//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: A Child's World // Story: Deathstroke, Equestria's Terminator // by UltimateGunner //------------------------------// The Watchtower, 11:35 AM Cyborg was the first to reach the meeting room, since he had a teleporter built into him. The other two eventually came, Nightwing being last. "Alright, were all here, now let's discuss the incident." says Superman sternly. Cyborg decides to fill in Nightwing on what he had learned from Superman. "Nightwing, I learned that another portal had opened up in front of the transport that held Zod. He was never found after the accident." "What?" Nightwing was awed by the information he missed out on. "You're saying that the portal that opened up on the rooftop wasn't the only one?" "That's right." replies Superman. "We believe these portals weren't a coincidence, and there may have been more than two portals that opened up." "And Deathstroke's not the only one who decided to go through his." Nightwing states. "But who opened these portals? And why?" There were still many questions on the incident to be answered. "I think we should head back to where the portals were formed and see if we can find an energy signature from the traces of the portals. It's our best bet." Cyborg suggests, standing up to declare his suggestion. "I agree. let's analyze the rooftop first." replies Superman. "Then let's get moving." Nightwing states as he stands up and heads to the zata tubes. Equestria, same time General Zod wakes up, and the first thing he notices when he opens his eyes is he is surrounded by foliage. He sits up, still pained by the fall he took from exiting the portal, but still at full strength. "Hmmm..." Zod hums as he looks around. "Not where I expected to be. But no matter. I will have my revenge on Superman for sending me to the Phantom Zone. He will-" Zod pauses as he hears footsteps with his super hearing. He flies with unthinkable speed above his target. Looking down, he sees a muscular man wearing a mask over his face. He also sees another man with a black costume decorated with a golden lightning bolt on the front. The two were walking together, not knowing where they were. "Strolling around the landscape I see." The two look up to see a flying man wearing an alien like vest lowering to the ground. "I don't believe I've met you two before. Care to tell me your names?" The two looked at each other and asked him: "Who are you to ask us what our names are?" Zod replied in gentleman like tone. "Ah yes, how rude of me to not introduce myself." he began. "I am General Zod. I am a Kryptonian like Superman, that means I have all his powers as well." The two trembled a bit at the thought, another Kryptonian capable of everything Superman does. They introduced themselves as well. "I am Black Adam." "And I am Bane." Zod raised his eyebrows at the sound of their names. "Fascinating names, you two. Do not worry, I do not wish you any harm." Bane and Adam were relieved at this. One of them spoke up. "We were captured by Superman some time ago. We want revenge on him." General Zod smirked. They had a common enemy, and they could possibly forge an alliance. "Well, I want revenge on Superman as well for sending me to the Phantom Zone. Don't you think an alliance is necessary?" This made the other two look at each other. They nodded in agreement to Zod's statement. "Glad that you have agreed to my terms. I believe we should scout the area for more lost villains that may want to cooperate. Black Adam, I need you to fly up and see where we are. On cue, Black Adam flew high up into the air. A few minutes pass, until Adam returns to the ground and shares what he learned. "Zod, the structures here are not of our planet. I do not believe we are on Earth." Zod is suprised at this and states their next move. "I'll prepare a proper shelter for us with Bane. You will scout the area for more villains and lead them to those mountains. "Why the mountains?" Adam asks. "Because." Zod begins. "That is where we will operate." Whitetail Woods, same time After Deathstroke defeated the rainbow pony, he left her stuck there and continued down the pathway to the train station. He thought about the world that was probably full of ponies that he was currently stuck in. "Pffft. I'm trapped in a child's imagination. I definitely should've gone to jail instead." The word child remained in his head for a few moments. He thinks about his past, his family, his son. He stops to think about what he did to become Deathstroke. But like any good soldier would do, as the saying goes, he pushed back his emotions. "I don't have time to think about the past." says Deathstroke, talking to himself and increasing his pace. "If I'm right about this world inhabiting ponykind, then I have to find a way to get on the train without anyone noticing." As if right on cue, he sees the train station in the distance. It was similar to those back on Earth, just more... colorful. "Alright, let's see if there's a map." He runs to the station and hides behind a tree. "I need to get closer," Deathstroke reaches the train station, hides behind another bush, and sees some more ponies. He notices that they have human traits. The ponies sat down on benches, mingled, there were even ponies that sold train tickets and a pony that probably conducted the train. "Yep, this is a child's imagination." says Deathstroke in his head without a doubt. "There's definitely a map, but I can't get close enough to read it without getting noticed." He looks around to see if there's anything to hide in. He sees a group of ponies pushing carts full of hay from one of the train cars. "Alright, I need to pull this off correctly." Deathstroke says mentally. He sees a rock and throws it at a trash can, making some ponies look at the commotion. Deathstroke then runs behind the large wall to the other side and jumps into one of the hay carts. Thankfully, the cart pushers nor the waiting ponies saw him. He then slightly peeks to look at the map. "Alright, this train is headed toward, Ponyville." He wasn't surprised by the town having the word pony in it, but he was when he saw all the other names. "Los Pegasus, Fillydelphia, Baltimare?! Whoever names these cities is really into horse puns. I also don't get why these names are based off of places back on Earth." Deathstroke said in his head as he lowers back into the cart. The ponies pushing the carts pushed the carts into the caboose. "If I'm ever going to get back home, I need to gain their trust. I'll have to take a gamble and try Ponyville." The ponies pushing the carts led the carts into one section of the caboose. Deathstroke heard one of them talk. "Let's get moving. We're shipping more of Princess Celestia's special order and it has to reach Canterlot as soon as possible." Deathstroke heard another voice. "Don't worry, I have it secured in the back over there." Deathstroke takes a look to see the pony gesture to one of the boxes, which was locked with a magical seal. "Special order?" Deathstroke said to himself in his head. "Princess? So this place has a monarchy, and the source must be Canterlot. And this special order sounds interesting. Maybe I should go take a looksie." Once the ponies finished talking, they opened the door and left, closing it behind them. "ALL ABOARD!!!" The train conductor yelled, Deathstroke being able to hear it from his position. Soon after, the train's whistle steamed loudly, and the train departed. He could hear some ponies talking from the train car connected to his. He waited a few moments, and when he was sure the coast was clear, he got out from the hay pile. "Special order, huh?" Deathstroke thought out loud, now that he didn't have to worry about hiding. "Well let's see what's so special, about your order, Celestia." Deathstroke saw the large box and the magical ropes that sealed it. "Magic huh? Well I have just the thing for that." He pulled out an nth metal knife and slowly cut the seals, disappearing after they were cut. Deathstroke acquired some nth metal some time ago to deal with magic users, he had an nth metal sword, knife, and even bullets. He was quite surprised with the box's contents. "Well, that's certainly special." he says slightly dumbfounded. "These colorful ponies may not be as peaceful as I thought." Inside the large box were many weapons and gear. There were spear guns, hook shots, rapid fire crossbows, and lots more. There was also a set of armor designed for ponies. He picked up the armor and analyzed it. "Hmmm, Titanium armor, rather heavy but strong. Not as strong as my prometheum armor though." He then notices some markings on the outside, as well as a circular area that extended out. From what he learned, there are pegasi, ponies capable of flight with their wings, and unicorns, ponies with horns used for magic. "There must be more to this armor than just the titanium alloy." Deathstroke predicted. "Hmmm, what if this armor uses magic to amplify its strength?" It made sense, but it was only a theory. He decided that analyzing the weapons would prove it right. He picked up what looked like a miniature cannon. "Nothing powers this, it must be controlled by magic." he said, proving his theory correct. He analyzed the other weapons, and took note of the hook shot. "This might prove useful." He attached the weapon to his hand and tested it on a nearby satchel. The spear pierced it with no trouble, and when he pulled the trigger again, it pulled back the chain, along with the satchel. Deathstroke removed the satchel and the weight of the contents ripped more of the satchel off and poured some books out. He then looked at the hook shot again. "Designed to fit the hoof of a pony." he said with a smirk under his mask. "Well now its designed to fit me." But he still wondered why Celestia would need such weapons. An idea popped onto his head. He took a tracking device from one of his compartments and placed it on one of the weapons. He then placed the cover back on top and moved the box back to its original position. He also placed the books back into the satchel, which he put back, even though the big hole was still there. "Whatever your doing Celestia, I'm gonna know about it." Whitetail Woods, 12:00 PM The royal guard had arrived at Whitetail Woods to investigate the explosion. It took them some time, they weren't Rainbow Dash fast, and they traveled by carriage. "Any luck soldiers?" A white unicorn with a blue mane and tail was determined to find out what happened. "No Shining Armor sir!" one of the other guards replied. "Other than the crater and the bare trees, nothing." Shining Armor was getting frustrated at their limited clues. "Sir! I found some tracks! They're not hoofprints, nor are they tracks left by any animal I know." Shining Armor was relieved that they finally found a trail to follow. Literally. He examined the markings for himself, and was puzzled by the complicated design of the mark. "This track matches no animal. Follow this trail men." he commanded, and at his tone, they followed. They continued down the path, seeing more tracks, until: "Sir! there are prints everywhere!" says a female guard. Shining Armor looks around and sees some broken tree bark, but that's the only clue he notices. "Sir! Over here!" Another guard shouted from a distance. Shining Armor turned and ran in the direction of the sound. When he reaches the soldier, he sees a familiar pony. "Rainbow Dash!" He notices that she's stuck to a tree with tree sap, and she's also unconscious. "Is she alive?" asks a worried Shining Armor. "Yes, but she's unconscious. There's a bruise on her face and there's some blood on her hoof." Shining Armor looked away, thinking about what to do. "I need you and Stryker to get her off the tree and bring her to the Ponyville General. When she wakes up, ask her what happened. Understood?" "Understood sir!" They approached Rainbow Dash and used their wing blades to cut off the sap. There was still a lot of sap when she was cut loose, but they needed to get her to hospitality. The two guards put Rainbow Dash over their shoulders, despite the tree sap, and headed toward Ponyville. Once they leave, one guard asks Shining Armor: "Sir, what now?" Shining Armor replies to him in a stern voice. "We continue to follow the trail. Whoever did this will be found, and they will be captured." They followed the tracks, which eventually led to the train station. Shining Armor questioned the pony who sold the train tickets. "Tell me, did you see anyone suspicious board the train?" He responded awkwardly. "Uhhh I don't recall. I jes' saw everyone mindin' their own business!" Shining Armor made a poker face at his unconvincing response. "Well where's the last train headed?" "Ponyville sir."