Hookwolf went down yelling and clawing at his eyes wildly. I watched the rest of the people tense and start looking around. I braced myself for the moment when they spotted me, but it never came. Then I realized, I was in an unassuming cardboard box. They couldn't see me, they didn't know where I was.
I reach out with my power and grabbed on to fifteen rocks, praying that my horn's glow doesn't give me away.
"Duck out of the way," a woman shouted. Rune, I assumed. She must have seen the glow of the rocks.
The rocks were flying through the air before she finished saying it and they were tearing through legs before many could react. About five of them managed to duck out of the way before the rocks ripped through legs and bone. I silently grimaced, those wounds were a little more nasty than I intended. I had no doubt they would probably end up bleeding out if something was done soon.
Maybe that phone call to New Wave should have been more of a priority.
Looking through the small hole in my box I saw the gang members scattered. Smart, a dozen normal people against some unseen telekinetic throwing rocks around wasn't a hard equation to figure out the out come to. And it let me focus on Rune.
"Damn it you cowards!" She shouted at the running gang banger. "At least comeback and grab the others!" They didn't listen.
She had two large things floating around her I couldn't quite make out. They were about the right size and shape for car doors, but there weren't any cars in this area. Even the occasional bus was rare. Maybe they were something she brought with her?
It wasn't important. What was is that she was searching for me, and I didn't want to wait until she spotted the familiar glowing coming from my box. And the fact that Hookwolf's shouts were dying and he was rising to his feet wasn't reassuring me.
I launched the rocks at her, coming from several different directions. I briefly marvelled at the fact I was able to keep track of each rock individually and give each one a special order. That was now twenty different pebbles.
Rune swung the two large panels she was using around, catching half of my pebbles in the air. The ones that got through clinked against her mask and chest. Some kind of breastplate? I couldn't put enough power behind them for any meaningful effect. I dropped the half that collided with Rune's shields leaving me with thirteen. Hopefully, she'll think they lose power or something if she can stop them. If I keep it up, I might be able to leverage it against her.
"Where are they?" Hookwolf suddenly growled. I turned all thirteen rocks against him. They hit something that was distinctly metal. Crud.
"Somewhere in Trainyard!" Rune answered him. "It's the only place to hide! Turn left ninety degrees and-" she was cut off as I dropped all other rocks and flung the second closest pebble straight for her chest. She moved whatever she was using as a shield in front of her at the last second. I noted that even with all my strength behind a single rock it only burrowed a few centimetres into it.
Hookwolf let out a half yell half roar as he tore forward across the ground, almost literally. About ten feet away from me he burst through the fence that had previously separated us and start ramming through a train car. I briefly relaxed as he went right past me, but I didn't anticipate the gust of wind that accompanied it, blowing my box away.
I didn't waste anytime leaping to my feet and darting towards Rune, putting as much distance between me and Hookwolf as possible. At the same time, I doubled down one my assault against Rune. I lifted thirty-five rocks and start flinging them at her, letting them go once they got started so I could pick up another one. It was a strain to keep them all going, but I powered through.
The ones that managed to make it through bounced harmlessly off her, but the point wasn't to hurt her. At least, not yet.
Street cleaners hadn't been by to clean up this area since the import-export in the area dried up, so I had plenty of small rocks to pick from the corroding concrete. Not to mention what Hookwolf was kicking up.
I was galloping towards her when I heard the sound of a gun cocking. Turning my head slightly I saw a gang banger lying on the ground, holding a pistol at me with a shaky hand. I looked him right in the eyes and saw that his were wide and dilated. I could only imagine what he was thinking as he pulled the trigger.
The moment I saw his finger tensing I dropped everything I had flying at Rune and focused in front of me. I wasn't thinking or moving fast enough to grab the gun with my power, so I threw it all in front of me. But that wasn't how my telekinesis worked. I need to grab something, anything at all. I tried latching on to the air in front of me as the muzzle flashed. I closed my eyes as I felt my attempt fail.
I felt the bullet collide against something my power produced. It wouldn't have hit me anywhere important, maybe my leg if it happened at the right moment. But instead, it slammed against… something.
Cracking my eyes open I saw that I was surrounded by a silvery shield all around me. I felt it pulling energy out of my horn like a faucet and quickly dispelled it. I was running low before this fight, and launching the pebbles was slowly chipping away. I didn't need that expediting that process.
Realizing I had stopped moving in the face of the bullet, I snatched the gun out of the gangbanger's had with my power and tossed it away before turning toward Rune. She was standing still, staring at me with her mouth slightly open.
I turned my whole body towards her and stomped my left front leg on the ground in front of me in declaration.
"I'd say something clever here, if I could think of anything," I stated before grabbing one of the rocks now laying at her feet and shooting it through her gut.
She let out a cry and fell backwards, but she wasn't quite done. She dropped one of her shields in favour of launching the other at me. In a split second decision, I reached out with my own energy and caught it.
I felt my horn begin to throb as I pushed. It was just like picking anything else up, except it felt like it weighed a thousand pounds and I was the centre of gravity. I grit my teeth and pushed against it, taking a step forward as I did. With a grunt, I took another step and the shield thing was pushed back a single step with me. My horn flared brighter and harder and I took another step.
I felt Rune's control failing and the shield going back easier. I decided to focus my efforts harder despite the rising throb in my horn. For a moment, I felt her push increase and we hit a stalemate for the briefest of moments before her resistance stopped altogether.
"Hookwolf!" She cried before getting pinned against the ground with the shield she had been using. I let up and took a deep breath, that was exhausting. But at least she was down, and Hookwolf was still-
Running directly at me, swinging bladed arms around wildly and stomping on top of his own men as he did so. He was practically on top of me before I even had a chance to move.
In yet another moment of panic, I threw up the bubble shield I discovered a few moments ago. Hookwolf's massive bladed hand slammed into the shield, sending it and me flying right as my horn decided to stop working.
The rolled across the ground, my back skidding against the concrete for a few moments. I slowly rolled to a stop and struggled back to my feet. The throb in my horn was just on the edge of unbearable levels. I guess I knew what pushing my power to the edge felt like now.
"Hookwolf!" I heard Rune call. "I'm stuck underneath these damnable shields you made me carry." Huh, so they were legitimate shields. Good to know.
"Where's the cape," Hookwolf growled back at her.
"Hookwolf you ass! Get me out of this!"
"Where is the cape?" He growled a second time. I saw Rune pause and bite back a swear. I knew she was going to tell him, and while I was sure I could probably out maneuver him while he's blind all, but all it would take was one mistake and I would be pink paste.
Clenching my teeth as hard as I could, I resisted the urge to scream as I reached out with my power and grabbed a single pebble. Carefully, so Rune could see it, I lifted it up and set it gently on her forehead right between where her eye would be behind her mask. Rune was silent for several seconds.
"She left," Rune finally said with a weak voice.
"Fuck!" Hookwolf shouted, slamming his fists against the ground. I didn't move, afraid that a single sound would reveal me. After a few seconds of seething, Hookwolf turned towards Rune.
"Where are you?" He asked
"Over here." She answered. Hookwolf began shrinking down in a human form as he fumbled his way towards her. I noted a little sickly that there was some blood in his footsteps. The gang members he stepped on.
He was more or less completely human by the time he made it to Rune and she was in the middle of giving her step by step instructions on how to get to her when a flash of blue went by and suddenly Hookwolf was on the ground.
I had to blink a few times before I realized Battery was standing where Hookwolf had previously been. And if Battery was here…
"Aaaaaaaand stay down!" Assault cheered as he pounced through the air and landed on Hookwolf's head. He jumped back up and suddenly landed next to Battery. He paused for a moment as if expecting Hookwolf to react. After a moment when nothing happened he took a step and was suddenly by Hookwolf's side again.
"Huh," he stated. "Well, he is still alive." Battery shook her head at him and turned towards me. She hesitated a moment before saying anything, giving Assault the chance suddenly appear right next to me. And suddenly I was being lifted off the ground.
Celestia bucking curse it.
"Battery!" Assault said cheerfully as I got held off the ground. "Look at how cute it is."
"I'm a her, not an it," I said bitterly.
"She talks!" Assault practically squealed before hugging me to his chest. I was everything I could do not to turn my head slightly and stab him with my horn right then and there. "Can I keep her?"
"Assault no." Battery said pleadingly.
"Assault yes!" He answered. He looked down at me with a grin and I narrowed my eye back at him.
"I will buck you in the genitals if you don't put me down."
"I suddenly feel compelled to put some distance between us," Assault said, though he didn't drop his cheery tone. He dropped me on the ground and my legs fell out from under me awkwardly, putting me on my belly. When I looked back up I saw Assault was standing a little behind Battery and she was squeezing the bridge of her nose.
"So what exactly are you?" Battery asked me after a moment. She didn't sound annoyed as she looked. Maybe the theories from PHO about the two of them were true then.
I glanced over back at Hookwolf and Rune for a moment. Hookwolf wasn't moving and Rune was slowly wiggling out of the shield. Probably going to have to handle that soon. I turned my gaze back to Assault and Battery. Assault was grinning at me lightly while Battery seemed a little suspicious of me. I sighed.
"I'm… a winged unicorn." I told her with a slight mumble.
"Not a Tinker or power creation are you?" She immediately asked. I shook my head.
"No, a case 53 of some sort. You can ask Panacea, I had her look me over just yesterday."
"I see," Battery stated. Slowly a kind smile grew across her lips, all the tension that had been in her body from before working its way out. "You did us a good favour tonight, taking out Hookwolf and Rune mostly for us. Even if we did step in at the end."
"But that does beg the question," Assualt said, slowly pulling out a cell phone. "What were you doing around here? And do you have a cape name yet?"
I shook my head. "I was just practising, I thought the empty Trainyard would have made a great spot to just see what I could do. Then I noticed these people and came to investigate. That's when I heard Hookwolf talking about some sort of racial cleansing and decided to step in.
"And no, I haven't thought of a name."
"I see," Assault suddenly said in a rather cheerfully. Before I knew it he was next to me, kneeling on the ground and wrapping his arm around my neck and shoulders. He held his hand up high and snapped a selfie with a quick flash from the camera.
He popped back up and started typing on his phone.
"Then you shall be known as Cupcake, the Obliterator."
"Assault no!" Battery protested. For his part, he paused in his typing and thought about it.
"Yeah, you're right. Too hard to say." Assault admitted. I let out a sigh of relief. Anything was better than getting stuck with that for a name.
"Hanging-out-with-my-new-friend," Assualt said as he typed on his phone. "Muffin,-the-Destroyer. Aaaand, send."
"Assault?" Battery protested. "Why would you do that?" Assault shot a grin back at her.
"Because I w-Erk!" He was cut off as my hind legs made a rapid contact with his crotch. He crumpled to the ground and rolled up in a ball with a loud moan. Battery and I watched for a moment curiously when he managed to raise his head and mumble,
"Totally worth it."
"You know that the Director is going to totally rail you when we get back right?" Battery asked him, not the slightest hint of concern in her voice.
"Mmm, slightly less worth it."
Battery let out a sigh and looked up. She scanned the surrounding area. Neither Hookwolf or Rune had managed to get very far. I noticed a van coming down the road with PRT markings along it. One of them must have called them in.
I took stock of my surrounding as well. There were about six gang members still on the ground either holding on to their wounds or passed out from blood loss. There were a few trails were a few manage to work through the pain and limp away. It was hard to tell how many were crushed by Hookwolf.
"Look," Battery said. "I know you probably weren't all that responsible, but a lot of people got hurt here tonight. It would mean a lot if you came with us to help straighten out what went on here tonight."
"I guess I can do that," I said glumly. It wouldn't be my first choice, but people died here and no way do I want to give those Nazi's a chance to blame it on me. "But I ride shotgun." I said pointedly.
"But I ride shotgun." Assault whimpered. Battery grinned at me.
"Of course," she said. "But you might want to think on your cape name before Muffin, the Destroyer sticks. Maybe something to do with that mark on your flank?"
My what? I craned my head to look at what she was referring to. Sure enough, there was strange mark on my butt that hadn't been there before. One on each side of me.
The mark was a trio of orange and red diamonds, kind of like stars. They were each different sizes, a small one on the lower left, a slightly larger one placed a little higher to its right, and the largest one in the middle but higher than the other two. Each of them were linked with tendrils of fire reaching between them.
What the heck was that supposed to mean? And how what kind of name was I supposed to make out of that?
The ride over to the PRT headquarters was uneventful. Once Hookwolf and Rune were both foamed and stored inside the PRT vans, separate from each other, Assault climb into the one with Hookwolf while Battery and I took the other one. She opened the door for me and I hopped up much like a dog would, except I opened my wings a little to get a little extra height. While I still hadn't figured out flight yet the wings had been useful in other means of moving. Hooves weren't very good for traction on polished floors like wood or marble, so I had gotten into the practice of using my wings a little to help me take corners. They also assisted me in running, which was nice.
One in the van I plodded across the seat and tried to curl up on the passenger side and leave another room for Battery as she climbed into the driver's seat. The PRT agents that originally drove the van had to move to the back.
Even with me curling up as tightly as I could my hind legs were a little on comfortably close to her and I had to hold my tail close to me or it would be on her. But once that was sorted out, I laid down and did my best to ignore the gently throbbing in my horn. At the very least, it was slowly going away.
It was kind of odd seeing a superhero, Battery, doing something as mundane as driving. Particularly when she could charge herself up and run really fast. But I guess she had a civilian life too.
"So is it strange being a unicorn pegasus?" She asked out of nowhere about ten minutes into the ride.
"It depends on what you consider strange," I answered vaguely. "I would say going from being a normal human to a fluffy cartoon horse with a magic horn and wings is something that couldn't not be considered strange. Unless you're asking 'does it feel weird'. In which case, not really. I just need some time to figure out how it all moved."
Battery chuckled to herself a little and she threw on a blinker before making a sharp right turn.
"I wouldn't let anyone hear you say magic. Knowing Assault he probably has a lot of people asking about your powers. You don't want him telling them you do magic, he might tell them you fart rainbows or something."
"Too late!" We heard Assault say cheerfully. Both of us did a sharp neck snap towards Assault, who was bounding across the ground at high speeds next to the van outside Battery's window. He appeared to also be typing on a phone.
"Assault? What are you doing?"
"Eavesdropping," He answered honestly. "And thank for the farting rainbow bit, that's going to be a kicker. Now, do you by chance-" He was cut off when Battery suddenly opened her door really fast and hit him with it.
"Ow! Fuck! Damn it! Oof! Son of-! Ack! Eeii!" were the words and sounds we heard Assault making as he hit the ground with a comical thump and started rolling out of sight behind us. The sounds of him hitting the ground disappeared behind us in a few seconds. Battery calmly watched in the driver's side mirror for a few moments before saying,
"Huh. I think the other van hit him."
"Is… he going to be okay?" I asked oddly. Battery waved it off.
"Oh, he's fine… probably… Nothing Panacea can't fix anyway since she's going to be at the PRT to heal some of the gang members and fix that hole going through Rune's chest."
I nodded silently at that. At her mention, I remembered Panacea from the night she came over to my house and the expression on her face. That was the expression my father wore, the kind when someone was running themselves into the ground. For my dad, it was back just after mom died, when he forgot to feed me and was struggling to do the most basic of things. It was better now, but the look was there. The odd night he'd come home late because there was some problem. When an order came down from up the chain saying there were fewer jobs. That time once a month to a year when he would come home drained and I know it was because he just spent hours trying to convince bureaucrats that just talk in circles around him to avoid actually facing problems.
But that was once every week or two for my dad because he worked at The Docks. Panacea worked in a hospital and people didn't stop getting hurt, particularly not in this city. And how much extra work did I cause her tonight?
Probably a lot less than had Hookwolf and Rune gone through their plan, if there was anyone left to heal.
I shook the conflicting thoughts out of my mind. I had others things to worry about now. I was heading into a lion's den of bureaucracy. I needed to focus on the course ahead of me.
We entered the building through some special garage door meant specifically for taking vans housing villains in them. There were platoons of PRT officers standing around the area waiting to foam anyone and anything should something go wrong. Armsmaster was standing in directly in front of where the vans pulled in at with his arms crossed as he waited for us.
Battery pulled the van to a stop and climbed out where she was joined by Assault a moment later.
"Battery," Armsmaster greeted with a serious nod. I noted he didn't greet Assault. "I heard you picked up an independent hero tonight. Where is she?" Battery gestured to the van door she had left open for me and I carefully rose from my seat and jumped into the open.
Armsmaster's reaction was maintained as a solid mask where he just frowned seriously. All the other PRT officers in the room though nearly dropped their foam sprayers.
"Battery," Armsmaster began, "Stay here and make sure prisoner lock up goes smoothly. Assault, the Director's office. Now." It was nice to see Assault pale a little. Armsmaster then turned to me.
As a two foot tall horse I was getting used to the fact I generally had to look up at people, but the way Armsmaster stared down at me with his heavy Tinker tech armour and serious expression I got the distinct impression he was trying to intimidate me.
I raised my wings a bit and made sure my hair was doing the wavy thing it does. No sense in showing weakness of any sort.
"How old are you?" Armsmaster asked me.
"Fourteen," I answered. I was still a few months away from being fifteen, though I'm unsure how that would translate into my horse form.
Armsmaster nodded. "Then I will take you to see the Ward's room while we wait for the Director to be done. This late at night there is usually only two Wards present, and one will be out on patrol for the next twenty minutes."
The way he said it made me wonder if there was some sort of clock in his helmet or if he had the patrol schedule in there. I didn't voice it out loud though, just gave a nod and followed him out of the garage.
He took me through the building and into some sort of Tinker elevator. I noticed a lot of people gaping at me on the way, including one woman whole actually squealed at the sight of me. I suddenly got the urge to burn this place to the ground.
The elevator was incredibly smooth for an elevator, probably the result of some application of Tinker tech, When the doors opened Armsmaster lead me down a short walkway which ended in a sealed door with two buttons next to it. He pressed the lower one and we waited a few seconds silently before the door opened.
A little odd that there would be such a delay in a door opening when they already went through the trouble of making a Tinker elevator.
"The attending Ward would have been on the monitors and should working their way back into this common room to meet you. When we're ready for a debrief Miss Militia will come by. I trust everything is okay?"
"Yeah," I answer curtly. I got the feeling he was dumping me off just so he wouldn't have to deal with me so I didn't feel like giving him anything but similar treatment. Armsmaster nodded and turned away, heading back for the elevator. I turned around and examined the room.
It was a large domed area with walls that seemed like they were made to be rearranged at a moment's notice. Around the edges of the dome were individual doors that lead to the Ward's room. Each door had a little engraved plaque on the front of it. Vista, Clockblocker, Aegis, Gallant, and Kid Win. Five of them in total.
There were some couches in this centre area, gather in a circle around a round coffee table. If I had to guess it was likely for informal team meetings or when they have time to relax but had to stay in costume. I jumped up on the loveseat near me and sat down as I continued to look around.
"Holy shit, that's a cartoon horse!"
I turned my head to see a guy in a white bodysuit and a clock on his face mask. Clockblocker.
"Hi," I greeted politely, rising from the loveseat to look at him.
"I- goddamn I owe Assault twenty bucks!" He paused and placed a hand on his face mask, shaking his head back forth as he did so.
"Well, at least you didn't pick me up," I said bitterly.
"I can change that if you want."
"No!" I snapped. Clockblocker chuckled and moved to sit on the couch across from me, swinging his arms wide over the back side and putting both feet on the coffee table.
"So," he began. "How does one become a cartoon horse? For research purposes."
"Become a burn victim," I answered. Clockblocker flinched reflexively and I immediately felt bad. Not for the lie itself, but for giving him the impression I was in some horribly disfiguring accident. The truth was… not important right now.
"Alright, I've got to ask," Clockblocker said after a few moments of awkward silence. "Can I pet you?"
What? "What?"
"I- uh, was wondering if I could pet you? I mean, your fur looks really soft and…" I stared at him. "I just thought, maybe you would…" I continued to stare at him. "You know what? Never mind."
"Yeah," I said with a nod.
"Moving on," Clockblocker said, forcing the conversation forward from there. "What kind of sweet powers does a horned pegasus get?"
"Telekinesis," I answered. I didn't feel like mentioning the thing with the plants. Not until I understood it better and even then I probably won't share it. I'd like to have some thing only I know, like the other powers I wasn't mentioning.
Now that I thought about it, I was rather shocked how many powers I have already manifested through my energy. I have a fifty-foot radius where I can sense pretty much anything, the force field, imbuing the plants with certain effects, all on top of telekinesis and my ability to turn back into a human. I was becoming quite the grab bag.
"And the wings?" Clockblocker asked.
"I haven't figured them out yet," I mumbled back.
"Huh, I was expecting more from Muffin, the Destroyer."
"That is not my name," I said scathingly. "And I took down Hookwolf, Rune, and Assault's crotch tonight."
"About that, how did you take him down? Hookwolf, I mean. I have an idea about Assault."
I shrugged and slumped down in the love seat. "I might have gouged out his eyes with pebbles."
"Holy shit," Clockblocker said for the second time tonight. "Vista is going to love you."
At that moment a girl's voice came from behind me. "I'm going to love who?" I figured out that the back of the chair was blocking me from sight about the same time Clockblocker did.
"Why, a magical cartoon horse of course," Clockblocker said with a wave of his hand.
"Seriously?" Vista asked. I could hear her shoes tapping against the tile floor as she spoke. "You expect me to believe that post Assault made a little bit ago?"
Clockblocker gestured to the love seat I was sitting in. "See for yourself."
"You can't be ser- OH MY GOD SHE'S ADORABLE!"
Before I was completely sure what was happening I was being wrapped up into a hug so tight that I was having trouble breathing.
"Vista," I croaked. "Need. Air."
"Oh, sorry!" She released me and I took a massive breath before falling into heavy breaths.
"Jesus Vista," Clockblocker said. I could hear the grin in his voice. "You just met her and you nearly choked her out. That's awesome." Vista shot him a look from under her visor and reach out with a hand. Clockblocker jerked forward as Vista Gibbs Slapped* him from six feet away.
"Yeah, like I said, sorry." Vista sighed, slowly taking her eyes away from Clockblocker.
"It's fine, I guess," I mumbled. I seriously didn't know what it was with people and freaking out when they saw me. I mean, sure I was pretty strange, but surely I couldn't be that weird.
"But you are absolutely adorable," Vista stated. I rolled my eyes.
"Believe me, I know."
"What exactly are you anyway? A uniasus? A pegacorn?"
"Alicorn, actually." Another voice said. Vista and I turned to see Miss Militia standing in the doorway. "Originally an Italian synonym for unicorn, meaning a pegasus with a horn or a unicorn with wings. Same difference."
"Miss Militia," Vista said respectfully, straightening up and holding her hands behind her back.
"Vista," she nodded to her before turning her gaze back to me. "The Director's ready for you now. We need to talk about what you did tonight."
***
A/N So, I would have made this longer and included some more of her interactions with Piggot and the others, but this was already going on five pages so I decided to cut it off there and just get all of it next chapter. Some of you might have noticed that Shadow Stalker isn't a Ward yet, the idea being since this came a few months to a year from the locker event, depending on when you think it happened, and that the bullying only just started would mean Shadow Stalker is still going out being a vigilante and hasn't joined yet. I was going to have Triumph still be in the Wards, since Grue and Tattletale had implied he only recently left, but decided against it.