In the most secure level of the Watchtower, Twilight and Rainbow Dash slowly floated down through a hole in the ceiling. The entirety of the room was spherical in shape, with several bridges and walkways connecting to a single platform in the center: A large white cylindrical ship, the very ship that had brought her to this planet.

"...I sometimes forget this thing brought you here because... not gonna lie it LOOKS like a warhead." Rainbow said as she landed in front of the computer connected to the ship.

Twilight just rolled her eyes. "It was designed to transport me, not look pleasing to the eyes. I highly doubt that my other parents, whoever they were, had that kind of time or patience."

Rainbow simply shrugged as three wires erupted from the nodes on her head and began to interface with the ship. "Shame that we don't have more to go on." She mused as a holographic screen appeared before them, displaying the last recorded moments on Twilight's home planet before it took off.

The footage glitched at several points as it displayed what appeared to be an Alicorn Stallion wearing a similar attire to Twilight's, minus the cape, making his way towards the screen, sadly there was no sound aside from static.

"Yeah… at least we do have an image of him though." Twilight said as she paused at the image of the stallion and looked him over. "...I still wonder who he was... his name isn't even in the files."

"Yikes. That does make things difficult." Rainbow said as she continued looking through the files they were able to get from the ship, or at the very least the ones that weren't completely corrupted. "Given the attire, maybe he was some sort of high-ranking official?" Rainbow mused as she came across a file that wasn't completely fragmented, but sadly all it contained was the details of how the planet came to its end.

"Maybe, and maybe if they listened to him things could've been different," Twilight said with a snarl, remembering the few files she'd deciphered before meeting Rainbow. According to them the Council refused to heed the warnings that caused her homeworld's destruction, apparently due to their overindulgence in mining it's resources. "But then again I guess you can't blame idiots for not knowing better."

Rainbow was about to reply... only for an alert to suddenly go off. Her mood quickly changed from curious to excited as she spread her wings and shot up towards the ceiling. "YES! IT'S FINALLY FIXED!" She cheered as she flew through the halls and towards the lab.

"What?! What is?!" Twilight asked as she flew after her. "I swear Dash, if you did another experiment with my ship behind my back-!"

"No no no! Well... kinda, but trust me you're gonna LOVE this!" Rainbow shouted as the duo arrived at the lab, and the source of her excitement became clear:

Inside a large transparent tube was a mechanical device that seemed to resemble a cylinder of some sort that was attached to a large metallic cube with handlebars on both sides, an oval-shaped screen on the top, and at the end of said cylinder was a circular device that seemed to have a deep red screen on the front.

"The Phantom Zone Projector... it's complete?" Twilight whispered in disbelief.

"YEP! I just needed a few more tune-ups here and there but that wasn't hard for the smartest mare around." Rainbow said with a barely contained smirk as she handed the restored device to her. "Now then. What are we gonna do with this thing? Cause I vote to lock it up somewhere in case one of us hits Agamemnon Status." She suggested.

"...were there any detailed files left?" Twilight asked as she gazed at the device, one of the last remaining relics of her home planet. "I mean, this had to have some use other than just imprisoning criminals, right?" She asked in a hopeful tone.

"Uh, some animals and various life forms at various points but... I don't think there was anything else." Rainbow explained with an apologetic tone. "Sorry Twi, I know you were probably hoping at least for something that would be connected to Krypton..."

Twilight however narrowed her eyes, now more curious than irritated. "How far back do those records date?" She asked, surprising Rainbow. "While it's true that many life-forms were stuck in here, they had to have been brought in at different points in time..."

The Cyborg Pegasus took a moment to look through the files, her eyes then displaying a holographic projection of the data."Hold on… going back… a little further... wait, yeah! Yeah, there are some files here!" Rainbow said with a joyful smile as she started filtering them via the date. "BINGO! I found something, there's at least… holy crap."

"What? What is it?" Twilight asked, hoping there were at least some in-tact files pertaining to her lost Homeworld.

"Okay, it took me a bit to properly scan through this, Krypton has a very different calendar compared to ours..." Rainbow began as her eyes began to glow, the hologram changing to display a list of files in an alien language. "But I've managed to trace the last recorded transfers to a few months before the planet's destruction..." She continued before the images of two individuals, one male and one female, appeared on the screen. "These two... they were the only Kryptonians sent to the Phantom Zone before the planet blew up."

"...can this bring them back?" Twilight asked as she looked over the device. "I mean... you can you use the device to open a portal and bring them to our dimension, world, whatever, right?"

"...theoretically yeah I can." Rainbow said as her eyes stopped glowing, a look of uncertainty on her face. "But, well..."

"But what? You repaired it didn't you?" Twilight asked in an almost impatient tone. "Then it shouldn't be a problem to simply-"

"Twi, don't you think that it would be better if we found out why they were sent there before dragging them out?" Rainbow asked hesitantly, somewhat unnerved by her friend's abrupt change in attitude.

"But you... you're right… sorry, I should've had a better head on my shoulders about this..." Twilight replied with a groan. "Um, pull up the last files recorded about them and let's go over it. I want to be sure we're not making a mistake."

"Way ahead of you Twi, just give me a sec..." Rainbow smiled at several wires came out from the nodes on her head once more, reconnecting to the device.

[SCANNING... SCANNING... DATA FILES LOCATED. FILE 178: TEMPEST SHADOW, FILE 179: SHADOWLOCK.] The computer responded as Rainbow's eyes went white. [NOW RETRIEVING CRIMINAL RECORDS FROM KRYPTONIAN DATA BANKS...]

"Wait, criminal records?" Twilight asked, sounding genuinely worried. 'Okay maybe this was a bad idea-'

[RECORDS 85% RECOVERED.] The computer said as Rainbow's eyes jetted around rapidly. Twilight bit her lip as she waited. [RECORDS 100% RECOVERED.]

The first Kryptonian displayed was Shadowlock, a horned male equine with a light gray coat, a wild deep purple mane, and a scar across his nose. The second Kryptonian displayed was a female with a deep pink mane in the style of a mohawk, a dark purple coat, a scar across her left eye, and a broken horn.

"According to these files, both of them were brilliant warriors, although Shadowlock was the better tactician…" Rainbow explained and she read through the files. "Apparently they served under the Kryptonian High Council, but their true loyalties were to their commander… huh, no name listed for him, weird..."

"Wait... is there a photo for the Commander?" Twilight asked quickly.

"Yeah and... holy shit. Twi... Twi it's that stallion from... I-I think they served your dad!" Rainbow said with a bit of an excited tone, happy to find SOME good news about Twi's homeworld. "So m-maybe they were sealed away because they were trying to warn everyone like your Dad was doing!"

Twilight almost let out a sigh of relief, but quickly held it. As eager as she was to meet these two, she needed to get the full details first. "Keep reading, we… we have to be sure..."

Rainbow nodded and continued to scroll through the text. "Ok, so according to the files, they were apparently tasked with leading an expedition to the inner depths of their planet after a new element was discovered. Apparently, the Kryptonian High Council wished to use this as some sort of power source… wait…" She blinked, briefly stopping before pulling up the last few files from Twilight's old ship. "Oh… that explains a lot…"

"What is it?" Twilight asked, worry evident in her voice.

"Okay so, during a scouting mission alongside someone called... Night Light, they also discovered that the planet itself had started experiencing a lot more frequent seismic activity… and all this started after they began pilfering these weird crystals. And the records for this seismic activity actually match the ones Krypton had before its destruction…" Rainbow explained, as she continued her search Twilight was wondering... could that be why they were banished? Simply for wanting to tell the truth?

"...anything else?"

"Well, it says they were later sentenced to exile in the Phantom Zone for the crime of "conspiring against the council", but honestly... that's about it, but some other stuff was redacted. Maybe just more of this old fart of a council trying to bury their shame before it got too far?" Rainbow theorized. "I mean they seem to be on the level."

Twilight glanced down at the device and took a deep breath, while there was still that lingering feeling of uncertainty, she refused to leave the last members of her kind trapped through no fault of their own. "OK Dash, bring them back." She started firmly as the holograms vanished.

"Alright! Two freshly reborn Kryptonians coming right up! With um, all due respect for that, of course." Rainbow quickly said as she saw Twilight giving her what seemed like a death glare. Working fast she began switching the machine on. And with the click of a button... a beam quickly shot out, creating a strange, triangular, flat glass surface of sorts.

Then, it immediately shattered into several pieces before flying around in a circular pattern. Several bright beams of white energy then shot out from each shard, all of which joined together in the center, creating a bright orb that grew bigger and bigger, letting out an ear-piercing screech as it grew… until it became a portal…

Meanwhile, back at Cadmus HQ, Harshwhinny stormed down the hallway alongside Wind Rider, still visibly fuming from the failed Mission involving Task Force X.

"Madame President, honestly you shouldn't bother yourself-"

"Can it, Wind Rider! After everything that happened? You're lucky you still have a position here." Harshwhinny sneered at him, causing Wind Rider to glare back. "And don't think I don't know about your little... secret mission for Metallo who, for some reason, isn't authorized to tell ME about what it was about."

"One of our bases had been discovered! By Brainiac AND Red X no less! They needed to be put down immediately before they discovered too much!" The Pegasus fired back, equally enraged. "Do you have any idea what would have happened if the public got wind of our little secret project?! It's only a miracle we were able to cover our tracks regarding the Brainiac incident! I took the initiative to make sure nothing was exposed!"

Harshwhinny glared at him. But before she could reply, the whole building they were in was rocked by some kind of Sonic Boom. "What in the nine levels of Tartarus was that!?" Harshwhinny shouted as the alarms started blaring.

After giving Wind Rider a glare that pretty much told him this wasn't over, the two of them rushed down the hall and entered the main control room. "Status report! What's going on!?"

"Our scanners just picked up a powerful anomaly! It's unlike anything we've ever seen!" One of the scientists explained as an aerial map of the area came up on the main screen. "...and it's coming from the Watchtower."

"...of course it is…" Harshwhinny groaned.

"RAINBOW, I THOUGHT YOU FIXED THE THING!" Twilight shouted as she covered her ears, nearly ruptured from the sound of the Phantom Zone being literally ripped open right in front of her.

"WHAT?!" Rainbow shouted back, her own ears briefly needing to briefly reboot.

As the spiraling portal continued to grow in size, the edges began to pulsate as the glass shards started glowing intensely... then, two figures slowly became visible from within the portal, a male and female Alicorn, both wearing bodysuits that looked remarkably similar to Twilight… only with the symbol on their shoulders and no cape, both of them coming closer and closer to the edge until they were both flung out of the portal and onto the floor.

Then, almost instantly, the shards stopped glowing as the portal shrank into nothingness, the lights dimmed down and the shards immediately restructured themselves back into a small triangular glass before dissipating into the air…

The projector soon shut itself off causing Rainbow to drop it out of pure shock. The two Kryptonians soon collapsed to the ground coughing up some blood, the atmosphere getting to them more suddenly then it did to Twilight. "I-I think that's them Twi!" Rainbow shouted, hoping Twilight's hearing had returned.

While Twilight did hear her, her attention was solely focused on the two Kryptonians before her. Not wasting a second, she rushed towards them both, mentally praying that Rainbow hadn't made a miscalculation. "It's ok, you're finally free..." She whispered gently as she slowly helped them to their feet.

Rainbow herself slowly recovered, her hearing still very much in pain, and gave the files from the generator a fast scan. "Okay... okay I got a good idea of what their language is. I should be able to translate their tongue pretty easily." She told Twi who turned to her and nodded... and that's when the mare grabbed her by the throat, though her strength wasn't quite to Twilight's level she could feel it slowly climbing up. The mare growled as Twilight took hold of her arm, flaring her wings threateningly as sparks of magic erupted from her broken horn.

"/|-/-|\\?!" She immediately snapped at her in her native language, prompting Twilight to glance over at Rainbow with a look that clearly said: "translation please?".

"She's asking where she is but... well they don't have our language registered so I need a little more time to set up the proper Kryptonian translations!" Rainbow said as she began looking for a way to translate their own language to Kryptonian. "Look, try and get her to calm down the best you can!"

"Th-thanks... VERY useful." Twilight said with an irritated groan as she glared at the mare. "Please... I'm the reason you're free... STOP!" She shouted, that last word very much not Equestrian. But the bigger shock came from when the mare actually let her go. At first, she was tempted to back away... only to follow her line of sight and noticed that she seemed to be staring intently at her chest, or more specifically, the symbol. "Do you... recognize this...?" She asked carefully, with Rainbow's translator vocally repeating the phrase in their language.

The mare slowly nodded. "The... The House of Light. You... you're her… you're of General Stygian's blood?" She asked incredulously, that translator doing its job surprisingly well. Slowly her partner started to wake up as well, and the moment he locked eyes with Twilight his own eyes began to glow...

...only for Tempest to pin him down in the span of a few seconds. "SHOW SOME RESPECT SHADOWLOCK! OUR GENERAL'S DAUGHTER IS HERE!"

Twilight was taken aback by this action, surprised that the symbol was in fact not only a sign of authority but also of a noble lineage. "Th-that's not really necessary..." She began with a somewhat uneasy tone, and ignoring Rainbow's snickering.

"Forgive him. Shadowlock is... rather easily excitable." She replied to Twilight. "Just give me a moment while I help him understand." With that, she turned towards her compatriot and began giving him an earful. "LISTEN HERE YOU-/||-/!"

Confused when she noticed that the vocal translations seemed to have stopped, Twilight turned her attention to Rainbow. "Why did you-"

"Well, ignoring the fact that a few of these words don't exist in our language, I'm pretty sure she's swearing up a storm right now..." Rainbow explained with a blush. "...that and she's going into great detail on a few threats that I don't think any of us should hear..."

"Yikes," Twilight said as she walked over to the other two... it was still hard to believe it, but they were like her. They were Kryptonians... the last of their species.

It was almost like a dream come true for her.

"Hold on… I think she's done." Rainbow said, turning back on the translator just as Shadowlock began to speak.

"-I fail to see how it's my fault." He replied with a sheepish look on his face. "I don't believe either of us were prepared to suddenly get yanked out of the Phantom Zone. Least of all by our commander's daughter of all ponies… and at least I didn't try to choke her upon first contact." He fired back before turning his attention to Twilight, ignoring the sparks blaring from his enraged comrade's horn. "That being said, I apologize on behalf of my partner for her more hasty actions…"

"It-it's fine. I understand that something like this could be... well. Traumatic and terrifying." Twilight said, remembering The War World incident and how the people summoned from the Projector were disoriented and terrified of where they were. "Um. I'm Twilight Sparkle. The mare over there is my friend Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow waved at them when they turned to look at her. However, the two of them seems to give her a cautious glance, with Tempest narrowing her eyes in response "...she looks like a being from-"

*BEEP, BEEP, BEEP*

Whatever Tempest was going to say was cut off by an alarm going off in the Watchtower.

"What is this!? Are we under attack!?" Tempest shouted as both her and Shadowlock's wings flared out.

"Oh great, now what?" Twilight groaned as the lab doors opened, revealing Applejack with a less-than-happy look on her face.

"We got some visitors out front... it's the usual group." AJ said with the roll of her eyes. Twilight could only barely contain an aggravated growl.

"Alright. Give me a bit and I'll go out to greet them." Twilight said before turning to the two Kryptonians. "Look I am REALLY sorry but right now I have to deal with some people outside who give me a headache. I'll be right back. Okay?"

"Understood, commander Twilight." Both Shadowlock and Tempest nodded in confirmation, standing at attention, placing their right fists over their hearts in salute.

'...that'll take getting used to...' Twilight thought as she exited the room, briefly turning her attention to Applejack. "Just make sure they have their needs accommodated. They're still new to this world."

"Sure thing." Applejack said as Twilight marched off.

"Now then. Let's see what they've come to throw at the Watchtower today." She sneered before opening a window and flying out to the commotion down below…

As Supermare floated down towards the entrance, she could already make out a few individuals in the crowd, signs that read "Hang Up The Cape!" or "Who Brings The League To Justice?", or some other nonsensical statement that they thought got their so-called "message" across.

'Well, at least the religious nutjobs aren't here today.' She mentally sighed, turning her attention the news reporters at the front of the crowd... or more specifically the one that had been a major thorn in her side for the longest time;

Moondancer.

"Well hello there, Moonie." Twilight said with a smirk. The reporter only glared at her. "What? No declaration of how I'm a tyrant in the making today? Wow, you must be getting soft all of a sudden."

"No, just surprised you haven't already started vaporizing everyone in sight after that light show your tower pulled." The Unicorn fired back, never once losing her composure. "Or did you honestly expect everyone to ignore the fact then whatever experiment you pulled off nearly leveled the entire city?"

"There's the level of shortsightedness I remember from you. So yes I'd like to start off by saying that I apologize for what just happened but I think you're gonna be more amazed when you see what it brought back. Or you know, twist it and warp it to fit your fascistic newspaper that's too scared to comment on the heroic things me and my team have done." Twilight said with a sneer. "You know. Like what happened in Bialya."

Moondancer sneered at this, scoffing in response. "Well excuse me for not kissing the ground you float over, but your so-called "heroic actions" have ramifications that need to be brought to light." She fired back, narrowing her eyes. "Especially given that incident required you to illegally cross the border-" The Unicorn blinked, just now catching on to what the Kryptonian had just said. "...wait, what do you mean "brought back"?"

The other reporters started swarming towards her, incredibly curious as well. Twilight sighed as she tried to make them stand down, but just as she was about to explain...

"STAND BACK PEASANTS!" A familiar voice shouted. Twilight turned and saw that indeed Shadowlock and Tempest were descending from the tower... and from where she stood it seemed like they'd made their own exit.

"Which one of you future corpses wishes to incur our wrath?" Tempest snarled, her eyes still glowing.

Twilight bit her lip before glaring at Brainiac and Wonder Mare as they floated down right behind them. "You know, I'm pretty sure I implied that they were supposed to be kept inside the tower."

"We tried telling them that but... they're VERY persuasive." Brainiac said with a chuckle.

"She means they were worried tah death about how you were so they wanted tah help disperse the crowd as best they can." Wonder Mare replied back giving Brainiac a rolling eye.

"I mean... that too," Brainiac said with a slight blush.

Unfortunately at that very moment several reporters immediately started crowding the group, asking random questions.

"I thought you said you were the last of your kind! Where have these two been hiding!?"

"How did they find our planet? Are there more coming?!"

"Did the government sanction these sudden additions to the League?!"

"Is this the beginning of some sort of secret invasion!?"

Smirking at her chance, Moondancer immediately turned to the camera, going into full-on reporter mode. "This is Moondancer, reporting live from the Watchtower. Whereas you can see, our so-called "hero" seems to have taken it upon herself to grant asylum to-GAH!" The Unicorn suddenly yelped as she was cut off by two crimson beams striking the camera, causing it to explode.

"You wish to warp and twist my dear sister's words against her! As if you feel it gives you power or respect!" Shadowlock snarled with glowing red eyes. "You hide behind 'cameras' and 'reporters' as if this excuses your lack of spine for seeing the good she has done for your people! If this were Krypton you would all be tried for the arrogance and cowardly acts you're doing here you lowly DREGS!"

[Oh, I like him…]

'Shut up.' Brainiac thought as she watched the display before her.

Moondancer, visibly nervous yet surprisingly unwilling to back down, glared back at Shadowlock. "So standing up to questionable authority is considered cowardness to you? And you wonder why we see this as the signs of an incursion?" She fired back, only for Tempest to start floating towards her, her horn working with magic.

"So you are responsible for this disrespectful display? And these arrogant civilians are your followers?" Tempest asked as she got closer. "Good, then you won't have to leave the mortal coil alone-"

"STOP."

She turned to see Twilight grab her by the shoulder. "I appreciate the display but we don't go THAT far... not unless we're forced to."

"But they-"

"Spoke against me. They have a right to. You don't have to agree to it but you can't just silence them like this." She told Tempest.

The mare merely sneered. "Fine... but let this be a warning to you all."

With that threat, the entire crowd immediately dispersed, Supermare watched as various civilians and reporters fled down the streets and/or hurried back to their vehicles.

However, as Moondancer and her cameraman drove off, she caught a glimpse of her glancing over her shoulder... with a look of pure contempt.

"I know you were just trying help, but things work differently here on Terra..." Twilight explained as they entered the living room.

"Clearly. You feel as if you need to please those that insult and degrade your name." Shadowlock sneered. "You could've had them all leave much sooner if you had simply done what I had."

"I know… but believe me that doing so this early might prove more problematic." Twilight said with a sigh. "The individuals of this world seem helpless, but they have their own ways to match us in terms of power."

"That and we're here tah protect the world, not rule it." Applejack added in a stern tone, giving both Kryptonians a harsh glare. "We already have enough of the population thinkin' we're tyrants masquerading as heroes, hostility like that will only prove 'em right."

"And who are you to judge our methods? Certainly not a Kryptonian." Tempest said defensively as she shot back an equally harsh glare.

"Easy Tempest," Shadowlock said, having eyed her sword and the armor she wore. "I think it best for us to not enrage a New God."

This statement caught both mares off-guard. Tempest briefly turned her attention back to Applejack, as if she were silently sizing her up... before crossing her arms and turning away in a huff.

Applejack, on the other hand, kept her gaze focused on Shadowlock. "How did you know-"

"Your people and Krypton have crossed paths before. You were... rather interesting. I must admit." Shadowlock said. "At least from what I've read from our history books."

Applejack felt a chill go down her spine, the vibe these two gave off… and their attitude, it was not unlike that of her father. However she remained silent, as much as she wanted to say more, she reminded herself that these two were the last living members of Twilight's race.

They were still new to the ways of this world, just as she was when she first arrived on this planet.

She would give them the benefit of the doubt… for now...

"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news right now," Rainbow said, interrupting some kind of speech that Shadowlock was likely to start up with. "But I'm detecting an energy signature coming towards our tower. Like... REALLY fast and-"

"Does it have a Solar energy signature?" Twilight asked, already sounding rather annoyed. "Like it's using Solar Radiation to power himself?"

"...yeah, how did you-"

"For the love of-the damn Babysitter." Twilight groaned to herself. "Alright... you two? DON'T melt this one's face off. Okay?"

"We-" Tempest began, only to feel Shadowlock's hand on her shoulder, glancing to her left and noticing the cautionary look he was giving her, she took a deep breath and nodded. "We will... refrain from causing harm to this individual... provided he does not try the same."

Twilight smirked at this. "Trust me, this one knows better."

Standing before her was an adult Stallion wearing deep blue and red armor with the Equestrian emblem on his chest. His Armor almost resembled that of a knight of the old ages, on his back was a massive hammer of similar color while his right arm seemed to have a large can'ton attached to it.

"So... what brings my BBBFF to my home this time?"

"Wow. Using that word again huh Twi?" The stallion said with a chuckle. "Well. I think you know why I'm here. Mind telling me what kinda mad science project you started?"

"It wasn't mine... it was one of the others." Twilight said defensively.

"You know that really doesn't look much better right?"

Twilight rolled her eyes at this as she approached her brother. "Well, I can tell you that this experiment not only yielded positive results, but also gave me more insight on my original birth world... as you've no doubt seen on the news..."

"Congrats. You're not alone. I could've told you that a long time ago... but we both know you're pretty stubborn." The stallion said with a dark chuckle before coughing a bit, causing Twilight to reach forward a bit before recoiling.

"...is that getting any better?"

"...very slowly. But they've made progress in making sure my... injuries are taken care of..." He stated, giving her a reassuring smile. "On a lighter note, you know Mom and Dad miss you right? You don't call as often as you used to..."

"Ah and hear them complain about how my hair's unkempt or how I seem to have lost some weight? Nooo thank you." Twilight said with a chuckle. "Sides we both know Dad'll go on a long tangent."

"Yeah. But at the very least visit them…" He sighed before straightening himself up. "So, mind if I meet your fellow ETs?"

Twilight's eye twitched upon hearing him use that phrase. "Never letting that go are you...?" She grumbled under her breath as she glanced over her shoulder, using her X-ray vision she could see them at least one floor below them, staring right up at them with their own X-ray vision. She quietly mouthed the words. "It's okay, he's not a threat."

"They have your powers to huh?" He mused, their hidden interaction not lost on him. "Please tell me they don't have your ego."

"Oh, it's WAY worse," Twilight said with a bit of a chuckle. "But relax, they're not gonna start anything with me around." Twilight added just as the two exited the stairway, both of them still giving him a cautious glare, with Rainbow Dash not far behind, a translator at the ready.

"Well, they seem eager to talk." He mumbled sarcastically. "Are they at least going to be friendly or are we looking at me possibly getting melted like one of the reporter cameras? Because I'm not a big fan of that second choice."

"They won't start anything. I promise they won't." Twilight replied. "Besides I'm sure your own back up totally aren't loose cannons themselves right?"

The stallion narrowed his eyes at this and crossed his arms. "They're only here for support, we won't start anything if they don't." He started firmly... before looking past the two and locking eyes with Rainbow for a brief moment.

Rainbow mentally gulped but kept a straight face… the stallion Twilight was talking to was one of the good ones... that she could remember. He tried to impart good things and tried his best. But even so, she understood that meant others are nearby.

"You appear nervous... did that... thing of metal up there hurt you in any way?" Tempest asked with a bit of a glare. "A coward who attacks those weaker than him-"

"He's nothing like that." Twilight stated firmly, glaring at Tempest over her shoulder. "That's my brother you're talking about."

Tempest immediately went silent in shock while Shadowlock arched a brow. "...so, he is a member of your... adopted family?" He asked, apparently choosing his words carefully as Rainbow translated for him.

"Yes. He's a good man... a bit headstrong but you give him a chance he'll surprise you." Twilight said with a smile before she turned back towards him. "I mean unless I'm wrong Shining. Are you all of a sudden no longer hard headed?"

"It was ONE. TIME. Twily." Shining hissed through gritted teeth, earning a mild chuckle from his sister, he then smirked and respond. "Besides, I remember a certain somepony losing their cool over single ladybug-"

"WE AGREED TO NEVER MENTION THAT!" Twilight quickly interrupted, her cheeks turning bright red.

The two Kryptonians blinked upon hearing this. 'What is a lady... bug?" Shadowlock asked, only for Rainbow to giggle and whisper into his ear. "A... simple bug scared you?" He smirked, his own chuckle just BARELY contained. "Now THIS story I have to hear."

"A-another time! Anyways um... yeah, here they are Shining. The... other part of my family." Twilight gestured to the two. "Any questions you two have?"

"Just a few, I have to ask-[-/-|-]... [-\]?" Shadowlock began, however for some reason everything that came out of his mouth was Kryptonian, much to everyone's confusion.

"What'd he say?" Shining asked, only to notice Rainbow suddenly kneeling on the floor, clutching her head in pain.

"R-Rainbow what's wrong?" Twilight asked as she leaned down to her. "Please come on are you okay? What's happening?"

"F-f-feedback... picking up... f-foreign sig-signal-GAAH!" Rainbow winced again. "For real who is doing this?!"

As Twilight attempted to help her to her feet, Tempest immediately started scanning the nearby buildings with her X-ray vision... and found her target almost immediately. Ten blocks west of the Watchtower on the rooftop of a skyscraper, she found herself staring at what appeared to be another robotic being not unlike Rainbow.

But would really drew her attention... was the glowing green orbit in her chest.

"FOUND HER!" Tempest shouted as she immediately bolted through the air straight towards her target.

"Shit!" Metallo shouted as she tried to get away. However, she was too slow and Tempest grabbed her. "H-hey what the shit is this about?!"

"You are hurting an ally of my leader! You can either stop… or rip your head off abd see if that works." Tempest snarled back at her with an increasing glare.

"Tempest wait!" Twilight called out as she and Shadowlock raced towards her... only for a stream of deep green fire to erupt between the two.

"That's far enough!" A new voice interrupted.

The Kryptonians found themselves being confronted by a Pegasus with similar armor to Shining, only it was black with green wires attached to his arms and legs. His wings and face were completely obscured by green flames, with only their skeletal structure being visible.

"Damn it, Skull!" Shining snapped as he quickly flew up to him before the situation could get worse. "I thought I told the two of you to stay back!"

"And let Metallo get TRIPLE teamed?! Not a chance! You two punks are gonna stand right where you are!" Atomic Skull snarled as he huffed out another puff of flame. Shadowlock merely growled.

"YOUR partner attacked our ally! You should be stopping HER from doing harm here!" Shadowlock shot back.

"Well call off your girlfriend and maybe I'll go easy on ya then!"

"WHY YOU-!"

"Shadowlock STOP! TEMPEST LET THE METAL MARE GO AND GET BACK HERE! RIGHT NOW!" Twilight shouted, her voice full of rage and authority. Tempest merely growled at the mechanical being in her grip before letting them go and dropping them to the floor.

"You're lucky this day... had she been anyone else I wouldn't consider obeying her." Tempest snarled at Metallo before hovering back. "Forgive me... I merely wished to stop your friend's pain is all." She told Twilight as her prey floated over with a face looked half-way between angry and just a bit terrified.

"I understand that, but you need to show more restraint..." She began before shooting a glare at both of Shining's comrades. "And you two have a lot of nerve spying on me. I figured Harshwhinny would have learned from the last time..."

"WE have a lot of nerve?! Your new 'pals' just showed up and melted a camera and threatened them with silence!" Atomic Skull shouted. "Steel come on, let me pound-"

"NO Atomic. Starting a fight now isn't going to solve anything other than get more people in danger. You KNOW what Supermare is capable of by herself. You really wanna test that limit against actual soldiers from her homeworld?" Steel shot back with a glare.

"Yes. Listen to your commander. And next time maybe avoid trying to start something you might not finish." Shadowlock growled.

"WE start something?! YOU two attacked Metallo out of the blue! For no reason! You're the ones looking to start something!" Skull snarled before Metallo rubbed her head.

"... actually I think that might've been on me... I didn't realize Brainiac would be here so I didn't adjust my sensors... we both got some REALLY bad feedback. So... that's on me." She said with a bit of shame before glaring. "But I don't think it was worth trying to rip me in half over."

"You all could stand to keep off our turf y'know..." Rainbow stated as she arrived on the scene, fully recovered and glaring daggers at her counterpart. "...still a lapdog I see."

"Says the girl who practically is begging Supermare to make out with you on the be-" Metallo started before Steel slammed his hammer down.

"ENOUGH! We're all a little high strung and had a rough day. We came here to see what the energy signature was and who the other two are. We have. We don't need to start a brawl that might level the area." Steel shouted. The other two winced and backed down. "There. Now then... let's head back to base. We'll discuss the events there... and sis... please take good care of yourself and try not to melt any faces."

"I make no promises." Twilight said as Steel and the others flew off. Shadowlock merely snarled but Twilight cut him off with a raised hand. "I get you're angry. But he's right. Starting a premature fight and acting aggressively would've solved nothing. Plus it would only fuel the preconception that you two are battle-hungry tyrant which I know isn't true... trust me on this."

At this, she turned back to them both and gave them a reassuring smile. "I'm... I'm just so happy to have you two here. I know it'll take some getting used to, but trust me, I know we'll will be able to do great things for this world together."

"...of course we will... you're the heir to the House of Light after all." Shadowlock said as the group made their way back to the tower, all the while Tempest in Shadowlock gazed upon the city.

'...this is a fresh start… and a good place to start a new Kryptonian Empire…'

In a secluded location, a single figure stepped into a dark room, her wings slowly spreading outwards as various insect-like creatures crawled across her skin.

"Ah~ it's good to finally let loose once more..." She sighed as one of the creatures, a spider with a massive eye on its abdomen, crawled onto her hand, hissing affectionately. "I know. I know. It's okay little one." She said with a careful caress. "You did an admirable job. I'm so proud of you." The creature hissed once more, nestling into her hand. "Now then, I need a favor from you."

The spider quickly opened it's eye once more as it started to glow lime green. The figure in turn whispered something in a strange language that sounded like a mixture between hisses and clicks as her own eyes began to glow...

Meanwhile, in an air vent, a serpent-like creature with a single eye and several red markings adorning its scales slithered throughout the area, completely undetected due to its mythical nature.

Soon, its own eye began to glow the same color as the spiders, a signal that its master had called to it.

~Now then. What do you have to show to mommy?~ The voice asked. The serpent said nothing but began a sort of image projection along with a bit of voice recalling to her. And it couldn't see her be exact... but the serpent could tell SOMETHING was upsetting her.

~So... that's where they came from... this, Phantom Zone…~ The voice mumbled as the images continued. ~Supermare, what have you wrought?~

The serpent briefly let out a small hiss in response, however, it's master quickly objected. ~No my child, you must remain hidden and continue to observe them for the time being. We must know what we're truly up against…~