A Dark Knight Over Canterlot

by Battwell

Prologue: Robbery at S.T.A.R Labs

Gotham City

A gunshot.

A singular gunshot sounded off in the dead of night.

Scaring away all the rats and vermin in the alleyways of Gotham City. Gun violence was very common for a city like Gotham, the streets are practically run by scum. Criminals. Individuals who like seeing pain be inflicted onto others. Crime was the norm, the GCPD couldn't do a thing about it.

Not alone anyway.

The gunshot originated from an armed gunman, who was currently on a heist with his fellow crew members. The armed gunmen stepped over the corpses of the security guards, blood puddles forming behind their heads where they lay. The raindrops were starting to pick up, it was going to storm tonight, but what else was new.

These gunmen were not your ordinary thugs, however, they were dressed in green with question marks tattered all over their clothing. These thugs worked for Edward Nigma, aka The Riddler.

The first Riddler Thug approached the glass doors and stuck an explosive device on the glass. While he armed the C4, the other two Riddler Thugs were looking around in the various alleyways, rooftops, anywhere where he could strike.

"Aye!" The Riddler Thug shouted to his teammate, "Could you hurry the hell up! Last thing I want is for The Bat to show up and send me to the Emergency Room!"

The other Riddler Thug rolled his eyes as he finished prepping the C4, "Would you quit your complaining! It's armed, so step back!" Taking his advice, the other two Thugs backed away as the C4 began to beep ominously. After a few seconds, the glass doors exploded open, glass shards flying everywhere due to the explosion.

"ALRIGHT, WE'RE IN!!! GO, GO, GO!!!" One of the Riddler Thugs yelled above the blaring alarm, rushing inside S.T.A.R. Labs to get what they came for.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching them. But it wasn't just anyone.

It was him.

The armed Riddler Thugs traversed through the hallways of S.T.A.R. Labs, whatever they wanted with this tech company, it wasn't for anything good. S.T.A.R. Labs had various weapons built to counter extraterrestrial threats, such as the forces of Apokolips, the Sinestro Corps, or the likes of Brainiac.

Sure they could rely on the Justice League, but what if they weren't enough?

The likes of Superman have succumbed to mind control before, they needed to be prepared. But what could the likes of The Riddler want with S.T.A.R. Labs technology?

One of the Riddler Thugs smashed a scanner on the wall with the butt of the gun, opening the door to reveal the Testing Room for all sorts of new technology. The three armed gunmen turned on the flashlight attachments on their guns and began looking around.

The shadows of the raindrops colliding with the glass skylight could be seen on the floor.

But so could the shadow of a Bat.

One of the goons walked up to a Boom Tube projector and stupidly knocked on it with the barrel of his Assault Rifle, "Hey," He called out to his compatriots, "Check this friggin' thing out."

"Will you knock it off, you moron!" The other crewmember shouted, "We've got a job to do."

As he walked away, he failed to see the dumb crewmember flip him the bird.

"What are we supposed to be looking for anyway?" The third Riddler Thug asked, finally speaking up.

"Anything we can get our hands on," One of the Riddler Thugs responded, "The boss already got what he wanted a few weeks ago, remember? Since he's out of town, he asked us to break into S.T.A.R. Labs so we could steal any useful stuff we could get our hands on."

The second crewmember huffed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "If that's the case, then why are we doin' this now? Why couldn't the boss do it when he stole the stupid thing in the first place?"

"Yeah and come to think of it, why send us?" The third Riddler Thug.

"Because A: The boss is a stuck up prick. And B: Because we're on his payroll, and if you wanna get paid, then quit complaining and get to work!" The first Riddler Thug listed off, already having grown bored of his associates complaining.

The third Riddler Thug shrugged as he turned away, "Look, all I'm sayin is that it looks like the boss thinks our lives aren't worth much."

"I agree."

Suddenly, the skylight shattered into pieces as he smashed down from the sky and glide kicked one of the Riddler Thugs in the face, sending him flying right into a desk. The rain dropped down onto his shrouded form as he rose up to full height.

"HOLY SHIT!!!" The other Thug screamed in terror as he fell onto his back and scurried backwards to get away from him.

The first Thug aimed his gun at the assailant, his entire form shaking in pure unadulterated fear, "I-IT'S HIM!!" He stuttered as the figure turned to him, glaring right into his soul.

The second Thug finally got back up to his feet and looked on in terror, "IT'S THE FREAKIN BAT!!!" He screamed before trying to make a run for the exit.

But Batman wasn't going to let him escape however, as he quickly threw a Batarang into the Thug's calf muscle, causing him to fall to the ground, screaming in pain. Not even a second later, bullets started flying. Batman, thinking quickly, took out his Grappling Hook and took off to the banisters inside the room.

The two Riddler Thugs aimlessly shot up towards the ceiling, hoping to hit the Caped Crusader, but he had already moved to the perfect position. One of the Riddler Thugs walked backwards, still shooting up towards the ceiling, not knowing that Batman was already behind him.

The Dark Knight cupped the Thugs mouth and pulled him back into the shadows, his screams of terror muffled by Batman's hand.

"And then there was one." Batman thought to himself as he grappled onto a banister above ground. He looked down at the final Thug, who was looking around in terror, he was done for, he just knew it.

"SH-SHOW YOURSELF, CHICKEN!!!" The Riddler Thug shouted angrily into the darkness, knowing that the Batman could be anywhere. Watching and listening to his every move. Out of nowhere, a Batarang knocked his gun right out of his hands, leaving him unarmed.

It was then that a Smoke Pellet was dropped at his feet. He looked at the metal ball for a moment before it exploded into a cloud of smoke. He coughed and hacked, aimlessly swinging his arms around, hoping to land a punch on the World's Greatest Detective.

His eyes darted around, his heartbeat picked up, sweat was falling from his forehead. He was terrified. He couldn't take this. The Thug made a run for it, not knowing where to run due to the smoke surrounding him. He was running and running and running until he collided with something.

Or rather someone.

The criminal looked up in terror as Batman loomed over his shaking form.

The Dark Knight then punched the goon right in the face, breaking his nose and loosening several teeth. The now unconscious Riddler Thug landed on the ground, blood oozing from his nose and mouth. Batman turned his head slightly to see the Riddler Thug he incapacitated crawling towards the exit.

He shook his head before aiming his Grappling Hook at the Thug's leg and firing. Batman then pulled the Thug back, ignoring the criminals pleading screams as he fired the Grappling Hook again, this time at one of the banisters. He then walked around slowly as the criminal was being strung up by his leg.

As the criminal squirmed, Batman got right in his face and gave him a glare that would make someone's heart stop, "I'm only going to ask this once, I will know if you're lying."

The Thug nodded his head frantically, "S-SURE! W-WHATEVER YOU WANT, MAN!!!"

It was then that lightning struck outside, adding to the terror that was The Dark Knight.

He leaned in and grasped the Thug by his shirt, pulling him closer as a scare tactic. He then asked in a low, threatening voice, "Where's Riddler?"

Batman stood atop a nearby rooftop as the GCPD arrived to take the criminals into custody, raindrops bouncing off of him as he eyed the scene down below. Once he saw that the three criminals were shoved into the back of a GCPD cruiser, Batman tapped his earpiece and contacted his Butler and father figure: Alfred Pennyworth.

"Sir, I presume you apprehended those thugs?" Alfred asked, already knowing the answer.

Batman nodded, "They were part of Riddler's crew, sent to steal anything of value that he could use for whatever it is he's got planned." He then turned away from the edge of the building and began walking away, "I know where he is, Alfred. Whatever he's got planned, I'm going to stop it."

"Ah, so I can assume that he'll be behind bars when the night is done?"

"Wishful thinking. Prepare the Batwing, Alfred."

Alfred was now confused, "May I ask why, Master Bruce?"

"Because Riddler's no longer in Gotham."

"Oh my, then where is he?"

Batman's stern expression did not change as the lightning struck behind him, "Canterlot City." He answered before he leapt off of the rooftop, gliding into the night.