up."
Dick kneeled, and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come on, Spike, you don't have to beat yourself up about it. Why don't you and I head downstairs and eat, and then we can put the leftovers away and head over to my place. Maybe I'll show you some of my old tricks I learned from back in my circus days, huh?"
"Heh, ya, sure Richard. Thanks, by the way. For everything."
The twenty-year old answered with a smile, before he got up went back downstairs to give Spike some time to clean up.
Princess Celestia guided the six Element Bearers down the pristine white halls of the Canterlot Castle infirmary, and stopped in front of a heavy, steel door. "Girls, if we're going to be going up against Nightwing, we need to get as much information on him as possible. Naturally, this means that we need to interview everyone who has had contact with our unstable friend. Last night, we witnessed first hand just how dangerous it is to underestimate him. We need to become better prepared."
Pushing the door open, the seven women walked into the hospital room, and was greeted by the sight of Commander Shining Armor hooked up to various machines, all beeping and displaying vital medical information.
"Shiny!" Twilight Sparkle breathed, and ran to the side of his bed, her eyes alight with worry.
"H-hey, Twily. Long time no see..." He muttered weakly, wincing as the rise and fall of his chest irritated his broken ribs. Noticing that Celestia was there, he brought a hand to his head in a quick salute, which only caused him to grimace again as pain exploded through his chest. "Your Highness!"
"At ease, Commander." Celestia mumbled gently. "I have brought the Element Bearers here to get your account of Nightwing. His fighting style, tactics, gadgets, everything you can think of."
Shining Armor nodded. "Alright... Well, after you deployed me and my men to chase Nightwing down, I had air teams split up to try and surround him. He had these... knife things, I think Luna calls them 'razor-wings'. They were coated in something, made my men sluggish. Probably some kind of tranquilizer. Anyways, we chased him across the city, and it became pretty obvious that he'd received extensive training somewhere, 'cause he was pulling off flips and jumps that were just... unbelievable.
"So, eventually, we catch up to him and he completely decimated my squad. No casualties, but... we never stood a chance. He was just so fast, and those sticks he had carried electrical nodes in them. Our metal armour proved to be a liability, it only conducted the shocks. Finally, it was just me and him-"
"He and I," Twilight corrected, her hands clamped over her heart.
"... Right. He and I were all who was left, and I dunno why, but he put his sticks away and just ran. I signaled for more backup and gave chase, and we wound up on top of the eastern wall. We did battle, and he won."
"Did he say anything to you, Commander?" Celestia inquired, her voice loving and kind.
"He just babbled some self-important nonsense. Nothing that could reveal his true identity."
For a moment, the Solar Monarch just stared at him and then sighed. "Very well, Shining. We will leave you to get your rest. Come along, girls."
"I'll be sure to write, Shiny..." Twilight muttered as she left his bedside. The information that Twilight was now privy to worried her. He had taken down an entire squad of Royal Guards, and even Shining Armor, the most celebrated warrior in the Princesses's guard. And now, Twilight and her friends were supposed to stop him?
But they would do it. They were the Elements of Harmony, the greatest magical power in all of Equestria. Nightwing may be tough, be he was only human. He would make a mistake. And when he did, the Element's would be there to stop him.
The red light district of Canterlot. The fact that such a place could even exist in Equestria, much less the capital, made Nightwing's blood boil. Prostitutes, lonely men, and pimps wandered the streets below him, eager to find their next fix of whatever their favourite vice was. A pedophile took a thirteen year old hooker into a back alley, and Richard could make out the outlines of people injecting heroin in the building opposite to the one he was currently brooding upon.
It was hard to believe that every single one of them were connected to Zucco. The pimps, the drug dealers, the thieves, the murderers, all of them worked for the careful mobster. And, by extension, every life that was trapped in addiction, every family that was caged in dept, they were all being crushed by one man. Yet, there was somehow never enough evidence to warrant his arrest.
Dick grit his teeth. He could jump down their right now and break the legs of every piece of scum that dared defile the once sacred streets of Canterlo they walked upon with such insolence. But for now, he had to wait. He would only get one chance to strike; move too early, and his target building would be put into lockdown. Hesitate, however, and he would lose the chance to take his target down.
One of Tony Zucco's lieutenants, Blue Blaze, was in charge of the mob for this entire city. And, rumour had it amongst the criminal underground, he was holding a meet tonight to divide territory up between his men. So, for half an hour, every mob boss that worked in Canterlot would be in one, single room. For Nightwing, Hearths Warming Eve had come early.
Midnight. Soon, very soon, they would come...
Nightwing watched as three men entered the building across the street from him. Now was the time to strike. Raising his arm, he fired a tracer dart into the coat of one of the men he identified Craghorn. Now he could keep tabs on the huge unicorn descent.
Richard pulled out the grapnel gun, and slung himself onto the rooftop of the offending structure. Dropping into a crouch, the superhero stole across the roof and looked for a way in. There. The ventilation system in the huge apartment complex had it's main exhaust ports on the roof, and would likely connect to nearly every room in the building.
"This gonna be even easier than I thought it would be..."
Nightwing pulled at the corners of the vent exit, noting with pleasure how the metal buckled and gave way to his strength. Placing the twisted metal grille on the ground, he silently pulled himself up and into to metal chute, mentally bringing up the blueprints of the building that he had taken care to memorize.
"There are twelve floors, and a basement. On each floor, there are twelve apartments, save for the basement which contains a laundromat. Looks like Craghorn is moving upstairs... There, fifth floor, apartment Eight-D."
Crawling forwards, and using his elbows and knees to find purchase on the smooth metal, he made his way forward, careful not to cause the vents to dimple under his weight. Slightly concerned at how easy this was, Dick thought back to all of the information he had gathered.
This was a very important meeting; the mob was looking to expand out of the red light district, and into Canterlot proper in order to spread Nightwing's attention over the whole city. So why weren't there guards on the roof? Why weren't the grates reinforced?
Richard cast the doubt out of his head. Interrogating Blue Blaze would give him the information he needed to cast the mob right out of Canterlot. After the capital city was free, he could being working on other large cities. Manehatten, Las Pegasus, Detrot... One by one, they would all be freed.
Starting right here, in the city that killed his parents.
"Look, you take the air docks, Peppermint takes the upper class neighborhoods, and Craghorn can have the middle class area. You three all give me twenty percent of your profits, which I send to Zucco. It's really not too complicated."
The large apartment that the four men were currently conversing in was a mess. The unpleasant odours of sweat and tobacco filled the rooms, and the body guards the men hired stood awkwardly behind their bosses, trying desperately not to move a muscle. After all, the mob valued discipline. One involuntary movement from the hired help, and they'd wind up face down in a ditch somewhere. If they couldn't control their actions when things were calm, how could they hope to protect their charges during a confrontation?
"Alright, boss," Red Rum sighed. True to his name, the three-hundred pound earth descent was the single most blood thirsty mobster in all of Canterlot. He was personally responsible for more murders than the other three higher-ups combined. Rumor had it that his hair was red because of the tremendous amount of blood it had been soaked in over the years. "That sounds fair ta me."
Peppermint Fist and Craghorn both nodded as well, and Blue Blaze smiled. "Now then, onto our bird problem. Mr. Zucco has asked us to hire someone to take the Nightwing down, and I think I found just the dame. She's got an extensive history in-"
A high, playful laugh echoed throughout the apartment, causing everyone inside to jerk their heads around in search of the source of the sinister noise. The bodyguards all drew knives, and the magic users lit up their horns, eager to disintegrate whatever it was that dared disturb the meeting.
"What the fuck was that?" Red Rum shouted, standing up so quickly his chair fell over onto it's back.
"Isn't it funny...?" The mystery voice asked, the echoing sound unnerving the burly men.
"He's here..." Blue Blaze muttered, drawing a knife of his own. "Come on out Nightwing! And we promise to only break four of your limbs?"
Another laugh. "There... is nothing you can do to harm me..." There was a sharp scream, and the mobsters were suddenly painfully aware that one of the bodyguards was missing.
"You see..." the voice continued, and the lights in the filthy apartment all flickered out. "I know pain..." Another terrified scream, and the glowing horn of another hired hand winked out in the dark as both of his arms were broken viciously, followed by a quick tranquilizer to the neck.. The remaining criminals breathed erratically in the dark their terror overwhelming them.
A swishing sound and a pained scream announced the incapacitation of the last bodyguard, leaving just the three mob bosses alone in the dark with a nightmare.
"And sometimes..." There was a sharp crack, and Craghorn hit the floor unconscious, his burly frame making the tile floors crack under his weight. "I get to share my pain..." A momentary flash of light as Peppermint went down in a burst of electricity, briefly silhouetting the living weapon that was hunting them down.
Another swishing sound, and Red Rum fell, clutching the razor-wing embedded in his chest, before the toxins coating the blades put him into a deep sleep. Silence, only broken by Blue Blaze's heavy breathing. The man backed slowly up towards the wall, only to bump into something.
"With people like you..." Nightwing whispered into the horrified mans ear. Blue Blaze whirled around, brandishing his machete-like knife, only to have it knocked out of his hands by one of his tormentor's lightning sticks. A hand shot out of the darkness, and lifted him clean off of his feet, a show of strength that only further intimidated the well dressed mob boss.
"Lying to me would be a very bad idea, Blue Blaze."
"Please...!" He choked, "I'll... talk!"
"I knew you would."
Nightwing threw the man onto the wooden table that was just a minute ago the center of Blue Blaze's negotiations. The sturdy oak splintered and collapsed under the mans weight, and bits of the shattered furniture pierced his skin, forcing him to gasp in pain.
"AUGH! Celestia, I said I would talk!"
"Celestia can't save you, now. No one can save you, now." Nightwing brought his armoured boot down hard on Blue Blaze's knee cap, causing it to snap and shatter painfully.
"GAH, FUCK!!! GUARDS! GUARDS HELP-!"
The shadow brought his boot down on the pleading mobster's neck, silencing his screams. "I think you'll find that your associates are already... Taken care of. If you want to avoid losing your pitiful life here in your fortress of sin, you're going to tell me exactley where Zucco's next drug shipments to Canterlot are going to be delivered. What's more, you're going give me the names of every peddler under your command."
Upon issuing his commands, Nightwing ground his foot against his prey's broken knee, earning him another scream of pain and terror. "O-okay! Wonder Tower! Tomorrow night, he's sending a huge shipment on an air ship to Wonder Tower!"
Nightwing narrowed his eyes. "You're lying." A second broken knee cap brought Blue Blaze to the edge of consciousness, black spots forming in his eyes from the pain.
"N-no! Oh, Celestia-"
"Make no mistake. The only reason you continue to breathe is because you are useful to me. The moment you lie to me again, you cease becoming useful. Understand?" His voice, low and menacing, instantly broke whatever shred of resolve Blue Blaze had left.
"Y-yes! I swear, tomorrow night, at... at midnight, there's a huge shipment! Red Rum was going to pick it up!"
"Good. Where is it being shipped from?"
"M-manehatten!"
"And the peddlers under your employ?"
"They're all listed in my ledger! I-I-I have it in my jacket!"
"Thank you for your cooperation." Nightwing brought his knee down on Blaze's head, knocking him unconcious, and reached into his expensive suit jacket. The ledger, sure enough, was there, and had not only a list of everyone under the broken mobsters employ, but a list of every deal that went down in Canterlot in the past year.
Richard smiled. Sometimes, his job was so rewarding. Recording every page with the camera in his mask, Nightwing drew a plastic baggy and dropped the ledger into it before sealing it back up. Searching the rest of the apartment, Dick uncovered the various weapon and drug stashes hidden there.
Soon, all the available evidence had been recorded, collected, and placed in the center of the now trashed facility for the Canterlot Police Department to find.
"Luna," he spoke, pushing a finger to the communicator in his ear, "Send a squad to the 'Blue Skies Apartment Complex', unit Eight-D. You know the mob is hiring a hitwoman to take me down?"
"How exciting for you." Came the silky voice of the Princess. "How did things go with Blue Blaze?"
"Perfectly. By this time tomorrow night, the mob will no longer exist in Canterlot. There's a ledger here with every detail we need to put these punks away for life."
"Excellent work, Nightwing. A squad is on their way, you have three minutes to get out of there. Oh, Shining Armor will make a full recovery, by the way."
"Glad to hear it. Nightwing out."
Tony Zucco sat across from the pale blue haired young woman in front of him, contemplating the turn of events his life had taken. "My men tell me that you're the best."
A broadly brimmed hat covered her face in a veil of shadow, though Zucco could still make out a pearly white smile. "Your men are correct, Mr. Zucco."
"Good. So I can count on you to take the Nightwing down?"
"Of course." The woman leant forward in her chair and took her hat off, revealing the blue horn that had been concealed underneath. A broad grin adorned her attractive features, the kind of grin that belonged on a hyena. "The Great and Powerful Trixie will bring you his head by week's end."