Masked Mystery
Nighttime in Canterlot City. Everyone just got off work, and were heading home for the day. Most of the folks around were hoping to just go home and relax and not worry about a thing. But that was the thing; Canterlot City for all of it's wonders and value, was ridden with crime. Every kind of criminal you can imagine existed, pickpockets, bootleggers, smugglers, thieves, murderers... they were all there. The police forces were tough and did their best to apprehend most of them, but there were much bigger threats than common crooks - supervillains.
Supervillains plagued the cities just as much as criminals, and they made most of the city's way of life difficult and frightening. And there was only one way of counteracting against them... superheroes.
"You gotta be kidding me," a man said.
Two police officers were standing outside the station, one of which was about to hop into the cruiser.
"I swear I'm not joking. There's somethin' fishy goin' down there, and I'm going to investigate."
"That's not what I meant. You think you'll be teaming up with those vigilantes?"
"They're superheroes. Yes they may not be police officers, but they do help serve and protect. And you are gonna activate the Matterhorn signal."
“Me?” the first officer protested, halfhearted.
"Yes. If there's a whole bunch of them, or worse, there's a supervillain down there, we need a superhero to balance out the playing field," the officer replied.
"Don't tell me you're going to--"
"--Yes I am," The police officer said. "And I'm going to help."
The cop stepped into his cruiser, and drove away. The first cop stood still for a moment. Then, thinking that he didn’t get paid enough for this, he turned around and went back into the station.
“Streetwise, you owe me BIG for this…”
On the rooftop of the police station, a massive spotlight activated, flashing the night sky. Reflecting off the signal was an insignia of a sparkling star, with several other stars ringed around it. Some citizens still out in the night took notice of the symbol shining out into the cloudy skies. Quite a few smiled, or at least felt a bit safer. They knew what was about to come next.
Elsewhere, a crook who was about to break into a local shop, glanced up at the sky and saw the signal in its full glory. “Nope,” he muttered, dropping the crowbar he was going to use on the door, and turned and promptly raced back home.
In an undisclosed location, a young woman looked out towards the dark skies. The Matterhorn signal lit the night sky, like a shooting star. She didn't need to be told what that meant.
"It's Hero Time," Twilight Sparkle muttered, standing up. Rushing over to her locker, she yanked out a certain outfit. Stripping away her casual clothes, she slipped herself into the outfit as fast as possible. A dark purple outfit with shoulder armor, dark purple spandex, shiny steel boots, metal finger-less gauntlets, and a mask that concealed her identity perfectly. Peering through the goggles on her mask, she dashed out the front door.
"To the Mattermobile!"
She quickly grinded on her heels and stood in front of the main garage. A single button was clicked, and the steel doors slid open, revealing--
"What!?"
A once hot, custom, super fast car made for superhero work was now a smashed up, dented, pile of scrap. Smoldering ashes dusted the garage floor, parts and armor fell. The entire car look like it had just gone through a monster truck rally. But how!? It wasn't like this when she left it!
Walking to the car, she found a small piece of paper attached to the front of the grille. She ripped it off, reading the note.
Twilight,
Got into a little fender bender trying to pursue Rapidita. I promise I'll fix it tomorrow,
Rainbow Dash.
PS; Don't tell Vitrivius but I think I owe him a new car.
Twilight rolled her eyes and scrunched her face, groaning.
"... Okay. No problem. I could use the exercise anyway."
She sprung up into the air like she was made of rubber, preparing her legs, landing on the top of a roof of someone's house. Then looking ahead, she jumped over to the next one, and to the next one, bouncing her way to the docks.
Ten minutes of bouncing later, Twilight was where she needed to be. She stood on top of another building, the one skyscraper that was near the docks. Looking through her goggles, some screens flickered over her eyes, scanning the surrounding areas. But just then, the scanners in her goggles focused on a strange car that was parked near the entrance.
"What the heck?"
As careful as she could, she clamped onto the wall, sliding herself down, and jumped back onto the ground as safe as possible. She dashed over to the security booth, and walked through the open doorway. No guard on duty, but it looked like the office had been opened up by force. Gunshot marks against the wall, the chair was on the ground instead of standing up right, and some of the computer monitors were either punched in, or laying on their sides.
Walking back out, she jumped up into the air, trying to stay out of sight. She landed on top of a piece of cargo that had been stacked from a crane lifting it earlier in the day. Squatting down like a monkey, she surveyed the entire dock.
The city docks were very quiet, the only sounds available were the water and the buzzing of light from all the lamposts. Occasionally a bird, and some machinery that was still running (due to requirement). But aside from those things alone, she couldn't hear or see anything else that was out of the ordinary. But she knew something was wrong, she just knew.
A police cruiser siren pierced her ears, and she cringed at the sound. The sound was only for a moment, but she could only imagine that maybe someone had heard it, possibly planning to come out and shoot whoever just showed up! She heard the car door slam.
"Ahem. Excuse me?"
Twilight looked down, noticing the police officer that had just emerged, most noteworthy about him was the light blue skin and short black hair. Immediately, she frowned. She had a few run-ins with the police in the past, some were nice, others were not, but these days it seemed like the police force weren't exactly okay with her and her 'vigilante' friends performing superhero work.
"Um... yes, officer?" Twilight sheepishly asked.
"You know we can't have vigilantes running around, breaking and entering into places, right?"
Twilight frowned and looked away. "Yeah... I know..."
"Good thing I brought a warrant."
Twilight's frown erased in a second. She looked back down, seeing the officer holding a warrant in hand, offering a friendly smile.
"Now what do you say you and I do some completely legal searching?"
An officer that was actually offering help to a superhero? This was her lucky day! Twilight slowly started to smile, and jumped down from the cargo she was standing on.
"I'd be happy with that. And I suppose some more help would be greatly appreciated. Masked Matterhorn, nice to meet you."
"Officer Streetwise, nice to meet you too," he shook hands with Twilight. "My kids are big fans of you and your friends."
Twilight felt herself blushing. "Oh really?"
"So much so that they begged me to find you so they can have your autograph," Streetwise chuckled.
Twilight giggled. "Well maybe one day I can make that happen. But lets see about this place. I saw the Matterhorn signal, was that--"
"--Yes. I asked my partner to set off the signal despite his protests. I thought maybe this was a matter you could help in. I don't know about you, but I have a feeling there are some people here that shouldn't be."
"Well that explains the missing security guard and the security booth," Twilight nodded.
The two walked together, passing through the gate again. As they looked around, they checked to see if anything else stood out. Perhaps another car that wasn't meant to be there, or anything that looked out of the ordinary. The super and the cop turned to face a giant rustic rundown looking building, probably meant for more loading and unloading.
"Sooo... does that warrant include bashing doors in?"
"Not without a ton of paperwork," Officer Streetwise advised.
"Oookayy," Twilight said with some uncertainty. "Let me see if I can find another way in."
She ran up to a ledge, springing up and landing on the heels of her feet before bouncing up again, jumping her way up to the roof. She dashed across the middle of the roof, finding another ledge for her to jump down onto. She peered through the window that she could slightly push through.
But as she pushed through, she got a look inside. The entire place was empty. Dead. No activity whatsoever, there wasn't a single soul within. She frowned at the sight. She could have sworn someone was here. But something had to have been off, there had to be.
She crept on more of the ledges just off on the loft, but couldn't see anything. Nada. She sprung down to the ground, walking towards the main door. Padlocked. But from the inside? Who would padlock a door inside?
"Hang on, I'm letting you in!"
Twilight used the bottom of her heel to kick the padlocks on the doors, freeing the bolts. Busted off and freed, they fell to the ground, allowing Officer Streetwise to come inside.
"Nothing but old fashioned legwork, am I right?" Streetwise joked.
Twilight couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah. But..." she looked back inside, an compound almost empty. "Nothing."
"Maybe the first look you give it," Streetwise said. "Lets look around, maybe whoever is here left something behind."
Keeping a flashlight active, Streetwise stayed close to some of the metal shipping containers, checking to see if any of them could have been opened. Twilight however flipped on a scanning lenses in her goggles, searching for any heat-signatures. Looking down, she could see her own body was radiating, perfect for letting her know she was active.
Just up ahead, she spotted something.
"Whoa, wait a minute. There's something in that container, just up ahead!"
She dashed over to the shipping container, and Streetwise was closeby. The policemen looked at the lock, carefully. A little rusty, but it wasn't locked either. Removing the restraints, he used all of his force to pull the door open, revealing the contents inside.
Which unfortunately was next to lackluster. Only things inside were some shelves with nails screwed on like they were supposed to hold items up, and some opened up crates.
"What? But I could have sworn, something was here," Twilight exasperated.
"Maybe what your tech found isn't in front of us... but is below us?"
Streetwise pointed the flashlight to the bottom of the crate. Another door. Twilight's hands gripped the top of it, yanking it up, removing it. All they could see was darkness down below, but a ladder was visible for them to climb down.
"A secret passageway?"
"Well I sure hope there isn't any monster or spookiness down there tonight," Twilight said, chuckling nervously. "L-Lets just keep going."
She carefully moved herself down, grabbing onto the ladder and steadily climbed down. The policeman wasn't too far behind, following her down. The passageway was dark, but thankfully the flashlight and glowing energy from Twilight's palm allowed them to see.
"Come on, there has to be something down here."
The passages were completely concrete, with the exception of some steel pipes and wires rigged on the walls. Some soft dripping sounds echoed in their ears, probably from some leaking pipes. Some lights were attached to the ceilings, but they didn't want to risk being caught. Someone was down here for sure. The two of them crept around the corner, but immediately backed themselves up against a wall. Voices were just down a hall, and even though they could see them, it was loud enough to hear.
"--As long as you stay on task, you'll all get your end of the bargain," a female voice said.
"We know what we're doing," A man's voice said.
Twilight's eyes widened. "Wait a minute, that's High Heel," Twilight said. "I've had my fair share of encounters with her. What's she doing out here?"
"You know there's no one else out here, right?" Officer Streetwise asked.
"Well, yeah, but... ohhhh... right," she sheepishly replied.
The two looked back to the gang, listening closely.
"Alright now listen up. We gotta have this stuff ready to ship out, the boss is going to want you guys to hit these places. Contact Phetlock and let him know tomorrow he can hit Whooves Biotech, we're going to need that amplifier. Soon as we get that, we can get the rest of this plan underway."
"Whooves Biotech?" Twilight pondered. "Why would they want to go there?"
"I don't know, but I have a feeling it's probably not for good," Officer Streetwise whispered.
"Now we have to handle these as fast as we can, we cannot screw up this mission. Not unlike our boys who raided the Maretropolis National Bank," High Heel said.
"I thought they were supposed to be sending a message to those Power Pony girls?" A henchman asked.
High Heels scowled and rolled her eyes. "Apparently they forgot to do that part of the plan. But regardless of such, we have to keep moving forward with our plan. Now listen up. Move this stuff out as soon as possible. We want to prepare for her arrival, don't we?"
"Of course," the henchman replied. "Now can we get out of here? I swear, this place gives me the creeps."
High Heel scowled before turning to lead her men. "When I hired you, I didn't expect you to be such a coward."
They listened as they walked down the passageway, heading for the ladder.
"Alright, it's go time. I have an idea!" Twilight whispered.
Twilight and Officer Streetwise managed to get out of the passageway just in time. And once they were out, the two of them ran for outside, readying themselves to take on a villain and her armed gunmen. It wouldn't be long until they were out.
High Heel walked out first, revealing herself in the dock light. A red spandex outfit, an open helmet attached to her head, keeping her hair and face exposed, additionally wearing white steel heels. She was followed close by her personal 'assistants'. Until--
"I'm afraid your little trip is going to need to be scheduled for another time, High Heel!"
The villainess snarled and looked for the source. And standing a few feet across from her was none other than the Masked Matterhorn, standing in a fighting position.
"Matterhorn. I figured you'd be showing up," High Heel chuckled. "I somehow knew you would come."
"What are you after, Heel? Why the hide-out, the break-in?"
High Heel chuckled. "Oh, you silly girl..."
"Boss, I think she's--"
"--Shut it!" High Heel snapped. "By the time you find out what's going on, it's going to be too late. Me and my boys have got somethin' big planned. And my boss? Oh she's gonna love the work we've done."
"--Um, Heel, she's--"
"No, shut up! I'm sick and tired of--AGH!"
A powerful beam of energy shot her in the stomach, throwing her against the ground. She looked up, seeing The Matterhorn with her palm up, a soft glow of light emanating from the firing hole in her palm.
"She keeps monologuing every time," Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Boss!" The henchman shouted.
"Oh forget this, I'm outta here!"
"Not without a fight!" Officer Streetwise shouted.
The henchman snickered. "Two against all of us? Also, we've got this place inside and out, you think you're on the high ground here?"
"We don't pick the ballroom, we just dance," Streetwise snarked.
"Get them!"
Twilight charged at the oncoming men. She raised up her arms, using the metal gauntlets to deflect the bullets that were being fired. Now having a clear shot, she headbutted into the first henchman, and performed a leg sweep, throwing him from out from his feet.
She tilted her head up and raised her left arm up, deflecting another bullet with the gauntlet. She turned to the gunner and dashed for him, avoiding some more bullets along the way. She swung her leg around, kicking the gun out of his hand. But that didn't stop him from coming at her with full fury. He tried to throw punches at the super, and Twilgiht did her best to avoid every one of them.
She dodged her head left, right, back. She jumped back to avoid being pummeled into. She punched the man in the gut, who got a punch to her jaw. Twilight groaned at the attack, and cupped her mouth, hoping that it wasn't broken or a tooth hadn't gotten loose.
"Not so super are you now, huh?"
"Don't let em take you, you've got this!" Officer Streetwise hollered.
The police officer was circling another thug, keeping his fists up to fight. Both of them were moving around, like they were just entering a boxing match.
"What's the matter copper? Afraid to get your hands dirty?"
"Police work is always dirty," Streetwise bantered. "It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it!"
Taking his chance, he slammed his fist in the thug's face, and then aimed for his gut. The thug quickly came down. But it wasn't long until another one came, bashing him away. He yelled and grunted like a gorilla, and then grabbed him by the chest, slamming him against a metal crate.
"Streetwise!" Twilight cried.
Streetwise was surprised, but he was ready. He grabbed the guy's wrists, gripping both of them tightly. To the criminal's surprise, he was much stronger. He removed his hands off of him, and then when he had his chance, he smacked him right in the gob. The criminal groaned from the smack, but he tried to keep steady.
He threw a punch, but the officer moved out of the way, just in time for a triple-attack. He blocked the punch, hit him in the face, and then at the chest like a boxer. The thug hurled to attack, but Officer Streetwise came at him with a punch to his back, knocking the wind out of him.
"How are you allowing him to beat you?" The head henchman snarled before punching Streetwise in the face. The punch hurt hard, but he had to walk it off as best as he could. He still kept his hands up, and he blocked another move. He hit him in the open, knocking the side of his head, and then struck for the stomach, before delivering a knee to the groin.
"You forget," Streetwise said, wiping his chin, hoping no blood had spilled. "Not all of us eat donuts every hour."
"Nice job!" Twilight complimented.
Looking around, all of the gunmen, thugs, and various generic criminals were found on the ground, defeated and in pain. But not everyone was down... in fact, High Heel slowly pulled herself up, chuckling.
"You really pack a punch, Matterhorn," she said, holding onto her stomach. "It's impressive. I'm no superhero, but... I must confess, I like your style."
"Flattery is not going to keep you from going to jail," Twilight retorted.
"Maybe not, but I know a good opponent when I see one," High Heel said before starting to charge. She performed a single dropkick on Twilight, kicking her onto her back. Twilight felt herself groaning even harder, holding onto her stomach. She looked up, seeing High Heel was ready to strike again. She raised a foot up, showing a sharp blade extend at the bottom of the hell. "The next kick, is going to be aimed at your head."
She spun around, ready to perform a roundhouse kick until Twilight's hands clamped onto Heel's foot, holding her in place. Once she was clamped, she yanked on her leg, making her lose balance and fall again. But High Heel just jumped back up like a ninja.
She clenched her fist and punched Twilight's stomach, but it only gave the superhero a chance to aim for her head and punch her in the face. Twilight took her chance and performed a triple move; block, punch, and kick.
The villain panted heavily, sounding like she was starting to tire out.
"How can you be so tired?" Twilight asked. "You're never exhausted for a fight."
"Maybe not... but I'm just waiting for my chance."
She performed a leg sweep, kicking Twilight down yet again. She walked over to her, smirking as she looked down on her. She raised up her heel, revealing the blade extending again.
"Bye bye, Matterhorn."
Twilight braced herself for a blade to come at her face, until--
Her eyes closed, hearing a grunting sound. Her eyes opened up, finding that Streetwise had tackled High Heel to the ground. He did his best to hold her down, but High Heel wasn't having any of it. She threw him off her back, getting herself ready for a new beatdown.
But as she was about to stomp her heel on the policeman, she felt another powerful blast of energy hit her in the back, knocking the wind out of her again. She collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, trying to get her head back together. Her hands were grabbed and she could hear a soft clicking sound. Looking up, she found her hands were now cuffed together.
"You're not going anywhere else tonight, High Heel. And you are under arrest," Twilight scowled.
"I know," High Heel gave her one last smirk before laying her head back. Inside she was laughing all the while in secret. The Masked Matterhorn had no idea...
Police crews and trucks came to the scene as soon as they were called. The thugs that had been taken down were being transferred into the police transport vehicle. Armored vans came as well, ready to help move anything that either had been stolen or taken from the scene.
Off to the side, Officer Streetwise and Twilight watched as they were starting to be taken away. Both of them were still trying to recover from the wounds, but they were mostly okay.
"You sure you're going to be okay?" Streetwise asked.
"I will be," Twilight nodded. "But I don't get it, High Heel got taken down just like... that. She's a better fighter than most of the other supervillains I've faced, but this was too easy."
"Hmm," Streetwise said, rubbing his chin. "Think she's up to something? Maybe she let you win?"
"I hope not. But it's something that I think needs to be considered. Keep security tight on her, don't let her escape by any means necessary," Twilight said. "Oh, but there are still some guys of hers that are out there..."
"We'll get them next time," Streetwise said. "At the most, you were able to apprehend that assassin. We'll make sure she gets nice and comfy back in jail."
Twilight smiled. "Thank you. Have a good evening, Officer," Twilight nodded.
The policeman smiled and gave a salute. "You too, superhero. Thanks for the help." He opened up his hand, and Twilight happily shook his hand. "Maybe someday we can work again?"
Twilight giggled. "Yeah, maybe. If I ever go into someplace rundown, I'll know who to call."
After giving her a wink, he walked back over to his car, turning on the ignition. The car began to drove away, but he took one last look at her just before leaving. He smiled, content with his night's work. Stopping a criminal was great, but stopping a criminal with the help of a superhero? This was his lucky night!
Twilight's mind however was filled with too much thought; who was she? Who was this person High Heel was referring to? And most importantly... what was she planning?