Secret Origins Part 1: An Echo of Thunder

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Echo was a sweet girl, kind and caring, and very quiet. She had always been that way, but as quiet as she was, the young girl was also very intuitive, studying those around her. Currently, young Echo was visiting her cousin, Whirlwind. The young girl watched as her older cousin demonstrated some of her skater moves on her personal half-pipe. Echo watched wide eyed as Whirlwind soared into the sky flipping and landing fluidly without missing a beat. She was wearing a purple sports bra and black spandex shorts, she didn’t want to be hindered in her movements. And, as Whirlwind had explained to Echo once, skating like that gave the older girl a sense of being able to fly.

Whirlwind finished one of her tricks and landed with little to no effort on the platform, albeit with a showoff-y flare for her little cousin. The olive skinned girl wiped her brow free of sweat as the bangs of her frosty-blue hair were pushed away.

“That’s was cool Whirlwind,” exclaimed Echo.

Whirlwind looked down at Echo with her intense blue eyes, smiling at her from the platform.

“Thanks Echo, you know I could teach you how if you want?” Whirlwind offered.

“Eh…I’d like that, but I don’t want Daddy worrying about me, y’know?”

“Heh, I do, my Dad almost had a cow when I beefed it on this one trick.”

“I remember that, you broke your leg.” Echo shuddered at the memory of seeing her cousin in a hospital.

“It was only a hairline fracture, nothing major. I got better and was back on the board no in time.”

Whirlwind jumped off the platform and landed with the skill and grace of a cat, as if demonstrating her point to Echo. She then walked over to the younger girl and ruffled her hair playfully, earning her a giggle from Echo.

“Yeah, I also remember how much Hot Head was worried about you after that happened.”

Whirlwind sat on the grass next to Echo, sighing at the memory. “Yeah, he was wasn’t he?”

Echo hugged her legs as she glanced over to Whirlwind. “Do you think you’ll ever…you know…”

“Honestly, Echo, I don’t know, but you really shouldn’t be worrying about stuff like that. Besides, why don’t you tell me about how your martial arts tournament went? Sorry I couldn’t be there to cheer for you…”

Echo shook her head. “It’s alright, Api and Pixel were there to cheer for me, so was Daddy.” A forlorn look suddenly fell over the purple and pink haired girl.

“Hey what’s the matter?” Whirlwind asked in concern.

“Do you think…my Mommy would’ve been proud of me?”

Whirlwind knew what she meant. Echo’s mother hadn’t been around for a long time. She vaguely remembered Echo’s mother, and surprisingly so too did her mother, Whirlwind, and father, Thunderlane, but for some reason her Uncle Rumble seemed to remember her. But after Echo was born, she vanished without a trace, it was almost like she never existed, but that was absurd. No one just up and vanishes like that. Echo didn’t seem to hate her mother for not staying, and the same went for her father. But Whirlwind couldn’t help feel some resentment for the woman whenever she saw the look Echo was giving her. Echo loved her father dearly, but still, she had no memories of her, not even a photo.

How could she just up and leave them like that, and right after she was born?! What kind of mother does that?! Echo’s a freakin’ saint, if that mother of hers ever shows up she better hope I’m not there, or else I’d deck her!

“I think your mother would be very proud of you Echo. I mean, it takes a lot of skill and discipline to be a two time champion.”

Echo blushed at the reminder of her wins. The young girl loved sports, thanks to her cousin, and found her knack in martial arts, mixed and traditional like karate and tae kwon do. She had entered her first tournament at seven years old, and now again at ten. It was still hard to believe that underneath this quiet and shy girl, was a fighter, and a tomboy, although one could argue that Whirlwind was the one responsible for that.

“Thanks Whirlwind.”

“Anytime Cuz.”

“Echo!”

Both girls turned and saw Echo’s father. Rumble was standing at the sliding door, he smiled at the two girls, happy to see his daughter and his niece getting along with each other. That’s not to say they didn’t, Rumble just wasn’t sure that Echo would hit it off with Whirlwind when they first met a long time ago. Thankfully his fears were for naught, as both Echo and Whirlwind were the best of friends, as close as two cousins could be.

“Yeah Daddy?”

“Sorry, pumpkin, but we need to head home now,” said Rumble.

“Awwww, can’t I stay with Whirlwind tonight? Please Daddy?” Echo pleaded.

“No Echo, school starts tomorrow and we need to get your stuff ready. That and it looks like it’s going to storm soon, and the news says it might get bad and I don’t’ want to get caught in it on the drive back if we can avoid it.”

Echo sighed reluctantly and nodded a “yes” to her father. With an apologetic smile, Rumble went back inside to wait for Echo while she said goodbye.

“Guess I gotta go, Whirlwind.”

“Hey don’t sweat it; I’ll see you around, okay?”

Whirlwind held out her fist, Echo smiled and brought up her fist, bumping them together.

“‘Kay.”

LATER THAT NIGHT…

Just as Echo’s father said, a storm did break out. The sky darkened quickly and unleashed a deluge of rain. Lightning flashed in the sky and thunder roared, the winds howled and threatened to blow away whatever was fool enough to be outside. Unfortunately it made for slow progress on their way home. The rain was coming down so fast that it was becoming hard to see the road. Rumble had to drive slowly and surely, not wanting to risk his life or his daughter’s.

Echo watched the storm rage on outside from the backseat of the car, she felt a little scared, but seeing her father act so calmly alleviated some of her fears.

“Hey Daddy?”

“Yes Echo?”

“How come whenever it storms like this, you don’t look afraid?”

Rumble chuckled. “Well, I guess it sorta reminds of your mother.”

“It reminds you of her, how?” Echo asked in confusion.

“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me honey. But let’s just say that your Mommy…She did a lot of good things, she was strong and beautiful, and a bit of a daredevil.”

Thunder crashed loudly outside, rattling the car a little. When the lightning flashed Echo snapped to attention, spotting something in the darkness for a brief moment.

“Daddy, I saw something!”

“What was it?” Rumble asked.

“I…I don’t know…”

Echo waited for another flash of lightning to light the darkness. Rumble knew that Echo wasn’t one for making things up; if she saw something then she did indeed saw something. Rumble kept his eyes peeled for whatever it was Echo saw. The young girl continued to scan the outside, but the heavy rain and darkness of night was making it hard to see anything.

Suddenly another flash of lightning lit up the sky and illuminated the night. Echo’s eyes widened as she spotted a figure in the distance, with glowing yellow eyes that seemed to stare into Echo’s very soul. When the light faded, all Echo could see was the two orbs of yellow getting closer and closer. Echo looked to her father, seeing that he too had the same shocked expression.

Everything happened fast, and at the same time, oh so slow. Echo heard a roar; she didn’t think it was from the thunder, it sounded too unnatural, too demonic. The sound of crunching metal and shattering glass followed and soon came a feeling of weightlessness. Echo screamed loudly at the same time as her father, her entire world literally being turned upside down at that moment. She quickly shut her eyes and mouth for fear of getting broken glass in both. Echo was also aware of a tight tugging sensation around her waist, the seat digging into her abdomen as it struggled to keep her secured in the seat.

The next thing Echo felt was a hard landing and the darkness creeping around her as her vision blurred and she blacked out…From then on Echo could only hear vague sounds and voices, one was her father’s, and the other was someone she didn’t know.

“Where…I grow tired…Shazam?!”

“I don’t…She’s…You’ll never find her!”

“…sense magic…the offspring…Maybe she’ll come when I –”

“DON’T YOU TOUCH HER!”

Echo finally woke up, her arms dangling downwards as everything looked upside down. Her eyes darted from side to side, searching for her father. The driver’s side had a big hole, as if something ripped it off. Echo carefully reached for the seatbelt buckle, she looked from it to the ceiling of the car and winced.

This is going to hurt.

Echo pressed the button and let herself fall to the ceiling of the car with a “thump!” She swore under her breath, hitting her head as she slumped to her back. Echo was sore all over, her legs cut up from the glass, and a small trickle of blood coming out of the corner of her mouth. It was hot for some reason, despite hearing the continuous patter of the rain outside. There was also a sizzling noise of some kind, Echo thought that the car may’ve caught on fire somewhere and was going to blow, she quickly, yet painfully made her way to the door, opening it and with great care limped out of the car. The rain drenched her young body, making the gray hoody she wore weigh her down; her black shorts were ripped in a few places, but not too badly. Immediately the young girl scanned the area for her father, looking to and fro for his whereabouts.

“DADDY?!” Echo cried out. “DADDY?!”

“RAARRRARRRGH!!!!”

Echo went still, for some reason all was quiet, not even the roar of thunder or the splashing of rain was heard. Echo gazed into the distance, a few feet away from the front of the car. There stood her father, holding a crowbar that he kept handy from his auto-repair shop. Before him stood some kind of giant, eyes glowing yellow, with an upside down pentagram burning on, what Echo assumed was, his chest. There was fire lapping off his body, and in the silhouette she could make out curved horns. Her eyes went wide with horror; it was some kind of demon.

Rumble turned his head, glancing at his daughter with fear, paternal instinct at its high. He wasn’t going to let his monster have his daughter, even if it cost him his life.

“ECHO RUN, GET OUT OF HERE!!!” Rumble ordered.

“Daddy…I…!”

“NOW!!!” Rumble turned to the demon and brandished his crowbar. “I won’t let you get her, you won’t have her!”

“You have no power, human. The Champion is my enemy, and I will have her blood! If I must settle for her whelp, then so be it.”

Rumble roared out as he swung his crowbar, striking the demon in the head. But the demon didn’t flinch, showing no signs that the blow even hurt him at all. The demon grabbed the crowbar with his left hand, heating the metal to unbearable levels and making Rumble release it as he cried out in pain. Before he had time to react, the demon grabbed hold of Rumble’s throat, hoisting him into the air and bringing him to eye level. The demonic monster then looked towards the sky as if staring at something or someone.

“Champion, show yourself or your mate shall die!” The demon waited a moment, but nothing seemed to happen. With an irritated growl he looked Rumble in the eye.

“Guess she doesn’t care for you.”

“GO TO HELL!!!”

“Where do you think my power stems?!!!”

The demon held out his right hand, making the crowbar rise up. He then gripped it, superheating it once again. The demon maliciously thrust the crowbar into the center of Rumble’s chest! The older man let out a painful cry before silence once again reigned over everything. Echo watched with horror, her tears mixing with that of the falling rain, eyes wide as her pupils shrunk to almost nothing. She fell to her knees, sobbing at what she had just witnessed; her father was murdered before her very eyes.

“DADDY NOOO!!!!” Echo cried out.

The demon released her father, throwing him aside as if he was just a rag doll. His powerful, thudding footsteps coursed through the asphalt, growing in intensity as he approached Echo. The young girl could do nothing, her father was dead and soon she would be too.

“Speak my name Echo………!”

Echo stopped crying, hearing another voice, but this one felt closer, as if it were speaking directly into her mind. It held not the demonic tone and rage like the demon, it was more soothing but just as powerful.

“Who…what…?”

“You don’t have a lot of time…! I can save you…but only if you say my name…!”

“I don’t know your name,” said Echo pitifully.

“You know it; deep inside you know my name. Speak it now while you still have a chance!”

Echo tried to think, and hearing the footsteps wasn’t making this easier. This mysterious voice said she knew its name, but how could she, it sounded familiar though. She thought hard, but nothing was coming to mind.

Wait…he said “Shazam”.

The sound of thunder roared above, it wasn’t as strong, but more like a low rumble.

“Shazam…”

Lightning flashed and the thunder’s roar was greater now. Echo looked up, seeing the demon had stopped as he looked up into the sky, apparently having heard the thunder. With a determined gaze, Echo stood back on her feet, clutching her right arm as it throbbed from whatever she hit in the car during the crash. Her eyes narrowed as she stared down the demon. The beast seemed to notice this, its own eyes narrowing at the same time.

Lightning began arcing across the sky, coalescing right above Echo’s position. With a powerful roar, the demon lunged for Echo. But the girl stood her ground, her violet eyes shimmering with an azure light.

“SHAZAM!!! ”

Thunder boomed and roared across the sky as a giant column of lightning shot down in the blink of an eye! The column struck Echo, bathing her in its powerful light. The demon was unfortunate enough to be caught right as the column struck, electrifying him and making him scream out in pain. His body was then blasted away in a wisp of fire. Echo felt weightless in the column of lightning, floating up as if being drawn into the sky. Whatever strength her adrenaline gave her faded away as exhaustion started to set in rapidly. The last thing she saw was the image of a woman, clad in white and gold waiting for her with open arms…

Echo’s eyes slowly opened, a room made of polished marble awaiting her. She slowly pushed herself up on her forearms, wincing when she remembered her injury on her right arm. Her hoody was gone, the only thing she had on was her white t-shirt. Echo’s right forearm was bandaged up; she quickly moved the covers off her lower half and saw that the cuts she suffered were all patched up. Her body was dry and the room was warm, a welcomed contrast to the shivering cold of the rain. The bed was plush, like lying on a cloud.

The room itself looked Romanesque in its design, columns of white stretching upwards towards the ceiling, her bed situated at the center, with a three step elevation. Echo slowly swung her legs out and moved towards the edge of the bed, sitting there as she took it all in. Suddenly, a few feet away, a door materialized. The door opened and revealed a teenage girl, she was wearing a pink dress that flowed down to the floor, covering her feet. Her skin was fair, and her eyes shimmered pink. Echo gasped when she saw that the teenage girl had butterfly wings, sparkling with beautiful patterns on them.

“I’m glad you’re awake young Mistress Echo,” said the teenage girl.

“W-W-Who are you?! Where am I?!”

“Be calm, I am Murmur, the steward of the Rock of Eternity, which is also where you are currently located.”

Echo looked around the room once again, her eyes settled on Murmur, studying the teenager up and down, looking for any indication that she was lying or a danger to her. But from what she could see, Murmur was telling the truth.

“Well…why am I here?” Echo asked.

“That is a question better answered by my Mistress. She’s been waiting a long time to see you. If you would, please follow me.”

Echo hesitated, despite concluding that this girl was sincere in her words and actions; there was still something off about this whole situation. Mostly stemming from the fact that she had butterfly-fairy wings on her back! Murmur seemed to catch onto Echo’s hesitation and stretched out her hand towards the younger girl, smiling comfortingly the whole time.

Deciding to take a chance, Echo stood up and walked over to Murmur, taking her hand. Murmur nodded happily and led Echo out of the room. When they exited the room, the door they went through vanished behind her, leaving only a stone wall. Murmur led Echo down a long hallway, passing by several rooms with ancient artifacts, one entrance that led to what had to be the largest library she had ever seen, and…something creepy.

Seven statues lined this one hallway, each the image of a monster with words etched beneath each. “Lust”, “Greed”, “Envy”, Pride”, “Gluttony”, “Sloth”, and “Wrath”, above them was carved into the wall “The Seven Deadly Sins of Man”. Echo thought to ask Murmur about those statues, but decided against it, she had already seen one demon, she didn’t want to know about whatever those demon-like monsters were.

Eventually the scenery changed and the hall was lined up with tapestries that depicted people, men and women, with a golden lightning bolt insignia on their chests doing heroic deeds. Their names were sewn into the tapestries, along with numbers like the 1st Champion, 2nd Champion, the 20th, and so on. Finally, Murmur stopped at the entrance to a large room, releasing Echo’s hand.

“This is as far as I go. My Mistress has requested some alone time with you.”

“Um…Murmur…Who is your ‘Mistress’ anyway? And why does she want to see me?”

“Well, that would be telling wouldn’t it? Good luck young Mistress!”

With that said, Murmur’s body turned into pink light, dispersing into a flock of butterflies that flew down the hallway and disappeared from sight. With a gulp Echo entered the room, it was vast, with a long red and gold rug leading towards the center of the room. Echo cautiously followed the path, as she got closer she saw a crystal ball a couple of feet away, but she stopped when she saw what was at the center of the room.

A large marble throne with a lightning bolt symbol carved onto it, and sitting in the throne was a woman. She was clad in a white suit-like armor, with golden bracers, boots, and belt fastened to her outfit. In the center of her chest was the same lightning bolt insignia made of gold, but within the symbol itself was lightning, as if contained within. A hooded cape kept the woman’s face from being seen, but a smidge of her purple hair could be seen sticking out. Echo gulped as she made her way closer to the woman sitting on the throne, wondering if she was in the presence of some kind of queen or empress.

“Um…W-Who are you, ma’am?” Echo asked.

“Those who do harm to others, and wield the powers of darkness, know me as Shazam.” The woman’s body surged all over with electrical energy. “My friends know me by my real name, but you…” The woman sat up from her throne and pulled back her hood, revealing the visage of a young girl in her twenties, with slightly spikey hair and violet eyes. “You can call me Mom…if you want to that is.”

Echo’s jaw went slack at hearing those words. Her father often told Echo what her mother looked like, but actually seeing her in the flesh, right here before her…it was…she didn’t exactly know what to feel.

“Are you…are you really my Mom…?”

Scootaloo – Shazam – walked down the steps from her throne and knelt at the bottom step, bringing herself to eye level with her daughter.

“Yeah, I am.”

“But…you don’t look as old as Daddy did…”

“There are a lot of things that I need to tell you Echo, but…the first thing I need to say to you is…I’m sorry.” Scootaloo said with a heavy heart.

Echo balled up her fists and glared at her mother in anger. “‘Sorry’, that’s all you can say to me?! Where have you been all this time?! And why didn’t you save Daddy from being killed?! Why did he have to die?! Why!!! Why! Why…!”

Echo fell to her knees, her eyes stinging with tears as she cried. Scootaloo looked upon her crying daughter, her own heart hurting seeing this. She knew to expect this, but still, hearing those harsh and sad words from her own daughter was still hard to hear. With a determined look, Scootaloo got up from her kneeling position and walked over to her daughter. She got down on her own knees before Echo, Scootaloo reached out and drew Echo into a hug. The young girl resisted, still furious at her mother, beating her fists against this woman’s chest, but soon she gave up and just let herself cry, hugging Scootaloo back.

Mother and daughter stayed like that for what felt like hours as Echo’s sobs were the only sounds heard within the chamber. After a few more moments of crying, Echo stopped.

“I…I remember this, your smell, this feeling, I remember,” said Echo nostalgically.

“It was the last thing I could do before I had to go, hold you in my arms after you were born. That day was both the happiest and saddest day of my life Echo.”

Echo separated herself a little from Scootaloo, looking up at her with watery eyes.

“Then why…?”

Scootaloo sighed heavily. “Echo…I’m not like other people. When I was young, I was summoned to this place by a Wizard, he told me that I had been chosen by the Rock of Eternity, this place, to be magic’s champion, to be a hero.”

Echo’s widened. “You’re a…a superhero?!”

“Kinda, I’m Shazam, Earth’s Mightiest Mortal and Magic’s Champion, I keep the world safe from bad guys who’d use dark magic to hurt people or monsters that rise up from some pretty scary places. I’ve been doing this for a while now, and I loved it. But…when I met your Dad, it changed things for me. I loved him, and he loved me, even knowing what and who I was. Honestly I couldn’t ask for a more awesome boyfriend…and husband.”

“But if you loved Daddy like you said, why did you leave us?!” Echo asked with a pleading tone.

“When I became pregnant with you I was scared, not because I didn’t want you, I was happy to have a kid of my own, but because I didn’t know what my magic would do to you if I did have you.” Scootaloo looked down at herself, placing a hand over her stomach. “I found out that there were some…complications with you inside me. I was afraid I was going to lose you, so I transformed myself, focusing my magic to keep you alive and fix whatever was wrong. It worked, the only downside was I lost my connection to the mortal world, to Earth.

If I stayed on there, my body would age rapidly and I’d die within a few months of you being born. But here, my body’s sustained by the Rock of Eternity, so now I’m more like its keeper and its protector, like Murmur, I can’t leave it.”

Echo gave a few sniffles as she wiped her tears away. “I’m sorry…because of me you weren’t able to stay with Daddy…”

“Hey,” said Scootaloo sternly, “don’t you ever think like that! I don’t regret my decision, nor did your father. At least part of me lived on in you kiddo, and he knew I’d be watching over you two.”

“You…You did?”

Scootaloo chuckled. “Of course I did! I watched you grow from a baby, saw you win your first martial arts tournament, which by the way, I was this close to shooting down there and smashing that kid six feet under for almost breaking your leg during the finals.”

Echo couldn’t help but blush, knowing her mother was willing to risk her life to come and beat up another kid for almost hurting her was uplifting, that and her father promised the same thing when it happened.

“Daddy…Mmm – Mo – um…”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to call me ‘mom’ if you don’t feel like it. I haven’t been there much, watching over you isn’t exactly the same as actually being there. If you want you can call me Scootaloo, y’know, ‘cause, that’s my name and all.”

Echo fidgeted a little. “Well…It’s also weird to call you by your name too…And, I still want to call you ‘Mom’.”

Scootaloo felt a lump in her throat forming, even after all this time away, Echo was willing to call her “mom”. The older woman nodded her okay to Echo, 1+earning a smile from the young girl.

“Mom…Why didn’t you save Daddy? If you could save me, why didn’t you save him too?!” Echo asked.

Scootaloo sighed heavy heartedly. “Because…he wasn’t anywhere where the Rock of Eternity could teleport him. Since you have part of my magic inside you, I was able to lock it onto you when you spoke the Word of Power, being in danger, your latent magic was able to come out, that’s why you could hear my voice and use the Word. I’m sorry Echo…believe me, I’m truly sorry…”

Echo could see the tears in her mother’s eyes fall down her cheeks, although she was angry, she at least knew it wasn’t because her mother didn’t want to save him, it was because she couldn’t, she suffered just as much watching him die as Echo did.

“What was that…that thing that killed Daddy?” Echo asked nervously.

At this Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed, the room groaning as if reacting to her sudden shift in mood.

“A monster I thought I beat a long time ago. He tried to get to me through you and your dad. But after what you did to him, he won’t be back for a long time.”

“But he will come back, someday, right?”

Scootaloo reluctantly nodded, making Echo have a worried look. The older woman hugged her daughter close to her, reassuring her of her protective presence.

“Hey don’t worry about him, I’ll be keeping a closer eye on you from here on out. C’mon, I’ll send you back to your cousin and her family, they’re probably worried about you.”
Echo’s eyes shot open as she pushed herself away from her mother, earning her a confused look from Scootaloo.

“I can’t go back, not if that monster’s coming back someday! If he does, he’ll hurt my friends! Uncle Thunderlane, Aunt Cloudchaser, and Whirlwind! I don’t want that!”

“Echo…”

The young girl balled up her fists yet again and stood boldly before her mother. “I…I want to be like you Mom! I want to be a hero!”

Scootaloo stood up rapidly and stared at her daughter incredulously. “Excuse me?! You want to what?!”

“You said part of your power is inside me! If I can use that, then I’d be able to protect everyone back home! Just like you did a long time ago!”

Scootaloo had to take a moment to process this. “Okay, I understand where you’re coming from Echo, believe me I do. But you just can’t, that kind of responsibility…”

“But you said you were the same age as me when you became one!” Echo threw back.

“Yes, but that was different! I was an orphan! I had no family, no relatives – no one! I fought and protected others because I could, and I didn’t have to worry about someone missing me if…if something happened me! But you, you have your aunt, uncle, your cousin, and your friends!”

“All the more reason why I need to do this! I have to protect them, and other people from monsters like that one! When he does come back, and you said he would, I’ll be ready for him!”

Both Scootaloo and Echo stood off against each other, staring the other down, not budging an inch from their ground. After several seconds of staring down, Scootaloo’s shoulders slumped as she let out a defeated sigh, she rubbed the back of her head with her right hand and placing her other on her hips.

“Damn…why do you have to be so stubborn, Echo?”

“Daddy said I got it from you.”

“That’s debatable, but I understand. You have more to protect, more to lose, and in a way, that means you’ll fight harder, plus, you’ll have me and Murmur to show you the ropes. That’s more than what I had first started.”

Echo found that curious. “Why’s that, didn’t the Wizard show you how to use your powers?”

“Actually…heh, heh…he actually passed away when he gave them to me.” Scootaloo heard the shocked gasp and quickly added. “But that’s not what will happen to me! You’ll be channeling my powers through me! I’ll still be here!”

Echo let out a relieved sigh. “Okay, so, how does it work exactly?”

“The word you spoke earlier, ‘shazam’, it’s the Word of Power. It’s made from the first letters of the names of six different gods and heroes, bringing together their great powers into one person. But, be sure you want this Echo, once I start I can’t take the powers back, you’ll live with them for the rest of your life. Can you handle that Squirt?”

Echo paused for a moment, thinking over her options. This was permanent, there was no going back once she had gotten the power, from here on she’d lead a double life as a normal girl and a superhero. The thought of being a hero was always a dream of hers, but now it was going to happen. But Echo knew she couldn’t back down from this, she was her mother’s daughter, and she wanted to uphold her legacy, protect her friends and family, and defeat the kind of monsters she saw on that rainy night.

“I can Mom!”

“Course you can, you’re my kid! Now…” Scootaloo stepped back a few feet from Echo. A wind started to bluster within the chamber as she raised her arms up towards the ceiling. Lightning arced off her body as thunder roared within the small space. The entire room became charged with the ancient magic of the Living Lightning as Scootaloo’s eyes changed color to pure azure energy, when she spoke, her voice echoed throughout the chamber and the magical fortress all at once.

“Echo, do you take on the mantle of the Champions before you, to protect the mortal world from danger, both magical and foreign, to fight on as Earth’s Mightiest Mortal, to defend the helpless against the evils that lurk in the shadows?!”

“I do!”

“Then speak the Word of Power, concentrate on all the good within you, and shout it out with all those feelings!”

Sparks of azure lightning arced off of Echo’s body as her violet eyes turned the same color as the lightning, and with a loud and strong voice she shouted the Word of Power.

“SHAZAM!!!! ”

Lightning shot up from Scootaloo’s body and arched towards Echo, the bolt struck her, imbuing her small body with the power of the gods! White smoke swirled around her, hiding her form from sight. When the lightning bolt ended and Scootaloo waited for the smoke to clear to see what became of her daughter, and what she saw impressed her.

Echo was standing there, a height of about five-nine, wearing a streamlined red armor-suit. Golden bracers wrapped around her forearms, along with matching golden boots and pauldrons. At the center of her chest was the same insignia as her mother’s, with the Living Lightning housed at its center. Her cape however was different from her mother’s, it was a large, twin-tailed, white scarf with gold trimming. It wrapped around her neck, covering her mouth and forming a hood over her head, her eyes staring sharply from the space between. Echo pulled back the hood, showing her violet and pink hair had gotten spikier and longer.

“Whoa, that was kind of a rush – MY VOICE?!” Echo clapped her hands around her mouth, sounding older and more melodic than it once was, with an undertone of authority as well.

“Yeah, you’ll get used to that, and the voice thing.”

Echo examined the rest of her body, she was taller, that she noticed right away as well, matching her mother in height. She had svelte figure, but with just enough muscle definition. Echo wasn’t exactly prepared to turn into a grownup, but she wasn’t complaining either.

“This is so cool!” Echo exclaimed.

“I would’ve gone with awesome, but yeah, it is,” agreed Scootaloo. “So, do you want to take on my name? I went by Shazam back on Earth, so what, Shazam Jr.? Shazam the Second?”

“Actually, I thought of a name. To honor your legacy and to honor Daddy, I’ll call myself…Thunder.”

Scootaloo mulled over that name. “Thunder…Thunder…Yeah, I like it, and it suits you.”

“Thank you Mom, I promise I’ll make you proud!” Echo proclaimed as she rushed towards her mother with inhuman speed and enveloped her in a super strength hug.

“You already have Squirt, you already have.”

“Oh and one more thing.”

“Yeah?”

Echo separated herself from her mother and pointed at her chest. “What are these things on my chest, you have them too?”

Scootaloo’s face went red as she face palmed herself. “Yeah…guess this is one of those things a mom has to talk about…okay, better sit down, we’re going to be here awhile.”

Secret Origins Part 2: Wings of War, Unseen Peace

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Anthea was a pretty energetic girl, despite being partially blind, she never let it stop her from enjoying life or hanging out with friends. She grew up in an orphanage, left there as a baby, and came to be raised by her orphan siblings, Amber Lily, Hot Head, and Lucky Star. The three of them shared a close bond, although Amber acted as the big sister and sometimes mother figure to them, she was mostly a big sister to Annie. One day Annie wandered out of the orphanage by accident, she could see colors in blurry blotches, but nothing too identifying.

It was a young woman by the name of Fluttershy who found Annie, she immediately felt for the orphan girl and upon helping her find her way back, talked to the matron of the orphanage and asked if she could adopt Anthea or Annie as she liked to be called. The adoption was approved and from then on Annie lived with her new mother Fluttershy, who specialized in veterinary medicine, and volunteering at the same animal shelter since she was a teenager. Annie loved her new mother and her new school, Canterlot High. It was here that she met her first friend, a freshman girl, small for her age, but no less intimidating.

Her name was Starburst, she was the daughter of one of Fluttershy’s close friends growing up. Starburst came off as a serious girl, and a bit of a buzzkill. Which was funny seeing as how the two became friends, even though Annie was partially blind, she could still attend regular high school, albeit with braille textbooks. Some of the girls at school thought it would be funny to pick on her since she was a sophomore. Starburst just couldn’t take, her sense of justice wouldn’t allow it, and so she promptly scared off the tormentors and from then on became Annie’s friend. Finding out later that their mothers had been friends since middle school.

In the months following, both Star and Annie got to know each other better. Star found out rather quickly that Annie had a risqué sense of humor, not embarrassed at all at telling a dirty joke, making the occasional perverted comment, and of course, her surprise grope-hugs. Star may not have had much upstairs but she still found it embarrassing nonetheless. Despite all that, she also saw Annie’s sweet and caring side, and her determination in everything she did. It was odd to have her as a friend, but she wouldn’t forsake it for anything.

Annie also learned a lot about Starburst as well. Besides being serious and a buzzkill, Star was quite the athlete. She got up early in the mornings to jog around the block before school started, played for the Canterlot High soccer team, helping out at her other friend’s farm, and did a little kickboxing in her spare time. More than once she made Annie freak out when Star collapsed from exhaustion, one minute she’ll be talking to her and then suddenly she just pass out. Annie had asked her why she was so determined to push herself to the breaking point, and apparently she wanted to join the military, become an air force pilot like her father, Flash Sentry.

So she trained for the day when she could enlist so she could be ready for whatever they threw at her. Course, because being short for her age, Star didn’t think that they’d take her on as a pilot, but she was determined to prove them wrong. Another thing that Annie noticed about her friend was that she didn’t have a very good relationship with her mother, they were complete opposites. Her mother, Twilight, was a teacher in advanced physics and quantum theory at Canterlot University, but from the time she spent with Twilight, Annie found Star’s mother to be adorkable, as her husband described.

Her little brother, Night Light or Nighty as he liked to be called, took to Annie right away. Star later informed her that he had a crush on her, she found it cute.

Nowadays the two girls, who were complete opposites and yet the best of friends, were preparing for Summer Break, and Star was particularly happy because the air force base where her father was once stationed at, was having fair going for the community.

“C’mon Annie, please come with me?!” Star pleaded.

Unfortunately, her father and mother had a previous engagement that would take most of the day, but Star really wanted to go onto the base and see whatever else was going on. So she had come to her best friend to ask if she would accompany her while she was there.

“I don’t know Star, military stuffs not my cup of tea, and you know that. I’m all for what they do, but…”

“But I can’t go alone out there…I wanted to go with my family, but Mom’s got this seminar that she has to be at the University for, and my egghead brother’s going as well, and of course, my Dad, the loving husband, went to support her. But I really want to and they said I could so long as you and your mom took me!”

Annie was a pacifist at heart, and military things didn’t interest her as much as they did Star. But when it came to Star she just couldn’t say no that pleading, desperate, cute tone in her voice.

“Alright Star, I’ll go with you.”

“YES! Thank you Annie!”

“Just do me one favor though.”

“Anything, just name it!”

“I know we’re best friends and all, but…straddling me while I’m wearing a tank top and panties is kinda pushing it, don’t you think?”

Star’s mind stopped for a moment as she took the time to process Annie’s words. She looked from the milky-blue eyes, past the long locks of green hair, to the thin pink tank top, and lower to the same colored underwear. Star’s face immediately turned redder than an apple as she jumped off of Annie’s bed and quickly turned her back to her.

“Jeez Annie, you could’ve told me sooner!”

“You rushed into my bedroom and pounced on me, and started pleading for me to go with you, didn’t really have a chance to work that in there,” said Annie.

“W-Whatever, just get dressed so we can go!”

Starburst hurriedly exited Annie’s room. The blind girl rolled onto her stomach, propping up her head on the heels of her hands, and kicking her legs back and forth like a Cheshire cat wagging its tail, and had the grin of one to match.

Sometimes it’s just too easy to embarrass her like that, but that doesn’t make it any less fun!

Star, wearing her violet-pink sleeveless blouse, blue skirt with a starburst pattern on it and spats underneath the skirt, and nice black shoes, entered the base with Anthea and Fluttershy. Fluttershy was wearing a leaf green blouse, with khaki pants, while Annie wore a pink tank top, of the more public variety, and jeans. She stuck close to the two girls, allowing Starburst to take the lead in most of the activities. Fluttershy let the two girls have some space, hanging back just a tad to keep them in earshot, but not too close as to impose on them.

Several times during the fair guys wouldn’t stop hitting on Annie, she found it flattering and did talk to them, but she wasn’t seeking anything romantic from them, good looking as they were. Of course, Annie knew this kind of put a damper on things for Starburst. Her adoptive mother was, what many referred to as, a natural beauty, needing next to nothing as far as cosmetics or any of the anti-aging stuff, she still had a youthful appearance and glow about her, even in her thirties. Annie was the same way, and her being sixteen only made that trait more prominent. So it wasn’t a surprise that guys would hit on her from time to time, but it was disheartening when they passed over Starburst.

But Starburst didn’t let it get to her that much, she was enjoying the tour of the base, the games they had set up for everyone and of course the food, Star’s metabolism was crazy fast, she could eat a lot and not gain a single pound. Soon the crowd was called to a stage in front of one of the hangers. A man stood before a microphone, he wore a sky-blue business suit, with a red bowtie. His white hair slicked back as he gazed upon the crowd of hundreds before him.

“Ladies and gentlemen of Canterlot City, I trust you’re all having a great time!”

The crowd shouted back their response, Annie had to clap her hands around her ears, since her eyes were partially blind her other senses got stronger to compensate, particularly her sense of smell and hearing.

“Who is that guy?” Annie asked.

“That’s Mr. Stagg of Stagg Industries, he’s one of the military’s biggest contractors and has created many different inventions for both domestic and militaristic use! Guess he’s here to show off one his new products or something,” explained Starburst.

Mr. Stagg held out his hands, signaling the crowd to simmer down. “For years Stagg Industries has strived to be at the forefront of technological advances, both for the betterment of mankind and the safety of our men and women in uniform. That is why I am proud to unveil our newest product! The Stagg Centurions!”

The hanger behind Mr. Stagg opened, the sliding doors slowly parting to reveal dozens of six foot tall, weaponized robots. Each one had the Stagg Industries logo stamped on the left side of their chests, but had the flag painted on both shoulders pads. One half of the robots, colored gun metal gray, had mini-guns mounted to their shoulders, and a missile pack on the other. Their large forearms indicated that there was probably one or more weapons hidden underneath the armor, and the sides of each of the lower parts of their legs had a large box object, possibly housing rockets or missiles. The other half were white and had wings on their backs, obviously these ones were made for aerial combat. Both forearms had two barrels sticking out from them, possible machine guns, The wings themselves had panels that were probably where the missiles and rockets were housed, these robots looked less bulky than the others, but that only made sense seeing as they needed to fly.

“The Stagg Industries, X97-Aero Centurions and the X98-Terra Centurions, both equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry, and the most advanced computerized systems that allow them to distinguish from friend and foe! These machines will revolutionize the way we do combat, no more will we have to sacrifice the lives of our young children by sending them off to war, with these we can usher in a new age of modern warfare and insure that all lives are protected, all freedoms enjoyed!”

The crowd let loose another roar of approval at Mr. Staggs speech about his robotic weapons. Anthea didn’t like the way the man sounded so happy about creating something that was essentially going to be used to slaughter and kill many people, but she supposed if it kept others like Starburst from getting hurt and coming back then she guessed it was okay, maybe. She felt Star’s hand tighten around hers, Annie looked to her friend sensing her tension.

“What’s wrong?” Annie asked.

“Using robots to fight? That’s just wrong!”

“Why’s that?”

“Because what’s stopping war from becoming some video game? Just send in the droids and let them hash it out, there’s no one on the other end to make the moral decisions and split second judgment calls that a human can do…” Star sighed heavily.

“And that also means that there will be no point in soldiers or pilots, right?”

Star nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault, I understand what he’s saying, and it’s smart, but still…does that mean all the training I did was for nothing?”

“Oh Star…” Annie placed her hand on Star’s other shoulder, bringing her in for a comforting hug.

Normally Star would allow it and then shrug it off after a few seconds, but right now she needed a little comforting. This did not go unnoticed by Fluttershy, giving the young girl a sympathetic smile.

The robots came online, marching in perfect sync as they made their way to the stage. Once there, all six-hundred of the robotic warriors then stood at attention and saluted the crowd, and Mr. Stagg saluted back to them. He then turned around and bowed to the crowd, basking in their awe and admiration. But that’s as far as the peace went. Suddenly the robots’ eyes glowed, the Aero’s blue and the Terra’s red. There was a chorus of weapons being loaded from the assembled robots, making the crowd flinch. The wings of the Aero’s shot out as if preparing to take flight, and the Terra’s mini-guns all shifted from their safe position and pointed them right at the crowd, their five barrels spinning rapidly in preparation for discharge.

“Now, now, it’s just a demonstration, nothing to be afraid –”

Mr. Stagg never finished his sentence as the sound of one of Sentinel’s mini-guns whirred to life and fired! A stream of glowing hot bullets poured into the first line of people and to a few behind them. Blood splattered everywhere as body parts started flying off from the sheer force and speed of the bullets as they pierced through their targets. A scream was let out and the crowd began its stampede away from the psycho-bot. Fluttershy and Star couldn’t believe what they had just seen and what was still happening as the robots began rampaging and killing innocent people at random, shooting them as they ran away. The Aeros took off into the sky, attacking the hangars and destroying their fighter jets while others went off to pick off the grounded soldiers.

“W-What’s happening?!” Annie asked.

She felt something wet splatter against her cheek, she used her right hand to touch it and brought it to her nose, it was a familiar scent, too familiar. The irony, copper smell, it reminded her of…

“Blood…Star! Star!”

“I’m right beside you!” Starburst shouted.

“I’m here too sweetie!” Fluttershy shouted.

“Are those robots actually shooting at people?!”

“Can’t talk, we have to run! NOW!!!” Fluttershy ordered.

Starburst gripped Annie’s hand tightly and Fluttershy did the same on the other hand, both keeping Annie between them as they ran away from the robots. Explosions and rapid gunfire could be heard all around them, along with the screams and death rattles of the ones who were hit or dying. Star and Fluttershy passed by several dead bodies, soldier and civilian alike, all with body parts either shot off or blown off. One of the soldiers, they witnessed, used the bayonet attachment on his M4 and tried to stab the robot where the armor wasn’t as thick.

The Terra Centurion didn’t seem to take kindly to the back stab, turning around and knocking the rifle out of the soldiers grip. From below its right forearm, a four foot blade extended outwards, the robot thrust that very blade into the soldier’s chest, twisted it, and then pulled it out. The soldier didn’t even get the chance to scream as he fell to the ground, a pool of his own blood forming beneath him. Two other soldiers fired their rifles at it, trying to bring the automaton down. But the Terra Centurion just turned towards them, bullets bouncing off him like little pebbles. Its missile pod got into position, opening to reveal its silos. The pod fired off three missiles, two of them hitting the their human targets, and the third aiming for a fueling truck that exploded into a giant fireball!

A flood of people bombarded the group of three, all three of them tried to hold onto each other for dear life, but the stampede of frightened people was too harsh and strong, all three lost their grip on each other’s’ hands. Annie was swept away by the crowd, while Fluttershy and Starburst were left behind.

“ANNIE!!!” Fluttershy cried out.

“Dammit how could I let her go like that?! I’ll go get her Ms. Fluttershy!” Starburst yelled.

Before Fluttershy could protest Starburst had already made a big gap in the distance between them, she knew she’d never catch up to the athletic girl, and realistically, Star was the best chance of Annie getting back in one piece. But still, she couldn’t just let her go alone. Unfortunately the choice of whether to go or not wasn’t hers to make, a group of soldiers had come along, gathering civilians and herding them towards the exits, the whole time Fluttershy kept screaming out for Star and Annie, but her cries fell on deaf ears.

Anthea was panicking, she had lost hold of both Star’s and her mother’s hands and now she was adrift in a sea of fear. The sounds of gunfire and explosions rang out in a never ending symphony, the smell of gunpowder, blood, and burning bodies wafted through the air, filling her nostrils with its disgustingly pungent order. It was the smell of death, death was all around her, and she was alone. People and things moved in swirling blurs of color, melding into an impressionists’ painting of a nightmare. Annie couldn’t take it, she had no idea where she was, no clue how close she was to one of the slaughter-bots or where her friend or mother was.

As bad an option as it was, Annie ran as fast as she could, trying to push her way out of the crowd of people and screams filling her ears. She aimed for the only space that seemed devoid of anything tall or orangey. With great effort, Annie finally freed herself from the sea of people, falling to her knees and panting hard from exhaustion, her body shook from equal parts fear and adrenaline as she hugged herself, trying to calm her mind and body down before she had a full blown panic attack in the middle of this crisis, and right now that would only make things worse.

Star…Mom…where are you?! I don’t want to be alone, please! Please find me!

Annie held her breath when she heard powerful thudding sound rumbling through the ground. She then heard mechanical sounds and she knew that it was one of the robots coming for her, she didn’t know what to do, running wouldn’t help, nor would begging for mercy. Annie looked up at the approaching gray mass, stopping just a few feet in front of her. Her eyes widened with fear as tears streamed down her face, she knew this was the end, she was going to die here, alone. Annie watched as something long and gray moved towards her face, letting off a whirring sound. Only one name came to mind, one name she wanted to cry out for in futility, but prayed beyond all hope that it would reach her ears.

“STARBURST!!!!!”

“GET AWAY FROM YOU TIN MAN, REJECT, BASTARD!!!”

Starburst charged towards the robot, holding in both hands and M4 rifle! She stabbed the weapon right into one of the gaps in the automaton’s armor, Star pulled the trigger once the muzzle was inside the robot, firing off all the rounds that were inside the magazine as she let out a primal battle cry. The robot stumbled backwards, breaking off the barrel of the M4. It stumbled backwards as its insides caught on fire, Starburst tossed the broken weapon and put her back to the robot, using herself as a shield to protect her friend.

The robot’s chest exploded outwards, falling onto its back and ceasing all function. The ammunition in the robot set off as secondary explosion, causing a few of its bullets to whiz into the air, one shot right through Star’s left thigh, while the other pierced her right shoulder. Star yelped in pain, but grit her teeth to stay standing and protect her friend! Annie, who had covered her head from hearing the explosion, looked up and saw the familiar colors of her best friend, along with some red in places that there weren’t supposed to be.

“OH MY GOD STAR YOU’RE HURT!”

“It-It’s no big deal…! Are you alright?!” Star asked.

“Y-Yes, but forget about me! We need to get you to a hospital now!” Annie yelled.

“Don’t think we’re going to get that far,” said Star, clutching her shot arm.

Annie listened closely, hearing the thudding of several more metallic footsteps. Star looked around them and saw at least five of the artillery heavy robots surround them, apparently considering Starburst and Anthea a threat for taking out one of their own.

“Star…”

“I came to save you…but instead…we’re going to die here…”

Annie reached out and held Star close to her. “Why didn’t you run away with Mom…your mom, dad, and your little brother, you’ll be leaving them behind…”

“I couldn’t leave my friend behind, my friend…plus, who else is going to make sure your ass is safe.”

“Oh, you’ve been staring at my ass have you?”

“Shut up…”

Both girls chuckled, as grim as the situation was. Their humor ceased when they heard the whirring of the mini-guns starting up. Annie held Star tighter, and Star held on just as tight, not wanting to let go as they both shut their eyes tight in anticipation of the end.

I don’t want to die here, I have to protect Annie! Dammit if only I was stronger!

I don’t want either of us to die, this can’t be it, there’s still so much left for us to do!

At that moment the screaming and explosions all went silent, deathly quiet. Star dared to open her eyes, feeling a strange weightlessness. She gasped upon seeing herself and Annie floating in the air, below them were their huddled bodies, still holding onto each other. The bullets from the robots’ guns had stopped in midair, frozen as if all time had stopped. Star’s body was outlined in a red light, while Annie in blue. Star thought that they had died or were having an out of body experience before dying.

“Annie, open your eyes!”

The young girl did as she said, and was surprised to see, well, to actually see Starburst. “Star…I can see you, I mean, I’m not blind anymore!”

“What’s going on…? I don’t understand!”

Suddenly, both girls felt a great force pull them up into at breakneck speed! Higher and higher the two girls went, the clouds and scenery blinding together until they were nothing more than colors passing them by. Up ahead, Annie and Star saw a light, and within a few seconds they shot right into the light. It was blinding for a moment, but a minute the light faded away, revealing what was around them.

Star and Annie were standing on top of some platform as a vast expanse of stars and colorful streams of energy flowed around them. Annie stepped closer to Star as she caught sight of other beings, they were standing on platforms, far away from them. The beings were divided, an equal amount on one side and on the other. A sphere of light appeared above them, alongside it appeared a sphere of energy that swirled about with different dark colors and lashed out in every direction. The spheres broke apart, transforming to into two humanoid figures.

The on the right, across from Annie, stood a woman at least five stories tall. Her hair looked like it was made of shimmering cerulean and amethyst crystal, her eyes were a gentle shade of lavender, but behind them Annie could sense a great and powerful force. She wore a dress made of pure light, her fair skin making her an almost blinding sight to see.

Opposite the glowing maiden, across from Star, the figure that appeared from the chaotic ball of energy was a man. His chest was bare, save for the golden clasp around this neck that connected to his robe that glowed with varying colors of black, white, green, and purple, and on his back he had wings. One wing was that of feathered bird’s wing, and the other a large bat wing, he also had one long fang protruding from his upper lip, giving him a sabertooth like grin. His irises were glowing red, while the whites of his eyes were yellow, he had an air of mischievousness about him, but Star could tell that this guy had the power to do some real damage if he so wished it.

“Greeting young ones, I am Harmony, Chief Lord of Order,” said the woman.

“And I’m Discord, Chief Lord of Chaos,” said the man, taking a bow while making a top hat appear out of nowhere.

“W-Why are we here…? Are we…dead?” Annie asked with dread.

“Yes, you’re both deader than a doornail, and we’re deciding whether or not you go upstairs or downstairs!” Discord announced.

OH CRAP! Annie and Star thought at the same time.

Harmony backhanded Discord upside the head and shot him a scolding glance. “Discord, behave yourself, they’re already uneasy enough as it is.”

“Oh lighten up Harmony! It was just a bit of fun!” Discord shot back.

“Your idea of fun, as I recall, was playing pinball with a newborn star and a red giant and watching what happens when they bounce between planets.”

“Oh you just can’t let that go can you?! I got bored one millennia and now I’m branded!” Discord crossed his arms and then huffed in annoyance.

“Excuse me, but are either one of you going to tell us what the hell happened to us?!” Star shouted at the two supernatural beings.

Discord and Harmony looked back down to the two girls, Annie hid behind Star chastising the younger girl for yelling at two giants.

“Hmmm, I like her, she’s got some balls! In fact –”

“NO!” Harmony ordered with a booming voice.

“Fine.”

Harmony sighed and took a moment to compose herself. “Forgive Discord, his humor is not often for everybody.”

Star glanced over her shoulder at Annie and looked back up at Harmony.

“Believe me I understand completely.”

“Hey!”

Harmony nodded. “To answer your questions, no, you are both alive, for the moment. We have simply called your spirits here to the Astral Plain. A place where magic is in its purest, where mind and matter are parted and the spirit can find enlightenment. That is why you can see Anthea and you Starburst are not injured.”

“Not that w-w-we’re not grateful for you saving us, but why did you bring us here?” Annie asked.

“The simple answer is: We want you to become the keepers of balance in your world.” Discord explained.

“Say what now?” Both girls asked.

“For eons, we, the Lords of Order and the Lords of Chaos, have kept the balance of Chaos and Order within the realm of mortals and magic,” said Harmony.

“But something is coming, more than one some things actually, that will threaten the balance of Chaos and Order. We’re not allowed to directly influence the world, but we can choose agents on our behalf to keep the balance for us. Two to whom we bestow our respective powers to, so that they can go out and beat up whatever it is that’s causing the imbalance.”

Harmony let out an exasperated sigh. “Not just to combat it, but if possible find a peaceful solution to the problem if one exists.”

Annie stood at Star’s side again, less afraid of the giants than before, now more curious than anything. Star however was mulling over the information they were given.

“So why us? What’s so special about two high school girls?” Star asked.

“Well it seems to be a popular theme nowadays. Teenage girls going out to battle supernatural forces with strange otherworldly powers, and wearing skimpy revealing outfits! So we decided to follow the trend and we got you two,” said Discord.

Annie blushed at the thought of fighting bad guys in skimpy, revealing outfits, although if they were cute outfits she’d doubt she’d mind it. Starburst on the other hand was face palming herself and groaning, her face a slight shade of red, afraid that this guy was telling the truth.

“We chose you because of who you two are!” Harmony corrected. “We are hoping that you two will accept the powers we will bestow upon you, and defend your world from the coming threats. For instance, Anthea, I chose you because of your kind and caring nature. You value peace among others and try your best to resolve heated situations, but at the same time, you are not afraid to fight for that peace should you have to.”

Discord leaned down and looked at Star. “While you’re not exactly as humorous as your friend, I chose you, Starburst, for another reason. You seem to have a knack for combat, an aggression and ferocity that, despite your size, is as big as I am. You seem to hate the guts of those who would use power to oppress others and aren’t afraid of getting your hands dirty to put an end to it. For this, you align well with my chaos power.”

“And then there’s a third reason,” Harmony added, “the deep sense of friendship and love you have for one another. Specifically your willingness to comfort and protect the other in times of great strife and peril, it was this trait you both share that will allow you to balance the powers we give you.”

Star and Annie briefly glanced at each other, blushing as they remembered their little scene when they thought they were facing their mortality.

“So, what happens if we don’t chose to become…whatever it is you want us to be, are you just going to send us back to be killed by those machines? Because the last time I checked, Annie and I were about to be used as target practice.” Star queried.

Harmony shook her head. “Not so, should that be your wish, we shall move you two away from the danger. This is your choice to make.”

Annie looked to Star curiously. “What do you think Star?”

The navy-blue haired girl didn’t know what to think. They were essentially being offered great power, and the responsibility to safeguard the world against forces that would threaten their world. In a way, it was no different from what she really wanted, which was to be a pilot in the military and protect others. The thought of being a protector of the world did sound enticing, but this wasn’t her decision alone.

“I don’t want to drag you into something you don’t want to do Annie. Just tell me and I’ll say no.”

Annie almost couldn’t believe it, Star was leaving the decision to her. She knew that this was right up Star’s alley, and she’d no doubt make a great protector, but she never really thought of herself like that. There wasn’t that much she could do with her blindness, truthfully her fear was being burden to her adoptive mother, but if she could repay that kindness, to her mother, by making the world safer for everyone, and bring peace to the fearful, then, maybe this was her purpose, both of theirs.

“I…I want to do this!” Annie proclaimed. “I want to, if…if you do too, Star?”

Star smiled and nodded at her friend. “Okay, Discord, Harmony, what do have to do.”

The Chief Lords of Chaos and Order smiled approvingly at the two girls. Both of them held out their right hands, in their palms formed orbs of light, one red, and the other blue. The two orbs shot out of their hands and flew down to meet the two girls, stopping a foot away from them and bursting apart. Before Star hovered a blood red hawk, and before Annie, a bright blue dove.

“These are your powers, the Hawk,” said Discord.

“And the Dove,” finished Harmony.

“Speak their names and you will be transformed into the Avatars of War and Peace, with the powers to fight against all that would seek to bring imbalance to magic and the realm of mortals.”

Annie and Star looked to each other once more, with a confident nod, they stared their respective birds right in the eyes and shouted.

“HAWK!!!”

“DOVE!!!”

The two birds’ eyes shined as they shot towards them, enveloping their souls. Where Star’s soul shined crimson red as she sported to large red wings, her eyes blazing white. Annie’s soul was bright blue, with two elegant wings, and the same white eyes as her friend. The two souls flew up, spiraled around each other, and then dove back down, heading back for the mortal world where their bodies awaited them!

A dual explosion erupted from the spot where the two young girls were being shot. The robots were thrown back from the sheer force of the explosion, their circuits scrambled from the strange light that emanated from the detonation zone. When the light faded, both Annie and Star were alive and standing, but they were very different from before.

Starburst had crimson metal gauntlets on her forearms, the fingers each sharpened into claws, and crimson metal boots. Most her body was covered in a white mesh like suit, reminding her of some kind of scale-chainmail, but it was smooth to the touch. On her waist was a metal belt, further up was a chest plate. A helmet covered her head, white from behind, but around the face was more crimson metal, slanted out into sharp features that gave Star’s white, narrowed eyes a fearsome edge to them, and at the center of her forehead was a red ruby with the image of a black hawk’s head inside it. On her back were two large metallic wings, they flexed and moved like normal avian wings, but the movements of the metal feathers sounded like sword blades being unsheathed from their scabbards.

Annie was less intense. Around her neck was a cape made of downy white feathers, held together by a metal silver clasp, at the center of the clasp was a sapphire with the white image of dove in it. She wore no armor, emphasizing her peaceful visage. The cowl was white, but an outline of blue indicating where her eyes were. They eyes themselves were more oval and rounded, a stark contrast to the narrowed sharpness of Star’s helmet. It covered most of her head, but allowed her mouth to be seen as well as letting her braided, ponytail hair to flow out. Around her waist was a silver metal belt, allowing a short white skirt to flow from it. Her forearms were covered by white gloves, the ends of the glove having a feather pattern to them, it was the same for her boots, which sported a three inch heel to them. The rest of her body was covered in a sky-blue mesh suit which form fitted to her, but was sleek, the gloves and boots seamlessly blinding into the suit itself.

Starburst looked over her new form, flexing her clawed hands, clenching them into fists as she sensed the power coursing through every fiber of her being. She was surprised at how easy it was to control the wings, although metallic, it only took a mere thought to make them move. She was aware of the danger around them, of the mayhem and carnage, and she knew its source. A malicious aura lapped off the robots, all of them, but it was the leftover aura, someone else’s aura that left an imprint on them.

Meaning that this wasn’t an accident, someone wanted this to happen!

Annie found out that she could see, not with her eyes, but her power, her mind’s eye painting a vivid picture of her environment. She could see everything happening around her, and with her perception of color, it made everything clearer. Her danger sense was attuned differently, she could sense danger yes, but it was the endangered lives of the innocent people. She could hear their cries for help and feel their desperation for it as well. Her heart ached for them, wanting to end their blight, all of which stemmed from these automatons.

“Star we can’t let this slaughter continue,” said Annie.

“Well, I’ve got an idea,” said Star.

“What is it?”

“Those things seem to go after whatever’s the biggest threat to them, otherwise they just slaughter everything. So…”

Star eyed one of the Terra Centurions getting back up, she dashed towards it and in the blink of an eye was right in front of it. She then thrust her right hand forward, spearing the machine right through its chest and ripping out its internal circuitry. Her gauntlet was covered in the mechanical oils and battery fluids that acted as the machine’s blood, making it look like she disemboweled the poor thing. The robot fell to the ground, ceasing all function.

“All we have to do is make ourselves the biggest targets and they’ll come running to us!”

“That’s your plan?!” Annie asked incredulously.

“Got a better one?! Love to hear it!”

Annie unfortunately had no other plan of action. “Fine, but we need to hurry!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!”

Star wasted no time in attacking the ground troops. She leaped into the air, brandishing her crimson claws and flaring her wings like a bird of prey! Star landed on top of one of the robots and ripped its head off! Another one was about to fire on her, but Star chucked the robots head right at the other, smashing it into its head. The Avatar of War vaulted off the robot she was on and performed a flying kick to its chest, caving it in and sending it flying till it exploded. A shower of bullets started to rain down on her, from above and from her sides.

Star looked up and saw five Aero Centurions firing their Vulcan cannons from the air, while five Terra Centurions used their mini-guns. Star willed her wings to cover her, and they obeyed. The large red metal wings lapped over each other, forming a protective cocoon that shielded Star from the hail storm of bullets. Star kicked off from the ground, pirouetting around and making the bullets ricochet off her and right back at the robots. Nine explosions rang out around her as her wings opened up and revealed Star, standing on the tip of her left foot in a dancer’s stance.

Suddenly, the red eyes and blue eyes of the two divisions of robots glowed. Their processors rewriting their target priorities to Starburst.

While her friend was busy going medieval slaughterhouse on the robots, Annie searched for victims of the robots. Thanks to Star, she now knew she could move with super speed, dashing around burning debris and dodging bullets like it was nothing. One of the robots got in her way, so Annie slid between its legs, like a baseball player sliding to a base. Not losing momentum, once she was past the robot she continued onward. Her power was telling her that there was a group of people holding up somewhere and that they needed help.

Annie arrived at one of the buildings, a gymnasium from what she could tell. The door was locked, so she gave it a good push and knocked it off its hinges.

“Oops.”

She quickly entered the gym, she spotted a group of people, mostly kids and two or three adults trying to keep them safe and quiet. Annie slowly approached them, but one of the adults, a woman soldier, stepped in front of them and pointed a pistol at Annie. The Avatar of Peace stopped in her tracks and put her hands in a peaceful gesture.

“Stop or I’ll shoot!” The soldier ordered.

“Please wait, I’m here to help you, there’s no need for that.” Annie spoke, her voice carrying a soothing and calm tone.

“I don’t know who or what you are, but stay back!”

Annie could see that the woman was panicked, no doubt having seen many of her comrades killed in front of her, and now she was desperate to protect these people behind her.

“MISS!” A man yelled. “They’re getting worse!”

The soldier turned her head for a split second, but that was all the time Annie needed. With a single step she closed the distance between them, and in one fluid motion, grabbed hold of the gun and gave a very light push to the soldier. The sudden force made her release her gun, and stumble back a few steps. When the gun entered Annie’s hand, a wellspring of knowledge was opened up to her about the weapon, specifically, how to disarm it. She flipped the switch that made the clip fall from the butt of the gun, and cocked back the slide, making the bullet that was still in the chamber fly out onto the floor. She then tossed it to the floor and walked over to the group. The soldier, momentarily stunned from how fast all that went down, got into a fighting stance and was ready to combat Annie hand to hand.

“I am not your enemy, let me help you. Please?”

“MISS!” Yelled a teenager.

The soldier grunted and growled, but she seemed to care more about those behind her. She exited her attack stance and went back to see what the problem was. Annie did the same, sensing near loss of life as she got closer. When she did, Annie gasped. Lying down on the ground were three children, two boys and one girl. They had severe injuries, having been shot or hit with shrapnel from exploding debris. The soldier, apparently a medic now that Annie noticed her red cross patch, was busy trying to figure out how to save them, but the amount of blood their wounds released was making that impossible, on top of their internal injuries.

The children and adults parted as Annie got closer to them, kneeling down beside the medic, she saw tears running down her face as she gripped the loose fabric of her fatigues.

“I can’t do anything for them! If we were at the hospital wing I’d at least have a chance but…” Her tears flowed down as she bit back an urge to break down and sob.

Annie placed her hand over the woman’s in a reassuring way. “They won’t die. I won’t let them, or any of you!”

The Avatar of Peace rose up to her full height, the power inside of Annie spoke to her, answering her wanting to help everyone there. Her body began to emit a radiant white light, it was so warm and soothing, granting them all comfort and peace. The power of this white light bathed over the injured children, the blood that was seeping from their wounds ceased altogether, the pained expressions on their faces giving way to relief and then joy. When the light faded, the three children rose up, checking their bodies for the painful injuries they had sustained. Everyone gasped, seeing them completely healed. The medic looked up to Annie and smiled.

Annie smiled back, but it didn’t last. An explosion rang out from where she had entered the gym, and four Sentinels were standing there ready to kill. Their sensors locked onto the group, their missile pods opening to launch. Four missiles were fired from their silos and aimed directly for them, Annie put herself between them and the group. Her hands glowed with bright blue energy as she thrust them forward! A barrier formed before her as each missile struck it and detonated harmlessly on it. Annie was surprised and very impressed by this.

The automatons moved closer, two of them extending their combat blades. Annie knew she needed to take them out quickly, but she didn’t have sharp claws like Star did or giant metal wings. But then she remembered how strong Starburst was to smash through one of them, and surely she had the same strength. Taking a chance, Annie shot forward past her barrier, aiming for the center robot. Instead of a punch however, the voice of her power instructed her to flatten her palm and strike with that. Seeing as her powers hadn’t steered her wrong yet, Annie did as instructed.

She appeared in front of the robot and did a palm strike right into its chest, a concentrated force wave blasted through the robot and blew out a ten inch hole in its back. The robot was thrown back from the delayed reaction of the attack and exploded outside. Annie surprised herself, she hardly put that much muscle into the attack, but she wasn’t complaining. Another robot came up behind her was about to cleave her in half. But she was faster. Annie concentrated, summoning another blue light sphere to her right hand. Annie, with the fluidity of water, evaded the blade and positioned the sphere right at the head of the machine. The sphere launched and smashed into its head, shattering but not before completely taking off its head.

Annie formed two more, this time aiming them at the guns and missile pods, effectively disarming them. From there she moved to close quarters, getting right in front of one robot, she broke the arm off one, threw it like a spear at the other and having the blade lodge itself in its chest. She then leaped into the air, did a somersault, and ax-kicked the de-armed robot down the middle. Both robots exploded into pieces from their damage, nothing more than scrap metal now. Annie then brought up her right hand in a sort of prayer position.

“I’m against violence, but I have no problem taking apart a machine!”

Back outside, Starburst was locked in aerial combat with the Aero Centurions. All of them swarmed to her, designating her the biggest threat and in need of elimination, just what Starburst wanted.

She currently found herself surrounded by ten of the Aeros, each them with guns pointed her way. During the course of the battle, Star had discovered another ability. Her hands glowed with red light, holding them outstretched before her. A flash of red burst forth and in both hands she held two broadswords. Their hilts and guards were normal enough, but the blades were as red as her armor. Star took off with blinding speed towards one of the Aeros, she spun out and slashed it in across its abdomen, destroying it in one blow. The robots fired off their guns, trying to bring her down.

The Avatar of War wasn’t an easy foe, she was completely attuned to the rhythm of the battlefield, these machines had no soul or heart, so they couldn’t know, couldn’t fathom how she moved or how she was going to attack! Star moved like a red streak, pin-balling from one to another, hacking and slashing at one robot after the other, igniting the sky with the fireworks of their explosions. One of the kill bots was coming at her from at her from behind, Star quickly turned around and tossed her sword at it. The blade spun about like a buzzsaw, piercing the machine and destroying it before disappearing into a red wisp.

“As fun as these medieval weapons are, it’s still too slow in close combat, I need something else!”

Star heard an explosion going on down below, her telescopic vision honed in on Annie, who was currently in the middle of smashing one Terra Centurion after the other. She flew down to her partner and landed, feet first, on another robot, demolishing it under her boots.

“You seem to be doing alright,” said Star.

“Thanks, but I’m mostly just listening to how our powers work – KYA!” Annie did a spinning jump kick, taking off the head of one robot and kicking it like a soccer ball to another.

“‘Listening’?” Star had one robot by the throat, using her claws, she ripped its robotic throat out and summoned a shield to smash into a charging one. “How?!”

“Just feel it out,” Annie fired two mana spheres, “you’ll know!”

Okay, listening, c’mon powers we need to end this faster, how do that?!

Star looked around seeing the destroyed parts of the robots, her eyes stopped at an undamaged mini-gun. She heard the screech of a hawk, as if it was telling her to get it. Star grabbed the mini-gun with her right hand, as soon as she did, red energy shot out and wrapped itself around the weapon. Her gauntlet and the mini-gun fused together, becoming a cooler, although warped, version of the weapon. Star gasped at the new weapon, she could still feel her hand inside it, but it seemed to be holding onto some kind of handlebar.

“What is that?!” Annie asked.

“I don’t know! You said listen to my powers! I just grabbed it and now I have this thing!”

“LOOK OUT!”

Star looked up and saw twenty missiles flying towards them, instinctively she raised the gun and willed it to fire. The barrels spun out rapidly, whirring loudly as they unleashed blazing red beams from their muzzles. The beams sprayed at the missiles detonating them in midair before they could reach them. Annie and Star looked at the new weapon, and Star was a maniacal grin on her face.

“Oh hells yeah! I can use their weapons against them!”

Starburst pointed her weapon at the ground forces and fired once again, the beams shot through one robot after the other destroying them where they stood, but after a minute or two, cracks started to appear around the weapon. Within a few seconds the weapon shattered apart and Star was left with her gauntlet back to normal.

“Looks like it only lasts couple of minutes, better make them count!” Annie observed.

Starburst found another undamaged mini-gun and a missile pod. “Noted!”

The crimson light flashed and fused the weapons to her gauntlets once again. Her right gauntlet had taken on the missile pod, its six silos resting on top of her forearm, leaving her left hand free.

“Think you can handle these guys?!”

“Please, give me some credit.”

Starburst smirked and took off into the air. The Aeros went after her, but this time things were going to be different. She aimed her two fused weapons and fired a barrage at them. The pod fired red hot, fireball-like blasts in the shape of a missile, each one locked onto a target, chasing it down till it hit and exploded. Star quickly found out that these weapons had infinite ammo, for the two minutes she had with them, it was a good payoff. She hovered in midair, turning slowly as she fired in all directions, hitting the swarm of Aeros no matter where she aimed.

The familiar cracks began to form on the weapons, making Starburst click her tongue in annoyance. After one last volley, the weapons shattered, but Star wasn’t too disappointed, she knew where to get more. She spotted one of the Aeros and flew towards it, Star planted her feet on its chest and grabbed hold of both its forearms.

“Sorry, I need these!”

Starburst kicked off against the machine, ripping off its forearms. Once in hand, her power set to work on fusing them to her again. The end result was her gauntlets gaining twin barreled Vulcan cannons on each arm. Star summoned two katanas to both hands and shot into the swarm, a trail of explosions followed in the wake of red streak.

Annie on the other hand was busy with her own enemies. The Terra Centurions were swarming her, each one out to kill. Annie kept her barrier up, watching them closely as they gathered around. Closer and closer the robots approached, and yet Annie did not counter attack.

Not yet…Not yet…Not yet………NOW!!!

Annie slammed her palm against the ground, a wave of blue light layered itself over the ground beneath her feet, spreading out fifty meters and stopping. The blue energy shot up, forming a dome and closing itself. Annie jumped up high into the air, somersaulting once and landing on the other side of the dome with the grace of a dove. She looked behind her and saw that the robots were firing their weapons, trying to breach her barrier. Annie raised her hands up and the dome rose as well, it phased through the ground, picking up only the robots and making them tumble into each other. The Avatar of Peace brought both her hands together, slamming them into a prayer position.

The sphere suddenly shrunk in size as muffled explosions and metal crunching sounds echoed out from the now basketball sized sphere. When it was silent, Annie brought her hands back to her sides, letting the sphere disappear into particles of blue light. She then let out a sigh of relief, glad to have that done. Multiple explosions went off overhead as the sky was set on fire from the destruction of the remaining robots, Annie didn’t need to look up to know that Star was done with her work.

Speaking of which, the girl in question landed on the ground with a thud, landing in a kneeling position with her right fist against the pavement and her wings flared out. Star rose up, dusting herself free of the ashes and scraps of metal that were on her armor.

“I see someone had fun,” said Annie with a knowing smile.

“Hell yeah I did, so where are the rest?!” Star asked with anticipation.

“That was it, we got them all.”

“What?! No way?! I’m still pumped up and ready to go!”

Annie sighed. “With as much power as we got, I don’t think you’ll feel tired. Heck, I’m not even tired!”

Starburst let out an annoyed grunt as she crossed her arms in front of her. “So, we definitely got them all…you’re sure?”

Annie could hear the concerned tone in her voice and nodded. “Yes, your plan to have them attack only us worked, they were too busy trying to kill us to go after the people. I don’t doubt that there are a lot of dead and injured, but at least we were able to keep it from escalating to something much worse.”

“Good, can you sense your mom?” Star asked.

Annie took a moment, letting her power search out for her mother’s life force. It didn’t take Annie long to pinpoint her exact location, which brought her comfort knowing this.

“She’s alive Star, waiting for us.”

“Well let’s not keep her waiting any longer or else she’ll worry herself into coma.”

Secret Origins Part 3: A Gift of Fire

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Hot Head was truly as his namesake described him. The young tan, rusty haired boy was a daredevil, and nowhere did that show more than when he was on his board, pulling one amazing stunt after the other. Mostly to show off how skilled and cool he was, and to impress Whirlwind. He was orphaned at a young age, and it was there that he met three other orphans that would turn out to be not only his best friends and pseudo-siblings, but also his family.

Lucky Star was the first he met, the lavender haired boy was quite popular with the girls of the orphanage. He didn’t seem to care that much, he knew they saw him as the “pretty boy” but he didn’t let it go to his head. Lucky was also smart, really smart, but he didn’t let show that much, afraid to be left or separated from the others because they thought he was some kind of child genius. Even so, the two quickly bonded and became each other’s surrogate brother.

The third was an older girl named Amber Lily, she was…different. She wasn’t afraid to get in your face and scold you when you did something wrong, and at the same time, she had this kind of motherly/big sister side that made her kind and caring to everyone there. She was also cute, with her, well, amber colored hair and beautiful green eyes, Hot Head even had crush on her. But that didn’t last long.

The fourth of their group was Annie, a young girl who was left at the orphanage when she was baby. Amber dedicated most of her time to taking care of the little babe and Hot Head and Lucky kind of became her big brothers. As the years went on, the four of them earned a nickname around the orphanage and outside of it, The Troublemakers. Mostly because they got into trouble, a lot, whether by accident or as a result of some harebrained idea Hot Head came up with for them. Despite all this, all four were close, but the day came when Annie, the youngest of their group, was adopted by her new mother Fluttershy.

It hit Amber the hardest seeing her go, the two of them were closer, practically sisters, and she had to say goodbye to her. Hot Head and Lucky Star knew the day would come when Amber had to leave the orphanage, she was three years older than both of them, and would soon reach an age where she couldn’t stay in the orphanage anymore. When she turned eighteen and the day came when she had to leave, she couldn’t. Amber didn’t want to leave the two boys she watched grow up and stuck by for so long all alone. The benefit of being a legal adult quickly came in handy, allowing Amber to legally adopt Hot Head and Lucky, moving into a nice two story house where they could all live together.

For the past couple of years all three former orphans had been living together under the same roof, both boys would tease Amber by calling her “mom” and making her shudder. They knew she thought it was weird being called that, seeing as how she was still young and not really old enough to be called their mother, still, she didn’t mind it completely, it was sweet in a way. Now it should be noted that Amber, as the years went by, developed quite the attractive figure, although she hadn’t gotten much taller, Hot Head and Lucky practically towered over her, Lucky Star more so.

And it was no surprise to them that Amber had a…“unique” sense of humor. She wasn’t afraid of saying something dirty or thinking it, often teasing and making everyone uncomfortable for a laugh. They knew Annie picked up Amber’s sense of humor, but it was a degree less than the originator’s. But all was well, they eventually ran into Annie again when Amber registered them for Canterlot High, so it was all’s well that ends well.

Currently, Hot Head was lamenting over his homework, thumping his forehead repeatedly against the kitchen table either out of frustration or in an attempt to induce a coma. Lucky sat across from him, cutting up an apple and eating the slices as he watched his friend and surrogate brother.

“Hot Head, Amber’s not going to let you out of this by knocking yourself out,” said Lucky.

“I know, I know, I know! Ugh, the X-Games tryouts are in less than two weeks, and I haven’t practiced for how long?!”

“About three weeks.”

“Three weeks! Whirlwind’s going to mop the floor with me unless I get out there and practice!”

Lucky chuckled. “Well if you hadn’t gotten an F in math on your last report card, and hadn’t made Amber subsequently take away your board and ban you from practicing until your grade improved, then you wouldn’t be in this mess. But, that’s just my opinion.”

“Ha, ha, ha,” laughed Hot Head dryly. Hot Head went back to his work, trying to figure out a problem on his homework. “Seriously though, it’s not like I’m going to be needing this what with what I want to do.”

“Professional skateboarder, right?” Lucky asked.

“Of course! I mean I get I need it to figure out how much I’ll get in endorsement deals and product lines, but all this,” Hot Head gestured to the math problems on his paper, “doesn’t help with that.”

“Dude, you know you’re doing math every time you get on that board and skate, right?”

Hot Head looked at Lucky with a confused expression.

“Speed, gravity, velocity, inertia, all physics, all math, all things that go into every move you make on your skateboard. From every pic, roll, and jump, it’s all a big math equation, especially your timing in your moves. For you it’s more about instinct, you can feel it out without, but when I see you, I’m already thinking about how much speed and force you’ll need to pull this or that off.” Lucky explained.

Hot Head thought it over for a moment, finding this revelation cool in a way that it was like math in motion, and a little miffed he couldn’t translate that into homework that he could physically turn in. Just then the two boys heard the front door open, both looked in that direction and saw Amber walking in, her purse slung over her shoulder, and dressed in mint-green nurse’s uniform.

“Hey Amber!” Both boys called out.

“Hey guys,” greeted Amber.

“Tough day?” Lucky asked.

“You guys have NO idea, that fiasco at the base still has most of the hospitals full of injured people. We finally got some backup from a couple of the neighboring towns so they let those of us who have put in more than twenty-fours go home! Glad to be home!”

Hot Head and Lucky knew all about it, the news from three weeks ago about the Stagg Industries robots going haywire and killing everyone there. There was also reports about two weirdly dressed girls tearing the robots apart and stopping the slaughter. But all three were just glad that Annie and her friend Starburst weren’t hurt. Since then, hospitals all around Canterlot City were being flooded with the victims, and of course, Canterlot General was the biggest and by far best equipment to deal with so many. It inevitably led Amber to pull a double, and now she was home.

Amber strode into the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge. She pulled out one of her cans of beer, opened it, and took a swig. She sighed contently, thankful to be home, away from the chaos, enjoying a drink, and in the company of her two favorite teenage boys. Don’t get her wrong, Amber loved her nursing job, but stress was stress and home was home. Amber spied Hot Head, pencil in hand, with a slew of problems on the piece of paper beneath it.

“How’s it going Hot Head?” Amber asked.

“Fine, I guess…”

“Well, don’t get discouraged, I didn’t like math either, but it’s come in handy, especially with my work.”

Hot Head gave a little huff. Amber walked towards him, going around hugging him from behind, slightly surprising him.

“I know it’s tough, but I believe in you Hot Head, and I’m sorry, but I’m really thinking about you and Lucky. I didn’t do what I did because I felt like being a bitch, I just want you to succeed, alright?”

The rusty haired boy sighed in defeat, he couldn’t ever be mad at Amber, annoyed, vexed, mortified, sometimes pissed, but he still cared about her, just as much she did them.

“I know, it’s alright, besides, Lucky’s giving me a hand, so I should be able to get a C next time.”

Amber stood up and smiled. “Oh no, a B at the very least, A would be fantastic though. Just saying.” The young woman then stretched out, popping a few kinks in her bones. “Well, I’m going to go relax, did you guys get the mail?”

“On the coffee table,” they responded.

“Cool!”

After Amber left the kitchen and they heard the sound of her upstairs bedroom door closing, Hot Head’s shoulders slumped, knowing exactly what was coming next. Lucky put down the apple and got up from his seat, going to the fridge to prepare dinner for the three of them. Besides being a smart “pretty boy”, Lucky was also good in the kitchen, maybe not culinary genius, but pretty good as far as they were concerned. The tall, purple eyed boy looked over his shoulder, noticing the change in Hot Head’s attitude and chuckling at his mood.

“You know you should just get over it,” said Lucky.

“I still can’t believe you’re alright with it! She –!”

Hot Head stopped talking, hearing footsteps from the staircase. He kept his back turned, staring right down at his school or at Lucky. He then heard muffled thump of the couch cushions and soon after the TV turning on.

“That! She does that!”

“So what if she walks around the house in her underwear, it’s her house.”

One of the things both boys had come to learn from Amber was that she liked to walk around in nothing but her skivvies, if at all. Lucky, surprisingly, didn’t seem to mind or really care that Amber sometimes walked around the house half-naked or in the buff, rationalizing it as this was her house for one, and she did come home exhausted sometimes from her work and needed to relax, and if she felt more relaxed in just her underwear or nothing at all, then who was he to complain.

Although they were adopted by her and living in the same house, Amber was the one paying for it, and she did originally buy it for herself to live in. Lucky figured that she would’ve done this kind of thing back at the orphanage if there weren’t so many kids there, but now with her own place, she was free to do what she wanted, and Lucky didn’t want to mess with that.

Hot Head was of a different mind. The first time he saw Amber in just her underwear, he had a nosebleed and passed out on the floor. From then on it had been a back and forth between them about what was appropriate to wear while living with two teenage boys. Hot Head would get flustered and cover his eyes whenever Amber did this, and it quickly became a fun little way to tease him, even Lucky got in on it, helping in Amber’s trickery from time to time.

Still, he understood Lucky’s reasoning, but it still bothered him. Didn’t she care she was living with two teenage boys?! That’s not to say that either of them would try something, it was just the principal of it all. It was like she didn’t even care that she was showing them everything, or maybe it was because it was them that she felt comfortable enough to do so?

“Just tell me, is she at least wearing a shirt?!”

Lucky glanced towards the living room. “Nope. Oh, looks like she went with the black ones.”

*THUNK*

Hot Head’s, well, head, smacked against the table. “Give me a break! Amber, show some damn modesty would ya?!”

“Modesty’s for losers! And you know, you and Lucky are free to do the same any time! Oh! We should make this a nudist household, who’s in?!” Amber shouted.

“Hmm, sounds interesting…”

“HELL TO THE NO!” Hot Head protested.

“Fine, fine, killjoy. But just for reference, I wasn’t kidding about the part of you two walking around like this! It’s your house too guys!”

Lucky shot Hot Head a look that said “Told you so”.

“Oh don’t give me that look, if Annie was up in here doing the exact same thing, you’d be the same way!”

Lucky’s face went red at the thought of Annie doing the exact same thing as Amber in the living room. He quickly turned around and went to work preparing their meal, all the while Hot Head had a smug grin on his face, if there was one good piece of ammo he could use against Lucky it was Anthea.

“OH MY GOD!” Amber yelled.

Hot Head and Lucky quickly rushed into the living at hearing Amber’s distress.

“What’s wrong Am – OH JEEZ WOMAN, PUT ON A SHIRT!”

THE NEXT DAY…

Amber, Lucky, and Hot Head found themselves at a law office downtown. It was a pretty high dollar place, the kind of building that lawyers who had wealthy clients would inhabit, and in this case, that’s all that this building was dedicated to. Amber had received a letter from this office, requesting her presence, along with her adopted ward, Lucky. Naturally all three came to the building, dressed as neatly as possible. The whole time Amber sat between the two boys in the waiting room, her foot tapping against the floor nervously, they all were. While her adoption of the two was legal, the people in charge – not the orphanage staff, they knew her well – had doubts about Amber’s ability to care for them, and properly provide. It was always a thought in the back of her head, fearing that she might slip up somewhere and that would give them the excuse to tear their little family apart.

“Hey,” said Hot Head, “it’ll be okay.”

“Y-Yeah…I know,” said Amber, not entirely convinced.

“You haven’t done anything wrong Amber, you’ve been a great guardian and big sister to us both, and that’s the truth,” said Lucky.

“Yeah, no one’s breaking up the Troublemakers, right Amber?!”

Amber smiled gently at both of them and nodded her affirmation.

“Ms. Amber Lily?” The receptionist called out.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Will B. Done is waiting for you.”

With a heavy sigh, Amber rose up, flanked by Lucky and Hot Head. All three went into the office, where three chairs were set up for them. The right of the room was entirely window, giving them a perfect view of Canterlot City. Behind the large wooden desk was bookshelf that was made into the wall, with each shelf filled with law books, knickknacks, and various other items. Amber sat in the middle chair, while Hot Head took the right and Lucky the left. The man sitting at the desk was peering over some documents, he then assembled them together and placed them out of the way. From behind his silver, frameless glasses, he looked at each of them in turn and nodded.

“I’m glad you could come Ms. Lily.” Mr. Done spoke.

“It sounded important, although, I’m not entirely sure why you called us here. This doesn’t seem like an office that pertains to Child Welfare or ACS,” said Amber.

“Ah, no, we handle all kinds of law here, but we are exclusively for clients who pay retainer fees, of course that’s not why I called you here. My reason is because of the young man sitting to your left.”

Amber and Hot Head looked to Lucky as the purple haired boy stared at Will B. Done incredulously.

“Me? What for?”

“I was paid a handsome fee long ago not to ask questions, and just as much to act as your personal attorney, and by right, since you are his legal guardian Ms. Lily, I am at your disposal as well. Are you currently in need of my services?”

“No, no, nothing like that!” Amber assured.

“Very well then, onto to business.” Will B. Done reached below his desk and stood up, bringing with him a large black suitcase, grunting with effort to get it onto the desk. “This is part of an inheritance, from your late parents, Mr. Star, to you.”

Lucky stood up slowly and gazed over the case. It was black in color, made of some kind of metal that he wasn’t sure of. There was a panel on top of it, with a digital readout next to it.

“Along with this, I was instructed to give you these two letters. The one marked with a number “1” is for you to read, the one marked “2” is for your eyes only. My instructions were very specific on that.”

Lucky took both letters, opening letter marked “1”. Amber and Hot Head walked over to him, standing beside Lucky as he read the letter.

Dear Lucky

If you’re reading this, then your mother and I are no longer living. We most likely have a good idea as to how our demise came, but for certain reasons it not something speak of yet.

We wanted to let you know that we love you son, and that we’re sorry that we never got the chance to see you grow into the bright boy I’m sure you are.

Your mother and I are scientists, so in case you were wondering where you got your smarts, and as far as looks, you probably took after your mother.

I hope wherever you are now, that you are loved, and that you have good friends that surround you. Hold onto them Son, don’t let them go. You’ll never know how sad losing something is until you finally have…

But I digress, this suitcase is yours Lucky. For certain reasons it is to remain closed, if for any reason it needs to be, you are the only one who can open it. It’s keyed into your unique genetic code, in case of burglary. But keep it close, it’s our last gift to you.

With all our love,

Quasar & Nebula Star.

THAT NIGHT…

Lucky was sitting in his room, alone. He couldn’t wrap his head around what the letter had said. For years he never so much as knew the names of his parents, and now they leave him something that he’s not supposed to open?! And they were scientists, what kind of scientists were they?! Astrophysicists, Bioengineers, Advanced Robotics, or were they a pair of mad scientists that were plotting to rule the world and the thing in the case was a bomb of some sort, wanting their son to carry on their deadly work. Lucky scoffed at the idea, though given the secrecy of what lay inside, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. He hadn’t said a word after they left the law firm, the only thing Lucky did was take the case and letter up to his room and close the door behind him without saying a word.

So it wasn’t unexpected to hear knocking at his door, followed by the sound of the door knob turning, and the squeak of the door opening. Hot Head peeked in, a concerned look on his face as he gazed upon Lucky, sitting on the edge of his bed as he stared at the case on his computer desk, with the 2 letter resting on top of it. Hot Head closed the door behind and sat at the foot of the bed, looking over his right shoulder at Lucky.

“Still haven’t read it yet, huh?” Hot Head asked.

“No, I haven’t,” said Lucky with little emotion.

“Oh…ahem, Amber’s a little worried about you bro, and I am too.”

“I’m fine…”

“No you’re not fine, and I get it, you just got a lot of heavy stuff dumped on you. And now you’re trying to make sense of it, about your mom and dad.”

“Pfft, they didn’t leave me a photo of them, an heirloom, or even a deed to where they lived so I could go and visit, no, they left me two letters and heavy as hell case that looks like something the Department of Defense or the CIA uses! And on top of all that, they apparently don’t want me to look inside unless I have to, why?! Is it a bomb?! Hell if I know! But that’s all they left behind, their names and that thing! What kind of BS is that?!” Lucky shouted.

Hot Head sighed. “At least you have something. My parents are gone, I don’t know their names or faces, Annie’s parents are alive, probably, but they just left her at an orphanage when she was a baby, and Amber, well, her dad couldn’t deal with her after her mother died, so he brought Amber to the orphanage and left her there. So stop your bitching! At least you have some names and whatever that thing is!”

Lucky looked away from Hot Head, true enough the tan boy was in the same boat as him until recently, both not knowing their parents’ names or how they died. But now Lucky had names to work with. A bit of shame crept into his heart, feeling low for not looking at the glass half full but instead half empty.

“Sorry bro,” said Lucky sincerely.

Hot Head sat up and patted his surrogate brother on the shoulder comfortingly. “S’alright, man. I’ll leave you alone for a bit, but please come down before Amber decides to strip. The moment I see her reaching for her waistband I’m heading to my room! So she’ll need one us to keep her company, and like said, she’s worried about you.”

Lucky chuckled, something he needed. “Alright, I’ll be down to relieve you of duty.”

Hot Head gave a mock salute and headed out of Lucky’s bedroom. Now alone again, Lucky Star sighed. He glanced over at the letter marked 2, he was alone, by himself, no better time to read it he supposed. The pretty boy walked to his desk and picked up the letter, opening it and reading its contents. His face shifted into various expressions, first was confusion, then disbelief, followed by awe, and lastly shock as his eyes widened.

Lucky looked at the case, although instead of looking at it like it was cheap, he looked upon it as if it were in fact a bomb. The teenage boy looked around his room, the blinds were drawn, the door was shut, and Hot Head and Amber were far enough away in the living room. With a gulp, he placed his hand on the pad, a green light passed over the flat of his palm four times from right, to left, and up and down. The readout flashed the word “processing” with a bar underneath it, displaying how long till it was done. Within a matter of seconds the bar filled and a female mechanical voice spoke.

[Recognized: Lucky Star, user approved.]

The circular pushed out from the sides of the case, the crease opened as the top half of the case lifted upwards and then folded back automatically. Lucky gazed upon what laid inside with a combination awe, fascination, and worry. Inside of this pill shaped container was an object about the size of a basketball, to Lucky it looked like an oversized atom. Three rings of yellow energy encircled a glowing red-orange sphere of light, it looked like the rings were trying to contain the orb, as if a star had been shrunken down and placed within them. Lucky tentatively lifted the pill shaped object out of the case and examined, he then looked at the letter for the second time, his gaze bouncing back and forth between the piece of paper and the sphere of energy within the container.

“The Firestorm Matrix…?”

Secret Origins Part 4: "Beware my power...!"

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Golden Delicious, the only son of Applejack and Caramel, was off in Matropolis on a catering order. The eighteen-year-old had a passion for the culinary arts, although he was great at his farm work back home, he found his true calling in the kitchen, creating tasty and delectable foods, main dishes and desserts, he had a knack for pretty much any entree. Of course this was met with mixed results when it came to his mother, Applejack. She wasn’t too keen on letting him become a chief, mostly stemming from not having him close by, she was very protective of him when he was younger, more so because when he was baby he got very sick and his life was in danger.

But that was back then, now he’s big, strong, and a wizard in the kitchen. Although financially they couldn’t afford to send him to a culinary school, Golden Delicious, or Del as his friends called him, was able to make do in other ways. One of his friends, Cotton Candy, was able to talk to her mother, Pinkie Pie, about putting in a good word for him at Sugar Cube Corner. It was a popular hangout for adults and teenagers alike, but it was also a catering bakery. It was there that Del learned more about how to bake different deserts, and a myriad of different techniques and tips for them.

They eventually pointed him in the direction of a rival and friend, Gustave Le Grand. Gustave owned a popular fancy restaurant in Canterlot City, and on the word of the Cakes, allowed Del to learn the ways of the chief in his kitchen. Even helping Le Grand out with catering orders out of town and in town. Del made sure he didn’t neglect his duties at Sweet Apple Acres, family was important to him and he wasn’t about to let them down, he loved them all. His mother and father, his little cousin Api, and his older cousin Red June. Both she and Del were more or less the mavericks of the family, June wanted to be a cherry farmer in stark contrast to their family’s staple source of income for generations back.

But such was the case, all three cousins were thick as thieves. On this particular catering job, Del was revisiting one of Le Grand’s loyal customers, Fancypants and his wife, Fleur de Lis. It was here that he met their daughter, Crème de la Crème, or just Crème as she preferred. The girl was ditzy and a bit of an airhead, but she wasn’t stuck up or snobby, in fact, she seemed really fascinated with farm life and working on one, so it wasn’t any wonder that the two became long distance friends, e-mailing each other once and while, and sometimes offering Del a chance to work at one of her father’s parties as an assistant to their chief.

“It smells good over here!”

Del looked to his right and saw Crème appear. Her wavy hair flowed down to her shoulders, her color inherited from her mother’s hair, albeit a shade or two toned down than hers. She was quite tall, meeting the farm boy at eye level, with long slender legs, and an hourglass figure. She was wearing a flowing silver dress, strapless as it hugged around her torso and chest, allowing her, whether she wanted to or not, to show off her impressive bust. Del politely averted his eyes upwards to a chandelier that all of a sudden caught his eye.

“Um, yeah, it does Ms. Crème!” Del agreed.

“Hmmm, don’t ‘Ms. Crème’ me! It’s just Crème.” She pouted, crossing her arms in front of her like a child as she puffed out her cheeks.

“Sorry, but Ah can’t be callin’ ya all informal like that, at least not when Ah’m workin’.”

Crème released a sigh as she relented to his point. “Fair enough, but is there any chance you’ll be sticking around long enough to accompany? To tell you the truth I love these parties, but the other guys and girls here aren’t as fun to be around.”

“Heh, that Ah can understand.”

“Anyway, what do you think of my new dress for the party?” Crème stepped back and did a little spin. “It’s from this new designer my Mother discovered, her name’s Coco Pommel! She’s really nice and sweet, much nicer than that, ahem, witch, she worked with. Suri Polomare I think that’s her name.”

Del kept his gaze up but looked her over since she was waiting for his opinion. “It’s looks mighty fine on you Ms. Crème, but, uh…”

“Go on.” Crème urged.

“Well…it’s maybe cut a tad too low in the, ahem, chest area.”

Crème looked down at herself, pondering Del’s words as she examined the outfit from his perspective. She gave a thoughtful hum as she glanced behind her, at the nearly backless dress.

“You might be right, but Mother says I shouldn’t be embarrassed. ‘A girl deserves to have her beauty shown to all, and pity those who don’t see it!’ that was what she said.”

Crème, although slightly annoyed that he wouldn’t look at her for more than a few seconds, found his chivalrous, gentlemanly nature endearing and cute, not wanting to stare. She knew that came from his upbringing and it was one of the things she admired about him.

“Oh that reminds me, I have a friend coming over to visit sometime next month! We should so get together and hangout!”

“Sounds good to me, but is he one of, well…” Del gestured with his head towards the younger party guests.

Crème shook her head and made an X with her forearms. “Nope, definitely not like them! His parents and mine are close friends, so I’ve known him since we were kids. He’s really nice and very honorable, and never looks down on anyone.”

“Sounds like a pretty decent guy.” Del commented.

“Yeah, and he’s into archery! He even went to the Olympics and got a gold medal for Norway!”

Del gulped. “Oh, wow.”

“Awww, don’t worry Del, I know you and him well be best of friends! If you can come that is? I can arrange for you to come back if you can?”

Del thought it over, true he didn’t mind spending time with Crème, she was really fun to be around, almost like Cotton Candy, but the girl she knew back home was a little more aware than Crème. Still, it could be fun to see this childhood, archer friend of hers.

“Ah’ll see what needs doin’ back home, if Ah ain’t too busy helpin’ out the family Ah’ll give ya a call,” said Del.

“Yay! Oooh, now I feel like dancing! C’mon!”

“Whoa wait I need to man the food –!”

“Time to cut a rug Del, foods not going anywhere, well maybe except into people’s stomachs!”

OUTSKIRTS OF CANTERLOT CITY, TWO WEEKS LATER…

Sweet Apple Acres was a pretty big part of Canterlot City’s farming business. That’s not to say that there weren’t other lucrative farms around, but theirs had been around the longest, ever since the city was just a small town way back when. Rows upon rows of trees covered the valley and fields of the Apple Family farm, tended to for generations by the men and women who lived here. Of course the family has spread out and sprouted farms and businesses of their own in different regions and towns, but the tried and true beginnings of their family will always be Sweet Apple Acres.

Del loved his home, he loved everything about it. The farm was just far enough from the city so that it didn’t pollute the air, plus with all the trees they had, it was like they had their own air freshener and cleanser twenty-four-seven. Del had come back from his catering job and was now busy helping out his family with the harvest of one of the fields. Now the method of the Apple Family’s fruit picking was…different from others, but given the generations they’ve had to perfect this technique, and to buildup the strength to do it with, it worked for them.

Del stood before one of the apple trees, having the base of it surrounded with empty baskets. He got into what some would assume was a fighting stance and, in one swift motion, kicked the tree. The tree rattled and shook, causing the apples to fall with multiple thudding sounds right into the perfectly positioned baskets. Their standard margin for error was at least five or three not making it into the basket, but Del, like his mother, kept it at two to one. The young man wiped his brow, he had removed his shirt awhile back, revealing his well-toned, muscly body. He did however keep his bandanna hanging around his neck, having been made into one from a blanket he treasured as a kid by his Aunt Apple Bloom.

Applejack, his mother, was busy applying the “apple bucking” technique to a tree. Her blonde hair was tied up in its usual ponytail, her orange plaid shirt tied up under her bust, exposing her midriff to the cool air as she worked. She still wore her Stetson hat, never parting with the thing, it was even in her wedding photos.

“Whew, just a few more and we can call it a day Del,” said Applejack.

“Sounds great Ma, Ah’ll cook us some supper when we get back.” Del started moving some of the empty baskets off the horse drawn wagon and to another unpicked tree.

“Don’t you go worryin’ about that, Ah’ll cook us up somethin’ good. Least Ah can do since ya got back.”

Del loved to cook, his mother knew this, but the two of them often butted heads when it came to what he wanted to do with his life. But it never got to be too big of deal, they were always cordial about it.

Hopefully that’ll change soon…

Applejack had kicked another tree at the same time as her son, creating a chorus of falling fruit to echo around them. Del had noticed, up till now, his mother had been quiet, which was nothing new, she often kept quiet when focusing on work, but she would at least strike up a conversation now and again to fill the silence for a few minutes. Finally, since they were almost done anyway, Del decided to ask what was up.

“Hey Ma, you alright?”

Applejack stopped mid-kick, bringing her left boot down before glancing over her shoulder.

“Pardon?”

“Ah was just wonderin’ if you were alright? You’ve been quiet since we got out here so…just curious is all.”

Applejack looked away from her son for a moment, her shoulders rising as she took in a deep breath and falling after her long exhale. She then reached into her right rear jean pocket, pulling out what appeared to be a white piece of paper. She then turned around and held it out to him.

“This came fer ya while you were away,” said Applejack.

With a confused look, Del walked over to his mother and took hold of the paper. He unfolded it a couple of times to reveal that it was in fact a letter. His eyes grew wide at who it was from.

Mister Golden Delicious
We regret to inform you that your application for scholarship into Maîtres de l'Académie des Arts Culinaires has been rejected.
Although we have seen your references as well as the work you have done, we would like you to have just a tad more experience under your belt.
If you wish to apply again –

Del couldn’t read any further, crumbling the paper in frustration and disappointment at seeing the news. But then it struck him, the letter was folded up, not in an envelope, which meant his mother had not only opened it but read it as well. Del looked up and saw his mother staring at him, arms crossed as she tapped her bicep with her fingers expectantly.

“Care to explain? When did y’all apply for a scholarship and to what exactly?” Applejack asked curtly.

“Ah sent out a form of registry for scholarship to a school in France,” said Del.

Applejack blinked in confusion. “What the hell’s in France?”

“All the best schools for cooking are in France, Ma. And Ah know they ain’t cheap either, so that’s why I went and applied with Mr. Le Grand’s help.”

Applejack sighed heavily. “How did Ah know this was comin’ back to that? And when were ya goin’ to tell me and your Pa about that?! Were ya just plannin’ on springin’ it on us on the day ya left?!”

“It was a long shot alright, Ah wasn’t even sure if they would! And apparently they didn’t so Ah guess ya got nothin’ to worry about!” Del shouted back as he did an about face.

“What is so bad about this place Del?!”

“What?”

“Are ya ashamed of this place, yer family?!”

Del turned around with an incredulous look on his face. “Of course not!”

“Then why does it look like yer tryin’ to get as far away from us possible?!” Applejack asked.

Del grunted and turned to face his mother. Although he was taller than her, that didn’t mean she was any less intimidating, having shown more than once that size didn’t matter when it came to someone getting in your face.

“Ah’m not tryin’ to get away from anythin’! Ah love the farm, but it’s not where meh heart is Ma. Ah love cookin’, makin’ somethin’ that people can enjoy, Ah love the work and art put into it, and the Cakes and Mr. Le Grand seem to think I have a knack for it. If Ah went to that school, and came back with a certification, Ah’d be able to start a restaurant, and use the farms apples in some of my main dishes! Ah could drum up more business for us!”

Applejack snorted. “We don’t need extra money, we’ve been doin’ just fine! And what’s all this talk about ‘restaurants’ and whatnot?! Ah knew ya loved cookin’, ain’t nothin’ wrong with it, but now yer tellin’ me about all this just now?! And where the hay were ya goin’ to get the money to start up this restaurant anyway?!”

Del looked away from his mother. In truth he hadn’t really thought about that part, restaurants weren’t always successful, and mostly due to not having enough money to startup. He couldn’t ask the Cakes or Mr. Le Grand to help him, believing that they have done more than enough to help him in honing his craft. And if things didn’t pan out so well, it would mean trouble, financially, for both of them.

“Let me guess, ya were probably goin’ to ask that gal for help, what’s her name, Crème. Ah’m startin’ to think you’ve been spendin’ too much time with that rich hussy up in Matropolis! She’s probably just stringin’ ya along ‘cause she’s inta farmboys.”

Del turned on his mother, staring her right in the eye as he balled his fists in anger.

“Don’t you call her a ‘hussy’! Crème’s a nice gal, she ain’t like those other stuck up Richie Riches, course she can be a little ditzy and spacey at times, but she’s got a good heart! So don’t ya ever call that!”

Applejack pushed her forehead against Del’s. “Well if ya think so highly of her, why don’t ‘cha see if she’ll marry ya! Then ya can live the hoity toity lifestyle ya want so much!”

Del felt like saying more, but just snorted and stomped down the orchard before he said something he might’ve regretted.

“Where the hell are you goin’?! We ain’t done talkin’ about this Del!” Applejack shouted.

“Ah am!” He yelled back.

“Well fine then, go on, get!”

Applejack watched as her son continued storming off down the rows of apple trees till he had vanished from her sight. She stood there a few minutes, cursing under her breath and kicking the dirt in anger and indignation. After a while she just leaned up against the wagon and sighed disappointedly.

“Ah F’ed up…”

“Well, can’t argue with you there Hun.”

Applejack turned around and saw her husband, Caramel, walking out of the tree line and heading towards her. Applejack turned and pulled down her hat to hide her face.

“Ah just went and insulted our only son’s friend…and more than likely made him feel like he was lower than dirt for pursuin’ his dreams…Ah don’t deserve to be a mother…”

Caramel put down the basket he was carrying and went to Applejack, placing his hands on her shoulders and bringing her back against his chest.

“Don’t think like that, you’re just…a little overprotective is all,” said Caramel.

“Ah just can’t help worryin’ about him…not after what happened when he was born.”

Caramel remembered that day very well. When Golden Delicious was born, a few months after Del was born the newborn got really sick, it worried both of them to the point that they feared that they would lose their first child so soon after he was born. But by the good grace of the heavens above, Del was able to come out of it, and ever since then has been healthy as a horse. But that didn’t stop AJ from constantly worrying about him, fearing that one day the mysterious illness would come back to claim their child and neither one of them would be there to help him through it. Caramel worried too, but he knew Del’s will was strong, body and mind as well.

“I worry too AJ,” said Caramel.

“So why aren’t ya as scared as Ah am? You really want him to go away to some other country halfway around the world?! What if something happens to ‘em?! What if he gets sick again –?!”

“What if the whole country blows up, what if the sky catches fire, what if we’re invaded by extraterrestrials? What ifs, AJ, that’s all they are, what ifs. We can’t focus on those, if your ancestors kept thinking about the ‘what ifs’ do you think this farm would even exist? The same thing with your parents, do you think they worried that they wouldn’t be able to support three kids? Probably. Did Granny Smith worry about raising you three after their accident? Most likely. But they didn’t let their fears get the better of them. You’re stronger than that Applejack, I’ve seen it more than once back in high school, and even when we dated. You even wrestled a damn timber wolf, A WOLF!”

Applejack’s freckled face blushed remembering that fight. “It was goin’ after little Api and Del back then, Ah just did what any mother would’ve done.”

“Exactly. And worrying about their children is what parents do. But you can’t let those fears rule you and make every decision for them. Del’s almost twenty, he’s practically a grown man, but he’ll always need his folks, and his Ma.”

Applejack wiped away a tear quickly before her husband could see it. “Ah…Ah should probably go and get the rest of the baskets before night falls.”

Translation: I’m going to go look for Del and tell him I’m sorry, thought Caramel.

“Sure, I’ll tell AB, Pip, Big Mac, and Cheerilee that you guys are working further in the fields.”

Applejack nodded to Caramel, she then hopped onto the wagon and grabbed the reins of the horse, giving them a quick whip to spur the workhorse forward down the trail. Leaving Caramel to shake his head and smile at his wife.

“Both stubborn as mules sometimes. Now then…”

Suddenly a sonic boom roared overhead, Caramel looked up and watched as a streak of green and yellow flashed across the sky as they lowered towards the direction Applejack was going.

Del was walking for a bit when he stormed off, but it turned into a full sprint down the dirt trail into the rows of trees. Eventually he stopped at a clearing, sitting atop one of the numerous hills in Sweet Apple Acres. He sat there and watched the sun dip towards the horizon, the argument he had with his mother still fresh in his mind. He hated arguing with her, considering how close they were, but still, he just couldn’t take it anymore, he had to get that off his chest and tell his mother straight to her face what he wanted to do. Unfortunately, telling her all that, it made him realize just how little he had thought his plans through. He never did think about where he was going to get the startup money for a restaurant, and that’s assuming he graduated from such a school.

Worst case scenario, if he didn’t manage to graduate, he could keep working at Le Grand’s, but with the new knowledge and skills he learned while there. And who knows, maybe the old Frenchman would hand over ownership of the restaurant to him when he thought he was ready. But that was wishful thinking, Del wanted to use his skills to help his family, yes they were good financially, but they could be better. He was thinking of his parent’s retirement as well as his little cousin Api’s future.

If somethin’ like what happened to Echo’s pa happened to Api…Ah want to make sure we can take care of everybody. But, Del sighed, maybe I’m just not cut out for it…

Del looked once more into the distance, seeing that the sun had dipped about halfway on the horizon.

“Guess Ah’d better head back and apologize to Ma…*sigh*…and face the music.”

Just then Del heard a sonic boom roar across the sky. The farmer bolted upright and turned his gaze skywards. His eyes scanned up above for any sign of a jet plane, but instead he watched as two streaks of yellow and green flew right towards him! Del cried out and dove out of their way, tumbling down the hill as he heard the thunderous dual impact, along with the shower of upturned dirt and grass being flung into the air. When Del finally stopped rolling, he propped himself up on his forearms, groaning from the rough tumble. He looked back up at the hill that he was sitting on just a moment ago and saw that a big chunk of it had been blasted away. His eyes followed the path of destruction further downhill till his eyes rested on two beings.

The first was a woman, her skin was a bluish-green color, turquoise if Del remembered right, and shimmered like it was made of crystal. Her upper body was covered in green and black mesh-like suit, it exposed her midriff and her forearms, and on her shoulders were two green metal pads. From her waist down it was the same, her boots made of the same green metal as her pads. She had a hair that seemed to be a shade lighter than her body, but flowed freely like normal hair despite its crystalline structure. Upon the center of her chest was an insignia on that Del didn’t recognize, and on her right hand was a ring, glowing with emerald light that surrounded her entire body.

Opposite the green glowing woman was a frightening creature. It looked like a spider, with its four long hairy insectoid legs protruding from its back. Its body was thin, with two long arms and four claws, its long humanoid legs bent backwards as the three talons on its feet dug into the ground. This creature’s head was large in disproportion to its thin body, with two long pincers on either side of its drooling mouth. It was dressed in some kind of uniform, yellow and black, with an insignia on its chest that appeared similar to that of the alien woman’s. On the middle claw of its left hand rested a yellow ring, which glowed with a yellow aura that enveloped the monster’s body.

“It’s time to take you in Garseckt! Surrender now and I promise to leave you three limps instead of none!” The female alien warned.

“Kckt, Sarenia, ever loyal to the Guardians and the Green Lantern Corps, they are weak, such talent is wasted on them! You have such potential and the yellow light of fear suits you better,” said Garseckt.

Sarenia chuckled at the notion. “You’re flattery is wasted, now last warning!” The Green Lantern raised her right hand and aimed it at the monster across from her. “Surrender and remove your ring, or I’ll take it off for your, claw and all!”
Garseckt let out threatening hissing and clicking sounds as he entered an attack stance. Sarenia let loose a powerful green energy blast from her ring, but Garseckt materialized a yellow construct shield which took the brunt of the blast. The sheer power and force put into the blast pushed him back, making him dig his talons into dirt to gain some leverage. Garseckt jumped up into the air, hovering overhead as his yellow ring shined. A giant spiked hammer appeared overhead, as if holding the weapon in hand Garseckt brought the giant weapon down on Sarenia.

The Green Lantern quickly erected a barrier around herself as the spiked hammer fell, a thunderous boom roared out, followed by a pressure wave from the initial impact. Garseckt quickly brought his hammer up for second time, but Sarenia was wasn’t about to standby and take it. She hardened her barrier till she couldn’t be seen at all. She then pointed her ring towards the ground and formed a drill, burrowing deep beneath the earth. Garseckt brought down his hammer for the second time and shattered the barrier like fragile glass.

The Green Lantern continued to tunnel her way below, popping up fifty feet away and flying up to meet the insectoid alien! Her left arm transformed into a long, single-edged blade, she then coated it in her green aura and brought it down on Garseckt. The surprise attack caught the alien off guard as the diamond blade sliced into one of his four spider legs. Garseckt hissed in pain as he bolted away from Sarenia. His severed limb fell to the ground, twitching for a few seconds before stopping completely. The Fear Lantern’s nub bled out a disgusting yellow blood, Garsekct quickly used his ring to create a bandage construct around his severed limb before glaring at the Green Lantern who took it.

Sarenia stared down her foe from the edge of her blade-arm, keeping her ring primed for a counterattack. Garseckt quickly opened his mouth and fired a pinpoint shot of webbing right at the Green Lantern. The webbing hit Sarenia in the face, blinding her and making her change her arm back to normal to try and rip off the webbing. Garseckt pointed his ring towards Sarenia, firing a beam of yellow light at her. The beam then burst at the tip, turning into a net that spread out over a wide area. Sarenia soon found herself caught in the net, ripping off the webbing just in time to find herself caught in his web. Garseckt commanded the net to become taut, wrapping around her and hindering her movements. Garseckt flung Sarenia to the trees, slamming her into one tree after the other, felling them with each smashing hit. He then raised his left arm up and then down, repeatedly slamming her into the fertile ground of the farm.

Del watched this all unfold, the two aliens having a duel of light and tearing up his family’s farm. It was unreal, it’d be amazing if he weren’t right in the middle of the fight! The alien known as Garseckt spun out, whipping around Sarenia with him. The spider alien released his hold on the construct net, flinging the alien women right into the ground with a great “BOOM”! Del waited for the alien woman to rise up and fight again, but she didn’t. The spider alien then flew down to the edge of the crater where he had thrown her, standing over it superiorly. Del didn’t know why, but deep down he knew, he felt that the women clad in green was good and that this monster was evil. He couldn’t allow this thing to win, if he did, then there was no telling what it could do to the rest of his family. With fierce determination, Del sprinted towards them.

Garseckt meanwhile looked down at the beaten Sarenia. Her crystalline body had cracks all over it from the repeated slams, add to it that fear weakens willpower, and it just made the blows that much more damaging. Garseckt used his ring to create shackles, lifting Sarenia up from the crater by her wrists. He then formed a blade and, with what could be assumed as a sadistic smile, thrust the blade through the crystal alien’s stomach. Sarenia gritted her teeth from the pain of the blade, Garseckt then withdrew the weapon, causing her wound to bleed out blue blood. The spider Fear Lantern smiled his hideous smile again, creating two giant nodes on either side of the Green Lantern. The nodes released concussive sound waves that screeched in Sarenia’s ears.

She grunted, refusing to let the monster hear her painful cries as she felt her crystalline body begin crack from the sound waves. The damage was building up, and only worsening the wound she just suffered, the sound was scrambling her mind, making it hard for her to concentrate on a construct formation.

“Just give in Sarenia, let me hear your beautiful screams before you die!”

“Ragshet grah mah!” Sarenia cursed.

“Oh such language, maybe I should cut out your tongue!”

“Get away from her you oversized bug!!!” Del shouted.

Garseckt looked towards the voice in confusion, only to have a size eight cowboy boot meet his mandible. The sound of crunching bone could be heard as Garseckt was sent flying twenty feet away, skidding against the dirt like a pebble skipping the surface of the water. The yellow constructs faded away, their creator no longer able to concentrate on maintaining them. Del landed roughly, having gone into a sprint to deliver his “apple buck” kick, but he quickly recovered, watching as the alien women began to fall from the air. He positioned himself directly beneath her and caught her, he was prepared to lift something that weighed several pounds since she had a crystal body, but she felt surprisingly light.

“Hey Miss, can ya hear me, Miss?!”

“…Ugh…Who…are you…?”

“Ah’m Del, don’t talk right now we need to get ya out of here before he gets back up!”

“You…You attacked Garseckt…?”

“DEL!!!”

The young man watched as his mother came bursting out from the tree line and thundering towards him. Applejack pulled back on the reins, yelling “WHOA” as she brought the horse to a halt, nearly tipping over the wagon. Applejack looked upon her son, carrying the injured Green Lantern.

“What the hell is goin’ on?! Who’s she, and why’s this place look like a damn warzone?!” Applejack asked.

“Later Ma, we need to get her out of here, there’s a monster over there that’s comin’ for her and –!”

A burst of yellow light exploded behind them, silhouetted in the light was Garseckt, infuriated that he had just been kicked by a lowly human. Del handed the alien woman to his mother and turned around to face the alien that was coming towards them.

“Ma, get her out of here now!”

“DEL WAIT!!!” Applejack shouted.

Del ran right for the spider monster, fists balled up and ready to fight the creature. Applejack felt a stirring from the alien woman as she lightly pushed off of her and turned towards the retreating form of the charging boy. She then pointed her ring at the boy smiling.

“Ring choose well…and please choose him…!”

The green ring shot off the alien woman, her green suit disappearing with it. Her body went limp, making AJ hurry to catch the woman.

“Hey are ya alright?! Ah’m talkin’ to ya, can ya hear me?!”

“In Brightest Day…”

The ring zipped into the air, stopping for a moment as its otherworldly technology searched for a new bearer. It’s blinking green light stopped shining as it aimed itself right for Del, taking off like lightning.

“…In Blackest Night…”

Garseckt charged for Del, summoning two yellow sword constructs to cleave this human in half!

“No evil…shall escape my sight…!”

Del was terrified of this monster in front him, but he couldn’t let that stop him, yes this was stupid, yes this might’ve been futile, but if he could slow this creature down long enough for the crystal woman to get away, then he’d be damned if he wasn’t going make this easy on the spider!

“Let those who worship…evil’s might…”

Del raised his right hand, prepared to punch the monster right in the face, but right before he clenched his fist, the green ring slipped over his middle finger. The green light of willpower surrounded him, energizing every cell in his body. A suit of black, green, and white formed over his body, bearing the same insignia as the as the alien woman.

“Beware our power…”

Del thrust out his right fist with heightened speed, smashing it into Garseckt’s face and catching him completely off guard, his eight eyes watching as the ring shined.

“…Green Lantern’s light!!!”

The ring unleashed its pent up power, blasting Garseckt with a full powered energy blast! The beam roared out as Del pointed the beam straight into the sky, lighting up the twilight with his emerald glow. Del willed the beam to stop and it obeyed, but when he readied himself to fight back against Garseckt he found that that wouldn’t be necessary. The creature’s head and upper half of his body was completely blasted away, the only thing left was his waist, legs, and his two arms that had escaped the blast.

Del panted, glad that the monster was dead, but now completely confused as to why he was wearing a suit and a ring that was the same as the alien’s.

“Oh crap!”

Del turned around and quickly ran back to his mother and the alien. He skidded to a stop when he saw that the alien woman was no longer in her uniform or wearing her ring. The only had on some weird space suit. Applejack had the woman’s head resting in her lap, her hand pressed over her wound to stop the bleeding, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything to stop it. Some blood seeped from the corner of Sarenia’s mouth, she then moved her head, hearing the approaching footsteps of the boy who helped her.

“Del, correct?” Sarenia asked.

“Y-Yeah, just hang on Miss –”

“Sarenia,” she interrupted, “my name is Sarenia of Space Sector 873, home planet Hexcarta…”

“Alright, Sarenia we’ll get ya to a…a doctor or somethin’!”

Sarenia shook her head. “No…it’s too late. Listen to me, you have been chosen by my ring, it is a great gift and a terrible privilege. You are to be the first Green Lantern of Earth, and it will be your duty to protect your world and sector.”

Del and Applejack looked to his right hand, seeing the glowing ring that once used to be Sarenia’s.

“But…Ah…Ah can’t Ah…I don’t…”

“The ring doesn’t make mistakes, you have the potential Del of Earth, and I believe in you.”

Sarenia lifted her crystalline hand, Del quickly grasped it as he looked into her now pink eyes. He could see that this wasn’t some way to force him into this, she genuinely believed that Del had what it took to be a Green Lantern. Even though he wasn’t exactly sure he was right for the job.

“Okay…”

“You will make a fine Green Lantern…”

Del felt her hand go limp, he held onto it gently as he placed it over her chest, his mother doing the same with the left hand. She gently slid Sarenia’s head from under her lap and rested it against the soft grass. AJ then took off her hat and placed it over her heart, although she didn’t know the alien long, she saved her boy and for that she would be grateful. Del stood up and offered a silent prayer to Sarenia and whatever deity her people worshipped that her soul would find peace. Applejack replaced her hat back atop her head, wiping some tears from her eyes.

“Um…Del, sugarcube…Ah…”

The young man moved forward and hugged his mother fiercely, surprising her by the sudden embrace, but only for a moment before she too hugged him back.

“Ah’m sorry too, Ma.”

Mother and son held each for a few moments before separating.

“We have a lot to talk about.”

Del brought up his ring and looked into it. “Yeah, Ah think we do.”

[Golden Delicious of Earth, you have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps.]

Secret Origins Part 5: "Smile, all will be well, silly!"

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*Drip*

*Drop*

*Drip*

*Drop*

This was the sound heard within the dark cave, nothing but blackness, cold, and the sound of dripping water echoing within the long expanse of the cave. Within this hollow space sat a girl, her hair was mostly pink, with streaks of off-white, almost swirling into each other. She sat in a meditative position, with nothing but a white robe that hung off her right shoulder, and a blue ring on her right middle finger. The ring gave off a soft blue light, illuminating the darkness just a tad, but not enough to see everything.

*Drip*

*Drop*

*Drip*

*Drop*

The girl was known as Cotton Candy, Candy or CeCe to her friends. She breathed in and out, slowly and evenly, in rhythm with her steady heartbeat. Within the darkness of this cave, her mind flashed back to the day when she first saw it…

]

The streaks of green and yellow in the sky, the thunderous boom in the distance. The worried, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she saw said streaks land somewhere near her friend’s farm, but at the same time she felt something bigger was at work, and that this bigger presence was telling her that everything would be alright. She took the sight of a green pillar of light shooting up into the sky as a good sign.

Later that day Candy visited her friend, Golden Delicious’ family farm. Apparently everything was okay according to them, but even though Candy could be a bit of an airhead sometimes, she was smarter than some gave her credit for. She noticed, on the day that her mother and her went to go visit the Apple Family, that Del had a green ring on his right hand. She’d known the culinary apple farmer long enough to know that he wasn’t one for wearing jewelry, and for some reason she could feel a strange power emanating from the ring, as if it had a powerful presence, but it wasn’t threatening.

Candy could tell when her friends weren’t being truthful with her, and being of the Apple Family, both Pinkie and Candy knew what terrible liars they were, but if they did lie, it must’ve been for a good reason. One day Candy decided to visit Del, asking her Aunt Maud for a lift, her Aunt Maud didn’t ask any questions, she seemed to understand her need to go and see her friend.

When Candy arrived there, she found Del with a bag slung over his shoulder, walking towards the apple trees. Deciding to find out what was going on, she followed the farmer as stealthily as she could. She tailed Del deep into the apple orchard, she knew the orchards just as well as Del, having helped them in their work and playing with him and his cousins in the orchards since they were children.

Del stopped in a clearing, looking around to make sure that no one was around. Candy decided now was the time to spring up on him.

“AH-HA!”

“GAH!”

Del spun around, dropping his back and pointing his ring in Candy’s direction. She found the action odd, he held it as if it were a weapon and was going to use it. But after he saw who it was Del lowered his arm and sighed heavily.

“CeCe, what the hell, ya almost gave me a heart attack!” Del shouted.

Candy was taken aback by the slight harshness in his words. “S-Sorry Del…I was just worried about you and…I’ll go.”

Del face palmed himself as he saw Candy turn around to leave and quickly called out. “Candy wait, Ah’m sorry! Ah’m just a little…nervous and wound up is all.”

The young teenage girl turned around confused. “Nervous…about what?”

Del stopped, wondering if he should say anything to her. “It’s complicated CeCe…”

Candy walked up to Del, placing her hand on his shoulder while smiling up at him comfortingly.

“Sometimes telling someone about it can make it less complicated,” said Candy.

Del relented, if there was anyone who could keep a secret and confide in, it was Candy. Del and Candy sat down in the grass as Del recounted the events of a couple of weeks ago. How the streaks of light landed at his home, about the battle between the aliens Sarenia and Garseckt, and how Sarenia’s ring chose him to be a Green Lantern. Candy had to admit, all this sounded too fantastic, but Del was deadly serious in every word he spoke, and she knew he wasn’t one for making up stories like this.

He also told her about how two other Green Lanterns, a humanoid who looked like a cross between a buffalo and horse by the name of Dakotah Deltana. And the other, a girl with skin as white as snow, black hair with a mix of electric blue highlights, and sporting sunglasses and earphones, her name was Electronica. The two Lanterns came to collect their fallen, and saw that she had passed her ring to Del. This Dakotah was apparently a drill sergeant of the Green Lantern Corps and told him he had to report to Oa for basic training before he could be officially the Green Lantern of Sector 2814. Electronica was able to negotiate with Dakotah to allow Del time to get his affairs in order before just up and leaving.

“Electronica said she’d escort me to Oa so Ah wouldn’t have to make the trip through space alone, and that’s about it, she’s just waitin’ for me to give her the signal,” said Del.

Candy leaned back, staring up at the sky as she took all of this in.

“Wow…That’s…Wow. Are you sure about this Del? Not that I don’t think you’ll totally blow those other recruit guys out of the water, but…is your mom and dad alright with this?”

“Well, Ma was there when it happened. We talked about it a lot for the past couple of weeks, she’s a bit scared –”

“‘A bit’?” Candy asked, knowing his mother well.

“Okay, a might scared, but I think it’ll be good. Sarenia said the ring doesn’t make mistakes, if it chose me then it was for a reason. Ah don’t want make her sacrifice be in vain, and you know Ah’m not one to walk away from something important.”

Candy sighed. “I know, and you’re right. I’d tell you to be careful, but I know you’ll come back!”

Del smiled at his friend, feeling his spirits lifted from talking to her. “Guess it’s about time.”

Del stood up and so did Candy. The freckled faced boy pointed his ring into the air, willing the ring to release a thin beam of energy that shot straight up into the sky. Several seconds past with nothing happening, but soon a green flash zoomed straight down from the sky. The streak of emerald light slowed down till it became a slow descent, the intense aura lessening to reveal the Green Lantern. Electronica had a green vest on that covered her upper body, she had cloth, fingerless gloves that covered her forearms. On her feet she wore green boots that had metal plates on them, and some black shorts that hugged her waist and thighs.

Electronica had her left hand on her left construct earphone, bobbing her head and moving her body to the beat that only she could hear. When she landed Electronica danced a bit to the music, Candy couldn’t help but notice how fluidly she moved to the music, she kinda wanted to know what she was listening to. After a minute Electronica stopped, lowering the volume of her earphones and looking upon the two teenagers, arms crossed as she gave them a grin from under her green shades.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here? Saying goodbye to your girlfriend are we?” Electronica said, teasingly.

Both Del and Candy blushed at the accusation.

“No-no-no-no-no! I’m not his girlfriend! Just a good friend!” Candy corrected.

“Right, she’s my childhood friend, known her since we were little!” Del added.

“Oooooh, childhood friend huh? Well, she’s a cutie I’ll give you that Del.”

Del placed his right hand over his face in embarrassment. “Electronica please…”

The white skinned girl wagged a finger in the air. “Uh-uh, among my comrades and friends, you can call me Electra. Anyway, you ready to go?”

“Yeah, Ah am.” Del confirmed.

“Wait, how long will your training take?!” Candy asked.

“Oh basic takes about three months Earth time, so you’ll see him back pretty soon.”

“That means you’ll be gone all summer, can he at least write?”

Electra rubbed the back of her head, “Unfortunately no…Basic training will take Del to different places, and during that time he’ll be pretty much cut off to all except fellow corps members. Plus I don’t think Earth has faster-than-light communication.”

Hearing that made Candy a little sad, but she knew she didn’t have to worry about him, she got good vibe from Electronica, so Candy was assured that he’d be in good hands.

“Guess Ah’ll see ya in three months.” Del walked over to Electronica, his bag slung over his left shoulder. He then turned to Candy waved to her. “See ya Candy.”

“Later,” replied Candy.

Electronica pointed her ring to the sky, and Del mimicked her. Both rings glowed and in the blink of an eye they shot up into the sky faster than a bullet, two streaks of light combining into one as they sailed higher and higher, becoming a green star in the blue vastness above.

Del well do great, I believe in him…

“But you don’t know that for sure.”

Candy opened her topaz yellow eyes, and in the darkness appeared a girl that looked exactly like Candy. Her eyes shimmered with yellow, a brighter shade than that of her own eyes. She laid on her stomach before Candy, kicking her legs back and forth as she propped herself on her forearms.

“Of course I know that, Del’s determined and strong.”

“Pfft, c’mon C, deep down you really want him to come back a failure, because as tough as he is, he can’t handle stuff like this! We should be there waiting for him, he’ll need some comforting…” The other Candy laid on her side seductively and ran a finger from her hips, to her belly, and flicked off the center of her chest. “When he gets back.”

“Not the kind of comforting you’re suggesting,” said Candy calmly.

“Please, you’re afraid and you know it! Afraid he’ll find some other girl that’s not as ditzy and airheaded as us! We’ve known him for years and hasn’t made one move on us! What chances do you think we have now that he’ll see other worlds with alien babes on them?!”

“It doesn’t matter, I care about Del. But I have no right to push him to me. If that’s where his heart leads him, then I’ll welcome him with open arms. But till then, I will pray and hope that he finds what he’s looking for and I’ll do all I can to make sure I can help him.”

“That’s rich coming from you!”

Out of the darkness appeared two smaller girls, one had pink hair similar to Candy’s, but with a highlights that were a shade brighter in it. The second was slightly smaller than the first, but her hair was a mix of light-blue with gray highlights. Both girls sported yellow glowing irises like the Candy still lying on the cave floor. These were Cotton Candy’s younger siblings, the twins Sugar Rush and Cloudy Skies.

“You don’t think you can do anything right!” Sugar Rush accused.

“You try many hobbies, where many hats, yet you never seem to find yourself perfectly suited for any of them,” said Cloudy Skies.

“And let’s not forget how super jealous we were when these two were born! We even tried to run away, but just ended up running back home! How dumb do you have to be to not even know how to run away correctly?!”

Candy furrowed her brow a little at that. “I’m not dumb, I just have a good sense of direction sometimes. And so what if I’m not good at different things, it just means I haven’t found my knack just yet.”

Sugar Rush blew a raspberry. “Puh-lease, our Mommy is like the best party planner in Canterlot City, even back when she was your age, she was planning her school’s parties and stuff!”

“She was loved by many of the school, always putting a smile on their faces. Even into her older years, she never stopped.”

“And then we were born…” The other Candy got on her hands and knees and started crawling towards Candy. “A lot of people expected good things from us, but you don’t seem to handle the big stuff when it counts. You can plan a party well enough, but you seem to have a problem with big parties, you even freeze up in front of crowds of people! How lame is that?!”

“I…I…just…” The light of the blue ring was starting to falter. The apparitions making their way closer to Candy.

“Face it big sister, nobody really likes you, they just put up with you,” said Sugar Rush.

“You are a nuisance to your friends and our Mother and Father, the failure first child,” said Cloudy Skies.

“At this rate there’s only one thing you’ll be good at, and you can’t say it won’t be fun,” said the other Candy.

The light dimmed more and more as the apparitions got closer and closer. The words they spoke were hurtful, and spoken from the deepest, darkest parts of Candy’s heart. These were all things she feared, all the things she was afraid would be brought about. A feeling of despair was beginning to encroach on her, along with the darkness of the cave and the apparitions of her siblings and alter self. But…

“You’re wrong…” The ring began to glow. “I do have doubts, and fears, but so what?!”

The ring glowed brighter, illuminating a small portion of space around her.

“If I just focused on all the bad, I wouldn’t be able to see the good, and the good I can bring to others…”

The apparitions, once having cocky, sinister smiles, now started to back away from her, almost as if they feared the blue glow.

“I love seeing others smile, and knowing I brought that smile makes me happy. I may not be good at everything, but I try, and with my friends I can become better.”

Candy slowly rose up from her sitting position and stared down the apparitions before her.

“Sugar, Cloudy, I was jealous of you. But the day Mom let me hold you two, and you two smiled at me, all I ever wanted to be from then on was good big sister to you two. I know you’ll both do great things when you’re older, and I’ll be happy knowing that I helped you in some small way, even if it’s just a hug or a kind word.”

The apparitions of Cloudy and Sugar clutched at their hearts, going down on one knee as if being struck a mighty blow.

“I believe in myself, and Mom and Dad haven’t once ever thought those things about me. I see it in their smiles and in their eyes, with every hug and ruffle of my hair, I feel it.” Candy stepped forward, making her alter stumble backwards onto her back. She stopped there, waiting for Candy to do something, but instead only felt the gentle caress of her hand against her cheek. “So you don’t have to think of yourself like that, I’m proud of who I am.”

Candy’s ring glowed brighter in the darkness, she then stood back and brought her left fist up and gently held it against her open right palm.

“So farewell, because all will be well.”

Candy closed her eyes and bowed before the apparitions, the blue ring let loose a blinding radiance that dispelled the apparitions and lit up the tunnel. When next she opened her eyes, Candy saw that everything inside the cave was as clear as day. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, with a smile on her face she strode towards it, not fearing what would be on the other side.

She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the change in light, her ears took in the sounds of rushing water, fluttering birds, and wind as it moved through the trees. When Candy opened her eyes fully, she saw before her a beautiful landscape.

Blue crystals jutted out of the ground, becoming tall monoliths that stretched a few stories tall. Before her was a lush forest, and a dirt trail. Candy walked along the trail, enjoying the smell of the flowers as she walked past them, a strange bird flew up to her and landed on her shoulder, chirping a song as she walked as if to keep her company. Candy giggled at the twin tailed bird and kept a leisurely pace down the road. She was bare foot, but the dirt was so soft and free of rocks that she didn’t mind it, and it was comfortably warm. The blue sun up above shined through the canopy of leaves, bathing the various alien fruits that hung from them in its nurturing sunlight.

At the end of the road Candy looked upon a wondrous sight, a castle made entirely of crystal stood at some distance away, at the bottom of this tower like castle, was a giant blue lantern, it’s glow was brilliant and gentle, the castle absorbed this light and let it flow out through the highest peak in its structure, creating an aurora borealis effect across the sky, but instead of a rainbow of colors it was many hues of blue.

Candy looked up and saw someone approaching her. It was a woman, in her early twenties from what Candy could estimate. She wore a suit of blue and black, a strange insignia was on her chest, the same as on Candy’s ring. Her long flowing hair was a mixture of dark-blue, yellow, and royal blue. A golden ribbon wrapped around her long locks, adding to her beauty. A powder blue skirt was attached to the waist of her suit, flowing down to just a few inches below her knees, and on her back were wings that were blue starting from the tips but faded into slivery-white once they reached the base of her back .

A blue aura encompassed her body making her look like an angel descending from the heavens. She landed before Candy, smiling happily at her as she looked upon the young girl with her silvery-blue eyes.

“Saint Mi Querida Esperanza,” greeted Candy as she bowed before the angelic woman.

“Please Sister Candy, I know it’s a bit of a mouthful to say, you can just speak the translation to make it easier, I don’t mind at all.”

“Oh, okay, thank you Saint Hope.”

Saint Hope nodded approvingly. “You have done well Sister Candy, you’ve completed the final day of your training and your ring shines bright. You are ready to take your oath before the Power Battery, please allow me to escort you.”

Candy bowed once again to Saint Hope and her to Candy. Both girls walked along the dirt path till it changed to crystal. In the distance to Candy’s left was a large waterfall, and further beyond the castle a vast mountain range, even though she had been on Planeta de la Paz for three days, she still found this world beautiful. Saint Hope walked side-by-side with Candy, hands behind her back as she hummed a little tune.

“Um, Saint Hope?”

“Yes Sister Candy?”

“Not that I’m ungrateful for you choosing me to be a Blue Lantern, but I have to ask…”

“Why you, correct?”

“It’s not that I have doubt, but I was just wondering why out of all the people on Earth, why did the ring appear to me?”

Saint Hope giggled. “Your curiosity is not misplaced. It is a valid question, to which I will answer. You see, the light of the Emotional Spectrum exists within us all, every color and every emotion, but your world, planet Earth, for some reason has yet have been touched by it. The appearance of a Green Lantern and a Fear Lantern have sparked a change in your world. Whether for good or ill has yet to be determined, but something tells me that it will be the former rather than the latter.”

Candy thought on this. “So, until Fear and Willpower showed up, Earth couldn’t touch the light until now.”

“Correct. Your friend, Brother Del, has been given a great gift, and through his connection to the light of will, the other lights sought out those with connections. But since the blue light of hope sits side-by-side with will, ours was the next light to seek out a bearer. You are special Sister Candy, the light of hope shines greatly within you, and we wish to help you realize that great hope.”

“I kept thinking I wanted to help Del, but I didn’t know how. But then this ring showed up, and thank you by the way for coming to explain to my Mom and Dad about it.”

Saint Hope remembered that conversation, Candy’s mother was in awe and let out a seemingly never ending stream of questions as she examined her form, her hyperactive little sister followed right behind with the same triad of questions, while her father laid on the floor passed out, and the other sister tried to help him wake up.

“It was no problem Sister Candy, your mother is quite lovely and lively.” Saint Hope chuckled.

“Yep, she’s always like that,” said Candy.

Soon the two girls reached the giant Blue Lantern Power Battery, many other Blue Lanterns from various planets were gathered around it, waiting with smiles to watch the induction of their newest member from a world that had never before known about the Emotional Spectrum. Saint Hope’s expression changed from bemused to slightly serious upon reaching her next topic before they reached the battery.

“Now Sister Candy, remember, upon becoming a Blue Lantern, your friend, Brother Del, will need your help in the battles to come. Hope is strong, but when both hope and willpower fight together, they become a great power. The light of hope is a light of miracles, a promise of greater things, and dawning of a new sun. You carry with you, within your ring, the hopes and dreams of not just your world but through its light, the universes’ as well.”

“I understand, and I am ready, Saint Hope.”

Saint Hope placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling at the young girl. She walked ahead of her and stood under the opening of the giant lantern. Saint Hope turned around and spread her wings as she spoke to the gathered Blue Lanterns.

“My Brothers and Sisters, today we have gathered here to induct into our ranks Sister Cotton Candy of Earth. Today is a most momentous day, for she will be the first of hopefully many among her people who keep the light of hope alive in the universe! Sister Candy, please step forward.”

Candy did as instructed. Walking down the path made for her by the crowd of Blue Lanterns, each smiling and bowing to her as she passed them. She had to admit, it was a little embarrassing walking in front of so many in nothing but a robe-like toga, her anxiety of being in front of big crowds was there, but it wasn’t as overpowering as it once was. These others, aliens from different worlds, and yet, she felt such a bond of comradery, respect, and kindness radiate from them that she didn’t feel afraid at all, she was happy. Candy walked on, but with her head held high and a smile on her face. Once she was close to Saint Hope, she knelt down before their leader, she then felt Saint Hope place her right wing over Candy’s left shoulder, the downy softness of her feathers was comforting.

“Sister Candy, are you ready to join in our noble quest, to keep those who would bring despair from prevailing, and spark hope in the hopeless?” Saint Hope asked.

“I do,” said Candy.

Saint Hope removed her wing. “Then rise Sister Candy, and recite the sacred oath of the Blue Lanterns!”

Candy rose to her feet as Saint Hope stood away. She pointed her ring towards the opening of the giant Power Battery and concentrated, the ring glowed bright as the serene light flowed through her body.

“In fearful day, in raging night,
With strong hearts full our souls ignite!
When all seems lost in the War of Light,
Look to the stars, for hope burns bright!”

The Power Battery blazed forth with cerulean light, coursing through the crystal palace and shooting up into the sky, igniting the heavens with its blue light of hope. That very same light enveloped Cotton Candy, wrapping her in a blanket of soothing comfort and kind feelings. The toga was ripped away as the light overlapped her body. A black mesh formed first, covering her legs all the way up to her waist. Upon her feet formed another layer of soft, faux blue leather boots.

On either side of her thighs were blue panels, and around her waist a belt formed with a blue metal clasp. The black mesh traveled further up, covering her stomach and chest, and stopping at the base her neck, leaving her arms bare. A blue vest formed over her chest, with the Blue Lantern insignia upon it. Lastly, two blue metal wristbands formed on their hand, the white toga cloth changed to blue and attached one end of the wristband to the other, creating a flowing mantle behind her.

The light flowed into Candy’s ring, revealing her new uniform to all of her fellow Blue Lanterns. Candy took a moment to examine her new form and squeed gleefully at the outfit, but then she remembered where she was and she stopped, bowing respectfully first to Saint Hope and then to the other Blue Lanterns.

“Well done Sister Candy, but I assume that you don’t want others to know your identity, correct?”

“Oh, duh, almost forgot!” Candy waved her hand over her face, creating a blue mask that obscured her eyes, making them appear as white slits. “There we go, secret identity kept.”

The other Blue Lanterns clapped and some cheered in congratulations to their newest member. Saint Hope walked up beside Candy and smiled her warmest smile yet.

“Now then, Sister Candy, let us return you home.”

“Yes Saint Hope!”

The other Blue Lanterns parted and watched as both Saint Hope and Candy flew off into the sky, breaking through the atmosphere and heading off into space.

Del’s going to be surprised when he finds out!

Qwardian Space…

Deep within the recesses of the extradimensional space, a planet bathed in yellow light exists. This planet had no name, but it was known as the main base for the Fear Lantern Corps, the sworn enemies of the Green Lantern Corps.

A single ring flew through space and headed right for the planet, entering the atmosphere and speeding by various nightmarish and horrifying alien beings, each wearing a uniform and ring similar to the spider alien monster, Garseckt.

The ring flew before a woman who stood at the highest tower closest to the Yellow Power Battery. Her hair was a flowing mixture of stars, mimicking a night sky, and upon her back were black wings that fanned out, making her look very intimidating. Her eyes changed from their turquoise hue to yellow, her agitation that one of their Fear Lanterns had been defeated always put her in a sour mood. She took the ring into her left hand, using her own ring to read the data stored on it. After a moment she glanced over her shoulder.

“Nidra, I know you’re there. Quit skulking in the shadows and stand firm.” She ordered.

A young girl descended from the shadows of the ceiling, her cobalt blue hair flowing down her back as her bat-like wings slowed her descent. Nidra’s slit yellow eyes adjusted back to normal round irises as she approached the woman.

“Yes Mother?”

“It’s Luna when we are discussing important matters, daughter.” Luna corrected.

“I didn’t know it was important, Luna,” said Nidra with a slight curt tone. “What has gotten you into even fouler mood than usual?”

“One of our soldiers, Garseckt, has fallen.”

“Ugh, Garseckt, not going to miss him. Guy was more of a sadistic pervert than what we usually get around here.” Nidra commented.

“Admittedly yes, and I’m more or less happy he’s dead. I did not care for the way he looked at you,” said Luna, keeping the last portion under her breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing you need concern yourself with! Garseckt’s death will prove useful, apparently he was defeated by a Green Lantern on a planet called ‘Earth’.”

“And what does this have to do with me?” Nidra asked.

“I want you to go to Earth, survey it, and see if its inhabitants could prove useful to us.”

Nidra’s pointed ears perked up at what she was hearing. “Are you…Are you letting me go out on mission?! Solo?!”

“Correct.”

Nidra had to contain her joy, this was her first mission away from the Qwardian Dimension, and she couldn’t – didn’t want to botch it up by looking so happy about it.

“I’ll leave immediately, Luna.” Nidra turned around and was about to leave the room until a thought entered her head. “Um…if I encounter a Green Lantern on that world, what are my orders?”

Luna released the ring and let it return to the selection room, she then crossed her arms behind her back and kept her gaze forward.

“You eliminate them…” Nidra lowered her head. “…At your discretion.”

Luna listened as the door closed behind her, she waited a few moments and sighed.

Supernova, our daughter doesn’t need this world, maybe a change can come upon this Earth.

Secret Origins Part 6: Let loose the Arrow

View Online

Fletcher watched as the plane came in for a landing. It had been a long time since he had visited Matropolis, and even longer since he had seen his childhood friend. It was strange, when his parents first introduced him to the girl, Crème de la Crème, he didn’t think much of her, and she was a little ditzy. ‘Course she was five years older than him, meeting her when he was six years old and Crème was eleven. But the two of them quickly became friends, growing close like a big sister and little brother.

She was even there when he won his gold medal for the Olympic Archery Competition at the young age of fourteen. Now he was heading back to visit his surrogate big sister, bringing with him a present for her. You see, tonight was Crème’s birthday. Fletcher had sent a message saying he’d be coming to visit days after her birthday, but in reality he was coming to surprise her. They didn’t get to spend much time together with his father’s military work for the Norwegian government’s R&D department and his mother’s work in at the British Embassy, but this time was going to be different. Along with the physical present, he was allowed to stay a while state side.

The fifteen-year-old boy disembarked from the plane, heading towards baggage claim. Once there, he found what he was looking for, a long black suitcase. Of course he got some odd looks from the other people there, a young boy carrying something that looked big enough to carry a rifle didn’t exactly inspire trust. Actually one of the security officers asked to look inside it. Fletcher wasn’t offended, he knew they had reason to worry, the safety of the other people was their concern and he happily complied. He set the suitcase on the ground and clicked open the latches.

Inside was a large object, Fletcher grabbed what looked like a handle and took it out. He then pressed a button on the side of the handle, making two curved bars snap into position. The handle was black, but the curved bars were a dark grass green.

“As you can see Officer, it’s just a bow,” said Fletcher.

“Oh…well sorry for the inconvenience.”

“No trouble at all.”

FANCY MANOR…

The sun shined brightly through Crème’s window. The rays traveled along the bed and hit her in the face, stirring her from her sleep. She groaned slightly, sitting up from her bed as she lazily wiped the sleep from her eyes. Crème swung her long legs out of her bed, her purple nightgown flowing side to side as she walked over to her closet. She took out a robe and put it on, noting what time it was, Crème headed out her bedroom door. As she made her way through the long halls of her family mansion, the various maids and butlers each politely bowed to Crème and wishing her a happy birthday. As Crème reached the dining room she stopped, hearing her father and mother talking inside.

“Fancy, are you sure we shouldn’t take this seriously?” Fleur asked.

“We can’t just bow our heads to riffraff gangsters like them! These sorts already instill fear in those less fortunate, we can’t simply back down, if we fall, then what’s to keep the others who are standing up from doing the same?”

“Fancy, I know what you’re saying, I really do, but…”

“Love, I understand, I want don’t you or Crème put in danger. Tell you what, after Crème’s party I’ll have you two take a trip to visit Quiver and Britannia up in Norway, they haven’t seen either of you in a long time and more importantly, you’ll be safer with them.”

Crème slumped up against the wall as she listened, despite being known was an airhead and a ditz, she wasn’t oblivious to other peoples’ troubles, nor the ones going on with her own family. Fancy Industries was big a corporation, they had a hand in almost every facet of business, fashion, tech, cosmetics, almost anything and everything, their biggest rival being that of Blue Blood Corp. Crème’s parents were known for being generous to the less fortunate and sponsoring many different programs that rubbed some very bad people the wrong way.

Her father and mother had more than once tried to hide the fact that they had been getting threats, but Crème could tell, she could read another person fairly well, and her parents were no exception, still, she knew that the last thing they needed was for their only daughter to be worrying along with them.

“Mother, Father, good morning!” Crème greeted as she entered the dining room.

Fleur de Lis got up from her seat and walked over to give her daughter a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. Crème sashayed up behind her father and kissed the broad man on the cheek before sitting down at her seat.

“Morning my dear Crème, and how are you this fine morning, birthday girl?!” Fancypants asked.

“Great, just great!”

“Well we should hope so, you’re turning twenty-one, a very important age for a young lady! Your party tonight will be smashing,” said Fleur.

The butlers entered with their breakfast, setting it on the table and bowing as they exited, only one maid and one butler stayed behind to get them refills on beverages. Crème knew she didn’t need to worry them, so she did her best to put a smile on their faces, if for nothing else than to help them forget their troubles for a few minutes out of the day. Crème tried not to let this get her down as well, after all, it was her birthday, what could possibly go wrong?

“Oh, that reminds me, a present arrived for you from Norway earlier today, dear.”

Crème looked at her father with excitement. “Oh, was it from Fletcher?!”

A sly smile formed on Fleur’s lips. “In a manner of speaking.”

Fleur gestured to the maid and butler, both of which made their way to the other end of the dining room. The maid and butler took their positions on either side of the door and slowly opened it. Crème watched with confusion, but her confusion didn’t last long when she saw who it was standing behind the door. Fletcher smiled at the young woman, giving a gentlemanly bow to Crème as he entered the dining room. Crème was ecstatic to see Fletcher, her surrogate little brother. She hopped out of her seat and rushed to the young man.

“Hallo, Crème,” greeted Fletcher.

“Fletcher, it’s good to see you!”

Crème reached out and brought Fletcher into a close hug. Given the height difference between them, Fletcher, depending on your point of view, unfortunately was brought right smack dab between her cleavage, her robe opening just a tad to allow a glimpse at what was hidden underneath. Fletcher’s face went bright red as he tried to keep his gaze focused on anything else, or shutting them. But it did nothing to negate the feeling around his face. Poor Fletcher was caught between not wanting to ruin the moment for Crème and trying not to be a perv, oblivious as Crème was to the situation. Fancypants and Fleur meanwhile were chuckling like madmen at the sight of Fletcher suffering so.

“Now-Now, Love, if you hug young Fletcher any tighter he’ll suffocate,” said Fancypants.

“Or die of blood loss,” added Fleur with a wink.

LATER THAT NIGHT…

The sound of music could be heard playing downstairs, violins, cellos, a piano, and a woodwind or two, all adding to the beautiful atmosphere of Crème’s birthday party. Fletcher had mingled with the guests for a bit, somehow gathering a following of girls, but for some reason couldn’t find the birthday girl. Curious, Fletcher excused himself and went in search of Crème. He didn’t have to go far, finding the girl of honor standing at the guardrail, overlooking her party with a somewhat sullen look on her face. Fletcher carefully walked to her, making sure his presence was known so as to not startle her.

“Hey Crème.”

“Oh…Hey Fletcher…”

“For a girl celebrating her birthday party, you look rather dower.”

Crème glanced to Fletcher, conflicted as to whether or not to place her worries on him. Even though they were like family, she still didn’t want to burden him with the things she had heard her parents discussing. So she put a smile and hooked her right arm with his left.

“Guess I’m just lamenting the fact that I’m not a teenager anymore,” said Crème.

“Doesn’t seem to stop you from acting like one,” commented Fletcher.

Crème puffed her cheeks in indignation. “Are you saying I’m not a mature young woman?!”

“Refined? Yes. Graceful? Very. Maturity though…well…” Fletcher trailed off, letting it hang in the air.

Crème playfully swatted Fletcher on his arm with mock anger. “Fletcher, now that’s not nice! Especially on my own birthday!”

In the end, they just chuckled at their little back and forth, with Crème hugging Fletcher’s arm tighter.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime. Now, shall we attend your party?” Fletcher asked.

“Let’s!”

Fletcher led Crème down the long staircase, all eyes trained on the duo as they descended. Fletcher led Crème to a group of her friends, letting her assimilate into the conversation before quietly slipping away to the refreshment table and sampling some of the foods. A few minutes passed by with little to nothing out of the ordinary happening, the occasional guy hitting on Crème, the occasional girl hitting on Fletcher, the party guests all laughing, toasting, and generally having a good time.

Fletcher excused himself from some of the party guests that had crowded him, taking a break from the festivities as he watched everyone enjoy themselves. His keen sense of awareness alerted him to the approaching familiar presence of Fancypants, he looked to his left and saw the tall, broad man walking towards him, martini glass in hand.

“How are you enjoying Crème’s part Fletcher my boy?” Fancy asked.

“Just fine, Mr. Fancy. I am glad to see Crème happy.”

Fancypants looked over towards the dance floor, watching his daughter waltz with a boy he didn’t quite know.

“As am I……Fletcher, may I ask you a question?”

Fletcher’s green eyes looked up at Fancy curiously, noting the serious tone in his voice.

“Of course.”

“Do you like my daughter?”

The young boy’s face went red. “W-W-Well, I…I care about her, Mr. Fancy, but she’s more like a big sister to me to be honest and I can’t really see her as in a…romantic light!”

“That’s fine Fletcher, but let me be more frank. Do you care about my daughter enough to protect her?”

Fletcher raised an eyebrow at that. His demeanor changing into something that most would call a “hunter’s edge”.

“Why, Mr. Fancy? Does Crème need protection?”

Fancypants swirled the liquid in his martini glass around, thinking of how best to word his response to the young boy.

“Fletcher, my business endeavors – however noble and groundbreaking – attract attention. Some of that attention is good, but sometimes…sometimes it attracts the bad kind. The kind that would seek to harm me and my family.”

Fletcher’s eyes narrowed.

“I may be asking a lot of you, but I know your father and mother, and the kind of training you have undergone to hone your archery skills, as well as some other skills. I…”

Suddenly the lights went off in the ball room, causing the party guests to stop and look around in confusion as to what was happening. Some were expecting a birthday cake to be rolled out and for them to start singing “happy birthday”, but there was no birthday candle light in the darkness. The next thing that was heard was the slamming of doors and the many thunderous boot steps that echoed within the ball room. Fletcher’s eyes narrowed as he struggled to catch a glimpse of who or what was moving in the darkness. Soon the steps stopped. Green dots appeared in a semicircle around the party guests. One of them rushed towards the group of people and Fletcher heard Crème’s voice scream!

“What’s going on, let me go!” Crème cried out.

“Crème?!” Fanypants and Fleur cried out in the dark.

The familiar clicking of guns being loaded rang out within the quiet ballroom, making everyone tense up and hold their breaths in terror. Fletcher now understood what those dots were, night vision goggles.

“Kill them all,” said a feminine voice.

“NOO!!!” Fletcher shouted.

Suddenly the room was alight with muzzle flashes and the sounds of screams and automatic gunfire. Cries of death and anguish could be heard raging all around as the clinking of shell casings struck against the dancefloor. After a whole minute of continuous gunfire the shooting stopped. The green dots all vanished and the lights were switched back on.

Crème was standing by a woman dressed in a black stealth suit, her goggles resting on her head, along with a small army of twenty-five, all of which had smoking guns from having emptied their magazines into the innocent party guests. Crème looked upon the bloody carnage of her friends and some of her family lying on the floor in pools of their blood.

“How…Why…?” Crème choked out.

“Your father rubbed some people the wrong way, they needed to send a message and I was hired to do it.” The woman then turned to the others. “We’re leaving, the police will be here soon.”

“Shouldn’t we ‘clean up’ first?” One of the gunmen asked.

“No, our clients want a spectacle, so leave it as is. For once we leave it dirty. And you, little-miss-rich-girl, are coming with us!”

Crème struggled against the two men holding her, trying her best get her arms free from their strong grips. But she went still the moment she felt something press against the back of her head. That moment of hesitation allowed one of the others to slip a mask over her mouth, pressing a button as two vials of unknown substance hissed, making a transition from a liquid to a gas. Crème tried to resist the vapor, but it was no use, her mind was growing hazy, her body limp, and her vision blacking out.

Both men felt as Crème went completely lax, with them the only thing holding her up. The woman nodded to the others and gave a hand motion for them to move out. One of the gunmen thought he spotted movement, his head going back and forth between where he saw the movement and leaving with his team. With a grunt, he rushed toward where he saw something move, his training kicking in about not leaving any witnesses, and that they may not get paid if they weren’t all dead.

The gunman slowly approached one of the corpses, it was a young boy with hair that was brown with gold edges. He saw a slight jerk in the leg and went to fire his gun, but the moment he pulled the trigger nothing happened. He realized quick that he had forgotten to reload his weapon and quickly went to replacing the magazine. But the moment the weapon dislodged its empty clip was the moment that Fletcher needed to strike.

Without warning Fletcher shot up, his face half smeared with blood and his emerald eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. He ripped the gun away from the man, getting the strap to slide off his arm in one swift motion. He then spun around, bringing the butt of the gun slamming hard against the side of the gunman’s right knee. The man let out a pained howl as his knee buckled, going down on his other to keep upright. Fletcher moved with great haste, getting behind him and getting the gun’s strap around gunmen’s neck and twisting it till it became tight around his neck.

The other gunmen noticed their missing comrade and two came back to check on him, but found Fletcher currently in the middle of strangling the guy. They both readied their weapons to fire, but Fletcher was ready as well. Giving the strap a jerk, he repositioned the gunman’s body facing towards his teammates, both began unloading on Fletcher, but only managed to riddle the captured gunman with bullets. Fletcher figured his body and body armor would make for good cover, but he couldn’t do much just on defense. He quickly pulled out the now dead man’s pistol and took careful aim.

He fired one shot, putting the bullet right down the barrel of left gunman just as he pulled the trigger. The result having blown the inner workings of the weapon and making shrapnel out of the gun, blasting it back towards the guy’s face and throwing him on his back. The right gunman couldn’t believe what had just happened, he could tell that he was already dead, but still, that was freaky.

Fletcher took aim yet again, he hated using guns, they were heavy, flashy, and they made too much noise. Plus once you were out of ammo you were screwed, unlike arrows where you could go back and retrieve one if need be.

“So uncivilized,” he muttered.

Fletcher shot again, aiming right for the guy’s gun strap, piercing both ends. He shot again, hitting the gun out the assailant’s hand and making it fall to the floor. The gunman looked like he was about to reach for his sidearm, but Fletcher put a bullet through his hand, both of ‘em. He fired in such quick succession that it sounded like only one shot! His left hand was hit first, putting a four inch hole in it, and the same for his right. The gunman finally gave up and ran to catch up with his comrades. Fletcher threw the dead body to the ground, cocking back the pistol and readying himself for the chase!

“F…Fletcher…?”

The death glare in Fletcher’s eyes faded at the familiar voice. He glanced back at the entrance, making sure that no one else would come back. He searched among the bodies, his heart sinking when he saw Mrs. Fleur dead on the floor amongst them.

“Fle…Fletcher…!”

The young Norwegian boy locked onto the sound of the voice, he dropped to his knees seeing a bleeding Fancypants struggling to stay conscious despite his numerous fatal wounds.

“Mr. Fancy just hold on, I can hear the police coming, their on their way!”

“Fletcher…they took her…they…*cough*!”

The young boy grit his teeth, anger rising at how helpless he was to help Facnypants, he was dying a slow death and now Crème was in danger.

“Please…do whatever it takes…to get her back…! Please…Fletcher…!”

Fancypants raised his right hand and Fletcher took his hand feeling something in it, he didn’t understand what it was, but the look in the dying man’s eyes told him it was something important.

“Promise me…Fletcher, my boy…promise…you’ll protect her?!”

Fletcher’s eyes narrowed with conviction, nodding firmly to Fancypants. The sirens outside grew louder as the red and blue lights began to strobe. Fletcher looked to the light’s hopeful, but when he looked back to Fancypants, his eyes had already closed, his breathing ceased.

Fletcher learned much. At the age of seven, he was introduced to his family’s legacy of accomplished and skilled archers, soon after he was brought on to learn the ways of the bow and arrow. At age eight, he was taught wilderness survival, urban combat, and guerrilla warfare tactics. At age ten, he was taught how to fight hand to hand, various styles, along with parkour and free running. At age eleven, he was shown how to use a gun, he disliked the weapons, but his father insisted that he learn how to use them. At age twelve he was left to continue his training, honing his archery skills, along with his sight, hearing, and smell.

At age thirteen, he had grasped a wide array of knowledge pertaining to technology and weaponry, he even came up with various weaponized arrows, each one able to be launched and effectively take out or disable an enemy, he even designed a specialized bow to use them with, perfectly calibrated to him. But he had neither the resources nor the money to make them, and he didn’t see the need in asking his parents. At age fourteen he figured out how to hack into almost any databank on the planet, it was also at that age that he won the gold medal in Olympic Archery.

Listing all these things together, it was a wonder that he wasn’t some sociopathic killing machine. Fletcher attributed this to one person, one girl, Crème. During all his training, all the grueling trials, it was Crème that helped him feel normal, safe, and gave him hope that he wasn’t some child soldier. His parents did all this to prepare him for whatever may come, apparently the world was getting more dangerous and that normal methods of defense weren’t cutting it anymore. They wanted Fletcher to be ready for whatever was thrown at him, and that he wouldn’t hesitate if someone threatened his life or when had to take another’s life in defense of himself or others.

Crème always gave him that semblance of a normal life, the days spent with her, her laughter, her silly ways, and her kindness, those times that he was with her helped to remind that he was a human being. But now…now that semblance of normalcy was being threatened, in danger. He wasn’t going to stand by and let that continue.

The police had arrived and did what they normally did, they took his statement, cordoned off the crime scene, and began putting out an all-points bulletin on Crème, having every cop in Matropolis looking for her. But Fletcher knew better, these guys weren’t amateurs, they were professional hit-men, mercenaries, if they didn’t want to be found then they wouldn’t. No matter how hard the police looked, no matter how far they searched, they could be right under their noses or right in front of them and they wouldn’t know.

Fortunately, Fletcher had something that they didn’t. Fancypant’s last hope in finding her, and now it would be Fletcher’s. He hid it from the police, seeing only what was given to him after he had entered his room. From what he could tell, it was some sort of device, remarkably undamaged. It was a little black box, but he had no idea how to open it. Fletcher pulled at it and found that something slid out. It looked like a touchscreen phone. On it was a blinking light that read “Do you wish to track?”

“Of course,” whispered Fletcher.

Fletcher tapped the icon and immediately the screen lit up, displaying a globe. A sight reticle zeroed in on something, zooming in closer and closer till the name “Matropolis City” popped up. A readout on the side of the screen showed coordinates, as well as speed, and condition. The reticle stopped as it locked onto the tracer, showing Crème’s position and it was still in motion! From what the readout showed, her vitals were still good, meaning that she hadn’t been harmed, yet.

Fletcher placed the device on his nightstand and looked out the window. He made Fancypants a promise and he was going to keep it. Fletcher reached under his bed, pulling the case that held his bow. He clicked open the latches, showing the bow in question. He took it out, placing it on the bed. He then reached under the bottom and upper padding, pulling out a green quiver filled with at least fifty arrows, all with sharp bladed tips.

The boy removed his bloodstained clothes, and opened his closet, pulling out a pair of black jeans, a dark green hoody, and a black scarf to wrap around his neck and mouth, leaving his eyes and nose unobstructed. Fletcher strapped the quiver to his back, and placing the bow in a special holster behind him.

Getting out wouldn’t be the hard part, the cops may’ve been swarming all over the place, but they weren’t paying attention to the garage, and his room window was right over it. Fletcher, after making sure he had everything he needed, and after securing the handheld tracking device, opened the window and took a quick look. His training had helped his eyes to adjust to changing light faster, his archery training also came in handy when spotting minuet movements in the dark. So far there was none.

Fletcher felt bad that he was about to ditch the cops, they meant well, but there was no time to have them gather all their forces. Crème was still in the city, if they saw the police coming they might kill her or move her, and Fletcher wasn’t sure where the tracker was located, so there was no telling if it would come off or be found out.

Fletcher tied together his bed sheets and some of his clothes, creating a makeshift rope to repel down from the third story room. He calculated that the robe would reach the second story window just below him, which would leave just a few feet from the bottom, luckily the windowsill was long enough for him to stand on. Fletcher kept climbing down till his feet rested on the windowsill, lowering himself, he kicked out his feet and grabbed onto it quickly.

The hooded archer looked back, seeing the expanse of the rooftop of the garage. Once he was sure of the length and distance, he tucked his legs under him, putting the soles of his shoes against the wall. Fletcher then kicked off, performing two somersaults in midair before landing with the grace and skill of a cat on the garage roof, when he looked back he let out a relieved sigh, seeing only a short five feet between him and the ledge.

Note to self: One somersault would’ve been sufficient.

Fletcher ducked down, scanning the area once again for police presence. Thankfully they were mostly concentrated at the ballroom and interior. Fletcher got off the roof with ease and made his way inside the garage. It was no secret that Mr. Fancypants was a collector of various vehicles, ranging anywhere from vintage cars, imports, and – much to his denial of him having a midlife crisis – a wide range of motorcycles, hogs and speedsters mostly.

Fletcher looked through them all till he found the one he wanted, a black Hayabusa. Crème had shown Fletcher ways off the property that weren’t the main entrance, they were hidden by brush, and other foliage, but the most important thing about them was they could be made big enough to get himself and the bike through, and one of those just happened to lead off the property. Fletcher went to the key box, finding the correct keys to the bike.

“Stay safe Crème, I’ll be there soon…!”

UNKNOWN LOCATION…

Crème felt very groggy, her consciousness fading in and out. She heard voices, people she didn’t know, they sounded angry, really angry. She was aware of her body being moved, but everything was numb, like what would happen if you slept on your arm all night, only all over her body. Crème’s vision would fade in and out as well, showing her glimpses of flashing lights, from what she could guess, they were either street lamps or car lights, most likely both.

Suddenly the feeling of motion stopped and her consciousness faded out again. Time was an enigma at this moment, Crème had no idea how long she had been like this, it felt like hours were passing by, but that couldn’t be it. Her mind however, her mind would not let her rest completely. The images of her slaughtered friends and family, being gunned down like sick dogs, they were all dead. Her mother and father, two people who meant the world to her, and she to them, they were gone. And Fletcher…Fletcher was dead. The boy she had come to regard as a little brother, her closest friend, was dead as well.

Crème had enough feeling to know that she was crying, Fletcher was so young, he had lots to experience and see, girls to impress, the chance to fall in love. All of those things would forever be lost to him. And soon, she believed, she too would share their fate.

Her consciousness began to drift back to the waking world. Crème’s body was starting to regain its feeling, enough for her to realize that she was sitting down in a chair, a very uncomfortable chair. Her blurry vision came back into focus, revealing an office space. A desk was right across from her, with a window that opened up to a large room. There was a board behind the desk, showing statistics and other information. Crème’s mind already went to work identifying the numbers, she was always good when it came to mathematics and number crunching, particularly when it came to finances, hell, her own father had her balance their checkbooks!

Crème’s mind was still a bit hazy from whatever it was they made her breathe in, but she had enough clarity to work out what she was seeing. From what she surmised, she was in some sort warehouse judging from the words “cargo” and “net weight”. Products seem to come in by the hundreds or thousands, and from what the numbers told, they were turning a good profit, but there was one line that she didn’t understand, its price being stated as “negotiable”.

Suddenly, Crème heard a door close behind her. She tried to get up, but she quickly found out that her wrists were tied behind her back – no – from the clinking sound and the cold feel of metal, she was cuffed. Crème turned her head and noticed a scruffy looking man wearing a business suit enter the room.

“Ah, the princess is finally awake! They must’ve given ya a good dose of that knock out stuff, I was about to start callin’ ya Sleepin’ Beauty, ha-ha!”

“W-Who are you?! Why am I here?!” Crème asked.

“Relax sweetheart, we’re getting to that.”

The man walked over to his desk, opening a drawer and taking out a rather large cigar. He took out a lighter from his jacket pocket and let it, taking single puff before sitting down and kicking up his feet onto his desk.

“That’s better, so the name’s Shady Dealings, friends call me Shade. That covers the ‘who’, as to the ‘why’…well…the easiest answer is that it’s just business.”

Crème’s brow furrowed at that. “‘Business’?! You call killing my mother and father, my friends, all of them, ‘just business’?!”

Shade took another puff from the cigar. “Look, let me break it down for you. I cover a wide array of shipping, as well as some…‘special orders’ that need to be moved up and down Matropolis, Canterlot City, and as well as some other reputable locations. You’re father, Fancypants, owns a good deal of these warehouses and shipping routes. I did a little business with him and we were on the up and up. Until he found out what I was really moving using those routes.”

Crème gulped. “And…what exactly were you moving?”

Shade took his feet off his desk, looking directly at Crème with a lecherous gaze.

“Pretty young things like yourself. You wouldn’t believe what a human being is worth to the right buyer, girls especially, the younger the better. Personally, I don’t touch none of that with a ten foot pole, but uh, you on the other hand…”

Crème squirmed in her seat, trying to defend herself as best she could, even though it would be useless given her current situation.

“Don’t worry, I ain’t touchin’ ya, you’re worth more untouched. You got your mother’s looks, and the body of a supermodel to boot, plus, when they hear that you’re some rich girl, cha-ching.”

“So you killed my parents just so you can sell me off?!”

“And stop your old man from sniffing around. Once he found out about my other business, he planned on getting me thrown in jail, put my business under review and soon, my other constituents would get pissed at me! I had to keep him quiet, and what better way than to massacre him, send a message to anybody else who tried to dig too deep!”

Now it made sense to Crème, why her father had been on edge for a while, trying to hide what this evil man was doing and using his company to further his own ends. Crème couldn’t believe this, now, now she as in the middle of it all.

“So now what will you do with me…?”

“Well next I throw you in a bin with the others and wait until the heat dies down a little before movin’ ya. In a day or two, I’ll ship ya to an auction house I got up in Baltimare. ‘Course, I don’t mind tellin’ you, since you’ll be seein’ it soon anyway.”

Shade snapped his fingers and two armed guards entered the room. One of them un-cuffed Crème while the other grabbed hold of her hard, Shade then rounded on the guard pointing his lit cigar at him threateningly.

“Hey-hey-hey-hey! Gently handle her you idiots! I’m not going to get much from her if she’s bruised up! The others are one thing, but handle with care! Got it?!” Shade shouted.

The two guards nodded their affirmation, afterwards Shade waved him off to take her away. Crème was manhandled, as gently as possible, to a large metal crate. Another guard opened the door, pointing a gun at the entrance. Crème was then placed inside as the doors were shut behind her. Crème balled up her fists and her eyes stinging with tears, but then she heard noise from behind her.

Crème turned around and noticed a single electrical lamp in the middle of the long metal crate. Huddled near it were many girls, her eyes grew wide when they finally adjusted to the weak lighting. Many of them were way younger than her, at least ten, twelve years old at the most.

My god…

One of the girls, skittishly, approached Crème, looking up at her with eyes that were comforting, and yet, appeared to have lost any hope of leaving this place.

“W-Who are you Miss?”

Crème knelt down, offering out her hand to the young girl.

“I’m Crème de la Crème, but you can call me Crème.”

TEN MINUTES LATER…

Fletcher sped through the night on the bike, following the blip on the device. His ride had taken him towards the warehouse district of Matropolis, this made Fletcher worry. Many of them were stationed near the train tracks. If they wanted to get Crème out of the city undetected, then the railroad was a good way to do it.

Fletcher stopped about halfway into the maze of warehouses, letting the device zero in on Crème’s location, but after a couple of minutes the signal began to get fuzzy.

“Must be someplace that’s blocking the signal, but at least I have a general idea of where she is,” said Fletcher.

He hid the Hayabusa near some wooden crates and proceeded on foot the rest of the way. Fletcher reached back and grabbed his bow, pressing the button on the handle and making the bars spring out. Reaching up to the top bar, he pulled down a long, thin string that Fletcher hooked to the other end, locking it into place and tightening the draw string. Fletcher pulled one arrow out of his quiver and notched it, giving the string a test pull to make sure it was good for use. Once satisfied that it was, Fletcher kept going, arrow still notched and ready to be fired should he spot someone dangerous.

Fletcher ran about the warehouses for a good five minutes, ducking behind crates, barrels, and whatnot as he made his way towards the last clear location the device gave him before the signal got scrambled. Fletcher stopped, hearing footsteps in the distance. Looking around, he quickly jumped up onto a stack of crates, laying low against them as he waited and watched.

“I hate patrolling this place at night, gives me the creeps man.”

“Then why the hell did you sign up for the night shift instead of the day, huh?!”

“‘Cause for one, they move more of the ‘product’ at night. And sometimes the boss lets us sample ‘em. I don’t mind patrolling inside, outside, ugh.”

“Jeez you’re an idiot, but dammit if you don’t make a good point. Hey, I heard we got a new girl on the menu, she’s supposed be hot from what I here.”

“Yeah, but I doubt the Boss will let us do anything with her. After what I heard he went through to get her, he’ll probably keep her off the menu.”

“Damn!”

That was all Fletcher needed to hear. He bolted upright, getting on one knee as he notched an arrow. To the untrained eye, these arrows looked like ordinary metal arrows, but they weren’t. They were diamond tipped and finely sharpened with a precision laser, these arrows were so sharp they could pierce through a steel door ten feet thick. Overkill yes, but when you need it and don’t have it, you sing a different tune.

Fletcher took aim and released the arrow! It cut through air, traveling faster than the eye could see. The arrow swiftly found its home in the knee cap of the guard to Fletcher’s left, the force and velocity at which it traveled threw him forward, lodging itself in the concrete ground and anchoring him there. Fletcher fluidly notched another, firing it right for the one on his right. The arrow pierced through his neck, making him stumble about, and preventing him from screaming. The only sound was that of faint, wet, gurgling noises.

Fletcher jumped off the crates and ran with swift haste towards his fallen prey. The pinned guard was too busy trying to get himself free to notice Fletcher’s light footsteps creep up on him. Fletcher then placed the tip of his arrow at the back of the man’s skull, making him freeze up.

“Before you reach for your weapon, keep in mind that this arrow is pulled tight against the draw string, which means if I even see you flinch for your gun, you’ll be dead before you realize that you are,” said Fletcher in a gruff voice.

“W-What do you want?!”

“You were talking about a girl, one that was kidnapped and brought here. Where is she?”

“I…I…”

Fletcher released the arrow, tilting it slightly to the right, letting the ridiculously sharp arrowhead cut the man’s ear, nearly taking the whole thing off. The man let go of his weapon and went to cup his now bleeding ear, cursing up a storm from the pain radiating from it.

“I never miss, so consider that one a warning! Answer my question and you might live to see morning! Now where is the girl that was brought here?!”

“Goddam –! Alright-Alright I’ll tell you! Warehouse 5G, that’s where all the product is brought to, I swear!”

“And by ‘product’ you mean what?!”

“People, girls, runaways, kidnapped, you name it they’re there!”

Fletcher’s green eyes narrowed upon hearing this. If there was one thing that he detested the most, it was selling other people as if they were merchandise.
“Thank you, you get see the sunrise!”

Fletcher put his arrow back into the quiver, afterwards he slammed the bar of his bow against the back of the man’s skull, knocking him out in one blow. He fell forward in a kneeling position, his kneecap still pinned to the ground by the arrow. Fletcher retrieved his arrow, and the other before moving on to Warehouse 5G.

It didn’t take long before he found it. There were a sparse amount of guards around the actual building, but that only meant that there might’ve been more inside, and the ones outside were probably spread out on patrol. He needed a way to get them all in one place, get their attention somehow.

Fletcher’s keen eyes spotted something, a gas barrel just a few feet away. He slung the bow across his body and hurried towards the barrel, ducking behind a corner when he spotted another guard. Fletcher looked on the ground and found a lug nut, possibly missing from some piece of equipment somewhere. He picked it up and chucked it as far as he could, aiming for a wall just a few feet away. The lug nut hit the metal with metallic “thump”. The guard immediately brandished his gun and went to investigate.

Fletcher, after watching the guard leave, ran towards one of the fuel barrels. He gently eased it down to the ground, getting on the other side of it, Fletcher took off the cap and kicked it down the way. He let it roll, leaving behind a trail of gasoline as it continued on. Soon a couple of the guards noticed the barrel, stopping it before it rolled too much further. Fletcher then took out one of his arrows and struck the ground at an angle that caused sparks to fly. The sparks ignited the gasoline, following the trail all the way towards the barrel. The two guards noticed too late as the fire zipped into the barrel and exploded outwards, throwing their charred bodies twenty feet away.

Fletcher was already gone, finding the high ground and keeping an eye out for the rest of the guards. They came out like moths to a flame, all of them wielding their automatic weapons, prepared to fight against a rival gang. Fletcher did a headcount, being a night operation, he didn’t expect many, and he was right. Just from what he saw, there were twenty in all, not counting those that didn’t run outside.

Taking out another arrow, he cut the bindings that held a large collection of fuel barrels, letting them fall and roll towards the gathered guards. They bounced up and down, hurtling towards them quickly. Fletcher notched the same arrow, watching for the barrel closest to the flames. Finding it, he fired the arrow.

The arrow flew through the air, passing by several other barrels, narrowly missing two, and grazing against another. But like always, he hit his mark, piercing the barrel and exiting off to who knows where. The hole in the barrel began to spill out the gasoline, catching the flames and igniting it. The result was a chain reaction of multiple explosions, taking out the guards and part of the warehouse front with it.

No doubt that woke up somebody, the police will definitely be here soon.

Fletcher ran towards the opening, no doubt they’d be terrified and in shock of what just happened, this was his chance, a full blitz attack! Fletcher went in, bow drawn. One guard spotted him, but not before Fletcher saw him, putting an arrow right in his heart, the second managed to fire a couple of rounds, but Fletcher slid low, avoiding the bullets. He notched two arrows and quickly put them in his head and heart. One of them was too close to use any arrows, so Fletcher resorted to hand-to-hand combat, knocking his gun from his hand and using his bow to knock him around.

Fletcher caught movement from his left, he took out an arrow, stabbed the man he was currently fighting in the throat, and then notched that same arrow, hitting the would-be sneak attacker dead center.

The hooded archer saw someone moving about, he wasn’t wearing anything like the plain clothes the guards wore. This other one had suit on, possibly this “boss” or one of his higher up lackeys. Fletcher followed the man, keeping to the high ground as he watched him frantically run towards one of the crates. He hurriedly opened the door and went inside. Fletcher heard a myriad of screams coming from the crate, but there was only one voice his keen ears picked up on.

“LET ME GO!” Crème yelled.

“Shut up! I don’t know what’s goin’ on here, but this is freakin’ insane! We’re leavin’ – NOW!”

Fletcher waited till the man and Crème were in a good space for him to attack, the archer readied to fire, but an explosion from outside lit up the warehouse. The man saw Fletcher’s shadow and aimed his gun towards him. Fletcher jumped behind the crate just in time to avoid the gunfire.

“Give up, that explosion was heard for miles, there’s no way the police aren’t coming! It’s over, let her go and you’ll live to see the inside of a jail cell!”

“Screw you, nobody puts Shade behind bars! You’re in no position to talk, I got her! And you, you’re gonna sit there while I get outta here!”

Crème had only caught a glimpse when the explosion happened, but she knew, she knew that it had to be Fletcher. A few feet away, she saw a dark green colored arrow sticking out of the chest of one of the guards, confirming her suspicions. Crème thought frantically of how to help him, but her hands were cuffed yet again, and with his gun pointed Fletcher’s position, there was no way the young boy could let loose an arrow. Crème looked up, seeing one of the cranes that still had a metal platform. Immediately her mind began calculating, taking Fletcher’s position, and Shade’s.

“To your twelve ‘o clock, five feet to your left!” Crème shouted.

Fletcher looked up as Crème said, seeing the plaform. It was a long shot, but he was good at those. Fletcher aimed the arrow right at the platform overhead, he then released it. The arrow spun as it sailed upwards, but instead of piercing the metal, the angle at which the arrow hit the metal changed its direction. The arrow now traveled downwards, still holding onto its speed and power. Before Shade could figure out what was happening, the arrow had descended, hitting his gun and pinning it to the floor.

“What the hell –?!”

Crème stamped on his foot, making him release her. Luckily for her, the slit in the dress was high enough to allow her free movement, to which she used to deliver a spinning kick to Shade’s head, knocking him up against the wall. Crème had taken a few self-defense courses, she thought her father was being paranoid, but apparently they came in handy this night. Fletcher jumped up onto the crate and fired three arrows, two finding their homes in both of Shade’s thighs, and the last piercing his shoulder, pinning him like a butterfly on display.

Fletcher quickly jumped down, heading towards Crème. The tall young woman looked upon the boy she regarded as a little brother. Cloaked in a dark green hoody, scarf around his mouth, bow in one hand, and with a quiver full of arrows on his back. He had some bloodstains here and there, but none of it was his she guessed. She knew the boy had gone through some training to be good at archery, but this was far beyond anything she thought him capable of.

The hooded archer could tell by the look in her eye that she was probably shocked to see him like this. He was sure his eyes had a scary look about them, having had to take out so many armed guards without a moment’s hesitation, but he didn’t care, if Crème didn’t want to see him again or treat him like family anymore then that was fine, so long as she was safe that’s what mattered. But he was surprised when Crème moved forward and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I’d hug you…but my hands are cuffed behind my back.” Crème apologized.

Fletcher couldn’t help but smile under his scarf, he then brought his right arm over her, bringing her into a half-hug.

“It’s alright Crème,” he spoke in his normal tone, “you’ll owe me a proper hug later.”

Crème sniffled a little, but she was truly happy to see Fletcher alive. Afterwards, Fletcher got behind her and picked the locks of the cuffs, releasing her arms.

“How did you find me?” Crème asked.

“Your father gave me this,” Fletcher pulled out the device, “he gave it to me, and made me promise to get you back no matter what. And I keep my promises, Crème.”

Crème watched as the device’s screen zoomed in closer, tracking Crème’s position, she looked down at her neck, seeing the necklace her father gave her years back. She moved it closer to it and the machine responded.

Good old Father, always watching over me.

“C’mon, the police will be here soon and I need to make myself scarce before they realize I’m gone.”

TWO DAYS LATER…

{Are you sure son?}

“Yes Father, I am.”

{You’re Mother and I were worried about you when we got the news, but it seems you did well in saving Crème. Well done. Do as your heart tells you son, you have our support.}

“Thank you Father.”

Fletcher hung up his cellphone and put it in his pocket. Two days since the incident and the press would not stop hounding Crème about what had happened. A police detail was put outside the gates to the manor, keeping the vultures at bay. The man known as Shady Dealings was found pinned to the wall of the warehouse, where they also discovered large amounts of kidnapped girls stored away in metal crates all along the warehouse and then some. Shade was brought up on multiple counts of kidnapping, human trafficking, and the murder of Crème’s parents, friends, and family during the party.

Though Fletcher knew that the ones who did the killing were professionals, and Shade was the one who paid them. Still, one victory at a time. Fletcher walked towards the second story patio, finding Crème gazing upon the open sky and the city in the distance. Fletcher let out a sad sigh as he made his way towards her.

“Hallo, Crème.”

Crème glanced over her right shoulder and smiled at Fletcher.

“Hey. Oh, I have some news. Fancy Industries is going to be run by the Board of Directors for a bit, at least until I’m up to speed on all of the company’s business.”

“That’s good. So…how are you feeling?”

Crème looked back towards the sky. “Kind of lonely………Can I have a hug?”

Fletcher walked up beside Crème, placing his left arm over her shoulders and bringing her close. She took comfort in his presence, and allowed herself to let out a few more tears of sadness over the events that have happened.

“I’m sorry, I’m just a real crybaby today aren’t I?” Crème asked.

“You have every right to cry Crème.”

Crème leaned into Fletcher a little more. “You know, those girls I saw, the ones who were kidnapped. I’m funding them so they can find their parents, as well as find good homes for those who were living on the streets before they were taken.”

“That’s good, I’m sure they’ll be alright…well…as alright as one can hope.”

“I can’t believe there are people like that…I hear about it on the news and in talks, but to actually see it, be put into that kind of situation…and to think that there are more out there!”

Fletcher watched as Crème gripped her forearms tighter, shaking slightly.

“I just wish…I wish I could do something! But I’m not a fighter like you, Fletcher. I can’t wield a bow, I’m not crazy good at martial arts, or anything like that…”

“Then let me.”

Crème looked at Fletcher incredulously, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. But Fletcher’s gaze was still held on the horizon, his eyes having the same seriousness as that night.

“You can’t be serious?! Fletcher you can’t, I don’t want you to put yourself in danger like that!”

“That time I was ill equipped to handle them, but I made it work. You said you wish you could do something, this is something. Let me go out there and fight them! They surely aren’t the only criminal element in Matropolis, and if their operation does expand beyond the city, then we’re the best chance at stopping them in their tracks!”

Crème pulled back from Fletcher, looking at the boy as he stood there still holding his serious expression.

“But the police…”

“The police can only do so much. Yes, I know I’d become a vigilante, but if we work with them, we can take down the ones wholly responsible for your parents death, and the suffering of others! You’re father asked me to protect you, and the best way for me to do that is to take down the ones who threatened him! Otherwise they’ll shift to you Crème.”

Crème was conflicted, she didn’t want Fletcher to be put into that kind of situation, going out and fighting against armed criminals who wouldn’t think twice about shooting a kid, less when he’s armed. But then again, Fletcher’s actions at the warehouse showed that he had the skill and ability to fight against them.

“I’ve made my choice Crème, my parents already support that decision. But only if you agree to it, otherwise I’ll drop the matter completely, but that still won’t stop me from staying with you and keeping you safe.”

Crème sighed heavily as she turned away and looked towards the horizon yet again, her long hair flowing in the wind and obscuring her face.

“Do you have a plan?”

“First thing’s to get better equipment, if I were to do this it will take some doing, but afterwards I’ll hit the ground running, track down leads wherever I can find them.”

“Well then…” Crème turned her head, flashing Fletcher an assuring smile. “You’ll need someone to help back you up, financially anyway.”

“Crème?”

“Don’t forget, I did most of FI’s financial work. I’m crazy good with money and math. So it won’t take much to move some money around to our R&D department to help you out. We have them make you the tools you need, both to fight and to keep you safe out there.”

As much as Fletcher liked this idea, there was some risk. “Crème, if I do this, and if I’m found out, you’ll be putting yourself in the crossfire! On my own I alone take the blame, but you, and your company, will be taken in for harboring and aiding a vigilante!”

“I’m already in the crossfire, those guys made it clear that they intended to sell me and kill everyone else! I won’t let others suffer like that, and I won’t stand by as you do all the fighting! I may not be able to go out there with you, but at least I can provide you with the tools and equipment to do so! A lot of the workers for my father are like family to us, they’re loyal, so they won’t say a word, especially if it’s for a noble cause like this!”

Crème stood firm before Fletcher, her gaze narrowed, but her smile was as prominent as ever.

“I’ve made my choice Fletcher, what’s yours?!”

Fletcher couldn’t help but chuckle, which made Crème tilt her head to the side in confusion. The young boy brought his feet together, standing straight and at attention. He then bowed towards Crème, surprising her with the action.

“Then let’s work together Crème, in your stead I’ll the sword.”

“Hmmmmm…nope.”

Fletcher’s head shot up. “No?!”

“No, a sword doesn’t sound good, not in your case. More like…an arrow…the Arrow.”

Fletcher smiled as he rose from his bow and stood before Crème, holding out his hand.

“Very well, Arrow it is.”

“Good.” Crème reached out and shook his hand, cementing their partnership in their war on crime. “Now c’mere!”

“Wait what – mmmph?!”

Crème brought Fletcher into another hug, his face being smothered by his surrogate sister’s bosom.

“Can’t…breathe…!”

Invasion Part 1: Calm Before The Storm

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Summer time in Canterlot City, the sun was shining and the birds were chirping. All in all it was a pretty nice day. Starburst and Anthea were out walking in the downtown area, Annie had brought Star there under the pretext of “window shopping”, and of course when Annie meant window shopping, she really meant to say “Please come shopping with me because I would like to buy a new outfit, but I don’t want to end up looking like a clown!”

So Starburst became Annie’s designated shopper helper. In a way it was flattering that Annie asked Star to come with her, she obviously valued her opinion on what she wore and it made her happy that would consult her for such things. Although, after their recent acquisition of the powers of War and Peace, Annie could see a lot better, maybe not through her actual eyes, but her mind’s eye was a different story.

Starburst thought that Amber Lily would probably be a better fit to ask for this kind of thing, but then again she remembered meeting Amber and how she seemed to be…overly affectionate. Take a few minutes ago for example, they were just coming out of a lingerie shop. Annie apparently also insisted on Star helping her pick out underwear, and several times did she have to stop Annie from buying something skimpy, see through, and thin. Starburst swore that Annie did that on purpose just to get a reaction out of her. Anyway, as they walked along, Star spotted Amber, along with Hot Head and Lucky.

Annie called out to them and Amber came sashaying towards them. That was another thing she noticed about Amber, she was a flirt, and liked to tease. As soon as Annie gets close Amber reaches out and kisses Annie!

“I don’t see what the big deal is Star,” said Annie.

“SHE! KISSED! YOU! Another girl, kissed you! The girl who’s practically a big sister to you, just kissed you on the mouth like you were her girlfriend or something!” Star shouted.

“It wasn’t even like that! Okay, yes, she did kiss me on my mouth, but it wasn’t like she used her tongue or something, she didn’t French kiss me. It was just a peck on the lips.” Annie explained.

“A peck insinuates that it took less than a second, that lasted anywhere from ten to fifteen seconds!”

“Wow, you actually counted?”

“Not the point!”

Annie sighed, “Alright I understand, I was surprised too, but that’s just how Lil is. And I’ve accepted that just as you have my eccentricities.”

“‘Accepted’ isn’t quite the right word, more like tolerate.” Star corrected.

Annie puffed out her cheeks and stuck her tongue out at Starburst. “It was a platonic kiss, totally didn’t mean anything. Besides, you know I don’t swing that way, what with those mag–”

“OKAY, stop right there!” Star put up her hands and made an X. “I don’t want to hear about those!”

Annie put up her hands in defeat. “Fine, fine, I’ll stop.” The corner of Annie’s mouth rose slightly. “Don’t you wanna how I can –?”

“Annie I’m seriously going to –!”

*BOOM!!!*

Annie and Star stopped in their tracks. Across the street an explosion went off, blowing out the side of a bank building. Starburst looked to Annie, and Annie looked to Starburst, with a nod, the two girls dropped their bags, with Annie lamenting the loss of her cute clothes and underwear, and Starburst hurrying her along. The two found a vacant alley, once they were sure no one was coming and that there were no security cameras they set to work.

“HAWK!!!”

“DOVE!!!”

A blue aura in the shape of a dove overlapped its wings and cocooned Anthea, and at the same time, a red aura in the shape of a hawk did the same for Starburst. When the aura vanished Starburst and Anthea were donned in their Hawk and Dove uniforms. Star flared her wings and took off out of the alley and towards the disturbance, while Anthea dashed away, leaving behind a blurred afterimage.

When both heroes arrived at the scene they found a group of five criminals breaking into the bank. But what was strange was the weapons they wielded weren’t like anything they’d normally seen criminals use. One of them had gauntlets on, made of a black metal that had red circuitry running along it. Another had a vest with a strange looking cannon mounted on it, two others had had a couple of strange rifles. A shotgun, a pistol, the occasional fifty caliber machine gun, that was normal, these things were something else entirely.

“What the – it’s the bird chicks!”

Starburst landed next Anthea and sighed in indignation. “Seriously, ‘bird chicks’?! It’s Hawk and Dove moron, how hard is that to remember!”

“Star calm down. We’re here to see if we can come to a peaceful resolution, I’m sure there are better methods to getting money, if you’ve fallen on hard times then I’m sure there’s a better way,” said Annie.

The group of men just looked to each other as if saying “Really?” The two robbers with the strange rifles fired at the two heroines! Blasting with red laser bolts that flew through the air, Annie quickly raised her right hand, forming an azure barrier that protected both her and Star from the attack.

“Can I punch them now?” Star asked.

Annie sighed in defeat. “We have no choice at this point.”

Starburst smirked as her crimson metallic wings spread out and flapped, propelling her straight up into the air. The robber with the cannon mounted vest pointed the weapon at Star as she ascended, once locked on the muzzle fired off small red disks that flew right after her! Star saw the disks coming, crossing her arms in front of her, Star summoned six shuriken between her fingers. She then tossed the red glowing throwing stars, the weapons igniting into red embers as they flew directly for the disks.

All six hit their marks, exploding on impact and destroying the disks. But three of them got through and zoomed right towards her. They got into a triangle formation, hovering in a circle. Star was about tear into them with her clawed gauntlets, but the disks let loose red electrical energy that surged through the air and struck her. Star felt every nerve ending in her body erupt with pain as the disks electrocuted her, causing the red winged warrior to cry out in pain!

“Hawk hang on!” Annie cried out.

Another robber, armed with the strange round gauntlets, struck the ground. The energy and sonic vibrations from the strike traveled in a straight line, liquefying the ground. The trail continued till it went right under Annie’s feet, making the peace bringer sink into the mushy substance. Her shield disappeared as her arms submerged as well, leaving her at the mercy of the rifle wielders.

“Two birds as they say,” said the leader.

“SHAZAM!!!”

Lightning crashed and thunder roared overhead, making everyone stop to look up. Star caught a brief glimpse of a lightning bolt appearing out of nowhere and descending down to some random place near them. But she didn’t have long to contemplate what it was as the devices increased their electrical torture. Suddenly a buzzing, crackling sound entered the noise, but it sounded different from what the disks were discharging. Star suddenly saw blue lightning strike the three disks, destroying them in an instant and freeing her from her painful prison. A blurry streak of gold and red rushed by, heading straight down to the ground and passing by over Annie. When Star blinked the next time, Annie was gone. She looked to and fro frantically until her eyes settled on her friend a few feet from where she was stuck, and she wasn’t alone.

A young woman stood by Annie, a head taller than her. Her hood drawn to conceal her face as the twin tails of her large scarf bellowed in the crosswinds of her power. A lightning bolt symbol was upon her chest, and within the symbol was something like contained lightning. The young woman released Annie gently onto the ground and looked upon her with gentle violet eyes.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah, thank you,” said Annie.

Starburst flew down, striking the ground hard and making it crater as she quickly put herself between Annie and the stranger.

“Who are you?! What are you doing here?!” Star demanded.

“GIRLS!!!” Annie shouted as she brought up her barrier, just in time to deflect more laser bolts. “Intros and explanations later, bad guys to stop remember?!”

Thunder and Starburst glanced to each other and nodded firmly, both heroines taking off towards their specific targets. Star went for the riflemen, summoning two katanas and slicing the barrels of the guns right off, she then twirled around and brought the tip of her blades right to their throats, making both men sweat with fear at the thought of her running them through. Star smirked as she made the blades disappear, and instead punched the one on the left hard enough to send him flying, while in the air, she spun around and kicked the other one ten feet away and into a car.

Thunder was dealing with the man with vest cannon. He fired off more of the disks at Thunder, but the disks all exploded before they even got the chance to attack, the magical champion’s lightning aura lashed out at the disks before they had a chance. Thunder took one more step and in a flash was right in front of the man, she grabbed onto the cannon, clenching her hand and tearing the cannon away. The leader took a few steps back out of fear of Thunder, she then curled her middle finger and placed her thumb on it. Putting her right hand in his face, Thunder flicked him between the eyes and sent him flying into the rifleman that Star had just punched out.

Annie took on the last one, now that she knew of his weapon’s abilities, she wasn’t going to be caught off guard again. The man struck the ground several times, liquefying the ground to try and stop her advance, but Annie was fast, and very acrobatic as she used light poles to swing off of, and cars to vault, getting around him swiftly till he was in her range. She fired off two spheres of mana, hitting both gauntlets and damaging them. Annie quickly moved into close combat, using her middle and index fingers, she struck directly at key points of both his arms. The man felt his arms go completely numb and limp, swinging uselessly at his sides. Annie twirled about, getting in front of him and striking him in the center of his chest with the flat of her palm! Sending a wave of energy that attacked his nerves and shut down all but the vitals ones. The final robber fell to the ground, paralyzed all over but still breathing.

“Don’t worry, you’ll regain feeling in your body right about the time when you’re in handcuffs,” said Annie.

Starburst gave Annie a thumbs up, Annie didn’t like resorting to using her combative abilities too much. Having discovered that her close combat skills came with an added bonus of allowing her to channel her energy through her hands, like she did her spheres, but instead of creating shields, she could direct the energy to her opponent, effectively hitting them with a shockwave force strike. And even more precise, strike the different points of their body that dealt with their muscles and nerves, allowing her to paralyze her opponents and take them down without causing injury. Soon all three girls could hear sirens in the distance, Annie and Star looked to Thunder knowingly.

“That’s our cue,” said Starburst.

The crimson warrior quickly grabbed one of the strange rifles, Star rushed towards Annie, grabbing her by the waist and took off into the sky. Thunder followed close behind them, landing on building rooftop that overlooked the crime scene below. Star released Annie as she began to hyperventilate, causing Thunder to look at her worriedly.

“Is she going to be alright?”

“Don’t worry about Dove, she doesn’t like heights.”

“Heights aren’t the problem! It’s flying that really scares the crap out of me! Why do you always do that, you grab me, and then take off into the air?!”

“Well maybe if you actually flew I wouldn’t have to do that!”

Thunder looked between the two girls. “So wait, she can fly?”

Starburst groaned. “Yes, but she prefers to use her speed and run everywhere.”

“Hawk, don’t start with me, okay, please!”

“Uh-huh, so, Thunder right? I’ve heard stuff about you,” said Star.

Thunder pulled back her hood, revealing her violet and purple hair as she smiled cockily at Star and Annie.

“Good things I hope?”

“So far, but more importantly, you ever seen something like this?”

Hawk brought up the strange weapon. Thunder and Annie looked it over, now that they got a closer look at it, they noticed that it didn’t really look like something that was made in some weapons lab. At least, not one that was Earth based.

“Never have before, although…I have heard of a strange tech making its way into the streets here and there,” said Thunder.

“Same here, but that’s not the only thing,” said Annie.

“The disappearances, yeah.”

“Well, this is the first time we’ve been able to get our hands on one of their weapons. So maybe it can give us a clue as to who made it,” said Star. “We know someone who might be able to help, guess we’ll run it by him to be sure.”

“Guess I’ll the investigating to you guys.” Thunder rose up into the air, slipping her hood back on as she did. “I was in the middle of something before I helped you out, so I’ll see you around!”

Thunder then took off without another word, leaving Annie and Star behind.

THE NEXT DAY…

Star and Annie decided to get a better idea on what the strange weapon was. So they went to Canterlot University, which also did advanced research in partnership with S.T.A.R Labs, to see someone that not only had the brains to figure out this stuff, but also knew of their secret identities.

The two girls entered the research lab of Canterlot University, students who proved themselves to be exceptional in their field were granted a personal laboratory, fitted for their needs. Star admitted, she only understood half of what was in the room. Her own mother was regarded as a genius, and often brought Starburst to the University as a way for them to have Mother/Daughter time. While she did have fun blowing some things up with chemicals and cutting things with a high powered laser, she still couldn’t grasp all the sciency stuff. Annie took an interest in it, but because of her vision, some of what she knew as limited. Of course that didn’t stop Star’s mom, nope, she saw it as a challenge, plus she was always happy to teach someone who wanted to learn.

“Well if it isn’t Hawk and Dove, my archenemies!”

Star and Annie gazed towards, what Star assumed was, a particle accelerator. A tall teenaged boy, wearing a white lab coat, with his flowing hair tied into a ponytail, stood at the large machine. He stared at the two girls menacingly, a smirk upon his pretty boy face as he posed for dramatic effect.

“Star watch out, it’s Dr. Lucky Star! Hurry and run I’ll cover you!” Annie proclaimed as she got in front of Starburst and assumed a combative stance.

The navy haired girl just face palmed and groaned. “Seriously, do we have to go through this routine every time you two meet?”

Annie and Lucky sighed in reluctance, ending their little pretend game of mad scientist meets superheroes. But that didn’t stop either of them from chuckling at their little game.

“Chill Starburst, all in good fun. Gotta do something to stay loose around this department, else the stress will crush you smaller than an atom,” said Lucky.

“Oh that reminds me, is Pitaya here?” Annie asked.

Lucky Star clicked his tongue a few times and then looked up. From the higher portions of the ceiling a dark red bat flew down. The chiropteran creature fluttered about as its echolocation went off, leading him straight for Annie. The bat slowed its descent, and gently landed on Annie’s head, snuggling itself in her hair as it grinned happily.

“Hey Pit, did you miss me?!”

Pitaya chittered his response gleefully.

“Personally speaking, I’d invest in an actual hawk and dove to send secret messages, it’d go better with your hero personas.”

“A: Do you have any idea how much it costs to buy a dove and hawk, and actually train them? A lot, trust me I looked. And B: no one would think to intercept messages from two bird themed heroines that was being carried by a bat.” Star explained.

“You’re welcome.” Annie chimed in.

Annie had suggested using Pitaya to send secret messages to and from Lucky Star. Since texting and emailing were too susceptible to hackers and other persons who would want to hurt Hawk and Dove through their loved ones. Starburst had, at first, scoffed at the idea of using the bat as a secret means of communication. But over the past few months, Pitaya had proven her worth as a dependable and stealthy means of communication. Annie bumped her hip against Star, nonverbally saying “I told you so!” as she smirked happily. Starburst just rolled her eyes playfully.

“So your ‘batmail’ said you had something important to show me?”

“Yeah, this is it.”

Starburst held out the duffle bag she had been lugging around. Lucky went to grab for it, but once he gripped the straps and Star let go, he felt the full weight of the thing nearly take him to the ground.

“Jeez Starburst, a little warning next time?!”

“Sorry,” said Star.

“How can you carry something this heavy for someone of your siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii………” Lucky clamped his mouth shut, almost pushing a button of Star’s that he knew meant he’d be thrown out the window.

Starburst raised an eyebrow, knowing what the end of that sentence was going to be, but she decided to be merciful since they had more important matters to attend to.

“Like Annie’s vision, my powers bleed into my body when I’m not transformed. I get a bit of a strength, stamina, endurance, speed, and agility boost that puts me at a slightly higher level than most. Nothing compared to when I’m transformed, but it’s still useful.”

Lucky Star nodded and lugged the heavy thing over to special workbench. He hefted the bag onto the table and unzipped it, revealing the damaged weapon that Starburst and Anthea fought against, along with others.

“This is from that robbery you guys stopped?” Lucky asked.

“Well, us, and Thunder.” Annie corrected.

“We know it’s a weapon, a rifle, but it doesn’t look like any normal high tech weapon I’ve seen,” said Star.

Lucky got the rest of the weapon out and put the bag on the floor. He then snapped his fingers and a holographic display of a keyboard appeared. Lucky set to work, typing away at the hard-light hologram. The table expanded slightly, releasing a light wave of multiple hues up and down the weapon. From the overhead panel, two long arms with several tools on it lowered to the rifle. They fired mini-beams into the weapon, gathering data on an atomic level.

Lucky Star had accepted a scholarship from Starburst’s mother months ago, allowing him to attended Canterlot University. Of course, the reasons for his finally accepting the generous offer was still shrouded in secrecy, but his intellect quickly earned him the respect amongst his older peers, as well as turned a few heads of the university girls, apparently a genius pretty boy was a very fine prospect. Nevertheless, his position and access to such tech allowed him to help out with Starburst’s and Annie’s little battle against crime and evil, and he was happy to help his former fellow orphan. After several keystrokes, Lucky stopped and turned to the two girls.

“Now we wait for the computer to analyze the data and compile a list of what the thing is made of and, possibly, who made it.”

“Oooh, while it’s doing that I’ll just head over the little girl’s room. Pit, you stay here and keep Starburst company.”

Pitaya gently untangled himself from within the self-made nest of Annie’s soft hair and fluttered over to Starburst, landing on her shoulder and perching himself there. When Annie left the room, Star noticed how Lucky was watching her the whole time.

“I know she’s wearing skinny jean shorts and a tank top, but you could at least try and not ogle her.”

“I-I-I wasn’t ‘ogling’ Annie!” Lucky protested.

Both Star and Pitaya weren’t buying this. Star leaned up against the opposite workbench and looked directly at Lucky Star.

“Look, Lucky, just tell her that you like her and get it over with. You two have known each other since you guys were little kids in the same orphanage.”

Lucky sighed heavily. “That’s not…I can’t, she’s like a little sister to me! It’d be like telling you to go and date your little brother.”

Starburst cringed at that thought. “Please, you may act like a brother, you and Hot Head both, and Amber acts as your big sister / mother. Still wondering how that works, but anyway, that doesn’t mean you guys still can’t like each other like that!”

Lucky Star leaned back on the bench, looking up at the ceiling. “Since when did you become so interested in my love life?”

“Not yours, Annie’s,” Star used her right index finger to scratch under Pitaya’s chin, “she’s a nice, girl, a bit risqué, a tease, and a bit of a flirt. But she’s also kind, loving, and caring of others besides herself. This may be because I’m the other half of the powers we have, War and Peace, but I really do want her to be happy. At the same time, I don’t want Annie to end up with somebody who won’t show her the respect she deserves.”

“I can relate to that,” said Lucky.

“Then?”

“I just…I’ll think about it.”

“Don’t think too long.”

“You really think I’m good for Annie?”

“You’re someone she trusts, and considers family. She trusted you to keep our secret identities when we came to you for help in solving a crime, and I guess I’m warming up to you. Just watch your step.”

“I’m back!” Annie announced.

Lucky looked to the screen on the supercomputer across from them. “And the analysis is complete.”

Lucky, Annie, and Star walked over to the large screen of the computer. The readout showed a 3D model of the atomic and molecular structure of the weapon. Lucky’s face began to contort with confusion as he stared at the multiple window screens that popped up with red marks.

“What’s all this about?” Star asked.

“Mind filling me in? Magic vision doesn’t work well with computer and cellphone screens.”

“The computer’s unable to identify any of the metals or materials used to make this weapon, it’s all displaying as non-terrestrial,” said Lucky.

“‘Non-terrestrial’, you mean like not from Earth?!” Annie exclaimed.

Starburst looked back to the weapon, seeing the foreign weapon a different light. “So where is it from and how did it get to Earth?”

NIGHT TIME, BALTIMARE AIRSPACE…

[CeCe, Ah really don’t think you should be goin’ out alone, not without me there!]

Candy, the Earth’s Blue Lantern, was currently flying through the night. Her ring detected something, hopelessness and despair, and a great concentration of it was coming from somewhere in the approaching city. Del was worried about her going to the city on her own, since a Blue Lantern’s offensive abilities were locked without the light of a Green Lantern. Which limited Candy’s combative options to just her aura, flight, and the ring’s other abilities that were, what she referred to as “miracles”.

“Del stop being such a worrywart! I’m more than capable of defending myself even without willpower,” she argued.

[Ah know it’s been buggin’ ya fer a while now, but couldn’t ya wait until after Ah was through with caterin’ the party to do that?]

“Del, the longer I wait, the longer someone is suffering, and I can’t allow that! Not when there’s something I can do about it!”

[*sigh* Fine, just be careful, and call me if you get into somethin’ serious, promise?]

“I promise, see you soon!”

Candy found Del’s concern about her endearing, and cute. When Del had gotten back from his basic training, Candy surprised him by showing him her blue ring. Apparently Golden Delicious was informed about the other colors of the Emotional Spectrum, and that Hope and Willpower worked together and powered the other. From then on the two of them worked as a team, Candy boosting Del’s green light of will, and Del unlocking Candy’s combat beams and constructs. Of course, despite the fact that she could hold her own in a fight, it didn’t stop the big lug from constantly worrying about her. She liked that he stuck by her side, feeling her cheeks heat up whenever he did. But still, she didn’t like that Del thought her light was weak. The blue light of hope was powerful, Saint Hope said it was one of the most powerful lights of the Spectrum.

But that’s what she wanted, Candy wanted to help Del in protecting Earth, all of Sector 2814, and those he cared about. And really, she was doing the same, bringing hope to those who thought that the sun would never rise, that all they would know was darkness and despair. Candy briefly wondered if that’s how her mother thought when she was younger, she always wanted to put a smile on the faces of those she cared about, and even today still did.

[Hopelessness detected. Range: 1 Mile.] Her ring spoke.

Candy flew faster, entering Baltimare and seeing the many lights of the city. As she approached her destination, a warehouse district from the looks of it, she saw red and blue lights strobe in the distance. When she got close, Candy saw that they were police lights. She landed on a nearby rooftop, watching the scene unfold before her. There were cops everywhere, along with ambulances and of course the news media. All the commotion seemed to be concentrated inside, the police keeping a tight circle around the entrance to the warehouse.

“Wonder what happened here?”

“I happened,” said a distorted voice.

Candy jerked her head to the left and jumped back, letting her aura expand and illuminate the dark to see the owner of the voice. He looked to be a young man, about as old as herself. He wore a green hooded jacket, with black combat boots, sleek dark green pants, and a quiver full of arrows strapped to his back. In his left, black gloved hand had a bow, it was a neat design. The bows arms curved elegantly, giving it an almost blade like appearance, the drawstring was held by two adjustable spindles on either end. Under the hood, the young man wore a dark green mask that covered his eyes, turning them a stark white, much like Candy’s did.

“Who are you?” Candy asked.

“I am called Arrow.”

“‘Arrow’? Wait, I think I’ve heard of you! Aren’t you from Matropolis?”

Arrow nodded. “Yes, but the criminal activity from my city led me here to Baltimare. This place belonged to a group of human traffickers that bought and sold young girls, this was not only their supply house, but also their auction house.”
Candy looked back down at the enormous warehouse, now she understood why her ring sensed all that hopelessness, all that fear and despair, it was from the girls who were here. The Blue Lantern shed a tear for them, something that Arrow saw and understood why. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a handkerchief, handing it to Candy.

“Thank you.” Candy took the handkerchief and wiped her eyes, when she moved to return it, Arrow shook his head.

“Keep it, you may have more need of it than I right now, Blue Lantern.”

“Wait, you know who I am?”

“I’ve watched the world news feeds, you are the Green Lantern’s partner, both of you have done many a good deed in the name of justice around the world. Well, you two, and another who appears with lightning,” said Arrow.

“Are they still there?” Candy asked.

“They haven’t moved them, or rather, they can’t move them. A large majority of them won’t leave, their minds are too gripped with fear and conditioned to see, practically anyone, as someone of ill intent.”

Candy shook her head. “I can’t let this go on!”

Candy hopped up and hovered down towards the police. Arrow didn’t know what she was up to, but wasn’t sure if the police would give her a warm reception. The hooded archer reached back into his quiver and pulled out a strange looking arrow. He notched it and aimed for a tall light pole. Arrow fired his projectile, as the tail end of the arrow left, it hooked onto the bow arm. The shaft of the arrow broke in segments, becoming a long tether. The arrowhead broke out into three prongs, becoming a grappling hook. The hook latched onto the light pole, and Arrow swung off the roof. Meanwhile, Candy landed behind the line of policemen that guarded the entrance, needless to say, their reactions were what she expected.

“Freeze!” They yelled as they drew their guns on her.

Candy put up her hands as a gesture of cooperation, but realistically, she was invulnerable while cloaked in her aura field. Still, that didn’t mean she liked having guns pointed at her, especially when it was by the ones that she was trying to help.

“Calm down, I’m only here to help. I’m the Blue Lantern.”

The policemen and women lowered their weapons, but only slightly. They heard about the Blue and Green Lanterns, but this was the first time seeing her up close. All of them also couldn’t help but notice how young the Blue Lantern looked, the officers pegging her at least high school aged.

“Okay, why are you here?” One officer asked.

“Well…”

“I called her here.” Arrow came swinging out of from overhead, doing a flip before landing gracefully on his feet a few inches away from Candy’s side.

Now the police were aiming at Arrow.

“Stop he’s telling the truth! He’s the Arrow, from Matropolis! He asked me to help the girls inside!”

The officers looked upon the, seemingly, equally young hero. They all found many arrow shafts around the crime scene, as well as several criminals caught in complex, high tech traps, even some of them were pinned to the wall by arrows.

“Please, let me help them?” Candy asked.

The officers all glanced at each other, they weren’t sure what the Blue Lantern could do to help the girls inside. But they surely weren’t having any luck getting them out.

“Alright, follow me,” said a female officer.

Candy and Arrow thanked her and proceeded inside. Candy got to see the full scope of what Arrow did, whistling impressively at his handy work. But she also saw the cages, the water pans, the ratty blankets and mattresses, and the center stage with a big electronic sign on it, the words frozen on there read “Current Bid: $5,000”. The officer led them further back, the area seemed to slump downwards the farther they went. Finally they arrived at the back half of the warehouse. Metal crates were opened, showing all of the cowering young girls who hid from the presence of the police, dozens upon dozens of crates, all stacked in tiers in threes.

“We’ve been trying to get them out, but no luck. We thought that they were just afraid of the male officers, since, well, you can guess why. So myself and other female officers came in, no weapons, trying to calm them so that they can leave this place. But apparently that didn’t work either. They’re afraid of leaving.”

“Why would they be, if you’re here then why wouldn’t they leave?” Candy asked.

“Conditioning. They’ve been conditioned to not leave this place, most likely not without one of the scum who worked her escorting them. The girls must’ve been taught that escaping or any sign of resistance or cooperation with the police would cost them their lives. No doubt it has for them to be this afraid of you.”

“You’re right kid, and until we can convince them otherwise they’ll stay there, unable to see that they’re free.”

A bright blue glow started to emanate from Candy’s ring. She lifted up her right hand and looked at it; Saint Hope had told her long ago that the ring’s light could sense those who needed hope, that the light was almost sentient. When it glowed, Candy needed to trust in the blue light, and believe that all will be well. The Blue Lantern broke from Arrow and the officer, walking down towards the center of the room so that all could see her. The girls hid in the long metal crates, and at the same time were curious as to what was happening.

“All of you, you needn’t be afraid anymore! The ones who have done this to you are going away for a long time, so please, come on out.”

The girls all looked fearfully at each other, a war raging in their minds. They wanted to leave, they had prayed to ever since they were first brought there, but the fear of leaving this place, of having everything that was done to them known to everyone out there, to have the people see what those criminals had done to them. How could they even think of going back?

Candy could sense it through her ring, their fear was still strong. I can’t let them remain chained to this darkness, it’s time they saw the light, saw that there are those who still pray for their safe return!

The Blue Lantern raised her right fist into the air and closed her eyes. The light of the ring shined forth, lighting up the warehouse and bathing everything in cerulean light. Candy brought her left hand into a prayer position and closed her eyes in concentration.

“Ring, restore their hope!”

The light took form near each girl. Bodies began to form, neither construct nor illusion, but something else, their manifested hope. The light beings took the form of brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, whole families, friends, and lovers, each one either embracing the girl they were there for, or speaking to them the words they needed to hear. The girls who had hidden in the crates all started to exit them, coalescing in the center as they saw their loved ones once more through the light of hope.

“Don’t you see, all of them never stopped looking, never stopped praying and believing that you’d one day return to them safe and sound?! You no longer need to be chained to the darkness, a darkness that you were thrown into without pity or regard! Now is the time to step back into the light, can you all do that?”
The girls, all hundreds of dozens of them, glanced to each other and nodded firmly as they smiled.

[Hope detected.]

The ring released another wave of light, enveloping the girls’ bodies. The calming, soothing light washed over them like a relieving hot shower. The power of the ring healed their scars, their bruises, their broken bones, any and every internal and external injury was completely erased by this wondrous light. When the light dimmed, Candy lowered her hand, opened her eyes and smiled at the girls whom she had helped.

Candy stuck around, along with Arrow, to see that the police had a handle on the girls and the situation. Once they were assured that the captured girls would be taken care of, both heroes departed from the warehouse, scaling the rooftops as they left from the crime scene. Arrow stopped a moment, making Candy slow to a hover.

“What’s wrong Arrow?”

“You did a great thing back there Blue Lantern.”

Candy smiled and blushed from the compliment. “Thank you, I wish I could’ve done more though. Maybe if I had gotten here sooner I could’ve helped you out, and them, sooner,”

“I don’t doubt you we would’ve made a formidable team in dispensing those with those criminals, but you came at the right time as far as I’m concerned, now at least they have a chance of returning home and back to their lives.”

“Well, it’s been nice meeting you Arrow, but I outta go. Green Lantern’s going to get worried if I don’t –”

[Warning: Enemy attack!]

Candy and Arrow turned to their right just in time to see a raging fire blast head straight for them. The Blue Lantern quickly got in front of Arrow, focusing her aura, she manipulated it to form giant hands. She brought both hands together and thrust them forward, creating a wedge that split the flames in half and away from Arrow. When the flames died down, Candy returned her aura to its normal state and entered a fighting stance. Arrow quickly notched a trick arrow in his bow, drawing it back and preparing to fight whatever it was that attacked them.

It stood on two legs, its body big and bulky, wearing dark gold colored armor, and an omega symbol on its chest. It had large membrane wings, sharp talons, and big sharp teeth. The creature snarled and growled as some embers wafted from its mouth with each breath it took.

“Blue Lantern, it seems you’re here in time to help me with another fight,” said Arrow.

“Looks like,” agreed Candy.

*RAAAAAAAAARGH!!!*

Invasion Part 2: Activation

View Online

Arrow and Blue Lantern stood ready for battle against this demon like creature, it had already attacked them and neither of them had ever seen a thing like this before.

“Okay, who are you, and what do you want with us?!” Arrow demanded.

*RAARRRRRGH!!!*

“My ring can’t translate it, I don’t understand, it’s able to translate any and every language known throughout the universe! All that I heard was a roar!”

The creature flared its wings and flew straight for them. Candy flared her aura and thrust out her palm, creating a version of it twice the size of her own and slammed it against the monster. The demon met her attack head on, striking her aura palm with a powerful punch. The attack rumbled through the metal roof, making Candy wince a bit from the impact. But Candy was quick to counter, she deflected the claw and performed a spinning roundhouse kick to the creature’s jaw, sending it reeling back as its talons dug into the metal roof!

Arrow notched one of his Trick arrows and launched it! The arrow wheezed through the air and struck the monster in its chest, when the tip impacted against its chest armor it exploded. The beast howled in pain from the blast, clutching at its chest, but it still stood before them, snarling and growling.

“You have arrows that can blow up too?!” Candy asked surprised.

“That and many others, never know when you might need an arrow for a specific situation,” said Arrow.

“Cool!”

The monster let loose another jet of flames from its mouth, making Candy stand in front of Arrow to protect him from the flames.

“Sorry, but do you mind if I get a boost?”

Candy widened her stance and planted her feet. “Go for it!”

Arrow took a few steps back, notched another arrow, and ran towards Candy. He jumped up, placing his right foot on her right shoulder and using her as a vault to gain extra height over her. Arrow fired his projectile and it struck the creature in his mouth, blasting fourth an icy cloud that covered its face. The monster stumbled back, its jaws completely frozen shut! Arrow landed on the roof again, rolling, and stopped into a kneeling position.

He fired another arrow, it burst about halfway and turned into a bolo, wrapping around its legs and going taut the moment it encircled its legs. The creature fell back like a ton of bricks, creating a dent in the roof. A blue light shined above the creature, catching a glimpse of the Blue Lantern’s giant fist come crashing down on top of it! The roof caved in, giving way to a large hole. The monster continued down till it landed in the warehouse with a loud “BOOM”!

Arrow stood near the hole, with Candy floating just above it. He looked up to the wielder of hope with worry and caution.

“I doubt that that was enough to fell it,” said Arrow.

“No doubt about that, let’s go and make sure that it’s down,” said Candy.

Candy held out her hand and Arrow grabbed hold of it. The two of them descended down into the warehouse, upon entering they saw that it was dark, the only light came from Candy’s aura. Candy released Arrow, letting him land softly against the stone floor. She stuck by him, his bow at the ready, illuminating the area as best she could. They saw the crater where the monster landed, but it wasn’t there.

Arrow drew back on his bow, now on edge that they were in a dark place with a monster skulking about. Candy and Arrow continued further into the warehouse, both ready to do battle with it again.

[Enemy presence detected. Distance thirty feet. Enemy numbers: 7.]

“Wait – what?!”

“Did your ring just say ‘seven’?!” Arrow asked.

In the distance a flame flickered. The flame created a shadowy silhouette of several sharp teeth, the same as the monster. Arrow and Candy entered into attack stances, and readied themselves for a fight. Soon that one flame turned into two, then three, five, and lastly seven. Candy raised her right fist into the air, concentrating her light to shine brighter. The ring responded, releasing more of its blue light into the warehouse and revealing all seven monsters.

“Oooookay, now I need help.”

CANTERLOT CITY, CANTERLOT UNIVERSITY…

Lucky was busy still analyzing the strange alien weapon that Star and Annie had brought to him. It bothered him that a gang of criminals had such high-tech weaponry, not to mention that they were made out of materials that didn’t even exist on the periodic table! Lucky looked to the digital display on his monitor, showing the time to be nine ‘o clock. He knew he could work later, the university didn’t really set any hours when it came to a student’s individual lab time. But Lucky didn’t want to worry Amber, she was already doing a lot as it was.

Lucky looked to the corner of the room where a locker stood, he stood up from his chair and walked over to it. When he opened the locker, inside was his backpack, a jacket, and the briefcase, the very same briefcase that held the last gift of his parents. The purple haired boy wanted to get more research done on the so called “Firestorm Matrix”, wanting to understand it more. From what he had understood about it, it worked with transmutation and nuclear energy. But the complexity of the matrix seemed to indicate that it was a power that a single human body couldn’t withstand.

“Why make it so that a person could meld with it? More than that, why make it so powerful that a single person can’t control it?” Lucky asked out loud.

*Knock*

Lucky quickly closed the locker and went to answer the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me Hot Head, you’re bro.”

Lucky unlocked the lab door and let Hot Head inside. The olive skinned boy was wearing his usual skater attire. A red shirt with torn gray jeans, and a black hat turned backwards. His right forearm was bandaged up from a, most likely, recent skate bordering accident, and said skateboard was tucked under his left arm.

“S’up Lucky,” said Hot Head.

“Hey Hot Head, what brings you here?” Lucky asked.

“Eh, Amber’s on the night shift over at the hospital, so the house’s pretty much empty.”

“Needed some company?”

“Nah, here to keep you company!”

Hot Head made his way to an open chair and sat in it backwards. Lucky shook his head, but smiled, he knew Hot Head didn’t like being in the house alone. Just as well, neither did Lucky, a lab was one thing, but when there’s no one at home to greet you and say hi, it feels lonely. And quite frankly, both boys had had enough with being lonely.

“So what’re you working on that’s got you staying here so late? Usually you’re home by nine or ten.”

Lucky hadn’t told Hot Head about Annie and Star’s secret identities, Hot Head would no doubt have a cow if he knew that Annie, their surrogate little sister, was out battling criminals. But he never said he couldn’t tell him who was visiting him.

“I got a message from Hawk and Dove.”

Hot Head’s head shot up at the mention of the two heroines.

“Whoa, seriously?! They came and saw you?!”

“Yes and no, they dropped off that thing over there.” Lucky pointed to the alien weapon still being analyzed on the workbench. “It was from that bank robbery earlier today, apparently that gang of crooks was using some kind of advanced weapons to rob the bank and it was some pretty strong stuff.”

Hot Head got up from chair and went over to the bench. Lucky shot him a look that said “Don’t touch it”, to which Hot Head gave him a look that replied “I’m not!” Hot Head went over to the weapon and looked at it, noting the obvious damage dealt to it by the two heroes.

“So…is it bad or something?”

“Very, heavy duty stuff, but it isn’t military or anything of this Earth,” said Lucky.

“‘Of this Earth’, you mean it’s alien?!” Hot Head asked.

Lucky nodded.

“Freaky.”

“Yeah, been racking my brain for a while trying to figure it out, but nothing’s making much sense!”

Hot Head walked over to Lucky and clasped a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, why don’t we head home and you can get some sleep. You work better when you’ve given that brain of yours some rest.”

Lucky smiled again, he didn’t want to stop working, but he knew Hot Head was right. Besides, he was no good to anyone sleep deprived.

“Alright, let me shut down and I’ll get my stuff.”

Hot Head nodded and went to the window to gaze at the campus while Lucky shut down his computer, hid the alien weapon, and went the locker. Hot Head looked over the grounds, the tall buildings, the clock tower, and the admitted hot university girls. But really, he had eyes for one girl, even if he had a hard time telling her so. Hot Head spotted one girl walking along the path cut into the quad, she was on her cellphone and carrying some textbooks in the crook of her left arm.

Just then Hot Head caught sight of something moving in the dark. He thought it was his imagination, but he continued to keep an eye on it. The shadow seemed to keep moving, and it was big, at least from his vantage point. The shadow kept moving, going faster and faster. Hot Head started to get edgy as he saw the direction the shadow was heading.

“Lucky…!”

“What’s up?”

“Look over here and tell me I’m just seeing things, ‘cause if I’m not, then we need to call the police!”

Lucky picked up the briefcase and rushed over to where Hot Head was standing. He looked out the window and followed his gaze, finding the shadowy object.

“No, I see it too!”

The shadow rushed towards the girl, there was a distant scream as the shadow overtook the girl and just as quickly rushed away. Hot Head and Lucky looked to each and quickly bolted for the door, locking it behind them. The two boys hurried down the stairs and onto the bottom floor. They burst out through the double doors and ran frantically to the spot where the girl was abducted. The textbooks, cellphone, and a purse were all that was there.

“How the hell did that happen?!” Hot Head asked.

“I don’t know, but look!”

Lucky pointed to a trail of broken branches and scratch marks leading away from where the girl was taken.

“Lucky call the police, I’ll track them down!”

“Hot Head!”

“Look I’ve seen enough of those cop shows to know that if we stand here and wait they’ll get away and then she’ll end up a missing person! I’ll keep my cellphone in my hand and call you back if I find out where they are!”

Before Lucky could protest Hot Head was already running, he threw his skateboard ahead of him and jumped, landing on it and taking off.

Hot Head had been told a lot times not to skateboard at night, but the circumstances were dire. He weaved in and around various benches and obstacles as he made his way down the path, following the broken branches and scratch marks that lead towards an old building. Hot Head kicked against the ground, increasing his speed, some stairs came into view, but luckily they weren’t too high. Hot Head jumped the stairs, forgoing any fancy tricks and just continuing the chase. The rusty haired boy felt his cellphone vibrate in his hand and opened it to talk.

“Yeah?!”

{I called the cops and they said they’d be here, I also told them that you were following the abductor!}

“Probably told you that I should stop and wait for them?”

{Yes.}

“Typical, what about Campus Security?!”

{I alerted them too, where are you now?!}

“These scratch marks are going towards some old looking building, there’s construction scaffolding all over it! There’s also some kind of rotunda dome looking thing on it!”

{Must be the old Solarium, they’re remodeling it so they could use it to expand the campus. I know a shortcut to get there, keep going and I’ll meet you there!}

Hot Head had stopped in front of the building, following the claw marks to the entrance to the building. Lucky made it to entrance as well, still carrying his heavy briefcase. Hot Head gave him a look.

“Lucky why are you still carrying that thing? I know it’s from your parents but it’s probably not a good idea to be lugging it around,” said Hot Head.

“Trust me, if this is gets bad, we might need this,” said Lucky.

Hot Head didn’t want to get into how that case could help, they had bigger things to worry about, like saving a girl from a creeper. The duo entered the old building, the smell old drywall, wood, and paint was heavy in the air. The faint moonlight lit up as much as the halls as it could, but it still left a good portion of the hall shrouded in shadow. They could’ve used their cellphones for flashlights, but it would only give them away, if they wanted to save the girl and stop the abductor it wouldn’t do to give away their position.

The two boys headed further down the hall, hearing a series of creaking noises echo through the empty building. Their nerves were on edge, Hot Head held his skateboard like a weapon, ready to smash it into the face of whoever it was they were after. Lucky was ready as well, however, he was unsure if he really wanted to use what was inside of it on some stalker-kidnapper.

Suddenly they heard an inhuman growl coming from down one of the other halls. Lucky looked to Hot Head, both gulped, feeling as if they had just stepped into a horror movie scenario. Regardless, they needed to keep going. Hot Head and Lucky made it to the other end of the hall, which dead ended right at an old swimming pool. The two boys poked their heads up and stifled a gasp.

On the other side of the door were at least a dozen, demon-like monsters. Gold armor plated and bearing an Omega symbol, with bat wings, razor sharp talons, dagger fangs, and a helmet that was fastened around their eyes, making them wonder how they could see at all. The pool down below was emptied long ago, leaving it a cracked, hollow mess, but the pool wasn’t so empty. There were at least twenty students, all unconscious, at least that’s what they hoped, otherwise they were about to stumble onto a feast.

Hot Head and Lucky quickly sunk back down to the floor, and crawled away till they were around the next corner. Their hearts were pounding in their ears at the sight of the demonic creatures. Hot Head wasn’t a coward by any means, but seeing those monsters – actual monsters – was enough to make the toughest guy run. Which he contemplated doing if it weren’t for the likely fact that they’d be spotted or heard.

“Lucky, you really need to contact Hawk and Dove, like NOW!” Hot Head whispered.

“I don’t have their cellphone number!” Okay, I do, both of them, but that’s not the point! “I get messages from them from a bat!”

“A BAT?!”

“How else do you expect them to contact me in secret?!” Lucky hissed.

“Well a lot of good it does us now! Unless that bat travels as fast as a Ferrari we’re screwed! ‘Cause this definitely qualifies as a superhero situation, and I don’t think cops or campus security is exactly trained to deal with this kind of thing!”

Lucky looked to his briefcase, the very same one that held the Firestorm Matrix inside. It was risky – very risky – but with the lives of those people on the line, could he really afford to hesitate?! Then again, asking Hot Head to help in the activation of the gift left behind by his parents could potentially harm him. Despite his studying of the Matrix, there were still too many unknowns.

Hot Head could see the gears turning in Lucky’s head, somehow he could tell that his surrogate brother knew a way to help. “Lucky, if you got some kind of super weapon in that case, now’s the time to bust it out!”

“It’s…It’s not exactly a weapon! Or…maybe it is…either way it’s too risky! If I did then I’d need your help to use it and I don’t want to put your life in danger!”

Hot Head placed his hands on Lucky’s shoulders and gave him a serious look. “Lucky, right now, we’re in a situation where we could die either way! But I don’t plan on dying bro! And knowing that these things are out here, if they get out, what’s stopping them from going after Amber?!”

Lucky’s eyes widened at the thought of that.

“She’s the one good thing in our lives that I want to protect, the one person who gave a damn about us and has been taking crap from people because she cared enough to adopt us! I’m not gonna die here today Lucky, and neither are you! So whatever’s in there, if it can save those people, and if it can keep us from getting killed, then let’s use it!”

Lucky saw the fire burning in Hot Head’s eyes, as asinine as it was, he was right. Besides, he wasn’t called Lucky Star for nothing, his luck hadn’t run out yet, and right now, with Hot Head by his side, he was feeling very lucky!

“Alright!” Lucky exclaimed.

The purple haired boy placed the briefcase on the floor, placing his palm against the scanner as it read his biometrics. Once it confirmed his identity the case’s latches flicked open, the upper half swinging open with a hiss. A fog came rolling out of the case as Lucky placed his hands inside to take out container that held the Firestorm Matrix. Lucky held it in his hands before himself and Hot Head, the latter just gazing at the swirling atomic fireball.

“What the hell is that supposed to be?” Hot Head asked.

“This is something my parents were working on, their last gift to me before they died apparently,” said Lucky.

“Wait, was this same thing we got from that lawyer guy a few months back?!”

“Yes.”

“So…what’s it do?”

“Essentially, from what their notes said, it’ll turn us into a superhuman, capable of transmutation and harnessing great levels of nuclear power.”

“Whoa…that’s a…a little extreme,” said Hot Head.

“We’re about to face twelve demon monsters, I think we have license to use overkill.”

Hot Head shook his head, mentally psyching himself up for this. “Alright so what do we do?!”

“Once I release it from the container, we’ll grab it, and use the activation phrase.”

“‘Activation phrase’?” Hot Head asked skeptically.

“It’s so the Matrix can recognize our voices and bio signatures, so it will respond to our commands.”

Hot Head nodded and readied himself. Lucky pressed a few buttons on the container and the glass split apart, revealing the atomic fireball. Hot Head grabbed onto it, wincing as he awaited the hot burning sensation from grabbing such a thing, but surprisingly, he felt nothing, warmth, but it didn’t hurt. Lucky placed one hand on the Firestorm Matrix and looked to Hot Head, seeing the same surprised look as himself. What neither of them noticed was that the atomic fireball was giving off light, light that was visible to the demon monsters inside the room. One of the beasts smashed open the doors and lumbered into the hall, spotting the source of light coming from Hot Head and Lucky.

*RAAAAARRRRGH!!!*

“FIRESTORM!!!”

The fireball erupted forth, bellowing powerful flames that engulfed both Hot Head and Lucky Star. Three rings appeared around the sphere of flames, warbling with power as the transformation took place. Within the sphere, the silhouettes of the two bodies could be seen, but after a few moments the two joined into one body! The sphere burst apart, sending a shockwave that threw the demon creature right into the wall. Amongst the smoldering, charred area stood a new being.

He stood six feet tall, the skin around his face a light shade of olive. His arms were covered in a red armor that had glowing yellow lines etched into them, his chest had armor-like plate on it with sculpted muscles, the image on the armor was that of a red sun surrounded by three purple rings, and six red orbs with white lines heading right for the red sun symbol. Around his waist a white sash was tied, acting as belt for his scarlet red pants, his feet covered by yellow armored boots. The cowl around his head was a deep red, with yellow lines that formed a corona crown around his forehead, and his hair was made of bellowing flames that looked like a lions mane, but as it reached down to the floor it tapered off till it was thin like tail.

The new entity opened its eyes, which were a piercing white. He raised his hands up to his face, scanning his new form. He touched his forearm, almost in disbelief that this was in fact his body. When he ran his hand through his flaming mane they went through it, there was a density to them, but when he pulled his hand away all that was there was flaming embers that returned to where they were taken.

“Okay… this is freaky!”

“I can’t disagree there.”

“Lucky?! Oh god, where are you?!”

“Calm down Hot Head, I’m right here.”

“Where here?! All I see is burned walls and a floor!”

Suddenly a spectral head formed before Hot Head, a head that looked exactly like Lucky Star.

“Oh crap…you’re a ghost…I killed you!”

“No you didn’t! I’m just projecting myself so you can see me! As far as I can figure it, I’m inside you.”

Hot Head shook his head in confusion. “‘INSIDE ME’?!”

~~~

Lucky Star stood at the center of a vast expanse of a flaming universe, atoms and molecules all danced around him. Around his forehead was the same corona crown as was on their united form’s head. Before him was a window to the outside, currently he was looking at Hot Head, examining their joined form, but simultaneously, there was other windows that provided him with a near three-sixty view of the area.

“I understand now, the answers are here in the Matrix itself.”

“Run that by me again?!”

“When I said I was inside you, I meant that in a figurative and literal sense. I’m actually inside the Firestorm Matrix itself, and now I see why it needed two people to activate it. One acts as the body, or the ‘driver’, and the other acts as the coordinator, maintaining the inner workings of the Matrix.”

“So what I drive the body, in other words I am the body itself? I get to move around and you’re trapped inside the Matrix?!”

“I don’t think ‘trapped’ is the right word, more like housed for the time being –” Lucky saw movement out of the corner of his eye as he looked towards the window that was tracking the demon, “– HOT HEAD LOOK OUT!”

~~~

Hot Head looked up and watched as the demon wrenched itself free of the hole in the wall and raced towards him. The Nuclear Man held up his hand instinctively, three rings appeared around his hand, at the same time a plasma like energy coalesced at the center. The built up energy released itself in a powerful, fiery, plasma blast that struck the demon and sent him careening for the wall. The demon went through it, and several others before exploding violently a few rooms away!

Hot Head looked at his hand in awe of what he had done. “What was that?!”

“Flame Plasma discharge.”

“Cool! Now let’s get to those people!”

Hot Head, or rather Firestorm, ran towards the entrance that the monster had just burst out of. Two others came out to investigate the explosion and saw Firestorm running right for them. The two demons roared and spewed out twin jets of fire. The flames slammed against Firestorm, making him stop. But he didn’t feel hot, in fact, the flames didn’t hurt at all! With his right hand he reached out, willing the flames to flow into it. The flames condensed till they were the size of a baseball in his hand.

“Alright ugly, why don’t you choke on your own fire!”

Firestorm rushed forward with great speed, cocking back his right hand and thrusting it into the open jaws of the demon monster, shoving the condensed fireball right down its throat. The monster stumbled back as it literally choked on the fireball, after a few seconds the creature’s chest exploded outwards, no blood or entrails came out, all burned to cinders from the intense heat. Firestorm then delivered a powerful haymaker right to the second monster’s head, plowing his fist into it and right into the floor. The demon twitched a few times, but after a couple of seconds it ceased all movement.

“Three down!” Hot Head shouted.

“And nine to go!” Lucky finished.

The remaining demons roared at Firestorm, each one unfurling their wings and taking into the air in the spacious area. One of the demons charged for him, but Firestorm jumped up high into the air, making the demon slam itself into the concrete floor. What Hot Head hadn’t counted on was that once he was in the air he didn’t come down.

“We can fly too?!”

“Seems that way, I’ll handle the fine tuning, just concentrate on where you want to go!”

Heeding his surrogate brother’s advice, Hot Head flung himself towards the pack of demons that had been in the air. The three atom rings appeared on both hands as he fired a twin blast of plasma energy at the two demons, hitting them in midair and causing them to explode. One of them tried to rush him from behind, but with Lucky looking out for him, Hot Head was able to counter with a spinning fire kick that twisted the creature’s head around with an audible snap!

One of the demons picked up a steel rod and hurled it at Hot Head like a spear. Hot Head put up his hands to protect himself, but deep within, Lucky reached out with his hand. Firestorm’s hand did the same thing as the atomic rings appeared yet again. The rod glowed a bright yellow-orange and broke apart into tiny particles, the particles then rearranged themselves until they had been completely altered, becoming a new object. What hit Hot Head instead was a rubber ball, Hot Head looked at the round ball as it bounced on the floor in total confusion.

“Okay, how did we do that?!”

“Transmutation, the ability to alter the atomic structure of an object and change it into something completely different from the original, I just rearranged the atoms and lessened its molecular density ‘till it became as soft as rubber ball.”

Even though they were in a life or death situation, Hot Head had to admit, he was loving this whole Firestorm thing. And Lucky could tell too, feeling his elation through their linked psyches. From their altitude, Lucky could see the demon monsters gather to one of the others. It held something in its claws, but Lucky couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Hot Head, that one demon thing is holding something! I don’t know what it is but I don’t like it!”

“Then let’s do something about it!”

Hot Head flew towards the remaining demons, all but one bum rushed him. Surrounding him and clutching hard to him as they dragged Firestorm to the floor. Hot Head struggled against the demons, all the while watching as the remaining one placed the box like object against the concrete wall. Hot Head’s eyes began to glow yellow as he built up energy within his body, the sounds of sizzling armor and flesh began to echo within the room.

“GET! OFF! ME!!!”

Hot Head’s body released a powerful burst of energy that incinerated the demons off his body. Firestorm panted from the release of the energy, but quickly recovered getting ready to take on the last beast. But the creature merely stood its ground, flaring its wings as flames began to drip from its maw.

“FOR TIREK!!!” The demon roared.

“Did that thing just talk?!”

“Never mind that it’s building up energy!”

The demon’s Omega symbol started to glow bright red, the flames in its mouth spilling out of its mouth with each passing second. Hot Head knew this was going to be bad but then they both remembered the people in the pool below. Firestorm jumped into the pool, both Lucky and Hot Head looked around to get an idea of what they were working with. From what they could tell the people were unconscious, but there were too many to carry out in time.

Thinking fast, the amalgamated entity thrust its open palms forward. The atomic rings formed around his hands as Lucky guided Hot Head in the construction. The concrete and mortar began to dissolve around them, and form over Firestorm and the twenty people. Like the conductor of an orchestra, Firestorm moved his hands to and fro, molding the concrete and hardening it till it was as hard and as titanium. When it was finished, Firestorm braced himself.

On the other side of the dome, the demon had reached critical mass and exploded, blowing out the walls of the pool area and scattering the debris outwards. Police and Campus Security definitely heard the explosion and rushed to the scene of the explosion. Debris was scattered everywhere as the officers, paramedics, and firefighters came rolling in. Guns were drawn as they approached, not knowing what they might find. The pool area was on fire due the explosion, the firefighters prepared to battle the flames but stopped when they saw the flames recede, as if they were being sucked in by something.

The glowing form of Firestorm stood at the center of the flames, absorbing the heat and fire as quickly as possible. The atomic rings appeared over his right hand as he waved it in a wide arch, converting the thick black smoke into precious life giving oxygen. The dome was gone and the people within had stirred awake from the sound of the explosion. The officers readied their guns, but Firestorm stepped away, allowing the people to run to the awaiting paramedics. Wearily, the officers put away their guns, choosing instead to help the twenty students who were in need of care.

“You did it Lucky,” said Hot Head.

“No, we did it bro, together. Firestorm is us united as one,” replied Lucky.

The two surrogate brothers chuckled, but it was short lived, there was a beeping noise coming from the box that the demon had placed on the wall, which miraculously survived the detonation.

“I swear I didn’t touch it!”

“Uh-oh…”

BALTIMARE, AROUND THE SAME TIME…

Arrow was dodging fire blasts left and right as he ran along the wooden crates and released multiple bladed arrows right into the demons’ heads. The creatures fell, but they weren’t out. For the latter part of a couple of hours, Arrow and Candy had been battling the demon-like creatures, head to head. Explosive arrows going off one after the other, along with powerful slamming punches and palm strikes from Candy’s blue aura were, it was all the two could do fight off the monsters. So far they managed to take down three, but these monsters were slowly learning their tricks. Arrow and Blue Lantern stood back to back, Candy with her aura flared and Arrow with his bow at the ready. The remaining four demons boxed them in, slowly stalking towards them with flames dripping from their mouths.

“Well…this doesn’t seem to be in our favor anymore,” said Arrow.

“I suppose that depends on how you look at it, we lasted longer than I thought we would, so that’s a plus!” Candy pointed out.

Arrow chuckled. “Even in his bleak situation you’re still optimistic, I admire that.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I can be a little OCD and sometimes I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. Then I realize that it’s actually an entire space sector, and I feel like I’m going to be crushed!”

The creatures drew closer, their talons and fangs bared for the kill.

“But when that happens I just focus on something, something that I know I can protect and would fight hard to do so!”

“And what might that be?” Arrow asked.

“My family, and my friends, so long as I know that I’m strong enough to protect them, then I know I can bare the weight! And that all will be well!”

At that moment Candy’s blue aura flared like an inferno, her eyes glowed blue as the patches of her Blue Lantern uniform glowed bright, causing the demons to back away.

[Willpower detected. Attack beams: Unlocked. Constructs: Unlocked.]

The demons unleashed a torrent of flames at their enemies, but Candy was ready. She concentrated and created a barrier around both of them, their flames striking her shield and doing nothing to breach it. When the monsters ceased their attacks, Candy smiled as she rose up into the air and glanced at each one.

“My turn!” Candy shouted.

Her blue ring gathered its light, she then thrust her ring hand forward, firing a beam of cerulean light right at the demon and obliterating it in a single shot. Another one tried to jump her, but Candy formed construct streamers that wrapped around the creature’s claws, binding them tightly together. She then pulled at the streamers and tossed the demon into another one, sending them crashing into some crates. A third was about to attack her from behind, but at that moment a beam of emerald light shot down from the ceiling and struck the monster, destroying it and smothering the explosion.

Arrow looked up and saw a young man descend from the very same hole he made. His face was covered by a green mask, green armor covered the upper half of his chest, and on his shoulders were two pauldrons that had a bit of edge to them. His forearms were protected by armored bracers, along with metal boots covered from his feet all the way up to his shins. The rest of his body was covered in a black chainmail mesh, but at the center of his chest plate was a glowing symbol of a circle with one horizontal bar sitting on its top and another on its bottom. This was the ally of the Blue Lantern, the Green Lantern.

The Green Lantern’s aura was flaring up much like Candy’s, his white eyes blazing with the light of willpower! He looked to Candy who rubbed the back of her head as she flashed him a sheepish smile.

“Okay, explanation time, Blue,” said Green Lantern.

“GL…well you see –”

*RAARGH!!!*

One of the demons tried to sneak attack Green Lantern, but Arrow was quick to pelt it with three sharp arrows right into its skull, causing the beast to fall in midair and crash land against some crates. Green Lantern quickly whipped around and pointed his ring at Arrow ready to fire, but Candy immediately created a giant hand construct that blocked his shot.

“GL no, he’s on our side! That’s the Arrow!”

Green Lantern lowered his ring and looked upon the dark green hooded archer. “So you and Blue Lantern were fighting these things together?”

“Yes, she had come to the warehouse earlier to help some people who were being trafficked like slaves, she healed them and allowed the police and paramedics to get them to their rightful homes. As we left we were attacked by that thing, during the fight we stumbled upon more of them. Which leads us up to now.” Arrow explained.

Green Lantern looked to Arrow and then to Candy, he then sighed and landed on the ground in front of Arrow and extended his right hand. “Well then, thank ya, for lookin’ out for her and givin’ her a hand.”

Arrow reached out and shook Green Lantern’s hand and returned it with a smile. “Truthfully, she was the one looking out for me, I don’t think I could’ve lasted too long without her protecting me through the fight.”

“You guys are going to make me blush, stop!” Candy whined. “But seriously, why were those things here and what they doing?”

Green Lantern looked around the warehouse. “A good question…ring, scan for anything not from Earth, biological or technological.”

GL raised his fist into the air and the ring on his middle finger released a scanning beam that rotated three-hundred and sixty degrees. After two passes the scanning beam stopped, it then created a stream of light that went off towards the back part of the warehouse.

[None terrestrial technology detected, distance thirty meters.]

Green Lantern looked to Candy, and Candy to Arrow. All three nodded and followed the rope of light. Candy had created a bubble of blue light that allowed her to tow Arrow behind her. The trio of heroes floated through the warehouse till they reached the end of the rope. The ring had led them to a strange box like object that was fastened to the wall. Candy let Arrow go so that he too could examine the object.

“Ring, analyze this thing,” said Green Lantern.

His ring created a sophisticated computer/scanner construct that began probing the box. After a few seconds the construct vanished and the ring rendered its findings.

[Object is unknown, no data was retrieved.]

“Okay Ah know that ain’t right!”

“Why exactly?” Arrow asked.

“Because the Green Lantern Corps’ rings were created by the Guardians of the Universe, and they’ve been around since the beginnin’, so all that they know, the ring knows, and they practically know everythin’.”

“Looks like we found something that has either eluded their knowledge or evaded it,” said Arrow with a bit of dread.

“Well this is a real head stumper, what can be created that even the Guardians don’t know about?” Candy asked.

“Not sure, but Ah don’t like it.”

*Beep*

“What was that?” Green Lantern asked.

*Beep*

“Is someone’s cellphone going off?” Candy asked.

*Beep*

“No…it’s coming from the box!” Arrow shouted

*Beep*

Candy and Green Lantern quickly created a dual barrier of blue and green light, that surrounded all three of them in a cocoon of protective power. The box continued to beep till it reached a high pitch and started to glow. The box morphed and changed, expanding into a giant portal with an Omega symbol at the top of it, the portal’s center then boomed thunderously as a glowing tunnel of white and black appeared. All three heroes started to hear the beating of many wings, and the screeches and roars of a familiar foe.

“Oh…”

“Crap!”

Invasion Part 3: The Battle Begins

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Summer meant spending time with family and friends, but in Echo’s case it was one in the same thing. Ever since the death of her father in the car accident, Echo had been living under the same roof as her cousin Whirlwind, she was happy that her Aunt and Uncle were more than willing to take the young girl in. In Echo’s opinion, they wanted to, too afraid of losing the last bit of family they had left.

It wasn’t all bad though, Echo’s friends, Api and Pixel, were there for her. And it was nice living with her Aunt and Uncle, Whirlwind was already like a big sister to her, now she got to be one practically every day. Tonight, though, Echo was having a little sleepover.

Api was clothed in her onesie white PJs with red apples all over it, Pixel was wearing an oversized T-shirt that had Pacman on it chasing ghosts, and Echo was wearing some black boxers with a gray tank top undershirt. Her aunt Cloudchaser had asked if she preferred something else for sleeping attire a while back, but she liked this as her PJs, it felt freer and less stifling. That, and her cousin often went to bed wearing the same…if not sometimes less.

“Ah can’t believe you actually got to see Hawk and Dove!” Api exclaimed.

“Shhh!” Echo and Pixel hissed.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that Echo had told her friends that she was Thunder? Must have slipped my mind. Yes, she indeed told her friends she was Earth’s Mightiest Mortal and Champion of Magic, kind of had to when they were all three cornered by a pack of hellhounds summoned up by some idiots who were playing around with magic. Anyway, she changed in front of them, and from then on they’ve kept the secret ever since, even helping her to get away and transform by making excuses or covering for her when needed.

“Sorry, but Ah still can’t believe it!”

“Yeah, what were they like?! I bet Dove was nice, she looks pretty and cool with that white feather cape,” said Pixel.

“Eh, Ah like Hawk better, she can really kick some butt and she charges right in, not afraid of nothin’,” said Api.

“Oh, and the fact that she’s shorter has nothing to do with it.” Pixel accused as she stuck out her tongue.

“Hey ya cheeky blighter, that’s below ‘e belt!”

“You’re accent switched again.”

“Whatever, still think Hawk’s better.” Api proclaimed.

“Ahem, sitting right here guys.”

Pixel and Api looked to Echo, sitting against her bed nonchalantly as the two girls went on about the other superheroes. The two girls realized what they were doing and quickly apologized.

“Sorry Echo, you’re still number one with us,” said Pixel.

“Yeah, sorry, we…uh, fergot for a sec…”

Echo chuckled. “It’s fine, I get it. And they were pretty cool. Hawk’s intense, but Dove is a lot calmer. Still, don’t know what was up with those thugs and those super weapons though.”

Pixel had a curious look. “Well what did they say about them?”

“They didn’t know either. They said they knew someone who could look into it, so I just let them have it.”

“Why didn’t ya work with ‘em? Ah bet you three would’ve made a great team in findin’ out what those weapons were?” Api asked.

Echo brought her legs up and hugged them to her chest. “‘Cause…I’m supposed to keep the world safe from magical stuff, I occasionally stop a few criminals if I can. But that kind of stuff I leave up to Hawk and Dove, or ones like Arrow in Matropolis. And the global stuff I leave to Green Lantern and Blue Lantern, I don’t need to get involved, they got things handled. Besides…”

“Besides?” Api asked.

“I have to be ready in case he shows up again.”

“Who shows up?” Pixel asked.

“The guy who murdered my Dad…”

Api and Pixel looked worriedly at their friend. The young Apple got up and sat beside her friend, offering what comfort her presence could offer. Pixel did the same, although, being the tallest of their group, she was able to drape her arm over both girls and bring them close to her. Echo smiled at both her friends. She knew they’d always have her back, always be there for her, and Echo knew she’d always be there for them, whether it was as a friend or as Thunder to protect them.

“Alright, enough with the sad sack stuff! Let’s talk about something else!” Pixel offered.

“Like what?” Echo asked.

“Like how Nighty and Api would make a cute couple.”

“WHAT?! Ewww, no! Uh-uh! Negatory! That ain’t the right ship, no sir!” Api vehemently proclaimed.

*Thud*

Suddenly all three girls went silent.

*Thud*

“Uh…what was that?” Api asked.

*Thud*

Echo, Pixel, and Api stood up as they looked around the room, standing back to back. At that moment the power cut off, and the room was pitch black; the only light source coming from Echo’s bedroom window. The three girls gulped, but then saw a large shadow speed by the window, causing Api and Pixel to jump and hide behind Echo.

“Oh thanks guys!”

“Hey, you’re the one with superpowers,” said Api.

She couldn’t argue with that. Just then the door handle jiggled, causing all three to turn in its direction. Echo stood firm, watching as the handle continued to rattle and finally it stopped. The young, spiky haired girl clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes, ready to spring into action. The door slowly opened, inch by slow inch it creaked open until…

“BOO!”

“AAAAHAAH!!!” Api and Pixel screamed.

“SHA – Whirlwind?!”

Indeed, it was Whirlwind. The frosty haired skateboarder had a flashlight shining under her face, casting shadows to make her appear frightening, and with those intense icy blue eyes, it worked. The older girl chuckled at the startled faces of the three young ones.

“That wasn’t funny Whirlwind!” Echo chastised.

“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t resist. The power went out, I guess we blew a fuse or something.”

All three let out a collective sigh of relief, Echo especially, since she almost transformed in front of her cousin. Whirlwind then dispensed flashlights among all three girls.

“Hey guys, the next time you want to try and ‘scare’ me, you’ll have to try better than doing some thudding against the wall.”

Pixel, Echo, and Api stiffened up at that.

“Ya mean…you weren’t makin’ those thuddin’ noises?”

“No.”

“Seriously?” Pixel asked.

“Seriously.”

“Then what…?”

*Thud*

All four girls looked up at the ceiling, shining their lights as if it would bring the culprit into view. Suddenly another shadow sped across Echo’s window, followed by a third, and a fourth. All three girls huddled around Whirlwind in fear, with Whirlwind herself stunned from what she saw.

“You guys saw that right, please tell you saw that?!”

“Yes!” All three answered.

“Okay…Mom and Dad are out…we’re alone…”

Whirlwind looked down to the three girls clinging to her, Echo was still showing bravery, despite wanting to stay close to her cousin. The older girl gulped and steeled her nerves.

I’m the only adult in the house, I-I have to keep them safe!

“Girls listen to me.” Whirlwind crouched low so that she was eye level with them. “I need you three to be brave for me. I don’t know what that was, but maybe it was a big owl or something…more than one owl, maybe. Don’t worry.”

Whirlwind was cursing herself now for not bringing her cellphone, her pajama shorts weren’t exactly equipped with pockets. Luckily, Echo’s was right on her nightstand and charged. The olive skinned teen hurriedly grabbed the phone and dialed 911. The phone rang twice, three times, four, and then.

{We’re sorry, all circuits are currently busy, please try again later.}

“You’ve got to be kidding me?!”

Whirlwind dialed the number again.

{We’re sorry, all circuits are currently busy, please try again later.}

“OH C’MON!” She whispered harshly.

“What’s wrong?!” Echo asked.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she lied, “just need to try another number.”

Whirlwind quickly dialed in her father’s cellphone number. She waited for the phone to ring but then she was hit with another automated message.

{Sorry, due to the extremely high call volume, all services are currently down. Please try again in an hour as we try to fix the problem. Thank you.}

What is going on, thought Whirlwind.

*CRASH!*

“What was that?!” Api cried.

*RAAAAAAAARGH!*

All four girls turned to the window and watched as a large demon monster stared at them from the window. They screamed bloody murder as the monster roared at them, and then swung its fist right into the window, shattering it and part of the wall in one hit. Whirlwind quickly threw open the door and shoved Pixel, Echo, and Api threw it, slamming the door behind them.

“TO THE GARAGE NOW!!!”

Whirlwind knew that one of her parent’s cars was still in the garage, she may not have a license or learners permit yet, but all that be damned survival was number one right now! The four of them made a mad dash for the stairs, skipping two to three steps along the way, miraculously none of them stumbled, landing on the floor with a thud and moving out of the way of the next person behind them. Once they reached the living room, however, that’s when things got bad.

The crash from earlier was the sound of another monster smashing its way through the backyard sliding door. Whirlwind saw the other one lumbering down the stairs, hissing menacingly at them. Whirlwind saw her skateboard resting against the hall closest, she quickly grabbed it and held it aloft like a weapon, adopting the fiercest gaze and stance she could, trying not seem as scared as she was really feeling. The monsters got closer, ready to do whatever it was they were going to do. Eat them? Rip them apart? Take them away? All were bad as far Whirlwind was concerned.

“NO!” Echo shouted.

The young ten-year-old put herself between Whirlwind and the demon-monsters, making her cousin do a double take at her reckless action.

“ECHO STAY BEHIND ME!”

“Sorry ‘Cuz…but you need to stay behind me!”

Echo’s violet eyes changed as they filled with the azure energy of her magical might, she concentrated on the good and righteous fury within her heart and soul.

“SHAZAM!!!”

A bolt of lightning shot down out of nowhere and struck Echo, creating a mini-shockwave that pushed Whirlwind, Api, and Pixel back, along with the two demons. White smoke bellowed around where Echo stood, but the smoke didn’t last long. Another wave pushed the smoke away, revealing a teenage heroine in a red armor suit. Her twin-tailed scarf flapped in the crosswinds of her power, body wrapped in an aura of magical lightning. Magic’s Champion had arrived, the heir to the title of Shazam, Thunder!

Echo stared at the two beasts from under her hood, glaring at them. One of the demons charged for Thunder, but she quickly brought up her right hand and fired a powerful lightning blast that struck the monster! The creature let out unearthly pained squeals and roars as she electrocuted the beast, Thunder then pushed forward, doubling the power of the blast and sending the demon flying back through the door and into the backyard, where it then exploded.

The other demon didn’t take kindly to its companion getting electro-fried and stupidly attacked her. Thunder saw the beast trying to hit her with a double hammer fist. But the magical warrior caught the attack, grabbing onto its wrists. Echo grunted and growled as she pushed back against the beast, with a mighty effort, she jumped up, putting her right knee forward and striking the monster right in its chin.

The blow made the monster stumble backwards in a daze, giving Echo the time needed to finish it. She charged for the monster, grabbing it by the neck and taking it right outside into the backyard. Echo then slammed the beast right into the ground, and gave a sharp and sudden twist, hearing a loud cracking sound.

She released the monster, watching its head fall limply to the ground as its tongue lolled out of its mouth, its neck and throat completely crushed by her demigod strength. Echo breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived.

“HO-LY, CRAP!” Whirlwind exclaimed.

“Uh-oh.”

Echo turned around and saw Whirlwind standing in the doorway, with Pixel and Api standing beside her and giving Echo a worried look.

“Echo…is that…really you?!”

The former ten-year-old sighed and removed her hood, revealing long purple and pink spiky hair, and a pair of familiar violet eyes. Whirlwind walked up to the teenage girl, astonished that she was in fact her little cousin.

“Oh…wow…you’re Thunder, that superhero girl on the news!”

Echo blushed. “Y-Yeah…”

“And you sound older too! That voice suits you by the way. And did you two know about this?!”

Pixel and Api smiled sheepishly, but nodded their heads.

“Oh man…if Dad and Mom find out they’re going to flip! I mean – I won’t tell them, but – oh my god I can’t believe you’re a superhero!”

Whirlwind brought Echo into a bear hug, lifting her up slightly. Not that Echo didn’t like having her cousin hug her, but the situation didn’t exactly call for it.

“Whirlwind I promise to explain this later, but right now I need to find out what these things are and where they came from! I know you think it’s dangerous but I need to go!”

Whirlwind released Echo and gave her a serious look. “Alright.”

Echo, Api, and Pixel blinked.

“Just like that?” Pixel asked.

“Yep.”

“Yer not even goin’ to try and stop her or get hysterical like?” Api asked.

“No point in that now, seeing as how Echo just pile drived one monster into the dirt and blew another one up, besides it’s not like I could stop her. Right?” Whirlwind asked smirking.

Echo rubbed the back of her head embarrassed. “Not really…no.”

“Just go and do your thing, I’ll keep the girls safe.”

It was now Echo’s turn to bear hug Whirlwind, with the older cousin hugging back. “You’re the best big sis ever!”

“And don’t you forget it, now go and give ‘em hell!”

Echo released Whirlwind and nodded firmly. She took a few steps back and launched herself into the air, zooming off towards the city. It didn’t take her long to encounter another round of demon monsters terrorizing the people. She flew into action, smashing her fists, spin kicking, knocking them away, and even hitting them with lightning blasts here and there. Echo concentrated, linking her mind through dimensions and connecting to someone who might be able to give her answers.

“Mom, can you and Murmur hear me?!”

We can Echo, what’s going on? Scootaloo asked.

“The city’s getting invaded by some kind of demons, can you see them?!”

Oh my, well, they’re not like any I’ve read about or seen, said Murmur.

And I haven’t seen that Omega symbol before either, it means “the end” but this is the first time I’ve seen it on a monster like that , said Scootaloo.

“Something else is up, I can’t sense any magic from them either. Even demons have magic, twisted and corrupt, but magic nonetheless. I can’t feel it at all!”

Keep it together, find out where they’re coming from. Murmur and I will search the Library and see if we can find anything out in the meantime.

“On it! And Mom…do you think it’s…him?”

………I hope not.

Echo went back to her work, fighting through one horde after the other, blasting away at them and smashing their bodies, even tearing them apart. But there seemed to be no end to these things. Suddenly, something caught her attention in the distance. Her eyes spotted something that was drawing the demons to swarm around it, blasts of fire came streaming from whatever it was they were attacking. Determined to find out the cause of all this, Echo took off towards the commotion.

There was no shortage of demons as she got closer, spotting Canterlot University coming into view. Police and Firemen were all over the place, trying to get the students who were in the dorms and in night classes out of the buildings. Echo noticed that there was an unusually high concentration of these monsters here.

Maybe this is where they came out?

Echo hurried to where the highest amount of the demons were, and stopped when a stream of fire roared over her head. She looked back to the epicenter of the blast and gasped, her eyes bulging from her skull at what was before her. Golden arm gauntlets, red chest plate armor, hair made of flames, and eyes glowing white. Her mind flashed back to that day, the horrid day when her father was murdered by a fiery monstrosity that was searching for her mother, and trying to force her to come out by killing her dad and almost killing her. Her fists clenched so tight her knuckles went white. Echo’s lightning aura flared up, gritting her teeth as her eyes became pools of azure magical energy.

“It’s you…! I’ll make you pay…!”

“Are we even getting anywhere?!”

“Better than letting all of them get through!”

Hot Head was doing his best to hold off the creatures that flooded out. Both of them didn’t understand what was happening, one minute they were rescuing other university students from these demons, and the next minute, a hole gets punched in space and a never ending flood of demons comes pouring out of it. Hot Head – or Firestorm since he was both of them at once – continued to lob fireballs and plasma flame blasts at the opening, trying to stifle the monsters from entering their world. But for every ten or fifteen they blew up, another thirty or fifty took its place.

“We need to plug that hole or destroy that conduit, it’s the only way to stop them!”

“Would love to do that bro, but between keeping these things off the other people, and trying to keep them inside that hidey hole of theirs, it’s a little bit of a tall order!”

Suddenly Firestorm heard the crashing of thunder, and a flash of lightning. Lucky spotted the source immediately. Thunder was floating in the air a few yards away, her aura blazing with lightning energy.

“Looks like we finally got some backup!”

Hot Head turned around and saw what he was talking about. “Alright! That’s what we need, a heavy hitter!”

Thunder started to float towards them.

“Is it me or does she look pissed?” Hot Head asked.

Thunder’s speed increased.

“She kind of does now that you mention it…”

Thunder was now speeding towards them.

“Is she giving us the ‘Evil Eye’?”

“I would say so…oh crap! Hot Head defend, now!”

Firestorm brought its forearms together to form a shield. At that moment Thunder cocked back her right fist and punched Firestorm, sending the amalgamated form flying into the clock tower with a loud “GONG!” Firestorm rubbed his head, trying to regain his bearings from the sudden attack by someone they thought was there to help them.

Thunder reappeared a few feet away from the hole in the tower, her eyes sparking with electrical fury. “I’m not letting you get away from me, it’s time for you to pay for what you did!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, time out! What did we – I – do?!”

“YOU KILLED MY FATHER!!!”

Thunder brought up both her hands, lightning arced off them, coalescing in the space between. The lightning flowed and took the shape of a swirling sphere of electrical power. Thunder then tossed the sphere right at Firestorm, the Nuclear Man acted fast. Atomic rings formed around both hands as he took the bricks, and metal bell, breaking down their atoms and transmuting them into a shield made of the elemental metal, lead. The lightning smashed against the shield, thankfully the non-conductive properties of the metal were able to deflect a large portion of the power behind the attack, leaving the sphere no option other than to detonate.

Some the tower was blown away, the top half mostly. But within the rubble stood Firestorm, the lead shield strapped to his left arm. Thunder glared angrily at the fire man, her hands shining with magical lightning. Firestorm exited out of his defensive stance and put his hands up as a sign of surrender.

“Easy, Thunder, right? I didn’t kill your dad! I don’t even know him!” Hot Head pleaded.

“You…don’t lie to me!” Thunder roared.

She thrust out her left hand, firing a lightning blast. Firestorm countered, shooting off a plasma flame blast from his right. The two attacks met each other halfway, striking each other with resounding force. Thunder struggled as she pushed against his flames, and Firestorm did as well, noting the strangeness of her lightning attack. It wasn’t naturally based, and seemed more powerful than normal lightning, but he had to persevere, for Lucky and Hot Head, dying here because of a case of mistaken identity was not on the agenda.

BALTIMARE…

Del had seen some pretty strange and cool things over the past year as Earth’s Green Lantern. He and Candy used their power to stop a meteor that would’ve otherwise struck Earth and made all life go extinct. He saved a plane from careening into the ocean with hundreds of passengers on it. Heck, he and Candy even partied with an alien species on another planet as their way of saying thank you for saving their planet, but this…demons spilling forth from a hole punched in space…that was new one.

“Blue!” Del called out.

“On it GL!”

Candy pointed her ring at Del, and immediately the synergistic power of Willpower and Hope shined forth within the warehouse.

[Will: Power levels at 175%.]

[Hope: Power levels at 100%.]

Del created a two large, double barrel, Gatling guns that mounted on either arm. Around his shoulders and lower half of his legs, missile pods formed. For Candy, two long, futuristic rifles appeared in both hands, wings appeared on her back made up of eight panels. Cannon mounts appeared on either side of her hips and extended outwards into firing position, the panels then jettisoned themselves from her back, leaving a sparkling aura of where they were. The panels angled themselves till they were aimed right at the opening.

Del fired first, unleashing a hellfire barrage of green light bullets that pierced and killed all the demons it hit. Candy fired next, the panels, rifles, and cannons shooting forth cerulean light in streams at the opening. Between their beam spamming, the two of them were able to plug the hole with the corpses of the fallen demons, but it wasn’t enough, the demons were already pushing through the dead, and even charging head first into their attacks.

Arrow saw this and quickly notched an explosive arrow. One of the demons made it past their barrage, but Arrow fired, hitting the creature dead center and blowing it up in midair. Another two escaped, but Arrow was quickly on top of them, using a combination of his sharp tipped and explosive arrows to bring them down.

Together the three heroes attacked and attacked, trying to keep the monsters centered at just the portal, but it was becoming apparent that no matter how much damage they were doing, they weren’t going to stop them any time soon.

“They’re endless!” Del shouted.

“Even with our combined powers, we can’t just hold here forever!” Candy added.

Arrow took a moment to perch himself on a tower of crates, watching the hole the demons streamed from. He saw the ring pulsing, and keeping gateway open, that’s when he got an idea.

“We need to disable that device, the gateway ring that’s stabilizing that hole in space! If we can overload the portal with enough energy, we can slam the door in their faces!” Arrow pointed out.

“Then we’d better push ‘em back,” said Candy.

Del looked up at Candy and nodded.

“One…!” Del shouted.

“Two…!” Candy yelled.

“THREE!!!”

Del released the missiles in his pods, firing hundreds of dozens of them right at the opening! Candy fired one last beam blast at the same time, both attacks decimating the horde with a large explosion. Both Lanterns cocked back their ring hands, and at the same time thrust them forward, producing a powerful dual beam of green and blue that blazed down the hole in space. The gateway ring was starting short circuit, unable to withstand the might of the Green and Blue Lantern’s combined might! Candy and Del pushed the beam more and more, floating closer to the hole until they were right on it. The gateway could no longer take the influx of power, unable to maintain its stability, the circuitry overloaded and began to close.

The duo ceased their beam attack, watching as the hole began to rapidly close and in an instant was back in the form of the strange box object that it was before. The two light wielders were panting from the effort of blasting away at so many of the creatures, and pouring so much power into the tear. But they both had satisfied grins on their faces, well Candy did, Del’s faceplate made it hard to tell, but Candy could feel he was elated.

[Will: Power levels at 61%.]

[Hope: Power levels at 59%.]

“Damn…we nearly blew our ring charges just to stop it,” said Del.

“Nearly, give me a minute and I’ll recharge you,” said Candy.

Arrow slung his bow over his back and went to pick up the alien device that was once the gateway for the demons. He examined it from every possible angle, it was obvious to Arrow that those monsters planted the box as a gateway for an invasion force, but the odds of Arrow, and the two Lanterns being here to stop it from happening were too good to be true.

“This was too easy.”

“Yer kiddin’ me, right?” Del asked.

“A group of that many only having one box, is not good strategy.” Arrow placed two fingers inside his hood, putting them directly on an earpiece that was nestled in his left ear. “This is Arrow, come in home base!”

Del and Candy looked to each in confusion. The look on Arrow’s face changed, from curious to deathly serious in a matter of seconds.

“Can either of you tap into telecommunications networks?!” Arrow asked.

Del brought up his ring, the light that emanated from it created a holographic sphere. Within the sphere the ring tuned into one of the many news networks, images of demon monsters swarming in the sky, attacking and abducting people from the streets all over the world. The grim truth now dawned on them, this was not an isolated incident, this was happening everywhere.

“Oh no…”

“We need to hurry and stop this before it gets worse,” said Del.

Arrow listened in on his comm., a grave expression forming on his face. “Unfortunately it has, turn to Canterlot City news!”

Del reworked the signal until he got a news station. The sphere shifted and now displayed the image of two beings clashing in the city, along with the invasion force. Del and Candy recognized one of them, having run into Thunder more than once during different incidents that involved magic. The other was a mystery, neither Lanterns nor Arrow knew who it was she was fighting, but from the looks of it she was not in a happy mood, and the other guy seemed like he was trying to reason with her.

Candy clasped her left hand over her ring, even from here, she could feel it. “Del, Thunder’s mind is clouded with rage and vengeance, but it’s…it’s misdirected, whoever that is, is not the one Thunder should be fighting!”

“Then we need to stop her. We’re gonna need all the help we can get right now, but if we’re goin’ to do this, we do this fully charged.”

Candy nodded her affirmation. Both Lanterns pointed their rings towards an empty spot in front of them. Their rings glowed bright and in an instant, punched a hole in space. Arrow watched with curiosity as the blue and green tears in space opened wider. From them floated out two lanterns, one blue and the other green. Del held his green lantern in his left hand, the same as Candy. Both Lanterns placed their rings into the openings, making the lanterns shine with brighter light than they had before.

“In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night,
No evil shall escape my sight!
Let those who worship evil’s might,
Beware my power – Green Lantern’s light! ”

“In fearful day, in raging night,
With strong hearts full our souls ignite!
When all seems lost in the War of Light,
Look to the stars for hope burns bright!”

Arrow covered his eyes as the Green and Blue Lanterns shined with renewed power, their green and blue outfits shimmering with greater power than when they started.

[Will: Power levels at 100%. Hope detected. Power levels rising to 130%. 150%.]

[Hope: Power levels at 100%. Power levels holding at maximum.]

“Green Lantern, Blue Lantern, I want to come with you. Canterlot City is home to S.T.A.R Labs, they’ll have the equipment we might need to figure out what these things are and maybe how we can shut them down.”

Del looked to Candy, and she to Del.

“Well…not that I’m doubtin’ yer skills Arrow, but ya seem to be runnin’ on empty.”

“Not a problem. My spare should be here in three…two…one.”

From the whole in the roof something zoomed inside, it was a rocket in the shape of an arrow. The drone rocket flew around until it landed just a few feet from Arrow. The large cylindrical projectile hissed as its middle section opened up and revealed a quiver, twice the size of the one currently slung on Arrow’s back. The young archer took out the quiver and put the spent one inside it. Once strapped on, Del and Candy could see that the quiver itself was practically the width of his broad back, and a foot or two in width and length.

“Now I’m ready.”

Del whistled impressed. “Alright, let’s head over to Canterlot City, if we’re lucky we can stop Thunder, and link up with Hawk and Dove there as well.”

{Good luck Fletcher…be safe.}

Fletcher, Arrow, smiled. “I will, I don’t plan on dying tonight. Stay in the underground base until this is over, you’ll be safe there,” he spoke in a whispered tone.

{I will, now go save the world!}

ELSEWHERE…

Fiery columns spewed out of the holes in the ground in varying intervals, the roars and sounds of distant screaming filled the air of this hellish world. Black metal towers and structures spread across the landscape, adding to the ominous red sky above. In the distance, there were large conduit towers. They glowed with the same black and white light that the strange portals the demons entered from.

Within the tower were hundreds of pods, each one held within it a different creature, alien to those of Earth, and in many different varieties. Some even held humans. One of the pods, holding an amphibious alien from an aquatic world, was strapped down to the flat of the pod. Metallic tentacles jutted out from the sides near its head and hooked onto the corners of its mouth and, with little concern for its comfort, pried its jaw open and held it like that. Eight more sprung out, these ones aimed for its eyes, hooking under its eyelids and keeping them open.

The immobilized alien struggled the best it could against its bindings, but it had no way of getting free. At that moment, the pod began to fill with a thick, blue-green substance. It started at its feet and quickly rose higher to its knees, and then its waist, chest, neck, and finally, it went all the way past its head. The alien tried to scream but its lungs and gills were filled with the gel-like substance. There were a few gurgling noises until there was nothing at all.

Energy was funneled into the pod, activating the blue-green substance. It wrapped around the creature, quickly eating away at its organic material and breaking it down to its bare necessities. The fluid collected it all and reconstituted the organic matter, reshaping the amphibious alien into something grotesque. Its cranium was smooth, the eyes were gone, but it had long ears. The creature’s body was bulky, bearing razor sharp claws on both hands, dagger teeth, and long talons on its feet. The creature roared fiercely and in no time it was released. The monster stumbled about on the ground, finding the strength in its legs quickly so it could stand up. Instead of rampaging and killing everything in sight, it started to walk towards a large doorway, as if preprogrammed, it followed the instructions running in its mind, what little mental capacity it had was enough to follow some complex commands.

The creature stepped into the doorway, shutting behind it and putting it in complete darkness. After a minute, the creature reemerged on the other side, fully donned in golden armor, bearing the Omega symbol on its chest plate. The creature spread its wings and joined the millions of its kind standing near the tears in space, flying towards one of the portals that lead straight to Earth. But that creature’s journey came to an end. From that very tunnel a beam made up of blue and green light bellowed forth and incinerated every monster that was inside the tunnel of light, and those awaiting entry as well.

The tunnel collapsed and closed itself off, no longer useable for transport. The beams had done some damage on their side of the portal, blowing away a small portion of the creatures and damaging a bit of the advanced technology that was used to open the portals.

A man clothed in a purple robe stood to the side, shielding his face from the sparks being thrown off from the damaged machines. He growled in indignation from his lovely creations destroyed, and even more ticked off for having his machines tampered with. The man in the robes went stark still, hearing the thundering stomps coming from behind him. The man quickly turned around and kowtowed to the being behind him, and judging from the large and long shadow he cast, it was definitely something to be feared.

“My Lord, it appears we have a few upstarts on this planet. They managed to damage but one portal, but you needn’t worry, we can still send more.”

A low growl could be heard from the robed man’s master.

“O-Or…do you wish to deal with this problem yourself?”

“At times it is necessary for even a god to step down from his throne and soil his hands.”

“Yes…Lord Tirek.”

Invasion Part 4: To WAR!

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Hot Head and Lucky were starting to wonder how they got themselves into this mess. One minute, they were planning on going home like any other night, and then – BAM – they suddenly have to save some kidnapped students by becoming a fused, walking inferno, nuclear man. And what do they get for their act of heroism? Oh nothing, just maybe having Thunder mistake them for someone who killed her father, and now said superhero was trying to put them six feet into the ground, or lower.

Firestorm was making as much use of the shield as he could, but even the lead properties weren’t strong enough to absorb the forceful strikes of Thunder. She zipped around as fast as lightning, coming at him from every direction. The amalgamated form watched her movements carefully, Hot Head wanted to go on the offensive and counter attack, but Lucky talked him out of it. If they were going to convince Thunder otherwise they needed to defend as much as possible, and hopefully she’d see that they weren’t trying to fight to her.

That in and of itself was easier said than done. Thunder was one thing, but the continuous hordes of demons still tried to pick a fight with Firestorm and Thunder. Two of them tried to bum rush her, but the super heroine dodged them easily, and fired twin blasts of lightning at them. The bolts struck and destroyed the creatures instantly. One of them had gotten behind her and was about to strike, but Firestorm released a plasma flame blast that engulfed the beast, hurling it away from her before exploding some feet away. Thunder looked up to Firestorm with an incredulous expression.

But that did little to sway her, she was determined to make him pay. Firestorm’s only saving grace was that Thunder still seemed concerned with protecting the people, which was why she was probably herding him away from densely populated areas and pushing him more towards the edge of town. The two super beings squared off in the sky, Firestorm’s shield had withstood all it could and had shattered, and leaving the Nuclear Man without a means to ground Thunder’s magical lightning.

“You really need to calm down! How many times do I have to say it?! I did not kill your father!”

“You hover there and say that to me, with all that power and flames! I’ll never forget what you did, and I’ll never forgive you!” Thunder roared.

“Listen to me! I haven’t even fought you once, if I’m the guy you say I am wouldn’t I have just flat tried to kill you by now! Anyway, we have bigger problems right now! Those things are swarming the city!”

Thunder’s electrical aura arced around her body. “I’ll deal with them after I’ve taken out their leader!”

The Champion of Magic disappeared, leaving Firestorm to look to and fro for her. Thunder reappeared behind him and dealt him a double-handed hammer fist to Firestorm’s back, sending the walking inferno flying right down to terra firma. He cut a groove into the earth as he smashed through construction equipment, steel beams and fences, finally stopping in the middle of the street. Firestorm groaned as he picked himself up, rubbing the back of his sore head.

“Hot Head get up, she’s coming back around!” Lucky warned.

Firestorm quickly sprung to his feet turned around. Thunder was flying towards them, her right fist cocked back and charged with magical lightning. Hot Head had had enough, reasoning with her was getting them nowhere but dead, sometimes you needed to beat some sense into people before they saw your point. The Nuclear Man channeled his plasma fire into his right fist, turning it into a fireball. Thunder continued towards him, Firestorm took a stance in preparation, and just as the two were about to make contact –!

“ENOUGH!”

Suddenly a sphere of light-blue energy appeared between the two fighters. Thunder struck the barrier with her punch at the same time as Firestorm, but the barrier seemed to absorb their force, and within a few seconds, threw it back at them. The result was both Firestorm and Thunder being thrown onto their backs. Firestorm was the first to recover and watched as the barrier came down and revealed its creator, donned in a white feathery cape, with green hair tied into a ponytail, and a suit made of blue and white, stood the Avatar of Peace, Dove.

“Dove!” Hot Head exclaimed.

“Thank god,” said Lucky.

Thunder got up and was about to go at it again, but someone was already standing in front of her to keep that from happening. Standing a couple of heads shorter than Thunder, donned in crimson red armor, with giant metallic wings was the Avatar of War, Hawk. She stood there, arms crossed, staring down Earth’s Mightiest Mortal as if daring her to make a move.

“Hawk, Dove, what are you two doing here?!” Thunder asked.

“We came here because all hell’s breaking loose, and you’re busy having a throw down!” Hawk scolded.

“You don’t understand, he killed my father! This whole thing’s probably his doing too!”

“The hell it is!” Firestorm retorted, earning him a seething look from Thunder that made him gulp. “With all due respect, it’s not.”

“Thunder he’s telling the truth, I sense no deceit in his words,” said Dove.

“How can you be sure?!”

“Because she’s not the only one who thinks so.”

Thunder, Hawk, Dove, and Firestorm looked up, watching as Green Lantern, Blue Lantern, and Arrow floated down towards them. Arrow was suspended within a bubble of blue light, while Green Lantern kept point as they met the other heroes on the ground. Blue Lantern released Arrow, who was cradling the alien device, something that did not go unnoticed by Firestorm.

“Thunder, listen, I know it’s hard, but believe me this person is not the one you’re wrathful towards. He’s done nothing wrong!” Blue Lantern urged.

Thunder could see that she was being scolded from all sides. Could they be right, could this person really not be the one who murdered her father a year ago? Echo took a moment, closing her eyes as she calmed her mind and racing heart. She then called onto the power, focusing her energy onto one of the six powers that made up her mystic form.

“Wisdom of Solomon.”

Within Echo’s mind she saw a clearer picture of this being before her, the one calling himself Firestorm. His power was not magical, powerful though it was. And for some reason, she sensed two souls within him, both melding together in perfect harmony, one bearing concern for the dominant soul controlling the body. A shocked and shame filled expression befell Thunder as she lowered her head.

“I’m sorry…please forgive me. You reminded me so much of the…creature, that killed my father that I just…lost it.”

Hot Head felt like chewing out Thunder, despite the numerous times he had been yelling that it wasn’t him.

“Let’s cut her some slack Hot Head, it sounds like whatever she went through was really traumatic for her.”

I guess you’re right. Besides, there’s something about her that reminds me of someone.

“Whirlwind perhaps?”

Not exactly, but it’s definitely a feeling like I’ve seen her before…or at least that sad look in her eyes.

“It’s all good Thunder.” The other heroes looked to Firestorm. “I can’t imagine how bad that must’ve been for you, and I’m sorry.”

“Good, now that we got that out of the way, can somebody please explain why the hell demons are attacking?!” Hawk asked.

“Hawk and I have been trying to keep those things away from the people, but they just keep coming! They’re all over Canterlot City,” said Dove.

“Not just Canterlot City,” Arrow spoke, “but the rest of the world as well.”

“And you are?”

“Arrow.” The hooded archer brought up the box before the group. “Those monsters are coming through portals created by this device, Green Lantern, Blue Lantern, and I just barely managed to close this one. But from the reports coming in, there’s more than just this one.”

Firestorm walked up to Arrow. “Can I see that right quick?” Arrow handed the device over to Firestorm. Through his microscopic vision, Hot Head and Lucky were able to look deep into the mechanical workings of the box, seeing the complex and otherworldly circuitry.

What do you think?

“Like nothing I’ve ever seen before. This is beyond next gen stuff, this is like something out of my imagination made real! We need to get this to S.T.A.R Labs, we can use their tech to plug in and find out what this thing is.”

“You okay there?” Dove asked.

Firestorm looked up and saw that the other heroes were looking at him in confusion, apparently he had been staring at the box in silence for a good bit of time and was raising concern among the others.

“Yeah just fine! But uh, we need to get to S.T.A.R Labs.”

“Wow, that’s just what Arrow said we should do before we left,” said Blue Lantern.

Thunder began taking into account their strengths and powers, her mind working overtime to develop a plan of attack for containing and minimizing the damage these creatures were doing to the city. Times like this she was glad she had such wisdom.

“Alright, I think I have an idea.”

“We’re all ears,” said Green Lantern.

“Arrow and Firestorm seem to have an idea of what to do with that thing. Get it to S.T.A.R Labs and see if you can find a way to close these portals.” Arrow and Firestorm nodded. “The rest of us will be on monster duty. Hawk and Dove, you’re with me, we’re running interference. Those things seem to like abducting people, we need them to focus on us! Blue Lantern and Green Lantern, you two have the advantage in firepower, so you two should take to the skies and shoot down as many as you can, any of them you can’t turn them to us and we’ll deal with them!”

Blue Lantern and Green Lantern nodded. Hawk and Dove did as well.

“Then let’s go.”

Two stars of green and blue shined in the skies above Canterlot City. Candy and Del had created twin, giant constructs. Both were like oversized jetpacks, with giant thrusters on the back. On either side were two hundred foot long arms that Del and Candy controlled with handlebars. Protruding from the sides were large packs along with multiple panels that riddled the constructs at different key areas. Del and Candy torqued the handlebars and the thrusters ignited, propelling the Lanterns of Willpower and Hope forward.

The demons took notice of the incoming enemies and moved to intercept them. Del and Candy created helmets that acted as targeting sights, blips appeared as they locked onto the various demons swarming in the sky. Candy’s hip construct railguns appeared and on her shoulders the two beam launchers flipped forward into firing position. Del created two bulky energy cannon mounts on his shoulders. At the press of a button the panels on the constructs slid back, revealing silos and small beam cannons.

“Let ‘em have it!”

Del and Candy fired their barrage all at once. Del’s shoulder mounted cannons fired twin beams of emerald light, as the arms released even bigger blasts at the same time. The mini light cannons fired as well, and the missile silos released their ordnance. Candy’s hip mounted railgun constructs fired a volley as her shoulder cannons fired as well. Her thruster pack launching missiles and beam blasts alongside Del.

Between the two of them, the sky was blanketed in beams and missiles of cerulean and emerald light, each one finding its mark in the sky and exploding with resounding force, echoing across for miles.

Their first barrage was good, but there was still many more. Del decided to move in close, ceasing his long-range attack. The thrusters roared as he flew towards the swarm, the long arms of the construct loosened, allowing more free movement. At the tips, green light coalesced and formed dual two-hundred and fifty foot long beam blades. Del swung the right blade, carving through the swarm and decimating them with one swing. He got more on the backswing, and followed through with another from the left.

Meanwhile Candy was continuing her long-range attack, beam spamming all the demons that got away from Del’s slashing. She fired her thrusters and flew around, blasting all that came within her field of vision. Candy’s helmet alerted her to pursuers, but she was ready.

Candy launched some feather shaped fins from her back that flew after the demons, the eight fins zigzagged around the ten or so demons and shot them clean with a single, precision beam blast that cut through them, hitting their heads, hearts, or just carving them down the middle.

The sky rained with what little parts that they could. Both the Green Lantern and Blue Lantern knew this would not be an easy fight, and that this would not be the end of the swarm no matter how many of them they blew away. Still, they had to keep going, they had to keep the enemy away from the people and focused on them and their comrades down below.

On the street it was chaos, people screaming and running about in fear and panic as the demons flew above, releasing their fire breath or diving down to either capture or slaughter an innocent person. A father and daughter were frantically running, but the young girl lost her balance when her foot hit a divot in the concrete sidewalk.

She tumbled to the ground crying out as her father skidded to a halt and made a mad dash back to his daughter. Once he reached her, the demon was right on over them, snarling as it bared its hideous fangs. Flames began to build within its maw and the father held onto his daughter shielding her eyes and putting his back to the creature in a desperate attempt to protect his child.

At that moment the creature was pile drived right into the pavement hard. Thunder came down on the creature, slamming onto its head with both feet and burying it in concrete and rock. The father and daughter turned and saw the super heroine floating up from the crater where the dead monster lied, she smiled softly at the both of them as she spoke.

“Head that way, there are some police escorting civilians out of this mess! Hurry now!” Thunder ordered.

The man thanked Thunder as he rose up and carried his daughter as he ran as fast as he could, the young girl never took her eyes off of that woman, nor would she forget the image of her standing there as her twin tailed scarf bellowed in the wind and the sound of the lightning crackling around her.

Thunder turned around and saw the multitudes of demons landing on the ground and floating in the air, snarling and screeching at her with malice and bloodlust. The Champion of Magic smirked, they thought they could get her with numbers, but she was worth more than that, plus, she wasn’t exactly alone. From the air, Hawk dropped down and landed with a metallic thud onto the asphalt, her wings flared out as she stared down the horde. Dove appeared as swift as the wind, arms crossed over her chest as her cape flapped to and fro. This did little to deter the creatures as they readied themselves to attack.

“Not going to try and reason with them are you Dove?” Hawk asked.

“Normally I’d seek a diplomatic solution, but it’s obvious talking to and reasoning with mindless monsters doesn’t get us anywhere. So I’ll just give them some tough love!” Dove emphasized her point by smashing her right fist into the palm of her left hand.
“That’s what I wanted to hear! C’mon!”

Hawk flapped her metal wings and took off like a rocket right for the beasts. She summoned a Bastard sword in her right hand, and a held a katana in her left, reverse-grip style. She slashed at the first demon, cutting it right down the middle and sending a spray of blue-green blood spraying about.

She spun around and cut another one across its abdomen with the katana. Not losing momentum, she flipped the katana around till its blade was pointing up. Hawk entered a frenzy attack, slashing and hacking at every demon that tried to surround her. Hawk’s metal wings sheened in the light of the moon as they flared out, slicing any demon that dared to attack her from behind and defending her like shields when they released their fire breath.

These creatures were no match for her, as the Avatar of War, she was able to anticipate these simple creatures’ attack patterns and stay five moves ahead of them. She hurled her katana and Bastard sword at two incoming demons, embedding them right in their heads. Hawk summoned two large chakram rings, and took a stance. She pirouetted, becoming a living buzz saw as she sliced through one monster after another. A Dancer of Death, there was no other way to describe her motions and actions other than that.

“She seems…happy.” Thunder commented.

“That’s nothing, she’s having fun now. Well, better not fall behind!”

Dove took off, speeding down the street in a blur of white and blue. The demons that got around Hawk were now heading right for her. Dove channeled her powers to her hands and readied herself. One of the demons lashed out with its claws, but Dove jumped up and flipped over it, the creature stopped when it noticed its prey was no longer in front of it.

Dove hurried to its back and struck it with her right palm, sending a concentrated shockwave burst of her power through its back and out its chest, sending entrails and armor flying out its chest.

Five more came for her, Dove summoned two spheres of condensed mana and fired them. Two of the beasts got struck in the chest armor, getting hit with the equivalent force of a dark matter ball, the spherical energy pierced through them and flew off into the air where it shattered and dispersed. A third tried to grab Dove, with flash of her cape she momentarily disoriented the monster and shoved a blue sphere right in its mouth, firing it and taking its head off with it.

Dove released another pair of energy orbs, firing at the last two. The orbs swallowed the demons, when Dove clenched her fists the orbs shrunk down to the size of marbles and crushed the demons within into nothingness before disappearing in a shower of particles.

Thunder was treated to her own party, surrounded by the demons a she entered a fighting stance. One of the demons tried to slash at her with its claws, but Thunder blocked it with her right forearm, another tried to attack her from her left. Thunder rolled the demon she had blocked, letting the two of them smash into each other.

She vaulted off their heads and dropped down with an ax kick to the head of another, slamming it right down into the asphalt. Thunder brought both of her hands together and fired a powerful lightning bolt that struck the two demons and threw them into the side of a building before exploding. Two of them tried to fry her with their fire breath.

The Champion of Magic twirled around, the two tails of her scarf spiraling around her. The flames seemed to be repelled by the magical garment, keeping the flames spiraling around her. Thunder united these flames with her lightning magic and formed a blazing electrical javelin. She hurled it at the demon, piercing it through its chest and incinerating it all at once.

The next one was about to retreat to the safety of the swarm, but Thunder wasn’t about to let it run away that easily. She dashed away towards the remaining demon and grabbed hold of it. She sent a powerful electrical charge into its body, lighting up the monster like a Christmas tree. Thunder planted her feet and hurled the beast right at the rest of the swarm. The charged creature landed in the thick of the swarm, exploding and sending a wave of electrical energy arcing from one monster to the next, frying them like a bug zapper.

The three heroes regrouped, standing back to back as they watched the swarm of demons concentrate on them and them alone. “Quick question before this gets any more intense?” Thunder asked.

“What?” Hawk asked.

“Why’d you guys listen to me? After I almost killed Firestorm because I thought he was someone else.”

“Look, we all have our own little traumatic backstory in some form or another, we’re superheroes it comes with the territory,” said Hawk.

“But you were able to recognize your mistake and own up to it, and in the end, you devised a plan for us to execute, that and I don’t think anyone else had any better ideas,” said Dove.

Thunder smiled. “Thanks, I promise this isn’t the last time we’ll fight together!”

“Damn right it isn’t!”

The three heroines let loose a powerful battle cry as they each split apart and dove right into the fray, creating a series of explosions through the demon hordes.

Firestorm had created a metal platform for Arrow to stand on as they flew towards the S.T.A.R Labs facility. It was widely known as the most advanced and technologically cutting edge research and development lab in the world, anything and everything could be found here. When the two arrived, they were disappointed to see that the swarm had found their way to this place as well. Firestorm and Arrow looked to each other and nodded in silent agreement.

Arrow leaped off the metal platform and landed on the ground, notching three sharp tipped arrows into the bow. The hooded archer released all three with an audible “twang”. The arrows whistled as they cut through the air, finding their homes in the heads of three of the demons, hitting them with such force that it threw them on their backs where they landed, dead.

A few more came at him from the sides, but Arrow back flipped away from them and notched another. He fired it, the sharpened tip hitting the creature’s head, but before it fell, the contraption fixed just a few inches up the arrow shaft opened up. The container fired a small volley of high speed, super-heated shrapnel that pierced through the creatures armor and flesh and killed a good ten to fifteen of them.

Arrow was about to fire another, but paused when he saw Firestorm taking on the few that were behind him. He smashed his blazing fist into one demon after the other, unleashing his plasma fire and burning the monsters to ciders. A demon came up from behind him and got its large arms under his armpits, hoisting Firestorm up so that he couldn’t do much but flail around helplessly.

Another one was coming to lay down some hurt on him, but Hot Head was quicker to react. He retracted the flames that made up his mane, and in the next moment, bellowed them out like a jet engine taking off. The demon that was holding him had its head and some of it upper body burned away, allowing Hot Head to counter.

Atomic rings formed around his hands as Lucky directed him, the earth beneath their feet began to rise as stalagmites jutted up from beneath, aimed at an angle as they snaked their way towards the demon. Before the demon could fly away he was impaled by a giant earth spike right to the gut, it flinched and roared for a bit before finally dying out. Firestorm put the ground back to normal and nodded to Arrow. The two of them then made their way into the building.

There were some more inside, but the duo (or trio if you count Lucky) were making their way down the halls as they burned, pierced, and smashed their way through one demon to the next. At Lucky’s direction, Hot Head led them to one of the research labs that was perfect for analyzing the box.

Once they got there, Firestorm used his powers to transmute the walls and doors into a reinforced versions of what they used to be. Neither of them knew for how long this would last if the horde really came after them, but hopefully it would be enough, considering that their comrades in arms were busy trying to get the majority of the attacking swarm to focus on them instead.

“Let’s hurry,” said Arrow.

The hooded archer wasted little time in putting the box in one of the analysis chambers. The box rose up, suspended in the air by the unseen energy of the chamber’s gravitational beam. Arrow fiddled with the computer, typing away as the various firewalls for the access came up. Hot Head watched as Arrow breezed through most of them, but inside he could feel Lucky’s worry.

What’s wrong?

“Arrow can make it through the majority of the firewalls, but for the essential stuff we’ll need –”

{Access Denied}

“Dammit!” Arrow cursed.

Hot Head looked to monitor, showing the words “Access Denied: Please input code credentials”.

“What’s that about?” Firestorm asked.

“We need a scientist’s access codes in order to use the more complex systems to analyze this thing, otherwise we’d only skim the surface and not even get close to the core of this machine.”

“So, can’t you like, hack it or something? You were doing that just a minute ago!”

Arrow sighed. “Not this portion, this is sensitive information and it won’t allow me passed it if I don’t have the right code. We need a scientist to grant us access.”

“Unfortunately all of them more or less high tailed it outta here,” said Firestorm.

“Not all of them.”

Firestorm paused as he looked off towards Lucky’s floating ethereal head. What are you talking about?

“I can get us access to this.”

One problem, last time I checked, I wasn’t as fast as you at keyboarding. On top of that, I know for a fact that I’d mess this up if I started pressing buttons.

That was the conundrum. Lucky had the ability to access it, but thanks to their union there was no way for him to do it. Neither of them knew if they could even separate from being Firestorm long enough to allow Lucky to do so, but even if they were, were they really prepared to show who they really were to a vigilante archer. He may be a hero and willing to fight to stop these things despite not having any powers, but they didn’t have any idea what someone like Arrow would do with that kind of information.

“If only there was a way to switch out or something!”

“Switch out” you mean like give you control or something?

Suddenly the sun emblem on Firestorm’s chest glowed. Arrow watched as the Nuclear Man’s body shined as three atomic rings formed around him. The body type was changing within the rings, and within a few moments a new Firestorm was in his place. This one stood at six-feet-five-inches, nearly as tall.

Around his forearms were gold bands that had red lines etched into them, his hands were made of purple flames, but each finger was encased in gold armor, his arms themselves made out of the same colored flames. On his shins were greaves of the exact same color, but his feet were bare and made of the same flames, but they didn’t burn the ground he stood upon.

A vest of yellow cloth covered most of his chest, leaving the V opening to reveal his flame body. Near the stomach region of the vest was the sun emblem, this time it was purple, with red rings around it. White lines came down from the shoulder and neck area and connected to the sun, each with a red orb in it. A white sash with a gold plated buckle kept the vest secure at the waist, and on his shoulders were small gold pauldrons.

From his collarbone up to his head was covered in a yellow cowl, his face was no longer olive skinned, but it was that of Caucasian. The red lines formed the corona crown, but his hair was made of purple flames, a gold band tied off part of the flames to form a long flaming ponytail that whipped back and forth.

When this new Firestorm opened his eyes, he gasped, looking at himself with astonishment. He flexed his fingers and moved his head around, blinking a few times.

“I’m…I’m outside?”

“And I’m inside!”

We switched, the Matrix must’ve granted us the ability to switch drivers!

“Well don’t waste time bro, hurry and help Arrow out, we don’t know exactly know how long we can stay like this.”

“Firestorm…are you alright?” Arrow asked wearily.

Lucky shook his head and gave Arrow a confident expression. “Y-Yeah, fine, why do you ask?”

“Your form has changed completely, you’re even taller now and your flames have changed color.”

“Oh that! Well, this is my…uh…well to tell you the truth Firestorm is more than one person. We’re actually two people in one body, my friend just switched over to me because he thought I could help!”

There was a time where Arrow would’ve thought such things were the work of science fiction, but seeing as he was living in a scenario ripped straight from one and fighting side-by-side with other teen heroes who had enough power to level a city if they wanted to, keeping an open mind was something he did constantly, otherwise he’d risk going insane at trying to fit everything into logical reasoning.

“Well, Firestorm, see what you can do,” said Arrow as he stood aside.

Lucky walked up to the control panel, his white eyes glanced over at Arrow and back up to the screen as he released a sigh. “Look, I don’t know you that well, but considering the fate of the world is at stake, I’m taking a leap of faith here with what I’m about to do.”

Arrow was about to ask but then Firestorm typed away at the keyboard at blinding speed, numbers and letters appeared on the screen in sequence that Arrow was able to figure was the access code. After a few seconds the computer beeped its approval of his code.

{Code Accepted. Access granted to Lucky Star.}

“Well, now you know my secret identity, at least one of ours.”

The hooded archer now understood what he meant by a “leap of faith”. He was trusting him with his real name. “We are in the middle of crisis, some things tend to get lost during the frenzy of battle, such things like remembering certain names.”

“I like this guy’s style.”

“Thanks Arrow.”

“Let’s hurry, I’ll start the spectral analyzer, you see about managing a data beam probe into it.”

Lucky nodded and set to work. Arrow was working another panel, activating the chamber’s scanners as it layered one beam after another over, under, and across its entire surface. Lucky maneuvered four mechanical arms that had pinpoint lasers mounted on them. The lasers fired a green beam into the box, roving over its surface as they searched for a viable means to gather whatever data that the alien tech might contain.

Arrow’s panel beeped, displaying its findings on the monitor before him. “Whatever these things are, they’re using spacial distortion to rip open wormholes. I would’ve thought that they were magical or from some dark pit of hell, but they’re using wormhole generating technology to enter from some other part of the universe.”

Lucky turned to Arrow. “If that’s true, I don’t think these guys are behind it then. From the way they move and fight, none of them seem to have the brains to make something like this. It also means there’s someone else pulling their strings, sending them in as an advance force.”

“Guess it’s what we were all thinking, this is an invasion.”

Suddenly the computer beeped as the green beams of the arms locked onto something inside the box.

{Data detected. Data has properties that may be of importance to Project Kr. Do you wish to transfer data for later use?}

“‘Project Kr?’ what the heck is that?”

“Don’t know, don’t care, we need to see the data now.”

Lucky quickly typed his command into the computer. |Do not transfer data. Cancel. Initiate data retrieval and display on main monitor.|

{Transfer canceled. Initiating data retrieval and display.}

The monitor went dark for a moment, soon alien writing formed on the screen, causing Lucky and Arrow to back away from it as it showed various horrifying images.

{Initiating Parademon induction.} The computer’s voice had changed from female sounding to male.

{One: conquer known worlds.} Various planets appeared, all of them being ravaged by these creatures called Parademons.

{Two: collect organic material.} The Parademons flew out and grabbed hold of many different alien people, dragging them, men, women, and children, kicking and screaming to large towers.

{Three: process organic material.} The captives were placed in pods and strapped down. A blue-green substance filled the pods and the beings inside were completely silenced.

{Four: reconstitute organic material.} The blue-green gel reformed into something else, a grotesque, bare version of the Parademon without any armor.

{Five: all hail Tirek.} The image then shifted to hordes upon hordes of Parademons swarming the air and marching on the ground, all while a giant creature that stood on four legs and had its arms behind its back watched the army of monsters as its yellow eyes blazed.

The images cut out, and the computer returned to normal. Firestorm and Arrow looked to each other with shock. This was an invasion, from another world, an alien world, one that was practically a living hell for all. And it was about to bring that hell right to them, more data appeared on the screen, displaying the functions of the box and what was still operational.

Lucky went back to the keyboard and typed away. “Looks like the box…‘Father Box’…is operational to a degree. But whatever you and the Lanterns did to it overloaded the circuitry. We could still use it to hack into the remaining portals and close them down, but we’d need a fresh one that’s still connected to them.”

“I’ll relay that to the Lanterns,” said Arrow.

“You can do that?”

“Before we arrived the Lanterns and I were able to connect to a wireless signal that can only be picked up by their rings. This way any communication between them and me is secured.” Arrow touched the comm. device in his ear. “Green Lantern come in, this is Arrow.”

The sounds of explosions and Parademon death throes could be heard echoing in the background as the battle raged on.

{Arrow? What’s goin’ on, you guys got somethin’?!}

“Something. We know that the creatures are called ‘Parademons’, they’re foot soldiers of an alien world that’s seeking to conquer Earth and use its people as…material to make more of those things we’re fighting.”

{You’re kidding! What world?!} Blue Lantern asked.

“I’m looking over the data…someplace called…‘Apokolips’. Ring any bells?” Lucky asked loud enough to hear him.

{None, Green Lantern and I have been around different parts of our sector, but we’ve never heard of Apokolips. Over.}

“Good news is we might have a way to get rid of them.”

{…………}

“Green Lantern? Blue Lantern? Are you there? Over.”

{Uh…y’all might wanna figure out how to do that fast.}

“Why’s that?” Arrow asked.

{Oh nothing special, just that the water’s on fire and there’s a spooky big tower rising up from it. No big deal }, said Blue Lantern.

Invasion Part 5: Lord Tirek

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Candy and Del hovered over the city, watching from their vantage point, and through some telescopic construct visors, that the sea out in Canterlot Harbor was on fire; more specifically, a large ring of fire in the middle of the ocean.

“Well…that’s a head-stumper,” said Del dumbfounded.

“Yeaaaaaah, pretty sure that water isn’t supposed to catch fire like that,” said Candy.

The two Lanterns watched as the Parademons all started to head towards the ring of fire out in the ocean, even those fighting Hawk, Dove, and Thunder were starting to fall back. Candy and Del nodded to each other and flew down to meet the others on the ground. Once there, they informed their fellow heroes of what they saw in the air.

“That really doesn’t sound good,” said Dove.

“They must’ve gone there to regroup and stage a final assault or something,” said Hawk as her gaze fell in the direction of the harbor.

Thunder was still contemplating what was happening. Their efforts thus far had been mainly crowd control, at least until they figured out a way to send the monsters back to wherever it was they came from. But this ring of fire in the water, it nagged at Thunder, her magical senses telling her that something bad was coming, something worse than the Parademons.

“Let’s head to the harbor, we need to intercept whatever it is they’re doing. GL, contact Arrow and Firestorm, have them meet us there,” said Thunder.

“Got it.”

GL made the call as they all made their way towards the harbor. Hawk, Green Lantern, Blue Lantern, and Thunder flew, while Dove kept up with them using her super speed. The five heroes continued onward, weaving around buildings and streets to make it to their destination. Thunder lead the way, taking them down a route that would give them a clear view of what was coming. The group made it to a street that overlooked the ocean, just a block away from the harbor. But they all stopped the moment they saw what was happening out on the ocean.

A black tower rose up from the ring of fire, the Parademons all shrieking as if heralding its arrival. The tower continued to rise from the depths and stopped until it rivaled the Celestial State building in Manehattan. A massive portal was set up between its horn like pylons, allowing the Parademons to come and go between the dimensions. At that moment, something emerged from the portal, something big.

Hawk, Dove, and Thunder used their telescoping vision to see what it was, while GL and BL used their rings to create construct visors that acted as magnifiers. What they beheld was a giant. It easily stood twenty feet tall, thirty if you counted its long curved horns. Its body reminded them of centaur, with red muscular arms, and strong horse legs that looked as if they could crush an armored tank. His chest and lower equine part of his body was covered in black armor, with silver circuitry lines running around in intricate patterns, and silver Omega symbol on the chest plate. The centaur had a silver nose ring, long silver hair and beard. The sclera of its eyes were black as night, while its irises shined a piercing yellow. He floated out of the portal and down towards the water. The water became concave underneath him, pushed into a semicircle as if by some unknown psychic force. The centaur continued forward, flanked on either side by the Parademons.

“What…on Earth…is that?!” Dove asked in shock.

“Well, it’s not of Earth, that much is for sure,” said Thunder.

“It’s Tirek!”

The five heroes glanced behind them and saw Arrow and Firestorm join them, they were a little surprised to see that Firestorm’s appearance had changed drastically since the last time they saw him. Arrow assured them that this was the same Firestorm they met earlier, but that he was made up of two people, and that the other part decided to take over for the time being. Dove looked upon Firestorm, feeling as if she had seen him somewhere before, but couldn’t quite place it.

“Anyway, what’s a ‘Tirek’?” Hawk asked.

“Tirek is the ruler of a planet called Apokalypse, a hellish world at that. He uses these Parademons to set up portals to invade different planets, either killing or kidnapping their inhabitants,” said Arrow.

“So what’s he after; ruilin’ the world, destroyin’ the world, enslavin’ humanity?” Green Lantern asked.

“No, the Parademons take the life forms of a planet through the gateways and back to Apokalypse, where they are…‘processed’ for their organic material, and transformed into Parademons for his army. Like locusts, they just keep going from one planet to the next, and repeat the process, that’s what the Parademons are ordered to do anyway,” said Firestorm (Lucky).

The young heroes had to take a minute to let that sink in, this one being has done this to multiple planets, many times over, and now he had set his sights on Earth. It angered Hawk, she saw no sense in his methods, killing and turning others into monsters. Was that his entire goal, to wipe out the universe of life?

“Hopelessness surrounds Tirek, I can feel it. Wherever he goes, he brings despair and pain to all those before him,” said Candy.

“Well we can’t just let him do what he wants here on Earth! We have to fight him!” Hawk argued.

“I think he made that decision for us, ‘cause he’s coming towards us!” Thunder warned as she entered a fighting stance.

The other heroes saw Tirek fast approaching, his intimidating gaze falling on all seven of them. Firestorm felt a niggling feeling in the back of his head, he then turned his attention inwards to his foster brother, Hot Head.

What’s up? Lucky asked.

“Bro, no offense, you’re good on the transmutes but you’re no brawler, let me switch out with you,” said Hot Head.

Lucky sighed inwardly. As much as I don’t like it, the Matrix’s power shifts more towards combat when you’re in the driver seat. Alright, let’s give ‘em hell!

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about, tag me in!”

Lucky appeared within the Firestorm Matrix, walking towards Hot Head at the center of the Matrix and holding up his right hand. The olive skinned boy walked towards his foster brother and high-fived him, ‘tagging’ him out and putting Hot Head in as Lucky returned to the center of the Matrix. On the outside, Firestorm’s body shifted back to the form when Hot Head was in control, startling the others for a moment before they realized that he had switched out.

“Pick a personality and color scheme, and stick with it.” Hawk commented.

There was no time for a sarcastic or witty remark after that, as Tirek approached them. He stopped about a meter away from them, still hovering over the water. He eyed each of the heroes individually, snorting in disapproval of the insects that were causing him delays.

“This is what causes me such problems? Children?” Tirek scoffed.

Del flew in front of the group, much to Candy’s protest. “Ah’m Green Lantern of Sector 2814, this sector of space is under my protection and that of the Green Lantern and Blue Lantern Corps. As such, Ah order you to cease this invasion, and return to your sector! Or else!”

Tirek barely raised an eyebrow, he didn’t even seem to care. “Green Lantern Corps, Blue Lantern Corps, I don’t recognize your authority. For there is none above mine, and secondly…” Tireks horns started to surge with black and orange energy. The energy arced between his horns and created a sphere of condensed power. “Who are you to order a god?”

The sphere broke out and fired a beam of pure energy at Del. He summoned a shield around himself, but the force and power behind the attack was too strong and washed over him. The Green Lantern was then sent flying backwards and landed a few yards away, slamming into a car and making its alarm go off before the car died.

“GL!” Candy cried.

“Why you!” Hawk shouted.

“That’s it!” Firestorm cried.

The Avatar of War and the Nuclear Man took off towards Tirek. Hawk summoned a claymore sword, while Firestorm ignited his fists with plasma flames. Starburst roared as she brought down the glowing red blade down on Tireks right shoulder pauldron, while Hot Head struck him in the chest. Both had shocked expressions when they realized that neither of their attacks so much as scratched his armor. Tireks horns glowed and released a burst wave of orange and black energy that sent the two heroes flying into the buildings behind them.

Suddenly two whizzing arrows flew and struck Tirek right in the face, exploding on impact. The Bringer of Destruction’s eyes lowered till they rested on Arrow, who had notched three more explosive tipped arrows and readied them for release. Tirek’s horns were glowing once again, but enough was enough. Thunder zoomed towards Tirek, letting out a fierce battle cry as she spun around and delivered a flying roundhouse kick to his face. The god-like centaur’s body moved from the impact, grunting from the blow. He then removed one of his arms from behind his back and caught Echo’s twin tail scarf in his giant hand.

He then whipped and tossed Earth’s Mightiest Mortal, letting her bounce on the asphalt like a rag doll. The super heroine was able to correct herself, digging her right hand into the ground as she skidded to halt, stopping on her right knee. She watched as Arrow and Dove retreated back to Thunder, releasing arrows and mana spheres at the juggernaut. All of them hit, but he continued forward, unfazed by their attacks in the slightest.

Just then they heard the sound of jet fighters flying overhead. Starburst broke out of her body-sized imprint in the cement wall and flew up, watching as the F-22 fighter jets swung around. She knew from her father’s work that jets weren’t meant to attack so close within the city, however, Tirek was still on the open road, away from the buildings. The fighters Bombay doors opened, and all three fired sidewinder missiles straight for Tirek. The missiles struck with great force and exploded on impact. But when the smoke cleared, Tirek was still standing. The Destroyer’s horns glowed again, creating that same sphere of energy. The jets broke away and were about to swing around for another pass. At that moment the beam shot forth, roaring towards them.

The beam annihilated the middle jet, causing the other two to break away. The beam then split down the middle, becoming two separate beams that chased after the jets. Despite their best efforts to evade and outrun, the twin beams struck the jets, exploding at nearly the same time as their remnants fell to the ocean below.

Starburst looked on in horror as the soldiers died right before her eyes. She gritted her teeth and clenched her armored fists, the metal creaking from how tight she balled them up. The Avatar of War shot up into the air and flew towards Tirek. She summoned a spear into her left hand and threw at right at him. The spear glowed with angry red mana as it blazed toward Tirek. The centaur stopped his advance and brought up his right arm to block the attack.

The spear hit and exploded, barely even scratching him, but Star wasn’t done, she summoned to katanas, somersaulted in the air, and stabbed the centaur in the same arm. Tirek’s brow furrowed from feeling the blades in his skin, but with a swift jerk to the right, the blades snapped. He was about to give her a whopper of a backhand, but Star managed to fall back just in time to miss it, but the wind generated by his attack created a gust that nearly knocked her over.

Annoyed, but not deterred, Tirek continued forward, floating still as he entered the city. The Parademons seemed emboldened by their lord and master’s presence and decided to take this time to attack the heroes. Blue Lantern flew in, firing beams of blue light at the Parademons, piercing their chests and leaving foot wide holes in them. One of the Parademons was about to attack her from up above, but Candy flipped backwards in midair, evading the attack. She then created a giant boxing glove construct and punched the Parademon into a nearby structure.

Green Lantern, Del, finally came around after the attack. He was sore all over, even his teeth ached. But he didn’t have time to fully recover as a couple of Parademons were about to descend on him. The Emerald Knight got up from the car and created a lasso construct. He threw it and caught both Parademons, Del swung them around, bashing them into buildings and cutting a groove into the structures as he did so. He spotted a few coming his way and tossed the ones he had captured at them, sending four of them crash landing into a fuel truck.

Arrow spotted the downed Parademons and fired an incendiary arrow. The projectile struck the inside of the trailer and ignited the fuel, exploding and taking out the Parademons with it. Arrow, Fletcher, notched three sharp tipped arrows and fired them, hitting three Parademons in the head precisely. One of them tried to take a swipe at him, but the vigilante archer wasn’t just skilled with a bow and arrow. The reinforced frame of the bow served him well as a bashing weapon, striking the Parademon in its jaw, breaking it. He then vaulted off the same demon, kicking it down into the ground before he spun in midair and landed on another Parademon. He took out a sharp arrow, stabbed the monster in its head, and used the same arrow to shoot down another that was about to attack Dove from behind.

Dove was busy striking the Parademons that swarmed her, hitting them in their chests and blasting them with a concentrated burst of mana. She practically danced around them, using their aggressive force to either evade them or make them hit their fellow Parademons. The Avatar of Peace summoned her mana spheres and fired them in all directions, hitting the Parademons like cannonballs and crushing their bones and vital organs.

Despite being of peace, Annie’s powers allowed her to sense the aggressive energy the Parademons put out, which practically telegraphed where and when they would strike. It was sort of like seeing into the future, but only in the heat of battle and whenever danger was around. And right now, danger was surrounding them all. Her senses alerted her three Parademons attacking from the right, from the front, back, left, and above. Dove took a ready stance and spun out in place. A spherical barrier formed around her, spinning just as rapidly as she was. When the Parademons hit the wall of energy, they were caught up in its power, like debris in a tornado.

The hard particles of mana energy whirled the Parademons around, breaking their bodies apart as they were swept away by the whirlwind of power. Dove then released the attack, sending the broken bodies of the Parademons flying in every possible direction. She took a moment to regain her bearings and once she had, went on to fight another group.

Meanwhile, Thunder had taken it upon herself to combat Tirek. The Strength of Hercules flowed through her young body and into her fist as the giant centaur was struck yet again in the face. Tirek took a step back from the blow, gritting his teeth as he brought up his left fist to punch Thunder. Echo used both forearms as a shield to take the blow, the impact was like her namesake, thundering out in all directions as she was thrown back from the attack. Thunder stopped herself, her body charging up with the magical lightning of the Power of Zeus.

Lightning surged down her arms and into her hands as Thunder blasted Tirek with a stream of lightning. Tirek countered by firing his overwhelming Omega Beam attack, the two collided in midair, the lightning pushing against his energy beam. But unfortunately, the energy beam was proving to be the stronger as it was pushed back with each passing nanosecond. Thunder’s attack was canceled the moment the beam struck her, making her fall out of the sky and into the street, groaning from the pain.

Tirek was about to fire another beam, but was interrupted when a giant fist made of concrete, asphalt, and earth rose up in front of him and struck the centaur right in the face, again. The fist continued to push him back further and further as the centaur gripped it and tried to get it off. Firestorm landed in front of Thunder, his left hand had atomic rings whirling around it as he focused his transmuting powers. Thunder stood up and beside Firestorm, channeling her magical lightning into her hands. Hot Head ended the transmutation and the atomic rings formed on both of his hands, wrapping his hands in spheres of flaming plasma.

The giant centaur used his Omega Beam to obliterate the giant stone fist, but at that moment a fiery column of energy, wrapped in magical lightning, roared down the street and struck Tirek dead center. The lightning and fire washed over the monster, hitting with a dual sensation of electrocution and being burned alive. But all this merely made Tirek even more annoyed and angry at their defiance and tenacity. With a deep growl, Tirek fired his Omega Beam, pushing the two heroes’ attack back. The two beams stayed at the middle point, building up energy with each passing second.

Thunder and Firestorm could no longer keep up the attack, the result being that of a detonation that created a shockwave, throwing them back to where their comrades were. Tirek was looking less than pleased. “Children, given power and think themselves titans. You know not what the power of a god can do, witness! I am entropy…” Tirek raised his arms into the air. “I am death…” His forearms wrapped themselves in his black and orange energy, surging and building to critical mass.

Firestorm and Dove could sense it, this attack would be powerful. Firestorm created a dome of earth around them, using his transmutation powers to change it into solid titanium. Dove created a mana dome, adding another layer of protection. Green Lantern and Blue Lantern united their lights and created a third protective shell. Three layers of protection, and yet the young heroes still felt like this wouldn’t be enough.

The energy Tirek built up was ready, his eyes shined yellow as he reared up on his hind legs. “I am Tirek!”

With mighty stamp of his hooves, Tirek brought down both of his forearms onto the ground. The energy surged beneath the earth and exploded with resounding force. A blinding flash of orange black light shined forth, obliterating everything in its wake. The ground upheaved and made it jut out giant stalagmites. The wave of stalagmites struck against the metal dome, but soon the blast wave followed close behind it. Slamming against the dome and melting it away. Annie’s shield sizzled as the might of Tirek’s attack ripped away at it, the Avatar of Peace tried to keep it from falling, but it was too much as the barrier faded away.

The Lanterns held fast, the synergistic powers of Willpower and Hope fueling and bolstering the other. Candy and Del looked to each other, steeling their resolve and determination as they refused to let down the shield. Cracks started to appear all around it, but blue light would quickly mend it.

“This isn’t good, we need to fall back!” Thunder shouted.

“No way, we can’t back down, not with that monster still standing!” Hawk argued.

“We need a plan of attack, we can’t beat him like this!”

Hawk stayed close to Dove, keeping her steady after keeping the barrier up through that onslaught. Star looked to Annie, and the blind girl behind the mask silently urged her friend to heed Thunder in this matter.

“I’m in agreement, we need a strategy to better face Tirek,” said Arrow.

Thunder looked to the two Lanterns, she sensed GL’s will to keep fighting, but he wasn’t a battle craven lunatic, he knew falling back now would give them some time to recoup and regroup. BL nodded her agreement as well.

“Firestorm, can you give us an exit?!” Thunder asked.

Firestorm wanted to stay and fight, but Lucky was urging him to follow Thunder’s lead on this. The Nuclear Man summoned his atomic rings and pointed his hands at the ground. The concrete and asphalt churned and caved in, forming a tunnel down into the sewers below. Dove and Hawk jumped in, followed by Arrow and Firestorm. Thunder stayed above, waiting for the Lanterns.

“Everybody else is in, c’mon!”

Del and Candy slowly walked backwards, they summoned their aura fields, lifting themselves off the ground to float close to the hole. Thunder jumped in and stood aside, she then watched as GL and BL descended into the tunnel and joined up with them. Their rings were still pointed upwards at the hole, keeping the barrier up.

“Close it on three!” Del shouted.

Firestorm stood at the ready.

“One!”

The atomic rings formed over his hands.

“Two!” Candy shouted.

He pointed both hands at the opening, weaving his power into the mixture of earth and concrete.

“THREE!” The two Lanterns called out.

Their rings severed the link to the barrier, allowing Firestorm to hurriedly shut the hole and prevent Tirek from seeing them escape. They all let out a collective sigh of relief, but they weren’t out of the woods yet. GL and BL let their rings shine brightly within the dank sewer tunnel, the group of seven made their way down the corridor, letting the tunnel take them as far from Tirek as it could.

LATER, TWO MILES FROM TIREK…

The seven young heroes were able to find some refuge in, of all places, an abandoned church. They were visibly shell shocked by the appearance and terrifying might of Tirek. Many of them had faced a strong foe or two, and it was nothing they could handle. With the exception of Firestorm, being the relatively newest hero among them. Arrow had faced dozens of criminals, some twice his size and twice as strong, but he always managed to beat them, not just with his skill, but his brains; although, those were criminals, not a twenty foot, laser blasting, space warlord, centaur.

Hot Head slammed his fist into his left palm, growling indignantly. “We should go back! Who knows how much destruction Tirek is causing right now?!”

“Oh and what, get our asses kicked again?! I’m all for taking that big SOB down, but right now we’d lose!” Star shot back.

“So what, we just sit here and wait?!”

Arrow leaned up against a pillar, arms crossed, sighing as he listened to the other Driver of Firestorm speak. “Calm down Firestorm, we’re not giving up, but we can’t go rushing in either.” Arrow turned to Green Lantern who was sitting in one of the pews. “Green Lantern, you and Blue Lantern mentioned that you both were part of a ‘Corps.’, which means there’s more than one of you, correct?”

GL looked up and nodded to Arrow.

“So there’s an army’s worth of Green Lanterns and Blue Lanterns out there; what the hell, what are you two waiting for, call in some back up?!” Firestorm demanded.

“We can’t. The Green Lantern Corps, as well as the Blue Lantern Corps, are scattered across the universe, protectin’ their own sectors. To gather them all here would take way too long, and who knows if they’re even strong enough to beat ‘em.”

There might be another way…but…Del looked to his ring, memories of his training flashed before him, visions of an Emerald Warrior, wielding Willpower equal to a god. No…Ah promised.

“We can’t lose hope everyone, we can beat Tirek, we just need to figure it out is all,” said Candy.

“Blue Lantern’s right, striking back in blind fury will only get us killed,” said Dove.

“So you just want to wait around until we come with some great and brilliant plan, meanwhile, Tirek tears up the world and everyone’s turned into a Parademon!” Firestorm ranted.

“Hey, if you have a better idea, we’re all ears! If you don’t, then just shut up and stop blowing hot air!” Hawk shot back.

“Oh, you wanna go?!”

Hawk cracked her armored knuckles. “You don’t want to mess with the Avatar of War!”

“ENOUGH!!!” Thunder’s body erupted with lightning, crackling and surging across everything, making the other heroes turn to her. “We can’t waste time fighting against each other when we should be fighting Tirek!”

The other heroes went silent. Thunder, Echo, sighed heavily and walked up to the altar. She looked up to the stained glass window, taking a bit of solace in the artwork, calming her own storm of thoughts before she spoke again.

“Each of us has fought against powerful enemies; demonic entities, criminal masterminds, intergalactic thugs, warmongers, and every petty criminal in between. But today, we faced a foe that none of us have ever seen, and was too much to for us alone to handle. Tirek is powerful, he may even call himself a god, but he’s no god.” Thunder turned around and faced the six. “I’m called Earth’s Mightiest Mortal, because I wield the power of six gods and heroes past, but I wasn’t strong enough to put him down.”

“You at least made him flinch with each hit,” said Hawk.

“That’s not the point. All around the world, militaries, and even others like us are fighting to protect their families, homes – this very planet! We stand on the frontlines, if we fall, then the Earth falls with us! Listen, I’ll admit, I’m scared, Tirek is crazy powerful, but there are those I want to protect. I’ve already lost someone dear to me, my father, and won’t lose anyone else to monsters, from Earth or off world!”

Hawk’s (Star’s) mind flashed to her mother, father, and little brother. Despite the fact that her mother and her didn’t seem to connect most of the time, Star still loved her, and even though she bickered with her little brother, she cared deeply for him, and would rather die than let him be hurt.

Dove (Annie), thought about her adopted mother. She remembered the day she left the orphanage, it was the happiest and saddest day of her life, sad because she had to leave Amber, Hot Head, and Lucky, but happy because she had been taken in by someone so kind, loving, and gentle. Every day with Fluttershy was a gift, learning more, loving each other more, she was wasn’t just some adopted mother, she was just her mother. She knew Fluttershy was strong, but even she had her limits, and Annie promised to be strong for her and protect the family she had now gained. And the family she reunited with in the years following.

Arrow (Fletcher) thought his mother and father, along with his little brother and sister. But mostly, he thought of Crème. That young woman had suffered the loss of her parents and friends all in one night, and experienced the terror of being captured and about to be sold like a piece of property. Fletcher still had a promise to keep, to bring the ones who headed all of it to justice, and he also promised never to see Crème cry again, he wasn’t about to die, not now, not ever.

For Green Lantern (Del), his mind traveled to his family. The large family of farmers, his uncle and aunt, his ma and pa, even his cousins, they all had a place in his heart. Del had a fierce instinct when it came to protecting his family, and as a Green Lantern, he had to protect everyone with the same amount of fierceness. If someone threatened Earth, they threatened his home, and threatening his home was a big mistake.

Blue Lantern (Candy) wanted to protect Del and help him in his fight to defend their home. But it was more than that, she was hero as well. True her powers were greater when the two of them were together, but hope was powerful, it was what lied in her mother’s heart all her life, and she past that light unto her children. For her parents, her siblings, and her friends, Candy couldn’t stand by and watch as Tirek turned them into monsters for his army.

Firestorm (Lucky Star and Hot Head) thought of Amber. How she selflessly took both of them in, despite what others accused her of and the burden it would place upon her to take care of the two of them. She did it for them, and every day, Hot Head and Lucky could never think of way to repay her for all she did for them. She was a sister and a surrogate mother, as weird as the latter was to admit, but they were singular in one thing. They loved Amber, and they cared about their surrogate sister, Anthea. They wouldn’t let their family be torn apart, to have this world destroyed.

“Call it fate or destiny, or even sheer luck, but all of us were brought together! We have to be more than just individuals, we have to become a team! Together I know we can beat Tirek! Because we all have someone to protect, people we love! Now, will we stand together, or fall divided?!” Thunder asked.

The six heroes looked to each other, a silent understanding passing between them all. They rose up and stood before the Champion of Magic, each one with a determined look upon their faces. Blue Lantern’s ring was glowing a little brighter just then, hope had been rekindled and it was strong.

Invasion Part 6: TITANS, GO!

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Tirek continued to move further into the city, his Parademons flanking him the whole way. His horns charged up with black and orange energy and fired an Omega Beam at a few buildings, raking the super charged attack across, practically slicing them in half and toppling the structures. He was disappointed by the outcome of his battle with the young would-be-heroes.

Tirek only had himself to blame, he had thought that they might’ve been able to shake off his little doldrum that he had slipped into without realizing. His quest for his ultimate goal had been taking longer than he thought, and with each conquered world Tirek believed he was getting closer to it, but alas, it seemed further away. Maybe a little destruction would help him think.

Suddenly the skies rumbled, Tirek stopped, the other Parademons following his lead. Suddenly lightning shot down from the sky in a giant column of crackling power; the bolt struck the road a couple of yards away from Tirek. The column broke apart with a whoosh of ionized air, creating a buffeting effect that made the Parademons wince from it, but Tirek just narrowed his gaze.

When the column disappeared they stood tall. Thunder stood at the center, arms crossed and hood up, her twin tail scarf bellowing in the cross winds of her power, eyes and body shimmering with magical lightning energy. Dove stood on the far right, with two mana spheres at the ready. Closer to Thunder’s right was Hawk, a double bladed ax in one hand, and a spiked shield on the other. On the far left was Blue Lantern, a blue construct staff in her hands. And on Thunder’s left was Green Lantern, both forearms encased in green construct gauntlets, the synergy of Will and Hope raging in the two Lanterns’ auras.

“Humph, the whelps return after licking their wounds. The arrogance of youth, believing themselves invincible when really they are no more invincible than speck of dirt, I suppose it is I who must show you the error of your ways.” Tirek took a momentary headcount of the assembled heroes. “I see two of you have come to their senses, but it does not matter. There is no refuge on this world that can shelter them from the end.”

“UGH, give it up with the doom-and-gloom, ‘I’m the bringer of death and’, blah, blah, blah! We don’t give a damn! This is our planet – our home! And we won’t let you destroy it!” Hawk shouted.

Tirek smirked, if nothing else, the children were amusing to him. Apokolips had far too few things that gave him such amusement, other than bearing witness to the tortures his lieutenants could conjure for their captives. The centaur summoned his energy yet again, channeling into his horns and creating a sphere of power. The sphere blasted forth its Omega Beam, roaring down the road and striking the heroes. The explosion kicked up a dust cloud that hid them from sight, but he didn’t have to wait long.

Azure and red streaks of light broke off from the left, green and blue from the left, and down the middle lightning flashed as Thunder burst through the cloud and prepared to deliver a haymaker to the centaur. Her gaze shifted to her left for just a split second, her thoughts going out to those she knew were out there.

Firestorm, Arrow, we’re counting on you, thought Thunder.

“SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT, TIREK!!!”

ELSEWHERE…

Arrow and Firestorm were flying over the water and headed straight towards the tower; the vigilante archer had hidden the portal generator before they went to do battle with Tirek their first time out. Now though, now was different. While the others kept Tirek occupied, Firestorm and Arrow would infiltrate the black tower and figure out a way to send the Parademons away, and hopefully Tirek while they were at it.

“I still don’t like this, we should be helping them fight that guy!” Firestorm vented.

Arrow, standing on a platform made of solidified water – and no I don’t mean ice, he literally made the water solid without freezing it – shared his concerns with Firestorm. “I know how you feel, but if we succeed then we’ll be able to beat Tirek.”

“Sending him away back to where he came from isn’t a solution, what’s to stop him from coming back?!”

The archer knew that Firestorm had a point. Although this was the best available plan, it wasn’t a permanent solution. If Tirek wanted to, he could always come back and try again. But for now, there was the task at hand. The tower was getting closer and closer with each passing second, soon they’d be up to their necks in Parademons, fighting through a horde of them to get to the tower, and a computer with which to enact their plan.

“For now let’s see if we can even pull it off. Get ready!”

Firestorm increased his speed, igniting his nuclear plasma fire and wrapping it around him. Like a fiery comet, the Nuclear Man hurled himself at the side of the tower. Firestorm broke through the side, melting through the layers of metal, boring deeper into the structure.

Once Arrow was close enough, he followed after Firestorm. He notched an arrow and released it, the tail catching on his bow and the arrow head itself breaking open into a three-pronged grappling hook. Once the hook attached to something Arrow swung from it, he dislodged the first and fired another, continuing to swing further into the tower.

Arrow followed the burning path of his alley all the way to the end, finding Firestorm standing on an observational deck. The vigilante archer swung one final time, flipped in the air, and landed with ease next to him. “Let’s start searching.” Arrow suggested.

“Where do we even start?”

“Splitting up would be bad, but faster.”

“No way, we’re sticking together.”

Arrow chuckled. “Fair enough. If I were to venture a guess we should head up. The closer we are to the main portal the more likely we’ll run into a control console of some sort.”

“Alright I – wait hold up.” Firestorm stared off at something next to him, he then nodded his head as if agreeing to something. “Change of plans, Lucky’s going to switch out with me. You two will be better able to find the computer and do your techno thing.”

The hooded archer nodded and waited. Firestorm’s body was engulfed by purple flames, the atomic rings formed around it, containing the flame and reshaping it into the form of its new driver. After a short couple of seconds, the Secondary Driver of Firestorm appeared.

“I think I might know a way to find what we’re looking for.” Firestorm got down on knee and placed his left palm against the cool metal floor. His energy pulsated through the floor, going out in waves as if they were acting as some sort of radar system. Arrow had a few of this trick arrows at the ready, just in case they got ambushed. Just then Firestorm’s eyes opened and he grinned. “I think I found something, follow me!”

Firestorm took the lead with Arrow on his heels. The two heroes went down a corridor and found themselves about to run into a small contingent of Parademons. Atomic rings formed around his hands, Firestorm swiped them around as if drawing something in the air. Suddenly the metal walls churned and undulated.

The Parademons continued to charge for them, but before they could reach Arrow and Firestorm, the metal transformed into metal spikes that jutted out in every direction. The Parademons were skewered from every possible angle, making their blue-green blood ooze out onto the floor.

From behind them, another group of Parademons approached. Arrow launched one of his explosive tipped arrows down the hall, Firestorm saw this and held out his right hand, placing his middle finger and thumb together.

When the arrow struck the Parademon, Firestorm snapped his fingers, making the explosion double in size and magnitude. Thankfully, he anticipated that the corridor would just make the flames funnel through it, but with a flick of his left wrist, Firestorm made the flames shoot towards the entrance they used earlier, preventing anymore Parademons from entering.

Firestorm waved his hand again, making the hall ahead of them return to normal and letting the dead Parademons fall to the floor. The two heroes continued onward with Firestorm leading the way. After making a few turns, Firestorm brought down one of the doors and allowed themselves entry, closing the door behind them and reinforcing it to prevent more Parademons from busting in.

Before them was a computer console, the screens above it displayed various functions of the tower, all in the same alien language that was shown to them at S.T.A.R Labs.

Arrow unslung the device and placed it beside the console. The two had jerry-rigged a crude translation device that would aid them in deciphering the alien letters and hack into the computer. Firestorm and Arrow worked in tandem. The Nuclear Man used his transmutation abilities to create hard light constructs of the consoles that Arrow was using, and connecting to the computer via manipulation of the wireless signals.

“How did you find this place so quickly?” Arrow asked.

“All computers radiate a unique heat signature when in use, I figured a computer connected to this place would give off a pretty big one, and when I looked, I found this place!”

“Good, we should be able to send them back with just a few keystrokes.”

The monitors above showed the main portal that was situated at the top of the tower, at the same time, it showed the locations of the smaller ones scattered about the world. The swarms of Parademons were blanketing every city, and if nothing was done soon, the world would fall.

As they typed away, the pounding of the Parademons against the reinforced door were doubling in number. Many of them trying to tear it down and tear into them; as Arrow continued his work, he spotted something on the monitors, something that caused him some worry.

“Firestorm, Lucky, I think I found the people these Parademons kidnapped!”

“Seriously?!” Firestorm asked. “I think we can save them, teleport them out of their holding pods.”

“Now’s not the time, unfortunately. If we did, they’d be dropped right into the middle of our battle with Tirek, we’ll get them out later, but right now the Parademons and then Tirek.”

Lucky nodded and went back to work. The firewalls to the mainframe were coming down with each passing second. Thanks to the Father Box A.I. they were able to fool the computer into thinking that they weren’t intruders. At that moment the machine pinged, and Firestorm and Arrow glanced at each other, smirking in victory.

Back in the city, the remaining heroes fought tooth and nail to keep Tirek at bay, having stomped out the Parademons around him and now attacking him directly. Green Lantern and Blue Lantern fired a dual beam of at Tirek, slamming him in the chest and making the giant centaur dig his hooves into the ground to keep from being pushed back. He charged his horns, preparing to fire his Omega Beam.

But Hawk swooped down from high above, holding chakrams in both hands. She used her speed and momentum to throw the two razor sharp discs down at Tirek. The chakrams ignited with red mana, blazing towards the unsuspecting centaur.

The red spiraling discs slashed down his back, cutting deep red grooves in his back armor. The tyrant must’ve felt a sting of the blade, for his concentration was broken for that moment, allowing the two Lanterns to pour their energy into the attack and send him flying off his hooves and down the street.

Thunder flew in and took advantage of his disorientation. When she was in range she threw a right hook across his face, creating a deafening “BOOM”. Tirek was sent flying into the side of a building, but Thunder didn’t stop there, she began unleashing a flurry of rapid-fire punches right at his midsection, her fists becoming literal blurs. The blows seemed to penetrate his thick armor as Tirek released pained grunts from each strike. Thunder stopped, but then shot up into a super speed uppercut.

The uppercut connected with Tirek’s jaw, making his head bounce back against the building. With an enraged growl he wrenched himself free from the building and threw a downward punch, catching the magic heroine off guard by the large centaur’s speed. His fist connected with Thunder, slamming her into the ground. Tirek returned her punches in kind, raining down several on Thunder, making the crater she was in grow with each impact.

Dove fired a mana sphere towards Thunder, quickly enveloping her in a barrier that protected Thunder from the next punch. Tirek growled in pain when his knuckles met the hard barrier, his horns charged up again and fired an Omega Beam right at Dove.

The Avatar of Peace skidded to a halt, gawking at the incoming beam and uttered, “Uh-oh!”

She took off in the opposite direction, with the Omega Beam right on her tail. She looked behind her and let out an “EEP!” as the beam dogged her. She made several turns down many streets, and yet, despite all this, the beam continued to follow her.

Dove spotted a few Parademons floating above her. She aimed for the building nearest them and ran up the side of it, and of course, the Omega Beam was right behind her. She continued up, running with everything she had. Dove took a quick glance to see where the Parademons were.

When she was level with them, she spring boarded off the building and flew towards them. The Parademons saw her and prepared to take her down, but Dove’s graceful movements and ability to weave through aggressive energy allowed her to slip behind them. She gave them a quick wave goodbye before the Omega Beam struck the group of Parademons, blowing them up before they knew what hit them.

Hawk flew to her with a wide grin on her face. “Nice work Annie!”

“Thanks, that beam is no joke! It’s like OP to the max!”

“Yeah, now that I think about it, I thought you didn’t like heights,” said Star as she crossed her arms in front of her.

“I don’t.”

“So why are you flying right now?”

Dove froze, looked down and then back to Star. She hurriedly grabbed hold of the Avatar of War. “GET ME DOWN FROM HERE! NOW!”

“You gotta be kidding me,” said Star, mentally face palming herself. “You just ran up a building and flew, you can do it if you just –”

“I MEAN IT!!!” Annie screamed.

Back at the fight, Green Lantern created a construct missile launcher and fired a volley of green energy missiles at Tirek. The giant centaur brought up his arms and defended himself from the attack, each missile exploding on impact. Blue Lantern created a giant hammer that looked akin to a child’s toy. She raised it up and brought the hammer down with great speed. Tirek raised his hands into the air and caught the hammer, the force generated from the sudden stop flew out in all directions in a wave of air.

Blue Lantern abandoned the hammer and appeared in front of Tirek’s face. Below her she created a giant cannon, upon which she sat on and gave Tirek a big smile. The cannon then fired an energy beam that was littered with construct confetti, balloons, and streamers. The centaur was sent fumbling backwards from the power and sheer unorthodox ordinance. Green Lantern created his lasso and quickly hogtied Tirek’s legs, making the Destroyer fall to the ground.

“INSOLENT WHELPS! YOU DARE TO MAKE LIGHT OF A GOD?!!” Tirek shouted.

“Oh, blah, blah, god this and god that! Tell me if this stings Mr. God?!” Hawk shouted.

Tirek looked up and saw Hawk coming straight for her, but she wasn’t alone. Somehow the Avatar of War had gotten hold of an F-22 fighter jet. Using her powers she had taken over the aircraft, transforming it into a literal Warbird. The wings matched Hawk’s, the jet was colored black and red, and its missiles were mounted on the outside. The twin Vulcan cannons of the jet opened fire, along with unloading all its missiles, basically raining down hell upon Tirek.

The added power of the Avatar of War made each explosion twice as powerful, making Tirek buckle down from the attacks. Hawk jumped off at the last second and let the jet crash land onto him, exploding with enough force to shatter the glass of the surrounding buildings. Dove rejoined Blue Lantern, and Hawk partnered with Green Lantern. Thunder recovered and was flying towards the smoldering crater, but at that moment a blast wave erupted from the crater.

The wave slammed against the heroes knocking them off their feet. When the smoke cleared Tirek’s armor was cracking and dented, parts of his body were bleeding with violet blood. He charged for Green Lantern and Hawk, catching them in midair. He held out both of his massive arms and clotheslined them, making them spin around. Tirek skidded to a halt and brought down both his hands in dual hammer fists, striking both heroes and making them hit the dirt.

Tirek fired an Omega Beam at Dove and Blue Lantern. The two heroines used their powers to create a shield to protect them. Tirek split the beam into three parts, one hitting from the front, while the others hit from the left and right. The tri beam laid into the heroes until their barrier fell and exploded, sending them flying backwards.

Thunder doubled her speed, concentrating her magical might into her right fist and punched Tirek right in the face, she channeled it yet again into her left foot, landing an electrically charged crescent kick to his right side, sending Tirek all the way down the street as he came to a halt, slamming his hooves into the ground to stop himself form going any further.

Thunder landed near Green Lantern and Hawk, giving them a hand up. Blue Lantern appeared next to them along with Dove. She used her light of Hope to cast a healing ray of light over them. It allowed them to rejuvenate, and heal some of their wounds, but to completely heal them would take a little longer and they knew Tirek wouldn’t give them that chance.

“Ah’m not sure how much longer we can hold out here,” said Green Lantern.

“We can hold out for as long as it takes! Firestorm and Arrow need all the time we can give ‘em,” said Hawk.

“Then you’ll be happy to know that we’re done.”

Suddenly a Boom Tube opened up behind the five heroes, making them hurriedly turn around and prepare for a second assault. But their tension eased when they saw Firestorm (Hot Head form) and Arrow walk out of the roaring dimensional tunnel. When they were on solid ground the Boom Tube closed itself.

“You guys did it?!” Thunder asked.

“Yes we did, hacked them good,” said Firestorm.

“Now we have access to their Boom Tubes, and it’s time to send these guys back to where they came from.” Arrow, who still had the father box slung on his waist, flipped his left forearm, revealing a mini terminal computer. He then connected some wire cords to the portal generator. “Firestorm and I figured out a way to get all the abducted people out from captivity and teleported them to military safe zones. Now it’s time to say goodbye to beasties.”

Arrow typed away at his wrist terminal, and within a few seconds the sounds of multiple Boom Tubes opening up thundered in the air. All across the sky, dimensional rifts opened up. The Parademons’ Omega symbols shined red and were immediately pulled straight for the Boom Tubes. The creatures shrieked as they were forcibly pulled into the gateways and hurled back to Apokolips. All around the world the same thing was happening, portals opening up and sucking in Parademons, the people cheering in victory at the sight of it all.

The team looked to Tirek, who was shocked at seeing the portals opening. His own Omega symbol glowed red, and a portal opened up behind him. But the centaur tyrant wasn’t about to go back, he was stronger than his lackey Parademons, and he would not be taken down so easily.

“This is impossible! What have you done?!” Tirek shouted.

“Our plan happened. While you fought the five of us, you had no idea that we sent two of our own to infiltrate your tower and take over your portal generators,” said Thunder.

“And to make sure you never return, at least by these means, I’ve scrambled Earth’s dimensional coordinates and erased them from your mainframe.” Arrow added.

Tirek stomped his front hooves and growled in indignation and fury. “YOU DARE TO INTERFERE WITH MY WILL?!! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO DEFY A GOD?!!”

The assembled heroes each had grins on their faces. Green Lantern and Blue Lantern’s rings flared with emerald and sapphire light. Hawk summoned two scimitars into her hands, and Dove held up her palms, creating two spheres of condensed mana. Firestorm ignited his fists, his flaming mane bellowing as he grinned at Tirek. Arrow turned off his wrist terminal and notched three explosive tipped arrows onto the drawstring.

“Like you said earlier, Tirek…WE’RE TITANS!” Thunder shouted.

“RAARRAARAAGGGGH!!!!” Tirek bellowed as he charged for them.

Thunder’s lightning aura wrapped around her body as her eyes turned pure white from the buildup her magical power. “GO!”

All seven heroes charged for Tirek. The giant centaur thrust his right fist, red energy coalesced around it as he struck the ground, missing the heroes but making the road blow up from the impact. Thunder came down with an electrified ax kick, right on top of Tirek’s head. The blow made the tyrant do a face plant and fumble forward before righting himself.

But before he could counter attack, the Lanterns swopped in and hit him with a double boxing glove construct, throwing an uppercut at him. The double punch sent Tirek flying back, but Dove was waiting for him. She spun out and created a giant sphere of mana that kicked up a whirlwind. When Tirek struck it he was tossed backwards like a rag doll, bouncing on the asphalt until he came within a few yards of the Boom Tube.

Tirek’s horns charged yet again, preparing to fire another Omega Beam. But Arrow rolled out and fired two of the three explosive arrows, both whizzing arrows struck the bull’s eye. Literally, the arrows hit Tirek right in the eyes and exploded, making the giant wail in pain as he clutched at his eyes.

Green Lantern and Blue Lantern appeared on either side of him. They shot out blue and green chain constructs that wrapped around his huge arms. Hawk summoned a huge lance and threw the red bladed weapon right at Tirek’s left horn, the Avatar of War then chased after her weapon. The lance found its home right in the middle of Tirek’s left horn, Hawk flipped around in midair and thrust out her right foot. She kicked the butt of her lance at high speed, forcing the rest of the weapon all the way through his horn.

She kicked off from the horn, leaving Tirek to wail again from the pain now radiating from his punctured horn. He charged up again, pouring more energy into his next Omega Beam. Tirek may not have been able to see, but that mattered little when you could just level everything around you.

Dove took aim with one of her mana spheres and shot it right for the twelve-inch hole in his horn. The sphere zipped inside, and within a few seconds, the azure sphere expanded to the size of a wrecking ball. The resulting expansion caused Tirek’s horn to snap off, sending shattered remnants of the horn scattering everywhere. The energy that built up for the Omega Beam had discharged, firing upwards into the air and dissipating in a matter of moments.

GL and BL nodded to each other and started pulling backwards. Tirek felt the jerking of his arms, the sudden pull as he was dragged towards the Boom Tube behind him. Her roared and growled, shouting out his defiance as he refused to be thrown back to his home world by children. The giant tyrant pulled his arms forward, flexing his muscles and struggling against the restraints. The construct chains began to show signs of cracking as the two Lanterns struggled to keep their hold on him.

Suddenly Firestorm appeared and slammed his right palm on the ground. Atomic rings formed and the road changed into slippery, slick sludge that made it hard for Tirek to get proper traction. The centaur attempted to gallop but his front hooves slipped and the tyrant lost his hoofing right then and there. The Lanterns put everything they had into one toss, flinging Tirek right at the Boom Tube.

Tirek flew towards the gateway, yelling out as he flailed his arms to try and grab hold of something. The giant centaur’s body got halfway into the warbling portal before his large hands gripped the edges of the portal, pulling tight against it as his damaged eyes tried to focus on his enemies. They focused just long enough to see all seven of them assemble just a yard away from him.

Thunder charged up her lightning and fired a bolt of magical lightning. Firestorm brought both his hands together and bellowed out an intense stream of plasma flames. Dove fired another wrecking ball sized mana sphere, while Hawk summoned her largest spear and chucked the blazing red weapon. Arrow drew one his more deadly arrows, he notched the high explosive tipped shaft and fired it. Green Lantern and Blue Lantern gathered all the light power they had and unleashed a dual beam of Hope and Willpower.

The seven attacks all converged on Tirek, hitting the conqueror with massive power and force, exploding out in a shower of colors. The last attack of the heroes made Tirek lose his grip and with that he let go. Tirek roared out as he fell further and further into the Boom Tube, he was so far down the tunnel of light he appeared as a speck. Arrow quickly flipped on his wrist terminal and deactivated the portal, shutting the door between Apokolips and Earth.

The seven heroes still stood, tense and ready for more, waiting for something to happen, but after several tense seconds of silence they all released a collective sigh of relief. They each looked to each other, grinning and chuckling, until…

“WE WON, YES!!!” Firestorm shouted.

“I think we need a vacation,” said Lucky from within the Matrix.

“Thank god,” said Dove, relieved.

“Okay, well, my tank’s empty, I’m ready to go to bed now.” Hawk commented.

Arrow was about to agree, but then he spotted a large crowd of civilians approaching them. “Um, my friends, we may not be out of the woods just yet.”

Green Lantern saw the civilians coming and cringed. “Yeah…Ah don’t think they may be happy with what we did to most of the city…”

“B-But we stopped the invasion, we beat Tirek! They wouldn’t be mad about that, right?” Blue Lantern asked.

“I don’t know, the world was already skittish about kids like us wielding superpowers and roaming around free to do what we want. I wouldn’t be surprised if they blamed us,” said Thunder.

The crowd grew in size as the civilians saw that the danger had passed. The seven heroes prepared themselves for the jeers and disapproving glares of the people for their actions in stopping Tirek. But what they didn’t expect were the growing noise of cheering. They listened closely and found that they were not mistaken, the crowd was cheering for them, loudly and with great joy.

Suddenly they were surrounded by a sea of people, all of them gathering close to the young heroes, offering the deepest thanks and congratulations for defeating Tirek and the Parademon army.

It was a strange feeling for some of them. Thunder never stuck around to here if people thanked her or cursed her for her work, Hawk and Dove were semi used to hearing cheers, although they had been considered dangerous minors. Green Lantern and Blue Lantern had always been looked to as heroes by various alien species, Earth saw them as the same but with a grain of salt.

Arrow was seen as a dangerous vigilante, prowling the streets with an arsenal of dangerous weapons and with a hood. Firestorm was the newest hero among them, but this was still something foreign to them.

All of them glanced to each other. Together they had stood against a great foe, and overwhelming odds. Together they ended an invasion that not a single one of them was strong enough alone to stop. And together they ended it. A strong sense of comradery was felt between them all, strangers though each of them were, this day, this night, they were a team.

Invasion Part 7: The Beginning of Something New

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Echo was setting in class, listening to the teacher lecture on history or something. It wasn’t that she was disinterested, she was an A-B student so she paid attention, if she had to pick a word for what she as feeling, she’d have to say she was restless.

Five months, it’s been five months since the Invasion, and everything looks like it’s getting back to normal.

Echo had done her best to help in the reconstruction of Canterlot City, appearing where she could to move debris and get some people trapped in rubble free. Hawk and Dove had aided her as well, Green Lantern and Blue Lantern were working in different parts of the world, offering a helping hand where they could. There was no shortage of where heroes were needed to help.

And despite all this, Echo couldn’t shake this cautionary feeling. Even though they were able to beat back Tirek and his army, there was no telling if this would happen again. Echo wasn’t a worrywart by any means, but the recent invasion had put things in perspective for her, and most likely other heroes around the world. This threat descended upon them and they weren’t ready. It was sheer luck that the seven of them banded together and ended the invasion, but they could not rely on luck the next time.

We need to a way to come together again…but…

“Echo…Hey Echo…Psst!”

The spikey haired girl snapped out of revere and glanced to the voice. She spotted Pixel next to her, signaling her that the teacher was looking in her direction.

“Miss Echo, would you please answer the question?”

“Looks like someone wasn’t paying attention~”

Echo looked towards the front row and saw the mocking smile of a girl with mint green hair and lavender eyes, she knew this girl as Power Puff. One of the more popular kids that Pixel and Icy used to hang around with, but thankfully they came to their senses and dropped them like a bad habit, unfortunately it didn’t stop them from still giving Echo and Api a hard time.

The girl in the gray hoody rose up from her seat and looked towards the teacher. “The answer is the Black Hawks. During World War II, the Black Hawks were instrumental in the defeat of the Savage Regime, led by their – at the time Fuhrer – Vandal Savage. That was the answer, right? What was the name of the rogue air squadron that helped end World War II?”

The teacher blinked a few times and shook her head, believing that Echo hadn’t been paying attention and instead had. “Yes…um, very good. Indeed it was the Black Hawks who helped end World War II and end the Savage Regime. Which then lead to the rise of the Fuhrer who took his place during the final days of the war, Adolf Hitler…”

The teacher went back to her lecture, but Power Puff gave Echo an annoyed glare before returning her gaze to the front. Echo shrugged off the glare, compared to the nastier things that have stared her down, Power Puff didn’t even rank. After class let out, Pixie and Echo walked down the hallway together, heading towards the cafeteria to meet up with Api.

“Thanks Pixie,” said Echo.

“No problem, but what’s got you all deep and thought? Still…um…thinking about what happened during the Invasion?” Pixel asked tentatively.

Echo sighed. “Yeah, I just…That was way too close Pixie. If we hadn’t been there to fight back, the Earth would’ve been destroyed.”

Pixel placed her hand on Echo shoulder comfortingly. “Hey, don’t sweat it. You and the other superheroes won! You should be happy!”

“I am, but what if it happens again? I just think we need to think ahead. Maybe…”

“Maybe…?” Pixel asked.

“I was thinking about asking them if they wanted to become a team.”

Pixel stopped dead in her tracks. “A team?! You want to team up with them?! That’s so cool!”

“SHHH!” Echo hissed. “It would help if something like this happens again, and who knows, there are probably other bad guys and super monsters here on Earth that we can’t fight alone. Becoming a team just sounds better, I guess. I just don’t know if they’ll go for it though.”

Pixel rubbed her chin. “Well…that is a problem. Some heroes in the comics only work alone, and hardly ever allow themselves help from others. But then again, some actually want to be part of a team. They were pretty good guys and girls, right?”

Echo chuckled, remembering the diverse personalities – Firestorm especially – of each of the heroes. Even though their powers differed, as well as their interests and goals, they all had one thing in common, to protect the Earth from evil.

“I’ve been a stupid.”

“Why do you say that?” Pixel asked.

“Because…never mind, I’ll tell you later.”

AFTER SCHOOL…

Echo had transformed into Thunder, informing her cousin and friends that she was going to do a quick patrol through the city and see if anyone needed help in the reconstruction. Really though, it was just a way for her to get some time to think. Crime had lulled since the Invasion, most likely the criminals were too busy trying to put the pieces of their own illegal businesses back together, and, as much as Echo didn’t think it was possible, were with their families as well.

The Champion of Magic sat on the edge of a building, looking down at the city below. She then turned her gaze towards the horizon, thinking of the world. Just then she sensed someone approaching. She looked up and saw the familiar emerald glow of the Green Lantern, hovering down towards her.

“Heya Thunder,” said GL.

“Green Lantern, what’s wrong? Is there an emergency somewhere?” Thunder asked.

“Actually, Ah was asked to find ya. Arrow wants us to meet near the outskirts of town. Blue’s already getting Hawk and Dove, and Ah think Arrow already got in touch with Firestorm.”

Thunder’s eyebrow rose in curiosity. “Did Arrow give a reason why?”

“Somethin’ about a proposal, but he needed all of us to get together and talk.”

Thunder looked back out towards the city. She had nothing else to do, and if it got late, she could always take her homework to the Rock of Eternity and do it there. A magic fortress hidden in a pocket dimension without time had its benefits.

With a nod, Thunder rose up to meet Green Lantern. The two heroes then flew through the sky, with the Emerald Knight leading the way. It didn’t take long before the two of them were able to find the others. Blue Lantern was jumping up and down, waving Thunder and Green Lantern down. Standing next to each other was Hawk and Dove, Dove waved her greeting to Thunder while Hawk just nodded towards her. Firestorm was there as well, sitting on a rock that he had fashioned into an armchair. When the heroes assembled they gathered in a circle to talk.

“Nice seeing you guys again, but does anyone have a clue as to why Arrow called us out to the middle of nowhere?” Firestorm asked.

“He wouldn’t say. All he said was he’d meet us here,” said Blue Lantern.

“And meet you I would.” The six heroes all jumped at the sudden additional voice. Arrow appeared from the tree line, no bow or quiver, but he did have a satchel slung over his shoulder. “I’m glad you all made it.”

“Jeez, wear a bell or something if you’re going to sneak up on us like that,” said Hawk.

Arrow chuckled. “Sorry, but I had to show myself before you decided to leave. First of all I want to show you something. Take these.”

Arrow reached into his bag and handed each of them a round, yellow device and fishing one out for himself as well. The faceplate was black, but had a yellow T in the center of it.

“Now, flip open the screen, press the button that says ‘Transport’ and speak your name. Allow me to demonstrate.” Arrow flipped open the faceplate, revealing a LCD screen displaying various functions of the device. He pressed the button labeled “transport” and spoke to the device. “Voice recognition: Arrow. Confirm.”

{Recognize: Arrow. T0-7.}

Suddenly Arrow was enveloped in light and instantly vanished. The others gawked at the sight, but Dove and Thunder didn’t sense his life was terminated. The others seemed a little reluctant to try that, if he was alive and teleported somewhere, they didn’t know what waited for them on the other side. Thunder decided to take a leap of faith, she flipped open her device and pressed the button.

“Voice recognition: Thunder. Confirm.”

{Recognize: Thunder. T0-1.}

Thunder suddenly found herself wrapped in light, shutting her eyes for a moment as she physically felt herself be teleported from where she stood.

UNKNOWN LOCATION…

Thunder opened her eyes and suddenly found herself in a large hollow opening with oscillating rings. The rings slowly stopped spinning as she exited the hollow, as she walked Thunder spotted Arrow standing in the middle of an empty area with a large rotunda-like light shining down on the clear space.

“I am glad someone else tried, I didn’t think they’d go for it if someone else didn’t try it.”

“Where are we?” Thunder asked.

“A moment, I want to tell everyone.”

Thunder heard the machine whir to life again, but when she turned she noticed that there were seven hollows, not just the one.

{Recognize: Green Lantern. T0-2.}

{Recognize: Blue Lantern. T0-3.}

{Recognize: Firestorm. T0-4.}

{Recognize: Hawk. T0-5.}

{Recognize: Dove. T0-6.}

The oscillating hollows all glowed and whirred to life, suddenly bodies began to materialize within them. One by one the forms of their fellow heroes appeared within the hollows, and one after the other they walked out. Each of them were mesmerized by the sight of the interior as they continued to where Thunder and Arrow were standing.

“What is this place?” Blue Lantern asked.

Arrow flipped on his wrist terminal and pressed a few buttons. A keyboard on a stand rose from the middle of the floor and stopped when it came up about midway to Arrow’s chest. At the same time giant shutters rolled up, making the others stair dead ahead.

The shutters continued to roll up higher and higher until they revealed a vast landscape. Many of them quickly made their way to the windows and looked outside. Down below was a valley, with lush green trees and a river a few miles in the distance. Around them were tall mountains, and the building itself sat just high enough to view over the peaks into the horizon. They looked down and saw that the building was indeed a tower, and from the looks of it, shaped like a T.

“Welcome to our base of operations,” said Arrow.

“‘Base of operations’, a base for what?” Hawk asked.

“The Invasion five months ago was a wakeup call for the world. Though there are heroes in the world, and some fairly young like us, we aren’t united. If we were, and banded together, the Invasion might’ve been less damaging than what it was. The fact that we were able to pull together and defeat Tirek was no small feat, and I think we should be an example to the other heroes. Take a look.”

Arrow typed a few keys on the panel and suddenly hard light windows appeared around them, displaying holographic images of news reports and everything else going on around the world. The others gathered back to Arrow as they watched each of the windows, looking upon each of them in wonder. Some of them displayed the heroes during the battle in Canterlot City, with headlines that read “Mysterious Team of Teenage Heroes” and “Saviors of Canterlot City”. Others read “Who Are They?” and “Are they Dangerous?”

“The world knows what we did, and we must show that we still stand to protect them. Not just as individuals, but as a team.” Arrow continued.

“A team, huh? Now that sounds like fun,” said Firestorm.

Green Lantern crossed his arms. “Ah don’t know, being a team is a bit of a stretch ain’t it? Sure we worked together pretty well and sent Tirek packin’, but that don’t necessarily mean we can work together like that all the time.”

“I’ll have to agree with the jolly green giant over here,” said Hawk. “Dove and I have been pretty much working as a dynamic duo for over a year now, no need to mess up the team chemistry.”

“I don’t know Hawk, being part of a team sounds good. I mean, there’s no way we could’ve beaten all those Parademons and Tirek on our own. And if something like this pops up again, we’ll need to get together pretty quick,” said Dove.

“Yeah, plus, it felt great being part of a team! It was like we were a part of something bigger! I know I’m a part of a Corps, and so are you GL, but they’re worlds away, if we team up like this, we can really do some good,” said BL.

Hawk and Green Lantern mulled over their decision. Their partners had a point, and true enough, they all seemed to work together pretty well. The two then looked to Thunder who had remained quiet during this whole conversation.

“What do you think Thunder?” GL asked.

Thunder was thinking hard. This is what she’d hoped for, the others to see that they needed to become a team to protect the Earth. But could she convince them? She had to try.

“For a long time now, ever since I became Magic’s Champion, I’ve done my best to protect the world against magical threats. And, I guess, in a selfish way, I thought that’s all I was responsible for. I’ve battled demons, crazed would-be sorcerers, or people who find something old and magical and try to use it. And I just left other kinds of threats like criminals, thefts, and the like to other heroes like Hawk, Dove, and Arrow, or worldwide emergencies to Green Lantern and Blue Lantern.”

“But I realized, after that night, that I can’t afford to keep thinking that I’m only responsible for the magical threats. As a hero, I’m responsible for stopping all kinds of threats, and protecting everyone from them. That’s why, I think the formation of a team is the best thing for us to do. The seven of us together a stronger united, and I don’t doubt there’s anything we can’t face together. But this this has to be unanimous or else it won’t work.”

The six glanced to each other as if having a silent conversation. After a few moments of pondering they all grinned widely and shook their heads.

“Well, Ah’m convinced then. Let’s team up,” said GL.

“Not my usual style, but you guys are alright. And I think I know who the leader should be, and I think we all know who,” said Hawk as she looked to the others.

Suddenly Thunder found six pairs of eyes staring right at her, making the Champion of Magic stiffen. “Y-Y-You guys want ME to be the leader?!”

Dove chuckled. “Why not? You came up with the plan to contain the Parademons.”

“You also calmed us down and got us to pull together after Tirek mopped the floor with us during the first fight,” said Blue Lantern.

“And you’re pretty fearless, and not afraid to admit that you were wrong about me being someone else,” said Firestorm.

“I’d say it’s unanimous. What do you say, Thunder?” Arrow asked.

Thunder couldn’t believe this, not only did they agree to become a team, but they wanted Thunder as their leader. She’d be lying if the prospect didn’t make her giddy inside, but there was a problem, a big one that she knew would make them change their minds about wanting her as a leader. And she knew that simply telling them would not be enough.

“Thanks, but I can’t.” Shocked expressions appeared all around. “It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just I don’t think you’d be comfortable following my lead or listening to someone like me.”

“Someone like you?” Firestorm asked.

Thunder stood back from the group and sighed heavily. “I’ll show you who I really am…SHAZAM!!!”

A lightning bolt shot down from the ceiling and struck Thunder, enveloping her in white smoke. The others let out gasps and feared that the super heroine might’ve vaporized herself. But when the smoke cleared, their shocked expressions returned again. Standing where Thunder once was, was a ten-year-old girl. With purple and pink spikey hair, a gray hoody, and black shorts; her light-purple eyes made contact with each of the heroes as she sighed yet again.

“This…This is the real me…my name is Echo, and I’m ten. My powers give me the ability to shift into a form that represents my full potential, and that form happens to be me a lot older and stronger than what I am now. So…now you know why I can’t be the leader, you guys wouldn’t want to take orders from a kid.”

The other heroes looked to each other yet again, this was a startling revelation. Although most of them were young, they had no idea that they were actually fighting side by side with a child. Given the way she acted during the fighting, they pegged her for someone older.

“Actually, Echo, the fact that you did this shows me that you are definitely the one who needs to be our leader,” said Dove as she walked over to the young girl.

“What?!”

Hawk stood behind her and smirked at Echo. “The best kind of leader is one who’s honest and knows that they’re not ready, but at the same time is still willing to do so for the good of the team. It took some real guts to show your secret identity to us, and you’ve shown that you’re mature for your age.”

Echo blushed a little. “That may have something to do with the Wisdom of Solomon…”

“Oh, I think you’re being modest, considering how often I’ve seen you at my friend’s farm.”

“Friend’s farm?” Green Lantern whispered.

Dove looked up to Hawk and the two nodded. Suddenly their bodies were enveloped in azure and crimson mana that took the forms of a hawk and dove respectively. When the light faded, they revealed the true identity of the superhero duo. Starburst, wearing an orange shirt and jeans, and Anthea, wearing a pair of denim shorts and a pink tank top, and both gave the surprised Echo a grin.

“STAR?! ANNIE?!” Echo exclaimed.

“Yep, it’s us.” Star turned around and faced the others, with Annie following suit. “We’re friends of Echo, I’m Starburst.”

“Well, you know me as Dove, but my real name’s Anthea. But I’d prefer Annie,” said Annie with her usual cheerful disposition.

Firestorm, for some reason, was staring at both girls slack jawed; making the rest of the heroes, and three girls, a little confused. They didn’t think it was that shocking of a thing to see, maybe Echo being Thunder, but Star and Annie didn’t think it was too strange for older girls like them to be superheroes.

Firestorm looked towards his left and after staring at empty space for about a minute he nodded his head in agreement to something or someone. His body was engulfed in flames and the atomic rings formed around it. Within seconds his form split in two and the flames died out. Now it was Star and Annie’s turn to stare slack jawed, even Echo couldn’t help it.

“LUCKY?!” Annie and Star shouted.

“HOT HEAD?!” Echo shouted as well.

Hot Head rubbed the back of his head and smiled at the young girl. “S’up Echo…don’t tell your cousin about this, alright?”

Echo nodded.

“And dude, did you know that Annie was Dove?!” Hot Head asked.

“Yeah…kinda did, her and Starburst.” Lucky confessed.

“What the heck Bro, you could’ve told me?! Not like I would’ve blabbed!”

“Don’t blame him Hot Head, I asked Lucky to keep Star’s and mine secret identities, well, secret. I didn’t want to worry you or Amber…” Annie spoke up, trying to take some of the heat off of Lucky.

At that moment a flash of blue and green light caught the attention of the others. When they turned to look towards the Lanterns, they saw not the two intergalactic law enforcers but two friends. Del was wearing an orange shirt, with a brown unbuttoned vest, and weathered jean pants. His red bandanna was securely fastened around his neck, his blue eyes and freckled face smirked at the two older girls as he crossed his large arms in front of his broad chest.

Next to him was Candy, wearing a pair of cream colored shorts and a powder blue t-shirt. Her bright pink with blue striped hair bounced a little as she gave her friends her usual happy-go-lucky smile.

“Yeah, it’s us too,” said Del.

Starburst face palmed herself. “You’ve got to be kidding me, you two are the Green and Blue Lanterns?!”

“Wait a minute, that little incident at Del’s farm a year ago, was that…?” Annie asked cautiously.

“Yep, that’s the day two aliens duked it out on Del’s farm and one of them gave him the Green Lantern ring. That summer he was gone was when he was away for basic training, and those three days I was out of town when he was gone was because I was chosen by the Blue Lanterns. That way I could help Del with protecting the Earth and Sector 2814.”

It was uncanny and a bit ironic that their circle of friends were all superheroes, and yet not a one suspected the other; well, except for Lucky, but Annie and Star told him up front. Now that only left one more, all eyes shifted to the hooded archer, Arrow. He chuckled lightly, finding the coincidence of each of them being friends and heroes amusing in a way.

But alas, it didn’t do him any good to keep his identity secret when the others trusted each other enough with theirs and him as well. Arrow drew back his hood and removed the black mask that covered his eyes and most his cheekbones.

“My name’s Fletcher, and Golden Delicious and I have a mutual friend.”

“‘Mutual friend’?” Del mouthed.

Fletcher flipped open his device and pressed a button. “You can come now, I believe we’re in good company.”

Suddenly one of the hollows whirred to life once again and the computerized voice called out another member of their group.

{Recognize: Crème de la Crème. B0-1.}

The light died down from the hollow and a tall woman came walking out, she wore a violet, wine tinted business suit, and a light-blue shirt underneath the jacket. Her hair was colored lavender and wisteria, with crystal blue eyes that were full of free spirited joy and belayed a sense of maturity. Crème spotted Fletcher and walked over to him excitedly, but her pace quickened when she noticed another familiar face among them.

“DEL?!” Crème called out.

The farmer was still in slight shock that Crème, his Matropolis friend, was in on this whole superhero business. She came up to the large boy and hugged him, much to the slight chagrin of Starburst, who crossed her arms in front of her chest and groaned slightly. Candy wavered a bit in her smile, seeing Del embraced so tightly by the slightly older and notably wealthier girl. Del was still a little stunned to see Crème, but he returned the hug nonetheless.

“I can’t believe you’re here! Why are you here?” Crème asked, genuinely curious.

“Well, Ah’m Green Lantern.” Del brought up his ring hand and showed Crème the emerald ring that adorned his hand. “That’s why Ah’ve been kinda busy lately and haven’t come to visit ya much up in Matropolis.”

Crème separated from Del and gave him a gentle smile. “Don’t worry, I know being a superhero takes a lot of your time. Oh, Starburst, you’re here too, and Annie?”
Starburst sighed with slight indignation, but Annie elbowed the smaller girl, urging her to be nice. “Yeah…we’re here too.”

“And…who’s that little girl behind you?” Crème asked.

Both Annie and Star looked behind them, remembering that Echo was there. They parted a little and allowed Echo to walk forward to meet Crème. The tall woman bent down to a crouch to meet Echo at eye level.

Echo’s usual style was watching quietly and analyzing a person, she was often mistaken for being shy or being overly critical of others because of this habit, but it served her more often than not. And it helped her to get an idea of a person’s character, and from what she saw, Crème was nice person.

“Hello, my name’s Echo…or, um, my other name is Thunder.”

Crème tilted her head to the side like a confused dog.

“She’s that one that flies around and shoots lightning.” Star clarified.

The news was just as shocking to her as it was to them as Crème’s eyes widened. “Wow! You use magic and stuff like that, right?”

“Yeah,” said Echo.

Crème lightly ruffled Echo’s hair playfully and rose back up to her full height. “Looks like you got to meet my friends after all, huh Fletcher?”

“Um, not seem rude, but why are you here?” Candy asked.

“She’s here because her company built all this.” Fletcher answered.

“No way,” said Hot Head.

“Way, but honestly, most of this is over my head. Fletcher was the one who directed the workers and engineers in the tower’s construction; I just ran the numbers and did some shadow financing to hide where the money was going towards. Fancy Industries has contracts in R&D with the military, but my Father was trying to put it towards more constructive uses. And what’s more constructive than helping a band of superheroes have a cool base,” said Crème.

“So, the teleporters, was some form of the Boom Tubes?” Lucky asked.

“Not exactly, I copied the data from Tirek’s mainframe on instant transmission teleportation. These use a form of zeta wave energy to beam us from one location and to another, via one of the many satellites Fancy Industries has floating around the world. Through them, we can hack into any system on Earth, as well as teleport to that location with exact coordinates. So it’s more like Zeta Beaming than anything.”

Lucky rubbed his chin and smirked at Fletcher. “Impressive, very impressive.”

Crème spoke up again. “I know I may not have superpowers or special skills like most of you here, but I live on this planet too, and I want to protect it from bad things and bad people. So even if it’s just financially, I want to contribute to you guys in some way.”

The others looked to each other, Star looked mildly impressed by Crème’s conviction to their cause. Despite her not having powers or fighting skills, she wasn’t about to stand idly by and not do something.

“Won’t your company be suspicious about how much money you’re sinking into this place?” Star asked.

“Nope, as far as they know, this place doesn’t exist. I have a knack when it comes to math and money. Plus, no one can see where this place is, thanks to Fletcher and the R&D department, the entire tower is cloaked from surveillance.”

“Well then, everyone, now that we know each other, and are happy with our team and accommodations, I think that only leaves one loose end. Echo?” Fletcher asked, putting the young girl on the spot.

Echo had all eyes on her again, she still didn’t think she was up to this, leading a team of older heroes. She was still a kid and had much to learn, not just about each of her friends but herself as well. But Starburst believed in her, and so did the others it seemed. The ten-year-old stepped forward, looking each of her teammates in the eyes before speaking.

“I have a lot to learn, and I still have some doubts about being the leader of this team. But…so long as you guys are willing to believe in me, and trust in me, then I promise, as your leader, I’ll do my best to lead us through whatever comes our way! But a leader is only as good as those she surrounds herself with, so…help me help you.”

Echo awaited the others’ remarks, but she was only met with kind, reassuring smiles and clasps on the shoulder from Starburst. “I think we’re all in good hands, so what should our name be? Since we’re a team we should have a name to go by.”

“I thought it obvious,” said Fletcher, “Echo gave us our name that night five months ago.”

He held up the device that had the yellow T on it. Echo immediately remembered what she said that night. “Titans.”

“And this is Titan’s Tower, Ah like it,” said Del.

“The Teen Titans…yep, I definitely like that!” Candy agreed.

Today marked the beginning of a new dawn for the world, and for these nine assembled youngsters. Putting aside their differences and working together as comrades and friends to defend the Earth and its people against threats great and small, otherworldly and global. From this day forward, the world would know their name. They were the Teen Titans.

LOCATION UNKNOWN, SOME TIME LATER…

Within a dark room, a single light shined down on a round table. Monitors that displayed various readouts on the world shone with just enough brightness that it didn’t illuminate the whole room.

On the table were files. Each one marked with a name, “Thunder”, “Firestorm”, “Hawk”, “Dove”, “Arrow”, “Green Lantern”, and “Blue Lantern”. All of them marked with a big red CLASSIFIED stamp on them.

“We’ve confirmed that these seven were responsible for ending the Invasion incident. And…from what intelligence gathers, these seven have formed a team. Within the recent three weeks they’ve been at the scene of different crimes and disasters. They’re working as a unit, and it shows in their teamwork.”

“Not to criticize Ma’am, but, young as they are, they have saved the world. I don’t see the harm in superheroes teaming up to stop major crimes and disasters.”

“The problem is that before, these seven and others like them were independent agents. But now that they have unified and are out in the open performing heroic deeds, the higher ups in the Pentagon and White House are growing a little disconcerted that this might start a trend among other young heroes. Though their actions show they are helping us, they are still and foremost, vigilantes. They are unsupervised minors wielding dangerous powers that can level a city, on their own, and together. Well, I don’t need to tell you that that makes the boys up in Washington a little edgy.”

“What is it that you wish for me to do, Ma’am?”

“It’s not what you’re going to do, it’s what you’re going to become. The government has given CADMUS authorization to form a team of our own. You, along with six others, will form a strike force that will serve two purposes. One: You will serve and protect the people, but you will follow government protocol and orders when dispatched. Two: To serve as a countermeasure, should these…Titans…become a threat to the safety of the American people and the world. Do you think you can handle that, Captain Valiant Heart?”

A young man of twenty-five leaned into the light. His hair was two parts royal blue and yellow-gold. His eyes were turquoise blue, as he narrowed them in contemplation. After a moment of silence Valiant Heart gave his response.

“Whatever you need me to do. Who’s on my team?” Valiant Heart asked.

A lightly tanned arm collected the files and stacked them to the side. Those files were soon replaced by files with different names. Names such as “Star Sapphire”, “Fear Lantern”, “Dr. Fate”, “Project Kr”, “Artemis”, and “Brick”.

“We have a few candidates.”

MLDC Next Generation: Teen Titans

by Michael_Ravencroft

Secret Origins Part 1: An Echo of Thunder

Secret Origins Part 2: Wings of War, Unseen Peace

Secret Origins Part 3: A Gift of Fire

Secret Origins Part 4: "Beware my power...!"

Secret Origins Part 5: "Smile, all will be well, silly!"

Secret Origins Part 6: Let loose the Arrow

Invasion Part 1: Calm Before The Storm

Invasion Part 2: Activation

Invasion Part 3: The Battle Begins

Invasion Part 4: To WAR!

Invasion Part 5: Lord Tirek

Invasion Part 6: TITANS, GO!

Invasion Part 7: The Beginning of Something New