Upon returning to Equestria with their new dragon allies and warning the ponies of Equestria about Allura potentially invading, the Mane 6 are reunited with Mystery Inc to solve a mystery with Krypto the Super-Dog in Metropolis.
After realizing that since Allura had a star piece and could invade Equestria at any time, the Mane 6 decide to head back with their new dragon friends to warn the ponies and let them prepare for anything. But, as you'd expect, the Mane 6 didn't get too far when they are summoned on another Unity Quest.
When the Justice League goes missing and villains overrun Metropolis, there's only two teams that can solve this mystery: Scooby-Doo and the gang and the Mane 6! But wait, there's a new dog in town - Krypto - Superman's super-dog with superpowers.
The ponies and Mystery Inc. will need all the help it can get when phantoms menace the Justice League's headquarters. But will they succeed? What's the story with their new pony friend Tempest Nova? And has Lex Luthor finally gone straight? Or is he in cahoots with The Joker and Harley Quinn?
The DC supervillains may have clashed with Superman before, but now they're facing something new; a squad of ponies and a gang of meddling kids!
It had only been a few hours since the Mane 6 and Sparky returned from their previous Unity Quest in Bikini Bottom, and they already had an interaction with the evil snow leopard Allura, who was revealed to have icy powers, as well as a hypnotic purr and the powers that she claimed from a piece of a very powerful star.
The Mane 6 knew it wouldn’t be too long before Allura found out how to use the star piece to open small portals. And after she learned how to make portals... they were sure that Equestria would be next on her conquest list.
And since they were already with the dragons of the Isle of Scaly (who they had just recently formed an alliance with), they went ahead and told Dragon Lord Spike and the other dragons what had went on.
When the story ended, Spike hummed in thought, trying to think of a plan. “Alright, so how can deal with her mind controlling purr?” he asked the ponies. “Her ice magic won't be too tricky if we know the full extent of it, but the mind control is another.”
“We don't have the Starlight Ridge snow with us,” said Misty, “which is what we used the first time to defeat her.”
“The only reason we were able to beat her in the Lost City of Atlantic City is because the four foals were possessed by the ocean spirits,” Hitch added just before chuckling. “That’s a whole other story, though.”
“But… maybe Sunny can make a new spell to undo the mind control?” Luxxe asked curiously. “His Royal Spikeness told us alicorns have that capability.”
“Um… I don’t really know if I’m that powerful yet,” Sunny said, a little ashamed and embarrassed to say so. “I don't even know how to create an entirely new spell.”
“Well... maybe we can find some crystals in Bridlewood could have some magic to neutralize mind control?” Zipp suggested. “Or I can go and make more snow ear plugs for everypony!” Izzy chirped, causing Blaize to raise an eyebrow at her. “There's no way you can make hundreds of ear plugs for every single pony in Equestria, Izzy.”
“Eh, that may be true,” said Izzy with a shrug, “but it never hurts to try and push your limits!”
“Is there a dragon on the Isle of Scaly whose dragon fire can remove mind control?” Pipp asked the dragons. “Not that we’ve ever seen,” Tumble admitted. “But again, we have been sleeping for 1000 years, so it wouldn’t be completely unheard of.”
“So… what do we do?” Hitch wondered. “We can’t just not do nothing!”
“We’re not gonna sit by and do nothing,” said Sunny, surprising members of both the Mane 6 and the dragon clan. “I think our best bet is to go back to Equestria and bring the dragons with us, so everypony else knows that Allura could arrive at any moment and that we’ve formed an alliance with the dragons.”
“But what if ponies panic when they see us?” Fountain said with a worried look. “We have been gone for a long time…”
“Well… if any of them have heard of the Guardians of Harmony, they might recognize Spike,” said Sunny. “And everyone's pretty used to Sparky. You guys are basically the same... except your bigger and your powers are more controlled,” Zipp added. “Plus,” said Hitch, holding Sparky in his hooces, “we’ll do it together.”
“All right then… let’s get going!” Spike smiled. “I’ll text everypony in Maretime Bay and let them know that an emergency meeting is gonna be going on at the Brighthouse,” Hitch said as the ponies galloped toward the Marestream. “All you dragons have to do is follow us!”
That's when the Mane 6 hopped in the Marestream and took off into the sky, and Spike led his dragons after them and away from the Isle of Scaly.
XXXXXXXX
It took about 30 minutes or so, but everypony in town was gathered at the Brighthouse for the meeting. But there were some very important ponies missing; Sunny and her friends!
Where were they, anyway?
Just then, Jazz and Rocky looked to the sky to see the Marestream flying toward the Brighthouse with Spike, Blaize, Fountain, Luxxe, Leaf, Tumble, Lava and Jade right behind them. “Dragons!” Jazz cried. “Yikes!!” Sprout yelped, hiding behind them before the dragons landed on the ground, followed by the Marestream, and Sunny and her friends came out of it. “Sunny… what are dragons doing here in Equestria? They haven't been seen for generations,” Phyllis Cloverleaf, Sprout’s mother, asked in concern. “Please don’t worry,” said Sunny. “The dragons and ponies are now allies, and they’ve come to help us in case Allura were to show up.”
“You can trust them,” Hitch assured. “Since one of them is the friend of Twilight Sparkle, one of the Guardians of Harmony.”
“Which one?” Jazz asked, looking at the different dragons as Spike came forward. “Me. I’m Spike… well, Dragon Lord Spike now, but Spike, nonetheless.”
Posey acted like she was going to say something, but she then flopped over on her back in shock, prompting several ponies to come to her aid.
That’s when Dahlia spoke up. “But wait… who’s Allura? And why do we need to protect Equestria from her?”
“She’s an evil snow leopard who has ice magic and a hypnotic purr,” Sunny explained, and then she and her friends took turns explaining to the crowd of ponies what happened in Starlight Ridge and what Allura did…
…and then, they told them about Opaline and what the Unity Quests were.
And of course, it frightened the ponies about Allura and the fact that she had mind controlling abilities. “What can we do against a mind controlling winged snow leopard?” Posey asked after regaining consciousness. “That's what we're trying to figure out,” Sunny admitted. “With the dragons as our allies and their unique dragon fire powers,” said Misty, gesturing to the dragons around them, “we've been devising possible countermeasures against Allura.”
“But…” Zipp added with some hesitance, “we’re going to need your help too.”
“Us? Say what?” Toots asked in surprise. “What in the world could we possibly do? We’re just… ponies. You guys are the heroes.”
“But there’s nothing to fear as long as we stick together,” Zipp reassured. “With true unity and friendship nothing can defeat us,” Misty added. “So, what do you say, everypony?” Sunny asked. “Are you willing to make your own alliance with the dragons and make sure Allura never attacks Equestria?”
“YEAH!!!”
“You can count on us!”
“Allura won't be messing with our home anytime soon!”
“For Equestria!”
Sunny and the rest of the Mane 6 smiled happily in return before their cutie marks started to glow and shimmer again...
...which meant another Unity Quest was around the corner, and this one would be one that was out of this world in a different way. “We better get up to the Unity Crystals,” Zipp told her friends. “Spike, can you keep an eye on everypony until we get back?”
“Of course,” Spike nodded, and the Mane 6 went up to the Unity Crystals, which were shimmering once more. “Do you think it could be sending us back to Bikini Bottom?” Misty asked. “Or somewhere else?”
“Well, there’s only one way for us to find out,” Hitch said. “Here we go!”
And just like that, the Unity Crystals sent out a white light that teleported everypony off on their next big adventure.
Reuniting with Mystery Inc./Enter the Hall of Justice Phantoms
While the Mane 6 were being sent on their next Unity Quest, a pool party was going on at a luscious house in the mortal world.
And that pool party’s guests were none other than Mystery Incorporated themselves.
They decided that while they didn’t have any mysteries to solve in the meantime, they thought that they would have a little fun at Daphne’s house, lounging by the pool.
Shaggy and Scooby were manning the barbeque while Daphne lounged on her pool float, Fred swam and Velma was reading the books she had brought from home. “Man, Scooby-Doo,” Shaggy sighed as he and Scooby prepared their overly-huge burgers. “Nothin’ like a barbeque with our pals, right?”
“You said it,” Scooby said with a giggle, lathering his burger in hot sauce. “Not to mention,” said Velma from the pool, “I can catch up on a good book.”
“And I can…” Fred began to say when a familiar looking portal opened up near the pool. “...be ready to see the ponies when they come through that portal!”
Everyone looked and saw he was right, but instead of coming out smoothly like before the ponies accidentally tumbled into the pool.
Shaggy yelped, upon seeing them enter thr pool, throwing a burger patty into the air as the ponies breached the surface and Hitch got the patty in the face while Sparky laughed. “Sunny! Ponies!” Daphne yelped as they rushed to get them out of the water. “What happened?” Velma asked. “Like, you guys sure have a way to crash a pool party,” Shaggy joked while Sparky plucked the burger from Hitch's head and ate it. “Ugh… apparently, our landing is a little off,” Zipp said, shaking herself to get the water off her. “But anyway, it’s good to see you guys again!” Misty said, hugging Scooby. “Is there any special occasion we should be aware of?”
“Nope, we're just relaxing together now,” Fred explained. “So, how have things been on your end?”
“Well... it's been something, all right,” Hitch frowned. “Remember how we told you all about our adventure in Starlight Ridge?”
“You mean the place that freaky Allura used to run until you guys helped the auroricorns beat her?” Shaggy asked with a shudder. “Like, how could we forget?”
“Well... she escaped Starlight Ridge,” Sunny explained regretfully. “And she has a piece of the star she needs, and her power is even stronger than before!”
“What?!” Daphne cried in panic as the rest of the gang gasped in horror. “Oh no!”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Zipp nodded. “We don't know where she is now, but we have the dragons of the Isle of Scaly as our allies now. Trust me... we'll find a way to defeat her. But we thought that we should warn you in case she were to ever show up.”
“Well you can count us in too to help,” Velma stated. “Yeah, you ponies helped us plenty of times,” Fred added. “And it's about time that we return the favor.”
“Right,” Scooby grinned licking Hitch happily. “Phew... thanks, guys,” Pipp smiled. “But, until we can find our mission, we'd love to hang out with you by the pool. Right, ponies?”
““I think we can make time for a little bit of fun,” Sunny smiled. “But first... can we help you with the barbeque? I'm getting kinda hungry.”
“Another chef is always welcome, Sunster!” Shaggy wrapped an arm around her. “Come on. You guys can enjoy the pool in the meantime-- dinner should be ready in a few minutes!”
XXXXXXXX
It was a quiet night in Metropolis as Lois Lane and her photographer Jimmy Olsen, along with a blue pegasus pony with a blue and blackish striped mane named Stormquill (who had a cutie mark of a quill dipped in ink) came to the a long abandoned building in the city. It was the Hall of Justice where the Justice League resided... or at least they did.
All of them had mysteriously disappeared about 3 months ago, things have gotten very bad in the city. So, it was up to the three of them to get om the case.
Their feet and hooves crunched as they stepped on some newspaper on the floor as they approached a long, dark hallway, blocked with some police tape, to which Lois pushed down so they could go through.
Finally, they approached the door at the end, and Lois turned to Jimmy with a serious expression. “You brought your camera, right?”
“That’s like asking if I brought my eyes,” Jimmy responded with a smirk, holding the camera up. “Eyes lie,” Stormquill reminded him. “Cameras don’t.”
They proceeded toward the door, where they eventually saw a huge hole in the wall, leading to the lobby... as if something or someone crashed through it. “So…” said Lois, “...there was a struggle?”
“But how did it end? Where are they?” Jimmy wondered with worry. He quickly took some pictures, but before he could move, there came a sinister growling sound. “Did you hear that?”
“The last tour came and went hours ago,” Lois then recalled. “We’re the only ones here.”
But suddenly, there came that growling noise again, and this time, they all heard it. “I-I really don’t like this,” Stormquill gulped. “All right,” Lois sighed reluctantly, “fine. We'll come back in daylight, pose as tourists and slip away from--”
All of a sudden, a glowing golden specter swooped down at them, causing Lois to drop her flashlight as they all backed away. “W-What in the…?” Lois glanced around fearfully. The specter appeared in front of them again after a moment with a roar, causing them to freeze for a moment before Stormquill nudged them forward. “Go go go!!”
The shout from the blue pegasus managed to get them all moving, but before they could leave, however, Jimmy tripped but Lois came to his rescue by throwing a chair at the phantom, even though it went right through.
Before they ran out the door, Jimmy tried to take some pictures of the incoming phantom. “What are you doing?!” Lois asked him. “Eyes lie,” Jimmy responded, just before they made a break for the exits, slamming the door behind them. And after they made sure they were safe, they sighed in relief. “What was that?” Stormquill asked breathlessly. “And what did it do with the Justice League?”
“I don’t know, Stormquill,” Lois shook her head. “But it definitely wasn’t natural. It was--”
“Supernatural?” Jimmy gulped. “The kind of thing we bring in Superman and the League to help us figure out,” Lois responded. “But with them missing…”
“...who do you call when your heroes need heroes?” Jimmy then wondered. That’s when Lois remained silent for a moment before coming up with a solid, yet risky, decision. “Get your girlfriend on the phone, Jimmy,” she instructed. “Tell her Metropolis… tell her the world needs help.”
XXXXXXXX
Back at the barbeque, the ponies were enjoying themselves with Hitch trying to keep Sparky from turning all the barbeque food into desserts while Pipp was relaxing with Daphne. Sunny was with Velma, and Misty and Shaggy and Scooby were happily chatting while Izzy and Zipp were with Fred.
Suddenly, Daphne's phone rang and she excused herseld to answer it. “Hmm? Hello?”
“Hey, Daphne,” said a voice on the other end. “Remember me? It's Jimmy Olsen.”
“Oh! Jimmy, hi!” Daphne greeted. “Haven't heard from you in years. How have you been?”
“It’s been great-- I'm actually working for 'The Daily Planet' now... which is actually why I'm calling. I need you and your friends to come to Metropolis, I can't explain everything but its really important.”
“Oh... yeah, sure. I have a few other friends visiting me and the gang, but I'm sure they won't mind coming with us,” Daphne said. “Hold on just a few minutes.”
That's when she put the call on mute and turned to her friends. “Guys, I guess we need to cut the party short. In the morning, it looks like we're going to Metropolis.”
However, the rest of the group looked confused. “Huh?”
“What’s Metropolis?” Misty asked curiously. “It's a large city a long way from here nicknamed 'the city of tomorrow',” Velma stated looking it up on her tablet. “Sounds like a fun place.”
“And the big city means big food! And food trucks!” Shaggy grinned and Scooby nodded happily. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!"
“And it sounds like a good place for Allura and Twitch to hide and regain their strength,” Zipp pointed out. “We’ll go with you and make sure it's nothing too serious.”
“Then we better get some sleep,” Sunny nodded. “We’ll head out early tomorrow morning.”
"Sounds good." Daphne nodded before the group prepared for their trip to Metropolis. But as the group packed up and headed inside, Sunny couldn't help but feel worried about Allura being out there somewhere with that ethereal source of power.
What if she found the rest of the star pieces first? And what if she became as big a problem as Opaline, if not more?
Thankfully, the young earth pony mare shook her head to clear it.
She couldn’t think like that. At least... not now.
All she and her friends needed to do was help the gang with their situation in Metropolis, and they could be one step closer to defeating Allura...
The next night came and went smoothly for everyone, having fallen asleep quickly in their respective sleeping areas and having pleasant dreams the entire night through.
Even Sunny put aside her worries about Allura and got some well-deserved rest.
By the time the sun rose the next morning, everyone got the Mystery Machine packed and loaded, and once everyone was settled and buckled inside, they headed out in the direction of Metropolis.
The trip itself would take about a day or so, so that left plenty of time for the gang to catch up on things. “And then, Gonzo chose to not go with his alien family back to their planet,” Misty finished one of her stories, “because he felt so attached to the other Muppets and couldn’t bare to leave the only home he ever known. The aliens promised to visit from time to time, but Gonzo is going to stay on this planet with his friends.”
“Awww… I’m glad you guys helped Gonzo realize where he belongs,” Daphne smiled. “But I just feel bad that those three interns realized too late about how dangerous he was.”
“But, they’re bound to be having the time of their lives, rehearsing skits for the shows the Muppets put on,” Pipp said as she brushed her mane. “Hey… do you think we’ll actually get to see the Justice League while we’re in this Metropolis place?”
“Maybe,” Velma said. “They do keep a pretty tight watch on the city, so there is a high percentage that we will.”
“And speaking of which,” Fred spoke, “we should be there in just a few hours.”
“Great! I think we have time for one more story,” Sunny smiled. “Any suggestions?”
“Oh oh!” Scooby raised his paw. “What about the one about the wishing star in Warnerstock?”
“Heh, I don’t think we could EVER forget our first Unity Quest,” Zipp said with a chuckle before clearing her throat. “Let me see... when we first came out of the portal, we came out in a snow-filled forest, which is where we met the Warners. Then…”
XXXXXXXX
By the time that story was finished, the groups knew that they were getting close to Metropolis by now, and Izzy looked out the windshield at the cozy community that they were passing through. “Wow, Metropolis is beautiful!”
“We’re not in Metropolis yet,” Daphne told the lavender unicorn before she turned to the Mystery Machine’s driver. “Come on, Freddy, hit the gas!”
“Actually, accounting for wind gradient and local meteorological phenomena,” Velma interrupted, “we’re already traveling at the safest speed science allows.”
“Can’t argue with science, Daph,” Fred shrugged, and this led Daphne to sigh impatiently. “Okay, okay... I get it.”
“So... how do you know this Jimmy character, Daphne?” asked Hitch. “He and I went to a summer camp together when we were kids,” Daphne explained. “We stayed in touch over the past couple years, but he got a job in Metropolis, so we've been talking less. But when he called last night, it sounded urgent.”
“Like, speaking of urgent,” Shaggy said from the back seat, “we haven't stopped for snacks in over half an hour.”
“And I don’t think Scooby’s full enough to make it all the way to lunch,” Misty said, gesturing to the trembling Great Dane, who faked sobs out of hunger. “Tell the world… I was brave…” Scooby said to his friend before playfully collapsing in the back of the van. Daphne sighed with the roll of her eyes as she reached into her bag. “Oh, for goodness sake…”
Daphne pulled a box of Scooby Snacks and Shaggy and Scooby immediately brightened. “Man!” said Shaggy with a smile. “Now we’re talking!”
“Be sure you ration them,” Daphne reminded. “It’s our last box, until…”
But when she turned, she saw that Shaggy and Scooby had devoured the entire box, including the box. “Heh, don't worry, guys,” Sunny tried to reassure the boys. “I'm sure we can find you something to eat when we get to Metropolis.”
That's when Scooby suddenly pointed ahead. “Hey, look!”
“Now entering Metropolis,” Fred said as they went past the sign. “The City of Tomorrow.”
The gang couldn’t believe it… they were finally here! Velma pulled up a picture of the street they were on, but when she looked up from her tablet, the entire street was in ruins, covered with trashed cars and panic in the air. “Oooh… this place looks like it could totally use a DIY,” Pipp cringed. “I agree with Pipperoni. And like, judging by all these old photos,” Shaggy spoke, “the City of Tomorrow was a lot nicer yesterday.”
“I wonder what could’ve happened,” Hitch said in concern. Suddenly, a giant human foot stomped right into the middle of the road, causing the Mystery Machine to screech to an alarming halt.
When they looked up to see what was going on, there was a giant woman with red hair and a caveman-like outfit reaching a giant hand out for them, sending the gang out to try and escape from her.
The van swerved left and right repeatedly to avoid her feet as Fred looked back in alarm. “That was Giganta!”
“Freddy! That's not nice!” Sunny scolded. “No, that’s her name. Giganta,” Velma said, pulling up her stats on her tablet. “Member of the former Legion of Doom, a now-defunct gang of super criminals.”
“And, like, the first woman to set foot on the moon!” Shaggy trembled, hugging Scooby for dear life. “Yeah!” Misty agreed quickly as Giganta's feet got closer to them. “From the Earth!!”
“Do you think she’s the reason we’re here?!” Fred asked as they made their way over the rocky, broken cement. “Uh… no!!” Velma cried as Fred made a quick turn onto a side street, losing Giganta in the process. “She’s more dangerous than mysterious!”
“Unless you count the mystery of how she finds shoes in that size,” Daphne said, referring to Giganta’s giant feet. “But either way,” said Zipp, “this is definitely strange. We need to get to where we're going and figure out what our mission is.”
They soon made their way past the park, and the giant statue honoring Superman stood nearby. Seeing the back of the statue made Scooby gasp, tail wagging excitedly as he pointed his paw to it. “Superman!”
“Oh, wow!” Sunny spoke in awe. “Quick, one of you get a picture of it as we go by!”
But as Velma held up her tablet for a picture as they came around the statue, Superman’s face had been painted over with green, red and black paint, causing the ponies to grimace. “Like, whoa…” Velma blinked. “I wonder who did that.”
Her answer was questioned as cackling filled the air, and everyone looked over to see two clown-like supervillains beneath the statue, one dressed in purple with green hair, and the other dressed in red and black. “You said it, puddin’!” said the female. “Ha ha ha!”
Then, the two of them began spraying some sort of green gas at the tourists, causing them to flee. “Hey, I recognize that guy from another Unity Quest! That’s the Joker!” Zipp cried in realization, scrolling through her FlyPad. “The Joker,” Fred added, “and Harley Quinn!”
“And, mkre Legion of Doom members!” Velma spoke. “Actually,” Fred told her, “Harley’s an associate member.”
“Why do you know so much about Harley Quinn?” Daphne asked, and Fred’s loving gaze, watching Harley’s every move told her the answer-- he totally had a crush on her. “...no mystery there, either,” Hitch said hesitantly as Daphne crossed her arms. “Oh, Freddy, gross!” Pipp gagged with a shudder. “Ooh, I’m never gonna get that out of my head…”
Suddenly, the Joker and Harley appeared in front of the Mystery Machine, spraying more gas at them, which caused the unicorns to use fans and caused Pipp and Zipp to flap their wings to keep the gas away from them while they made their escape.
Once the gas was gone, they let out a breath of relief… but not before a lavender-skinned boogeyman ran out, kicking cars aside and scaring the gang into screaming at the top of their lungs. “THE CREEPER!!” Scooby screamed. “I thought you already solved that mystery!” Zipp shouted. “You better step on it, Freddy!!”
As the monster raced toward them, Fred shifted the van into reverse, and off they went again, ramming into cars on the street before turning around and escaping down an alley. “And that wasn’t even the Creeper,” Velma said, bringing up more Legion of Doom reports. “That was Solomon Grundy. We’re not just stopping for any ghoul we see.”
“Well, that’s pretty mysterious!” Daphne pointed to the sky, where a thundercloud was glowing with some sort of red light before two laser beams came in front of the Mystery Machine, causing it to drive through the tarnished streets, the windshield wipers wiping fire before they came face to face with the Kryptonian Exiles!
Needless to say, they had a good excuse to escape with their lives hanging in the balance, but the Exiles quickly sped after them, laser eyes firing every chance they got. Luckily, the group escaped down a nearby alley, leaving Izzy to sigh in relief. “That was close!”
“If that isn't the reason we're here,” Hitch said, cradling a trembling Sparky, “I don't know what else there could be!”
“I think I have an idea, Hitch! Look!” Daphne pointed upwards, revealing a giant squid-like robot with mechanical tentacles floating above the city. “Oh, come on!!!” Pipp cried out as the rest of the gang looked up in horror. “How can this get any worse?”
Her question was quickly answered when the tentacles quickly grabbed two civilians, and the rest of the tentacles quickly tried to grab the Mystery Machine, one piercing right through and carrying the van off of the ground!
But, just as they were scanned and before the van could be placed into the mouth of the robot, Fred shifted the van into reverse and sped out of there, scaling the rooftops of nearby buildings until they got back to the street below. When they were finally out of danger, they sighed, causing Shaggy to whimper fearfully. “Oh, man,” he spoke. “Like, that's gotta be why we're here!”
“Kind of a mystery,” Velma said with a shrug, “but still not exactly our thing. Hey! There it is!”
The Mystery Machine pulled up beside a large building entitled The Daily Planet, causing Misty to sigh. “Thank goodness… a few seconds longer, and I would have been breathing through a paper bag!”
“Me too,” Zipp nodded as they got out of the Mystery Machine. “But we can't stop now… we better get inside and not keep the people waiting.”
XXXXXXXX
Not wanting to waste anymore time, the gang got out and ventured into the elevator to the top floor, hoping someone there could tell them what was going on around here. “Wow…” Velma marveled at all the equipment and people hard at work. “Ah… you can actually smell the ink on newsprints.”
“But, I thought the Daily Planet went all digital five years ago,” Fred pointed out. “Well then,” Velma spoke with a shrug, “that’s what I smell.”
“Daphne!” called a voice, and Jimmy walked over to the group with excitement. “Jimmy!” Daphne cried, rushing to her childhood acquaintance. “You haven’t changed a bit!”
“Nope,” Jimmy said, smiling. “Still overdue for that growth spurt. Before we start, I have someone I want you to meet.”
Stormquill smiled and gracefully landed beside the group. “Everyone, meet Stormquill,” Jimmy introduced. “She's sort of the resident journalist in training around here.”
“Pleased to meet you, Stormquill,” Sunny smiled. “I'm Sunny, and these are my friends from Equestria.”
“It's nice to meet you guys too. I've heard all about Mystery Inc, and now I'm really excited to get to know you too. Follow me,” Stormquill said before leading the gang to a glass office where Lois was working. “ Lois Lane,” Jimmy said as Lois typed vigorously, “meet--”
“Hang on… editorial, you got incoming! ” Lois called out to another nearby department before standing up and turning toward the Mane 6 and the gang. “All right. Thanks, Olsen. I'll take it from here. The kitchen's over yonder. I like my coffee like I like my stories-- dark with a twist.”
“Uh... say what?” Hitch blinked, and even Sparky cooed in confusion. “Uh… no, no, Lois,” Jimmy corrected. “These aren’t the new interns.”
“They aren’t?” Nano asked, tilting his head out of confusion. “Hang on, Olsen. Let me guess,” said Lois, looking at Velma with a smile. “This is your girlfriend.”
“What? No, that’s Velma. This is Fred, Shaggy, their pony friends from Equestria, Scooby-Doo, and--”
“I’m Daphne,” Daphne quickly said. “She’s my girlfriend,” Jimmy put an arm around the redhead. “What?!” the ponies, Fred and Daphne exclaimed with shock. “Of course. Sorry, Olsen,” Lois apologized. “For some reason, I just thought Velma was more your type.”
But when she looked again, Velma was cleaning her glasses, and, for some reason… she thought Velma was someone different. “And who is this?”
“Oh, uh… we haven’t met,” Stormquill shook her head as Velma put her glasses back on out of confusion. “Velma!” Jimmy cried, now recognizing her. “Oh. Did not recognize you,” Stormquill said. “Really?” Zipp asked, confused. “Well, yeah,” Stormquill nodded. “Velma wears glasses, and… where'd she go?”
As Lois, Jimmy and Stormquill looked around, Velma gasped upon realizing her glasses weren’t on her face, and looked to see Scooby holding them in his paws, causing him and Izzy to snicker as Velma got her glasses back and put them back on. “Oh, there you are, Velma,” Lois smiled. “I’m sorry, Jimmy,” said Daphne quietly, pulling her old friend off to the side, “but have you been telling people you're my boyfriend?”
“Of course!” Jimmy responded. “We happened,” Daphne re-explained, a bit embarrassed, “to be at the same camp together one summer… when I was nine.”
“And we were voted Best Red-Head Couple,” Jimmy reminded. “That wasn’t a real award, Jimmy!” Daphne said, shaking her head. “We were being bullied!”
“Yeah, but we got through it together,” Jimmy told her, holding her hand, embarrassing Daphne even more. “Well,” Lois said, getting them off that topic, “this is all very weird and embarrassing, but the clock's ticking, so…”
“Why have you brought all of us here?” Zipp asked quickly. “And does this have something to do with why we haven't seen any superheroes yet?”
“Ooh, right to the question. No hesitation. You have the instincts of a reporter, young lady,” Lois told Zipp, making her smile. “I called you here to help us solve the mystery of--”
“Great Caesar’s ghost!” cried a male employee from nearby, pointing out the window, causing Scooby to immediately jump into Shaggy’s arms. “G-G-Great Caesar’s ghost?!”
“Like, dude, a ghost is bad enough,” Shaggy whimpered, “but the ghost of a salad?! Zoinks!”
“No, there’s no salad ghost,” Lois shook her head as they watched the villains wreak havoc outside. “We called you here because as you can see, Metropolis has gone positively Gotham since the Justice League disappeared a few months ago.”
The building shook quite a bit before the Kryptonian Exiles grabbed the Daily Planet symbol and started tossing it around to Shaggy's fright. “Disappeared?” Daphne asked in shock. “Without a trace,” Stormquill added. “Like an illusion,” Lois nodded. “Here one minute, gone the next.”
“That’s horrible!” Misty cried in concern. “Uh, with all due respect,” said Fred, “what does a team of renowned investigative journalists need with a gang of meddling kids and some super heroic ponies?”
“I’m guessing there’s more?” Velma asked, leading Lois to nod. She typed something in on the computer, and the pictures Jimmy took of the molten-lava like phantom from the previous night showed up on the screen. “Looks like some kind of phantom,” Fred observed. “Or phantoms,” Daphne said, pointing something out on the screen. “Look!”
Everyone looked at where she was pointing, and in the darkness were a pair of glowing red eyes, confirming Nita’s suspicions. “I guess this really is a Mystery Inc investigation!” Velma realized. “And, while we would love nothing more than to help solve it,” Lois continued, “Cheetah's back on the prowl and Sinestro just attacked Metropolis Harbor in a yellow submarine.”
“With Superman gone, the breaking news business is booming,” Jimmy added, much to the gang’s dismay. “Sounds like we’re on our own,” Mindy frowned. “If half of what I’ve heard about you kids is true, you’ll do great,” Lois reassured. “All you have to do is unmask this... phantom.”
“Then,” Stormquill added, “find the Justice League before all these out-of-control villains destroy the world.”
“Great. So, like… no pressure,” Shaggy said sarcastically, right before he and Scooby panicked at the sight of the angry looking Exiles pressed against the window with glowing eyes, and fainted right on the spot.
As Misty and Izzy helped their friends up, Stormquill turned to the ponies with concern. “When you get to the Hall of Justice, find the mayor and her assistant. Surely, they'll be able to help you a lot more than we can. And... promise me that you guys will be careful. Since the League disappeared, Metropolis hasn't been that safe.”
“We'll be careful. But... diving horn first into danger has always been our thing,” Izzy said, flipping through some sort of book. “After all, we HAVE been on at least 23 Unity Quests within the year and a half.”
Stormquill only blinked at that. “Say what now?”
“What Izzy means is... we'll do our best to be careful. Promise,” Sunny told her with a genuine smile. “All right, guys... we better head to the Hall of Justice and start this mystery off right.”
Misty sighed at this. “Good idea. Let's just hope Allura isn't behind this phantom business and we get our friends into even more trouble.”
Once they left The Daily Planet, after promising Jimmy, Lois and Stormquill that they would be careful, Mystery Incorporated and their pony pals set off for the Hall of Justice.
Along the route, Zipp had an idea of what they could do to help Metropolis and potentially solve the mystery faster, and took out their manesquerade ball masks and handed them out. “Zipp, I loved our outfits from the ball,” said Pipp, clearly confused, “but is this really the right time?”
“You're forgetting something, sis. These aren’t JUST our manesquerade masks,” Zipp reminded. “They also hid our identities when we were the Unity Squad!”
“Oh, right! And after Ivory Justice enchanted them with her magic, they gave us our superpowers!” Sunny recalled. “Great idea to have them on hoof, Zipp!”
“I just hope you guys won’t have to use them all that much,” Daphne frowned. “Last time we faced supervillains, a portal nearly destroyed half of Gotham!”
“Don’t worry… we’ve learned since then,” Zipp winked. “I’m sure whatever we face, we can handle it together.”
XXXXXXXX
After a few more minutes of driving, the Mystery Machine pulled up beside the Hall of Justice, but what they were expecting and what they saw were two totally different things.
The whole building looked abandoned, with police tape swaying in the wind, graffiti was all over the walls and some of the windows were cracked. “Yeesh…” Sunny muttered. “You think you would show the heroes of Metropolis a little more respect.”
“And in our line of work… it’s definitely haunted!” Scooby yelped, scrambling to the back seat and hugging Shaggy, both not wanting to go inside. Daphne sighed from the front seat. “I know. There's no way you two are stepping out of the van for less than five Scooby Snacks,” she told the boys. “But I told you, we're all out of--”
But when she and the pups turned toward the back seat, Shaggy and Scooby were gone. “Guys?” Misty called before Velma pointed ahead. And when the gang looked in that direction, they saw their friends in front of a food truck that read ‘Challenge of the Super Fries’, panting excitedly. “Wow, heh…” Daphne chuckled, getting out another Scooby Snacks box from out of nowhere. “And I was bluffing.”
“But, at least they got out for something,” Zipp shrugged. “Hitch, Sparky and I are gonna go help Daphne and Fred find a place to park, and we'll meet up with you later.”
“See ya!” Izzy said as the others got out of the Mystery Machine before it drove off, just as the food truck lady spoke to Shaggy and Scooby, gesturing to a stack of tickets on the table next to them. “Mark what you want on the tickets.”
“Excuse us, ma’am. We’re investigating the disappearance of the Justice League,” Sunny told her politely. “Those no-good do-gooders?” the food truck lady scoffed. “They could stay disappeared, as far as I'm concerned.”
“What's wrong with them?” Velma pondered as she came to Sunny's right side. “What? Never heard a bad word spoke about them heroes?” Helen grouched. “For years I wanted their permission to park my truck here outside their HQ.”
Izzy, Scooby and Shaggy giggled to themselves excitedly while Misty and Pipp watched them write a whole bunch of orders on a whole bunch of order tickets... too many tickets for one person. “I hope you got more of these,” Shaggy grinned. “Oh yeah,” said Izzy. “Cause I think we're gonna be chowing down for a while!”
“Lots of hungry tourists traipse past here everyday. But the league said it 'weren't safe'. They said we was trying to keep the sightseers away,” Helen continued with a scoff. “Imagine how they'd feel about the mayor's fancy new tour groups.”
“Tour groups?” Velma asked, and the woman pointed behind them to see a group of people wandering toward the Hall of Justice. “They’re probably the ones that phantom's been scaring off,” Misty supposed. “I should thank him, though,” the woman went on. “They run right past my truck, and, boy, does all that screaming work up an appetite!”
“So your business is thriving since the League vanished?” Velma asked suspiciously. “You got no idea. Best thing that ever could have happened,” the woman said before turning toward Shaggy and Scooby. “Now, you boys finished writing up that order?”
“Heh… not even close!” Pipp responded, looking at the high stack of tickets with a smile. “This is a #FoodFrenzy if I ever saw one!”
“They’ll have one order of super-fries, please,” Velma said sternly, causing the boys to groan. But that one groan sent the pile of tickets right onto Shaggy and Scooby, causing Velma, Sunny, Izzy, Pipp and Misty to smile at the food truck lady sheepishly.
One thing was for sure… they definitely had their first suspect on the list.
XXXXXXXX
In the garage, Daphne and Fred drove the Mystery Machine to the garage with Zipp and Hitch with them. Once they had gotten out of the van, the found a valet named J.B, and Fred handed him the keys. “There you go. Take good care of her.”
“Her… you gotta be kidding me,” the valet scoffed. “Excuse me?” Zipp asked with a raised eyebrow, shocked by the behavior. “Of course it’s a her!” the valet said. “I bet she has a name too.”
“Uh-huh... but, I don’t really see how that’s a--” Daphne began to say before she was interrupted by the valet inspecting the van more closely. “Fancy paint, decals galore… what are these flowers? Some kind of secret experimental camouflage?”
“What? No, it’s just a regular van,” Fred explained. “Really? Oh, baby!” J.B exclaimed before he got to hugging and kissing the Mystery Machine, only for Hitch to pull him away. “Hey, dude! I get you like how the Mystery Machine is... normal... whatever that means,” Hitch said with a slight grimace, “but lay off the hugs and kisses, all right?”
“Sorry, sorry. You don't know how hard it's been parking Batmobiles and Arrow-cars and Green Lantern energy bubbles,” J.B told the group. “I mean, what's wrong with normal vehicles?”
“Well, I kind of have a flying RV,” Zipp said with a scratch to the back of her head, “but... I guess nothing...?”
“Nothing!” the valet repeated, clutching her shoulders before Zipp brushed him off, a little creeped out. “Hey, if you need atomic batteries to catch up to a villain, maybe you're not cut out for the hero biz. You got me? You know, all I hear is how sad people are that the League's gone, but between us, I couldn't have planned it better.”
“Planned it?” Daphne questioned with her arms crossed. “Yeah, if I had,” J.B suddenly said, realizing what he had said. “Which I didn't. But maybe did I? I don't know what I did. What am I doing right now? Did I plan it? I didn't. Maybe I did. Ha ha ha… what a great day! Can I park it now?”
“Uh, would you mind parking her in that big, empty space up front?” Fred pointed toward a particular empty spot. “You mean, Wonder Woman’s space?” J.B asked. “It's not empty, but… a regular van owner like you, sure. You know, I can move some stuff around.”
Daphne and Fred shrugged at each other as they led Zipp and Hitch into the nearby elevator to meet the others. “Hey, guys? What do you think he meant by ‘not empty’?” Hitch wondered. “I don’t know. Strange guy,” Fred spoke, pressing a button as the elevator began to rise to a different level. That’s when he finally decided to ask Daphne about this Jimmy situation. “So, uh…”
“He was mistaken!” Daphne said. “It was camp, we were just friends-- let it go.”
Zipp and Hitch didn’t like to see any of their friends fighting, but… they weren’t sure what they could possibly say to make the situation less… on edge.
Finally, they arrived at the main level of the Hall of Justice, and it was just as magnificent as they thought it to be-- there was even a fountain right smack-dab in the middle of the room.
That’s when they saw their friends waiting for them…. although Shaggy and Scooby were stuffed beyond compare. “Hey, what happened to you two?” Hitch asked in alarm. “Ugh…” Scooby groaned. “We took the challenge.”
“Yeah. Like, eat ten orders of Super Fries, get 15 more,” Shaggy added. “All of them for free.”
“Oh, that sounds like a really good deal,” Fred smiled. “Except,” said Sunny with a concerned frown, “you have to eat them ALL in one sitting.”
At that remark, Scooby burped, which caused a fry to pop up through his mouth, and then Scooby ate that fry, causing many to groan in disgust.
That’s when an African American woman came closer to the gang, with a yellow unicorn who had a cream mane and tail, purple eyes, darker yellow hooves and a cutie mark of a feather. “Excuse me. Are you here for the next tour?” asked the woman. “I guess we are,” Misty answered as she shrugged. “Wonderful-- I’m Mayor Fleming, and this is my loyal assistant, Ophelia,” the woman introduced. “It's so nice to meet you all,” Ophelia smiled. “I guess you probably recognize the mayor from all the campaign billboards.”
“Actually, all the billboards we've seen here have been painted over with bright pink polka dots,” Hitch explained. “An obvious example of damage to public property.”
“Of course… Mad Mod,” the mayor grumbled. “Mad Mod…?” Izzy and Scooby whimpered. “An art school dropout with a flair for pastels… and villainy,” Ophelia said with a slight growl. “Just one of the many super criminals,” said the mayor, “running amok in my city ever since the Justice League disappeared.”
“Well, Mayor Fleming,” said Zipp with a smile. “That’s why we're all here.”
“You're the mystery solvers that Lois Lane told us about! The mayor and I are so glad you've agreed to help us,” Ophelia smiled, just before the mayor started to explain. “We started offering tours of the Hall of Justice not long after the League vanished. Has it paid the rent? Sure… but it's so much more than that. Being in these hallowed halls gives people the hope that one day, our heroes may return.”
“But ever since this phantom showed up,” Ophelia said, “fewer and fewer people want to visit this place, and soon, it'll get to a point where there are no visitors at all.”
“Not that it was much of an attraction to begin with,” said a voice, and the group gasped in surprise at seeing a bald man in a fancy business suit approach them. With him was a grown doberman with a purple collar and a gray earth pony filly with soft magenta eyes, a blue and green mane and tail and no cutie mark...
...probably around the Pippsqueaks' age.
Scooby tilted his head at the doberman, but he growled intimidatingly at the Great Dane, wanting nothing to do with him while the earth pony had her head held low... as if she was scared or ashamed by something. “MERCY!!” the man called, and a younger woman made her way forward. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I was--”
“Just do it,” the man interrupted spitefully, and the woman sighed and cleared her throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, Lex Luthor, the President of the United States!” she announced to the group, making Ophelia scoff under her breath. “Former president…”
“Yes, well… current billionaire genius CEO of military contractor and online dating portal LexCorp,” Lex interrupted before lovingly turning to the doberman next to him. “And this is Rex.”
“Rex Ruthor?” Scooby questioned. “Rhat’s right,” Lex smirked as Rex growled at Scooby again. “And… what about you?” Sunny asked the filly with a smile. “What’s your name?”
“T-T-Tempest... ma'am,” the filly stammered, holding her head up and standing as tall as she could. “T-Tempest N-Nova.”
“She’s the newest… trainee at LexCorp, hoping to one day follow in Rex’s pawprints,” Lex explained, making Tempest a bit more uncomfortable than she already was. “Anywho, the Hall of Justice. Pretty lame destination, yes? So many times I told Superman to put in a roller coaster, animatronics, anything.”
“Uh… excuse me, sir, but… but why don't I remember your presidency?” Fred asked curiously. “It was short, thank goodness,” Ophelia rolled her eyes, but that didn’t stop Lex from ignoring the yellow unicorn and going over to her employer/dear friend. “Oh, Flemmy,” he said in a sickening sweet tone of voice. “When are you and I going to stop all this political bickering and do something good for the city?”
“Luthor,” Mayor Fleming sighed, “the best thing you can do for Metropolis is leave.”
“...charming…” Lex muttered. “Now, have you given my final offer further consideration?”
“Offer?” Zipp spoke. “What’s he talking about, mayor?”
The mayor sighed heavily before deciding to explain. “He's been pressuring my office to seize the Hall of Justice as abandoned property, and put it up for auction where he can get it at--”
“A steal,” Lex finished wickedly. “Flem, listen. A fleet of LexCorp bulldozers are rolling up as we speak. All you need to do is say the word and I'll mow down this miserable mausoleum of moral mediocrity in minutes.”
“...whoa,” Scooby blinked. “Were you trying for that villainous alliteration,” Sunny asked out of curiosity, “or did that just happen on its own?”
Lex sneered at the earth pony mare, but before anything else could be said, Tempest tapped Shaggy on the leg. “Um… excuse me. Your dog is really cute… is it okay if I pet him?”
“Oh, like, sure,” Shaggy responded. “Scoob’s one of the friendliest dogs around-- he likes just about everybody.”
This was shown to be true, for as soon as Tempest started rubbing Scooby on top of the head, the Great Dane began to lick her face, causing her to laugh. “Hey, that tickles!”
“Come on, guys,” Ophelia smiled. “The tour is just about to start.”
“Are you gonna come too, Tempest?” Daphne asked. Tempest looked like she wanted to say yes, but one look at Lex caused her to look at her hooves. “I-I have to stay here. But… you guys have fun, though.”
The Mane 6 glanced at each other in concern before following the mayor, Velma, Fred and Daphne away. “Be careful,” Lex called to Shaggy and Scooby before they left. “There's more to fear within these walls than phantoms, ghosts and super ghouls.”
“S-Super ghouls?!” Scooby leapt into Shaggy's arms. “Zoinks!!” Shaggy cried before the two rushed after their friends, and Lex displayed a wicked sneer that made Tempest really uncomfortable… at least until Mercy spoke. “Did you want me to pull the car up--”
“Not now, Mercy! I'm sneering!” Lex snapped, and that caused Mercy to sneak away as Lex resumed his sneers. But while her... employer was sneering, Tempest reached into her mane and pulled out a sparkly key, sighing as she looked at it. “The lock has to be here…” she muttered as she put it away. “I know it. But where it is… well, that’s a whole different story.”
“TEMPEST!!!”
“C-Coming, sir!” Tempest said before galloping after him as they walked down another hallway. “Tempest… you do realize,” said Mr. Luthor as they walked down the hall, “that I took you in so you could gain experience as an assistant, and not to be frivolous, don’t you?”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
“And, you’re supposed to be fearsome, correct? Isn’t that what your ancestor was?”
“...yes,” Tempest said softly. “My mom used to tell me that Tempest Shadow was the most feared unicorn warrior in all of Equestria. But… that’s the thing, I don’t want to be--”
“Feared?” Lex sneered. “Which do you like least… the fear of being feared or the fear of being fired and out on the street?”
Tempest’s breathing hitched at this. “F-Fired…?”
“That’s what I thought your answer would be. Now, come along. We have some calls to make.”
Tempest sighed sadly before she hung her head low and followed her employer away, wishing with all the strength she had that she could find a way out of this life…
…and into a life her mother wanted her to have before she passed.
While Lex Luthor was scolding his trainee Tempest Nova on her exuberant ways, the tour seemed to be going smoothly, with Mayor Flemming and Ophelia taking the lead.
But... something about Tempest and her demeanor worried Zipp... and that something? She was beginning to wonder if Tempest was being hurt like Misty was.
Not physically, but mentally.
That’s when she decided to ask her friends about it. “Guys… I think something’s wrong with Tempest.”
“Huh?” Fred looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you guys see how cruel Mr. Luthor looked at her?” Zipp asked. “Like… how Misty said that Opaline used to look at her.”
“You know… now that you mention it, she did look kinda jumpy back there,” Daphne said in thought. “I just thought it was because she was shy, but…”
“That is something to consider, but let’s not jump to conclusions yet,” said Sunny. “I say we wait until we see her again, and then… maybe we can ask.”
“And behind these doors, you'll find the Hall of Justice trophy room,” the mayor said to the group as the doors opened to reveal the priceless treasures inside. “These are just some of the mementos collected by the Justice League to serve as a reminder of their many years of vigilance and service.”
The friends gasped in awe as they walked around the Trophy Room where there were many items from the league; the Batsuit, Wonder Woman's tiara, the Lasso of Truth, Superman's armor, among other things. “The items in this room are both precious and priceless,” the mayor said, just as Velma noticed some empty display pedestals next to her. “Even these empty pedestals?”
“Well, there were a few alien artifacts too sensitive to leave out for the tour. “An alien-made metal weapon,” listed the mayor, “a Mother Box, the Phantom Zone projector…”
“Phantom projector?! Zoinks!” Shaggy cried as he leapt into the mayor's arms, causing Ophelia to chuckle. “It's just the name, Shaggy. It doesn't have anything to do with ghosts. Or projection for that matter...”
The mayor nodded as Ophelia used her magic to set Shaggy on the ground again. “Luckily, the most dangerous weapons are now safely locked away in a secure military facility offsite.”
At the same time, Scooby had taken one of the energy rings of Green Lantern from a nearby display case and put it on his paw, causing him to grow and become quite aggressive. Luckily, Velma was able to take it off and put it back where it belonged, all while Scooby smiled sheepishly.
While this went on, the mayor’s phone began ringing. “Okay, feel free to explore,” the mayor told the tour group, “and we'll resume the tour in ten minutes.”
When the mayor went to take his phone call, Scooby walked with Pipp while she took plenty of selfies, and Scooby found a cardboard cutout of Superman and stuck his head through the hole. “Pipp, Shaggy, look! I’m a super dog!”
“Awwww, how #cute!” Pipp said as she patted Scooby on the head. “But the only super dog I've heard of,” said Shaggy, “comes with extra chili and a side of more chili!”
As Shaggy laughed at his joke, Scooby tried to wiggle out of the cutout, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get loose.
At the same time, the mayor got done with her phone call, but it was clear by her expression that it wasn’t a good one. “Has something happened?” Daphne asked, leading the mayor to sigh. ““Lex Luthor just increased his bid to purchase the Hall of Justice,” she said as Pipp, Izzy and Shaggy tried to get Scooby free. “At this rate, the City Council may not even bother putting it up for auction. Luthor will win. Luthor always wins.”
“Well, since we’ve noticed his real attitude problem,” Hitch said with a frown, cradling Sparky, “I can say that he COULDN’T have won the popular vote.”
“And Superman always beats him! I’m sure he and the rest of the Justice League are out there somewhere,” Fred assured. “And once we solve this mystery and find them,” said Daphne with a slight frown, “imagine how sore they'll be when they find out you sold their headquarters to Lex Luthor!”
“Oh… I hope you’re right,” the mayor sighed. But before anything else could be said, a glowing figure appeared above them, causing the mayor’s eyes to widen. “Holy…”
“Jinkies!”
“Jeepers!”
“Sweet sauce horseshoe toss!”
“Zoinks!”
“Ruh-roh!”
“Oh my pony!”
“Uh… run?”
Before the eyes of many, the same molten-lava phantom appeared from out of thin air, and as it roared at the crowd, Ophelia and the mayor desperately ran toward the door. “You heard him!” Ophelia shouted to the tourists. “Head for the lobby!”
“You guys go!” Zipp whispered to the gang. “We’ll change into superhero form and drive this guy off!”
While the ponies ran into a seperate part of the room to transform, everyone else ran out of the room at top speed, but the gang unknowingly began to leave Scooby behind! “SHAGGY!!”
“Hang on, Scoob!” Shaggy ran back and grabbed a bow and arrow, beginning to fire arrows repeatedly, only for them to go right through the phantom. That was when a theory about the phantom began to surface in Shaggy’s mind. “Hey! Like, it is a projection! See?”
But as the bow he was holding made contact, golden electricity began to shock Shaggy repeatedly, much to the others’ shock. “Projections don’t do that!” the mayor cried, just before a familiar voice interrupted. “That’s why we’re here!”
Everyone turned to see the Mane 6 emerging in their superhero form, and while Hitch, Misty and Sunny protected Fred, Daphne, Velma and Sparky, Izzy used a pair of scissors as a boomerang to free Scooby from the cutout, and Pipp and Zipp shoved the three of them out of harm's way. Then, after they got themselves together, the phantom dove at them, knocking them aside before flying through the nearby wall. “What?” Misty questioned with shock as their friends got up. “Where did he go?”
“Do you see him, Royal Bolt?” Sunny asked Zipp, whose eyes glowed a bright blue as she scanned around. “No… I don’t!” Zipp said, alarmed. “It’s like he just vanished!”
Immediately after the group began looking for the phantom, he appeared in between Fred, Velma, Daphne and the unicorns, and as the phantom appeared to be heading for Velma (more specifically, her glasses), Zipp shot out a lightning bolt that went right through him, and Daphne thrusted a pole through him while Hitch reared and kicked a punching bag through him as well.
Unfortunately, all of these passed through the phantom, but quickly allowed the group to start running. “Hurry!” the mayor shouted. “Come on!”
“Unity Squad, stay with the gang, no matter what!” Sunny said to her friends as they galloped down the hall. “We have to keep them safe!”
“RIGHT!!”
Misty and Pipp stuck behind Shaggy and Scooby for most of the way, but they ended up getting separated from their friends before eventually ducking into the command center.
Unfortunately, as soon as they got there, a red flash of light and a warning dubbed ‘EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN’ repeatedly flashed upon the screen. “Like, man! You’re telling me!” Shaggy whimpered. The roar of the phantom coming their way was enough to get them to cling to one another in fear before Pipp saw a good hiding place. “Under the table, quick!”
All four of them dove under the table, and then the room fell completely silent after the phantom entered the room… aside from Shaggy and Scooby’s chattering teeth. “Like, as long as we’re quiet,” Shaggy whispered, “there’s no way that phantom will--”
Suddenly, there came a loud barking sound coming from somewhere in the room. “Dudes!” Shaggy scolded. “I said quiet!”
“Wasn’t me,” Scooby shrugged. “Well, if it wasn’t you,” Misty wondered, “then who?”
Then, the barking started up again. “See?” Scooby asked, and fearfully, the group peaked out from under the table to see who it was.
To Misty and Pipp's surprise, it was a white dog with brown eyes, a yellow collar and a red cape attached, barking and growling at the phantom, who roared back in response. Then, to everyone’s shock, the dog actually began to lift off of the ground!
The eyes of Shaggy, Scooby and the girls had never been wider as they began to realize what was going on. “It’s… it’s…” Misty stammered before the dog flew right at the phantom, which caused a wide smile to grace Scooby’s face. “A super-dog!”
From the ground, the four friends could see that the dog was incredibly agile and fast as he flew, and even could shoot laser eyes! Those laser eyes were able to push the phantom back through the wall, no longer being able to scare Shaggy, Scooby and the two super-powered ponies.
After defeating the phantom, the white dog flew back to the table and barked, wagging his tail happily, and this definitely told the girls he was friendly.
And Scooby’s response to the entire thing? Giggling and passing out on the floor due to excitement. “Thank you so much for saving us,” Pipp smiled as Shaggy and Misty helped their friend up off the floor. “We appreciate it more than you know.”
“Yeah! Like, thanks!” Shaggy said, and the dog barked some kind of response… but the girls frowned at that. “It’s too bad our superpowers don’t let us talk to animals like Hitch's earth pony magic,” Pipp frowned. “Then we can understand what he’s saying.”
“Maybe Hitch can help us understand him,” Misty pointed out. “I just hope they realize that we’re still in here and that phantom could come back…”
XXXXXXXX
“This way, everypony!”
“Hurry up!”
“Through here!”
“Come on!”
Fred, Daphne, Velma and the remaining super-powered ponies quickly began to get all the tourists away from harm, while Mayor Fleming and Ophelia waited outside to make sure everyone made it out. “Uh, thank you for visiting the, um… oh, never mind,” the mayor sighed before Velma noticed that members of their group were missing. “Hey, has anyone seen Butterfly Defender, Harmonizer, Shaggy and Scooby?”
“They were right behind us!” Zipp cried out, honestly thankful that Velma remembered to use their alias. “We must’ve gotten separated!” Fred assumed. “Speaking of getting separated,” said the mayor, “you kids better--”
Suddenly, a blaring alarm began to go off, putting steel in front of the windows and completely trapping them inside. “Ophelia!” Hitch cried to get through the metal. “Mayor Fleming! Oh… it’s no use! We’re completely sealed in!”
“On the bright side,” said Fred as the ponies removed their masks, revealing their regular forms, “so is the phantom!”
“That’s the bright side?” Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow. “Hey, if us being in here with the phantom can help us solve this mystery,” said Sunny, “I’ll take it… just so long as our friends are okay.”
“Aha!” Velma shouted in realization after looking at the nearby map. “Follow me!”
The group dashed after her through a series of twists and turns, eventually reaching the control room where they found the remaining members of the gang, Pipp and Misty (the two mares being in their normal forms again). “Just as I thought!” Velma smiled. “Really great work, you guys!”
“Yeah!” Daphne nodded in agreement. “Locking down the facility once the civilians were evacuated…”
“To make it easier to find and catch the phantom,” said Fred with an impressed smile. “Ha. What a trap!”
“It wasn’t us,” Shaggy told them with a shake of his head. “You think we’d lock ourselves in with the phantom?”
“Uh-uh!” Scooby shook his head. “The phantom was here, but we didn’t even have to use our powers to fight him off!” Pipp agreed. “We actually had some… unexpected help.”
Zipp raised an eyebrow at this. “Really? From who?”
Shaggy turned the chair at the control panel around to reveal the white super-dog who saved them earlier, surprising the group as the white dog barked cheerfully. “Aww!” Fred exclaimed. “What a cute pup!”
“Oh, look at you!” Daphne cooed at the white dog before Izzy suddenly thought of something. “Do you think he got left behind by one of the tourists? And now he’s all by himself?”
“Hmmm… I’d say he looks more like a stray,” Velma said, inspecting the dog. “Messy fur, dirty claws, that hungry look in his eyes…”
To Shaggy and Scooby, they seemed to fill in all of those boxes as well, causing Scooby to suddenly think of something. “Shaggy… are we strays?”
“Yep!” Shaggy nodded without hesitation. “But if you guys didn’t initiate the lockdown, who did?” Fred wondered as Shaggy gestured to the white dog again. “You guys,” he said, “you’re looking at him!”
Hitch glanced at Sunny rather strangely. “The dog?”
“A super-dog!” Scooby exclaimed, and this caused even more confusion than before. “And that’s not all he can do,” Pipp went on. “He can fly like a pegasus and he’s got heat-vision!”
“It’s a stray dog, not Superman,” Daphne immediately dismissed. “Well, whoever did it,” said Fred as the white dog suddenly darted across the control room, “they just gave us a leg up in finding the so-called phantom.”
“All right,” Daphne muttered in thought. “So, if I were a monster, where would I…?”
Suddenly, the white dog began to bark and paw at the break room door nearby, as if wanting the gang to check it out. “What is it, boy?” Sunny asked curiously. “Is there something in the break room?”
A sudden crash caused them all to flinch and look toward the door with wide eyes. “Sounds like the break room is already broken,” Shaggy said nervously. “We’ll wait out here.”
“Oh no, you don’t,” Hitch said, pushing the cowardly duo forward. “We’re going to solve this mystery no matter what it takes.”
Fred gently tilted the door handle and pushed the door open, and the Mane 6, plus the gang, as they struggled to get through the door all at once, saw Lex Luthor, Rex and Tempest Nova in the break room.
And through all the grunting and straining, Velma spoke first. “Lex Luthor?!”
“Annoying kids?” Lex looked at the group in surprise. “Rex Ruthor?” Scooby questioned, only to be met with Rex’s angry growl. “Oh, hey, Tempest!” Izzy greeted cheerfully. “Nice to see you!”
“Oh, uh… yeah,” Tempest said, looking a little surprised. “It’s nice to see you too.”
The white dog pushed through the gang and finally made it into the breakroom, causing Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma to fall on the floor, prompting Rex to laugh as the ponies helped the gang back onto their feet. “Now that we're all reacquainted, what are you still doing in the building?” Daphne asked. “We’re locked down.”
“We know,” Tempest responded, ears folded. “We got separated from my driver in this labyrinth,” Lex complained, “and--”
“And what?” Zipp asked with a narrowed gaze. “And I got lost, okay?” Lex groaned, embarrassed. “Yes, the great Lex Luthor finally did what Lois Lane and Mayor Fleming have been telling him to do for years. He got lost.”
“Anyway…” said Tempest, trying to shift the conversation to make it less awkward, “...we got locked in here, and Rexie and I got kinda hungry… Rex more than me, though.”
“But this infernal machine won’t take my dollar!” Lex interrupted, kicking a vending machine while holding a dollar with his face on it. “You have to flatten it out,” Hitch deadpanned. “Believe me, I’ve had THAT problem before.”
“It’s perfectly crisp,” Lex sneered. “The stupid thing just won't take my dollar. I had them printed up when I was president. They're perfectly acceptable legal tender.”
“We can just give you a real dollar,” Daphne deadpanned. “No, it's fine. Been meaning to field test this anyway.”
Lex aimed his laser watch at the glass casing and blasted it open earning yelps and screams from the others. When it was done Lex smiled at the others but they just gave him frowns of disapproval. “Oh, don't look at me like that. I'll pay them back. Believe me, if there's one thing Superman and the Justice League can expect from me, it's payback,” Lex alliterated in a villainous tone again before seeing a bag of his favorite chips. “Ooh! Chipzees!”
As Lex and Rex each took what they wanted from the pile, he noticed Shaggy and Scooby eagerly panting and wanting some of the snacks, making Lex sigh. “Oh, I suppose…” said Lex as Shaggy and Scooby rushed back and forth to get the snacks they wanted. “If you must… help yourselves.”
“Like, we thought you’d never ask, Lex old buddy!” Shaggy patted his shoulder before zooming to the table with Scooby. “Well, I’ve seen super speed,” observed Lex, “but this…”
“Trust me,” said Pipp, “you haven’t seen ANYTHING yet! Just watch and see how fast they can eat.”
Shaggy and Scooby sat down with napkins around their necks to eat the vending machine food they collected, but before they could take a single bite, all of it disappeared before their very eyes!
Turns out, the white dog used his own super speed to swipe the snacks and eat them at a rather fast pace… something that impressed Tempest greatly. “That was fast!”
“That,” Lex told his trainee, recognizing the white dog after seeing the skills he displayed, “was Krypto.”
“Krypto?” Scooby questioned, never hearing of such a name as the white dog raced to his and Misty's side. “The super-dog,” said Lex as Rex began to growl. Scooby and the Mane 6 looked at Krypto again, who barked and spun around before revealing his tag to have Superman's symbol on it. This caused Scooby to giggle in excitement. “I knew it!”
“Yes, Superman’s best friend. Imbued with many of the same powers and weaknesses as the Man of Steel,” Lex told the gang as Krypto flew over to the snack pile. “He must've been left behind when the League vanished.”
Krypto then used his heat vision to make a bag of popcorn explode, and popcorn rained down from the sky, making the group gaze in wonder before Krypto dove in. “Hmm…” Sunny muttered. “I wonder who’s been feeding him.”
“Like, apparently… nobody,” Shaggy observed from how much Krypto was eating. “Wow!” Zipp exclaimed in wonder. “A real-life superhero dog!”
“Who’s a good super-dog?” Fred cooed, rubbing Krypto on top of his head. “Ooh, who’s such a good super-dog?”
“I’d be careful,” Lex warned. “Kryptonian fleas have serrated metal claws and can live for several hundred Earth years.”
“Whoa!” Fred jumped back, chuckling nervously as Krypto began to scratch himself. After he was done, Krypto saw a poster of Superman on the fridge, at first panting happily before whimpering in sadness at his friend being gone. “Aww…” Hitch frowned sympathetically. “I don't think I can understand Kryptonian hound, but I think he really misses Superman.”
“Ugh. Join the club,” Lex interrupted the conversation. “I miss him every time I open fire.”
“...don’t worry, Krypto. I’m sure the Justice League will come back someday,” Tempest reassured the dog softly as the rest of the group shot Lex a deadpan look. “But until then… you have me! I’ll be your friend.”
Krypto sniffed her for a moment before barking and wagging his tail, causing Tempest to giggle. “I think that means yes in Kryptonian hound.”
Lex shot her a stern glare, causing her to gulp. “But, um… maybe we need to look for a way out first? Maybe get some air?”
“Better yet,” said Daphne, “we need to find some clues about this phantom.”
“Good idea. I think that I saw the word ‘kitchen’ on the directory in the lobby,” said Shaggy. “Sunny, Misty, Scoob and I--”
“And Krypto,” Scooby interrupted. “Right. The girls, Scoob and I and our bodyguard Krypto will start there,” said Shaggy. “Hey, Tempest!” Misty called toward the earth pony filly. “Wanna come with us?”
“M-Me? You want me to come with you?” Tempest asked them in surprise. “Of course! Like, you look like you would be a great asset to the team,” Shaggy smiled. Tempest nervously looked back at Lex, who growled and merely rolled his eyes at her… and then, Tempest managed to smile, deciding to make a decision of her own for once. “Y-Yeah… I think I will come with you.”
“Great! Let’s go!” Sunny spoke, and the six of them moved toward the doors before Shaggy spotted a candy bar on the ground. “Oh, look-- one left!”
But, as Shaggy moved to put the bar into his pocket, Krypto flew past at super speed and grabbed it, without Shaggy even noticing. Scooby, Krypto and Tempest quietly chuckled at this joke just as Shaggy noticed something else. “Oh, hey!” he said, lifting his foot up. “There’s another one under my shoe!”
Scooby looked toward Krypto before breaking into a super fast run and grabbing the bar as Shaggy put it into his pocket, again without noticing. “Lucky me. Let’s go, guys,” Shaggy said to his group, beginning to walk out of the room. “You know, if you're all good, I might just let you share in the bounty.”
Scooby, Krypto and Tempest giggled again before they followed Shaggy, Sunny and Misty out of the room, and once they were out of the room all the way, Sunny and Misty put on their superhero masks and walked alongside their friends. “And since you're so good with tech, Mr. Luthor, why don’t you join me, Zipp and Hitch in the Command Center to go over the Hall's closed-circuit security camera footage?” Velma suggested. “I know what's happening. You just want to keep an eye on me. But the joke's on you,” Lex told her, causing Daphne and Velma to look at each other for a moment. “I happen to love closed-circuit security camera footage. Race you to it!”
And just like that, he and Rex ran out of the room, leaving Zipp to sigh in exasperation. “They’re gonna be a handful,” she told Velma as they left the room, leaving Daphne, Fred, Izzy and Pipp alone once more. “So… what?” Fred asked Daphne, still concerned about the whole ‘Jimmy Olsen boyfriend’ thing. “It was like a… co-ed summer camp?”
“Fred,” Daphne said with a frown before she, Fred and the two remaining mares left the room to begin their own search for clues.
Young Tempest Nova couldn’t believe what had just happened-- strangers that she had only met about half an hour ago and Krypto, the dog of the legendary Superman, asked her to join them in the kitchen of the Hall of Justice… and they weren’t just being nice. They wanted her to be there, and said she might be an asset to the team.
Maybe these strangers could be the family that she had been longing for since her mother had passed away. And maybe... they could help her find the lock for her key.
Suddenly, a voice caught her attention. “Tempest?”
Tempest squeaked and flinched a bit but relaxed when she saw Misty, who was with her at the back of the group as they walked. “Are you all right?”
“I…” Tempest stammered, “...I’m fine…”
Unfortunately, Misty could see there was something really bothering her. “No, you’re not. I know that something’s wrong…”
Misty gently touched Tempest's shoulder before her eyes suddenly went white and she saw a moment that Tempest had with Lex a half an hour or so earlier.
XXXXXXXX
“Tempest… you do realize,” said Mr. Luthor as they walked down the hall, “that I took you in so you could gain experience as an assistant, and not to be frivolous, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And, you’re supposed to be fearsome, correct? Isn’t that what your ancestor was?”
“...yes,” Tempest said softly. “My mom used to tell me that Tempest Shadow was the most feared unicorn warrior in all of Equestria. But… that’s the thing, I don’t want to be--”
“Feared?” Lex sneered. “Which do you like least… the fear of being feared or the fear of being fired and out on the street?”
Tempest’s breathing hitched at this. “F-Fired…?”
“That’s what I thought your answer would be. Now, come along. We have some calls to make.”
XXXXXXXX
Misty retracted her hoof from Tempest's shoulder, shocked and horrified at what she just saw... and she was confused.
She never had that power before, but... it must have come with her superpowers.
And what she thought she saw must have been Tempest's memories.
After regaining her breath, she turned toward the young filly. “Lex… threatened to kick you out on the street for not wanting to be feared.”
Tempest’s eyes grew wide upon Misty saying this. “H-How did you…?”
“I… think I saw your memory,” Misty said in thought. “I saw Lex being cruel to you, and he wants people to fear you like they fear him or else... he'll throw you out without any other place to go.”
Tempest lowered her head unable to hold back her feelings and she started to cry and sob as tears came from her eyes. Misty lowered her ears and hugged Tempest tightly. “Tempest…?”
Misty looked up to see Sunny, Shaggy and the two dogs approaching. “Like, what happened?” Shaggy asked. “Somehow… I was able to see Tempest’s memories,” Misty said. “Lex threatened to throw her out on the street for not being fearsome like her ancestor… somepony named Tempest Shadow.”
“Tempest Shadow… I remember her from some of my dad’s stories,” Sunny said in thought as Scooby rubbed the top of Tempest’s head with his paw, making her flinch. “ She was the most powerful commander from the Storm King's army in Ancient Equestria. She joined after she lost her horn in a Uras Major attack and her friends became scared of her because of her uncontrollable magic which hardened her heart. She became very feared amongst others.”
“...but… I don’t wanna be like her,” Tempest sniffled. “I don't want that life…”
“But it doesn’t seem like Lex respects you or your feelings either,” Misty assumed. “He only cares about himself, doesn’t he? Threatening to kick you out if you don't do what he wants.”
Tempest sniffled and nodded before sobbing again. Sunny felt very sorry for the young filly, as did Misty.
Her relationship with Opaline was the same way. She used fear and intimidation to keep Misty under her hoof and threatened to leave her in the streets too if she didn't comply either.
Misty couldn't let Tempest go through the same thing with Lex any longer. She couldn't! She wouldn't let him! “Sunny, do you know what happened to Tempest Shadow that might shed a positive light on her?”
“Well… according to the stories from my dad's journal, after capturing Twilight Sparkle and the Storm King drained all four alicorn princesses of their magic,” Sunny recalled. “Tempest asked the Storm King to restore her horn as he promised but it was a fake promise. She was manipulated by the Storm King into doing his bidding. But Twilight showed her what real friends do for each other and Tempest saw her mistake in abandoning friendship. After the Storm King was defeated, she became friends with the Guardians of Harmony and left that life behind her, traveling Equestria and spreading word of the Storm King’s defeat.”
“R-Really?” Tempest sniffled. “She did all that…?”
“Hey, if Sunny says something’s true,” said Shaggy, “it’s true.”
“Without a doubt,” Scooby agreed with a wink. “Tempest....I know what you're going through. Being under the hoof of somepony who just wants to control you and is angry, but it doesn't have to be that way,” Misty said as a soft white light began to envelope her, but only Sunny, Shaggy, Scooby and Krypto noticed it right away. You have the power to take control of your own destiny. It's not defined by your lineage or your past. No one can say what you can or cannot do.”
Misty’s cutie mark then came to life as the white butterfly fluttered around Tempest, who seemed in awe at Misty's power before she wiped her eyes and hugged Misty again. “...thank you, Misty. I thought I was gonna be alone forever, but… now I know that I’m not.”
“No problem,” Misty said, ruffing her mane. “Let’s keep going… I have a feeling we’ll find some clues before long.”
After a while of walking, Scooby turned toward Krypto, wanting to ask the white dog an enticing question. “Faster than a speeding bullet?”
Krypto barked in response, as if he was saying yes. “More powerful than a locomotive?” Scooby asked, causing Krypto to bark, saying ‘yes’ again. “Vulnerable to kryptonite?”
At this statement, Krypto whined and barked sadly, as if he was sort of ashamed to admit it. “Wow…” Tempest said with wide, adoring eyes. “Just like Superman!”
“Hey, here it is! Kitchen!” Shaggy said, pointing to a sign that hung above some double doors. However, Krypto seemed a little worried, and tried to bark a warning to try and stop them from entering. “Now, trust us, Krypto,” Shaggy told him. “Clues can be hiding anywhere-- even inside a freshly-made Superhero Sandwich! Isn’t that right, Scoob?”
“Yeah yeah yeah yeah!” Scooby nodded enthusiastically before licking his chops. Sunny then pushed on the doors to open them, but to her dismay, they simply would not budge. “Uh oh… it’s locked!”
Shag and Scooby seemed to think about that for a moment before their eyes settled on Krypto… almost as if they were pleading with him silently to use his heat vision. Reluctantly, Krypto relented and used his heat vision to melt the lock on the doors, opening it and causing the others to smile. “We’re in!”
“Oh, man,” Shaggy smiled. “Oh, man, I hope it's the biggest, coolest super-sized kitchen ever!”
“Acknowledged!” said a computerized voice that came out of nowhere, confusing Mindy and Scooby before they stepped inside the kitchen with their friends, where a white blinding glow caused them to shield their eyes. When the glow vanished, they were in a massively large kitchen, just as Shaggy was hoping there would be, and the entire group gasped at this. “Whoa…”
A huge island sat in the middle of the room, along with cabinets that held utensils and plates of different styles and countertops and appliances that stretched from one wall to the other.
When Shaggy opened one of the refrigerators to see all the fresh food inside, the other refrigerator doors opened automatically, revealing more food than even the girls, Shaggy and Scooby ever saw in one place. “Like…” Shaggy spoke after a few moments of shock, “...this… is… super!!”
Without another minute of hesitation, Shaggy laughed and immediately gathered sandwich ingredients left and right. “I-I can't believe I'm saying this, but... this kitchen! I-It's got… everything!” Sunny cried out, looking at the blenders they had on hoof. “Well,” said Shaggy, tossing more sandwich ingredients to Scooby, “everything except for triple-cream salted-organic-truffle butter!”
“Acknowledged!” said the same computerized voice before a flash of light spread throughout the room, and when it cleared, the triple-cream salted-organic-truffle butter appeared on another shelf. “Wait!” said Mindy. “There it is! I don't think anyone would mind if we just made ourselves a little snack before we get on with the clue search.”
So, after Shaggy and Scooby got the rest of their sandwich ingredients together, they began to make their meal. “You know, Scoob,” Shaggy said, “when we first got to Metropolis, I was worried.”
“Me too,” Scooby nodded at this statement. “There were supervillains everywhere!” Misty agreed before beginning to name off some villains that they saw earlier. “Giganta…”
“Acknowledged!” said the computerized voice, followed by another flash of light. “Joker!” Shaggy went on with the list of names. “Harley Quinn!”
“Acknowledged, acknowledged!” spoke the computer voice again, and two more flashes of white light soon followed, but Krypto seemed to be the only one who noticed for a while. “Even those Kryptonian exiles!” Shaggy spoke. “General Zod, Ursa and Non?” the computerized voice asked to see if those were who he was mentioning. “That’s right!” Sunny nodded before realizing who just spoke. “Huh?”
Suddenly, that same voice said 'acknowledged'three more times, followed by three more flashes of white light.
When Krypto and all three ponies looked over to the side, they let out barks and shrieks of surprise, for standing right in front of them was all the villains that they had mentioned previously, plus Solomon Grundy, smirking and chuckling wickedly…. almost as if the room they were in had somehow brought the villains in there with them. “Uh… you guys?” Tempest tried to get Shaggy and Scooby’s attention. “I think you might wanna look…”
“Like, not now, Tempest,” Shaggy told her before he and Scooby got back to making their sandwiches. “Where was I? Oh, yeah. It was really scary, and dangerous.”
“Acknowledged!” the computer voice said once again, and after another flash, Misty and Tempest screamed in panic as Sunny unfurled her alicorn form and kept her friends behind her wings.
All the villains that Shaggy had summoned now welded dangerous weapons and powers, such as explosives, mallets, laser eyes and brute force that was not to be reckoned with.
But while the girls and Krypto tried to keep their distance from the villains, Scooby and Shaggy kept on making their sandwiches-- Scooby even mistook Solomon Grundy's growling as his stomach growling. “Oh dear… excuse me.”
“You’re excused,” Shaggy said politely before he and Scooby prepared to eat their sandwiches. “I have to say, I now feel as comfortable, safe and secure as--”
Suddenly, the Kryptonian exiles launched their heat vision right at the boys, causing their sandwiches to be burned to smoldering ash, and that heat beam hit the computer by the door, causing it to fry and the door to seal shut, as well as become practically unusable.
This caused Shaggy and Scooby to finally notice the villains standing behind them, screaming and running behind Krypto with the girls.
That's when Shaggy and Scooby got to wondering… could this get any worse?
XXXXXXXX
At the same time, Izzy, Pipp Daphne and Fred had made it to the Justice League’s locker room, where Fred was still talking about Daphne’s supposed relationship with Jimmy Olsen, still not able to let it go. “It's just strange that you never mentioned him before,” he said to Daphne. “That's all.”
“I can’t believe you’re not letting this go,” Daphne told him in exasperation. “Seriously,” Fred spoke again, not taking the hint, “was it serious?”
“We’re ignoring you,” Pipp said, and turned the other way as she and Daphne inspected a locker for clues. “Is red hair your thing? Is that it?” Fred continued to ask, leading Daphne to scoff. “Well,” Fred frowned, thinking she was laughing at him, “I don’t see how laughing at me is gonna help.”
“Fred, nothing happened between me and Jimmy Olsen… even though he is a fiery red-haired risk-taker like me,” Daphne told him with a little smirk. “And he is one of Superman’s pals,” Izzy said teasingly. “You know, I have considered dyeing my hair,” Fred told them, trying to sound macho, leaving Daphne to chuckle. But when Fred turned, his eyes widened in shock at which superhero’s locker he was standing in front of. “Hold the phone!”
“Huh?” Mini and Nano chorused, confused until they saw Fred reaching into the locker and pulling something out. “Is that…?” Daphne began to ask as Fred pulled out what seemed to be a yellow belt. “A genuine Batman utility belt!”
“Fred, we know Batman,” Pipp reminded. “It's not like you haven't seen one up close.”
“Well, sure, but he'd never in a million years let me try it on!” Fred said challengingly, putting the belt on. “Freddy, put that back!” Izzy pleaded. “It's full of Bat-gadgets and who knows what else. It could be dangerous to somepony who doesn't know how to use it right!”
“So you’re saying… I’m taking a risk just by wearing it?” Fred asked before smiling. “I bet old Jimmy Olsen wouldn't do this! Official, dangerous Bat-gear! So, talk about a risk, eh, Daphne?”
Daphne merely chuckled at Fred’s imitation of Batman. “You are ridiculous.”
“Wouldn’t that be… dangerously ridiculous?” Fred asked, still doing his Batman imitation. “Would you stop?” Pipp giggled. “We have to look for clues.”
“Right. And there could be one right under our noses,” Izzy said. “At least… that’s what I’ve always heard.”
Suddenly, the three girls immediately froze when they saw the phantom materializing behind Fred, and while he was doing his little performance, Fred didn't even notice. “I’m vengeance!”
Pipp gulped nervously at the fact that the phantom was getting closer. “Uh, Freddy?”
“I am the night!”
Now, it was Izzy's turn to panic. “Freddy…?!”
“I am…”
Fred was just about to continue before he noticed the phantom behind him, which caused him to scream and leap into Daphne’s arms. “Heh…” Daphne rolled her eyes. “My hero.”
“Oh, come on!”
“Forget the Jimmy Olsen deal!” Pipp said, throwing a hairbrush at the phantom. “RUN!!”
The phantom snarled menacingly while Daphne and Fred ran away from it with Izzy and Pipp. Izzy fired her magic at the Phantom but it had no effect while Fred checked the utility belt for anything useful, "A calculator? Loose change?"
That's when Daphne saw a nearby laundry chute and got an idea. “Laundry chute! Come on!”
“Nice idea of unicycling our escape, Daphne!” Izzy said, holding the door open and allowing them to dive into it, screaming as they tumbled down the chute at top speed.
XXXXXXXX
At the same time, Velma and Hitch and Zipp were already in the main control room long before Lex and Rex arrived, and when they did, Zipp and Hitch frowned at them expectantly. “And just where,” said Zipp, “have you two been?”
“I was trying to find a cell phone signal. No luck, by the way. This lockdown doesn't mess around. And, well…” Lex trailed off during the middle of his explanation. Luckily, Velma knew what really happened and interrupted before he could make up an excuse. “You got lost again.”
“No! I was temporarily under-routed,” Lex spoke in defense. “So… lost,” Hitch clarified, causing Rex to growl at him. That’s when Lex, as he muttered out of frustration, picked up a flash drive on the nearby table. “What are you doing with all this anyway?”
“I'm attempting to hack into the hall's computer system,” said Velma, taking the flash drive away from him, plugging it in and turning to the computer, “so we can review the logged security footage.”
“Oh, right. I meant to tell you this earlier… HA!!” Lex boasted as Velma continued to type on the computer. “You think you can just hack into Justice League computers? Sweetheart, if that were possible, don't you think by now, I, former President Lex Luthor, billionaire genius, would have…?”
“I’m in… sweetheart,” Velma shot Lex a smirk, showcasing that she had gotten logged into the computer before she focused on some security footage of the food truck woman, by the name of Helen, sneaking inside the building on multiple occasions. “Several incidents over the past month of Helen, the food truck lady, sneaking into the building. But she did say she likes the bathrooms here.”
“And that’s the valet that Freddy mentioned that we talked to earlier!” Zipp said, pointing to security footage that showed J.B throwing a greasy napkin from the burger he purchased into Lex’s limousine. “Hey! That's my limo!” cried Lex, just as Velma found more security footage that caught her attention. “Speaking of…”
The footage that Velma had found was of Mercy, Lex’s driver, walking through the halls and carrying a rather heavy bag on her shoulder, catching their attention immediately. “My driver?” Lex questioned out of confusion. “When was this?”
“This is actually live footage!” Zipp realized. “She’s in the building right now!”
“Mercy? She must have been locked in like the rest of us. And she has my bag. Thank goodness!” Lex smiled before turning to Rex and talking to him in baby talk. “Daddy just found Rexie's nom noms.”
Hitch gagged at this and turned to Zipp. “I like animals as much as the next pony, but that’s just… just sickening!”
Suddenly, there came a loud crash from somewhere else in the building. “What was that?” Lex asked. “I don’t need security footage to tell us that!” Zipp said. “Sounds like our friends are in trouble!”
With that, Zipp and Hitch grabbed their masks, turning into their superhero forms before leading the group out of the room.
XXXXXXXX
At the same time, Izzy, Pipp, Daphne and Fred finally fell from the laundry chute and landed somewhere in the parking garage.
After they landed, Izzy groaned. “That made my brain go all twisty turny…”
“What happened?” Fred asked as they sat up from their fall, leaving Daphne to groan. “Locker room…” she spoke, “...laundry chute… terrible, loud screeching…”
“From the phantom?” Fred asked. “No… from you!” Pipp spoke with a frown. “The whole way down!”
“Oh, right… sorry,” Fred apologized sheepishly. “I think we landed in the parking garage. But on what?” Izzy wondered, just as Daphne looked down and gasped. “Girls, Freddy, don’t look!”
Fred looked down and immediately saw that they were standing on something, but it was completely hidden from sight, quickly standing up. “Oh, my gosh, Daphne! I might really be Batman!”
“Hey!” J.B shouted as he approached. “What're you doing on Wonder Woman's invisible tank?”
“Invisible tank? Ohhh… invisible tank,” Pipp smiled before realizing what she said. “Invisible tank?!”
“Yeah. Right between her Invisible Plane and her lesser-known Invisible Trolley,” J.B explained. “Now, if you were aiming for the laundry truck, I'm afraid I moved it to make room for your van.”
“How are we gonna get down?” Daphne wondered. “I’ll fly us all down one at a time,” Pipp said with a sigh. “I just hope the others are having better luck than us.”
Unfortunately, as the others were rushing around the Hall of Justice, finding very little clues, Shaggy and Scooby were currently running for their lives from the supervillains they accidentally created, while Sunny and Misty were trying to defend them and Krypto and Tempest Nova tried to get the computer to work again.
Sunny and Misty used their alicorn and unicorn powers to keep the villains away from Shaggy and Scooby for a short time, but Scooby was being chased by Solomon Grundy around the room. “Scooby-Doo! Hang in there!” Shaggy cried as Sunny and Misty kicked the bad guys away from their friends. Meanwhile, Tempest tried to press some buttons and get the computer working again. “Come on… work, you stupid machine! Hurry up and work already!”
She hit the computer again, and electricity shot around her similar to that of her ancestor’s magic before she was thrown back with a painful cry and fell onto the ground. Sunny, Misty and Shaggy gasped at this. “TEMPEST!!”
Even Krypto barked in concern. “I'm okay!” Tempest groaned as she tried to sit up. “My leg just hurts!”
“Scooby, can you try and get Tempest onto your back for now?” Misty asked. Scooby nodded and managed to evade Solomon Grundy long enough for him to scoop Tempest onto his back before continuing to run again.
At the same time, Krypto continued to try and get the computer working again. “There has to be someway out!” Misty cried. “I mean… where did these things even come from?!”
“Hey! Super-Dog!” Shaggy cried to Krypto. “Like, we could use a little help over here!!”
Krypto disregarded this and continued to bark at the computer, trying to get it to respond. It finally did, and its holographic features sent them from the highly advanced kitchen to out into the streets of Metropolis…
…much to the group’s shock. “Guys… have we lost it,” said Tempest, “or did we just magically transport to…?!”
Krypto barked again, and the scene around them then changed to a place that Scooby recognized. “The Daily Planet?”
“Oh, no…” Shaggy said, scrambling to the top of a filing cabinet. “I think my life is flashing before my eyes!”
Krypto barked one more time, sending everyone to the park, where Shaggy suddenly began to assume what was going on. “Like, wait a second, what if this is all just--”
“Holograms?” Scooby interrupted. “Huh?” Shaggy blinked. “Dude, I was gonna say indigestion. How’d you get…?”
That’s when Scooby pointed to a sign above the door. “Danger,” Sunny read. “You are entering the Justice League holographic training simulator, AKA the kitchen.”
“Huh… holograms?” Tempest blinked. “Was that there the whole time?”
Krypto rolled his eyes and barked at this. “All right, all right,” Misty spoke. “No need to shout!”
Sunny helped Shaggy down from the statue as the Joker and Harley Quinn played catch with a bomb, which blew up in Harley’s face as they approached the others. “Well, if these guys are just holographic simulations,” said Shaggy, “all we have to do is reprogram the…”
But that’s when Misty, Sunny, Shaggy and Scooby noticed the fried up computer. “Oh no!” Sunny cried out. “The computer is completely fried!”
“In other words… we’re doomed!” Shaggy whimpered.
Unfortunately, all this whimpering was enough to get the villains’ attention, and they prepared their weapons and stepped closer to them. “Oh no!” Scooby gasped in panic. “You said it, Scoob!” Shaggy cried. “Like, there's only one thing left to do!”
“WHOA!!!” Tempest cried, clinging to Scooby as he and Shaggy dove into the bushes and out of sight. “Well… I guess it’s up to us!” Sunny told Misty and Krypto. “We’ll try to keep them away from the others as long as we can, but Krypto, you have to get that thing working!”
Krypto barked in confirmation as Sunny and Misty lit their horns with cold looks on their faces. “All right, Misty,” whispered Sunny. “When I count to three, we leap right on them. Ready? One… two…”
“There you are!”
When the villains, Krypto and the ponies turned, they saw Shaggy and Scooby had come out of the bushes, now wearing matching tour guide outfits. “You’re all late,” Scooby scolded the villains, who muttered out of confusion. “No matter! Still plenty of time to complete our tour of beautiful Centennial Park,” Shaggy said, his back turned while he gestured for Krypto to keep working on the computer repairs. “My name's Norville, and I'll be your docent, if you think that's decent, anyone who doesn't can voice their dissent.”
Tempest peeked out of the bushes in confusion. “What’s going on, Sunny?”
“I think Shaggy and Scooby have a plan,” Sunny whispered, “but we’re gonna need you to stay in the bushes for a while, okay?”
“Sure thing,” Tempest nodded. “Not like I can go anywhere with my leg or anything.”
Sunny and Misty removed their masks, putting themselves in their civilian forms before trotting over. “You got any room for two more on the tour?” Misty asked casually. “Ahh, the more the merrier, my good mares!” Shaggy said as Scooby brought over matching t-shirts for the villains to wear. “Thank you, Docent Scoobert.”
Scooby then proceeded to place the t-shirts on the villains while Sunny and Misty got lanyards that had the same style. “Remember, folks,” said Shaggy, “the lanyards and the t-shirts aren't just for fashion, they're how we keep a headcount to ensure we end the tour with the same number of paying customers we start with.”
“But don’t worry!” Sunny added quickly. “I read online that they’ve never lost more than… one or two guests.”
The villains, however, looked a little worried when Sunny said this, allowing Krypto enough time to start work on the computer system. “Yeah, they're not all gems,” Shaggy stated. “Okay, we've got our t-shirts and we're ready to begin our walking tour of these historic grounds on this super sunny day, but first... how about a cool drink of delicious, locally-sourced sparkling mineral water?”
Scooby brought out a spray bottle full of water, approaching the villains. “Hold still...”
“Hydration, ladies and gentlemen, it's good for the soul and for the skin!” Shaggy said as Scooby and Misty took turns spraying the villains in the face. “You'll all thank us tomorrow, especially that pale, handsome fella with the million-dollar smile.”
The Joker blushed heavily at this, causing Harley to laugh and nudge his side. “He's talking about you!”
“Now if you'll follow us, we'll begin our tour with the famed Centennial Park Sludge Pits, just behind those trash cans over there,” Shaggy urged the group to walk along the path. “We’re walking... we're walking...”
Misty took out her phone and began to snap a lot of pictures for her to send to Pipp later-- she was sure that the pop star princess would want to see them, even if they were in some sort of holographic simulation.
All the villains seemed to be falling for the scheme, and the Kryptonian Exiles even enjoyed several charred-up hot dogs. “Yes, the views are spectacular,” Shaggy announced to the tour group. “Please feel free to capture the memories and don't forget to tag all your photos with our hashtag, 'CheapoTours'.”
The Joker immediately grabbed a camera and began to take a picture of Solomon Grundy, when Sunny and Misty suddenly came up to them. “Oh, let us help!” Sunny said, pushing Solomon back a bit. “Sometimes, you need an extra hoof to help you find your light.”
That’s when Misty pushed him forward until he was really close to the camera lens. “There. Much better. Feel free to snap away!”
The Joker proceeded to take his picture of Solomon, but the flash from the camera blinded him, causing Solomon to hit Joker right on top of the head. This prompted Joker and Harley Quinn to attack him, and this led the other villains into an attack on each other themselves.
And while the villains were busy fighting amongst themselves, Shaggy and Scooby removed their disguises and Sunny and Misty put on their masks again, transforming back to their superhero forms. “Like, that ought to keep them busy,” said Shaggy, “right, Scoob, ol' buddy?”
“Yeah,” Scooby said with a chuckle, just as Tempest popped her head from the bushes. “Thank goodness… I don’t ever wanna deal with those guys again.”
“Speaking of,” said Misty, “how are the repairs coming, Krypto?”
To the group’s relief, Krypto managed to get the computer working and barked, making all of the holograms disappear… and letting the door open, letting Lex Luthor, Hitch, Zipp and Velma, along with Rex, come through. “Velma!” cried Scooby in relief. “Shaggy, Scooby, girls!” Hitch exclaimed. “Are you okay? We heard all the commotion and came galloping!”
“We’re fine now,” said Shaggy. “Thanks to Krypto fixing that computer thingy.”
“Hey wait… what happened to Tempest?” Zipp asked in concern for the filly that was now on Scooby’s back again. “She got shocked by the computer, but I think she should be okay,” Misty said. “She just needs a little rest.”
That’s when Lex noticed the room they were in. “A holographic simulator? See, this is the kind of attraction I was talking about. Money in the bank!”
Tempest winced from Scooby's back before the tiny filly staggered off of him. “Tempest? You sure you should be moving on that leg?” Sunny asked with a frown. “I-I think I’ll be okay,” Tempest nodded. “As long as I take it slow.”
“Ugh, still weak and pathetic, aren't you?” Lex asked her bluntly, causing her to fold her ears back and not say anything, and causing the other ponies to glare at him. That’s when the computer suddenly spoke again. “Identify.”
“I’m Lex Luthor!” Lex shouted. “Does no one know…?”
Suddenly, the computer scanned Krypto’s collar, causing it to glow and the entire simulation room to go dark. “This just keeps getting better…” Shaggy said nervously, just before the lights came back on, revealing them to be in the control room again. “What’s this?” Scooby looked around, thinking that this was another simulation just as the computer spoke again. “D-D-Displaying archives. Krypto Collar Cam. Time Index, March 15th, 1740 hours.”
“Archive?” Hitch looked confused. “What does that mean?”
“Security footage from a camera housed in the guard dog's collar,” Lex explained. “From the night the Justice League vanished!” Velma realized. “This could be very enlightening.”
“But… what if we don’t like what we see?” Tempest asked worriedly. “What if somepony gets hurt?”
“We won’t let that happen,” Sunny told her gently. “Just stay near us and you’ll be fine.”
Suddenly, the trouble alert began to go off, and Krypto pawed at the nearby door and barked. “Call me crazy,” said Misty, “but I think he wants us to follow him!”
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Zipp cried, and they all followed Krypto down the hall as crashing sounds seemed to emerge from somewhere close. “Sounds like trouble, all right…” Velma said as they ran. Suddenly, something or someone burst through the wall and landed in front of them, and everyone froze, it being a figure that most of the group recognized. “Superman…!” Tempest gasped. “I-I had never seen him up close before-- I came to LexCorp a few weeks after the Justice League disappeared.”
“But whether it’s real or simulated,” Zipp said, “I gotta admit, this is cool! Er… somewhat cool, in this case.”
Whining, Krypto walked over to his best friend, wanting to see if there was something he could do. “Run, boy! Take cover!” Superman warned. “Go!”
He flew back in the direction he was blasted from before a flash of light came from another room, which was revealed to be the lobby. But when the others followed Krypto into the lobby, there was no one else there.
Krypto growled as he glanced around the room, and Zipp scratched the back of her head with her hoof. “I-I don’t get it! It's like Superman just... disappeared without a trace!”
“There's no trace of any Justice League members... or any trace of anything, other than this debris,” Tempest added, inspecting the area. “Like, I wouldn’t say that exactly!” Shaggy said before pointing at a nearby tapestry. “Look! There's something behind the tapestry!”
“T-The phantom?!” Scooby asked in fright. “Why would a phantom need to hide behind a tapestry?” Lex asked bluntly, and as he reached out to pull the tapestry, his hand went right through. “Whoa!” Sunny inspected their surroundings. “This whole thing is a holographic recording!”
“Good eye, Sunny,” Velma elbowed the earth pony/alicorn mare. “Unless Krypto's camera saw them there that night, we won't see them here.”
Speaking of Krypto, Scooby looked around and noticed that Krypto had vanished. “Krypto?”
“He's... over there,” Misty pointed her hoof at Krypto, who sniffed around and whined, laying on the ground, completely depressed. Misty frowned at this, but before she could make a move toward Krypto, Tempest was already ahead of her, putting a gentle hoof on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Krypto,” she whispered. “We'll find him.”
Shaggy suddenly whimpered out of fear, freezing immediately in place. “Unless he has something to say about it!”
Solomon Grundy was in the middle of the room with them, and as he roared at them, Shaggy and Scooby and Tempest screamed in terror, and Sunny, Hitch, Zipp and Misty leapt in front of their friends to defend them. “Computer!” Lex shouted. “Delete Solomon Grundy program!”
“Solomon Grundy is not running.”
“Oh, yes, he is!!” Scooby yelped in panic as Solomon Grundy ran toward them at top speed. “And honestly? So are we!!” Tempest shrieked, leading everyone except Krypto and the super-powered ponies ran toward the door.
Sunny launched beam of light at the bully by stomping her hooves, blinding him and causing him to stumble backwards. “Good job, Sunny! This will give us enough time to run for our lives!” Hitch cried. “What?!” Misty cried as she fired a beam to reblind Solomon. “We can't run away!”
“But we do have to warn the others and make sure he doesn't hurt the gang!” Zipp realized. “Ponies, Krypto, follow me! Hurry!”
The ponies and Krypto raced toward the door, allowing Solomon to rub his eyes and give the groups chase through the halls.
XXXXXXXX
Izzy, Pipp, Daphne and Fred joined in the chase as soon as the others raced past them in the hallways, and soon, Mercy Graves (Lex's assistant) joined in the chase as well, having been looking for her employer, his dog and Tempest everywhere.
The chase seemed to last for ages, and the ponies were using all of their pony abilities and their superpowers to protect their powerless friends... but unfortunately, Solomon still seemed to be putting up a good chase.
Eventually, the chase led everyone back to the main control room, where the ponies managed to block the exits to keep him from going anywhere. However, he managed to grab Scooby in his arms, causing the Great Dane to whimper fearfully. “Oh no!” Misty cried. “He’s got Scooby-Doo!”
“Nopony make any sudden movements!” Sunny cried. “We don’t want to cause Grundy to hurt Scooby, but we also need to think of a plan to save him!”
While Scooby tried to squirm free and the remaining members of the group seemed in panic or trying to think of a plan, Lex was one of those that… surprisingly remained calm. “All right, no one panic. Grundy may look like nothing more than a mindless brute,” he said, taking out several wads of bills with his face on them, “but, I assure you, everyone has their price.”
Solomon roared in his face at this, causing Lex to stumble backwards, dropping his money in the process. “Why won't anyone take my money?!”
Krypto growled, finally deciding to take action, and flew up to distract Solomon… only for the purple-tinted creature to grab him as well! “He’s got them both!” Daphne cried. “Somebody, do something!”
“I know!” Fred cried, reaching into the utility belt and pulled out several small, black balls before rolling them on the ground. When the balls released smoke, the ponies thought that it was some sort of sleep gas.
But... all it did was release a 'happy birthday' message for Robin, causing Fred to sigh and take the belt off. “I need to have a talk with Batman about this belt.”
“Okay, Unity Squad!” Daphne cried. “Your turn!”
“Right!” Sunny nodded. “Unity Squad, with me!”
The Mane 6 rushed forward and surrounded Grundy on all sides, leaving him no room for escape. “Solomon Grundy, we gave you a chance to back down,” Zipp declared as their cutie marks began to glow, “but you leave us no choice! Time for some good old fashioned unity magic!”
As their cutie marks began to illuminate and as the ponies prepared to take Grundy down, another bright flash from somewhere nearby caused everyone to shield their eyes… and when their vision returned, Grundy was gone, and Scooby and Krypto were left getting off the floor.
The ponies were the most stunned at this. “Did… did we do that?” Izzy asked with wide eyes. “No!” Pipp cried, shaking her head in surprise. “Grundy just… vanished!”
Fred suddenly looked at the others. “You don't think...”
“No, I don't.”
“Nope. Uh, don't think so.”
“No, definitely not.”
“Not in a million years.”
“Dream on.”
“Not a chance.”
“...still...” Fred shrugged and put the belt back on, causing Daphne to sigh as Tempest ran toward the two dogs. “Scooby! Krypto!”
Scooby giggled as the little filly hugged both of them close, and Shaggy sighed and kneeled next to the three of them. “Thank goodness, we're all safe!”
“Yeah... that's a real relief,” Sunny said, just before Sparky’s nervous babbling drew her attention to something horrifying...
...not one... not two... not three...
...but six phantoms appeared in mid-air, waiting to attack the group once and for all!
After Solomon Grundy disappeared into thin air, releasing Scooby and Krypto from his hold, even more trouble arrived.
Six phantoms, five more than the one that came before, showed up in the control room, and they began pressing the group over near the wall, without any room to run. “Uh, just a curious question,” said Hitch. “How many of those phantoms are there in this place!”
“This is the end!!” Scooby wailed. That's when Daphne finally popped the cork on all the feelings lingering in her stomach. “I danced with Jimmy Olsen one time at summer camp. It was the big goodbye party and no one would dance with him, and I felt bad and it obviously meant more to him than it did to me, and if we really only have a few seconds left, I couldn't live my last moments as a fraud!”
As Daphne took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, everyone seemed to stare in surprise for a few moments... even the phantoms. And after a few moments passed, Lex decided to finally speak up. “Jimmy Olsen? Huh...”
“Uh... guys?!” Zipp said as she and the ponies tried to use their cutie mark magic to keep the phantoms back. “Try to be a little more focused on current events, would ya?!”
However, as much as the ponies fought, swatted and blasted at the phantoms, they wouldn’t back down. Krypto even tried barking at the phantoms, but... once glance at one of them caused him to whimper and back down, much to the ponies' confusion.
Krypto wasn't scared of anything before now, so... what got him so upset?
Fred looked at Daphne, still a little afraid, and took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking. “Daphne, if we get out of this, I'll understand if you want to...”
Daphne looked down at Fred’s hand and took it, just as the group prepared themselves for an attack.
However, when a bright flash came and went, the group looked around to discover that the phantoms had vanished. “They disappeared!” Daphne said in shock. “And,” said Zipp, “as mysteriously as they reappeared! Interesting...”
That's when Lex suddenly noticed something. “They're not the only ones.”
“He's right!” said Misty, realizing that one member of their group was missing. “The phantoms just took Mercy!”
“Have mercy!” cried Scooby, just as Velma approached Mercy's messenger bag. “Without her messenger bag? She's been lugging this heavy thing--”
But when she picked it up, she immediately noticed something was off. “That's odd...”
“What is it?” Tempest asked. “It's empty!” Velma showed them the empty bag. “Empty?!” Lex blurt out. “All my stuff was in there!”
“What kind of stuff? Maybe I can search for it,” Zipp tried to offer. “Never you mind,” Lex sneered. “Well, whatever it was,” said Pipp, shaking the bag, “it's gone now. Along with Mr. Luthor's ride home.”
That's when Fred seemed to have a good idea. “We can drop you somewhere when this is all over. I do have a van.”
“Does it have active camouflage?”
“...no, it's a regular van.”
“Well, then, what's the point? What's the point of any of this?” Lex said out of frustration. “Why am I trapped in here with a bunch of kids, two dogs, a useless filly and meddling ponies when I have millitary-grade bulldozers outside right now, ready to bring this infernal building to the ground?!”
“You're nothing but a lump of slime without any kind of soul!!”
Everyone gasped at what was said, but what surprised them even more was that it wasn't any member of the gang or the Mane 6...
...it was Tempest!
The little filly was finally standing her ground, pink eyes filled with anger.
Lex turned to the filly, staring daggers right back at her. “What did you just say?”
“...you heard me. All you care about is money or being better than Superman,” Tempest sneered, “and you tried to inflict your teachings onto me. Well, you made a mistake with messing with my new friends! They're kind, and loyal, and they actually care about me unlike you! I haven't felt that kind of love since my mom passed away! And you completely disregarded my grief as nothing! I'm done dealing with this! You hear me?! I'm done!”
Lex pointed a finger right in the filly's face. “You... are out on the street when we finally get out of this phantom-infested place.”
“That's fine,” Fred spoke up as Krypto and Mystery Inc approached and stood beside Tempest. “Because I'm sure that we can find her a better home than the one she has now.”
“And,” Scooby huffed, “one away from you!”
“...whatever. Go ahead and take her. She was useless to me, and people will see how useless the Justice League really is before long.”
Suddenly, something Lex said got the gears in Velma's brain to turning. “That's it!”
“What's it?” Lex sneered. “I was this close to figuring out the solution to the mystery, but there was one tiny piece of the puzzle out of place,” Velma spoke. “President Luthor, you just knocked it into place.”
Suddenly, Lex's phone rang, causing him to pick it up. “I have to take this. Excuse me. But Velma called me 'president'. Everybody heard it. No takesies-backsies,” he said before he and Rex walked out of the room. “Where have you been?”
“All right,” Velma said as she turned to her friends. “Now that Lex is gone, we can get to the bottom of this phantom business, and find out what happened to the Justice League. All we need is the perfect trap.”
“Say no more,” Fred smirked and pressed a button on the utility belt, which covered everyone in foam, causing Zipp and Pipp to blow it off of everyone. “...great...” Pipp groaned. “There goes my mane treatment...”
Shaggy sighed as soon as all the foam was gone. “Like, seeing as Superman's counting on us, anyone got a better idea?”
Krypto barked immediately at this. “I think he's trying to tell us something!” Izzy said. “What is it, Krypto?” Scooby asked, and by the way Krypto was looking at them, it was if he was telling them 'I have a plan, so listen up'.
While everyone else listened to Krypto's plan, Tempest took out her key from her mane and muttered something to herself. “Find the lock to this key, and as the place to start, go to where this key was forged, and your destiny will finally start. The lock has to be here somewhere, but... I just don't know where.”
“Don't know where what is?”
Tempest yelped as the Mane 6, Krypto and the Mystery Inc gang turned to look at her, and then she looked down at the key in her hoof.
Her mother would want her to tell her new friends about this... maybe they might be able to help.
Tempest reached her hoof out and gave Velma the key. “My mom gave me this key before she passed. The lock to it is somewhere in the Hall of Justice, but... I-I'm not sure where it is.”
Velma hummed as she studied the key for a moment. “I’ve never seen these patterns before… have you, Sunny?”
“They do look familiar,” Sunny pointed out. “And they’re old, but I don’t exactly know what they mean.”
“And there’s a poem my mom told me that relates to it,” Tempest cleared her throat. “Find the lock to this key, and as the place to start, go to where this key was forged, and your destiny will finally start.”
“Cryptic… do you have any idea what it means?” Daphne asked. “ I think... it has something to do with... a new home, a new family, a new life,” Tempest said in thought. “I thought that maybe if I could just find the door it goes to, I'd find a new family that actually cares for me… and maybe find a purpose in my life.”
“So?” Hitch questioned curiously. “Have you found it yet?”
“...no. I know it’s somewhere in the Hall of Justice, but… I have no idea where exactly.”
Sparky got off of Hitch’s back and hugged the filly’s leg, causing her to smile. “Thanks, Sparky… that means a lot coming from you,” she smiled just before Krypto nuzzled her. “I mean… it means a lot coming from both of you.”
“Well, we have some time before we have to put Krypto’s plan into action,” Sunny said. “And I think this is just as important as finding the Justice League. Come on, everypony! Let's split up and find that door!”
And so, everyone went in different directions, with Zipp and Krypto taking to the sky, and they all began searching, a gentle tune filling the air.
Misty: What is the key to a family? (Oh, oh) What is the key to a home?
Tempest: What is the part that I'm missin' (Oh, oh) To help me find where I belong?
Hitch: I’m searchin’, I'm lookin' for somethin' Somethin' that comes from the heart (From the heart) Cause sometimes you need something to lift ya up And help to reignite your spark
Tempest, Misty and Hitch: Cause I've got you and you've got me Cause when you're with your friends, yeah, you're with your family Keep 'em in your heart 'cause that is the key Oh, when you're with your friends, yeah, you're with your family
I've got you and you've got me Cause we aren't just friends, no, we're a family When you're feelin' lonely or incomplete Don't forget about your friends, yeah, they're your family
Oh-whoa, oh, oh, oh Cause when you're with your friends, yeah, you're with your family…
After a while, all of the group (except for Zipp and Krypto) reunited, but unfortunately, they didn’t find anything. “Like, Scoob and I searched any place where they might be a door,” Shaggy said, “but…”
“No door anywhere,” Scooby frowned, leading Tempest to sigh. “I’m so sorry, guys… I shouldn’t have led you on this wild goose chase.”
“It’s okay, Tempest. We know how good your heart is,” said Fred. “And,” Velma spoke, “even if you don’t find exactly what you’re looking for, we could always be your family.”
Tempest smiled at Mystery Incorporated when they said this. “You guys mean that?”
“Of course!” Daphne smiled. “Velma and I have always wanted another girl in the family.”
“And that would mean, when we come to visit,” said Sunny, “we’d all be friends forever…”
“And ever!” Pipp cheered, and this led to a massive group hug that lasted for a few moments… at least until Pipp noticed there were two people missing from the hug. “Hey, has anyone seen Krypto and Zipp?”
“Tempest! Krypto and I found it!” Zipp said, flying toward the ground before landing, all out of breath. “We found… the door!”
Tempest gasped immediately at this, and everyone followed Zipp and Krypto back the way they came.
XXXXXXXX
Krypto and Zipp moved a bookshelf out of the way in the library, letting a doorway be visible to those in the group. “This is it!” Tempest cried. “This is the door!”
“We couldn’t see it before because the bookshelf was in the way. But once Krypto helped me move it… BOOM!!” Zipp exclaimed before Scooby pushed on the door to open it. “It’s locked! Which means…”
“You’ll need this,” Misty handed her the key. “Oooh!!” Izzy squealed. “Where will it lead us to?”
“Well… my mom said that I should use it to go to the cave where it was forged, but… I had another idea,” Tempest said. “Maybe I should use it to find where the Justice League is so we can bring them home.”
“Tempest, this may be your one chance to fulfill your mom’s final wishes,” Velma said. “Besides, I wanna wait for Lex Luthor and Rex to get back before I reveal what I’ve found out.”
“...Krypto?” Tempest looked over toward her new canine friend. “What do you want me to do?”
Krypto whined gently and nudged the key in her hoof toward the door, and Tempest sadly understood. “You really want me to use the key… for me?”
Krypto barked in confirmation, and Tempest sighed deeply. “Okay, boy… if you’re sure.”
Taking another deep breath, Tempest placed her key in the door’s lock. “The place I would like to go… is the place this key was forged. The place my mother would read to me about, and the place my destiny will begin!”
She twisted the key into the lock, which disappeared as shaking began and rocked the entire building. “It’s working!” Izzy cheered. “Okay, but, like, do we think it’s supposed to shake like that?” Shaggy asked as he and Scooby held each other to keep their balance. “Maybe it’s a little rusty!” Fred shrugged, trying to be reassuring. “At least… I hope that’s all it is!”
Then, the shaking finally stopped, and as the door glowed, it opened, revealing a swirling portal on the inside, making everyone's eyes grow wide. Tempest looked back toward her friends, feeling a little nervous. “S-So, I-I guess we just…”
“Step through this strange door into the unknown based entirely on the word of your mom!” Izzy said, trying not to sound nervous, but it caused Scooby and Tempest to both gulp as Pipp turned to look at Zipp. “Mom would not be pleased to know we were thinking about doing this.”
“When has that ever stop us?” Zipp questioned with a smirk. “Well… okay then. You first, Hitch,” Sunny suggested with a nervous smile. “Me?” Hitch asked in surprise. “No, no, I couldn’t possibly. After you.”
“You ponies aren’t scared of going through a portal, are you?” Daphne asked them with a smirk. “No! No, of course not! We go through portals all the time,” said Hitch quickly. “We’re just… being too polite with each other.”
“Sparky, no!” Sunny tried to warn the dragon as he got closer to the porta. “Be careful!”
Sparky cooed in wonder and ran right through the portal, causing the group gasp in shock. “Well,” Fred gulped, “I guess we have no choice now! Let’s go, gang!”
With that, the gang and ponies followed Sparky into the portal, screaming as they entered.
XXXXXXXX
For the gang going through an interdimensional portal for the first time, they thought they did pretty well.
It was basically a twisty slide going in all sorts of directions, screaming like they were on a roller coaster... which was actually pretty good, considering how the gang screamed on a normal basis.
Finally, all seven ponies, Sparky, Krypto and all the members of Mystery Inc fell to the ground out of the portal, landing on top of one another in a huge heap. “Hey!” said Izzy. “That wasn’t so bad.”
Velma groaned, adjusting her glasses. “Speak for yourself… where in the world did we end up?”
Once they looked ahead, they gasped as they discovered that they were in a stunning cavern full of crystals of many different colors. “It’s… beautiful!” Sunny cried in awe as they all stood up, and Pipp immediately pulled out her phone. “Definitely no service here, but… I’m almost too happy to care!”
“Tempest,” said Daphne, “do you recognize this place?”
“...these are the crystal caverns below Metropolis! My mom said these were lost to explorers almost 200 years ago!” Tempest cried. “I-I didn’t expect this to be the place it would send us…”
“Well, now that we know that the key sent us here,” said Zipp, “now what do we do?”
“Look!” Scooby pointed at the ground. “Hoofprints!”
Everyone looked where he was pointing, and glowing green hoofprints were illuminating the ground and forming a path right in front of Tempest, much to the surprise of many. “Tempest… I think those footprints are meant for you!” Misty said. “We’ll be right behind you, but I think you better take the lead.”
“Me? Uh… okay,” Tempest nodded slowly, and followed the hoofprints with her friends following behind her. When she finally got to the end of the footprints, she stopped and looked at what the hoofprints had led them to.
Sitting on a pedestal was a glowing necklace with a beautiful bluish purple gemstone inside (in the shape of a diamond), and it made Tempest stare in wonder for a few moments. “Wow… I’ve never seen anything like that before…”
“It looks like it’s radiating with some kind of mystical energy,” Zipp said as she studied the necklace. “But… I can’t figure out what kind.”
“...you think that this is something my mom must have left for me?” Tempest looked at her friends. “I mean... how else would she have known about this?”
“Well, there's always that possibility,” Misty said, “but... there's only one way to find out for sure.”
“Like, go on, Tempest dude,” Shaggy coaxed the filly. “Try out the new bling!”
“Well... if you really insist...”
Tempest took the necklace and put it around her neck, admiring it for a few moments... just before it started glowing.
This led to Tempest staring in confusion before swirls of light began to wrap around her and lift her into the air. “Uh... g-g-guys?! What's going on?!”
Unfortunately, the group couldn't answer-- they were too busy trying to shield themselves from the light, and Tempest felt her body begin to transform.
She felt a glittery green mask form on her face, a fairy wing design for a hooficure, blue and green paint on her legs, and... the most miraculous thing of all?
Wings, fairy wings, materialized on her back.
As the light dimmed, Tempest was lowered to the ground, and Krypto was one of the first to run and check on her when the entire group gasped at what happened.
Tempest groaned slightly and looked up at them. “What? W-Why is everypony looking at me like that?”
“I, uh... I-I'm not sure whether we should tell you or not, so... I think it might be best to show you,” Pipp said, bringing the filly to a nearby crystal, allowing Tempest to gasp upon seeing her reflection. “Wings? A superhero mask? I... I don't understand!”
“The necklace must have the capability to give you your own superhero identity,” Zipp said as she insprected the filly, “along with wings and your own superpowers!”
“Your mom must have saw the hero inside you,” Daphne told the filly. “That must be why she gave you this key and told you to come to this exact spot.”
“But... a hero? Me?” Tempest asked, looking at the necklace. “I don't know where I would even start! There's so much I would have to learn!”
“Well, it's lucky you have another four legged superhero ready to help you out,” Hitch said, rubbing Krypto on the head. “And... I think it would he beneficial if you had a superhero name, just in case your regular identity was at risk.”
Tempest hummed in thought. “Well... my mom would sometimes refer to me as a light in the night, and... my wings look like fairy wings, so... what about Night Fairy?”
“Perfect! And now that we know your superhero name and how you're able to transform,” Zipp said, “we can get back up to the control room. No doubt Mr. Luthor is done with his phone call right about now.”
“Good idea,” Velma nodded. “Then, we can solve this mystery and bring the Justice League back home... I promise.”
That's when the group headed back toward the portal, with Tempest taking one last look around before following.
Her mother was right.
Her destiny was going to start here... and she might be more valuable to the gang's success and the League's return than she thinks.
The Mystery Incorporated crew, the Mane 6, Sparky, Krypto and Tempest Nova climbed out of the crystal cave and back to the control room, letting the door behind them close.
Luckily, Tempest was beginning to figure out that she could use the necklace to change between her normal form and her superhero form, so Lex Luthor wouldn’t suspect anything when he returned.
When he did return, everyone was sitting at the table, looking at him expectantly. “Yes, I got lost again!” he groaned as he and Rex approached the table. “And before anyone makes jokes, I'll remind you, I have a wristwatch-disintegrator.”
“You're very good with science and technology, aren't you, Luthor?” Fred asked with a smirk, and Lex immediately got up in Fred’s face. “How do I put this so you'll understand…? Golly, gee, Fred, you betcha! Jimpies!”
“Do I look like I care? Now, up, up, up,” Lex shoved Tempest out of her chair and onto the floor, making Misty, Scooby and Krypto glare at him as he sat down. “All right, what's the plan? Are we building a trap, or not? My driver is missing! Look how upset I am.”
Pipp looked at Lex’s emotionless face and leaned in close to talk to her sister. “Gee… I’m so moved…”
“Shh!” Zipp silenced her sister so they wouldn’t ruin the plan. “Oh, there’s no need for a trap,” Daphne told Lex. “Krypto figured it all out.”
Krypto barked excitedly and panted as Velma took the opportunity to explain. “The Justice League was called away for an emergency. That's all.”
“But…” Lex protested, “what about the phantoms?”
“...swamp gas,” Scooby shrugged innocently, causing Misty and Tempest to nod. This caused Lex to growl in anger and slap a chair away in frustration. “Swamp gas?!” he shrieked, causing Tempest to shriek. “That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! And I’ve seen Superman: The Musical.”
“Turns out,” said Zipp, “there’s no mystery here. Just a big misunderstanding.”
“So they won't be able to sell you the Hall of Justice after all. It's safe for tourists to come back,” said Daphne. “In fact,” said Sunny, pulling out her phone, “Mayor Fleming's on her way with a group now. Let's go!”
The group immediately left the room, and after they started walking for a short while (or flying, in Krypto, Pipp and Zipp’s case), Lex followed them, having just got off the phone with someone. “I just got off the phone with Fleming. She didn't say anything about this!” he said angrily. “What about Mercy and Grundy?”
“Oh, they’ll turn up,” Daphne shrugged. “They probably just got lost,” said Shaggy, “just like you did.”
Izzy stifled a laugh at this. “Nice one, Shaggers!”
However, Lex and Rex walked after them, Lex asking more and more questions. “This makes no sense. What about the food truck lady? And the valet?”
“Actually, their stories all checked out,” Hitch said. “As sheriff, I have the ability to run a background check like nopony’s business.”
“Well,” Lex huffed, “I would have liked to be consulted.”
“Well, golly gee, Lex,” Fred imitated the former’s earlier tone. “You’re not really part of the gang, are you?”
“Not like me,” Tempest winked. “Now, me and my NEW FRIENDS are going to be in the lobby and facing our adoring public.”
Lex was just about to fire a laser from his wristwatch when he suddenly stopped himself, remembering to keep his calm demeanor.
He had to figure out what was going on somehow… no matter what.
XXXXXXXX
As the two groups came into the main lobby, Mayor Fleming was already waiting for them with a large group of tourists. “And here they are now! The kids of Mystery Incorporated, the Unity Squad and their pal, Krypto the Super-Dog!”
Many tourists began to cheer and take pictures of the groups, and Krypto flying all over the room. This only seemed to increase Lex Luthor’s anger as he marched over toward the mayor. “We had a deal, Fleming!”
However, the mayor was too busy clapping to notice him. “Nothing to say?” Lex scoffed, just before Daphne turned toward Zipp and Velma. “I sure hope you two are right about this.”
“Trust us,” Zipp whispered. “It’s all going exactly the way we discussed.”
Suddenly, the phantoms began to appear in the room with all the tourists, and the other ponies stood ready to protect everyone, in case whatever Velma and Zipp had planned didn't work.
Luckily, Velma was already two steps ahead, looking over at Krypto, who was flying near the nearby tapestry. “Now let's see who the phantom really is!”
Krypto, Zipp and Pipp flew up and removed the tapestry, revealing who was behind it. “Lex’s driver?!” Misty and Scooby cried in shock at seeing Mercy behind the tapestry. “Mercy?!” Lex demanded angrily as he walked toward her, but Mercy actually began running in the opposite direction. “You’re letting her get away!”
“Oh, no we’re not!” cried Pipp. “Computer, deactivate all holograms!”
“Acknowledged!”
With this remark, all the holograms (the tourists, the fountain, the mayor and all the exits) began to disappear, and this caused Mercy to stop in her tracks, only to be picked up by Krypto. “It was a trap!” Lex realized. “Would somebody please explain what's going on?”
This caused Velma to clear her throat. “Everyone get comfortable,” she said before gesturing to Mercy. “Everyone get comfortable. “Mercedes ‘Mercy’ Graves, personal assistant, driver and bodyguard to Lex Luthor--”
“I already know all that,” Lex rolled his eyes. “But do you also know just how tired I am of being all of that?” Mercy suddenly snapped. “Of carting your ungrateful rear end from this board meeting to that red carpet charity mixer?”
That’s when she looked up at Krypto. “Can you just put me down for two minutes while I do this part?”
Krypto gladly did so, but stuck nearby in case she tried something. “Thank you,” Mercy said before clearing her throat. “Do you know how it feels to, every night, see the flashbulbs light up for you, Lex, then immediately go dark for me?”
“That was the paparazzi you were supposed to keep away from me!”
I wanted them to see me, Lex,” Mercy insisted. “Not just as the chauffeur of the man who started, and then dissolved, The Legion of Doom!”
“That was purely a business decision.”
“Exactly,” Mercy sneered. “Somewhere, Lex Luthor, between the Legion of Doom and the White House, you lost your edge.”
“HA!!” Lex scoffed. “Look at you,” Mercy taunted. “Paying back the Justice League for a few bags of chips?”
This caused Izzy, Hitch, Zipp and the rest of Mystery Inc to stifle their laughter. “How did you know about that?” Sunny asked out of curiosity. “I see everything, you miserable horse!” Mercy snapped before lifting the device in her hands. “Which is how I knew which of our LexCorp-run millitary storage facilities the mayor sent this to!”
Tempest gasped in shock, beginning to back away. “The phantom zone projector!”
“With it,” Mercy continued, “I could do something Lex Luthor never could. Step one, make the Justice League disappear! Step two, move into their precious Hall of Justice and convert it into a new supervillain headquarters! Run by me, and with free snacks!”
Immediately, Shaggy and Scooby liked the sound of this. “Like, dude!” Shaggy cried. “Where do we sign up?”
“Guys!” Daphne scolded. “Supervillains?”
“Daphne… snacks!” Scooby tried to counter, only for Zipp to swipe the projector and hold it away from Mercy’s reach. “ A passable plan,” said Zipp, “but then the tour groups started coming.”
“Mercy knew,” said Velma, “she'd never have the place to herself, so she used the projector on a low setting to create an illusion of phantoms haunting the old, abandoned Hall of Justice.”
“Which terrified the tourists and sent them running!” Hitch immediately figured out. “Every time Mercy brought you to the hall for your meetings with Mayor Fleming,” Daphne continued to Lex, “she'd sneak away and hide, then turn on the phantom projector and scare people off.”
“But,” said Tempest, “what about when Solomon Grundy got hold of the dogs?”
“When she thought the dogs were in danger,” Velma explained, “she used the projector on Grundy, sending him into the phantom zone, thus saving Scooby and Krypto!”
Scooby eagerly licked Mercy’s face as a thank you as Velma tossed the messenger bag down at Mercy’s feet. “Wouldn't have figured that out if you hadn't accidentally left your empty messenger bag at the scene, the same bag you've been hauling this baby around in for months.”
“So… wait a second,” Sunny said, beginning to piece things together, “if the projector sent Grundy to the Phantom Zone, then that means…”
“The illusion,” Fred interrupted, “of the phantoms wasn’t just an illusion.”
“It was the Justice League trying to break out of the Phantom Zone where Mercy imprisoned them!” Misty realized. “Right!” Zipp nodded as she held the projector. “And since we have this, we can bring them back!”
But suddenly, an unexpected event occurred-- Lex grabbed Zipp and tossed her onto the ground before grabbing the projector and pointing it right at the group. “Everybody, step back!”
“What are you doing, Luthor?” Fred asked in shock as the ponies gave ready poses. “What I've been planning all along,” Lex stated as if it were obvious. “Evil. And I'm really, really good at it.”
He blasted at the phantoms, causing the group to look away, and when their vision was restored, the 'phantoms' were gone. That’s when Lex confidently turned to them. “Did you think I, Lex Luthor, hadn't figured out the solution to this mystery months ago?”
“What are you saying, Lex?” Mercy asked in confusion. “I’m saying well done, Mercy,” Lex smirked. “I'm saying I'm proud of your ingenuity, if not your treachery. That's right! I've been two steps ahead of you from the beginning! Which is, frankly, very on-brand for me. But I let you have your fun as long as it got the mayor to sell me this land. Which she agreed to do earlier, on the phone, when you were busy setting this admittedly brilliant trap.”
“I-It was Krypto’s plan,” Scooby gulped. “But, we all helped!” Hitch declared, putting Sparky in Fred’s arms so he could protect Sparky if he had to go and fight. “Just like we’re gonna help stop you now.”
“Diabolical, and confident,” Lex smirked at the ponies and Krypto. “Any chance you'll switch sides and work for me?”
Krypto’s growling and the ponies glowing wings, hooves and horns was enough for him to get an answer. “Superman said the same thing…” he muttered before clearing his throat. “Land, kids. When I was six years old, my father said to me…”
“Like, ‘get out’?” Shaggy guessed, causing Scooby and Izzy to snicker. “Ha… ha…” Lex said sarcastically. “Before that, he said, ‘Son, stocks may rise and fall, utilities and transportation systems may collapse. People are no dang good, but they will always need land, and they'll pay through the nose to get it’! Remember, my father said…”
“Land!” Scooby suddenly interrupted. “Rat's right. Rand,” Lex confirmed before realizing his error. “I mean, land! This land, the former Hall of Justice and site of the future tallest building in the world, the all new LexCorp Tower!”
As Krypto and the Unity Squad prepared to defend their friends, Lex pulled out a remote and pushed a button, but… nothing seemed to happen. “Jimpies,” Lex sighed, “this room needs windows.”
“Acknowledged!”
And within an instant, and much to the shock of the others, windows formed so they could see at least 20 bulldozers lined up outside. “Much better,” Lex smirked. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
However, as the others were stunned at what they were seeing, Mercy only scoffed. “Bulldozers? See, this is my point, Lex. You're not having evil fun anymore.”
“Oh, no?”
Lex pressed another button on the remote, and as Tempest hid behind Krypto, the bulldozers began to morph into huge robots, and their insides glowed with an eerie green light that Lex knew and Krypto recognized…
…a Kryptonian’s one weakness.
Zipp felt her ears pin immediately in panic. “A robot demolition squad?!”
“Kryptonite powered,” Lex confirmed with a smirk. “And I have no intention of paying anyone for those Chipzees!”
Mercy immediately leapt into his arms. “Oh, Lex, you’re back!”
“Baby, I never left.”
Krypto felt his anger rising at this, and zoomed toward them, knocking Mercy off to the side, and Lex onto his back before he caught the phantom projector in his mouth.
Lex groaned as he tried to get out from Krypto’s rear end. “Get off of me you… you mangy mutt!”
Suddenly, Rex closed his eyes before opening them, revealing green eyes that glowed like something possessed. “Initiate defense sequence.”
“Rex Ruthor’s a robot!” Scooby yelped in panic. “Ruh-roh…” Izzy gulped. “Unity Squad!” Sunny cried, shifting into alicorn form as the ponies raced forward. “GO!!”
Lex threw a device that landed right before the ponies, shocking them and causing them to fall to the ground. “Ha! That’s my newest little invention!” Lex sneered as the ponies tried to stagger to their feet. “A device that can weaken even YOUR Equestrian superpowers! Pretty soon, you won’t even have the strength to light your little unicorn horns!”
“Ugh… he’s right!” Sunny said as she tried to stand, her alicorn form flickering in and out. “I-I don’t know how much longer my alicorn form is gonna last!”
As the gang tried to help their pony friends, that’s Tempest immediately noticed Rex preparing to make a leap right for Krypto…
…and that’s when something within her finally snapped.
No one was going to hurt Krypto, not on her watch!
Tempest placed her hoof on her necklace, transforming into her superhero form and causing her wings to form. “Not now… NOT EVER!!”
As Rex leapt to tackle Krypto, Tempest leapt a millisecond before, causing her to get caught in the crossfire, much to the ponies’ horror. “KRYPTO!!! NIGHT FAIRY!!!” cried Misty. “NOOOOO!!!!!”
XXXXXXXX
Tempest felt herself hit the ground repeatedly, like stones skipping on water before they finally hit the ground hard. When the dust finally settled, Rex stood before them, ready for a fight.
Krypto looked down at Tempest, who was staggering to get on her feet. “...Krypto, we can’t let our friends get hurt,” she muttered as she spread her new fairy wings. “If they want a fight… then a fight is what they’ll have.”
The Unity Squad, now severely weakened by the power of Lex's electric device, stood beside their Mystery Incorporated friends while they faced Lex Luthor and Mercy Graves, the two villains still having the phantom zone projector that trapped the Justice League in the phantom zone.
After a few moments of silence, Daphne whispered to her friends about their next actions. “We have to get that projector away from Lex.”
“And,” said Sunny, “we have to get back our stolen strength and help Krypto and Tempest stop Rex!”
“That assistant of mine was always so useless,” Lex said as he tried to blast the group, only for them to separate. “Why must you be so persistent about her?”
“Because… SHE’S… NOT… USELESS!!” Misty said as she stood with all the strength she had. “Nopony should ever feel that way! And we’re going to make sure you never make anypony feel like she felt again!”
“We may not have the superpowers we had,” Zipp agreed as everyone stood, “but we’re going to defeat you one way or another… even if we have to attack you with our bare hooves!”
Suddenly, a robot barged its way through the wall, causing everypony to stagger to the floor while the robot picked up Lex and Mercy and carried them back outside.
The building seemed like it was about to collapse, causing Sunny to try and hold a dome over her friends to protect them. “We need to get out of here or figure out a plan! Fast!”
Fred glanced down at the utility belt and seemed to have gotten an idea. “Hitch, I'm gonna need your help!”
“Sure thing!” Hitch nodded before handing Sparky to Misty. “Promise me you'll keep him safe.”
Misty looked at Sparky, who babbled happily, causing her to nod. “You have my word.”
Hitch nodded with a smile before Fred took off the utility belt and gave Daphne the belt and a kiss before they turned and ran/galloped out of sight. Sunny grunted as she tried to keep the shield going, but was instantly confused when she saw her friends rush off. “Where’s Hitch and Freddy?”
“I don't know, but wherever they were going,” said Daphne, “Fred left the utility belt!”
“Really?” Izzy asked as she and Misty tried to help Sunny hold the shield. “I thought he was getting better at using that thing!”
Another robot suddenly burst through the wall, and as he was about to step on Shaggy and Scooby, Sunny lowered the shield, and the ponies guided their friends out of the collapsing building. “We need to split up in order to fight more effectively!” Sunny cried as they reached the middle of the battlefield. “Pipp and Zipp, stay with Velma and Daphne! Izzy, you and Misty and Sparky keep with the boys! I’ll see if I can strike a few of these things down!”
As the mares agreed to this plan, they could hear Lex laughing from the robot he and Mercy were standing on... just before Tempest swooped in and grabbed the projector from him, causing the filly to laugh. “I can't believe I got it!”
Suddenly, Tempest screamed as Rex pinned her down to the ground, prompting the projector to fly through the air and into Izzy’s magic aura. “Hurry, go!”
“Time to move, guys!” Misty urged her friends to run, and they did for a good distance... at least until one of the robots stomped furiously, causing the group to fly through the air and land on the robot's shoulders, and prompting Izzy to let go of the projector. “Izzy!” Zipp cried out as Daphne held onto the projector. “Misty!”
“Sparky! Shaggy! Scooby!” Velma cried out, right before Rex leapt and got the projector, and knocked Zipp aside before she had the chance to strike. Krypto pinned Rex on the ground, and just a few seconds later, Rex had grabbed Krypto by the cape and was flinging him all over the place.
That's when Krypto decided that he needed a new strategy.
He looked over at Tempest, who nodded and kicked Rex into the air a bit, and Krypto grabbed him and flew around with him before slamming him down on the ground, revealing a shiny silver body underneath that brown and black fur.
Suddenly... things began to take a turn for the worst.
Rex’s chest immediately glowed a bright green, causing Krypto to yelp, stumble back and let the projector fall to the ground. “Krypto!” Tempest cried out in shock. “Krypto, hang on!”
“Sweet sauce horseshoe toss!” Izzy cried out as she tried to keep her grip on the robot. “This isn't good!”
Scooby immediately realized what was going on with Rex and gasped in terror. “Oh no... Rex has a Kryptonite heart!”
And just like that, Krypto whimpered and lowered his head in pain.
Tempest growled in anger, flaring her wings just before she looked at her friends. “Help Krypto! I'm gonna take care of this once and for all!”
As she flew off, Daphne looked at the pegasus sisters and nodded.
Time for them to fight back the only way they knew how... together.
Zipp took her sister’s hooves, spun Pipp around and flung her into Rex, causing Pipp to kick the robot dog back a good distance. That’s when Daphne used the utility belt and some electrifying bat-a-rangs to zap Rex into powering down.
Velma and Zipp tended to Krypto for a few moments as the dog began to regain consciousness, and Velma looked up at Daphne, impressed beyond measure. “Wow, Daphne! You’d make a pretty good Wonder Woman.”
“Psh… I prefer Batman,” Daphne said with a smile. “You’re more of a Wonder Woman.”
“I wish…”
“Oh, come on, Velma,” Zipp nudged her friend playfully. “You’re a lot more courageous than you think.”
Suddenly, Mercy leapt down from her perch and tried to attack Zipp and Velma, only for Pipp to unleash her sonic song and push Mercy back a bit. “Come on!” Zipp cried, flapping her wings. “We’re gonna solve this from the air!”
Velma yelled in surprise as the pegasus sisters lifted her and Daphne off the ground and onto a higher perch of the Hall of Justice... at least for the time being.
But then, a robot tried to smash them and got the projector momentarily... at least until Fred drove up and Hitch striking the robot with a laser from the invisible tank. “It’s Hitch!” Zipp cried. “And Fred!”
“Is that an invisible tank?” Velma questioned in surprise. “If not,” Daphne said, “it’s got a lot of firepower for a trolley!”
Hitch laughed as he and Fred blasted the robots with everything they had. “I didn’t know play-fighting with Sunny’s toys as a colt would lead me to this moment! AND I LOVE IT!!”
Suddenly, as they were firing, another robot grabbed the projector and made an attempt to run off with it… until J.B, in Wonder Woman’s invisible jet, flew in and zapped it right from him, happily yelling so loud that it hurt Fred and Hitch’s ears. “Oh, hey!” Fred shouted. “Don’t yell into the invisible headset, J.B!”
“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” J.B apologized. “I just never knew I could love my job this much!”
“Me neither!”
“Helen?!” Hitch asked in surprise as he saw the food truck rumble by him. “Okay, now this battle is REALLY shaping up!”
Meanwhile, Misty, Izzy, Sparky, Shaggy and Scooby were trying their best to hold onto the robot’s shoulders as it walked, and Misty and Izzy managed to use their auras to try and pry the projector from it. At that moment, Helen’s food truck pulled up and tried to use steaming hot hot dogs as weapons… only for Sparky, Shaggy and Scooby to eat them.
Now it was time for a new strategy.
Helen used the ketchup and mustard bottles on the truck to spill condiments, which slipped up the robot, causing the unicorns, Sparky, Shaggy and Scooby to fall onto the safety of the truck, Izzy and Shaggy holding onto the projector. “Never ever let anybody say I don't protect my customers!” Helen shouted. “Way to go, Helen!” Misty cried. “We knew you had it in you!”
“Dude, this is one heck of a food truck!” Shaggy said as the food truck continued to blast robots with ketchup and mustard. “Say, Scoob, is that making you as hungry as it is me?”
“Not now, Shaggy!” Scooby cried before eating some hot dogs. “But yes.”
Suddenly, the robot that Lex was standing on swiped the projector from Izzy's magic aura. “Wha…?! Hey!”
“Don’t worry, guys!” Tempest said as she flew past them. “I got this!”
The little filly used her fairy wings to fly up in front of Lex before sending a magic blast through her hooves to freeze the robot in its tracks. “Lex, please stop!” Tempest then begged. “I know that you and Superman have never had a good relationship, but destroying everything the Justice League’s created won’t do anyone any good!”
“Does it look like I care what other people think?” Lex sneered at the filly. “Maybe not on the outside,” Tempest spoke firmly, “but inside, I know there has to be some sort of heart in there. If you stop this attack now, maybe I can help you get onto a better path… like Sunny, Misty and all their friends did for me.”
“HA!! I don’t see how those miserable horses could have helped you,” Lex sneered. “You’re all alone, Tempest… and that’s all you EVER WILL BE!!”
The robot thrust a large hand at the filly, causing it to collide with her head on, and causing her to scream as she plummeted toward the ground.
Sunny saw this immediately and gasped. “Krypto, get ready to catch her!”
Krypto immediately nodded and managed to get up in order to fly beneath Tempest with Sunny, both of them catching the filly before carrying her down to the ground.
As Krypto nuzzled the filly with worry, Sunny growled and turned to Lex. “You’ll never understand true power, Lex! Because power isn’t about money or fame… friendship is the true superpower that unites us all… so nopony is EVER alone!”
“Ugh… Sunny!” Zipp strained as she and Pipp tried to keep robots away from Velma and Daphne. “We’re running out of stamina! We need more strength, otherwise we won’t have enough to fight these guys off!”
“Don’t give up!” Misty tried to encourage as she blasted a robot away. “As long as we have friendship, nothing can stop us!”
Suddenly, something in Tempest’s head clicked. “...friendship is the true power… of course!”
Slowly, Tempest began to stand before looking down at her necklace. “I know this will probably take a lot out of me… but I have no choice!”
With her wings unfolded and glowing, Tempest raised a hoof and stomped it onto the ground with a grunt, sending streams of power from the ground and into the ponies, the gang and even Krypto, much to their shock. “Wha… what is Tempest doing?” Hitch wondered as he suddenly felt stronger than before. “I think she sent some of her strength to us!” Sunny realized as she blasted a robot away from her, Krypto and Tempest. “So we can keep going during the fight!”
“The… the spell won’t last forever, Sunny!” Tempest told her friend with tired eyes. “You guys have to keep fighting!”
“Right!” Sunny nodded before turning to Krypto. “Stay with her… I’m gonna go blast more bots.”
Krypto nodded as Sunny flew off, and that’s when he barked to get Tempest to follow him back into the sky, landing on Lex’s robot again before Krypto and Lex started to tug for ownership of the projector. “I see you're still weak from the Kryptonite!” Lex told Krypto with a smirk. “So this will be much easier than expected!”
Taking the opportunity, Lex knocked Krypto and Tempest off the robot and onto the ground, causing Tempest to scream as they fell and causing her to groan in pain, since she was already weakened from giving her friends some of her strength. Seeing his friend in pain caused Krypto’s eyes to glow bright red, causing Lex to become nervous. “Uh-oh… I know that look.”
Krypto immediately used his heat vision on the projector, making it hot enough for Lex to lose grip on it and drop it to the ground. But before Tempest could get it, a robot was able to kick it away from them.
Another robot successfully caught the device, but the condiments spilling from the food truck caused it to fall and loose the device again. But, looking at it got Velma to think of an idea. “Zipp, can you fly me down to that robot?”
“Sure can!” Zipp offered, and Velma hopped on Zipp’s back before she flew down and dropped Velma off. That’s when Velma climbed into the cab of the robot and began operating it manually, fighting off the robots way more effectively.
Unfortunately, Lex got the same idea, leading to a robot fist fight that Velma's robot lost, sending her plummeting to the ground, and she would have been severely injured if Daphne had not swung in and grabbed her in the nick of time.
Lex's robot managed to grab the projector, but Pipp sonic screamed to bring it down, causing Sunny to swoop in and grab the projector before anymore robots grabbed it, just as several robots tried to surround the food truck and grab the unicorns, Sparky, Shaggy and Scooby. “These things just keep coming!”
Suddenly, as she was trying to blast the robots away from the food truck, Sunny was grabbed by one of the other robots around her, trying to use her light magic to break free, but it proved ineffective. “Here!” Fred cried, prompting Sunny to throw it down to him and Hitch. “Then,” said the earth pony sheriff, “we’ll just have to keep fighting!”
But suddenly, another robot flipped the invisible tank over, trapping Hitch and Fred inside while Mercy and Lex tried to get away with the phantom projector. Thankfully, Daphne was able to use a rope she had found in the utility belt to tie Mercy and Lex up, but the robots grabbed her, Velma and the other ponies and restrained them tightly.
Daphne desperately looked through the utility belt, worried for herself, her friends and how the battle would turn out. “I gotta have something in here that can help!”
“...we do,” Sunny pointed at the projector. “Tempest, it’s up to you and Krypto now.”
“...right,” Tempest nodded. “Let’s go fetch, boy!”
Krypto panted as he and Tempest managed to make their way toward the projector, but then, Rex popped up from the debris and tried to use his Kryptonite heart to give himself an advantage. “That’s it, Rexie!” Lex encouraged. “Fetch! Fetch for me!”
Tempest growled and used her glowing wings to try and provide a shield for her and Krypto as they tried to stagger toward the projector, all while their friends cheered them on.
“Go, Krypto!”
“Go, Tempest!”
“Go, Rex!” Mercy and Lex cried out. Tempest was getting tired, and she tried to hold the shield for Krypto, but when she saw him fall to the ground, exhausted, she gasped and disbanded the shield altogether, rushing to check on him. “Oh no!” Daphne cried. “Rex’s Kryptonite heart!”
“Ponies! You know what we have to do!” Sunny cried to her fellow ponies, causing them to nod and letting their cutie marks glow brightly as they chanted their elements to give Krypto one last boost of strength.
“Hope!”
“Confidence!”
“Creativity!”
“Courage!”
“Empathy!”
“Kindness!”
The glow from the Mane 6’s cutie marks swirled through the air and into Krypto as Tempest tried to get him to stand, and Krypto manage to grab Rex’s leg and pull him down. However, Rex’s entire back half detached and he kept going anyway!
Tempest grunted as she tried to lift Krypto to his feet, but Rex managed to reach the projector, turned it on and got ready to send both of them to the phantom zone…
…but he failed in this, because Krypto managed to knock the projector into the air, sending its beam to Rex instead and causing the projector to fall to the broken ground.
As everyone cheered for their friends’ success, Lex was baffled by how this could have happened. “What?! How?!”
“Maybe the only thing stronger than a Kryptonite heart… is a Kryptonian one,” Mercy said as they watched Krypto and Tempest fly across the sky, causing Lex to groan. “You’re fired.”
“Hey, Tempest!” Zipp cried. “To restore this place back to normal, you’re gonna need some help!”
So, the ponies raised their horns and wings and stomped their hooves, sending the strength Tempest sent to them back to Tempest herself. “Thanks, ponies!” Tempest smiled. “Now, Krypto… I think it’s time we turn the Hall of Justice back to the way it was!”
So, while Tempest used her new powers to fix the Hall of Justice, Krypto first used the projector to get rid of a few robots before flipping the invisible tank over, freeing Hitch and Fred. “Yeah, Krypto!” Fred cheered. “All right, Tempest!”
Then, Krypto used the projector to free the girl ponies, Daphne and Velma from their robotic binds. “Krypto!” Pipp hugged the white dog’s neck. “Aw, yes!”
“Way to go!” Zipp celebrated. “Who’s a good boy?” Daphne cooed. “Who’s a good boy?”
Krypto barked and proceeded to get rid of the rest of the robots, and everyone joined in front of the Hall of Justice, now fully repaired thanks to Tempest’s new powers.
Tempest sighed once all the robots were gone, turning to look at all her new friends. “Now, there’s only one thing left to do!”
Krypto barked and used the phantom projector one final time, letting the illusion of the phantoms appear before they seemed to shift into figures they all recognized as they stepped out from the vortex… the Justice League.
Superman stepped up to his loyal dog and rubbed his head. “Good boy.”
As Krypto spun around in celebration, the rest of the heroes cheered as well… just as Wonder Woman’s gaze turned to the captured Lex and Mercy. “Lex Luthor… what have you done now?”
Lex and Mercy tried to sneak away, but the Flash managed to get in front of them and hold onto them as Superman turned to the rest of the Justice League. “Well, League, it looks like we've got another villainous scheme on our hands.”
“Jinkies…” Wonder Woman muttered, causing Pipp to excitedly elbow Velma as the group smiled in pride.
But, there was still one thing left to do… wait for the police to arrive for Lex and Mercy, and then go celebrate their success at long last.
Tempest Nova couldn’t believe what had just occured… they had just saved the world by bringing the Justice League back and defeating Lex Luthor and Mercy Graves.
And… she actually helped in their defeat.
It felt amazing to say that she had helped save the world, but… there was still one question lingering in her mind.
What was gonna happen now?
Since Lex and Mercy weren’t going to be her caretakers anymore, she was probably going to be sent back to the orphanage.
As she rubbed the necklace around her neck, she heard a voice come up from behind her. “That necklace really suits you.”
Tempest turned around and saw all of her new friends approaching, with Misty and Sunny at the lead. “We’re so proud of you, Tempest,” Sunny smiled. “We couldn’t have done this without you.”
“I-I don’t know,” Tempest responded bashfully. “You guys could have done okay without me.”
“But, thanks to you risking your strength so we could continue fighting, the Justice League is back where they belong,” Velma pointed out. “You’re as much a hero as we are.”
Pipp suddenly cleared her throat, seeing something behind them. “And speaking of which…”
The Mane 6, Sparky and Mystery Incorporated moved aside so Superman, Krypto and Wonder Woman could step through and speak with her. “So…” Superman smiled. “You’re the little filly who helped save us, yes?”
“Uh… y-y-y-y-yes, Mr. Superman, sir,” Tempest said, immediately bowing. “I-I have to tell you, i-i-it’s such an honor! Am I stuttering too much? Oh man… I’m so sorry, I-I just…”
“Please, there’s no need to fret,” Wonder Woman told the filly, making her stand upright. “We simply wanted to talk to you and offer you some things.”
“Offer me some things?” Tempest asked with wide eyes. “But… I don’t deserve anything that special.”
“We insist,” Superman said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a card with her name and picture on it. “First… we would like to induct you into the Justice League as a trainee, so we can teach you all the things you need to know about protecting this city.”
Tempest gasped with wide eyes at this, and the others tried to contain their excitement until the offering was over. “And… the second thing?” Zipp asked. “Well,” said Superman, “I think Krypto wants to offer that himself.”
Krypto nodded and stepped forward, offering his paw to her with a bark, causing Misty to gasp. “Tempest… I think Krypto is extending his paw to you in friendship!”
“Y-You mean it?” Tempest asked. “You wanna be… my friend?”
Krypto nodded at this, but instead of taking his paw, Tempest wrapped him in a huge hug. “That would make me the happiest filly in the world… best friend.”
All the members of Mystery Incorporated cooed at the sight, but suddenly, a piercing white light coming from Tempest caused them to watch in shock as it lifted her into the air a good bit. “Whoa… hey!” Tempest cried. “What’s happening?!”
After a moment, the answer was given in the form of a cutie mark of a superhero mask with a fairy wing on each side appearing on her flank, causing Tempest to gasp in shock. “I can’t believe it! I finally got my cutie mark!”
“That just gives us even more reason to celebrate!” Izzy cheered. “Let’s go get our picture made with the rest of the Justice League!”
Tempest giggled at this. “Well, I guess I can handle that. Let’s go!”
XXXXXXXX
Many more people, including the police, Jimmy, Lois and Stormquill arrived only a little while later, and once a lot of interviews had been over and done with, Jimmy took a picture with the Mane 6, Tempest, Superman, Krypto and Mystery Incorporated for the front cover of The Daily Planet. “Super-duper!”
“Well, everyone,” Fred smiled, “another mystery solved.”
“I gotta admit, you guys did some pretty amazing work,” Stormquill smiled, which caused Lois to nod. “You kids just took down former president and current dirtbag, Lex Luthor.”
“And, like, don't forget dirtbag-in-training, Mercy Graves!” Shaggy pointed to the two criminals being led away. “Ooh, ooh!” Pipp said, holding up her phone. “Can I get a quote?”
Lex growled and fought the urge to bite her head off. “It was the perfect plan. And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for these meddling kids!”
Krypto barked, as if trying to prove a point. “And the horses and dogs! Make sure to write that down,” Mercy told Lois as she and Lex were led away. That's when Daphne suddenly realized something. “Hey, what about Solomon Grundy? Wasn't he part of the Legion of Doom? Shouldn't he be handcuffed, too?”
“I don't think Grundy's part in all of this had anything to do with doom and destruction. He was just trying to make a new friend,” Sunny said, pointing off to the side. “Look!”
True to Sunny's word, Scooby was being roughly rubbed down by Solomon Grundy, who seemed very pleased and calm at the moment now that he had Scooby to cuddle with. “Solomon Grundy pet you on Monday, pet you on Tuesday, pet you on a Wednesday...”
“Shaggy, help!!” Scooby wailed. “SHAGGY!!!”
“Sorry, Scooby,” Helen apologized from the food truck. “Business is up, and Shaggy and I got an arrangement.”
“Like, we sure do. One for you, one for the ponies and two for me!” Shaggy gulped down two buckets of fries, causing Izzy to laugh, and Misty managed to use the fries that she was given to lure Solomon Grundy away from Scooby. “Phew...” Scooby sighed. “Thanks a bunch.”
“No problem, Scooby,” Misty rubbed his head, just as Jimmy went ahead and approached Daphne. “So, Daphne, now that this is all over...”
“Oh, Jimmy...” Daphne sighed. “I'm sorry... I only wanna be friends.”
Luckily, Jimmy smiled at this. “That's just what I was gonna say. Honestly, I feel like you've been holding me back.”
This immediately caused Daphne to stop in her tracks. “I've... wait, you're breaking up with me? We weren't even--”
“There there, Daphne,” Fred reassured her teasingly. “Let it out. Freddy's here.”
Zipp sighed and just patted Daphne on the shoulder. “I would just go with it, Daphne. It's clear he's not gonna let you live this down.”
“Hey... what does that portal mean?” Tempest asked curiously as a portal opened up nearby. “That's our ticket home,” Sunny explained. “We need to get going, but I promise, the next time we're in Metropolis, we'll come back and visit. But you have to promise that you'll do your best as the newest member of the Justice League.”
“...I promise. Thank you all for everything,” Tempest said, and everyone hugged the Mane 6 and waved as they ventured through the portal and out of sight.
XXXXXXXX
A few hours later, after the ponies had returned to Equestria, they stood at the top of the Brighthouse, watching their new dragon friends making friends with all their pony friends, and this sight made Sunny smile. “I know we still have a long way to go to defeat Allura, but... I think that this is a fantastic start.”
“Yeah... dragons and ponies becoming friends?” Zipp agreed. “And all of us promising to take great care of our worlds?”
“Allura may have power and skill,” Sunny said as they watched the town below them, set perfectly in the background of the setting sun, “but... as long as we stick together, I'm sure everything will be all tight in the end. Just you wait and see.”
