//------------------------------// // Tower in the Clouds // Story: The War of Champions // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// Dark clouds thundered around the pair of fliers as they hovered within the clouds above the city down below, both pairs of eyes locked onto a large tower that jutted into the sky and towered over the rest of the city. Yet, the only reason that the one clad in red and white didn't tear through the tower then and there, was that it was too close to the ponies flying around the streets. That, and the barrier. "That's just like Black Adam; erect a tower in the center of the city so that I can't tear it apart," Marvel growled as he folded his arms, barely paying mind to the lightning streaking from the dark clouds by the both of them. The black armored pony beside him, who wasn't lightning proof, jumped every time a bolt of lightning struck near her or struck Marvel, who wasn't affected in the least. "That means we'll have to get close if we want to get that orb. And if either of us are seen in that town, he'll be here in a matter of seconds. Superspeed wreck the tower maybe?" Batmare pressed a button hidden on the side of her cowl, activating its zoom feature to get a better look at the pegasi within the city. She quickly spotted which ones were armored and which seemed to be regular civilians, but their eyes told her that they were all alert and that one wrong move by them would bring down Adam. "No, they're on alert for anything out of the ordinary. Not to mention at the speed you can fly, hitting the tower might be more damaging to the city than being spotted," Batmare said with a shake of her head while she rested upon a white cloud in front of her, placing her hooves under her jaw as she tried to think out a plan that would get them close to the tower without alerting anypony. 'I might be able to sneak myself by, but with the fear of Adam out there, I can't be too far away from Marvel or else I might lose my life should he show up.' "Grr, I hate being so...restricted," Marvel growled as thunder rumbled behind him, making Batmare wonder if the storm was actually listening to him. "It might be better for me to just draw out Black Adam and defeat him here and now. Maybe if I beat him, the ponies will see that they don't need to be afraid of him." "Wait...that might be the ticket," Batmare said with a smile as she looked up at the confused face of Marvel. "Who is the only person that not only is allowed in the tower, but also wouldn't cause any concern if he did show up? Black Adam. You both share similar powers, right? So what would happen if you were to use your magic to share appearances as well?" Marvel lowered his head and thought about what she said for a few seconds. "That makes the most sense, but I've never done something like this with my magic before. I mean, I have been practicing with Twilight on how to use my magical nature more efficiently, but something like this might be beyond me." "Well, unless you'd rather fight your way through a city of ponies and possibly Black Adam, then this is our best bet." Marvel let out a sigh that told Batmare that she was right, and he closed his eyes for a moment, motioning with his hand for her to back away a bit. Upon opening his eyes, Batmare saw lightning flashing in them while he slowly spread his arms to the side, feeling her spine tingle as the Champion of Magic began to speak. "Der tone. Nok sha! Iback dos SHAZAM!" Batmare covered her eyes when a black bolt of lightning descended upon the Captain, making her glad that they were in the middle of a thunderstorm so that the lightning didn't cause suspicion in the town. When the lightning died down, she was able to see what had happened to Marvel and the image before her eyes caused a smile to cross her face. His once red suit was now a pitch black and his lightning bolt, which had lightning running through it, was now a pure gold, much like the one his evil counterpart wore. However, his face was still the same and wasn't as pointed or chiseled as Black Adam's. "This feels...wrong," Marvel muttered as he looked down at the black suit. "You look almost perfect, but your face might give us away," Batmare said as she flew up beside his head and flicked up his hood so that it covered the upper part of his face. "There we go, that should help. Alright, you may have the look, but do you know how to act the part?" Batmare felt her soul go cold as Marvel turned to look at her with both loathing and godly power showing in his face, terrifying her despite knowing he was on her side. "Trust me worm, I know Black Adam," Marvel said with such contempt that Batmare was convinced on the spot. "Now then, let us go grace the ponies with my being. But first..." Marvel muttered some more incantations and the next thing Batmare knew she was covered head to hoof in a black cloak. "In case he has told them what we look like." The two of them then descended into the streets of the city, each of them holding their breath as they waited to see if their plan would work. All eyes turned to them while the cloaked figure and the god descended upon the city, and for a moment silence was all that greeted the pair as they floated just above the clouds. Then the smiles came. "Oh my gosh, it's actually Black Adam!" one of the colts yelled as he rushed forward to greet the man, but his mother pulled him back with a smile on her face. "Hold on, Stormdrain, he's probably here on business. Don't get in his way," she said while she and other ponies gave very friendly waves to the man in black. "But Mom, I want his autograph!" Batmare sneaked a look at Marvel underneath of his hood to find utter bafflement upon the human's face, watching as his eyes quickly took in all of the pegasi in the streets that were starting to gather around the both of them without fear or hate in their eyes. A crowd had began to form, and most of them were looking at Adam with admiration in their eyes, waiting for him to speak. 'Say something,' Batmare whispered to Marvel, who shook his head slightly before speaking. "I am here because I have business that I must attend to at the Spire. She is with me," he declared in a very dark tone, his voice getting some of the ponies to nervously look at one another. But the hesitation only lasted a second, and they moved out of his way with smiles on their faces. Marvel did his best to hide the confusion on his face while he and Batmare floated past them, the path to the tower far clearer than they thought it would have been. "I don't know what bothers me more. That I'm wearing the guise of my mortal foe or that the ponies here actually seem to...respect him," Marvel muttered with a shudder in his voice, shaking his head slightly once the two of them were out of earshot of the ponies. "The mare was right. This world definitely needs saving." "And we will. But for now, let's focus on the tower," Batmare muttered under her cloak. "Um...so what was your world like? According to Banner, we all come from different versions of Equestria and I was wondering..." "You're making small talk after telling me to focus? Come on Scoots, you can't flip-flop like that," Marvel said with a wide smile, not needing to look down to tell what expression Batmare was wearing. "In my world, AB is my fillifriend and I'm best friends with the other members of the CMC. Of course I know it's you underneath that cowl." "And you...haven't told the others?" Batmare asked with hesitation. "Hey, if you don't want them to know, that's your business. I still remember when I accidentally told a new recruit Batman's identity. If he could hurt me, I'm certain he would have broken me in half," Marvel reminisced with a chuckle, before catching the confused looks of some of the ponies and resumed his dark expression. "He had me on latrine duty for months after that." "Jeez, you got a far nicer Batman than I did," Batmare said with a smirk as she shook her head. "I remember when he was training me to fight, he would occasionally throw out a move that I didn't know how to counter. After five or six times, I asked him why he kept doing it since I didn't know how to block it, and he told me to block it. He's a Spartan." "You think he's bad, you should meet the Martian Manhunter. Not only is he as strict and demanding as Bats, but he's also a brilliant speaker, so he can essentially talk you into doing whatever he wants," Marvel groaned, remembering what the first few weeks of being under J'onn's training had been like. "It's nice talking to you again, even though you're not really the Scoot's I know. I feel like we're friends already." "Heh, Banner did say that making friends amongst the team would help in the long run," Batmare said as she remembered Banner's words. "And I have to admit that you are the only other teammate that I really wanted to at least try to know. Banner seems way too wise for his age, since he's been in these situations before. Trixie and I are already close, and Bubbles is, well...and then we have Ryan--and Faust help me I do not want to even try with him." "Yep, it sure is easier to get along with somepony like you than it is the other members on our team. I mean, how the heck am I supposed to start a conversation with Bubbles? Oh, hi there, that's some nice scuba gear you got. I love snorkeling," Marvel said with a shake of his head and a look of confusion. "We sure got some weirdoes on this team, myself included. Luckily, you've already got a friend to back you up." "Yes...but I no longer know if she should be here," Batmare whispered. "Hold on, we're there. Time to look arrogant." His face narrowed as the two of them approached the base of the tower, where a large number of armored pegasi stood waiting near the entrance to the Spire. They all turned at the approach of the two, but their guns lowered to their sides as they spotted the black clad man floating towards them. "Oh, hello there Black Adam. We weren't expecting you," one of the guards said as he and the others saluted at the god's arrival. "I am here to inspect the Spire to make sure that the defenses are suitable," Marvel said in a dark voice, getting some of the guards to flinch. "With the risk of the false champions attacking at any time, I must make sure that you are all up to the task of defending the Spire. My assistant here will be applying counter spells." "Of course, Sir. Do you wish for an escort or..." Marvel and Batmare hid their concern when the guard stopped talking, but when they saw that he was no longer looking at them, they both turned their gazes to follow his. Flying towards the tower was a massive dragon, a dragon that Marvel felt housed within it a small portion of his magic. But that revelation meant nothing to the Captain when he saw the coloring of the dragon, realizing with hidden fear that his own brother had entered the battlefield. "Spike?" Marvel whispered under his breath as the giant dragon landed in front of them. "You really...are...on their side." "Black Adam. I am surprised to see that you are here. While I appreciate the help guarding this tower, I can assure you that the others will need it more than me," Spike said with a good natured smirk as he crossed his arms and folded his wings, the smirk remaining on his face for a moment before it turned to confusion. "Okay, I admit that it wasn't a good joke, but at least give me the scowl like you usually do." "I am here to help reinforce the strengths of this tower. My assistant here will be applying counter spells for the false champions," Marvel said in a dangerous tone, filled with a power that convinced those around him to believe his words.--all except for Spike, who Batmare noticed narrowed his eyes just a bit. "Now stand aside so that I can proceed." "I thought when you constructed these towers you said that you didn't want spell-made counter measures?" Spike asked with slight confusion. Batmare wondered for a brief moment if they had been found out, but Billy's eyes never betrayed him. "Something about them making it too hard for you to sense the orbs within?" "With the false champions here, I am taking no more chances," Marvel growled while lightning crackling along his body, getting the guards around him to back away nervously. "Now then, stand aside and let us in." Spike narrowed his eyes once again. Batmare looked into those same eyes to see that Spike was making a very difficult decision. Then, with full conviction in his eyes, he sat down in front of Marvel and Batmare, refusing to move. "Spike. Move now or so help me Ra, I will not hesitate to place you into a grave!" The guards fearfully looked up at the dragon, wondering what foolishness had possessed him to make him disobey Adam like he was. Yet upon hearing Marvel's words, his eyes took on a far angrier look and with a roar he opened his maw, spewing a torrent of multicolored fire upon the two of them. With the speed of Mercury fueling him, Marvel threw himself over Batmare and took the full front of the fire, which barely even singed him. When the torrents of flames ended, Marvel spun around to face Spike with a snarl, but this time over a dozen blue lines were lined up on his chest...a chest that was now a crimson red. "Just like I thought. You're not Adam," Spike said with a snarl as he rose up to his full height, towering over both guards and champions alike as he glared down at the pair. "It wasn't that bad a trick, and if you had acted a little better I might have fallen for it. But where you made your fatal mistake is that you acted like the Adam of your world. Our Adam doesn't kill, not anymore. So come then, false champions...FACE ME!" Marvel slammed his hands together as Spike roared, creating a thunderclap that knocked all of the ponies aside from Batmare off of their hooves. With all of them down, Batmare was able to race by them and slip into the tower. Spike roared as he turned to unleash his fire upon her, but he took a god to the throat and both of them rocketed into the air. "Don't make me do this Spike, I don't want to fight you," Marvel said as he tossed Spike even higher into the clouds, doing his best to restrain himself. Spike's response was to swing his tail into the champion and whip Marvel to the side, sending him skipping across the clouds. "But I want to fight you," Spike snarled as nearly two tons of dragon slammed into Marvel and drove the both of them even further into the sky, where Spike tried to crush the Captain with his jaws. But the might of Hercules allowed Marvel to hold the jaws of whom he considered his best friend open, although the demi-god's might did not stop the fire that erupted from the dragon's throat. "The silver mare is responsible for the death of the only pony who truly cared about me! The only one I could call a friend!" Spike roared as he drove his massive fist into Marvel's chest and sent him hurtling across the sky, the magic of Adam giving Spike the power he needed to contest Marvel. "The silver mare cost me Radiance, cost me my best friend," Spike snarled as Marvel caught himself and vanished within a thunder cloud, leaving the dragon to look around for the thunderer. "And now she has brought six others to take even more from the Queen. No, I may have been powerless to help last time, but this time I will fight! You will not win!" Marvel responded by shooting out of one of the clouds from behind Spike and slamming into one of his wings, sending the dragon into a death spin as the wing crumpled from the force of the blow. "I'm sorry that I have to do this to you, Spike. I really am," Marvel said with a shake of his head as he watched his best friend plummet down into the clouds below before he turned and shot to the tower, his eyes registering the gun fire at superspeed. Captain Marvel burst through the wall where the fighting was happening and placed himself between the gun fire and Batmare. The rounds bounced off of his godly form with ease, and Marvel quickly took out the guards before they could use the stasis on either of them. "Thanks for the save, but where's Spike?" Batmare asked as she emerged from behind a table that she had been using as cover. Her answer came in the form of a roar as the tower shook from something landing upon it. "Let's just destroy the sphere and get out of here," Marvel muttered as he picked up Batmare and zipped to the top of the tower, where the orb awaited the both of them in a chamber that looked similar to the one that Batmare and Ryan had destroyed. With speeds that the Bat couldn't comprehend, Marvel appeared in front of the orb and smashed it with a flick. "There, now we just need to contact Trixie and get out of here." Batmare nodded while she looked out the window down at all of the guards, thankful that Trixie's magic was able to teleport them so far. But then her eyes narrowed as she spotted something...or somepony that didn't belong. She zoomed in with her cowl to spot a pony in a dark cloak hidden behind a building. A pony with a horn but no wings. The pony was gone the moment Batmare saw it, making her wonder if it had been a trick or not. But as the azure light of Trixie's teleportation spell began to wrap around them, Batmare teased an idea. 'What if Ryan was right? What if Adam and his forces aren't the only foe that we must face?' S=H=A=Z=A=M As the last shipment of parts was teleported out of the warehouse, a group of the remaining black-cloaked unicorns all gathered around one another to discuss what was going on or how their own missions were going. Some of them had the easier tasks of simply spreading hatred amongst the ponies, sometimes with the aid of magic, while others spoke of how they had to work under the gaze of Black Adam, a task envied by no pony. "At the very least everything is going according to plan," an older unicorn said as he joined the youngsters, looking around at the now empty warehouse. "Building the machine might take a couple of weeks, but with it we can now begin the end game." "I actually never thought that we'd make it before this. I believe as much as the rest of you in unicorn superiority, but I thought for sure Black Adam or Celestia would have found out by now," another one of the cloaked unicorns said with a chuckle. "But when I saw Star-Swirl standing before us with his new power, I knew that we were going to win. Now nopony, be it Adam or those new champions, will be able to--" As if on cue to top of the warehouse was torn off and a figure slammed into the ground in front of the unicorns, who were all struck dead by who stood before them. He was massive, built like a god, and he radiated a power that none of them could match. Yet what terrified the unicorns the most was what was in the center of his chest. A single, golden lightning bolt. "Care to finish that sentence before I finish you?" The moment these words were spoken, the unicorns each prepared a teleportation spell while they all tried to flee for their lives, but the closest to Adam was the first to receive his wrath in the form of a fist to the face that sent the unicorn sprawling. Adam then turned his attention back to the other unicorns, but with a snarl he found that they had all fled. All except for the one who lay broken on the ground. "It seems that your allies have abandoned you," Adam said coldly as he marched over to the broken unicorn, who struggled to get back up to his hooves. Adam reached down and lifted the pony by the back of his leg, dangling upside down but still allowing him to gaze into the eyes of a being far more powerful than he. "Now then, I will ask you once to repeat what you have said. How Star- Swirl, who is supposed to be dead, is alive and has a new power." Adam thought that his reputation alone would drive the answers from the pony, but to his surprise the unicorn began to laugh, his body shaking so hard from the laughter that his hood fell from his face and allowed Adam to see that he was no more than a teen. "Do you believe that I am afraid of you?" he spat with a chuckle as tears fell from his eyes, eyes that were a hundred yards away. "No, I have seen the face of the being that shall destroy this land and everything in it, everything that isn't chosen. And compared to its power, compared to what it will do to us all, you are nothing more than a fool. You shall get nothing out of me Adam, for now I follow in his hoofsteps. I take the path of destruction." As he said this the unicorn erupted in a blaze of fire, causing him to scream as the unholy fire consumed his body. Adam had just begun to speak a counterspell when the flames finished, leaving only ash within Adam's grasp. 'It seems that Banner was correct,' Adam thought as he looked down at the ash, allowing the breeze to take it before turning his gaze to the empty warehouse. There was no longer anything within it, but Adam could still sense the magic of somepony powerful, somepony whose magic felt like a sphere he believed he had destroyed years ago. 'There is another force at work here. And if their goal is the destruction of everything...but I cannot trace them and I have exhausted all of my leads just getting this far.' Adam launched himself into the sky again, his mind trying to decide what to do. 'If Banner is correct and they are truly here to stop the destruction, then perhaps we should not be fighting. Perhaps we should be working together.' 'But if they are not here to fight you, then why destroy the towers? Why weaken the defenses that keep Canterlot safe?' the voice of Isis whispered in the back of his mind. 'They would only do such a thing if the Queen was their goal.' 'Perhaps you are right,' Adam considered as he came to a stop above the clouds, where he could see all of Equestria under his gaze. 'But I must know more. After the announcement tomorrow, I will find Doctor Banner and we shall have another...chat.'