//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: My Little Arkham 2 // by The JGBrony1875 //------------------------------// On a Halloween night, a populace had evacuated — simply abandoned — a vast metropolis infamous for its history of corruption: Gotham City. Now overtaken by some of the most violent and deadliest criminals in the world, the city lay in utter dismal and ruin. The numerous scum who defined the city roamed the desolate streets, scattered throughout to spread their vandalism, destruction trailing behind as they surged about in their ceaseless lust to taint all around them. Gunshots rang as bullets fired at any random structures or vehicles, and many perpetration of robberies and smuggling of drugs and illegal weapons were oversought or undergone. Gotham City was now a wasteland, a mere reflection of the disease once lurking in its shadows, in the absolute power and menacing rule of the Scarecrow. A swirling vortex materialized somewhere above Bleake Island, a familiar rainbow-maned azure pegasus donning a certain bat costume tumbling out from the portal. Rainbow Dash stirred from her unconsciousness, fluttering her eyes open as she felt the sprinkling rain pour down on her through her suit. She caressed her head with her hoof, dazed and confused. Completely oblivious of her surroundings, she tried to recall what previously happened before she got knocked cold. Gasping in realization, Rainbow Dash glanced around in every direction, observing Gotham City as it now was years after the last time she was here before an instinctive grinned of excitement stretched across her muzzle. However, her smile dropped just as quickly upon the realization that something was missing: her friends aren't around her. "Twilight?" Rainbow Dash worriedly called out, turning about in every direction in desperation to locate any of her friends. No sign of them, looks like this is the incident in Arkham City all over again where her friends go missing, except this time ... she's completely alone in what seems to be a dark alleyway, deep in Gotham with nopony in sight. "Fluttershy? Applejack? ... Anypony?!" None of her friends were present to respond. She tried to see through the shadows of this alley, but there was no luck in finding them. A look of worried concern spread across her face as she contemplated something possibly could have went terribly wrong during their transportation. Worst case scenario was some of her friends having been teleported to the wrong world, which would be not good at all. She did recall Twilight mention possible mishaps due to the portal not being one-hundred percent complete at the moment. Maybe that was the cause, but no matter; her main objective is to search for her friends in Gotham, even if it means she had to get passed asshole thugs in the streets if they dared stand in her way. She'd buck their heads off if they even tried her! Dash spread her wings, taking off from the ally, soaring about Bleake Island to inspect the condition of her surroundings. Soaring over the island, she checked upon rooftops, alleys, anywhere, but no sign of the others at all. Never has she seen so much chaotic violence spread across a city in her life as she flew above the metropolis that rivaled even Tartarus itself. When she arrived at Chinatown, her eyes widened at the vision of the active pandemonium littering every single street. There she spotted a group of thugs surrounding a man in the distance. "No, ... please," pleaded the man. "This ain't your city anymore!" a punk said, enjoying every moment of this beatdown this cop is being handed to. Dash rushed towards the scene and landed herself between the aggressors and the beaten victim, startling the criminals as they backed up a little. "It's the Bat! Get him," one of the thugs cried as he prepared himself in a charging stance towards the opposing figure. "You sure about that? It don't look like Batman, … it looks more like a horse wearing a bat costume. I swear I could've seen one of these from somewhere," another thug responding, pondering the familiar sight of the equine figure before them, scratching his head. "First of all: I'm not a horse, I'm a pony," Dash exclaimed, surprising the rioters. "What the fuck?! It can talk?!" one thug shouted in disbelief, hoping that this is nothing more than a dream. Ignoring the thug's comment, Dash continued, "And second of all, the name's Batmare! Now, you pricks better buck off or I’ll break your bones in five places!" Crouching low to the ground, Dash bared her teeth, hissing, “There will be no mercy...” The thugs were not intimidated by her threatening words whatsoever, one snickering, "And what makes you think that you could take us on? There is only one of you and you want to fight all of us? Give me a break, I could take you out and put you in a hospital one-on-one." "Well, you asked for it," Dash responding, narrowing her eyes at the cocky thug — who was now cracking his knuckles, — and out of nowhere, she connects a swift flying kick to his face, knocking him out cold. "Oh shit! She just took him out with one kick!" one thug shouted. "Alright screw this! She is dead now! Kill her ass!" the leader of the group thundered. Every criminal in the area surrounded the pegasus, who soon found herself cornered instantly by the bloodthirsty rioters. 'Oh mane,' Dash cureased, her thoughts racing 'I didn't realize how many there were!' Each and every single thug converged on the prone pegasus, charging at her and attempt to connect their fists to her face. With the swiftness of an eagle, Dash dodged a majority of the attacks, ignoring the muffled stinging of knuckles connecting with her armored form. Her body was able to withstand a beating or two, but Dash did not think she could survive the total onrush of overwhelming assaults all at once. "Charge it!" she managed to hear someone order before a sudden tackle to the ground caused her to yelp. Kicked her foe off, Dash quickly recovered, glared towards the smirking thug who managed to bring her down. Zoomed towards him, she connected with him, like a battering ram, throwing him into the distance to crash into another surging tide of approaching thugs as if they were bowling pins. Grinning at the product of her art, Dash took out a number of thugs, but there are still quite a number of them speedily approaching. Just as she tried to rush the next line of offenders... "YOW!!!" A sharp pain in the back of her head sent her body to stiffen in shock,, her vision obscured by sparks of agony. Dropping to the crumbling flats of Chinatown, Dash caressed the back of her head, letting out a faint whimper as she gazed up to the attacker, just a random goon towering over her wielding a large crowbar. "Sorry, freak, we know that you work with the bat, I’ve been waiting to have a fight with one of you for the longest. And you ain’t as tough as they say! " he hissed, sneering as he raised the crowbar over his head to finish her. A large cloud of smoke interrupted the scuffling, a dark-caped figure emerging behind the crowbar-wielding menace, grabbing him by the neck and pulling him out of Dash''s sight. Despite all being blinded by the smoke grenade, they could easily make a wild guess on who caused this intrusion. "Oh crap! Batman's here," a thug panicked. And here the Dark Knight was, in all his ominous glory as the smoke cleared out, dropping the unconscious thug's limp body to the concrete ground. Dash stared wide-eyed towards the new arrival, she honestly had almost forgotten about the intimidating aura that you'd feel around the Batman. Almost four years had she seen him and he's never changed a bit after all these years. A thug charged at him and throw his first punch at Batman which was effortlessly blocked. The Dark Vigilante then delivered a bone-crunching high knee square in the low-life's face. No doubt his nose was broken. Meanwhile, Dash recovered from the ground, fighting through the pain from the last shot on her skull. "Batman! Long time, no see," Dash called out with excitement. "Save it! Now get up, and fight!" He proceeded to combat against the thugs with Dash assisting along his side. A thug attempted to take a cheap shot behind Batman's back, using a wooden baseball bat. Batman countered by catching the swing of the bat, one-handedly; followed by a jaw-breaking uppercut. He fired his Batclaw towards his next opponent, Batman pulled the thug towards him with his fist connecting and elbowing him hard into the concrete ground. Batman then stunned his next victim, using his cape. While the enemy stood dazed, Batman began a relentless fast-paced beatdown, ending with a roundhouse kick. Sending the low-life thug crashing down against a vehicle's windshield. "Aw, man! That looked like it hurt," a thug remarked before he was knocked down by Dash from the side. Batman rushed towards the final man standing, and flipped him over and bent his arm in half. Merely fracturing his arm as the man screamed in agony, Dash cringed at the sound of bones being crunched as he did. She might not have the same body structure as a human, but she knew that man's arm was not supposed to bend that way. She glanced at every direction in the area, this entire gang of thugs that were once giving the man a vicious assault, are now beaten down, groaning in pain from their defeat. "Ah, just like the days back in Arkham City, right Bat—" She was cut off as the bat yelled over her with demand, "What are you doing here!? Gotham's been evacuated, and taken over; return to your home world, right now!" The Cyan Crusader could only stare into his frowning eyes, wide-eyed in shock and stunned disbelief at his harsh words. Before she could reply, the man who had been assaulted by the thugs called out to Batman. "Batman!" the cop shouted, Batman approached the injured man. "You're safe," Batman said he helped the man up to his feet, the man winced as he struggled to get up. This man is an employed officer of the Gotham City Police Department, Officer Kevern, was his name. "Thanks Batman," Kevern smiled with relief though his bruises and wounds as he limped. "I thought they were going to kill me." Dash felt a disturbing vibration, which seem to get stronger as seconds went by, she turned around to the direction behind her to see what this commotion was. She loudly gasped which caught the attention of both men, they spot a large-red vehicle speeding towards them. Dash quickly reacted as she ascended up above to avoid getting crushed by the truck. She gasped in realization, worried at the possibility that Batman and the man, who she helped rescue, could get run-downed by the truck. She then sighed in relief as she was able to spot them on the nearby rooftop adjacent to her position. Wiping away sweat from behind her cowl, Dash descended to where the two humans – one an ominous protector and vigilante, the other a mere victim of the corruption plaguing the society he swore to protect – stood conversing. "The city's overrun. We don't stand a chance," Kevern hopelessly stated. "Stay here. I'll send someone to pick you up," Batman said, he then turns towards Dash, "And I don't want you, or any of your friends getting involved." "Come on, Batman. I can help you," she protested against his demands. "I don't need any assisting, I can handle this on my own. Don't follow me, go home; now." "Then how are you going to chase after that thing," Dash asked as she pointed her hoof towards the military vehicle. "By evening the odds." Batman leaped off the edge of the roof, Dash looked down from the edge as Batman landed in the middle of the street of Chinatown. A massive dark-colored vehicle started speeding from out of nowhere, and it was speeding towards Batman. Dash gasped afraid the car would hit Batman, but instead, Batman entered the Batmobile, in very fancy fashion, Dash looked down astonished at Batman's own ride. The Batman then drove at full speeds towards the direction where the military vehicle drove off to. "He has got to make me one of those..." Dash muttered. "So who are you supposed to be? Old friend of his?" Kevern's question broke Dash's fangirlish trance. She turned to his direction. She replied, "I guess you could say that. The name's Batmare, by the way." Before Kevern could give Dash his thanks for standing up for him, the cyan-coated pegasus leapt from the roof, spreading her wings and darting through the thick black of night. The Batmobile quickly came into sight as Dash closed the distance Batman had made in his pursuit of the speeding truck loaded with arms. Outracing both vehicles, Rainbow Dash paused at a distance where she could observe the wild chase as police joined the Batman in pursuit of the armed runaways. From inside the truck, a grenade was javalined at the enforcements tailing it, the ensuing ensemble of wreckage from either collision or combustion of RPGs, causing undamaged allies to veer in aid of those ailed in the damage. Rainbow recoiled in aghast terror. From the Batmobile, a missile was fired in return, but the truck continued its flight despite the cracked glass and denting it sustained. "Looks like it's up to Batman to take down these punks." Dash muttered, shaking her head in disappointment as she took several sharp turns to avoid face-planting into the vast array of buildings she flew by. Thanks to her Wonderbolts training she received ever since joining the flight team, Dash had honed her abilities and increased in agility, allowing her to dodge a stray of missiles and rockets. ‘Rainbow Crash’ was a nickname now put out of order due to the sureness of her flight, now stable instead of clumsy and rambunctiously reckless. Finally, Batman was able to shoot down the military truck after an intense chase. Batman emerged from his own vehicle, slowly approached the injured driver, struggling to escape out from his damaged truck. Dash descended towards the scene, she heard wheezing, and painful grunts coming from the man, he was dressed in dark-red uniform; this was no ordinary goon, this man looks to be a highly-trained soldier, equipped with some high-end gear. "Stay back, freak!" he yelled. Batman grabbed him by the collar of his uniform, and dragged him to the middle of the street as Dash watches with interest. Batman held him close to his face and shot him the hardening glare that he commonly uses in interrogations. "Where's Scarecrow!?" "Go to hell!" he retorted before he aims a strange device aimed towards Batman's head. Dash quickly reacted as she smacked the device off his hand and grabs it. She held it closely in front of her face as she observes the device, Batman snatched off her as she shot him a frustrated glare. "Hey!" "I thought I told you to go home, Dash," he stated, he refocused his interrogation on the soldier before he proceeded flipped him into the concrete. "Where is Scarecrow!?" "I don't have anything to say to you, Bat-freak!" "Talk! Or I'll break every bone in your body," he threatened to twist the man's arm. "Okay! Okay, I'll tell ya! He's...working out in a Penthouse in Chinatown. Please, this is all I know!" he begged, hoping he wouldn't take a pummel from the vigilante. "If you're lying, I'll break the other one!" "Other what!? Aahhhh!!!!!" he screamed in pain and quickly retracted his wrist just after Batman fractured it. Batman activated his scanner in his cowl to scan any data from this device that Dash had managed to retrieve from the soldier. "Hey, don't you think that was a bit harsh by breaking his wrist?" Dash argued as she glared at him with her forearms crossed. Batman ignored her comment as he activated his holographic communication device attached to his suit, the screen revealed none other than Oracle, a face that Dash had not forgotten in her last adventure in this world. "Oracle, check the chemical analyses I've just uploaded." "Sure….is this what I think this is?" "Scarecrow's new toxin." Batman answered. "An uncontaminated sample." Okay Dash already is already lost in this conversation. She recognizes these big and professional words that eggheads, like Twilight, always uses in their own studies and observations. She rolled her eyes behind her cowl, she is surrounded by eggheads this time. Celestia, she misses Pinkie already. "Scarecrow's got a safehouse nearby, I'm going to pay him a visit." He switched this communicator off before turning to the similarly-dressed equine speedster, "You should've left when I first told you so, Dash. Scarecrow's about to be dealt with anyway, go back to where you've came from." "But you need me," she pleaded. "I said I can handle myself. It's too dangerous for you to be here. Scarecrow is in full control in all of Gotham, and the worst thing that'll happen to you is when you're exposed to his fear toxin." "But you don't understand! Look, this is a long story, but when me and my friends were traveling back here after we decided to help you against this threat from Scarecrow-" He cut her off, 'How'd you know of this situation? And speaking of which...where are your friends?" he asked, Dash growled in frustration at his realization of her missing comrades. "Just let me talk, alright?" she forced herself not to raise her voice against Batman. "We've learned this threat about this Scarecrow guy when Princess Celestia informed my friends and I about what's happening here. I don't know how she found out, so don't ask me. Twilight said we could travel back over here, by using some magic mirror she's been working on but it wasn't finished. Something broke on our way back, and here I am, back in Gotham. Where my friends could be out alone in this damn city." Dash explained as she finished by slamming her hoof into the concrete with frustration. "I looked everywhere around this place, until I bumped into those punks that were beating up that cop before you came, and you know the rest." The explanation was as simple as possible for him to understand. Batman seemed unfazed after her reasoning, Dash furrowed her eyebrows in response, hoping she would at least get a reaction out of him. "So your friends are missing?" "Yes, and I ain't going back until I find every one of them. I know how dangerous this city can be, now with all these maniacs running around. What if they've been taken by those freaks?" "If they're still alive, we'll find them," Batman said, Dash quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean if ‘they're still alive’!? Of course, they have to be. We're stronger than we look, don't forget that. But we gotta find them now, what if they can't handle things out here if they're by themselves. Please let me come along with you," she begged, something she doesn't do that often. It was clear to Batman just by staring into her worried eyes. He sighed in defeat, "Fine, but first, we have to deal with Scarecrow before we do anything else. He's the main priority right now, if we don't stop him soon enough, then this entire city will suffer under his own chemical experiment, which will have people to hallucinate their greatest fears, including your lost friends." Batman said, Dash looked down in worry, fearing about what's to come. She doesn't really know this Scarecrow all too well, but the way how Victor Fries had described him, he sounded creepy for the most part. "Alright, whatever you say..." Dash answered, Batman nodded as he turned to walk away with Dash following behind. "Hey, um, ... Bruce?" she called out to him, unsure to what name she should refer to him as. Batman stopped in his tracks and looked back at her, "Yes?" Dash chuckled, “You, Bruce. Nothing's changed about you after all these years, I'm just glad to meet up with you again." She smiled, for the first time she's entered Gotham. "Years? What do you mean,” he asked. "What, it's been like...three years or so? Somewhere around there. But gosh. It's been so long, hasn't it!" Dash said as she hovered slightly above the vigilante. "Three years? It's been only nine months the last time we've met." he stated, Dash's eyes widened to unnatural widths. Nine months!? From where Dash has been, it has been over three LONG years for the most part, spending countless adventures such as defeating Tirek, encounters with Starlight Glimmer when she was enslaving citizens of Our Town. But only nine months in this world!? "Nine months!? What!? You're joking, right?" she exclaimed in disbelief, shooting the Dark Knight an amused toothy grin. "Do I look like I am joking?" He stared blankly at her, "I guess time works differently in our worlds, huh," he mused, raising his grapple gun before he vertically ascending into the dead of chaotic night.