• Published 18th Sep 2013
  • 2,894 Views, 169 Comments

Among Gods - Grave_Mind



A DC Universe crossover featuring humanized ponies and OC's. When Sunset Shimmer steals the Element of Magic, Twilight and her friends must stop her from bringing one of the DCU's greatest evils to Equestria.

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Issue 1, Chapter 4

Issue 1: Tower of Babel

Chapter 4


Earlier…

John Stewart couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he watched a trainwreck in the making. Well, maybe trainwreck was the wrong way to describe it. There was never a dull moment in the Watchtower. Watching a fellow Green Lantern utterly fail at some last-minute flirting with Fire before he left for reassignment was way worse than any intergalactic disaster John had seen, figuratively speaking. Who else but Guy Gardner would attempt such a feat?

“Never did like the guy,” he muttered to himself as he continued to watch the spectacle from the deck above. John’s fellow Lantern had now resorted to flexing his arms in front of the poor woman. Ironically, she seemed to be enjoying the muscle-bound red-head’s macho and showy attempts to display his affection, what with her hearty giggling and wry grins. John just chuckled softly and shook his head. “Still… can’t say I won’t miss him, though.”

“Indeed,” J’onn J'onzz said as he floated down beside him. “Guy Gardner is a valuable ally… but only to such an extent. Even I have to admit, your patience for the man is admirable. How can you tolerate a man with such… chivalrous arrogance?”

John merely chuckled at the martian’s observation. “You should ask Hal that very same question, J’onn,” he told him. “He’s had to put up with him longer than me or Kyle.”

J’onn nodded and proceeded to watch the events unravel with him. John had a point. When Hal Jordan became a member of the Green Lantern Honor Guard, the Guardians chose Guy Gardner as the new Green Lantern of Sector-2814. While this did free Hal of his JLA duties, it certainly complicated things. However, the two quickly came to a mutual agreement and on the Guardians’ behalf, Hal and Guy both became reserve members for the Green Lantern Corps. With Kyle Rayner taking Hal’s place as a fully-fledged Honor Guard, this left John Stewart as the currently active Green Lantern of his Sector as well as a member of the JLA. Today, Guy would be leaving to join the Justice League’s International division back on Earth. Guy’s JLA duties would naturally be handed back to Hal, much to the relief of the League. Hal was one of the original founding members of the League, so it would be great to have him back on the team.

John’s train of thought, which was on a similar track to J’onn’s, was interrupted when he heard the martian’s communicator beep. He remained silent as J’onn took the call. “Yes? Martian Manhunter speaking,” J’onn spoke into his earpiece. A gentle smile crossed the alien’s lips as a voice could be heard muffling into the alien’s ear. “Ah, Nightwing! It is good to hear from you again. I trust all is well with the Titans?”

John smirked and shook his head as J’onn took the call. The Lantern did not need telepathy to know what this was about. Cyborg had been tasked with giving the Watchtower some much-needed upgrades, including with the Power Core and defense systems. Like Guy, this was Victor Stone’s last day before he would go off and rejoin the Titans. Vic was a good kid, John admitted. A smart cookie with a good head on his shoulders. The Titans were a good fit for him. John would have to make sure he put in a good word for Vic. The JLA could certainly use a man of his talents in the field.

John zoned out briefly as J’onn continued to chat with Nightwing on the other end. He watched Guy and Fire on the deck below. At this point, Guy had poured it on a bit too much and earned a much-needed slap from the Brazilian heroine. John shook his head again. “Shouldn’t have said that, Guy…” he muttered.

“Excellent,” J’onn said into his earpiece. “I shall inform Victor that you are waiting for him in the hangar bay. I am sure he will be glad see you all again. Martian Manhunter, out.”

John took a moment to give the Martian a wry smirk and chuckle. “Sounds like you’ve been busy around here,” he observed. “Want me to go tell Cyborg for you?”

The Martian looked to his Lantern compatriot and returned a relieved smile. “That would be most appreciated,” he said. “Thank you.”

A calming green aura began to glow around John as his ring charged to life. He shifted his body weight off the railing as he started to levitate off the ground. “I’ll be back,” he told him. “I think he should be finishing up over at the Power Core--”

His words were cut short when a bright flash of pink appeared in his peripheral vision, down on the deck below where Guy and the rest were. An explosion came with the burst of light, which could only mean trouble. John quickly spun around to get a better look at the cause. Seven costumed figures just appeared out of nowhere and had piled up on top of Guy. John’s ring began to glow in intensity as his look of shock turned to a serious glare.

J’onn saw the whole thing as well and remained silent. Both of them did as they watched, ready to strike should the need arise…

John raised his eyebrows and the two immediately shielded their eyes. A massive pillar of green light shot into the air, freeing Guy from the bottom of the pile. The hot-headed Lantern as well as these potential intruders scurried to their feet. Guy himself looked particularly upset and appeared he was ready to strike. John grit his teeth when he saw Guy’s ring glow in a bright, emerald intensity. Don’t be stupid Guy. We don’t know what we’re dealing with… Stewart thought to himself.

It was too late.

It all happened so quickly. The immediate second Guy charged at one of the frightened girls, John dove down to the deck below while J’onn prepared to call in an intruder alert. Before John could restrain Guy from doing any more damage, however, a winged warrior garbed in cyan with a helmet lined in streaks of rainbow, met Guy’s charge head on… and delivered a mighty cross to his face. The blow sent Guy careening into a wall that dented upon impact.

Guy went down in one punch. What followed was all hell breaking loose.

“All hands be advised,” J’onn’s voice boomed over the sound of klaxons and alarms. “There has been a security breach in the Central Hub! Be on the lookout for seven unidentified costumed intruders! First response teams are ordered to bring the targets in for further questioning! I repeat! All hands be advised! There has been a security breach in the Central Hub!”


Twilight opened her eyes slowly, resting atop the pile with Spike on her back. “Ugh… what happened?” She heard Spike groan, rubbing his forehead slowly with a gloved hand as he came to. He turned silent, eyes wide in shock at the faces he saw. One looked female and coated in a brilliant, emerald fire and was looking directly at them in surprise. Two more stood on the deck above, looking equally alien in nature and just as surprised. One had dark skin and bore an outfit of green and black with a matching emerald aura coating his body. The other seemed to be the most alien of all, with his green skin and blue cape. Spike was instantly reminded of his Power Ponies comics. Only this time, this was real. One wrong move and who knew what would happen to them!

Twilight heard Spike start to stammer as he poked her shoulder to get her attention. “Uh… Twilight?” He called meekly, staring down the faces that seemed poised to strike at any time.

Twilight stirred herself into consciousness and winced, her head throbbing in pain. “Ugh… what is it, Spike?” She asked tiredly as she rubbed her forehead with her hand.

Wait… hand?

She screamed upon the discovery and tumbled off the pile, rolling into a sitting position. A deep purple cloak adorned to her back flipped over her head in the process. Slowly coming back to her senses, Twilight flipped the cape back behind her to get a better look at this new form.

Her whole body had changed. Her lavender coat was replaced with a soft gray skin. She no longer had hooves, but were replaced by two, five-digited appendages. Two small pixie shoes hid her feet while a set of single-rivet gloves covered her hands. Beneath her purple cloak, she wore a matching garment that clung to her skin snugly. It was lined in soft pinks and blues and blacks in a decorative, almost majestic pattern. The whole outfit made her look like some kind of mage or empath. It reminded her of how magi dressed in the times of Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever.

The rest of her friends looked equally as absurd. Spike still looked like his young self, but his clothing made him resemble an archer. With his purple outfit lined in green, his matching hood that covered his head, and his trusty bow and quiver of arrows across his back, Spike looked like a modern-day Robin Hood.

Rarity’s look was far from elegant, especially by the fashion mare’s standards. White thigh-high boots lined in purple concealed her stocking-covered legs. Her matching white top was covered by a black leather coat. Twilight would hesitate to call the look “trashy” or “revealing,” however. Her outfit made it seem like it was made more for function and not form.

Applejack rested below Rarity, sandwiched against Pinkie. A tight tan suit clung to her form, red running down her sides. Her arms remained bare save for a pair of silver bracelets on her wrists. A golden lasso also rested at her side, hanging from her hip.

Pinkie was dressed in some kind of skintight running suit. A set of elaborate pink lines traced along her white ensemble, dividing her costume vertically at her chest. The thick, arrow lines that went along her body seemed to point to the mask covering her face. The pink mask went over her poofy hair, covering her eyes while keeping her lower face revealed.

Rainbow Dash looked like some kind of winged warrior from the ages of Equestrian myth. A pair of large, hawk-like wings were tucked in on her back. Her skin was bronze tan and she wore an elaborate combat suit, split down the middle in a winged lightning pattern of black and cyan. Enveloping her head was a majestic blue helmet, shaped to resemble the head of an eagle. Streaks of lightning dotted the top of this feathered helm, colored in a rainbow pattern resembling her cutie mark. A rather menacing-looking mace rested on her hip, the weapon weapon sparking an electric blue as she awoke.

Lastly, poor Fluttershy rested at the bottom of the pile, squirming and wriggling to try and get free. Out of all of them, her look was the most bizarre. Her wings were now gone, replaced by a long, cat-like tail just above her backside. Her skin was now a bright and vibrant green while her hair remained that soft and gentle pink. A cream-colored spandex suit clung tightly to her frame, lined in purple and filled in black like an athletic tracksuit.

Fluttershy groaned tiredly as she came to, like all the others. “Ugh… what… happened?” She asked groggily. She felt something squirm underneath her and she blinked. She also swore she could hear muffled shouting under her as well. The shy one raised a suspicious eyebrow and looked down, wondering what could possibly be making such noise.

“Mfff! Mfffff!” The muffled voice yelled angrily.

Fluttershy immediately blushed a red crimson and stammered, worried that he might have crushed the poor soul that rested under her and her friends. “O-oh, I’m so, so, so sorry! I hope we didn’t hurt--”

“I said… GET OFF!

Fluttershy and her friends were then immediately blasted by a massive pillar of green light. The energy burst sent them all flying up into the air. Twilight braced herself and shielded her eyes from the immense brightness of the emerald energy. When the light finally dissipated, Twilight was relieved to see her friends all scurry to their feet. Thank Celestia, they weren’t hurt.

However, Fluttershy struggled to get up. She managed to roll onto her back and sit up, but she was wheezing and gasping for air. She appeared to be having a panic attack. Rainbow saw this and was immediately at her side. “Fluttershy!” She called out, landing beside her. She turned her head and glared menacingly at the man who blasted all of them. “What did you do to her?” She hissed through grit teeth.

The man simply scoffed and smirked at her. He crossed his arms and cocked a sly eyebrow. “Oh, I just used my ring to push you guys off’a me,” he responded smugly. “She’ll be fine! Don’t worry!”

Dash stood up slowly, keeping her eyes trained on the man. She clenched her fists in anger, ready to wipe that smug grin off his face. “Don’t worry? You could’ve seriously hurt somepony!”

Guy merely glared back at her. “Then it serves her right to mess with a Green Lantern,” he scoffed. “Now, why don’t the rest of you surrender now before this gets more messy?”

That was all Dash needed to hear to set her off. No way was she going to give herself up to this… arrogant jackass! "You think we’re just gonna back down after what you just did?” She challenged. “I’ll shove that ring so far down your--”

Guy smirked at her again. His ring began to glow as a green aura enveloped around him. “Yeah, I’d like to see you try, sister! Gimme your best-- OOMF!

Guy never saw the punch coming. As soon as the blow connected to his smug face, the Green Lantern careened off to the far wall, slamming against it in a hard, metal THUD! One punch from Dash was all it took to shut him up.

It was also all it took to send the entire Watchtower on Intruder Alert.

Twilight had little time to react. As soon as the alarms started blaring and klaxons going off, she saw her friends scatter and retreat. Realizing how hopelessly outnumbered she was, she scrambled to run off as well. She spun and started to run when a green bubble enveloped her. She turned her head to see another man, dressed in a similar fashion to the one Dash had knocked out, aiming his ring hand to hold the construct in place.

“Not so fast, kid,” John Stewart said as he descended from the deck above. “You and your friends aren’t going anywhere!”

Twilight’s eyes darted everywhere inside her green prison. There was no way out! She needed to find her friends! But the flashing lights, the blaring sounds! It was all too much! She shut her eyes to try and block out the noise, but it wouldn’t go away! She fell to her knees and covered her ears, screaming in agony as a large silhouette of a four-eyed alicorn enveloped her, shrouding her in its deep purple wings. The silhouette swallowed Twilight whole and she vanished without a trace!

John jumped back a bit, losing control of the construct in the process. He turned in the air and looked up at J’onn, who was already making the call for a medical team for Guy. He flew over to his fellow Lantern, who was already being consoled over by Fire. “That escalated quickly,” John muttered as he began looking Guy over for serious injuries.

“Indeed,” Fire said. “We need to stop them before someone else gets seriously hurt!”

John nodded at that while he used his ring to scan for wounds on his fallen comrade. Fortunately, Guy wasn’t beat up too bad. He was just knocked out. John shook his head disappointingly. Guy can certainly talk the talk, but he definitely couldn't walk the walk. The man had a serious glass jaw. He couldn’t take a punch to save his life. “He’ll be fine,” John finally said. “But we should still take him to the Medical Wing just in case. J’onn, any word on the response teams?”

“Nightwing just offered support to bring the intruders in,” J’onn said as he phased from the upper deck down to join them. “He and the rest of the Titans will search the Watchtower. In the meantime, you and I should head back up to the Security Deck. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman will be there shortly. We’ll fill them in when we meet them.”

“Got it,” John acknowledged and his ring coated him in an emerald aura. He levitated off the ground and spun to Fire. “Stay with Guy until the medical team arrives. Knowing him, he’ll probably have a few bones to pick with the Thangarian that knocked him out when he comes to. Last thing we need is Guy wanting another round.”

Fire nodded and flashed a smile to the Green Lantern. “Will do.” She acknowledged.

John turned back to the Martian. “Let’s go.” He told him and they both flew up several decks upward and out of sight.

As the two made their ascent, J’onn could sense that his friend and teammate was feeling troubled. He looked at John and immediately, he knew why. “Relax, Stewart,” he told the Green Lantern. “Guy isn’t exactly the type for negotiation. You know this better than anyone.”

He heard John sigh mentally as he admitted to the Martian’s impromptu psyche reading. “I know, J’onn,” he said as the two landed on the Security Deck of the Watchtower. “Sometimes, I think that damn mouth of his is gonna get him in serious trouble. It could even get him killed.”

The Martian empath nodded solemnly at that. “I understand,” he agreed. “Though I will say, you have come farther in your anger management than he has.” He added with a slight smirk.

John looked at his Martian friend with a raised eyebrow and mirrored smirk. “Smartass,” he thought to himself as the door slid open, allowing them to enter.

“I heard that,” a familiar voice echoed in the Lantern’s mind.

John winced from the sudden mind probe and shook his head, smiling a bit as the two entered. There was never a dull moment around here in the Watchtower, even when the whole space station wasn’t on high alert.

Author's Note:

Howdy folks! As promised yesterday on my blog, here's the next chapter of Among Gods! Long time no see, eh? Well, I'm sorry to keep you folks waiting. I've been busy with college work, so I haven't had much time to work on this. Hopefully, by the end of this semester in May, things will get back into full swing. I know you guys are loving this as much as I am. I wanna see this to the end as much as you do, trust me. But sometimes, these things happen.

In any case, feel free to leave a comment with your feedback! I love talking to you all about this. Next time, when there's trouble, you know who to call! "Titans! Go!"

- Grave