After his death in a car accident, James Jackson finds himself transformed into Hunter Zolomon, alias Zoom, and sets out to eradicate crime and corruption in Baltimare by any means necessary, even if it means taking a life.
Baltimare. One of the top five most dangerous cities in Equestria. Some ponies could hardly walk home without getting themselves mugged, robbed, or attacked in some other way. Only a handful of cops and prison guards, including Detective Twilight Sparkle and her boyfriend and partner, Spike, aren't in the pocket of some crime lord or another, a number that seems to be shrinking by the month. All in all, the city was rotting.
Then, out of nowhere, criminals start dropping dead, gaping holes in their chest, the cause either being some kind of electrical surge as though from a lightning bolt or a high-velocity impact. Some victims even had their hearts crushed like paper. Followed by common crooks were dirty cops and prison guards, then entire crime families. All anyone could make of the suspect was either "dark specter" or "black demonic creature from Tartarus." Neither of these were even remotely close to the truth.
In another time, another world, James Jackson was an ordinary man with a strong sense of justice, and was particularly fond of the methods used by the comic book vigilante known as the Red Hood. Never did he think that he'd get a chance to use those tactics, but when James meets his unfortunate end after his car hits a patch of black ice and crashes into an electrical pole, he is given that chance by the Speed Force itself, and is reborn as the infamous Hunter Zolomon.
Let the criminals of Baltimare beware: Zoom is coming...
Two women, one stumbling slightly, the other walking with a certain degree of grace as they walked down the streets of Baltimare from a local bar.
“Vinyl, you know that much alcohol in someone’s system can kill, yes?” The more graceful of the two spoke up, a light accent permeating her speech. She brushed a few stray brunette bangs from her grey forehead. The black dress clung to her like a second skin.
“T-Tavee, y-you knouu I like livinnh on tha edge…” The inebriated woman giggled out, looking at her companion through her vibrant-purple glasses. She ran an ivory hand through locks of electric blue hair, toying lightly with a prominent horn. Her dress was much like her body, white with hints of blue and purple. Not a dress, but jacket and pants. A certain degree of infemininity could be gleaned.
“I think a big part of that is ‘living’.”
“Tavi”, or Octavia as her proper name was, chuckled as she looked to the sky. Luna’s moon had been raised while the two women were in a club. A few scattered clouds, light breeze, not too chilly. A good night.
“Hey, Tavi, you knou thish guy followinh ussh?”
Octavia cast a quick glance behind her. A man behind the two was toying with a cigarette. His charcoal skin was nigh-indistinguishable from his black jacket. The jacket’s hood was upon his head, but a few strands of cyanish hair stuck out beyond its placement.
Something about the man unsettled Octavia. Perhaps it was merely a sense of paranoia on her part, but Octavia nonetheless grabbed Vinyl’s hand and increased pace. She made an effort not to walk too fast, but nerves fought with her critical thought.
Everything’s fine. Everything’s fine, Octavia.
Glancing over her shoulder again, Octavia saw that the man was keeping up with them, and that he had four friends joining him in the chase.
Everything’s not fine.
“Tavi, was goin’ non,” slurred Vinyl in both drunkenness and confusion as Octavia sped up to a noticeable degree.
“Vinyl, don’t panic, but I think we’re being followed.” Octavia noted the panic seeping into her voice. Octavia heard footfalls behind her. She thought things like this were a myth, that they only happened in movies. Right?
Perhaps against her better judgement, Octavia pulled Vinyl into a dark alleyway, following it to a hypothetical safety. Four more men blocked their path.
“Ladies!”
Octavia turned. The charcoal man stood surrounded by his fellows. Octavia noticed two feathered wings stretching themselves out from behind his back. A pegasus?
Octavia tightened her grip on Vinyl’s hand, “I-I don’t want any trouble. So, if y-you could just-”
The man smiled, “Sweetie, I don’t want any trouble. I mean, I mean, boys, have I ever gone out seeking trouble before?”
The men murmured various negations, aside from a single crimson individual, “I mean, not unless they try anything. Then you do somethin’.”
Vinyl snickered, the pegasus put a hand to his temple, “Garble, what have we told you about facade?”
Garble coughed and made an exaggerated scowl, “I get you, Thunderlane.”
The pegasus made a noise of disbelief, “And what did I say about anonym-Fine, whatever, I’ll deal with you later.”
“Ladies,” Thunderlane forced a smile, “it’s like they said. I’m not unreasonable, I’m not violent. I’m just in a bad place in life.”
Octavia tightened her grip on Vinyl’s hand. Vinyl chuckled drunkenly, “Well, that’s not good.”
Thunderlane clapped his hands together, “See? She gets it! I’d like to get out of this bad place, but poverty is a pretty…constricting force. So, since you two seem so nice, I’m assuming that you’d want to help us out. A donation, perhaps?”
“D-donation?” Octavia recoiled slightly.
“Give us your money!” Garble shouted out. A smack sent him into silence.
“As my…” Thunderland cast Garble a look, “partner… said, we need you to hand over all of your bits right now- YAAHH!” What exactly made Thunderlane yelp was made evident to everyone present. Out of seemingly nowhere, a creature wearing what appeared to be a black suit of some kind with white lightning bolt design here and there. The emblem on its chest resembled a lightning bolt of some kind. Its face was concealed by a horrifying mask, and its gloves ended in razor-sharp talons. Blue electricity danced all over its body as it approached.
”Sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear you,” the creature said, his voice dark and menacing. ”I’m afraid I can’t allow you to harm these ladies. In fact, I’m gonna see to it that you never harm anyone ever again.”
Thunderlane chuckled, a slight shakiness to his voice, “Who and what the hell are you?”
”I have many names, like The Black Flash, for instance. But, my personal favorite, and the one I go by, is Zoom.”
Thunderlane and the rest of his gang chuckled, obviously amused by Zoom’s name. “Well, why don’t you just turn around and walk away. Go on, get the buck out of here,” said one of Thunderlane’s crew, a burly looking Earth Pony stallion.
Zoom gave a soft chuckle. ”How about I run instead?” the black-clad creature said. Next thing anyone knew, Zoom was directly in front of the stallion who’d just spoke, his whole arm impaling the stallion, who could only gasp from both shock and a lack of air before Zoom pulled his arm out, allowing the stallion’s corpse to hit the ground.
“What the hell are you idiots waiting for?! Kill the freak!” yelled Thunderlane with a certain panic in his voice.
Zoom chuckled, his smirk hidden by his mask. ”You may try,” he said.
Garble pulled a knife, pulling his arm back. It was as though the world had been slowed down to only a fourth of its natural speed for Zoom, who ducked underneath Garble’s thrust. He grabbed the dragon from underneath, pulling him into a choke-hold as the knife fell from Garble’s hand.
“Lemme go!” choked the dragon.
”Certainly,” said Zoom, before snapping the dragon’s neck as though it were a twig. A split-second later, Zoom phase-stabbed one of the dragon’s comrades, a unicorn stallion by the look of him, who stumbled into Thunderlane and tripped him up, causing him to smash his nose on the side of the wall, breaking it.
Octavia stared in shock. Vinyl was beginning to sober, if only by a margin, “Tavii, whass happenin’? Who’sss that?”
Octavia grabbed Vinyl’s hand and began to step back, something that Zoom couldn’t help but notice.
”Good thinking, toots! Get out of here, I’ve got-OOF!” said Zoom, before a thug hit him in the back of the head with a wooden baseball bat. The demonic being fell to his knees, coughing, “Y-you know, don’t hit the prisoner in the head. Gets them all dizzy, can’t feel anything else…”
The bat swung towards his head again, but a black-clad arm shot out and grabbed it in midair. Zoom pulled the bat from the Diamond Dog’s hand and began to viciously beat him so fast his actions merely looked like a blur, and continued beating the Diamond Dog even after he’d stopped moving.
Thunderlane picked himself up from the ground, the pain from his nose making his eyes tear up. He saw the two women staring in shock. Thunderlane growled, “You bitch!”
He ran at Octavia, who started to run off. Thunderlane tried to grab at her, but caught the hood of Vinyl’s jacket instead.
“Vinyl!” Octavia cried out.
“Freak! Get off Rover now, or this little one gets it!” Thunderlane pulled Vinyl into a choke hold, placing a knife at her throat.
Zoom stood up and tossed aside the remains of the baseball bat. ”Not entirely sure that’s gonna help him now,” he said moving aside to reveal the bloodied mess that was once a Diamond Dog.
“You animal!” roared Thunderlane in anger and pain.
“You’re one to talk, trying to mug people on the streets like you do,” said Zoom, sounding almost disappointed as he slowly approached. ” And those so-called cops who are supposed to uphold the law are no better. I’ve been in town long enough to know how they opperate. To them, the oath they swore to uphold the law is nothing more than a joke, all they care about is money and protection, rather than the greater good. This city doesn’t need scum like you or the cops.”
“What the hell do you mean?!” Thunderlane yelled as he pressed the knife harder against Vinyl’s throat, a thin line of red beginning to trail down.
“You don’t stand for anything…” Zoom said as he continued to walk closer, “You’re like little animals just surviving. You aren’t living!”
“Don’t get any closer! I’ll kill her, I swear to God!” Thunderlane cried out.
”Swear to me!” snarled Zoom. "You see, unlike you, I stand for something. I believe in something. I believe that this city needs someone who’s willing to take a life in order to ensure true peace and justice. That this city needs a true hero, one who can’t be bought, bullied, or negotiated with.”
Faster than a blink of an eye, Zoom moved in behind Thunderlane , phased his hand into the pegasus’ chest and crushed his heart, causing the pegasus to scream before he fell to the ground, dead.
”Someone like me.”
With Thunderlane dead, Zoom turned his attention to the victims of his victims. Octavia was holding a hand tightly to Vinyl’s neck, trying in vain to stop the river-like flow of blood. The knife that Thunderlane used to keep Vinyl prisoner was lying on the ground beside her.
“Move over, let me see what I can-,” Zoom said in a normal sounding male voice, before he was cut off by Octavia violently shaking her head, cradling Vinyl in her arms.
“Look, lady- well, you are a lady, right? Not some sort of weird alien?” Zoom said as he pointed to her face, “I mean, we don’t really have vibrant purple eyes and grey skin where I come from.”
Octavia held Vinyl closer to her as Zoom heaved a sigh. “Look, lady, if I wanted to hurt you two, you’d be dead where you stand. Now, let me have a look.”
Reluctantly, Octavia moved aside as Zoom took a look at Vinyl’s injuries. He let out a hiss as he examined the damage.
“Well, that’s not good,” muttered Zoom.
“What do you mean?” Octavia asked, a hint of panic in her voice, “Is it fatal?”
“Not by the looks of it, but… her vocal chords seem to be severely damaged. She wasn’t using her voice for her career, or anything along those lines, was she?”
Octavia shook her head violently as tears ran down her face.
“Well, that’s good to hear,” said Zoom. The very next second, police siren rang out, growing louder with each passing second. “That’s my cue to exit. See you around, toots.”
With a flash of blue lightning, Zoom was gone, leaving Octavia alone with her bleeding friend and the bodies of their attackers.
…
As he raced down the streets of Baltimare, Zoom took a deep breath. He could feel the air. Feel that wind on his face. He could feel the ground, his feet lifting him up and pushing him forward.
And the lightning.
Zoom could feel the lightning. He could feel its power. Its electricity pumping through his veins, crackling through him, traveling to every nerve in his body, like a powerful shock. He wasn’t himself anymore, his accident had seen to that. He was part of something greater, part of the Speed Force. And it was all his.
Zoom let out an exhilarated whoop as he broke the sound barrier, causing several cars to veer off the road and the windows of multiple builds to shatter from his sonic boom.
Ducking into an alley on the other side of town, Zoom took of his mask, revealing himself to be a human man with pale skin, short dirty blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. The unmasked Zoom laughed again.
A young unicorn mare with a lavender coat, and a navy blue mane and tail, both of which had a magenta highlight, wearing a black blouse, blue jeans, and black heeled boots heaved a sigh as she attempted to block out the chatter of the 42nd Precinct of the Baltimare Police Department while she worked on some paperwork. Said chatter including the sound of SWAT beating the shit out of a homeless junkie until he was a bloody mess and continuing past that, officers threatening and intimidating minor offenders and innocents alike, and the general cheers of the onlookers.
When Detective Twilight Sparkle, head of the Major Crimes Unit, joined the BPD, she had of course heard the rumors about the supposed police brutality, dirty dealings, and overall corruption that ran deeply into the hierarchy of the Baltimare Police Department, perhaps up to Commissioner Tough Talk himself. Both her parents, older brother, and mentor, Princess Celestia herself, had suggested almost to the point of begging that she continue her studies. All too soon, she discovered that the rumors were true. Nearly all the cops on the force were on the take from some crime lord or another, and the number of cops that weren’t were shrinking at a rapid pace, either having given in, resigned after some most likely fabricated dirty secret of theirs came to light, or were killed in an “accident.” Thankfully, no one had offered Twilight a cut on the take, but some of the cops did give her funny looks, as though trying to figure out what her price was.
Thankfully, she had some manner of threat deterrent in the form of her partner and boyfriend.
“Hey, babe, shift’s nearly over,” said Spike Drakon, a burly purple and green dragon. He wore a black shirt covered by a grey overcoat, a matching pair of khakis, a grey fedora, and black dress shoes.
“Uh-huh,” said Twilight, not looking up from her paperwork.
Spike immediately picked up that something was wrong. “Twi, are you alright? No one threatened you, did they?” he asked.
“Huh? Oh, no, Spike, I’m just tired is all.”
“Uh-huh…” said Spike as he looked over his shoulder. “Well I’ll be damned… look who it is.”
“Who?” asked Twilight, looking up from her paperwork.
Making his way through the abruptly silent bullpen was a being Twilight immediately recognized as a human, one of many living amongst ponies and other creatures that called Equestria home. He had short dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and wore a black leather overcoat, a white shirt, blue jeans with a black leather belt, black shoes, and what appeared to be a black ring of some kind on his right ring finger. Everyone in the room stared him with shock, awe, and in some cases, what Twilight recognized as fear. The room remained silent enough to hear a pin drop until the human had entered the CSI Labs, before the noise started picking up again.
“Who was that?” asked Twilight, amazed by everyone’s reaction to the human.
“That was the new CSI probie that started about a few weeks ago. Hunter Zolomon. Although, if what I’ve heard about him is true, we may one day be calling him Commissioner Zolomon,” said Spike.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? What have you heard about him?” asked Twilight.
“Word is, Blueblood wanted him on his payroll, so a group of cops who work for him got instructions to offer him a taste, or else shove it down his throat. Zolomon refused, so they attacked him. People heard sounds of a scuffle, and when they get there, Zolomon’s standing over the beaten and broken forms of Blueblood’s guys, telling them that he couldn’t be bought, and that before they threw a punch to make sure they knew they knew they could win. Then he just went back to his lab like it was nothing,” explained Spike.
“Ah, so that’s Kickass, PhD,” said Twilight with a thoughtful look on her face. “He’s lucky this is the BPD. Hardly a cop in here who hasn’t done what he’s done. Although, that he did it single-handedly is kinda impressive. Where’d he learn to fight like that?”
“That’s what I asked him. He just said that he had a childhood rougher than most, then ignored me after that. Wonder what goes on in that guy’s head?”
Just then, their Captain, Iron Lock, called down to them. “Sparkle! Drakon! You’re up! Mugging in the Neon District!”
“Ah, come on! Shift’s nearly over!” said Spike.
“And since when does Major Crimes investigate common muggings?” added Twilight.
“Since some wacko in a Nightmare Night costume shows up and kills the muggers. And for the record, your shift is nearly over. Oh, and Sparkle?” said Captain Iron Lock.
“Yeah?” asked Twilight.
“Take Zolomon with you.”
…
A few moments later, Twilight, Spike, and Hunter were sitting in Twilight’s car, on their way to the crime scene. An awkward silence so thick that you could cut through it with a knife emanated throughout the car.
“So,” Zolomon said from the backseat, purposefully drawing out the word, “why did you two join the force?”
Spike looked over at Twilight, his expression suggesting that she go first.
Twilight picked up on the hint and began to explain. “My older brother has been a member of the Canterlot Royal Guard for as long as I can remember, and I always wanted to follow in his hoofsteps. Thing is, there aren’t any mares in the Royal Guard, some kind of government policy. So, I decided to become a cop. My parents, my mentor, and even the older brother I looked up to all begged me to continue my studies, but I knew what path I wanted to take.”
“Which was the path of a policewoman.” Zolomon said as he nodded in understanding, “So what about you big drake?” he said to Spike which quickly earned Zolomon a glare.
“First of all it's ‘Drakon’.” Spike told him coldly.
Hunter sped his hands in a sign of surrender saying, “Alright, alright. Don't bite my head off.”
Spike glanced back with a toothy grin, “Don't tempt me.”
Hunter smiled back at this, “I like you. I think we're gonna be good friends.” Spike merely shook his head and scoffed before continuing his reasons for joining the police force.
“I joined because I thought I could make a difference. Didn’t take long for me to be proven wrong, though,” said Spike.
“Same reason I joined up,” said Hunter. “This city is rotting. It’s, like, what, the fourth most dangerous city in Equestria? It needs something desperately. Someone who’s willing to do whatever it takes to save this city.”
“Someone like who, you?” asked Spike.
“Pff, of course not me. I’m just a guy. But, this city still needs something,” said Hunter.
Twilight parked the car, having arrived at the crime scene.
The scene was a relatively common one unfortunately, at least common when it comes to Baltimare. A homicide after a mugging but this time it was the muggers who ended up dead. Twilight, Spike, and Hunter exited the car to investigate the crime scene further for any clues.
“What have we got?” Zolomon asked one of the other CSIs present.
“Quintuple homicide, muggers were the victims ironically. From these blood splatters on the ground and the barely bloody knife being held in one of the corpse's hands they managed to cut one of their targets, the Dragon got his neck snapped, a Pegasus had his heart crushed, and a couple of them seemed to have died from nothing shortly afterwards.”
“Nothing?” Twilight said confused.
“Well, from what I can tell from the lack of any blood near those victims and the positioning of their bodies, they seemed to die from heart failure. However, I overheard one of the cops interviewing one of the witnesses. Apparently, when she and her girlfriend were leaving the Skyline Club over there,” he said indicating a nightclub a short ways away, “these poor bastards here tried to mug them both, and like I said the muggers managed to get a single cut on her girlfriend’s neck but something killed them before they could do anything else. Said it stabbed them through their hearts with its hands.” the CSI, an orange-furred pegasus stallion with a mulberry colored mane and tail wearing a black leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, blue jeans, black and white sneakers, and black leather gloves as a measure to avoid accidental evidence tampering.
“Did you get a description of this something to go in the reports?” asked Hunter.
“Yeah, get this, ‘a demonic spectre wearing some kind of black suit with blue electricity sparking off it.’ Personally, I think it’s just some guy in a costume with a LOT of LEDs,” said the CSI, causing Hunter to chuckle a little.
“Something funny, Zolomon?” Spike asked their current ‘partner’.
“Just something I remember from a comic.”
“Okay then,” said Spike. “Twi, let’s you and I go talk to the witness ourselves, leave the lab rats to their work.”
Twilight nodded and she and the dragon left to go talk to the witness while Hunter and the pegasus collected evidence.
“Excuse me! Excuse me!” a female voice called out to Hunter who turns to look over his shoulder to see a Pegasus with a lightning-like mane, and mint green skin walking towards him wearing a black jacket with a white shirt underneath, khaki pants, and black heels carrying a microphone. Behind her was her camerapony, a frail-looking Pegasus stallion.
“Yes ma’am, what can I do for you?” Hunter said standing up and turning around just as the camerapony all but shoved said camera into his face.
“Lightning Dust, Channel 25 News, I was wondering if I could get a statement from you about what happened here?” said Lightning Dust.
“Um, well, it’s a bit early in the investigation to say too much of anything just yet, but our witness claims that the victims were attempting to assault them when some kind of creature came out of nowhere and killed their attackers. Don’t quote me on that,” said Hunter.
“Okay… do you suspect this has anything to do with CRSDI’s experimental reactor exploding a few weeks ago, or the string of recent robberies committed by the so called ‘Freeze-ray mare?’”
Hunter paused for a moment, confused. “Say what now?”
“You oughta read the papers and watch more TV, pal,” said the camerapony, earning a stern glare from both Hunter and Lightning.
“Featherweight, shush!” Lightning said shushing her co-worker, turning back to Hunter, “And you really don't know about either of the events?” she asked Hunter curiously.
“Not really I just got here a few weeks ago, and I don't know of any scientist named Christy.” he said honestly. “Must’ve happened before I moved here.” Hunter said, keeping in character at the moment before he noticed the amused look on Lightning Dust’s face.
“CRSDI isn't a person, it's a building. Cosmo Research and Scientific Discoveries Incorporated, founded by a human named Harrison Wells and formerly known as STAR Labs before it was purchased by another scientist named Moondancer. Doctor Wells is still the one in charge, but Professor Moondancer owns the building and land it's on.”
“Uh-huh… well, I can assure you that the BPD is doing the best it can to investigate. If there’s a connection, we’ll let you know,” said Hunter.
“Thank you, Mr…?”
“Zolomon. Hunter Zolomon.”
“Hunter Zolomon… well, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon, Mr. Zolomon,” said Lightning before she turned and walked away. As Hunter watched her go, his eyes turned pure black.
”Looking forward to it. In the meantime, though, it seems I have an appointment at CRSDI tonight…” he said softly before his eyes reverted back to normal and Hunter resumed collecting evidence.
…
Professor Moondancer was pacing back and forth, muttering, with Harrison Wells watching her literally wearing away the concrete floor from his wheelchair.
“The reports of the ‘Freeze-ray Mare’ are making me crazy! The so-called ‘freeze-ray weapon’ she's toting about is a scientific instrument of my design which should be locked away in one of my private labs with the highest technological, and magical, defenses the planet currently has! HOW! DOES! SHE! HAVE IT?!” Moondancer said, pounding her fist on the table.
“Calm down, Moondancer,” Dr. Wells said, trying to get his landlord to calm down.
“CALM DOWN?!” yelled Moondancer, causing Wells to recoil a bit. “Ponies, people, and everything in between are dying! I thought we’d seen the worst of it with the reactor exploding and all the casualties. PRINCESS CELESTIA WAS ONE OF THEM FOR GOD’S SAKE! Our careers in bio-engineering are over, you’re in a wheelchair for life, and-”
”And you are about to have a close encounter of the speedy kind.” a voice that could only register as demonic was heard before the whole room was surrounded by a black blur and blue electricity.
“Wha-what’s going on?!” Moondancer cried out in fear.
“I don’t know!” said Wells lied as he secretly followed the blur’s motion before it stopped in front of them.
”So, you’re the one who created that freeze-ray and that reactor… care to tell me what that was all about? Name’s Zoom, by the way.” said Zoom as he stood to his full height and glanced at Wells, who was clenching his hand around the handle of his wheelchair.
‘He's afraid of me. That's good, Thawne, you should be.’ Hunter thought as Moondancer got over her shock and ran up to Zoom with excited eyes and started asking him a million questions like a little filly.
“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! How did you do that? What's with the lightning bolts? Why are you here? What are you? What's with your eyes and voice?”
”Tell you what, tell me what I want to know, and I’ll tell you what you want to know. Sound fair?” Zoom asked Moondancer, who nodded, still smiling broadly. ”Good. Now then, reactor, cold gun, start talking.”
“It all started a few weeks ago. Dr. Wells came up with the idea to build a particle accelerator. We had the hopes that it would change our understanding of both magic and physics. It was supposed to bring about advancement in power and advancements in medicine. We turned it on, we all felt like heroes, and then something went very wrong. Some kind of dimensional barrier ruptured, releasing unknown particles into Baltimare. Dark energy, anti-matter, X-elements, all kinds of theoretical stuff. We don’t know who or what was exposed. As for the ‘weapon’, I created a compact cryoengine to achieve absolute zero and a compact flamethrower to do the opposite for rescue and recovery operations, both of them were stolen a few days ago, and I have no idea how,” Moondancer explained. “Now it’s your turn.”
Zoom let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding as a small sense of foreboding washed over him. He shook the feeling away and started to explain his powers. ”Like I said, my name is Zoom, and I'm one of the people that was affected by the explosion. As for what I am specifically, I'm the fastest thing alive.” Zoom smiled beneath his mask as he saw the astonished and confused look on Moondancer’s face, and decided to elaborate on that last sentence. ”I'm a speedster, my powers revolve around speed and kinetic energy, I think my top speed is Mach 6 or 8, but I haven't really had a chance to check. My eyes and voice become like this every time I start to use my powers or for intimidation. The suit was custom made by yours truly in order to be able to run at my fastest, it's aerodynamic, wind-resistant, and made from microfiber so it can take a hit and keep me protected when I run into someone smart enough to outwit me. The lightning bolts are just for show and I think they make me look scarier.”
“I see…” said Moondancer thoughtfully. “Why do you focus so much on fear and intimidation?”
”Fear is a powerful weapon. A weapon that might just be powerful enough to save this cesspool of a city from the crime and corruption that is destroying it. Speaking of crime and corruption, I think we can strike up a deal. I help you round up the others like me and get you those guns back, which we do by my rules. In return, you help me learn to go faster. Do we have a deal?” asked Zoom.
Wells and Moondancer glanced at each other. “Deal,” said Moondancer.
”All right, then. I’ll check in with you guys tomorrow. Right now, there’s a city that needs saving.”
With a flash of blue lightning and a rush of wind, Zoom raced out of the building, leaving an awestruck Moondancer behind.
“What have I gotten myself into, Harrison?” asked Moondancer.
Dr. Wells said nothing. He was thinking about other things. Namely, about his past… and that young speedster he used to work alongside and his friends. All back on another world… another time.
An alarm was blaring from the bank before stopping abruptly as a figure walked down the steps whistling to herself while twirling a futuristic-looking weapon in her hand. She had a purple and mint green mane and tail, pink skin, and wore a blue parka with a hood and a white shirt underneath, tight black jeans, black boots, black gloves, and black goggles of some kind.
“That was even easier than the last ones. I didn't even need to shoot anyone, which is always a plus, means more people know to fear me.” said the unicorn before she started chuckling. Then a thought struck her, why not make an even bigger show of it, so she turned around and blasted the building, coating the entire front of the bank with ice except for the door.
The unicorn chuckled again before the distinct sound of police sirens reached her ears as two police cars pulled up in front of her. Easy come, easy go, the unicorn thought as the police officers climbed out of their cars and aimed their guns at her.
“Don’t move! Freeze!” the cops barked at the unicorn.
“Y’know, I was really hoping not to have to kill anyone this time, but I guess you can’t always get what you want,” said the unicorn as she charged up the weapon. Quick as a whip, the unicorn fired the weapon, freezing not only the officers, but their vehicles as well. “I’m sorry. So, so sorry.” she said looking down to the ground with a sad frown on her face, then snapped her neck back up and shrugged, “Oh well.” Then, as though she’d done nothing more than brushed her teeth, the unicorn walked away, whistling away without a care in the world.
…
“Sparkle, Drakon, do you honestly expect me to believe a word of what you've told me so far?” Iron Lock said to them with a disapproving glare.
“But sir, this information is straight from one of the witnesses,” Twilight said. “She saw what happened firsthand!”
“And do you honestly expect me to believe the words of a drunkard, Sparkle?”
“The witness that was interviewed was Octavia Melody! The ‘drunkard’ you're talking about, Vinyl Scratch, her marefriend, lost the use of her vocal cords last night because of the knife wound on her neck from the attempted mugging!” Twilight yelled angrily at her insufferable boss.
Before Iron Lock could respond, however, another officer poked his head in. “Uh, sir, we’ve got a situation. The First Equestrian Bank was just robbed,” the officer said.
“Yes, and?” said Iron Lock.
“And… the entire front of the building was frozen solid, along with two officers who arrived on the scene to investigate.” The officer said before he ducked back out of the door just in time to avoid a quill being thrown into the door.
“Well, looks like you two will be going out again, and…”
“‘Take Zolomon with us.”’
…
A few moments later, Hunter, Twilight, and Spike were standing in front of the frozen First Equestrian Bank.
“Well, someone went trigger happy on this place,” Hunter said as he walked up to some of the ice, while Twilight and Spike went to check on the frozen officers. Hunter, being curious, decided to touch the ice, only to get burned by the absolute zero temperature. “OW! Never doing that again.”
“You okay, Hunter?” asked Twilight, having heard Hunter cry out.
“I’m fine. But, whatever iced this place reduced its elasticity to nothing. Only way it could’ve done this was if it somehow reduced the building to absolute zero degrees,” said Hunter.
“What in the wide, wide world could’ve done that?” Spike asked Hunter.
“Freeze-ray Mare. And I think I know where to start looking for answers. CRSDI, I overheard a couple rumors running about that the owner was developing something like this. Don't know what for though.” He shrugged his shoulders during the last part of his statement. Twilight nodded in reply.
“You know, I’ve always wanted to meet Harrison Wells. He’s something of my hero.”
“And what of Professor Moondancer? She of any interest to you?” Zolomon asked the mare.
“Oh, I've known Moondancer since we were children, she's a good friend of mine.” Twilight said nonchalantly.
“Okay then, let’s go pay them a visit,” said Hunter.
…
Meanwhile, in an abandoned warehouse, the so-called “Freeze-ray mare” was chilling on the bed she’d purchased with her ill-gotten gains, reading the newspaper.
Couldn't they have come up with a better name for me than “the Freeze-Ray Mare?” Why not something like Miss Freeze or Killer Frost, or Cold? Wait, ‘Cold’, I like that. she smiled to herself, “How about ‘Captain Cold?’” she said to no-one in particular. Turning the page of the paper, the newly-dubbed Captain Cold came across something that really peaked her attention. The Unicorn Dynasty Diamond, one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, was going to be on display at the Baltimare History Museum, and had been given several security measures.
If I can get my hands on that diamond, I can finally retire from crime and be set for life. Hell, God-willing, my children would be set for life if I can pull off a score that big. There shouldn’t be any reason I can’t pull it off unless they’ve got some kind of anti-cold gun, and as far as I know I have the only one.
Cold smiled. Her mind had been made up. She would be reliving the museum of that diamond, sell it to the highest bidder, and retire from crime and settle into a life of ease and luxury.
…
Outside of the CRSDI building, the trio of Hunter, Twilight, and Spike pulled into the empty parking lot.
“Ready to see an old friend, babe?” Spike asked his marefriend as he shut off the car, only to see the passenger side empty of its occupant and Hunter smiling like a loon.
“She ran off as soon as you parked the car you dum dum.” he said chuckling as he exited the vehicle himself. “You go on ahead, I gotta take a leak.” Hunter said as he walked towards a secluded area. After he reached said area he used one of the original Zoom’s most used powers, creating a Time Remnant.
“You know the plan?” the original Hunter asked the Time Remnant.
“Of course I do. After this, I go back to my timeline, right? You’re not gonna kill me, are you?”
“I'll try not to.” the original jokes as the Time Remnant spins in place and dons the Zoom outfit.
”See you inside.”
…
“It’s so good to see you again, Twilight!” said Moondancer as she hugged her old friend.
“I wish I could say this was a social visit, Moondancer, but we have some questions for you about some recent robberies involving some kind of freeze ray that may have connections to CRSDI,” said Twilight.
“Well, Miss Sparkle, we’ll answer your questions to the best of our ability.”
Twilight’s eyes widened in shock as she squealed internally. She knew that voice anywhere. Sure enough, sitting right behind her, was Dr. Harrison Wells. Twilight just stared at him before squealing like a little filly, nearly breaking the eardrums of her present company.
“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! You're him, you’re Harrison Wells!”
“Yes, indeed I am,” said Dr. Wells. “And you are Twilight Sparkle. Top of your class at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and, as I understand it, one of the most keen scientific minds ever to come from the school. I understand Celestia herself took you in as an apprentice after you made quite the bang during your entrance exam.” Twilight blushed at the kind words Wells was speaking to her. “Yet, I can’t help but wonder, why did you leave your studies to become a police detective?”
“My older brother has been a member of the Canterlot Royal Guard for as long as I can remember, and I always wanted to follow in his hoofsteps. Thing is, there aren’t any mares allowed in the Royal Guard, due to some kind of government policy. So, since I couldn't become a Guard I decided to become a police officer instead.”
“I see…” said Dr. Wells. “Well, how may we be of assistance, detective?”
“Well, recently there's been a string of robberies committed by a unicorn with some kind of freeze ray. We thought that the weapon might be from CRSDI. Do you know if anything like that was taken?” asked Twilight.
”Oh they do.” said Zoom as he ran into the room, causing Hunter, Twilight, Spike, and Moondancer to jump back in fright. Dr. Wells, however, merely flinched. Recovering quickly, Spike pulled out his gun and took aim at the sparking speedster.
“Get down on the ground and put your hands on your head!” demanded Spike.
Zoom turned to face Spike and Twilight. ”Forgive me, we haven’t been properly introduced. I am Zoom, and I am the fastest thing alive. First, look at your weapon,” Spike does so, ”Now look at me, look at your weapon, back to me, down at your gun. Oh, where'd it go?” Zoom said as he took the gun from behind his back and twirled it around his index finger, ”It’s a little thing called ‘Magic’, Sunny Jim.”
And I thought Rainbow Dash was fast, but this… thought Twilight before she found her voice. “What did you mean, they know if a freeze ray went missing?”
”Ah, yes, Miss Twilight Sparkle. Before I answer, here’s a sad fact of life. Our heroes aren’t always what they seem to be,” said Zoom, casting a glance towards Harrison Wells. ”To answer your question, I paid a visit to CRSDI last night to ask them about this so-called ‘Freeze-Ray Mare’ everyone’s been talking about. Turns out they not only made a compact cryo engine to achieve absolute cold, they built a compact flamethrower to do just the opposite.” this caused Twilight to give Moondancer a horrified look, with tears almost starting to leak, before Zoom started speaking again, ”However,” Hunter, Twilight, and Spike looked back to him with Twilight still on the verge of crying, ”They had both of those objects sealed away in one of the Professor’s most secure private labs, or so they told me. What we're trying to figure out right now, is how they got in.”
“‘Got in?’ You mean, the guns were stolen?” said Hunter.
Moondancer looked Twilight dead in the eye. “Twi, look… I designed the guns to be used for search and rescue operations, not theft and murder. I built them to help people and ponies, not hurt them. I have the most advanced defenses and security, against technology and magic. There’s no way anyone could’ve gotten through. Unless…” said Moondancer.
“Unless what?” asked Twilight.
”Unless they had a Meta helping them, or they designed the methods used.”
Moondancer growled in frustration. “Damn it, Starlight!”
Spike blinked in confusion a couple of times. “Starlight?” he asked.
Wells punched in a few buttons on the tablet attached to the wheelchair. On the screens in front of them appeared the image of a young unicorn mare with pink skin and a purple and mint green mane and tail.
“Starlight Glimmer. She was an employee here at CRSDI alongside Sunset Shimmer, Pinkamena Pie, and a few others until the incident. She helped build the cold and heat guns. After the particle accelerator blew its lid she must've decided to use them to get back what she lost, one way or another.” Wells said depressed, “And she was such a nice pony to know.”
“Do we know where-” Twilight began to say before a call came in over the police radio.
”All units we have a robbery in progress at the Baltimare History Museum. Reports of the freeze ray mare on the scene. Units, be advised, the suspect is referring to herself as ‘Captain Cold.’ Sounds a Helluva lot better than ‘Freeze Ray Mare.’ Wait, is this thing still on?”
“Well, he sounded like an idiot.” Hunter said before Zoom sped by them stopping at the door.
”Are you slowpokes coming or not?”
…
“Oh, man, if I knew being a super criminal was this much fun, I’d have never signed up at CRSDI!” laughed Captain Cold as she froze several officers solid with her cold gun, the Unicorn Dynasty Diamond in her free hand.
Suddenly, there was a flash of blue lightning and before Captain Cold stood Zoom. “And what are you supposed to be?” she said bored.
”They call me Zoom, and I'm the fastest thing alive. Before you shoot me can you do something for me?” Zoom asked quickly.
“I'm not cold enough to ignore a last request. What is it?”
”Look at the diamond, the look at me, then to the gun, to the diamond, back to me, look down. Where'd the diamond go?”
“What are you-” Starlight said, completely confused before she realized the diamond was gone. And Zoom was holding it. “GIVE ME BACK MY DIAMOND!” she screamed firing the Cold Gun at Zoom who narrowly avoids it.
”Sorry, not sorry,” taunted Zoom as Cold fired her gun again, this time scoring a direct hit on Zoom’s chest. ”Hah, ow.” he says in pain before he starts vibrating in place to try and get it off. “My turn,” said Zoom, before throwing a bolt of blue lightning at Cold, who managed to get out of the way just in time.
“Let’s add some magic to this fight!” snarled Cold as she charged up her horn and fired a beam of energy that knocked Zoom onto his back.
”Arrgh!” Zoom cried out in pain as he hit the ground a few yards away.
“You know, for the so-called ‘fastest thing alive’ you sure move pretty slow,” said Cold as she focused her magic to pick Zoom up off the ground and slammed him around.
”Ow.” Zoom wheezed in pain as Captain Cold walked up to him and aimed her weapon in his face.
“Any real last words?” she said as she powered up the gun, Zoom merely chuckled.
”Yeah, look behind you.”
“Don’t move, Starlight!” said Moondancer as she aimed what looked like a jumbo-sized cold gun directly at Cold.
Starlight smirked and pulled down the hood of her parka. “Hello, Moondancer. I see you’ve found our old prototype.”
“Four times the size, four times the power. Dr. Wells trusted you, Starlight. I trusted you, and this is the thanks we get?!” Moondancer said angrily.
“It wasn't just your reputations that went down the drains that night, you know. Everyone that worked there lost everything they had! Sunburst got half of his body covered with third degree burns, Sunset and Princess Celestia vanished, and the only one that came out unscathed was Pinkamena! Do you have any idea just how hard it was to even show my face in public without getting ridiculed for being one of the ponies involved with the accelerator project?!” Starlight shouted, “Something that shouldn't have even gone wrong!”
Moondancer just stood there as a few tears fell from her eyes before she started to charge the prototype, and aimed at Starlight, “I'm giving you one final chance to put the gun down, and turn yourself in peacefully.” Starlight’s only response to what Moondancer said was a teleportation spell.
Zoom pulled himself off the ground and looked at Moondancer. ”Thanks for the save, Professor,” the black-clad speedster told Moondancer.
“You’re welcome. Although, I’d start running if I were you though,” said Moondancer.
As if on cue, the sound of multiple guns cocking reached Zoom’s ears. ”The cops?”
“The cops,” said Moondancer.
As soon as the words left her mouth, a sudden rush of wind swept across Moondancer’s face as a flash of blue lightning filled her vision.
…
Later that night Starlight was sitting in a warehouse at a makeshift table with one other pony there.
“So, what is it you wanted to see me about Starlight?” the unicorn stallion said in a gruff, damaged voice.
“I tracked you down because I wanted us to be a team again.”
“And just why should I, Starlight?”
“Because I have something you may like.” Starlight said placing a briefcase on the table and sliding it over to him. He stared down at it before looking at its contents and took it out.
“The Heat Gun, figures you'd steal this for me. If only for the irony.” the stallion said leaning forward into the light revealing his scarred face. “I'm in.”
…
In an alleyway on the South side of Baltimare, a young alicorn mare was shivering. From apparent drug abuse or from cold, it was unclear. The mare had orange skin and an unkempt fiery red and yellow mane and tail, and was clad in a ragged black leather jacket, tattered black jeans, and black leather boots.
A couple of gangsters came by and noticed the mare. “Hey, baby, you all ‘ight? You cold? Don’t you worry, I’ll fix you up real nice,” one of the gangsters said.
“I’m… not… cold…” the mare said in a shuddering gasp before her hands and head burst into flames, causing the gangsters to turn tail and run for their lives as the mare growled and snarled at them. After the gangsters had gone from her sight she shuddered more as the flames died down.
“It’s...getting worse...and...we don't...know what to do…” she said in the same shuddering gasp before she began to light up again. This time screaming in fear and pain.
Inside a large, elegant, well-furnished office, a unicorn stallion with a blond mane and tail wearing a sleek navy blue suit and tie with black heeled shoes poured himself a drink of what looked expensive liquor as he sat in a large, expensive-looking black leather chair. This was Amadeus Blueblood Junior, or as he liked to call himself, Prince Blueblood.
As Blueblood heaved a sigh and took a drink, there was a gentle knock on his door. “Come in,” said Blueblood.
A couple of stallion wearing suits not dissimilar to Blueblood’s entered his office, holding tightly to a powerfully built man wearing a white tank top, blue jeans, and brown work boots who looked both slightly hungover and none too happy to be there.
“Ah, Mr. Woodward. How pleasant of you to join us. Leave us,” said Blueblood to his men.
The mobsters both glanced at each other before they released the man, Woodward, and backed out of the room.
“So, boss,” Woodward said with slight distaste, “what exactly did you want from a mook like me?” he asked Blueblood, or as many who dislike him-Woodward included-called him ‘Prick Blueblood’ behind his back.
“There have been rumors going around the lower levels of my organization, rumors about a Metal Meta. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“Now, what makes you think I’d know about that?”
“Because I’ve heard about your accident, Tony… you got laid off from your day job, and when you were pulled off of your boss, you fell into a vat of molten scrap.” Blueblood explained to Tony who just scoffed at the idea.
“‘Fell into a vat of molten metal’, he says.” Woodward said interrupting his ‘boss’
“Funny thing is, you seem to be in perfect health despite it.”
“Get this through your head, Blueblood, nobody can survive landing in molten anything! Except maybe dragons. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got places to be.” Tony said as he turned around and started to walk out.
Blueblood sighed as he pulled out a pistol from under his desk and cocked it, drawing Tony’s attention. Before Tony could say anything, however, Blueblood pulled the trigger. But, instead of leaving a gaping hole in Tony’s head, the bullet somehow sparked off his skin, revealing shining metal underneath it.
“Well, well, well.” Blueblood said fascinated, and smug. “Looks like there really is a Metal Meta in our ranks.”
Damn it. Tony Woodward, or as he called himself Girder, turned to face his bastard ‘boss.’ “I assume if you’ve figured out my secret, you must have something planned for me?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. You see, I have this… problem. You are absolutely the man who has the gifts to take care of it for me. And the reward for taking care of it…” said Blueblood, placing a briefcase on the desk. “Well, I’d like to think it’d be worth it.” he said as he opened it showing it contained both American and Equestrian currency.
Girder smirked as he looked down at the briefcase before him. “What do you need me to do?” he asked Blueblood.
“There’s this CSI working for the Baltimare Police Department. His name is Hunter Zolomon. I tried to offer him an olive branch to get him on my payroll, but he knocked it out of my hand, along with some of my enforcers. I need you to find him and beat him to paste,” said Blueblood.
“Well, as it happens, I love to punch things… you’ve got your man.”
…
Hunter Zolomon sat on the sofa of his apartment, looking down at his Zoom mask. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone made the connection between him and Zoom. Sure, his time remnants could throw people off for a while, but deep down, he knew it was only a matter of time before someone made the connection. And when they did, he would lose everything that he’d worked so hard to gain ever since he got here.
Hunter’s cell phone rang. Looking down at it, he saw that it was from a number he didn’t recognize. Pressing the answer call button, Hunter held the phone to his ear.
“Yello?” asked Hunter, only to hear the dial tone, causing him to start to feel as though something was wrong. “Something’s wrong.” Hunter said stating the obvious before shrugging the feeling off.
Hunter set the phone down and got up to get a drink from the fridge. Hunter walked into his kitchen and opened the fridge, when Hunter leaned inside to grab a can of Soder Cola, Girder was standing behind him. Hunter remained oblivious to the threat upon his life as he stood back up and opened the can and took a big swig of it. Girder, meanwhile, reached back and raised a fist, ready to either kill, or retrieve his target. Then faster than a man his size should be able he threw his punch, which Hunter dodged making Girder dent the freezer door.
“Close, but no cigar,” said Hunter right before he threw a punch of his that landed right on the side of Girder’s face… and he felt most of the bones in his hand break, giving Girder the opening he needed to start pounding on the helpless man. It wasn’t long before Hunter stopped moving and simply laid motionless on the floor, apparently dead.
“And that’s what happens when you cross Blueblood! Should’ve taken his olive branch,” said Girder, before he kicked Hunter as hard as he could in the side. The job done, Girder proceeded to walk over to the fridge, open it, and began searching for beer in it, but came up empty. He then proceeded to walk out the door, a confident smirk on his face.
As soon as Hunter heard Girder’s footsteps fade away, he opened his only eye that wasn’t swollen shut by a bruise, and began to crawl his way to where he kept the rest of his Zoom costume, and painfully pulled it on, but was too drained to put on the mask. Once that was done, Zoom ran to the only place he could think of where he could get medical attention and heal without doctors questioning how he was able to heal from his injuries so quickly.
…
Moondancer was walking beside Wells while she played around with something on her tablet.
“What exactly are you working on?” Dr. Wells asked Moondancer as they made their way into the Cortex.
“I’m trying to figure out where Starlight’s hiding. I installed an ECU into the Cold Gun in order to prevent the sub-cold fluid inside from overflowing and causing the device to explode. It’s been receiving updates wirelessly from my tablet,” explained Moondancer. “I’ve been trying to send false updates to it. Problem is, the signal’s too weak for a proper reception. I really shouldn’t have cheaped out on our wireless package.”
“Well, it was my building before you bought it, so I guess I’m the one who cheaped out on the wireless package,” said Wells with a gentle smile, which Moondancer returned.
However, both of them stopped dead in their tracks when they saw what, or who rather, was lying on the ground, unconscious. It was Zoom without his mask, which was lying on the ground next to him, and he looked like he had been hurt badly.
Moondancer got on the ground next to him and began searching for signs of life. “I recognize this guy. He was the CSI who was with Twilight and Spike when they came to question us about Captain Cold- I mean, Starlight. But, why is he dressed up like Zoom? And more importantly, why is he here?” asked Moondancer.
“Consider it a wild guess, but I’m thinking our friend here actually is Zoom. Although, how he was able to be in two places at once is beyond me, as is why he would come here in such a battered condition,” said Dr. Wells, making a look that suggested he was intrigued by what lay before him. “One way or the other, he needs help, Moondancer, get the crash cart.”
…
Hunter groaned as he regained consciousness, quickly realizing that he was lying on a hospital bed, or crash cart, more likely. As his vision cleared, he saw that Harrison Wells and Moondancer were sitting around his bed.
But they weren’t alone. Also sitting around Hunter was Twilight Sparkle and her boyfriend, Spike.
Hunter groaned at the sight of Twilight and Spike. “Are you two here to arrest me?” he asked them drowsily.
“Actually, no. We’re here because we want to help you with… whatever it is you’re doing. This city is dying, and Twilight and I are only two of the few good cops left who haven’t had an unfortunate… accident,” said Spike.
Twilight nodded. “That, and it’d be pretty difficult to get so much as an arrest warrant, let alone a conviction when all four of us saw you and… Zoom, together only a few days ago. Speaking of which, how did you pull that off? Some kind of optical illusion?” she asked.
Hunter chuckled, relieved that he wasn’t going to prison forever… not that any prison built by normal men or ponies could ever contain him. “Somewhat. I created a time remnant. It’s a temporal duplicate created when guys like me run back a few seconds in time and meet ourselves,” he explained.
“I thought that the universe was supposed to end if you meet a future or past version of yourself,” said Moondancer. “Either that or you pass out from the shock.”
“Professor, Back To The Future is just a shot in the dark, like almost everything everyone has ever known about time travel, ever,” said Hunter.
“What I want to know is, what happened to you, Mister Zolomon, and how are you healing so fast.” Harrison Wells asked him.
“Well, in addition to being able to run faster than the speed of sound, I also have accelerated healing and a hypermetabolism. They came with this new body after my accident.”
“Accident? New body? What are you talking about?” asked Twilight.
Hunter sighed before he began to explain. “Where to start… well, for one thing, my name isn’t really Hunter Zolomon, I’m not from this particular Earth, and this isn’t my original body,” he said leaning his head back before he continued, among confused looks. “It all started right about the same time your particle accelerator exploded, oddly enough. Back then, my name was James Jackson. It was the middle of winter, and I was on my way home from a party when my car hit a patch of black ice and flipped over. As if that weren’t enough, the damn thing slid directly into some electrical wires and knocked one loose. It fell directly on top of my car. I was electrocuted, burned, and blown to smithereens all at the same time.”
Spike, Twilight, and Moondancer all hissed through their teeth at the thought of going through all that pain, while Harrison pressed on.
“And then what happened?”
“For what felt like the longest time, I felt like I was floating in a black limbo without a body. Then, all of a sudden, I was in the middle of what looked like some kind of storm, with different colored lightning bolts flashing around all over the place. In the middle of the storm, there was a woman. She looked just like my sister before she died in a house fire. She told me that I had a great destiny before me, and in order to achieve that destiny I would need a new body, and as it so happened, she had the materials and knowledge needed to create one for me. Then, when I woke up, I was in my apartment, and looked like this. Lying in a corner nearby was my Zoom costume. I learned that I was a new CSI for the Baltimare PD, and the rest simply fell into place.”
“Interesting… that almost sounds like…” said Wells before his voice trailed off, apparently lost in thought.
“Sounds like what?” Moondancer asked curiously.
“Nothing, it’s not important,” said Wells. “But, I’m still curious, what exactly did you hit that put you in this condition?”
“A man of steel. Girded steel to be exact. I already have a hunch how to beat him,” said Hunter.
“Oh? And that would be what, exactly?”
“He can turn himself into metal which if hit at a high enough velocity, can be compromised. Basically, I need to punch him in the face going faster than the speed of sound. Problem is, I need a straight-shot from 5.3 miles away in order to pull it off,” explained Hunter.
“How in the wide, wide world are you going to be able to pull that off?” asked Twilight.
“I have no idea,” said Hunter.
Almost as if on cue, Twilight’s phone rang. “Hello?” she said as she answered it. Listening intently to what the caller was saying, Twilight nodded and said, “We’re on our way.”
After she hung up, Spike looked at his girlfriend. “What was that about?” he asked her.
“Spike, there’s a hostage crisis. Apparently, some Metahuman street tough named Tony Woodward grabbed some reporter named Lightning Dust and ran off with her. They’re holed up in the old elementary school.”
“That’s the guy who beat the crap out of me. But, why would Tony kidnap some reporter?” asked Hunter.
“Don’t know, but you need to go now!” Spike said as he and Twilight got ready to go. Hunter nodded and put on the mask, racing out ahead of them while Moondancer and Harrison Wells got to the computers.
…
“So, what’s the plan, here, Tony? You finally gonna go for that GED?” asked Lightning Dust as she glared up at Tony, pure anger in her eyes.
“You like to write about that ‘Black Blur’ guy, right? Well, guess what? Now you’re going to write about me! There’s a new big man on campus! And his name is Girder!” said Girder, his skin turning to metal as he spoke.
“You could have anypony write about you, Tony! Why me?” asked Lightning.
“Because I like you, Lightning. I always have,” said Girder.”With these powers, I don’t need handouts from Prick Blueblood! I can take whatever I want, whenever I want.”
”Not while I’m around.”
In a flash of blue lightning, Zoom appeared in the hallway directly across from Girder and Lightning Dust.
“So… you here to save your little fanmare?” asked Girder.
”What? Fanmare?” asked Zoom, sounding confused, before it clicked. Zoom turned around look Lightning Dust directly in the eye. ”You and I are going to have a little chat about this lat-” Zoom started to say, before Girder sucker punched him from behind and sent him flying across the room. ”er.” Zoom wheezed out as he got back up.
“Should’ve been paying closer attention to her blog,” hissed Girder as he threw another punch at Zoom, only for the black-clad speedster to evade the attack.
”Too slow, Tin Man,” said Zoom.
Growling in rage, Girder then picked up a nearby nearby flagpole and used it to pick Zoom up and start slamming him around the walls of the building.
Okay, enough games. It’s do or die time, thought Zoom as he felt several more bones break. Finally sliding off the pole, Zoom ran out the door and kept running until he was finally 5.3 miles away.
Okay, it’s go time, it’s go time, thought Zoom as he took a sprinter’s starting stance and he started running. Breaking the sound barrier as he ran, Zoom lunged through the doors of the school and made ready to punch Girder right in the jaw.
”FAAAAAAALLLLLLCOOOOOONNNNN PAAAAAAAUUUUUNCHH!!!” yelled Zoom as his Supersonic Punch landed right on target, causing Girder to get sent flying across the room, where he hit the wall, cracking it, and slid to the ground, unconscious. Zoom himself tumbled to the ground, groaning from the pain in his hand.
”Hunter? Hunter, are you there? Is this comlink working? Has Girder been dealt with?” said Wells’ voice from the comlink that had been installed in his mask while he had been unconscious
As Zoom staggered to his feet. he felt around for the button to turn on the comlink. ”We win. Tell the detectives to move in,” said Zoom as he turned to face Lightning. ”Looks like we’ll be having that chat another time. See you around,” said Zoom as he dashed out of the building.
…
Lightning Dust sat on one of the comfy chairs inside Jitters, one of the local coffee shops, the following evening. She had been invited there by an anonymous user on her blog. She looked up when the door opened and saw a face she recognized as the CSI who’d been clueless about the particle accelerator explosion.
Hunter Zolomon, I think, thought Lightning Dust.
Hunter made his way over to the chair directly across from where Lightning Dust was sitting.
“Glad to see you got my invitation,” said Hunter as he looked over at Lightning Dust, smiling over at her.
“Thank you for inviting me. May I ask why you invited me here?” asked Lightning Dust as she took a sip of her coffee.
“Well, I wanted to talk to you, on behalf of our… mutual friend, about your blog. He’s not asking you to give it up, he just wants to know more about it, what reports you’ve heard, what you’ve been writing about, things like that,” said Hunter.
“Wait, wait, you know Zoom?” asked Lightning.
“As a matter of fact, I do. He’s an old friend of mine from back home. He thinks that, if he knew what exactly you were writing about, it could give him an idea as to what he’s up against,” said Hunter.
“Well… where should I start?”
As the evening progressed, Lightning told Hunter about a pony whose head and hands burst into flames yet she didn’t burn up, a superstrong pony who called himself Atom Smasher, and many more. As the evening progressed, Hunter began to feel a warmth starting to blossom in his chest.
One way or another, Hunter knew that this was the start of a long and beautiful friendship… perhaps more.
All seemed peaceful in a residential neighborhood just outside of Baltimare. Leaves littered the street as two teenage foals rode their bikes across the street, apparently heading home for the night.
Then, something extraordinary happened. For the briefest of moments, a glowing blue vortex appeared, and from it merged a yellow blur that had blood-red lightning coming from him. As the figure came to a stop, it could be seen that the figure seemed to be blurred somehow, but what could be seen was that he had glowing red eyes, wore a yellow-and-black suit similar to the one worn by Zoom, and seemed to be making what could only be described as “scary helicopter noises.”
The figure stopped vibrating, reached up, and pulled back his open cowl, revealing himself to be a man in his late thirties with blonde hair. The man held his hand open, causing a holographic head to appear.
“GIDEON,” said the man.
”Yes, Professor Thawne?” replied GIDEON.
“Where the Hell am I?” Eobard Thawne asked as he looked around, clearly unsure of his surroundings.
