The police ponies have long since finished for the day when Caramel Falcon left for the warehouse where his son was supposedly being kept. Normally, he would have brought an entire squad of his henchponies along with him, but the letter made it clear that if he didn't come alone, his son would immediately be killed. He had to exit his carriage three blocks away from the docks and then sent the ponies who brought him here home.
And so here he was, in front of Warehouse 47, formerly owned by his rival, Silver Martini. That wasn't anything peculiar. Many ponies of the underworld owned warehouses down the docks. In fact, the idea that this whole game was the revenge of some of Martini's more loyal and fanatical followers had crossed his mind. But in the end, it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that his son was here. And he was gonna get him back.
He was walking around the warehouse, trying to find the best place of entry, when something caught his eye. One of the side doors of the building was decorated with flowers and balloons and as he approached it, he could make out something being written on the door. The words, "Welcome Mr. Falcon!" with a smiley drawn into the middle of the os became clearly visible as he reached the door. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.
'How amusing.'
The stallion opened the door and entered the warehouse. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to find in there, but it wasn't the sight that met his eyes. On the ground floor, he saw dozens of gas cylinders standing everywhere near the walls and in the middle of the room, three huge white curtains were hanging from the ceiling circularly, concealing something behind them. If that wasn't strange enough, he looked down on the floor to see a huge yellow arrow pointing to his right. He looked into that direction and saw a set of stairs leading up into the warehouse office. Falcon narrowed his eyes and readied his gun as he made his way towards the stairs.
He cautiously made his way up and as he got closer to the office, he started to hear the grunts of a familiar voice, which he immediately recognised as his son's. Forgetting about being cautious, his fraternal instincts took over and he rushed up the stairs. The door was open and he saw Alabaster tied to the same chair and wearing the same clown makeup he saw in the photo. Losing all sense of his surroundings, he ran over to the chair to untie him. He didn't even notice the door closing and the sinister grinning white unicorn coming out from behind it, carrying a crowbar in her hooves.
Alabaster noticed her and began to moan louder and struggling to warn him, but it was useless. Trixie bashed the earth pony in the back of the head with the crowbar, making him fall on the ground. When he tried to get up, Trixie raised the crowbar again and bashed him in the face. Laughing maniacally, Trixie then kicked the defenseless stallion towards the door until he was stumbling down the stairs, back to the ground floor.
After a few moments, he managed to get over the pain, although he was still a little woozy. He slowly managed to get back on his hooves by holding onto the railing and turned around to see a group of stallions standing before him and looking him over menacingly. All of them were dressed as mimes with white painted muzzles, wearing striped shirts and berets. Caramel Falcon was not a stallion easily intimidated, but in his current situation, he could do nothing else but back away. Or at least, he would have if he had strength left to go up the stairs again.
"Just as I promised you, boys!" Trixie announced from the top of the stairs cheerfully. "One mob boss, in gift wrapping, with a bow on the top." She then slid down on the railing with childlike 'Wheee!' and kicked the stumbling Falcon back on the ground as she crashed into him.
"Fancy a little reunion, Caramel?" Trixie asked ominously as she danced over to one of the stallions. "Each and every pony here is an old friend of yours. He used to be successful shop owner until you had his store shut down for not paying you protection money." She then motioned to another one. "He was a professional heavyweight boxer until you had him forced out of the league for not accepting your bribes." She then skipped over to Falcon and leaend down to this ear. "But by far my favorite..." She whispered, motioning to a large unicorn with a demented look on his face. "...is this guy. Wouldn't you know it, he was gonna testify against you in court, until he was declared mentally ill by some psychiatrist with close ties to you financially and admitted to a high security mental hospital where he... get this... actually went mental! HA! HA!"
Falcon looked up the stairs and saw two other stallions carrying his son down who was still tied to the chair. He tried to get up in a vague attempt to help him, but Trixie knocked him back down with the crowbar.
"Play with him as you like boys, but remember, I want him alive. He and his boy are gonna watch the show from the front row!" She was about to head back up to the office, but Falcon called out to her.
"What... are you gonna do with my son?" He asked weakly, barely able to talk from the pain. Trixie grinned and skipped over to him.
"Oh, the same thing I'm gonna do to you and everypony else in this stinking, lousy cesspool of a city. You are all so grim, so hopeless, so sad. I'm gonna put big smiles on all of your faces." She said, putting her hooves into Falcon's mouth and pulling his lips up into a smile. "Until then... enjoy your stay." Trixie watched as the stallions dragged Falcon and his son behind one of the curtains. Her expression then turned serious as looking up at them made her remember just what she was working on.
"How much longer until we have enough gas?" She asked one of her goons.
"At the current production rate, we should be ready by tomorrow night." He replied. Trixie smiled again, satisfied with this report.
"Good. Well then, get to it boys! If you need me, I'll be in my office." She then turned away to walk up the stairs, but turned back to glare at her employees over her shoulder. "P. S.: Don't need me."
It had been two weeks since the Ace Chemicals incident. The incident that marked the first failure of the Batmare. When she failed not only to wrap up the criminals she went after and obtain the necessary evidence to finally put Caramel Falcon away for good, but also her first failure to save somepony. Even worse, it was somepony she may have been responsible for pushing down this path. The street magician she humiliated that day. Trixie. She knew how her rudeness cost Trixie her day's income, but she never would have expected that the magician was in such a desperate situation to be pushed into a heist.
The events took their toll on Twilight. For a week, she was in such a traumatic state that she didn't even left her room. Spike was grateful that Twilight would neglect her nightly escapades for a while. At least he could keep his eyes on her and wouldn't have to stay up late worrying about how badly injured she would come home or whether she would come home at all. But he also knew that this was a reminder of her life's greatest failure. The night that started all of this.
It never happened before. The Batmare's first priority was always taking down the greatest crime families of Manehattan. But of course, being a hero in the night meant that she would always save those in need. Taking an occasional detour from chasing the Falcon family's hired hooves to save somepony being assaulted on the streets was a common occurrence with her. And nopony ever died on her. Until now that is.
When the second week rolled around, it seemed like Twilight had gotten a little better. She finally left her room and actually resumed doing her job managing the library. During that week, Spike felt like everything was like it was supposed to be. But somehow, it didn't feel right. Twilight felt like she was, for the lack of a better word, on autopilot. There was barely any emotion behind her words and actions. It was like working with a robot.
And Spike knew that it was more than just the trauma taking it's toll. Twilight literally having a withdrawal. The Batmare suit had become like a second skin to her. It wasn't just some misplaced sense of duty to the city or the memory of High Culture. She relished in it. It was like an addiction. And just like with any addiction, walking away from it was not easy.
Spike was certain that Twilight wouldn't last long. Especially when the papers started writing around strange murders in the chemical plants owned by Caramel Falcon. Spike didn't have to be the detective Twilight was to quickly realise that somepony had picked up where the Batmare left off.
But the Batmare wasn't a killer. Spike believed that Twilight would see this as a personal attack against her. Against the Batmare. And despite her vow, she would feel an irresistible call to jump back into action. But nothing of the sort has happened. Twilight just went on her daily routine as if nothing had happened. And despite barely showing her emotions anymore, Spike could feel that she was feeling more miserable than ever.
And he knew why. After all this time, Spike has finally understood. It was the helplessness. The powerlessness. They ate away at both of them like a disease. Twilight was putting up with them far longer than he had. Ever since the murder of her fiancé. But he himself had only recently got a taste of them. And the fact that he couldn't do anything about it drove him absolutely insane.
And then that day came. The day when the entire Falcon crime family - minus Caramel himself and his son - along with several other ponies were murdered in a chemical attack on their mansion during the birthday party of the youngest member of the family, who was the only one of the crowd whose body wasn't found, so the police officially considered him missing instead of dead.
Spike was horrified when he learned about it in the newspaper. Especially when he learned that several foals fell victim to it. He knew that this would be the day Twilight would finally snap out of her self pity and finally get back out there. There was no way in Tartarus that she will be able to sit idly when she heard about this horrendous crime. That's what he was wholeheartedly expecting when he brought Twilight the morning paper along with her breakfast.
As he expected, Twilight was quite shocked when learned of what happened. For a moment, Spike thought he saw that familiar look of determination growing on her face. That look she always had when she disregarded all of Spike's warnings and requests that she should spend a night inside and finally get a good night's sleep. The look when she was about to head out and deliver some swift and severe justice to the criminals of this city. But he was in for a big shock.
"This is horrible!" Twilight exclaimed with passion that raised a feeling of hope and a familiar set of annoyance that this time was joined with a sense of amusement inside Spike, only for it to die down as Twilight slumped back on her bed. "The police must catch whoever did this and fast!" Spike's eyes widened.
"The police?!" He shouted in disbelief. "Don't you think there's somepony else who could wrap this up much quicker than them?!" Twilight sighed.
"I told you, Spike. I was done with her." She said half-heartedly. Spike narrowed his eyes.
"I won't believe that, Twilight! You're far too stubborn to just quit! I'm surprised you lasted this long!" Twilight merely shrugged in response.
"You can believe whatever you wish."
"There was a time you couldn't manage to wait for nightfall to go out." Spike said sharply, unwilling to back down.
"That was before I destroyed the life of an innocent mare, drove her to crime and then let her die a horrible death. The Batmare does more harm to this city than good. All I managed to accomplish was escalate crime and cause more suffering. That was not why I started this. The Batmare is no more. Case closed." Spike put a claw to his forehead.
"I can't believe you, Twilight. If anything, Trixie's death should only motivate you further. Another pony you failed to save means another pony who needs to be avanged." Spike was walking on thin ice. Twilight knew where he was getting at. He wanted to remind her of the pony whom she was fighting for. But she won't have it.
"Spike, as I recall, you've been disapproving of this whole thing from the start. When I headed out to that chemical plant, you even asked me to quit! So what changed?" Spike didn't hesitate to answer. Because he knew exactly what changed.
"I realised I was wrong, Twilight! The Batmare has accomplished more against organised crime in a year than the police had in a whole decade! Crime rate hasn't been this low in generations! And all those ponies you saved? Think about them! They're counting on you to be their protector! You shouldn't give up for one single failure." But Twilight was steadfast in her opinion.
"No, Spike. You were exactly right. I'm no superhero. I never should have believed that I will be able to make a difference. All those ponies I saved? All those criminals I put away? All of it became negated when I let somepony fall to their death." She then turned back to her newspaper." The police should be able to handle this. Look, they already have a suspect. They shared her picture in the..." Twilight froze and dropped her sandwich the moment she saw that picture. She would have recognised that face grinning into the security camera anywhere. Despite the hideous scars and the change of color in her coat, there was no mistaking it.
"No... It can't be. No!" Twilight flipped the tray of breakfast off her bed and jumped over to her bedside chest. She quickly went through the process of unlocking the hidden staircase down to her hideout as fast as she could with Spike close behind her.
"What's wrong? What happened, Twilight?" The dragon asked in concern.
"I have to be sure!" Was all Twilight said as she made her way to her computer and activated it. She quickly scanned the picture in the paper and compared it to the Trixie's from the mare's ID card in the Equestrian Administration Archives. "It's... It's a match." Twilight whispered before burying her face in her hooves in despair. Spike looked up at her in concern before setting his sight on the screen.
"Does this mean what I think it does?" He asked. After a few seconds of silence, Twilight nodded.
"I'm afraid so. She's alive. And she's the one behind this." Spike honestly didn't know how he should react to this.
"So what does this mean?" Twilight laid back in her chair, staring at the screen stoically. Spike kept watching her. Seconds passed without any change, but eventually, he saw it. That same fiery determination she always wore when she was about to put on the suit finally returned. And while this always gave Spike a sense of apprehension, this time that was replaced by satisfaction.
"It means that my mistake created a monster, Spike." She finally replied. "And as such, it is my responsibility to stop it. I need to find her."
"But how?" Spike asked. "She could be anywhere in the city. Or even beyond." Twilight realised that this was indeed a challenging task. But while she didn't want to blow her own trumpet, she was quite brilliant and quickly came up with a solution.
"I've got an idea!" Twilight announced, pressing a button on her computer. Spike immediately jumped out of the way as the floor opened up beneath him and the Batmare suit raised out of the hole. "I need to head to the police station. They're holding the bodies of the victims there for autopsy. Such a potent gas must have left some parts of it still lingering on them. I might be able to analyse it and use it to track her down." Spike's eyes widened upon hearing that.
"Hold on a second! You're heading out in broad daylight!"
"I have to Spike. If she became crazy enough to pull something like this..." She held the article about the gassing of the Falcon mansion out in front of his face. "...then I can't waste a minute in stopping her."
"Twilight millions of ponies are out there during daylight. I don't want want to rain on your parade, but a black clad bat-creature parading around the rooftops during daytime is kinda hard to miss. You will be spotted." But Twilight merely flashed a cocky smirk in response.
"Who said anything about the rooftops?"
The abandoned tunnel system running beneath Manehattan proved invaluable once more. Though since it was daytime, it would be pretty much impossible to get out of the tunnels through the subway stations without being seen. Fortunately, there were other exit points and Twilight knew exactly which one to use. Though she couldn't exactly say she was looking forward to it.
Turning left at one of the branchings, Twilight walked over to a collapsed tunnel entrance and after a while, she managed to squeeze her way through the rubble. She made her way further down the tunnel and as the stench entered her nostrils, she knew she was heading in right direction.
She was leaving the abandoned subway tunnels and entering Manehattan's similarly abandoned, but very much functioning sewer system. Through the sewers, she should be able to access the police building undetected relatively easily. She studied it's blueprint thoroughly and found a sewer hole opening into one very rarely used alleyway, from which she could slip inside. The rest will be easy.
Twilight carefully made her way through the sewers. Spike specifically asked her not to get too much sewage on her suit. It was him who had to clean it after all. But as she got closer to the exit point she needed to use, she did manage to step into something. Something warm. Twilight cringed under the mask. She could already hear Spike complaining about this.
She lifted her leg to wipe her shoe clean, but when she noticed what it was, her eyes widened. Stuck on her shoe was not sewage or some some other unspeakable substance, but blood. Fresh blood. Twilight looked down into the water and saw the severed head of a rat floating among what Twilight could have sworn were scales. Similar to those of Spike's, only in different color. Twilight always found the rumors of a carnivorous dragon living in the sewers silly, but maybe, just to be safe, she should look into this a bit more thoroughly later. But for now, she has a psychopathic clown to stop.
Twilight finally arrived at the sewer opening she was looking for. She climbed up the ladder and slowly removed the sewer plate and peaked outside to see if anypony was around. Not seeing anypony she climbed out and looked around. She was directly behind the station, surrounded by garbage containers. This was the area where they take out the trash from the station and as such, it would have a back door. Twilight quickly located it and approached it with a lock picking kit, but as she was about to get to work, she heard the unmistakable sound of a key turning in it's lock.
Cursing under her breath, she quickly dashed behind one of the containers and peaked out to see one of the janitors pushing out another container of trash. And in his carelessness, left the door open. Twilight smirked beneath her mask. She loved it when they made her work easier unwittingly. She picked up an empty bottle and tossed it into a wall across the alley. The shattering sound of the glass did the trick. The janitor immediately turned over.
"Who's there?" He immediately went to investigate, giving Twilight the chance to run past him into the building.
Twilight was extremely lucky so far. Through the backdoor, she quickly got to a staircase leading down into the basement where the morgue was supposed to be and ironically, breaking into the police station during daytime would also make her job easier since most of the force was out patrolling and the basement was almost completely empty. But just to be safe, she pressed a button on her belt, which activated a jammer that shut down electricity in the basement completely. With her mask, she'll be able to see perfectly, unlike any potential interlopers.
Having studied the map of the station, it wasn't long before she managed to locate the morgue and since she shut down electricity, getting in there wasn't a problem either. She looked around, looking for any potential victims of Trixie's gas attack that might still be there and she didn't have to look hard, as one of them was already lying on the dissection table. Twilight winced when she looked at the body. Even through her night vision, the huge grin on the pony's dead face was haunting to say the least.
She activated the scanner in her mask and started scanning the body. It wasn't long until she managed to find the trace of the gas she was looking for and isolate it for study. However, the sample was too small to give her the full picture. As much as her stomach disagreed with her, she'll have to scan more bodies. The task was not one she did happily. Epically when she found that one of the bodies belonged to a colt, no older than six. Her hooves shaked with rage. No wonder Spike was so riled up about this case. This madmare needed to be stopped. With newfound determination, she continued her work.
As she kept scanning, she found one body that wasn't killed by the gas. But more interestingly, he passed very recently. Only hours ago. Twilight managed to analyse that he was one of the inmates being held in the prison building next to the station and he died of a heart attack. While that wasn't anything unusual, Twilight still got a sense of foreboding at it. But she couldn't let that hold her back. She went back to scanning.
Eventually, she managed to get enough sample to make out the full chemical structure of the gas. But she'll have to do that back home. For now, it was time to get out of there. Making her way out the door, she jumped in surprise when she saw a black blur flying past her vision. It was so brief that for a moment, she almost thought it was just a glitch in her night vision, however, she knew for certain that glitches didn't caw.
She turned her head to see a black bird turning left at the end of the corridor. Twilight ran after it and followed it until it flew through a barred window in one of the doors. Twilight slowly approached the door which had 'Solitary Confinement' written on it with large black letters. She peaked through the bars, looking into the small cell with only a bed, a toilet and a white unicorn stallion with well combed black hair sitting on the floor. The crow Twilight was tailing was sitting on his shoulder, holding a newspaper in it's beak and dropped it into the hooves of the stallion. It then looked up and when it spotted Twilight looking through the bars, it cawed at her, drawing the attention of it's master at her. While in the darkness, the stallion only saw two glaring lenses, it didn't take much brainpower to deduce who they belonged to.
"Batmare." Sweet Dreams said with amusement. "When the lights went out down here, I knew something wicked this way came. It appears my hunch was correct. Did the good officers invite you in an attempt to intimidate me into behaving in my cell and make sure I won't put more of my fellow inmates through my therapy sessions?" Twilight had no idea what he was raving on about, but then she remembered. The body of the inmate in the morgue. The one who died of heart attack...
"So you saw him, didn't you?" Sweet Dreams mused. "Do you know what his biggest fear was? You will not believe it. It was bats. Apparently, when he was a foal, his parents used to lock him in the attic as punishment, where bats frequented. From then on, it didn't take long to break his mind with imitations of bat sounds and silhouettes in our shared cell. He wasn't the first one to break, but he was the first one whose heart couldn't take it. Poor cardiac conditions, I suppose." Twilight regained his composure and glared at him. Even while he was locked up where he belonged, it didn't stop him from wreaking misery and fear.
"Oh, don't weep for him." Sweet Dreams said dismissively with a wave of his hoof. "He was here for a reason, you know. He was one of them. One of Falcon's hired thugs. It was most enjoyable watching him squirm. Out there, they believe they are the kings of the street. Untouchable, dreaded. But once they get in here, their bravado breaks down so easily. Especially when one knows how to get to them. Somepony like me. I used to be a psychology student, you know." He then unfolded the newspaper and summoned a small light on the top of his horn, which was peculiar considering the magic suppressor ring on it. As if sensing her confusion, he spoke again.
"Their magic suppressors are far from being top notch. They prevent larger spells from being performed, but small ones like luminance are still very much performable. And my little friends make sure I'm not bored." He said, petting the crow on his shoulder. "You may have scared them away during our last meeting, but I trained them well. They found their way back easily. However, I'm more interested in why are you down here?" He stood up and walked up to the door until the two of them were face to face.
"The bat out in the day. Interesting. More often then not, actions we would not usually perform are motivated by our fears. Just what could be bad enough to frighten the big, bad bat." He then looked back at the newspaper, the headline being the gas attack on the Falcon mansion. Sweet Dreams chuckled. "Yes, I suppose this is concerning. Does she scare you, Batmare? Does it scare you what she is up to? What she's going to do to this city? Or are you simply afraid that she is going to take away your spot at the top of the city's food chain? Or that she's going to take the glory of wiping the mob out from you?" Twilight didn't know why was she even wasting her time listening to this scum. She shot her one last dirty look before leaving.
"The patient is largely unresponsive. I will need more time to get through to her." The crow on his shoulder cawed, as if to comment on what he just said. "No worries. We shall continue our therapy session soon enough."
Twilight's journey back home through the tunnels was largely uneventful, so she had time to think. While she knew she probably shouldn't, she couldn't help but ponder on the words of Sweet Dreams. He was partially right. Of course the mare Trixie became scared her. Any sane pony would be scared of her. But what scared Twilight the most was something that he couldn't possibly speculate. It was failing to stop her. Failing to fix her mistake that created this monster and failing to save the city from it.
These thoughts continued to plague her mind even as she was sitting in front of her computer back at her home base. Spike had to snap her out of it several times. It had been hours since they've been down in her hideout, analysing the samples Twilight brought back from the police station.
"Twilight. TWILIGHT!"
"Wha... What? What is it?" Twilight asked in a frenzy as she flew back down to reality.
"You've been daydreaming again." Spike sighed in frustration. "You told me to snap you out it if that happens."
"Yeah. Right." Twilight rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "So what did you want to tell me?" Spike rolled his eyes and pointed at the screen.
"The analysis on the gas is complete." Twilight leaned closer and from the way her eyes widened, Spike could tell that what she found was very concerning.
"Spike, this is bad. This is an extremely potent laughing gas that forces continuous, uncontrollable laughter so hard that the victim doesn't even have the chance to breath." Spike's stomach fell.
"They literally laugh themselves to death." He summarised in fright. Twilight nodded.
"It's also mixed with some neural agent that attacks the nerves in the muzzle. It forces them to curve the ends of the mouth up the highest they can possibly go. Not a pleasant way to go."
"Why would she do that?" Spike wondered. Twilight replied with a deadpan look.
"Ponies who lose it this bad don't need a reason, Spike. They're just doing things for the sake of it." She then turned back to the screen. "I've got to find her before she strikes again."
"So now you've got your analysis of the gas she's using. But how will that help you find her?" Spike asked. Twilight turned around in her chair and looked over to their crafting area.
"I think it's time to test the drones. Get them for me, will you?" Spike walked over to the corner where several unfinished and untested gadgets were lying and soon returned with eight mechanical bats. "I'll program them to scan for the area where this gas is found in the largest concentration. She has to be there." She turned back to her computer and typed in the needed data before the bat drones levitated into the air and took off with small jet engines pushing them out of the tunnel. A few minutes later, they found the nearest exit and were already patrolling the skies over the city.
"Wow! Look at them go!" Spike marveled at the speed of the drones, appearing as black dots zooming around the city map on the screen. "We did good work on them. They're fast!" Twilight nodded.
"And effective. One is already picking up a trail of the chemical we're looking for." Twilight followed the drone on the map as it followed the trail right into the docks. "And it goes into..." Twilight frowned in confusion when she saw where the trail ended. "Warehouse 47?"
"Wasn't that place owned by Silver Martini before he was arrested?" Spike asked.
"And it's been abandoned ever since." Twilight realised after a little brainstorming. "A perfect hiding place for a wannabe supervillain." Twilight went back to scanning the area around the warehouse. After more thorough scans, Twilight's eyes widened in horror. "Faust almighty." She gasped in horror. "Spike, there's an enormous amount of this gas inside that warehouse. With this much of it, she can gas the entire city." Spike almost jumped.
"Is... Is she crazy enough to do that?" Twilight gave him a deadpan look, causing Spike to look down in embarrassment. "Right. Never mind. You have to stop her!"
"I intend to!" Twilight spun around in her chair and jumped out of it. But before she could reach for her mask, Spike stopped her.
"Wait!" Twilight looked at her dragon assistant and could see that he was having trouble saying what he wanted to say, but eventually, he found his voice. "I want to help." Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Help? You... want to become my... sidekick? Like... Batdrake? I'm sorry, Spike, but I don't think I have enough time to properly train you before she strikes again." Spike shook his head.
"Not like that. I could help you from here. Feed you information from the computer and guide you through a communication link." Twilight considered what Spike just said.
"That's... actually not a bad idea. But let me ask you something, Spike. You never wanted to help me before. You never even approved of this whole thing. Why the change of heart?" Spike looked down in shame.
"I know I haven't been supportive of this, Twilight, but now I realise that not only does this city need Batmare, but so do you. I think I just needed time to accept that the old times aren't coming back and you have become a new mare." He smiled proudly up at her, before his expression changed to an annoyed frown. "Also, at least I'd get to keep an eye on you out there and make sure you don't get yourself killed." Twilight smiled down at him in gratidute, before pulling him into a hug.
"Thanks, Spike. You have no idea how much this means to me." She whispered in his ear, almost choking on her tears of joy before pulling away. "Now could you please get me my mask?" Spike's face lit up with a bright smile.
"Actually, Twilight, to seal our new partnership, I took the liberty of making a few... upgrades while you were away." This caught Twilight by surprise.
"Upgrades?" She asked in amazement. "This should be good. Show me!" Spike lead Twilight into their crafting corner and picked up a brand new mask in his claws.
"Watch this!" He then placed the mask on the table and breathed fire on it. To Twilight's astonishment, the mask was completely unharmed. "Vulcanised rubber." Spike announced proudly with his arms folded. "Completely bullet and heat resilient. It won't break or catch on fire, although it probably won't keep the insides of your head from boiling. But as long as you don't walk into a furnace, you should be fine. And that's not everything. Stay still for a few moments." Twilight did as she was told and felt Spike placing something on her back.
"I took one of the bat drones and modified it a little. This should be able to give your cape a boost in the air. No more gliding. You'll actually be able to fly now!" Twilight was almost giddy when she heard this. Flight was a luxury only allowed to the pegasi and she was hesitant to admit it, but she was always curious about how it felt. However, she knew that if something was too good to be true, it probably was.
"What's the catch?" She asked suspiciously. Spike smiled nervously.
"Well... it probably won't be able to carry your weight by itself. It will probably also need a boost. Your grappling gun should do the trick if you activate the drone right when you reach the object your grappling." Twilight wasn't sure about this.
"Spike, I don't think the cable in my grappling gun is long enough for that." But Spike had the answer to that as well.
"Way ahead of you, Twi." He replied as he picked up a much bigger grappling gun from the table. "Behold your new and improved grappling gun. Not only is the cable much longer, but watch this!" He pulled out a part of the cable from the gun and bit down on it. "Dragon's teeth are able to gut gems, but this..." He tugged on the cable again to show that it suffered no damage. "...cannot be cut and will never snap." He smiled before putting the cable back into the gun and giving it to Twilight.
"Well, that's all for now. But I'm sure we'll be able to come up with some more later. Together." He added that last part hesitantly, unsure if Twilight will agree, but the affectionate smile on her face let him know that he didn't need to worry.
"Thanks, partner." Twilight said before pulling on the new mask and placing the new grappling gun on her belt.
"Well, if I can't stop you from going back out there I figured I might as well do everything I can to make sure you'll actually come back." Spike said jokingly before sitting down into the chair in front of Twilight's computer. "Now get out there and catch that psycho! In the meantime, I'll find out everything I can about that warehouse. Might find something useful. Also, I think I'll give an anonymous tip to the police on where they can find her. You never know when you can use some backup." Twilight gave her an approving nod before heading down into the tunnels. She knew just the best place to approach that warehouse.
Captain Jam Garden has seen a lot of things during his career. Including some real messed up things and some really peculiar cases. A serial killer who drew a mark on himself for each of his kills, a bank robber who tried to blame his crimes on a ventriloquist dummy, hay, he even had an unfortunate and of course, unofficial encounter with the infamous Manehattan Sewer Dragon. A whole squad of the Police Special Forces weren't able to bring that monster down and it managed to seriously injure many officers before escaping deeper into the sewers.
But never before had he seen such a heinous crime as the one committed against the Falcon family just two days ago. He couldn't imagine anypony crazy enough to have anything to do with such an atrocity. That's why he found it strange when he received an anonymous tip about the whereabouts of the perpetrator. He had no idea who could have possibly find out anything about this monster so quickly that the police couldn't.
At first, he thought it was a joke. Although, he couldn't imagine anypony sick enough to joke about something this horrible. Then again, two days ago, he couldn't imagine anypony sick enough to pull such a twisted crime. On the other hoof, he despised the slow bureaucratic process of the force. The ponies in the toxicology lab still didn't manage to analyse the gas that was used in the attack. And even if they did, it will still be quite a lot of time until they actually did something about finding where it came from. So despite his instincts, he decided to check it out.
It was about seven pm when he arrived at Warehouse 47 along with his partner, Detective Bulldog and two more officers. He knew warehouse well enough. Even before Silver Martini was arrested, it was obvious to everypony that this place was used by him to run his illegal operations. But ever since he was put away, nopony came even close to the place. Even he had long since forgotten about it.
"Are you sure about this?" Bulldog asked his partner as he loaded his service gun.
"What can we lose if we check out this place?" Garden asked. "Worst case scenario is we find nothing."
"I respectfully disagree, sir." One of the younger officers, a green pegasus stallion with orange mane said. "I'm not worried about what we might not found. I'm more worried if we actually do find her."
"Don't be a dummy, Nightstick!" The other, a light blue earth pony mare with black mane snapped at him. "There won't be anything here. I've lost count how many fake 'anonymous tips' I received over the years." Garden looked back at the mare.
"At ease, Corporal Blue Light." He chastised the short tempered officer. "As police ponies, it is our duty to investigate any potential clue. Including anonymous tips. Now, remember, me and Detective Bulldog will head inside and check for clues, you and Inspector Nightstick will stay outside and keep guard. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!" The officers replied. Garden nodded. He and Bulldog entered the door with their weapons ready at hoof. If he wanted to be honest, even Garden was skeptical that they'd find anything. Which was the reason the three giant curtains hanging from the ceiling surprised them so much.
"What the hay?" Bulldog asked dumbfounded. "Isn't this place supposed to be abandoned?" Garden was equally as confused as his partner. He was about to pull the curtain aside to get a better look at it, but he was interrupted when he heard a crash from behind himself and his partner grunt in pain. He turned around and widened his eyes in alarm when he saw a group of stallions dressed as mimes holding Bulldog and the other two officers down.
"Looks like we caught ourselves a couple of nosy badges here, boys." One of them chuckled darkly.
"Just in time too. He was about to spoil the surprise for tonight's party." Another one added. "Take them outside and show them how we deal with uninvited visitors down here."
Garden was no slouch in a fight, but he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against so many well built stallions. He had no choice but to let them drag him back outside along with his colleagues. The situation of the police ponies did not look bright. Fortunately for them, an unlikely savior just happened to be prowling nearby.
Twilight Sparkle in her new and improved Batmare costume was only a few blocks away from the warehouse when she suddenly heard the communication device in her ear start beeping. She put her hoof to it.
"Twilight, can you hear me?" Spike spoke on the other end of the line.
"Loud and clear, Spike. Did you find something or are you just testing the line?"
"Actually, it's a little bit both." Spike responded. "I did find something. I'm not sure if it's connected to Trixie, but if it is, it could be interesting."
"I'm listening." Twilight said as she grappled up to the top of another building.
"Well, you did say that warehouse was abandoned. But I found that recently three deliveries have been made to the address from out of town. And all three of them were... blimps." Twilight raised an eyebrow beneath the mask.
"Blimps? What's she gonna do with... Oh no." Twilight's body and heart both stopped as she put it together. The gas, the warehouse, the blimps. It all made sense now. "Spike remember when I said she had enough gas to poison the whole city?"
"Yes. What about it?"
"I think that's exactly what she's preparing to do!" There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line as Spike processed what Twilight told him.
"That's... That's... Insane..." Was all he could say.
"Well, I don't know if you noticed, but our friend Trixie is hardly a model of sanity anymore." Twilight snarked as she finally arrived at the warehouse. From the top of a lamppost, she could see the troubled police ponies surrounded by Trixie's goons. "Spike, looks like the police patrol you tipped off arrived earlier than expected."
"How are they doing?" Twilight looked down to see Captain Garden punched to the ground by one of the goons. She narrowed her eyes.
"Not well." She replied.
"Well, perhaps an interruption on your part would improve their situation."
"My thoughts exactly."
Twilight glided down on the ground and quickly ran up to two two of the goons and knocked their heads together, bringing them down. The remaining goons jumped in surprise and this allowed the captured officers to break free and join the fight. With the element of surprise and the Batmare on their side, the fight was over quickly.
The cops stated up in wonder at the costumed figure. They heard rumors about it, actually seeing it for themselves was completely different. Captain Garden was the first one of the group to realise what happened.
"It was you. You sent that anonymous tip, weren't you." Twilight didn't know what to say. She never spoke before during while she was out as the Batmare, hence her mask not having a whole for the mouth. She'll have to make some sort of voice modulator for future occasions like this, but for now, she'll have improvise.
"She's here." She said, trying to make her voice as deep and gruff as she could. "She's gonna gas the entire city from the air." The cops widened their eyes.
"How?" Blue Light asked on a shaky voice.
"Blimps." Was Twilight's simple reply.
"So those are behind those curtains." Captain Garden deduced. Twilight nodded.
"Have to be. They must be prevented from taking off."
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Bulldog cried out, taking his weapon back from the goons. "Let's get in there and take her down!"
Twilight scanned the inside of the building. The goons left inside were few enough for her to take out, especially with the cops by her side, but she had to be sure they won't run into any nasty surprises. While she didn't spot any potential traps, she did find something concerning in the cabin of one of the blimps.
"Wait!" She called out to the officers who were about to storm the building. "I see two hostages. On the blimp at the end of the row." The officers stopped in their tracks, with the exception of Detective Bulldog.
"That's a collateral damage I can live with. Let's go take down that bitch!" But Captain Garden pulled him back.
"That's not how we do things, Hardy." He then turned to the vigilante. "I'll probably get chewed out for this, but we can handle the hostages and that one blimp. And judging by what we've just seen and your reputation, you can handle those bastards inside." Twilight simply nodded. "Very well. Let's do this!" Twilight pulled off two smoke grenades of her belt.
"Head to that blimp as silent as you can. Once you're inside, it's my turn."
The cops did as they were instructed and once they all disappeared behind the curtain, Twilight tossed the smoke grenades inside. The erupting smoke should give her the edge she needed over those thugs. When she heard their confused shouting, she leaped inside and headed straight at the smoke cloud and got to work.
At the blimp that held the two hostages, the officers managed to force open the door of the cabin and headed inside. What they found shocked them. Inside the cabin, were dozens, possibly even a hundred gas cylinders. And in the middle of them, were Caramel Falcon and his son, Alabaster, tied to chairs, gagged and wearing explosive vests.
"Well, look what we have here." Detective Bulldog mused, greatly enjoying the sight of the mob boss in this predicament.
"I don't suppose you've changed your mind about the hostages, Captain." Blue Light wondered almost hopefully. Garden gave them a hard look.
"Criminals or not, we have a duty to these ponies. We have to get those explosives off of them. Can anypony do that?" Nightstick raised a hoof.
"I used to be on the bomb squad, sir. I believe I can do it." Garden nodded.
"Then get on it, son." While Nightstick tried to defuse the bombs, the other officers looked around the cabin.
"Look at all these cylinders!" Blue Light exclaimed, having trouble to move between them. "How the hay are they gonna fly this thing when they can barely move around in here?"
"I think I know." Bulldog replied, pointing up at a transmitter antenna on the wall. "She must be controlling them remotely. She can't be crazy enough to fly one of these things with all this gas on them."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Garden commented on his partner's remark. "If that's the case, we must find a way to block the signal to prevent this blimp from taking off. Any ideas?"
"I may have one." The other officers widened their eyes in surprise as Blue Light grabbed her nightstick and smashed the transmitter into pieces. "There you have it." Nightstick rolled his eyes.
"Tactful as ever, corporal." He then went back to the bombs. Defusing them wasn't the issue, they were simple enough in structure. But there were so many of them that he was afraid he might miss one. He groaned. "This isn't gonna do it! So many smaller explosives must have something to connect them together. If only I could find it..."
But it wasn't easy with so many wires. However, after defusing some more of them, he realised that there was one specific wire that ran through all of them. Following that one wire, he eventually reached one bomb that it connected the rest of them to. It was on one that he easily would have missed. The bombs on their vests were connected to one on the floor between the two chairs.
"Gotcha!" Nightstick called in triumph as he defused the main bomb and cut the wire connecting it to the others. "OK, Captain, it's safe now!" The cops removed the vests from the two hostages and carried them to the exit of the cabin. Garden peeked out the door and saw that the goons inside were still occupied by Batmare.
"It's clear. Let's get the hay out of here!"
Meanwhile, Twilight was doing her best to fight her way through to Trixie. Her scans of the warehouse showed that the mare was in the office atop the stairs, but her henchponies really made her work for it. One of the goons slipped away while the others were busy with the hero and ran up to the office.
"Boss, we've got trouble!" Trixie saw everything from her office that overlooked the whole warehouse. She was greatly enjoying the show and even the rescue of the Falcons didn't upset her as much as one would think. Caramel and his family were just the preliminary anyway. The main event was just about to begin.
"You don't say." Trixie chuckled to herself. She would have gladly kept watching her goons getting thrashed, but then she remembered that the Batmare no doubt was here to foil her plan. So if she didn't want her party ruined, she needed to act. "Oh, very well." she sighed. "I'm afraid we have no choice but to launch our plan early."
Trixie slowly made her way down the stairs where the remaining members of her gang were waiting for her. With the exception of the few who were still struggling with Batmare in the background and probably were about to lose very soon.
"Change of plans, boys! We're taking off ahead of schedule! Get in!" With that Trixie ran inside the curtain that hid the blimp at the end of the row with her goons in tow. Twilight just finished wasting the last of her opponents before giving chase. She opened the curtain to follow the criminals, but found herself pushed back by a sudden blow to her face which turned out to be a huge extendable boxing glove.
"Sorry, Bats! No more tickets for this flight!" Trixie yelled from the door of the blimp's cabin. She then pulled out a detonator and pressed it, shaking the whole warehouse as the explosion brought the roof down. "Got a party in the sky to catch! Ciao!"
The blimp Trixie was on slowly ascended into the air followed by the second one, but Trixie and her goons were similarly confused to see the third one remain on the ground.
"Damn! The badges must have found the transmitter on that one." One of them complained. Trixie was annoyed, but nevertheless laughed.
"No matter. We still have enough gas to pack a punch. Onward!" She cheered, shutting the door of the blimp's cabin.
Twilight slowly regained her consciousness and stood back up. She saw the remaining blimp among the rubble, noting in satisfaction that the officers did their job well. But the other two were getting away quickly and she had now way to catch up with them. Unless...
'Well, Spike, time to test out your upgrades.' She pulled out her grappling gun and fired it at the second blimp. With the elongated cable Spike gave her, maybe she'll be able to reach it. She almost cheered when she felt the cable tighten in her grasp, signaling that it managed to contact it's target. Twilight quickly pulled herself up into the air and as she got closer to the blimp, she readied her cape and the drone on her back. When she reached the end of the line, she activated the drone and it shot her forward in the air and the spread out cape managed to keep her up. Twilight felt like she could explode with adrenaline.
'It's... It's working. I'm actually flying!' She grinned beneath her mask like an idiot, until she remembered her mission and turned herself around. She flew straight into the blimp and punched a hole into it before coming out on the other side of the balloon. She then fired her grappling gun into descending blimp and began pulling it towards the bay. It was heavy, but the air remaining in the blimp combined with the force of the drone on her back was enough to slowly alter it's course towards the water.
Once Twilight managed to sink the blimp, she turned around in the air and flew towards the last one that had Trixie and her crew on board. The criminals in the cabin of the blimp saw Twilight heading towards them.
"Boss! She's got the second blimp and she's heading straight at us!" One of the goons panicked. Trixie narrowed her eyes in frustration.
"That bat is really starting to get in my belfry." Trixie growled as she looked out the window, before turning to one of her goons. "Why don't you go and try to slow her down?"
"Slow her down?" The stallion asked in confusion. "How?" Trixie just grinned and pushed the unfortunate pony out the window of the cabin. Twilight noticed this from the air and reacted immediately. She fired her grappling gun at him and managed to catch him, but by saving him, she knew she won't be able to bring this blimp down the same way as the other. She burst through the door of the cabin and tied the cable holding the stallion to the edge, before turning to the crew.
The resulting brawl didn't last long. Twilight sidestepped the charge of the first stallion, making him run into the wall and knocking him out with a kick to the back of his head. She walked up to another one and headbutted him in the muzzle, before shoving him on the floor and punching his lights out. A third one charged at her while she was still down, but she simply kicked out his legs from beneath him and delivered a swift punch to his head to make sure he'll stay down. There were only two remaining goons at Trixie's side, but the sight of how easily the others were taken out crushed their resolve.
"Screw this, let's get out of here!" The stallions quickly grabbed two parachutes and jumped out the window of the cabin, leaving only the Batmare and the Joker on board.
"Hmm..." Trixie pondered, putting a hoof to her chin. "Did I tell them that I replaced those parachutes with explosives to increase the damage the blimp will do once it crashes?" Trixie's question was quickly answered by the sound of two explosions from below. "I guess I didn't. Bahahahaha!" She then turned to Twilight.
"So... are you here to finish what you started at the plant?" She asked before presenting herself to her. "Well, go ahead! Here I am!" Twilight narrowed her eyes at her. It was obvious that Trixie was so far gone that there was no point in trying to reason with her.
"No, Trixie. I'm not a killer like you." Trixie's grin widened.
"You aren't? Really? I'm not sure about that. You did kill somepony, remember? You did kill Trixie Lullamoon! Now there is only the Joker! So what's one more? Go ahead! Give it to me!"
"I did not kill you, Trixie, nor will I now! I will take you to the police where you will face justice!" This made Trixie laugh even harder.
"Justice?! Oh, sweetheart, you're even crazier than I am. And that's saying something. There is no justice in this city. Only when you take it into your own hooves. Now I'm giving you a chance to do just that. So, will you take it?"
"No, Trixie! I will not kill you!" Twilight stated for the last time. Trixie actually looked pretty disappointed at that. But then her grin returned.
"Then I will do it for you!" She then pulled out a gun and punted it at the gas cylinders. "Did you know that Joker gas is highly flammable?" Twilight's eyes widened beneath the mask. If that was true, even one gunshot would be enough to...
Twilight quickly threw a batarang at the gun Trixie's hoof and knocked it out of it. Trixie gasped in shock, before jumping back and retrieving her weapon but, Twilight ran into her and pushed her out the window of the cabin before jumping after her. Trixie did however manage to fire before she fell out and that gunshot was enough to set off the chain reaction that destroyed the blimp in a huge explosion.
The two ponies fell towards the ground several hundred hooves beneath them with Trixie laughing hysterically all the way. That was until Twilight pushed herself down towards her and manage to catch her in her hooves. Trixie pointed the gun she was still holding in her hoof and pointed it at Twilight's head before pulling the trigger. Thanks to Spike bulletproofing the mask, it caused no harm, but it still hurt like Tartarus and was enough push her away from Trixie.
Twilight quickly regained her composure and launched herself after Trixie once again. Catching her for the second time, she knocked the gun out of her hoof, but before she could use her cape to break their fall, Trixie pulled out a knife and tried to stab Twilight with it. Twilight managed to block it and knocked the knife out of her hoof as well, before headbutting her as hard as she could.
She saw Trixie's eyes closing and supposed she finally managed to knock her out, but when she tried to spread her cape again, Trixie suddenly lunged forward and screamed into her face before sprinkling a load of acid into her face from the flower on her vest. But just like the gunshot before, the acid was ineffective on the upgraded mask. Trixie was finally showing her surprise.
"Wow! Who's your tailor?" Twilight's only response was a series of hard punches onto her head that finally sent Trixie into unconsciousness allowed Twilight to spread her cape, break their fall and glide harmlessly on the ground right in front of the ruined warehouse where they took off from.
Twilight dropped Trixie on the ground before landing and collapsing from exhaustion. She looked up into the sky and saw the cloud of flames and gas the explosion created still very much visible, but with the fire neutralising most of the gas, whatever remained was now harmless. It was over. She had done it. She won the hardest battle of her vigilante career. She felt like she was about to pass out when she once again heard that beeping in her ear.
"Twilight?!" Spike panicked on the other end. "Twilight?! What happened?! Are you OK?!" Slowly, Twilight raised her hoof to her ear and activated the comm link.
"Ne... Never... better." She panted. She could hear Spike sigh with relief.
"Thank, Faust! What happened?! Was that explosion your doing?!"
"You... saw that?"
"Are you kidding? The whole city saw it! Everypony's on the alert! Fire department, police! Even some Royal Guards came down from the nearby barracks!"
"It's... It's OK." Twilight reassured her assistant. "It's done. I destroyed Trixie's gas."
"With a little help." Twilight looked up to see Captain Garden standing over her, smoking a cigar. "Sorry to interrupt your call, kid. I just figured you could use some help yourself." He then offered Twilight his hoof, which he accepted after a few moments of hesitation. The captain pulled her to her hooves before they glanced over to the unconscious body of Trixie.
"She's all yours, Captain." Twilight said as she started to leave. The captain raised an eyebrow.
"And what about you?" Twilight looked back at him over her shoulder.
"What about me?" She asked.
"I know this is gonna be crushing, but you're a wanted pony as well." He told her, blowing his cigar again. "Vigilanism is not exactly supported in this city, or Equestria as a whole for that matter. I'm not saying you don't have fans on the force, though. Some of us see the good you're trying to do. Others however believe you're making us look bad in comparison."
"And where do you stand on the issue?" Twilight asked. Garden looked back at Trixie and walked over to her body, pulling out a pair of hoofcuffs and a magic suppressor.
"Where I stand doesn't matter, kid." He replied as he restrained the psychotic clown. "You saved our flanks and got us this maniac. I appreciate that. But I can't just..." When he turned back around with another pair of hoofcuffs in his hoof, he was stunned to see that the costumed crime fighter was now nowhere to be seen. "Well, I suppose maybe I can." He sighed. "Perhaps the chief will be happy with one costumed menace for one night."
Spike started his day the same way he always did. He made his bed, washed up, had a quick breakfast before making another for Twilight and taking it to her room while making a quick detour to pick up the morning paper at the main door. When he entered Twilight's room, he found it like he hasn't seen it in over two weeks. Well made and completely tucked.
A small, knowing smile crossed his face as he walked towards the bed and set the tray down. He quickly went through the motion of unlocking the staircase down to Twilight's hideout before retrieving the tray and heading down.
When Spike got down, it was just as he expected. Twilight was sitting at the Batcomputer which was buzzing with activity. Spike walked over to her and set the tray next to her.
„Even bats eat, Twillight.” he said, looking up at her. Twilight looked down at her little dragon assistant and smiled gratefully.
„Thanks, Spike. I really could use a bite.” she replied as she picked up her sandwich and began eating. Spike looked up at the screens.
„So, what are you investigating?” Twilight swallowed the bite before she began explaining.
"I found some traces that the Manehattan Sewer Dragon actually might be real while I went to investigate Trixie's gas at the police station. And Captain Garden gave me some intel on the case as well." Now that surprised Spike.
"Really? When did the police make an alliance with you?"
"They didn't. But I believe the captain realised just what an invaluable ally I can be. He had an encounter with this... 'Killer Croc' already and realises he'll need all the help he can get to take it down." Spike raised an eyebrow at the strange name.
"Killer Croc? I thought it was a dragon."
"According to some reports, it has a long, elongated snout like a crocodile." Twilight explained. "Even after they found out it was a dragon, the name kinda stuck. In fact, for a while, they thought it was living proof of that old myth of flushing crocodiles down the toilet."
"Well, I hope you catch it soon." Spike said with an angry look. "That freak is a disgrace to all dragonkind!" Twilight was surprised by her assistant's outburst, but eventually gave him a warm smile.
"Don't worry. With the help of my number one assistant, I'm sure I'll crack this case in no time." Spike smiled back at her.
"How did my upgrades work?" He asked hopefully.
"They were marvelous, Spike? I couldn't have succeeded without them." She beamed down at him. "I'm looking forward to working with you in the future, partner." Spike couldn't hold himself back and threw himself into Twilight's embrace. This was perhaps the first time they hugged like that since they came to Manehettan and also the first time Spike felt like from now on, everything will be alright.
Trixie sat in her cell in the psychiatric ward of the Manehattan Penitentiary. Her trial was short. Her crimes were heinous, but everypony already knew knew what the sentence was gonna be: Not guilty by reason of insanity. Her guards still rolled their eyes when they heard the sentence.
"Insanity." One of the guards scoffed mockingly. "They just had to pull that one didn't they?" The other guard looked at her in confusion.
"I don't think it takes a degree in psychology to tell that this mare is clearly off her marbles." He told his colleague.
"Yeah. But you know what would have happened if she's declared guilty?"
"She gets the death penalty."
"Exactly! And the city would be rid of her. Instead, we're wasting taxpayer money on housing her, feeding her and even paying a doctor for her!"
Trixie didn't even hear their argument. She didn't notice anything around her. There was only one thing she could think about. The one thing she kept thinking about ever since she woke up. The Batmare.
Trixie took pride in understanding this cesspool of a world with all of it's rotten aspects. But the Batmare. No matter how hard she thought about her, she just couldn't figure her out. She almost killed her back at the chemical plant. And then she tried to save her. She then killed a lot of ponies and planned to kill a whole lot more, but then she refused to kill her and saved her again.
And her blabbering about justice? What a joke. Everypony knew there was no justice in this city. That's why so many ponies took it on themselves to carry out their will through crime. Ponies like Caramel Falcon and the lowlives they hired. Even the ponies on the police force didn't bat an eye when one of them gunned down a mob pony. Because that would be the only way for him to face real justice, since the corrupt judges and lawyers won't do it themselves. That kind of lawlessness was what made Manehattan so funny.
But the Batmare. She was the only one who didn't seem to get the joke. For some reason that Trixie was unable to comprehend, she still believed in the old fashioned justice system. Either she was too stupid to get the joke, or she just refused to. What a sourpuss! It must be so dull living like this. Always taking life so seriously. Never loosening up, never cracking a smile. Trixie will be more than happy to help her get the joke. To make her understand. Oh, what glorious, fun times they are going to have!
"Hey, freak!" One of the guards outside snapped at her. "What's so funny?" Trixie was so lost in her thoughts about her new playmate that she didn't even notice she was laughing.
"Oh, I'm just thinking of a joke." She told him innocently before chuckling some more. The guard raised an eyebrow.
"You wanna tell it to me?" Trixie's smile faded into a pensive look as she returned to her thoughts.
"You wouldn't get it."