“This is Penguin’s turf, you freaks! I’m gonna cut you up into tiny pieces for breakin’ into here!”
As Twilight, Batman, and Rainbow Dash entered the museum, they were met with two henchmen pointing very large knives at them. The henchmen began to approach, holding the menacing-looking blades at the ready. Batman stepped forward toward the nearest henchman.
“I’ll handle them.” He said to Rainbow and Twilight.
They silently nodded as the gap between Batman and the thug shrunk. As he got closer, the nearest henchman lunged forward, swinging the blade. Batman instinctively dodged the rapid swings that followed the first before he took advantage of the henchman’s pause to strike.
He punched the henchman multiple times before he fell to the ground. Batman immediately lunged toward the second, pinning him to the ground before rolling and throwing him into the wall behind him. Unconscious.
Rainbow stared in amazement. “That was so awesome! How did you learn to do that?!”
She was jumping up and down, and acting as exited as she had been when she met the Wonderbolts at the Best Young Fliers Competition.
“You don’t want to know.” Batman replied.
She looked a little disappointed but she was still unable to lose her smile. His mysteriousness was only adding to her obsession with knowing everything about his techniques.
There were bars blocking off the next portion of the museum with no visible way of getting past. Batman stared at the bars and at the environment around him before stepping towards Twilight and Rainbow. As he passed under the nearest archway, the bars sunk into the ground, making Twilight and Rainbow jump back in surprise.
“What just happened?” Twilight asked.
Batman looked around the archway. He placed his arm underneath and the bars shot back up, blocking the path once again. He dropped his arm and the bars disappeared.
“There’s a laser security fence blocking the way. No one can step past the fence without lifting the bars.” He replied.
“How do we get past the bars then?” Twilight asked.
“We disable the security console controlling the beams.” He looked into a glass window to their right. “Its in there.”
The two ponies looked at the window. There wasn’t a door or any visible way leading inside at all.
“And HOW, exactly do we get in there?” Rainbow said.
“I can teleport myself inside.” Twilight suggested.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Well that’s great for you, Twilight. But how are me and Batman supposed to get in?
While they argued, Batman stepped toward the window.
“Well, you can tell me what to push from this side. It shouldn’t take long.” Twilight said.
“That will take too long! Cant you teleport us all in or something?”
“Yes, but it takes up a lot of energy! Either we do this or we-“
SMASH!!!!
Batman lunged through the window and rolled on the ground when he reached the other side. Small pieces of glass landed everywhere on either side. Twilight and Rainbow were startled and jumped again in surprise. They approached the window and looked inside. Batman turned and gave them a slight smirk. They both chuckled nervously before Rainbow flew inside and Twilight teleported inside.
The room was very small, and was littered with books, fliers, and overturned desks. Batman approached the security terminal attached to the wall while Twilight and Rainbow looked around.
“Hey, what’s that?” Twilight said, pointing at an object under an overturned desk.
She approached it and saw that it was a small statue of a penguin. She picked it up and took a closer look. There was nothing really significant about it, but its bright, shiny glass exterior made it stand out in the darkness.
She brought it back to Rainbow and Batman. “Any idea what this is for?”
Batman picked it up and examined it. He held it for a few moments before dropping it on the ground. It shattered when it landed.
Twilight looked confused. “Hey! What did you do that for?”
Batman ignored her and put his fingers up to the side of his head. He remained solid for a few moments before dropping his hand to his side again.
“Do you know who the Riddler is?” He asked.
Twilight and Rainbow shook their heads.
“He’s a villain that uses puzzles and riddles to commit crimes and create challenges that usually result in death if the victim cannot solve them.”
They stood there, confused. “What does he have to do with this?”
“Riddler scatters riddles all over the place in an attempt to see if I can accomplish them. This penguin statue was just one of nine. He told me to come to the church.”
Their eyes widened in horror. “The church?” Rainbow asked.
“What about the doctors, officers and Applejack?” Twilight added.
“I don’t know.” Batman said. “I’ll go look into it after we save Freeze and your other friend.”
He then turned his attention to the security console and pulled out the same device he used to get them inside the museum. He began to move the buttons around for a little bit before the screen froze in a mess of static.
“I don’t think I want you breakin’ into my little home, Batman.”
Penguin’s voice came over the intercom.
Batman put away his device and turned to the broken window.
“What happened? Won’t it work?” Rainbow asked.
“No.” Batman said as he vaulted through the broken glass. “Something is blocking my communications. Penguin must be using military-grade communication disruptors.”
They joined him on the other side of the wall. “How will we get past it? Twilight asked.
“I’m going to go outside and destroy them. It’s the only way to crack this security.” He replied as he placed his hand on the door. “Stay here. I’ll be back.
They nodded and he left the museum.
Once the door shut, Twilight opened her spell book and began to look through it. Rainbow flew back and fourth in the air in a pacing fashion. They both were thinking about what to do. This ‘Riddler’ character sounded like a total joke. Half of the people in this prison sounded like jokes: The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, those clown guys, it all made Rainbow chuckle. How could they possibly be any threat?
Then again, the clowns were pretty vicious when they invaded the church. Maybe this was all just one weird dream.
Rainbow made her way to the archway that led to the rest of the museum. She placed her hoof in between the security lasers. The bars beyond rose up in an instant. She brought back her hoof and they quickly lowered again. Chuckling, she moved her hoof in and out as fast as she could. The bars lowered and rose very fast over and over again. Twilight looked at her with a frustrated expression and exhaled. She went back to her book while Rainbow messed around.
Rainbow stopped and looked to Twilight. “Twilight! I just had an idea!”
She looked up. “What is it, Rainbow?”
“What if you teleport us over to the other side of the bars?” She suggested.
Twilight looked unsure. “I don’t know. Batman told us to wait here.”
“Who cares what he said? He doesn’t know how tough we really are! If we can get a head start, then we’ll have a better chance of getting Rarity!” She said.
Twilight considered this. She desperately wanted to help Rarity as fast as possible, but Batman didn’t seem like the person you wanted to disobey. On the other hoof, if he saw how strong and capable they were of handling it, maybe he would let them help him out more.
“Okay,” She said, looking up. “Lets do it.”
---
As she slowly opened the door to the church, Fluttershy poked her head around the corner and peered inside. Just to make sure no one was there. She quickly ran in and shut the door. She made a small yelp as the large door slammed shut.
She breathed it off and turned to the inner door. She opened it and looked inside the main hallway to the church. As expected, it was still devoid of any life. She shut the door behind her and tried to stay focused on getting what she needed. Either an adrenaline shot or some other kind of energy for her to use and get back to the museum to get help from Twilight and Rainbow. She wouldn't be able to find Pinkie Pie or Applejack on her own.
She hadn't taken five steps when a blank canvas sheet dropped down from the ceiling. It caught her off guard and she cowered to the ground immediately. A projection of a man in a bowler’s hat appeared on it. He didn't look very happy.
"You there! Fluttershy!" He said.
Fluttershy peeked one eye out from behind her shaking hooves. "Y-yes?" she squeaked.
The man continued to stare daggers into her. "Save your pathetic attempts to win me over with your cuteness and listen to me." He said coldly. "In case you haven't figured it out yet, it was I, The Riddler, who kidnapped your foolish friends and did the redecorating here. "
Fluttershy looked shocked. "Y-you kidnapped them? B-but why would you do that?"
"Why wouldn't I? Their little tiny brains should have known better." He replied. “I have but one goal: to prove that I am the most intelligent being that ever walked the earth by using riddles. Every person who I kidnapped in this church is now in their own little challenge as we speak.”
As he boasted, Fluttershy began to tear up again. "Oh please! Please let them go! They didn't do anything wrong! Nobody has done anything bad to you! Especially Applejack!"
Riddler began to stare at her once again. "Applejack is exactly who I want to talk to you about."
The projection flashed and a grainy image of Applejack appeared. She was in a tiny room and was bucking the walls as hard as she could. Fluttershy gasped and jumped to her hooves.
"Applejack!" She yelled.
On the projection, Applejack looked around. "Fluttershy? Where are ya?!" she yelled.
"I’m back at the church! Where are you?"
Applejack continued to look around. "Ah don't know! Riddler here is bein' a bit of jerk!” She ran towards the opposite wall and gave it a hard buck. “How can ya’ll see me?”
“Riddler is showing me a projection of you!” Fluttershy said with tears in her eyes. “What are you doing?”
Applejack grunted as she bucked the wall again. “Riddler said that if I don’t buck the walls, they’d close in on me!”
“Making applesauce!” Riddler exclaimed.
Fluttershy’s eyes opened in horror at his pun.
“Oh come on! Ya’ll have used that one before, Riddler! What’s wrong? Ain’t got no more jokes up yer sleeve?” Applejack yelled. “I thought ya’ll said you were clever!”
The screen flicked back to Riddler, anger still apparent on his face.
"N-no! Come back! Please! Where is she?!" Fluttershy sobbed.
"She did pretty well in my challenge so far. She figured it out fairly quickly for a talking pony; even though it’s more likely a retarded mule could have figured it out faster." He said through gritted teeth.
Fluttershy continued to sob as she looked at him.
"Anyway, as she was completing the task, she wouldn't stop bringing up the issue of a certain ability that you ponies supposedly possess: 'Magic.'" he gave little air quotes with his fingers.
Fluttershy sniffed, looking confused. "Well, only unicorns can use magic. Not just anypony can-"
"IMPOSSIBLE! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MAGIC!" Riddler yelled at the top of his lungs.
Fluttershy cowered again as Riddler threw his tantrum on the screen. He stomped his feet and banged his fists on his legs like a child. As she cowered, she couldn't help but give a small smile because of how ridiculous he looked as he threw his fit.
After he was finished, he glared at her again. "Your friend, Twilight Sparkle. Bring her to me if you want to save your friend. You lack the mental capacity to even attempt to solve the challenge I have planned. It would be a waste of time to see if you could complete it when it’s clear that you can’t. She's supposedly brilliant! If you want Applejack to stay alive, you will bring Twilight back here to me. Do you understand?"
Fluttershy shook and stammered as she looked for the words to say. “B-b-but, she’s all the way back at the museum! Sh-she’s with Rainbow Dash trying to rescue Rarity!”
"I don’t care! If she isn’t here in two hours, Applejack will die!" He yelled. “I will prove to you that your magic is absolutely fake! There is no such thing! I’m right! I’M ALWAYS RIGHT!”
Fluttershy's heart began to pump all the adrenaline into her veins that she needed. While he yelled, she flew out the doors to the church and out into the cold night as fast as she could. She hovered in the air and looked towards the highway. She hated leaving Pinkie Pie to fend for herself for a while. She hoped she would be okay.
Fluttershy turned and took off and flew back toward the museum once again. She tried her best to push her worries away as she flew over the streets. However, her anxiety was getting in the way of her remembering which roads or alleyways she took to get away from the museum.
She took a left into a darkened street. She flew high enough that any inmates she saw on the ground wouldn’t be able to see her, but low enough so the buildings around her would block the full brunt of the icy winds.
As she flew, she heard many inmates talking about various things, but she paid them no heed until she heard something that stuck out.
“So, you hear about the weird pony-things in here?”
Fluttershy stopped and hovered in the air, listening to them.
“Yeah. From what I heard, one of ‘em got out of the museum somehow.”
“No way. Really? How’d it do that?”
“No idea. From what the guys who were guarding it and Freeze said, it spooked ‘em more than they’ve ever been before.”
“But, it’s a little pony! How’s a pony gonna scare a couple of grown guys?”
“That’s what Penguin said. Thought they were a bunch of wimps so he had me and a few other guys put ‘em out of their misery for good.”
Fluttershy gasped. Her escape had led to the death of the henchmen guarding her and Freeze. She instantly felt a huge wave of guilt wash over her. Now she had yet another reason to hurry to the museum. She didn’t want anyone else to die, even if they were bad.
Flying swiftly but cautiously, Fluttershy rounded a building. She noticed that a few Penguin henchmen were patrolling along the rooftops. Instinctively, she flew to one of the platforms on the fire escape. They hadn’t seen her.
She didn’t want to move, but she had to. She was afraid they would see her if she took off. They had guns. She could easily be shot down and left for dead. She was so close to death just recently, she didn’t think she would make it this time.
Commotion from the rooftop broke her train of thought. She heard footsteps running to the right and fading out. She waited for a moment before a voice broke the silence.
“I got a man down over here!”
She paused. What was going on? Had the henchmen fainted?
“Come on, wake up. Do ya hear me? Wake up!”
The voice sounded nervous. Like he wanted to hurry as fast as possible before someone, or something got him. That gave Fluttershy the tiniest amount of hope.
“How’s he keep doin’ this? What’s going on?” another voice said with the same amount of worry.
“Leave him. We got more important things to be looking’ out for!” The first voice said.
She waited for another moment.
“Batman, can you hear me? Show yourself!”
She had no idea what they were talking about. The name Batman made her a whole mixture of emotions. Among them were fear, hope, and curiosity. What kind of a name was ‘Batman’ for someone? What did this person do?
She waited for a few more seconds before she heard another voice come from one of the radios. “I’m runnin’ outta patience, you’re runnin’ outta people. Let’s see which one runs out first!”
It was Cobblepot. She instantly felt scared again as another voice yelled out from above. “You heard Penguin! Find him!”
Every moment she spent in here, she was met with new feelings of confusion. Cobblepot’s nickname was ‘Penguin’? Mr. Freeze? Joker? Riddler? Batman? Who were these people?
“Man down! Man down!” A voice shrieked.
He sounded like he was on the verge of panicking. She couldn’t hold herself back anymore. She slowly climbed the staircase of the fire escape that ascended to the rooftop.
“What are you doing? I need help!” The voice demanded.
“You’re on your own, man! I’m lookin’ out for me!” Another voice shot back.
Whatever was happening up there, they were utterly terrified of it.
By now, she was one platform away from the roof. She decided to wait until all the henchmen were taken down by whatever was up there.
She waited another moment when she heard what sounded like a bone cracking followed by a light shriek. Fluttershy gasped as silently as she could before dropping to the ground.
She waited for something to happen.
She soon heard shaky footsteps walk across the edge above her to the left. The henchman was gasping and breathing heavily.
“What….ARE….you?!”
He sounded like he was about to cry. Fluttershy couldn’t help but notice that he had said ‘what’ instead of ‘who’? That meant Batman was definitely a 'something' and not a 'someone'. Now she was scared more than ever.
She almost didn’t hear his scream and the familiar bone crack as he was slammed on the ground. Fluttershy winced. Then she paused. It was dead silent.
She was on the far edge of the balcony. She waited a few minutes before she looked up to the rooftop.
“What are you doing here?” A deep voice boomed behind her.
Fluttershy jolted like she had been hit with a charge of electricity before curling up in a ball and covering her face. She was shaking like crazy, and didn’t dare open her eyes. Whatever had silently taken down all the henchmen up above was right behind her. She hadn’t heard him make a sound.
“Relax. Those punks up there are dealt with. I won’t hurt you.” He said.
Fluttershy peeked one eye out. Batman wasn’t a thing at all, he was a person; a tall, strong person with a strong sense of mystery about him. He had a cowl, and pointy ears on the top of his head. He also had a bright yellow belt, and a black cape. He reminded her of the time she dressed as the Mysterious Mare-do-Well.
“Um…y-you…you’re…” She squeaked.
Batman interrupted her. “Your friends Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash are at the museum. They’re safe, for now. I’m allowing us to get past Cobblepot’s security so we can rescue Freeze your other friend.”
Fluttershy uncurled from her ball. “T-twilight and Rainbow? You’re helping them?”
“Yes. We’re working together to rescue Freeze. You should head back to the Medical Center. It’s not safe out here.” He replied.
“Oh, um, I can’t. I need to deliver a message to Twilight. It’s a matter of life and death.” Fluttershy replied as she got to her hooves.
“Who’s the message from?” Batman asked.
“Some man named Edward. I forget his last name, but he goes by the name Riddler.” She said.
Batman paused for a moment before turning away from her. “Head to the museum and wait with them. I’ll be back there in a minute.”
Fluttershy watched as he jumped over the balcony and fell to the ground below. She ran to the edge and looked over. She saw a giant, bat-like creature fly up quickly before it made a quick descent into the darkness below behind a low building across the way.
Fluttershy was amazed. He had single-handedly taken down the henchmen above her completely silent. He also seemed like a very right-to-the-point kind of person, which at first glance made him seem a tad rude, but he did so in a very respectful fashion. She didn’t know how to explain it.
She remembered what he had said. Rainbow and Twilight were at the museum. She couldn’t have been far. She took off just as Penguin began to speak from one of the radios on an unconscious henchman behind her.
“Batman’s done somethin’ to the jammers up top! Where are the rest of you idiots?!”
“We’ve only just managed to get below ground.”
“Just set it up wherever you are! DO IT NOW! Batman’s probably on his way down there! Understand?!”
“Yes sir, Mr. Cobblepot!”
Fluttershy flew back to the roof. She thought for a moment. She could probably use that radio so she could get a better idea of what Penguin was planning. She landed next to the unconscious henchman and slowly reached out with her hoof to take the radio.
She snatched it up and flew away as fast as she could. As she rounded the corner, she stopped in midair. She saw what looked like a train station. The train was suspended in the air and went through a building to her left. None of it was operational of course, but she imagined that it used to go through the entire city. Well, before it was a prison.
Beyond the station, she saw the dome that made up the roof of the museum. She sighed for relief and flapped her wings toward the front door.
--The Museum--
“Okay,” Twilight breathed. “Here goes!”
Twilight’s horn glowed as she concentrated her magic. Rainbow stood next to her. Magical energy crackled all around them before a flash of light swallowed them both before dissipating once again. They were a few feet ahead. Twilight turned back to the doorway. She saw the small holes in the ground where the bars could shoot up to the ceiling behind them.
“Alright! We made it!” Rainbow whooped. “Now, lets scout ahead and see what’s up.”
“Okay!” Twilight nodded.
They both inched forward silently. They heard voices coming from the room ahead. The sound of the door creaking open behind them made them both freeze. Batman had come back. Immediately, Twilight regretted listening to Rainbow’s plan. Batman could easily overpower both of them in a single move if he wanted. They had deliberately disobeyed him. Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other with worry.
“Twilight! Rainbow!” Fluttershy called.
They both turned to face their Pegasus friend who looked very relieved to see them.
“Fluttershy!” They both cried.
They turned tail and ran back inside to meet her. The automated bars quickly rose up to the ceiling once again as they passed over them, but they didn’t care. They quickly met Fluttershy and gave her a big hug.
“Fluttershy, it’s great to see you! But, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked as they released each other.
“And where’s Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow added.
Fluttershy looked away at the question with tears starting to well in her eyes. “I, uh,” She stammered. “I don’t know what happened to her.”
Rainbow and Twilight looked to each other with the same worried expression.
Fluttershy continued. “After we separated, I did exactly as Rainbow said and went to the church for some supplies with Pinkie, but when we got there it was totally empty! No one was there! The doctors, the officers, Applejack, they were all gone!”
Rainbow’s and Twilight’s eyes widened in horror. Batman had mentioned the Riddler to them just minutes ago.
“So Pinkie used what little medical knowledge she knew and fixed me up as much as she could. It was a really, really scary experience, and it really hurt, but I know she had to do it.”
“After that, we found a small village underneath the road across the street. It was the next closest place to the church. The people there were really nice and they let me stay there while Pinkie volunteered to go find some food. She needed to go along the freeway toward the Steel Mill to find it.”
Fluttershy bit her lip as tears began to fall down her face. “After a few minutes, something happened. The freeway exploded. I, uh, I don’t know if she’s okay or not.”
Fluttershy was openly weeping by now. Rainbow and Twilight were crying too as they came in closer to console her. They all joined together in one big hug as Fluttershy cried on Rainbow’s shoulder.
“P-P-Pinkie could be dead now and *gasp* and there isn’t a thing we can do!” She sobbed.
“She’s okay, Fluttershy. She’s okay. Shhh. Don’t worry.” Twilight said in a soothing voice as she tried to calm her down.
“Yeah, Fluttershy. “Rainbow added. “It’s Pinkie Pie, after all. If anypony can do the impossible, it’s her.
“That’s not all.” Fluttershy sniffed and looked to Twilight. “I went back inside the medical center, and this man appeared to me on a screen. He said his name was Riddler and he had kidnapped Applejack and the doctors! He said if you don’t go back to the church in two hours, Applejack will die!”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “What?! Applejack will die?!”
Fluttershy nodded. “He said he doesn’t believe in unicorn magic and he wants to prove you wrong with a challenge he has prepared.”
Twilight shot up. Her hair started to become messy and she had a panicked look on her face. “Oh my gosh! Oh my GOSH! What do we do? What do I do?!”
Rainbow flew up in the air above them. “Enough!” She yelled, calming them both down. “We need to approach this one step at a time!”
Fluttershy and Twilight stayed silent for what Rainbow Dash was about to say.
“We need to focus on getting everypony back together! Lets rescue Rarity, and then we’ll quickly make our way over to the church and rescue Applejack. After that, all five of us will go find Pinkie Pie.”
Everypony stayed silent for a moment before Twilight nodded. “Okay. You’re right Rainbow. Rarity, then Applejack, and then Pinkie Pie.”
Rainbow nodded and lowered herself to the ground. They spent the next minute getting ready. Twilight reached into her saddleback and produced one for Fluttershy. Fluttershy had just finished putting it on when Batman stepped through the door.
“I’m back.” He said as he made his way to the hole in the window.
Fluttershy backed away shyly while Rainbow followed him. Twilight remained with Fluttershy. Batman located the terminal and used his little computer gadget to try and hack it once again. After twisting the two knobs around for a few seconds, the machine made a beep.
Twilight looked to the archway and set her hoof underneath. The bars didn’t rise. “We’re clear! We can pass now!”
Rainbow flew out of the hole before Batman followed her. Batman walked under the archway and headed to the next room. Once he had passed over the secret slot where the bars would have raised, everypony else followed him.
Their progress was immediately halted when a large dinosaur popped up from behind the balcony directly in front of them and roared loudly. The dinosaur was bigger than anything they had ever seen. Even bigger than the dragon that blocked the cave back home, or the Ursa Minor they had encountered. Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy jumped backwards and screamed as loud as they could. The dinosaur stopped roaring and broke down. It froze as it stared blankly at them. It was mechanical.
If Batman was startled by it, he hid every hint of fear from his stance. He didn’t even flinch when it appeared. He looked back at the three frightened ponies. Rainbow saw this and tried to shake off the surprise as best she could.
“HOO! Keep it together, guys. Come on! We gotta find Rarity!” She said as she tried to push her friends along.
“Y-Yeah. Come on guys.” Twilight cautiously agreed.
Fluttershy made a high-pitched squeak with every breath.
They all followed Batman, as he turned left. He stopped at the top of the staircase and looked down. Rainbow sat beside him and followed his gaze. Three henchmen were beating another prisoner to a bloody pulp. The main attacker was wearing some sort of body armor. He looked tougher than the others.
Rainbow whispered to Batman. “I’ll take the one on the far right out. You get the others.”
She didn’t wait for a reply. She knew he would say something to her like “Its too dangerous,” or “Stay here and keep silent.” Rainbow didn’t want to hear that. She flew up to the ceiling as silently as she could.
Batman turned to Twilight and Fluttershy. “Stay here until they’re all gone.”
They nodded and Batman crouched to the ground. He swiftly and silently made his way to the nearest henchman. He swept one leg under him and used his arm to smack him to the ground. Rainbow simultaneously made her move on the other henchman by zooming down as fast as she could and striking him on the head. He instantly went down.
Batman then leapt into the air and used his cape to stun the armed henchman. He then unleashed a barrage of quick, forceful punches on the henchman’s chest, head, and arms. For every second that passed, Batman punched him four times. After about five seconds, he used his head to pound him to the ground. He was out.
“ALRIGHT! WOOHOO!!” Rainbow yelled.
Batman then turned his attention to the prisoner they were beating up. His shirt had the word “Pig” written out in paint. He was helping himself up off the ground when Batman addressed him.
“You’re safe. For now.”
The prisoner gave a relieved sigh. “Thank God!”
Rainbow looked back. Fluttershy and Twilight were running down the steps toward them. She smiled and turned back to the prisoner.
“You may want to hold off on thanking Him until after you’ve answered my question.” He said. “Who are you?”
Rainbow looked confused. Why was he threatening him right after he rescued him?
The prisoner was obviously nervous. “Sorry, man. I’m a cop. Gordon sent us in here. I’m from the 13th precinct, part of the strike team. Been in here since the beginning.”
“If Gordon sent you, you’ll know the code.” Batman said.
Rainbow looked back to Twilight and Fluttershy, worried. This guy seemed okay. Why was Batman so paranoid?
“Oh yeah! Yeah he said, uh…” The cop looked around nervously. He almost had it. “Oh, man! What was it?”
Batman gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. “The code. NOW!” He demanded, taking a small step toward him.
Rainbow took a step backwards, awaiting the imminent fight.
The cop opened his eyes with sudden epiphany. “Its Sarah! He said to tell you the code is Sarah!” He looked very hopeful.
Batman unclenched his fists. “You’re safe, officer.”
Everypony gave a sigh of relief.
“Its Jones, Batman. Elvis Jones.” He replied.
“Gordon always said he planned on sending your team in.” Batman said.
“Yeah, he said he wanted to know what was goin’ on in here. I guess we found out.” Officer Jones answered. “There were ten of us… Hopefully, there still are.”
Batman looked frustrated. “I told Gordon it was too dangerous to send you in! Stay here, if the rest of your team is alive, we’ll find them.”
Officer Jones looked behind Batman at the three little ponies looking back at him. He looked really confused as they followed Batman down the stairs to the next door. Fluttershy turned around as she flew with the others and gave a shy wave. Jones slowly waved back.
They got to the door and pushed it open. Immediately, Fluttershy felt a wave of panic spread over her as she felt and saw the familiarity of the environment around her. She lowered herself to the ground and walked as close to Twilight as she could. Twilight gave her a comforting smile.
Batman stopped walking. “Hold on.” He said.
Everypony stopped. Rainbow turned back to look at him. “What is it?”
Batman didn’t answer. He simply looked around the room like he could see through them. Then he started walking again. “Stay close to me, and get ready for a fight.”
Rainbow pounded her hooves together. Twilight took a deep breath while Fluttershy gulped nervously. They all made their way down the hallway. On the wall in front of them were the words “New Recruits This Way!” with an arrow pointing to the right written in red spray paint.
They turned right and walked down the next hallway. They all heard what sounded distinctly like cheering and applause. As they walked, it got louder. They turned left at the end of the hall. The door at the end of this hallway opened up into a large room. There were bodies and torches along the wall that led to it. It all made everypony very nervous, but they continued walking.
--The Gladiator Pit--
As they all entered the room, the gate behind them shut, trapping them inside. A loud roar of applause erupted from all around them. Rainbow looked around in awe. Inmates and prisoners were gathered behind large gates surrounding them. Their right and left exits were fenced off and electrified. They all felt the electricity as just being near it made their heads hurt.
Batman glanced up to the balcony above. A prisoner was limping forward and grabbing his chest. Rainbow squinted her eyes and read the words “Dead Cop” written across his chest. “He’s one of the other undercover cops!” She said to Twilight and Fluttershy.
The cop staggered forward a few more feet. “Help… Me…”
A silenced gunshot went off from somewhere and the cop jolted. He toppled forward and fell on his face. An older, wheezy laughter came from behind him as he fell. When the cop hit the ground, Mr. Cobblepot was standing right behind him, pointing his umbrella tip at the ground.
Cobblepot had just murdered the poor man! Twilight, Rainbow and Fluttershy all gasped in horror as Cobblepot lowered his weapon and walked to the edge of the balcony above to address them.
Batman pulled out what looked like a sharpened boomerang and prepared to throw it.
“Uh uh! I wouldn’t do that if I was you.” Cobblepot said, turning around. “Show ‘em what we got!”
A very large, one-armed henchman was carrying another cop by the back of the neck. He too had the words “Dead Cop” written across his chest. He raised the cop up in the air to show Batman, who lowered his boomerang.
Cobblepot turned back to them. “So Batman, you here for the cops, the ice-man, or me?” He asked with a laugh.
Batman put away his boomerang. “I was only here for Freeze and the hostages. But now, I’m taking you down too.” He said slowly.
He glared at Cobblepot. Rainbow and Twilight tried to make themselves look as menacing as possible while Fluttershy hid behind Batman. She wasn’t scared, but she was getting very angry. Each one of them continued to stare at Cobblepot.
Cobblepot looked around like he was scared. “OOOH! Aren’t you scary?!” He said, sarcasm obvious in his voice. He threw his head back and laughed along with the henchmen gathered around him.
Batman continued to stare daggers. “You’re about to find out.”
“Am I, really?” Cobblepot asked.
He nodded to one of the henchmen at his side. He stepped forward and placed a cigar inside Cobblepot’s mouth before lighting it.
He breathed out a puff of smoke. “Listen,” He said, not taking it out of his mouth. “I’m what you might call a collector.”
The henchman stepped forward again and removed the cigar from his mouth.
“If someone wants it, I like to think I’ve got it! If I don’t have it,” He glared at them with his good eye, “I’ll get it! So here’s the thing: back there, I’ve got cabinets with your names on it, just waiting to be filled! And as luck would have it, here you all are, standin’ just where I want ya!” He laughed. “So whaddaya think? Are you gonna be a good boy and give up nicely? What about you little ponies? Can you be good little ponies and nicely go into your new homes?”
Fluttershy stomped her hoof on the ground and shot an angry look up to him. “You aren’t giving orders here anymore, Cobblepot!” She growled.
As he was speaking, a tiny fire started inside her and began to grow. It wasn’t like last time. She didn’t feel hatred or bloodlust, she only felt like making him stop. He was evil and he needed to be stopped. She wanted him to be brought to justice for his crimes. She wouldn’t be pushed around anymore.
Cobblepot grinned. “I was hopin’ you’d say that.”
Somewhere inside her, Fluttershy felt a hint of doubt. Had she had unleashed a world of hurt on her and her friends? She hoped not.
“Look around ya.” Cobblepot continued. Batman and everypony else looked around to the inmates behind the bars. “These horrible bunch of psychopaths are all beggin’ to join up with me. But unfortunately for them, I only take the best. And today, ‘best’ means whoever can kill YOU!”
Cobblepot pushed a button on a remote he held. “Come on out, lads!” He announced. “Its Initiation Time!”
The cages on their right and left opened. Inmates spilled out from either side. Twilight quickly estimated that there was over 30 inmates altogether. The inmates spilled out and quickly surrounded them. Each one has their fists in the air and looked hungry for blood.
“What are you waitin’ for? HURT ‘EM!” Cobblepot barked.
Batman ran into the group of inmates directly in front of him. Rainbow and Fluttershy made good use of their wings and took to the air together. Twilight was left with a group of seven inmates. They all charged her at once.
Thinking quickly, Twilight concentrated her magic and teleported herself behind the group of inmates. She bucked two of them from behind. She quickly turned around and began to launch a barrage of magical energy from her horn. Each blast sent one more inmate flying backwards.
Rainbow and Fluttershy were busy picking off inmates who ran away from the group to get random objects to use to their advantage. On the wall behind them was a large assortment of weapons laid out for the taking such as crowbars, hammers, and pipes. There were also a few small chairs and propane tanks that they could easily throw. One inmate had a chair held above his head and was about to throw it at Twilight. Seeing this, Rainbow swooped down to catch the projectile just as it left his hands. She caught it and immediately threw it back at him. He couldn’t catch it and the chair broke on impact.
One by one, the inmates’ numbers were depleting. Twilight had already taken out three while Rainbow and Fluttershy had worked together to take out seven. Batman alone had taken down about 17 inmates. His knowledge and experience in combat proved to be more than a match for the inmates.
There is strength in numbers, however. Batman was struck a few times. Twilight had been punched and kicked a few times as well. She had some new bruises and her lip was now bleeding. Some of the inmates didn’t take to having airborne enemies well either. A few of them had started throwing things at Fluttershy and Rainbow while they tried to pick some of them off from above. Most of the projectiles thrown had missed them, but one inmate in particular had thrown a chair at Rainbow while her back was turned. She went down and crashed to the ground. Fluttershy immediately reacted and landed between him and Rainbow. She opened her eyes and Stared him as hard as she could.
As expected, the attacking inmate was stunned to the point of terror. Fluttershy continued to hold the Stare as she ascended high into the air, and floated directly above him. Then, using all her might, she came down on his face and sent him crashing to the ground. Rainbow got up and shook off the impact, giving Fluttershy a thankful smile. Fluttershy turned to her and returned it.
Twilight was holding the last inmate in a magical field in front of Batman. Batman grabbed his head and brought him down on his knee with a loud crack. They all looked around at the pit they were standing in. It was now littered with unconscious inmates. Everypony was thankful that it was finally over. Batman looked up to Cobblepot, who wore a very smug look on his face.
“You weren’t supposed to do that, Batman.” Cobblepot raised his umbrella and pointed it to Batman. Then to a large metal container suspended high above. “You’re forcing me to bring out the big guns.”
Cobblepot pulled the trigger and the container fell. Batman dove out of the way just before it hit the ground. He rolled and quickly turned back to face the container. The top of it burst open as a giant hand punched through it. Whatever was inside roared loudly before the side of the container also burst open.
A penguin henchman emerged. But this henchman was very large, and his body had been reconstructed to the point where he looked like a monster. One arm was much bigger than the other. Its large muscles looked like it was about to break through the monster’s skin. It looked at Batman with fury before stepping completely out of the cage. It stood about ten feet tall.
Batman didn’t get up. He was ready for any sudden movements the monster could make. The monster then grabbed the container with one hand and flung it at Batman. He quickly dove to his right, the container barely missing him as it crashed into the wall behind him.
Everypony else stood there in shock as the monster faced him. Cobblepot had somehow turned one of his men into a monstrous freak. Batman looked angry. Twilight could swear she saw him express an emotion of familiarity with the monster, like he had faced one before. She didn’t know what to think. Were there more of these things?
Cobblepot watched from above. “Aww. He doesn’t look happy to see you, Batman!” He turned and walked away from the balcony. “Good luck!” He spat back.
The monster roared again. From behind, Twilight noticed that some of its vertebrae were protruding from the monsters back. She shuddered. This thing used to be a human. He must have been in a considerable amount of pain.
Batman looked at the three ponies. “Stay away!” He ordered.
They all nodded. Clearly he knew what they were dealing with. Batman charged the monster and swiped it with his cape several times. The monster was taken back as each swipe stunned him. Batman then proceeded to beat and punch the monster several times in the gut. After a number of hard hits, Batman then climbed onto its back! The monster flailed around as he reached his arm up and behind him to try and grab Batman.
“Look!” Rainbow yelled.
They turned to see the cages from under the balcony opened again and more inmates ran out. Not as many as last time, but still a large number. Immediately, everypony went to work. Twilight ran into the back corner while Fluttershy and Rainbow took to the air again. Three inmates surrounded Twilight before she used her magic to teleport herself behind them. She turned and noticed something she could use to her advantage. She knew it wouldn’t kill the attackers, but it was sure to be very painful. She considered it for a second before deciding to try it.
She picked up the three inmates with her magic and hurled them as hard as she could into the electric fence. The inmates screamed and jolted as the large number of volts passed through their bodies. She held them to it for a second before releasing them all. They all fell to the ground together and landed in a clump.
Most of the inmates weren’t assaulting the ponies, but they were watching the makeshift rodeo show that Batman was performing. He was riding on the monsters back and covering its eyes, causing the monster to flail its large, grotesque arms about wildly. Batman used this to his advantage and drove the monster into a large group of inmates. They flew and landed in all directions.
Rainbow and Fluttershy took advantage of the inmates not focusing on them and began to pick off a few one by one. Twilight began grabbing some and flinging them across the room to the monster’s wild haymakers or into the electrified fence.
Eventually, the monster managed to throw Batman off his back. He back flipped in the air and landed on the ground. It backed away as it shook off Batman’s attack. The rest of the inmates took their turn in attacking. Batman vaulted over the nearest one on the far left and started throwing punches. Twilight was right next to Batman and started blasting inmates with her magic. Fluttershy and Rainbow were continuing with their strategy.
The monster had recovered and let out another roar. Batman saw it standing there facing them with an enraged expression. But instead of charging into the large group, it turned and walked toward a group of unconscious inmates. It bent over and picked up one of the bodies. It turned back to the group and prepared to throw it.
“Get away!” Batman yelled.
Rainbow looked to see the monster hurl the inmate’s body toward them. It was flying directly toward Fluttershy. She had her back turned and couldn’t see the incoming projectile. In a split-second decision, Rainbow zoomed to her as fast as she could.
“Look out!” She yelled.
Fluttershy barely turned around as Rainbow shoved her out of the air. She fell out of the air and into the ground just as the unconscious inmate smacked into Rainbow. They both flew across the room and landed in a heap on the other side. Rainbow lay still next to the inmate. Fluttershy got back to her hooves and flew over to her.
The monster roared once more just as Fluttershy reached Rainbows body. With tears in her eyes, she tried to talk to her. Rainbow wasn’t moving.
“No!” She thought. “Not now! Not like this! Come on, Rainbow Dash! Wake up!” She shook Rainbow’s body vigorously as she tried to revive her. “Please, Rainbow! Wake up!” She yelled.
Twilight and Batman had beaten all the inmates, save two. Batman vaulted over one and headed toward the monster. Twilight bucked him in the face as he stumbled forward. He went down, and she turned her attention to the last one. She used her magic to grab him and hurl him across the room into the electric fence. He impacted, flailed, and went limp.
Batman used the same technique of stunning the monster with his cape before repeatedly punching the monster in the gut. He did so faster and more relentlessly. It brought the monster to his knees and Batman delivered the final blow. He gave a right hook its face, then a left, and then he jumped into the air and did a back flip, kicking the monster in the process. Finally, he clasped his hands together and brought both his fists down on the monsters neck. It let out a groan and fell limp. The fighting was finally over.
Twilight, gasping for air, ran toward Rainbow and Fluttershy. She wasn’t waking up and Fluttershy was starting to panic. She had shaken her, yelled at her, and was tempted to try smacking her, very lightly, of course.
“She won’t wake up, Twilight! I can’t get her to wake up!” Fluttershy sobbed.
Twilight took a closer look at Rainbow. “Fluttershy, you need to calm down. You’re panicking. Yes she’s hurt, but she’ll be okay.” She pointed a hoof to Rainbow’s chest. “See? She’s still breathing. She’s going to wake up eventually.”
Fluttershy breathed heavily and tried to calm down. Batman approached them from behind. She looked up to him. “When do you think she will wake up?” She asked.
“In a few minutes.” He replied. “I’m going to try and find a way up. You stay here with her until she does. Twilight will come with me.”
Twilight looked at her friends once again. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. Both of you fly to the balcony when you can.” She said, pointing to the balcony above where Cobblepot had been.
Fluttershy sniffed. “Okay. Thank you Twilight.”
Batman turned away and put his index finger to his ear. “I found Penguin.” He said.
Twilight turned to face him. “What?”
Batman ignored her and stayed silent for a second. “Not yet. The situation is worse than I thought. Penguin has a supply of the TITAN formula.”
Twilight cocked her head. “TITAN? What’s TITAN?” She asked to herself. She looked at the unconscious monster, trying to connect the dots. She thought that this ‘TITAN’, whatever it was had to do with the monster in some way. She would ask Batman about it after he finished talking to whomever it was he was talking to.
“Nice of you to join us, Oracle.” Batman said. “Alfred, bring Barbara up to speed. I’ll be in touch.”
He turned back to Twilight. “Come on.”
Twilight got up and walked over to him. “Who were you talking to?” She asked.
“Oracle. She’s my… good friend and my reliable source for information.” He replied. He walked over the electrified fence and looked on the other side. “Do you see that button?”
Twilight looked past him and saw the big red button on the other side of the fence. “Yes.”
“I saw you teleporting around in the fight. Can you get over there and press that button?” He asked.
Twilight smiled, feeling proud that he recognized her talents. “Yes I can.”
She focused on the other side of the fence. She wanted to be extra careful because it was still electrified. She didn’t want to be instantly fried when she got to the other side. Her horn glowed and she disappeared in a flash. She immediately reappeared on the other side, facing the button. Grinning, she walked over to it and pressed it with her hoof. A loud mechanical whirring took place on the other side. She looked and saw one of the metal gates had opened up so they could walk inside.
She quickly teleported back to the other side and Batman turned to her. “Nice work.” He said. Twilight grinned.
They both began walking toward the gate. Twilight looked behind her to see Fluttershy looking back at her. Twilight gave her a reassuring smile.
“Please be careful, Twilight.” Fluttershy said.
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I will.” Twilight replied.
She turned and walked alongside Batman. She looked up to him, her mind full of questions. How long had he been doing this thing? What was the story with the Penguin? She figured that she ask the obvious question first.
“So, what was that monstrous thing back there?” She asked as they walked under the gate.
“It was one of Penguin’s henchmen infected with TITAN.” He replied bluntly.
“What’s TITAN?” She asked.
They entered and proceeded down a short, dark hallway that forked to either the right or left. There was an aquarium at the end of the hall to the right. There were bodies of inmates floating lifeless among many piranhas inside the tank. It made Twilight want to gag. To the left was a gated off section with a maintenance elevator on the other side.
“TITAN is a chemical created by Joker a year ago at Old Arkham Asylum on Arkham Island.” Batman said as he walked over to the control panel on the wall. “Joker escaped custody and took over the entire asylum. He staged a fire at another prison, Blackgate. It caused hundreds of Joker’s crew to be transferred to Arkham. He took control over the asylum and killed many guards, doctors and police officers in the progress.”
Twilight gasped. “Oh my gosh! He escaped from a high security asylum?”
Batman was working on cracking the code to the elevator. “No. He didn’t want to escape the asylum, he wanted control of it.” Batman’s computer beeped and the gate opened. “He used an alias to get help from a doctor to create a formula for TITAN. She drained a chemical used by another villain to create it. His name is Bane.”
They walked into the gate and inspected the elevator. “The doctor stopped taking his money when she found out she was helping Joker, but it was too late. The formula had been created. Joker doesn’t like it when people say no, so he deliberately got himself back into Arkham, and started making the inmates into monsters.”
Twilight was stunned. This man was a criminal mastermind. “So how did Penguin get a hold of the TITAN?” She asked.
“I don’t know.” He replied. “I thought it had all been destroyed when we took the asylum back.”
The small elevator car didn’t have a roof. Batman climbed up the side and dropped to the floor on the inside while Twilight teleported inside next to him. There was an orange electrical box that would usually provide the elevator with power. Of course, it wasn’t operational. Batman pulled out something from his utility belt. It looked like an oddly shaped gun. Instinctively, Twilight covered her ears. He pointed it at the box and shot.
Instead of the loud explosion that she was expecting, the device shot an electric blast. It gave power to the box and the elevator began to rise. Twilight flinched at the sudden movement of the car. She gasped and looked around. The elevator car rose for a few seconds before it stopped right at the ceiling. Batman looked up toward it.
He pulled out another device. This one also looked like a gun, but smaller. He reached up to the ceiling and sprayed a type of gel. He outlined the gel into the shape of a bat. The gel bubbled and expanded for a second before stopping.
“You’ll want to plug your ears.” He said to Twilight.
Twilight nodded and plugged her ears as hard as she could. She tightened herself up as Batman backed away from the gel shape. Pressing a button on the device, the gel exploded with a loud bang. The ceiling disappeared and chunks of rock and debris flew in all directions above them. Twilight coughed a few times to clear out the dust.
She looked up to where the ceiling had been. There was a hallway leading off to the right in the room above them. Batman walked over to the ledge and pulled himself up. Twilight was too shaken up to focus on her magic so she ran toward the ledge and tried to hoist herself up as well. Batman reached down and grabbed her hoof. She made it up and gave him a grateful smile.
“Th-thank you.” She said, still shaking. Batman nodded and walked down the hallway. Twilight followed him.
Like most of the museum, this hallway was dark and littered with ruined furniture, boxes, and old posters of the museums attractions. It all seemed very haunting and it made Twilight nervous. She wanted Batman to continue with his story.
“So, uh, why do you need Mr. Freeze?” She asked.
Batman stayed silent for a moment before answering. “At Arkham, Joker injected me and himself with the TITAN formula. I had manufactured an antidote to the TITAN, but he turned into a giant. I managed to beat him, but the TITAN made him sick. He’s now on the verge of death. He had Mr. Freeze try to make him a cure, but Penguin must have found out and captured him.”
They reached the end of the hallway. It had turned left and then immediately right. They stopped at the wall and Batman pulled out the device he used to spray the gel.
“Joker captured and poisoned me with his blood. He told me that he has been shipping out samples of his poisoned blood to hospitals and emergency rooms all over Gotham. I needed to interrogate Joker because I thought he was working with Strange to poison Gotham. I thought it was Protocol 10, but I was wrong.” Batman continued.
Twilight cocked her head. “Strange talked about a Protocol 10 with me. He said he’s planning to use the Elements of Harmony for it. Did you find out what it was?”
“No. But whatever it is, I plan to stop it.” Batman replied.
He backed away from the wall after spraying the gel. Twilight readied herself and he pressed the button. Like before, the wall exploded. Rubble crashed to the floor on the opposite side. They both walked through after the dust cleared.
They turned right and walked toward the edge. They were on the platform that Penguin had been on. Twilight ran to the officer and checked him out. The bullet had pierced his spine right between the shoulder blades. He was dead. Batman was right behind her.
She breathed deeply, trying to fight off the panic. Walking toward the edge, she looked down to Fluttershy and Rainbow.
“Fluttershy!” She called. “Is she okay?”
Fluttershy flinched and looked up to her. “Um, yes. She’s beginning to come to.” She called back. “What were those loud bangs? Are you okay?”
Twilight heard Rainbow moan slightly as she awoke. “Yes, we’re okay. It was just one of Batman’s gadgets.”
Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh good. I was worried you were hurt.”
Twilight smiled. “Try and get her awake as fast as you can. We still need to find Rarity.”
Fluttershy began to talk Rainbow awake. “Rainbow Dash? Can you hear me? Are you okay?”
Rainbow stirred and opened an eye. “Ugh, w-what happened?” She asked.
Fluttershy squee’d and hugged her as tight as she could. “Oh! I was so worried about you!” She exclaimed.
Rainbow grunted and returned the hug. “Heh. Don’t worry, Fluttershy. You know I can’t stay out of the game for very long.”
“Well hurry and get up here. We don’t have much time.” Batman said.
His booming voice made the two Pegasi flinch. They got to their hooves spread their wings. Fluttershy slowly ascended first while Rainbow stretched for a moment. They both took off toward the balcony and landed in front of Twilight.
The first thing Fluttershy noticed was the dead officer. “Oh my goodness!” She yelped, running behind Batman.
Rainbow gasped as well, taking off into the air once again above them.
“We’re going after the animal that did this.” Batman said.
He turned and walked toward the door immediately behind them. The ponies followed him closely. Rainbow didn’t take her eyes off the dead officer as she flew.
There was an old sign to the right of the door. It read “Terrors of the Deep!” Batman turned the handle to the door and walked inside while everypony followed.
--TORTURE CHAMBER--
The air in this hallway was significantly colder, much colder than it was outside. Everypony shivered as they followed Batman. On the ground off to the sides were thick blocks of ice. They all connected with each other into one sheet of ice. Rainbow hovered above them, holding herself to keep warm while Fluttershy and Twilight walked carefully along the ice.
At the end of the hallway was a large wall of ice that blocked the way forward. Batman pulled out his explosive gel device and walked over to it.
“H-h-how is th-that going t-to help?” Rainbow asked him.
“J-just watch, Rainbow.” Twilight said to her.
Batman applied the gel and took a step backwards. He pressed the button and the ice shattered. He walked through the ice dust and onto the other side. Rainbow’s eyes were wide with amazement and Twilight wore a smirk on her face. Fluttershy cowered behind Batman.
He took a step forward before he quickly shoved Rainbow and Twilight behind him. They yelled as they both flew backwards. Batman’s right arm was hit by something and it froze to the wall behind him.
Twilight and Rainbow got to their hooves and scurried behind the nearest wall in the hallway behind them. Fluttershy stayed glued to where she was behind Batman. Rainbow peered behind the wall to see what had happened. Across the large room, Penguin was holding a gun and was pointing it at Batman. He was standing on a balcony in front of a large doorway. The glowing letters above it read “Iceberg Lounge.”
--PRESENT--
“Stay where I can see you, Batman!” Cobblepot announced. Rarity turned back to the Iceberg Lounge to see him. “You wouldn’t believe the fight the ol’ snowman put up. Still, I got what I wanted. That’s all that matters.”
The two henchmen that held the inmate had released him onto the ice below. He ran as fast as he could across. Cobblepot lowered the gun and shot at him as he ran. He fired a few shots at him. The inmate didn’t slow down for a second.
“Hold still, boy!” Cobblepot yelled. He let out a loud cackle as he continued firing.
Finally, a shot hit the inmate’s foot. The ice crystallized and quickly covered his entire body. The inmate grabbed his leg and tried to get the ice off, but it was no use.
“No…No…NOOO!!” He screamed as the ice covered him completely, save his head.
He stood there on the ice, completely frozen. Cobblepot lowered the weapon. “When you’re done in here, feel free to join me in the Iceberg Lounge so I can kick yer arse again!” He said to the man. He turned and went into the Iceberg Lounge. “Enjoy the Copsicle!”
The pointy-eared man tugged at the ice once more and finally broke free. He stepped to the edge and looked to the frozen inmate. The ponies he had pushed back turned came to his side and looked also. It was Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Rarity then saw Fluttershy poke her head out from behind him.
“Please….Help…..Me…” The inmate said weakly.
Rarity was so thrilled. Three of her friends had managed to find someone good in this place. This man, this ‘Batman’ had taken the time to help rescue her. If she herself weren’t frozen in place, she would have jumped for joy.
“Stay here.” Batman said to her friends. “I’m going to free him.”
“Okay.” Twilight replied.
Batman walked to the edge and jumped into the air. Instantly, he opened his cape and it spread out into a giant pair of bat wings. He floated down to the frozen inmate and landed on the ice. The ice beneath him cracked in all directions when he landed. Batman held his arms out to keep him from falling. Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy all gasped simultaneously.
Batman paused for a moment before slowly stepping forward toward the inmate. When he got close enough, he broke the ice that covered him. The inmate nearly toppled forward. Batman grabbed him around the stomach to keep him from falling.
“Hold on.” He said.
Batman pulled out a gun-shaped device and aimed it to the ceiling. A long cord shot out from it and it pulled himself and the inmate into the air. They landed on the balcony and Batman released him. He toppled to the ground and shivered violently.
“You should be safe here.” Batman said.
“Th-th-th-th-thank you.” The inmate replied shakily.
“Are you from the 13th Precinct? Where’s the rest of your team?” Batman asked.
Rarity thought this man was an inmate. He must have been one of the undercover cops that Penguin had mentioned to her earlier.
“Th-there are two more guys in this room. And something else, it,” he paused, “It looks like a p-pony thing.” He said.
Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy all looked at each other with worried looks.
“Penguin froze ‘em all up. I r-ran and, well I guess you saw what happened.” He continued.
Batman put his hand on the cop’s shoulder. “I’ll get them. You wait here and try to warm up.”
It was then that the cop saw the three ponies. He nearly jumped out of his skin. “Wh-wh-what are those?!” He shakily asked them.
Twilight stepped forward. "We're ponies. Where is the pony you said was frozen in here?"
The cop stood there stunned and shivering. He then turned toward the water and pointed at Rarity. "O-o-over there."
Everypony turned to where he was pointing. Rarity fought to stay awake to see them. She tried to thrash her head back and forth to chip away the ice that surrounded her. She knew she couldn’t break it on her own, but she needed to stay conscious.
Rainbow's eyes shot open as wide as they could. "I see her! I see Rarity!" She said as she floated up in the air.
Fluttershy floated up to Rainbow and looked in the same direction. "Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed. "Rarity!"
Twilight also saw her. "Rarity! Don’t worry! We're going to be there as fast as we can!"
Rarity drew in as deep a breath as she could. "P-p-please.... G-get m-m-me o-out of h-here!" She said, barely audible.
Fluttershy began to panic. "Oh, we have to save her now!"
Twilight also began to feel the first real pangs of panic. "I know, I know!" She said nervously. "Rainbow! Go get her!"
Rainbow took off and flew over the ice. Batman had gone down the ramp and began to walk on the ice as slowly and carefully as he could. With every occasional step he took, the ice cracked a little, but it posed no serious threat. Rainbow had slowed her speed slightly as she flew. The air was much colder in here that it was outside. She would run out of energy sooner if she went any faster.
The ice had thawed a few yards from the platform, leaving a small opening into the water. As she flew over it, a great white shark shot out of the opening and bit at Rainbow with its many layers of massive, sharp teeth. Rainbow screamed and shot higher into the air as the shark tried to bite at her in the air. Barely missing her, the shark then retreated back into the water, breaking some of the ice around it.
Rainbow was whimpering as she hovered in the air. Adrenaline was pumping through every one of her veins as she began to hyperventilate. She jerked her head around and looked everywhere. She was terrified. She noticed that Batman had jumped at the giant's untimely arrival.
"Sorry, Batman! Did I forget to mention my little friend down there?" Penguin said on the intercom. "Meet Tiny! Who'da thought that a big fish could be so useful? Not me, that’s for sure! He's like a mobile garbage truck: whatever I drop in that tank just... vanishes! Poof! Ha ha ha ha! Problem gone!"
Rainbow was both angry and terrified. This sick freak needed to be dealt with as fast as possible. Her whimpering went away as she sat in the air, fuming. Her blood started boiling as her rage intensified. She was so angry. She had never been this angry before in her entire life. She looked around the room for something, anything she could get her hooves on. She wanted to rip something apart out of her rage.
Maybe even someone...
"R-r-rainbow D-d-dash!" Rarity hissed.
Rainbow shot a glare at the freezing Rarity. Rarity looked back to her with pleading eyes. It snapped Rainbow back to the task at hand. She shook her head and floated over to her. Rarity was stuck to the wall about three feet above the ice. She was frozen with her arms spread out to either side of her, while her hind legs pointed to the ice below.
Rainbow floated up to her and brought her hoof back. She hit the ice on Rarity's left shoulder as hard as she could. It cracked on impact, and Rarity felt the ice's grip on her weaken. She tried to wiggle her arm free, but she couldn’t even feel it. She wouldn't be surprised if she were nothing more than a head. She couldn't feel the rest of her body.
Rainbow grabbed the weakened area and pulled the ice off. The rest of the ice engulfing her broke and she fell out of. Rainbow caught her before she hit the ice, and flew back to the platform.
Twilight and Fluttershy never looked happier. As soon as Rainbow landed, the four of them all joined together into one big hug. They all began to cry tears of relief now that Rarity was finally safe once again.
"Th-thank you s-so much everypony!" Rarity cried, still shivering.
"You're safe now, Rarity." Twilight tearfully replied.
"We were so worried about you!" Fluttershy said.
Rarity chuckled slightly. "I was w-worried about y-you, F-f-Fluttershy!"
They all released the embrace except for Fluttershy. "Oh it was awful out there, and really scary! I got cut up pretty bad right when I got outside!"
"Luckily we found her pretty quick!" Rainbow interrupted.
"Yeah! Pinkie Pie took her back and fixed her up!" Twilight added.
Rarity's face grew worried. "Um, where exactly is Pinkie Pie? And Applejack?" She asked.
They all looked to Fluttershy, who finally let go of Rarity and suddenly looked very sad. "I, um, I don’t know exactly." She hesitantly answered.
"We'll have to catch up once we get out of here." Twilight said. "We need to rescue the rest of the officers and stop Cobblepot.
Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Oh and Mr. Freeze! We need to rescue him too!"
Rarity nodded. "Yes! Rescue him! He's a good person!"
Twilight looked unsure. "Really? Everyone else in here has said he's a cold-hearted, evil man."
"That's what I thought of him as well." Rarity said. "Mr. Cobblepot told me he was the reason Fluttershy had managed to escape. I thought Freeze had corrupted her somehow and turned her into a monster."
Fluttershy slowly backed away. She remembered how it had been being a monster. She still felt so much regret even though Pinkie Pie and Rarity had forgiven her. It didn’t help the reality of how Iron Will had caused her to act.
"However, he is indeed a very good man!" Rarity continued. "Mr. Cobblepot said I could go and teach him a lesson if I wanted to. And I most certainly did want to. So he took me to him and left the room. It was then that I had the chance to speak with Freeze about what had really transpired between him and Fluttershy. He told me that she had reminded him of his wife, Nora. He couldn’t possibly hurt her."
They all were silent. Fluttershy felt herself blushing. Freeze really did care about her safety. A part of her was worried that he was lying to her and messing with her feelings after what everyone had said about him, but he sincerely cared about her.
"Well then let's not stand here talking, lets go find him!" Rainbow said.
Twilight nodded with a smile. "Okay. Rainbow, you go with Batman. Whichever room he goes in, Fluttershy and I will go in the other. He's got to be in one of them."
Fluttershy gulped. "But, what if there are more henchmen in the room? What if we wont be able to fight them all?"
Twilight levitated her book out of her saddlebag. "While Rainbow was rescuing Rarity, I looked for any useful spells we could use. I found ones that make you feel tough, focused, alert, awake, or intelligent."
Fluttershy blinked. "Really?"
"Yeah." Twilight nodded. "If you want me to, I can cast a spell on you to make you more of any of these things. The effects are extreme, but temporary of course."
"I, uh, I'm not sure that’s the best idea." Fluttershy stammered.
"Well it’s your choice, but you need to decide soon." Twilight said before turning to Rainbow. "Go with Batman. We'll meet up here again after we check out the rooms."
"You got it!" Rainbow said excitedly before zooming off to meet Batman.
"Rarity, you wait here. You're in no condition for action yet. You need to recover from your chilly beauty sleep." Twilight said.
"I agree." Rarity said. "I would only slow you down. Just find Freeze as fast as you can and lets all get out of this dreadful place."
"Will do." Twilight said. She turned to Fluttershy. "Ready?"
Fluttershy was still thinking. She could benefit from this spell immensely. However, Rarity's story had brought back bad memories of her assertiveness training with Iron Will. She didn’t want to take any chances of feeling like a monster ever again. However, she knew that she needed to be as bravest as she could. This was a very serious matter after all. Freeze and the rest of the undercover cops needed to be saved, and Penguin needed to be stopped.
She bit her lip. "I, um," She paused before looking to the ground. "T-twilight? Can I decide at the door please? I still don’t know what I want to do."
--
While the ponies had been talking with Rarity, Batman had gone across the ice and began rescuing the other officers. Rainbow followed the minor cracks in the ice to his position. He was two feet from the edge and was pulling a wooden raft across the water toward him with a cable. He was facing a dock on the right side of the room.
She hovered above the water to get a closer look. On the dock was another officer frozen in ice. His attempt to thrash around had chipped away most of the ice around his head, but the rest of his body was still encased.
"Batman! Over here! Help!" He shouted.
Rainbow looked back to Batman, who shot her a slightly agitated look before stepping onto the raft. She turned back to the officer and descended toward him. She landed right in front of him and looked for a weak point in the ice.
The officer gasped. "W-who are y-you?" He said, shivering.
Rainbow briefly looked him in the eyes. "I'm Rainbow Dash. I'm here to save you."
The officer paused for a moment, unsure of what to think. Rainbow flew around to his other side and looked around some more.
"P-please hurry. It's s-so c-cold." He stammered.
Rainbow moved up to his right arm and saw a crack. She turned around and bucked the ice as hard as she could. It cracked all down his side like a spider web. Rainbow tore off a large chunk and helped the officer out. The officer fell to the ground and collapsed onto his hands and knees. He was shaking violently. He wrapped his arms around himself and began to rub himself warm.
Suddenly, a loud clang to Rainbow's right made her jump. A claw connected to a cable had clamped onto the anchor point right next to her. She followed it across the water behind her and saw Batman on the raft pulling himself across the water. He had rescued another officer and was carrying him aboard as well.
"S-s-so c-c-cold." She heard him say. "Where did P-penguin get that g-gun?"
"He stole it from Mr. Freeze." Batman replied. "I'm getting it back."
They floated along the water until the raft met the dock. The officer slowly and shakily walked off the raft and stepped on. Batman walked off after him and spoke to the officer that Rainbow rescued.
"Stay here for now." He said.
"N-no p-p-problem sir." The officer shakily replied. "T-there are m-more of us."
"If they're still alive, I'll find them." Batman said. He turned to Rainbow. "Let’s go."
"Lead the way." Rainbow replied.
Batman turned and made for the ladder. It led to a doorway on an upper platform above the dock. Batman quickly climbed the ladder while Rainbow flew to meet him. Once he arrived, he walked through the doorway and began to run down the hall. Rainbow kept up with him.
At the end of the hall was an old boat on display. They turned right and continued down the hallway, passing numerous fish tanks full of bones, bodies and all sorts of horrific things. Batman slowed to a swift walk as he neared the door at the end of the hall. He opened it and they both silently slipped inside.
The room was too quiet. A large archway directly in front of them provided them with a view. It was almost as large as the previous room. There were many statues and intricate designs carved into the walls that looked like the work of architectural masterminds. There was a large number of sea life suspended above for display. Even to Rainbow, it looked quite fascinating.
Rainbow landed silently on the ground next to Batman. He stared at the end of the room. A series of blue lights caught Rainbow's attention. They illuminated a gargoyle that was mounted high above and overlooking the room. Batman studied the light. It was coming from a henchman's pair of goggles that he was wearing. The henchman illuminated the gargoyle for a few seconds before he shut them off and continued his patrol.
Rainbow inched closer to Batman. "What are they doing?" She whispered.
"They're using thermal imaging headsets." He replied. "Anyone wearing them will be able to spot us hiding up in the darkness."
Rainbow looked disgusted. "That’s not fair!" She hissed.
Batman stood silently and looked around the entire room. "There are six thugs in this room. All armed" He said. "There are three more officers being held hostage."
Rainbow was confused. "Wait. How do you know that?"
"Not now." He said, crouching to the ground.
He stealthily made his way to the stone rail in front of them and looked around the rest of the room.
"Don't worry, Mr. Cobblepot. Freeze's suit is in the case. I'm looking at it now." A henchman said.
Rainbow crept up by Batman and also surveyed the room. She could see the three officers on the bridge in front of them. Each one of them had their hands behind their heads and was on their knees. Three henchmen were surrounding them. Two of them had the thermal goggles on. A third henchman was facing a case on the left side of the room, but Rainbow couldn’t see what was inside.
She could barely hear what Cobblepot was saying. She decided to swiftly and silently fly up to the gargoyle right above him. She missed the first part of what Cobblepot had said. "-nd the last time I saw him, he didn’t look very happy."
"He's not getting past me and the boys, sir. The suit is safe." The henchman replied.
"Tell the boys that there's an extra hundred grand for whoever brings him in alive!" Cobblepot said.
"Very generous sir, consider it done." The henchman said, putting away the radio. "Listen up! Penguin wants the Bat brought in alive! There's fifty grand in it for whoever brings him in!"
"Heh. Might as well pay me now! He's mine." Another henchman boasted from across the room.
Rainbow looked down to the three henchmen below her. The one who had been talking on the radio was overlooking one half of the room while the other two were walking in opposite directions. One was walking directly under her. She peeked her head out and saw him standing there. He was reaching up to his goggles. With a click, they turned on.
Rainbow silently gasped. Thinking quickly, she dashed over to a gargoyle on the other side of the room. It was directly above the case that they had been watching. She looked over to the gargoyle she had just been on as it illuminated in a bright blue glow. The henchman hadn’t seen her. She breathed a sigh of relief, and looked over to where Batman had been. He was gone.
She looked around the room for any sign of him. As she expected, she couldn’t see him. She was sure he could see her though. She wasn’t too comfortable with that thought, even though she knew Batman was on her side.
She had to do something. She didn’t like waiting for something to go wrong. She kicked herself for just dashing off into a dangerous area without making a plan with him first. Diving headfirst into danger was unfortunately one of her bad habits. She promised herself that she would fix it if she got out of here in one piece.
Rainbow was extremely nervous. She didn’t know if Batman would allow her to tag along if she got out of here alive. Suddenly she heard Cobblepot on the henchman's radio, breaking her train of thought. She couldn’t understand him at all. A few of the other henchmen were looking around as if they were confused. Then three of them ran into the doorway underneath the gargoyle she had been on.
"You heard the Penguin, move it!" A henchman said.
Rainbow was still nervous, but more hopeful now. Had Batman done something?
"I found someone!" Another henchman said.
She grinned. Batman had done something. Now she could make a plan to attack. She flew to the next gargoyle on the end wall to her left. She tried to spot any more henchmen in her vicinity. She saw two that had remained in the larger room while the other three were investigating the disturbance in the smaller room to her left.
"Wake up! Do you hear me? Wake up!"
"I don’t know, but we gotta find him!"
"He's here, Mr. Cobblepot! Batman's here!"
The two henchmen that remained outside had their guns at the ready. One was on the bridge by the hostages while the other was walking down the staircase directly below her. She decided to pick off the poor sap directly below.
He was walking towards a display of a very large wooly mammoth. It seemed like it was resting the bridge on its back. She tried to think like Batman. She didn’t get a good look at how he does this sort of thing at the church. She wished Twilight were here. She had witnessed the entire thing.
She wanted to see how he silently took someone out. She could easily knock a thug out, but it would be loud. She didn’t want to bring any attention to herself. But she saw no other way; she'd have to risk it. She inched her way forward. She breathed one more time as she went over the plan in her head. Zoom down, knock him out, and zoom back here. Piece of cake.
She quickly calculated the angle and trajectory of herself and the henchman before taking off as fast as she could. She focused her attention on his head, as she quickly got closer. A second later, she impacted. He screamed and went down with a loud crack. Rainbow's eyes widened. Had she broken his head? His neck? She didn’t have time to worry about it. She heard shouting from above. Just before she made her frenzied retreat, she had an idea.
Turning back to the henchman, she grabbed his radio in her mouth. She flew back up to the gargoyle of and swung up top. She put the radio in her saddlebag and watched as the rest of the henchmen ran to their fallen comrade.
"Oh no! I got another man down over here!" One of them yelled.
They all gathered around him and tried to wake him up.
"No not you too! Just wake up! Come on!"
"How're we gonna get outta here, man?!"
"Leave him, we got more important things to be looking out for!"
"Batman! Can you hear me? SHOW YOURSELF!!"
Rainbow grinned. She was safe, and there was one less guy to worry about. She was about to plan another assault when she heard the radio flicker on.
"I'm runnin' outta patience, you're runnin' outta people. Lets see what runs out first!" Cobblepot spat.
Rainbow squirmed as fast as she could to dull the sound from the radio. One of the henchmen below looked up to her hiding spot. She froze.
He paused for another moment before checking to see if his rifle was loaded. "I know what you’re doing, and it ain’t gonna work!" He yelled.
Rainbow dashed over to the other gargoyle on her right and tensed up as the henchman began to fire numerous rounds into the air around her.
"There it is!" He yelled as he fired.
Rainbow yelped and took off into the air above them. Flying as high and as fast as she could, she zigzagged around the room as a few more henchmen began to fire. Rainbow zoomed down to the ground floor and went through one of the corridors. She frantically looked around for a hiding spot before she looked down to the ground. Along the floor were a series of grates in the floor that followed the hallway.
Thinking it was a good a place as any, she went opened the nearest one, and crawled inside. She waited; shaking violently as a few of the henchmen made it to her level and began to search the corridor above her.
She had never been this scared in her life. They ran up and down the hallway searching everywhere for her. One of them stopped and stood on the grate right above her. Rainbow hoofed her mouth shut to keep her from making any noises.
“Where’d it go?!” He shouted.
“It’s gone! It disappeared!” Said another.
“Well find it!”
They began to walk around again. Rainbow silently exhaled. That was way too close for comfort. She watched as he made his way around the corner. She looked to the hallway behind her to make sure it was clear. After she saw no one, she turned back to the direction of the large mammoth and prepared herself for another quick takeoff. She would go to the nearest gargoyle and wait there for Batman to make his move.
She shut her tear filled eyes and silently opened the grate. The next second, she took off into the next room and up to a gargoyle. She grasped the gargoyle with all her strength and waited.
She carefully looked to the scene below. She saw a henchman make his way up the stairs toward the gargoyle she had previously been on. As he stepped directly underneath, a large black figure quickly descended, and grabbed him before returning to as quickly as he came
This happened so fast that Rainbow almost missed it. A second later, the henchman dropped down from the gargoyle with a rope attached to his ankles. He screamed as he hung there suspended a few meters in the air.
He squirmed and flailed. "Help! Get me down from here!" He shouted.
In the air to her right, Rainbow saw the black mass swoop silently over to the next gargoyle over. Batman looked to her and raised a finger to his lips, signaling her to stay quiet. Rainbow nodded.
She saw a henchman run to the screaming one suspended in the air by his feet.
“There’s someone stuck up here! Get over here!” He shouted.
The others ran toward them while the first one began to speak to the suspended henchman. “What are you doing up there?” He asked.
“Cut me down! Please!” He shouted.
The suspended henchman went limp after a moment. He must have passed out from the panic. The three remaining henchmen all walked away with their guns raised.
“He’s making us look stupid, how’s he doing it?!” One of them shouted.
“I don’t think its him! I just saw a bright blue thing a minute ago!” Shouted another.
“What bright blue thing?!”
“I don’t know! It might have been one of those pony things that people have seen around here!”
Rainbow looked shocked. There was a possibility that they were more afraid of her than she was of them. Which she didn’t believe. She couldn’t believe it. She had conflicting feelings about this turn of events. On the one hoof, she was scared out of her mind because she was just shot at and everyone in here wanted to kill her, but on the other hoof, she was making a reputation for herself and her friends that could prove to be beneficial.
Batman swung over to the gargoyle on the opposite side of the room. Rainbow stopped thinking about the henchmen’s thoughts and followed to the closest gargoyle over him.
A lone henchman walked slowly right in front of them. He didn’t take the time to look around as he passed by them, he just kept on walking. Batman silently dropped down to the ground and followed him. Crouching to the ground so he couldn’t be heard, he got closer to the nervous henchman until he was close enough to reach up and grab him. The henchman made to scream while he choked but the tight grip on his mouth kept any hopes of alerting the others at bay. He held him as tight as he could while the henchman flailed and tried to scream. His attempts to break free of Batman’s grasp grew weaker and weaker until he went limp. Batman carefully set him on the ground and grappled back up to the gargoyle.
‘Four down, two to go.” Rainbow thought.
The radio beeped again. “Stop ‘im! He’s makin’ you look like a bunch of girls!” Cobblepot yelled.
Another henchmen saw his fallen comrade from across the room. “Man down! Man down!” He yelled. His voice was cracking from the fear.
He ran toward him while the other henchman stood on the bridge and just watched. The first crouched next to the unconscious henchman.
“What are you doing? I NEED HELP!” He shouted at the henchman.
“You’re on your own, man! I’m looking out for me!” He yelled back.
He turned around and walked back into the next room. The other henchman got up from his unconscious friend and began to slowly walk toward the bridge. He turned around, pointing his gun in the other direction every so often before returning it forward.
He got to the bridge and ran to the line of cops. He ran to the cop in the middle and grabbed his neck. “Get up!” He yelled. “Time to play hostage!”
He grabbed the cops with his arm and pointed the barrel of his gun to his head.
Rainbow gasped and turned to Batman. He motioned for her to stay there. She nodded and Batman swung to the gargoyle to his right on the next wall. He sat there for a few moments as he contemplated his next move. The henchman was turning to face every direction to try and see Batman.
“Don’t come any closer! I mean it! I’ll kill this hostage!” He warned.
Rainbow looked to Batman, hoping that he could rescue him. She wanted to help, but Batman told her to stay put. Plus, she was terrified of what might happen to her if they saw her again. She might not be so lucky next time.
Batman swung over to the gargoyle above the bridge and waited for the henchman to face the opposite direction. The second he turned his gaze away, Batman silently dropped to the floor and covered the henchman’s mouth. The henchman dropped his gun and released the cop. The cop ran back into the room behind Batman and cowered by the wall.
The henchman struggled less and less until he dropped to the floor in an unconscious heap. The rest of the cops looked up at him and began to get up. Batman put a hand on the nearest one’s shoulder, urging him to stay down.
“Stay quiet, and you’ll stay safe.” He said to them all.
The cops nodded, and stayed on their knees.
Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief. The cop was safe, but there was still one henchman left. Batman grappled up to the gargoyle above him and made his way over to the gargoyle on Rainbow’s left. It was the same gargoyle that the henchman was hanging from.
The last henchman was directly below him. He shook violently as he scanned the room around him. “Don’t hurt me Batman! Please!” He shouted. He sounded like he was on the verge of crying.
Batman ignored the henchman’s plea as he leapt off the gargoyle toward him. He spread out his cape and it took the shape of a bat’s wing. He glided over to the terrified henchman and kicked him in the head. He went down hard.
After Batman landed on the ground, he jumped into the air again and landed on the downed henchman, straddling him. Batman brought back his fist and brought it down hard on the henchman’s head, causing a loud crack.
No matter how many times she heard it, it still made Rainbow wince as if she was in pain. She would never get used to hearing a bone break. It was ironic, now that she thought about it. She should be used to hearing it. She was a daredevil after all.
The radio beeped again. “What’s happenin’ in there? Have you lot stopped Batman yet? What about Freeze’s suit? ANSWER ME!” Cobblepot yelled.
The cops on the bridge slowly got to their feet. Batman grappled up to the bridge and vaulted over the railing in front of them. Rainbow hopped down to the ground and slowly walked over to him on the bridge. She didn’t say anything.
The cop in the middle approached Batman. He looked like he had been beaten up pretty badly. “I saw you clear the room! That’s awesome work, man! The name’s Tom, Tom Miller.”
“You’re part of Gordon’s strike team? I’ve seen your file.” Batman replied.
Tom looked confused. “You have?” He shook his head. “I-I mean, yes sir! Cobblepot’s turned this place into a fortress. Someone ratted us out. Me and the boys got grabbed, brought here and beaten the crap out of.”
“You’re safe now.” Batman replied. “There are just two more of you unaccounted for.”
“Have you tried the Iceberg Lounge? Cobblepot liked to take us in there to beat us up some more. If we’re lucky, that’s where they are.”
Rainbow poked her head out from behind Batman. Tom turned to her and looked startled. “Wha-? Um…” He stammered. “What are you supposed to be?”
Rainbow stepped out from behind Batman. “You know the talk going around about the ponies in here? I’m one of em. Name’s Rainbow Dash.” She replied.
Officer Miller looked confused. He turned to Batman. “She’s here to rescue one of her friends and Mr. Freeze.” He said.
“Freeze?” He asked. “Why Freeze?”
Rainbow sighed. “It’s a long story, I don’t really have much time to tell it.” She was also too tired. The henchmen were taken care of, and the adrenaline that had been pumping through her veins had worn off. She didn’t want to talk, she wanted to rescue Freeze as fast as she could.
Batman looked down to her. “You wait here. I’ll be back for you after I’ve found Freeze.”
Rainbow looked up to him. “Are you sure?” She asked.
“Yes. These officers won’t let anyone else inside the room. You’ll be fine.” He said.
Rainbow gave a grateful nod and sat down where she was on the bridge. Batman turned and walked away.
“Okay, listen up.” Officer Miller announced. “In case you didn’t notice, Batman and Rainbow Dash here just saved our asses. From this point on, we own this room; no one in or out.”
Another officer on the other side of the bridge spoke up. He looked angry and he had his hair pulled back into a short ponytail. “What about the little bastard that did this to us? I want payback.”
“You’ll get it. We grab guns, and hold up here ‘till Batman finds the rest of the squad, then we get our payback on Mr. Cobblepot.” Officer Miller turned to the other cop. He was thinner than the others and bald. “Michaels, grab a firearm and start a patrol.”
“No problem.” Officer Michaels replied.
“Sanchez, cover the main entrance. Let’s make it outta here in one piece, okay?” Officer Miller said.
“I see one of those sons of bitches, and they’re dead.” Officer Sanchez said as he walked away.
“We do this by the book, guys! It’s what Gordon would want. We’re better than these people.” Miller said.
They all turned and walked in their own direction. Sanchez glanced at Rainbow and scoffed as he continued toward the door. Miller crouched down next to her. “You okay?” He asked.
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little shaken up.”
Miller gave her an assuring smile. “Don’t worry. You’re gonna be fine here.”
With that, he got up and picked up a discarded rifle. He began to patrol the room. Officer Michaels had gone in the opposite direction and began his patrol. Rainbow finally felt safe once again. She only hoped that her friends were safe also.
--
Twilight and Fluttershy slowly made their way over to the left side of the room on the ice. They had left Rarity back at the first platform with the first officer that Batman had rescued. She was in no condition to go with them. She needed to recover from her prolonged stay in the ice.
The ice supported Twilight much more than it had supported Batman, which eased her nerves just a bit. She still thought it wouldn't be a bad idea keep a careful step. She made sure to stay away from the edges. The last thing she wanted was for the ice to crack, have them fall in the freezing cold water, and then have the giant shark that was underneath the water eat them up.
Twilight slowly inched her way toward the platform that was in front of them. Fluttershy hovered close-by, ready to catch her in case she fell in.
There was a wooden raft on this side of the room as well. Twilight had seen Batman use it on the opposite side to rescue the officers from the ice. She was a few feet away from it. She neared the edge of the ice and carefully stepped onto the raft. No longer on the ice, she breathed a sigh of relief and turned her attention to the platform above her.
Fluttershy flew up to it and landed on the other side of the rail. Twilight prepared her teleportation spell and appeared next to her in a flash. It had taken them a few minutes to cross the ice up to the platform. Twilight could swear that some of the ice looked thinner. They turned around and headed up the stairs that led to the next room.
“I sure hope that Mr. Freeze is okay.” Fluttershy said.
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I’m sure he’s okay.” Twilight replied.
They walked up the flight of stairs until they saw three henchmen all standing together in front of the door that led beyond. Fluttershy cowered behind Twilight.
“Hey! Look what we got here guys, it’s some tiny ponies!” One of them said.
“Aww isn’t that cute? They’re trying to rescue Freeze!”
“What are you waiting for? Come on in and rescue him! He’s just behind this door!”
Something wasn’t right. They were only taunting them; they weren’t advancing to attack them. Twilight was suspicious.
She just stood there. Fluttershy was trying to pull her back toward the staircase. “Please Twilight! Let’s get out of here and wait for Batman!”
Twilight ignored her and stepped closer to the henchmen. She looked around and saw nothing. It was a straight shot from here to the next door. She stuck her hoof out in front of her. In that instant, metal bars rose up from the floor and blocked the way to the next room.
“Uh oh! Did we forget to tell you that was gonna happen? Sorry!” The henchmen laughed.
Twilight turned around and stomped away angrily. Fluttershy followed her closely while the henchmen behind them continued to laugh.
They made it out into the large room full of ice. Twilight sat down and looked out. “Well, now what do we do?” She asked.
“Well, um, we could just wait for Batman. I’m sure he’s going to be here soon.” Fluttershy suggested.
Twilight let out a frustrated sigh. “Yeah I suppose.”
Fluttershy didn’t know what to say. Twilight was obviously stressed and the last thing she wanted to do was make her more stressed. She carefully put a hoof on her shoulder. Twilight took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I don’t mean to be so angry. I just,” She paused. “I just want to go back home. I want to see everypony back in Equestria. I miss the warm sunshine, the smiling faces of our friends, Ponyville, everything.”
Fluttershy got closer to Twilight. “Yeah I do too. I miss Angel, and the rest of my animal friends. I don’t want to stay here for another second. Everything here is so gloomy and scary. I’ve never heard of a place in all of Equestria that’s even a fraction as bad as this place.”
“Me either.” Twilight replied.
They waited in silence for another moment before Twilight poked her head up. “At least we rescued Rarity.”
“Yeah, but what about Applejack and Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy said.
“We’ll get a plan together for them. Don’t worry.” Twilight said with a smile.
Fluttershy returned the smile. “Okay.”
They gave each other a small hug and returned their gaze to the ice. Just then, Batman glided across the balcony on the opposite side of the room toward them and landed on the ice. It cracked in millions of places and he paused for a moment. He then crouched and made his way over to them.
“Hello, Batman. Can ya hear me? ‘Course you can!” Cobblepot said on the intercom. “Thought you’d like a little entertainment to go along with the ice skatin’! Tell ‘im your name, son.”
“Yeah? Screw you.” Another voice said.
“It’s an undercover cop!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Oh, this piggy’s still got some life in him. Good! Let’s hear him squeal!”
The sound they heard next was like a loud hissing noise followed by an immense amount of screaming. Twilight and Fluttershy gasped in horror at the sound.
“What you’re hearing is the sound of an undercover cop havin’ his fingers frozen to sub-zero temperatures!”
The hissing and screaming continued. Fluttershy began to whimper and cry as he continued to scream in pain. Twilight covered her mouth with her hooves as she stared out in horror.
“Now, I wonder what would happen if I took this hammer…”
Their eyes widened as they heard the loud crash of what sounded like shattering glass. The screaming grew even louder. Fluttershy was rolling on the floor and sobbing uncontrollably. Twilight ran to the edge of the balcony and threw up over the side into the water. She gagged and spat as she continued to vomit over the railing.
“Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!” Fluttershy cried as she covered her ears.
“Well whaddaya know? His whole bloody hand explodes! HA HA HA HAA!!!”
The screaming stopped and Cobblepot’s voice faded. Fluttershy continued to cover her ears and sob uncontrollably. Twilight rested on the rail for another moment longer. She couldn’t believe the real horror of what she just heard over the speaker. How could such a thing even be thinkable?
Twilight perked her head up when she noticed Batman on the raft below her. Thankfully, the vomit had landed in the water and not on the raft. Batman grappled up to them and vaulted over the rail next to her. He glanced at her and Fluttershy, who both looked at them with tear-filled eyes.
“I’m going after him once Mr. Freeze is safe.” He said.
Twilight remembered what they needed to do. She quickly wiped away her tears and any excess remains she had on her lips and pulled out her book. She was going to use one of the spells she found on herself and Fluttershy whether she liked it or not. Cobblepot needed to pay.
She looked up the courage spell and read over it a few times. She then turned to Fluttershy, her horn glowing.
Fluttershy looked confused. “Twilight?” She sniffed. “What are you doing?”
Twilight didn’t answer. With a bright flash, Fluttershy was hit with a beam of magic engulfed in light. The next second, the light faded.
Fluttershy blinked and looked at herself. She looked at the room around her and at the ice below. She then turned her attention to Batman. Had she really been that afraid of him? Sure he was big and he knew how to fight, but come on! He was just a guy in a black cape that had access to a bunch of gadgets. Plus, he was on her side! Why had she been so afraid of him? If the rest of the bad guys in here saw how not scary he really was, she was sure that they would have been in more trouble. She wiped away the tears around her eyes and got to her hooves. She was ready to rescue Freeze. Cobblepot was going down.
She felt good, rejuvenated, like a new pony. She turned to Twilight with a grin spread across her face. “Thank you, Twilight! I don’t know what you did to me, but I’m ready to go kick some butt! Come on!”
Twilight returned the grin. “You guys go, I need to rest for a bit. I don’t feel very good.”
Fluttershy cocked her head. “Really? You sure?”
“Yes. You go rescue Freeze." Twilight said as she sat down.
Fluttershy looked to Batman, who looked to Twilight. “We’ll be right back. You stay here.” He said.
Twilight nodded and Fluttershy and Batman took off up the stairs. She felt great. Like she could take on all of Arkham City by herself. Nothing and no one would stand in her way. She liked this feeling of invincibility. She couldn’t remember why she tried so desperately to get rid of it before. It was a good thing. She couldn’t be pushed around anymore, no one could tell her what to do, and she had all the power. She smiled as she thought of it all.
New Fluttershy was back.
As they got to the top, they saw the three henchmen taunting them from behind the security of the hidden metal bars. Batman stopped and glared at them as they laughed.
"C'mon, Batman. We're right here."
"Do you need your mommy?"
Batman looked around. He saw a computer terminal on the wall to his left. He walked over to it and pulled out his gadget that he used to hack the others.
"Hey, what's he doing?" One henchman asked.
"He's got some kind of computer-thing." Replied another.
Fluttershy stood her ground. She made herself look as menacing as she could as she glared at the henchmen. She was tempted to give them the Stare. She closed her eyes and looked away. "No." She thought. "Not yet."
From her left, she heard the device beep. Batman put it away and turned to the henchmen once again. He walked toward them with long strides. Fluttershy mimicked his menacing demeanor.
"How'd he do that?" One henchman asked.
"I thought you said they couldn't get through!"
"Kill them!"
They charged. Batman vaulted over the nearest one and began to strike him consecutively in the back. Fluttershy flew up into the air as another henchman tried to tackle her. He missed, and landed on his face. She dropped and landed on his head. He shouted in pain, but it didn’t knock him out.
He reached up and grabbed her back leg. She felt her legs fall out from under her as she was thrown through the air toward the wall. She hit the wall straight on her face and sank down. She turned her head back toward the henchman. She tasted blood and her eyes were full of fury.
She got to her hooves and turned to face him. She thought about how they had treated others with their evil deeds. How Cobblepot had frozen the officer's hand and shattered it to pieces. She thought of her anger that was boiling because of those responsible for her misery. Pinkie was now with Joker, a man she could only describe as the most evil being in existence, Cobblepot had kidnapped Rarity and had frozen her almost to the point of death, and Riddler had kidnapped Applejack and had set her death clock in motion.
Her teeth clenched as she charged the henchman. She had given in to the reality that she hated him. She was going to make him pay for his crimes against her and her friends. When she found Freeze, she would make Cobblepot pay for all he had done. Then she would find Joker and make him pay, then his girlfriend, then Riddler, then Hugo Strange.
Hugo Strange.
Just thinking of that name filled her with a lust for revenge. She would make him pay the greatest amount. She smiled at how she would make them all pay. She leapt into the air toward the henchman and buried her hooves into his face.
She delivered a great deal of blows to his face over and over again. She snarled and her nostrils flared as she continued her assault for as long as she could. She grabbed his head and banged it against the ground. She couldn’t tell if he was fighting back or not. She couldn’t tell if he was coherent at all.
A strong hand grabbed her left shoulder, halting her relentless assault on the thug. She swiftly turned around to face Batman staring daggers at her. She had half a mind to strike him right then and there.
“That’s enough.” He warned.
While she was handling this henchman, Batman had already mopped the floor with the other two. Fluttershy looked shocked at what Batman had said. She turned to the henchman. His face was covered in bruises and he was bleeding in some parts. He wasn’t moving.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied the body. She got real close to his face and put her ear to his nose.
She felt a soft gust of air. He was still alive.
Fluttershy smirked. “Good.” She hopped off him and began to walk to the door. “Maybe that will teach him not to mess with me next time.”
Batman stopped her again. “You need to control yourself. You could have killed him if I hadn’t stopped you.”
Fluttershy glared at him. “I don’t need to hear a lecture! Especially from you!” She snapped. “Let’s just rescue Mr. Freeze so we can go teach Cobblepot a lesson!”
They stared each other down for a few moments longer before Batman released her and opened the door. Fluttershy followed him closely. Her anger was so great and she was stomping so bitterly that neither she nor Batman noticed that her bright yellow coat and pink hair had both turned a shade grayer.
--War Room--
They entered a short corridor. Much like the rest of the museum, it was dark and there were various display cases on either side of them. The hallway turned right and led upstairs.
At the top of the stairs, there were two more display cases on either side. Each filled with their own grotesque display of something from Cobblepot’s twisted mind. The next room was nearly blocked by a large gate. It had been almost completely shut. However, the gate wasn’t completely shut. It was being held open by a large concrete block off to the side.
Batman ran toward the gate as if he was going to attempt to break through it. At the last second, he dropped and slid underneath it with ease. Fluttershy didn’t like the thought of sliding all over the dirty floor, but didn’t see any other way around. She got to her stomach and pulled herself underneath it to the other side. She got to her hooves and began walking forward, but stopped immediately.
There were three display cases in this room. On her left was a case filled with a mannequin in a clown suit similar to Harley Quinn’s. On her right was a case dedicated to a clown. The mannequin inside wore a dark purple suit and was sitting down with his hands to either side of a television set where his head should have been. The case directly in front of her looked very tropical and sunny. It was like looking at a tiny beach. The word “Hawaii” was written above on a decorative plaque.
It would have made Fluttershy feel completely at relaxed, except for the familiar individual leaned up against the glass.
Mr. Freeze breathed deeply as he stared to the ground in front of him. He looked like he was in intense pain and he had been trying desperately to claw himself out of the tropical case. Fluttershy stood there shocked for another moment before running to the case as fast as she could.
“Freeze!” She yelled. She got to the case and tried to look him in the eyes. His gaze did not meet hers. He seemed disoriented. She turned to Batman with tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong with him?!” She yelled.
“Freeze needs to be kept in sub-zero temperatures in order to survive. That case is an oven. If we don’t get him out of there soon, he’ll die.” He said, stepping forward.
Fluttershy turned back to the case. “How do we get him out?!” She said. Desperately, she tried a control panel in front of her. There was a large red button surrounded by many other little buttons.
She pressed the red button hopefully. A prerecorded message played.
“Surely no introduction is necessary.” Cobblepot said. “A prize-winning, cryogenic scientist pushed to the edge of sanity by tryin’ to help his poor, dying wife? Or an old man, captured by me and stuck on the grill? HA HA HA!!”
She tried the other buttons off to the side. Nothing happened. She looked up to Freeze and started banging on the glass. Freeze looked around him. He didn’t seem to know what was going on.
“This way.” Batman said. He pulled out one of his gadgets and walked over to the wall to the right of the display case. Fluttershy watched him. Batman began spraying the gel onto the wall in the shape of a bat.
Just as he finished, a large arm burst through the wall from the other side and grabbed Batman by his neck. He grunted as the debris fell from around him. His attacker walked out from behind the wall. It was the same one-armed henchman that was holding up the officer in the gladiator pit.
He lifted Batman into the air and threw him across the room. Batman landed on his back, rolled over onto his feet. Fluttershy yelped and flew behind Batman. They both watched as the one-armed henchman grabbed the large sickle on his back and pointed it toward Batman.
“I shall slice you into pieces, American.” He said with his thick Russian accent.
Just then, four more thugs came from behind the broken wall and began. They had just surrounded them when Batman sprung into action. Whipping out his electric orb gadget, he fired a shot into the one-armed henchman. The jolt of electricity passed through him and he spun around wildly, knocking two henchmen away into the wall.
As he spun, Batman went for the henchman to his right. Stunning him with his cape before unleashing a barrage of punches at him. He went down, but he wasn’t out quite yet. The henchman to his left ran to the wall toward a propane canister. He picked it up and prepared to throw it at Batman.
“Look out!” Fluttershy shouted as it left his grasp.
Batman delivered one punch before quickly spinning around to face the thrown projectile. He threw one of his boomerangs at the tank and it exploded on impact. It knocked the henchman who threw it away and he landed on his back a few feet from his last position.
Fluttershy was thrown back as well. She landed on her back next to the exit. She looked back up to see Batman engaged with the one-armed henchman, now recovered.
“I hear you have defeated my brother.” He said. “He was always weaker than me!”
Fluttershy blinked. There were two of these guys? Did his brother have one arm too?
Batman’s relentless punches seemed to have no effect on the massive thug. He lifted his one arm and prepared to bring the sickle down on Batman. Right before he did, Batman dived toward the henchman directly to his right. In one motion tackled him to the ground, spun him around and broke his leg. The henchman screamed loudly before Batman brought his fist down on his head, silencing him.
Fluttershy turned to her left. The henchman who threw the propane canister was charging toward Batman. She got to her hooves and bolted after him. The henchman turned to face her a second before she collided with his head. He flew backwards and hit his head on the large red button in front of Freeze’s case. Cobblepot’s prerecorded message played once again.
“Why won’t you die?!” The henchman said, frustrated as Batman once again dodged his sickle.
It crashed to the ground with a loud clang as Batman sprung back over to him and began to punch him as fast as he could. Another henchman had gotten hold of a metal pipe from somewhere in the room. He swung and hit Batman right upside the head. He grunted and swung to hit the henchman behind him. He went down, but the one-armed henchman swung the sickle and knocked him across the room. Batman landed on his back and rolled onto his feet.
The henchman began to strut over to where Batman was. Fluttershy ran over to him and stood to face him. The henchman smirked like he was amused and continued to walk forward. Fluttershy readied herself and shut her eyes. If she was going to do it, it had to be now.
She opened her eyes and Stared into his as hard as she could. The henchman mumbled something in Russian before stopping in his tracks. His smirk disappeared and Fluttershy began to stomp forward. She was determined that he would start to back away soon. Her Stare had never failed her before, why should it now?
Her confidence was slowly fading as she closed the gap between them. The henchman stayed put where he was as Fluttershy continued to stomp forward. She was starting to panic.
Finally, the henchman took a step. Fluttershy’s Stare faded away and turned into a look of terror. The henchman had taken a step toward her. He grinned again and brought the sickle up above his head. Fluttershy tried to give him the Stare once more, but failed. She couldn’t bring herself to do it again. He was too scary.
Batman lunged over her and began to punch the henchman as hard as he could once again. Fluttershy’s concentration broke and she collapsed to the floor. She covered her eyes as she listened to the commotion going on. She heard Batman punch him repeatedly before she heard the sickle drop. She opened her eyes right as Batman brought his closed fists down on the back of his neck. He plummeted to the ground with a loud crash
Everything was silent afterwards. Fluttershy looked around the room. While she had attempted to Stare the large thug, Batman had taken down the remaining henchmen. She slowly got to her hooves and looked at Batman.
“Are you alright?” He asked her.
She nodded silently. She couldn’t speak; she was in too much shock. For the first time in her life, her infamous Stare hadn’t worked.
“Come on.” He said, walking toward the large gap in the wall.
Fluttershy looked up at him again and slowly followed. Her confidence had been totally drained. She had to focus on freeing Freeze. She entered the room behind Batman. It was a complete mess, much worse than the rest of the museum. There were scorched books scattered everywhere, the wooden floor was old and decaying, there were cobwebs in every nook and cranny, and there was dust everywhere.
Batman turned left and examined the gate that led to Freeze’s prison. He bent down next to the panel to the left of the gate and pulled out his little decoding-computer-gadget. He began to unlock the door while Fluttershy gazed past the gate. She saw Freeze stumbling toward them on the other side. She began to feel a great sense of relief. The device beeped and the gate opened.
Freeze stumbled toward them as it opened. He looked worse than he did when Fluttershy had last seen him. He tried to stand up straight and face Batman. As he stepped out of the room, he tripped on the metal bracket that held the gate when it was down and fell to the ground in front of them.
Fluttershy gasped and ran to him. Batman placed a hand on her and held her back. He walked forward to Freeze and grabbed him by the head. He lifted him up and looked him in the eyes.
“Joker’s cure. Where is it?!” He demanded, throwing Freeze’s head back.
Freeze gasped. “Forget the clown, I want Cobblepot. He has my suit, my weapons; I’ll end him for what he’s done to me!”
“Penguin’s mine.” Batman snapped. “You need to stay focused on that cure, or innocent people will die.”
Freeze got off his knees and sat down where he was on the ground. “You don’t understand,” He sounded desperate. “I cannot complete my work without it. I must have it. Everything depends on it. Everything.” He put a great deal of emotion on the last part of his sentence.
Batman paused for a moment. “Penguin is protecting himself with your ice gun. How do I get past it?”
Freeze gave a slight scoff. “Do I look like a fool? Why would I tell you that?” He said softly.
“Because if I can’t get past it, I won’t help you get your suit.” He said. Fluttershy looked back and forth to them, worried. “Think about it, Victor. You don’t look well. If you’re gone, what will happen to Nora?”
Freeze snapped his head back to Batman and leaned forward, suddenly full of intensity and rage. “Leave my wife out of this, Batman!” He growled. “Don’t let this situation fool you. We. Are. Not. Friends.”
Even though he hadn’t said it to her, it hurt Fluttershy. Living in Equestria, she wasn’t used to hearing those words put together in that way. It was shocking. Batman’s face intensified and he stepped forward to Freeze. Fluttershy flinched slightly at his sudden movement. He crouched next to Freeze and grasped the thing sticking out of his chest. It was a blue vile connected to a series of tubes that ran down to his waist and was wrapped all around his legs. Freeze put up the best fight he could, but to no avail. Batman twisted the vile and yanked it out.
“NO!” Freeze yelled.
Batman stepped backwards and Freeze crawled on the ground toward him. The blue tubes on Freeze’s body quickly stopped glowing. Fluttershy ran toward Freeze and helped him off the ground to his knees.
“Today is not a good day to push me, Victor.” Batman growled.
He held the vile out to the side and began to pour its glowing contents onto the ground. It splashed and spilled everywhere.
“STOP!” Freeze begged. Batman stopped pouring, but continued to hold it out to the side. “There’s a-a security override chip I built into the suit to stop anyone using my weapons against me.” He staggered.
“How did that work out for you?” Batman replied, adding insult to injury.
Freeze was getting angry again. “Why don’t you go get the security override and figure out a way to stop him yourself?” He barked.
“It’s been a pleasure, Victor.” Batman replied. He began to walk away. Fluttershy and Freeze were worried that he forgot about the vile. “Keep thinking about that cure, I’ll get you your suit back.”
He tossed the vile over his shoulder and it landed on the ground. Fluttershy flew over to it and grabbed it in her mouth. She gave it to Freeze, who snatched it as fast as he could and put it back into the insertion point on his chest. The blue glow returned and he breathed a sigh of relief. Fluttershy turned to see Batman walk out of the room.
Freeze held onto the vile in his chest like his life depended on it. It probably did with how he had been so relived to get it back after the short amount of time he lost it. Fluttershy was next to him and patted his shoulder. His skin was ice cold, but she didn’t care, as long as he was okay. She was about to start crying again.
“Pl-please..” He breathed.
“Yes? Freeze what is it?” Fluttershy asked.
“Please don’t touch me.” He breathed again.
Fluttershy looked at her hoof and took it away. As she did, she noticed that she was beginning to turn her normal brightly colored self. Had she been gray this whole time?
Then it hit her. Twilight’s courage spell had done exactly what she had feared it would do. It brought back New Fluttershy. That’s why she went crazy when she was beating up the henchman.
She tried to forget ever becoming New Fluttershy. She pushed it away and felt a large pang of regret. She made herself a promise that she would never, ever become that again, and she had broken that promise. Granted, it was only for a short time, but she still felt guilty.
She had turned gray when she and her friends had encountered Discord, but that was because she had become the opposite of the Element of Kindness. Iron Will had shown her how to be assertive by yelling at everypony. But this new spell from this advanced book that Twilight had cast on her caused her to become both of those things. She took her courage too far and became aggressive.
She vowed that she would never accept an offer to use one of those spells ever again. Knowing this, she assured herself that everything would be okay and she would save her friends with the Elements when it was time.
Elements of Harmony.
That phrase suddenly seemed very alien to her. She felt a great emptiness inside that she never experienced before, like a part of her was lost. She felt like she was missing a part of her soul, something that defined her for who she was. She was suddenly very nervous about getting home. It now seemed completely out of the question, impossible.
“This can’t be good.” She said to herself.
---
Twilight opened her eyes. Something was wrong.
She got up. She had been lying down on the balcony outside. She still didn’t feel well from the announcement, but she felt a lot better. However, she suddenly felt wrong. Something was amiss.
She looked around. Nothing had changed around her but she still didn’t feel right. Her mind flashed to the Elements. They suddenly seemed out of reach. She was curious as to why she thought of this all of the sudden. She wasn’t thinking about them before. She was actually working on what Riddler wanted with her and how to save Applejack. The Elements came out of nowhere.
She felt slightly empty inside. She didn’t know what was going on, but she didn’t like it. She got up and looked over the edge. The ice had begun to thaw. There was a significantly less amount then there had been before. It was just water now.
“Feeling better?” Came a voice from behind her.
She yelped and turned around. She sighed when she saw Batman standing at the bottom of the stairs.
“Yes, much better.” She said. “The ice is starting to thaw, though. Look.” She pointed to the water.
Batman looked past her and at the raft. There were two in the room altogether: one on the other side of the room where he had left to walk across the ice, and one right below them.
“We need to get back to the other room. Freeze’s suit is there. I need to borrow something.” He said.
“So you found him?” Twilight asked.
“Yes. Fluttershy stayed behind with him.” He replied. “Hop on the raft.”
Twilight nodded and walked over to the edge. It was a ways away from her and she didn’t want to risk hurting herself on the fall. She breathed and teleported down to it. Batman simply leapt off the edge and floated down using his cape. Once he landed next to Twilight, he pulled out his gun with the claw and fired at the anchor point in the center of the room.
He pulled them across the way until they were a few feet away from it. Batman fired another shot to an anchor point off to the right and pulled them off to the side. Once he cleared the way, he fired one more shot toward another anchor point on the other side of the room. He pulled them along the water toward the door he had previously been in with Rainbow. Once they were close enough, Twilight teleported up to the balcony and Batman grappled up.
They ran down the hallway and made it to the end.
---
Rainbow Dash paced nervously on the bridge. She had felt a sudden emptiness and loss inside of her a few minutes ago. She was starting to worry. What if they didn’t get to the Elements in time? What if they didn’t get back home? What if they died trying?
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door open. She looked and saw Batman walking with an officer. Twilight walked next to them. Rainbow took off into the air and glided over to them. She landed in front of Twilight and they smiled at each other and hugged.
“Where’s Fluttershy?” She asked.
“She stayed behind with Mr. Freeze. Don’t worry, she’s safe.” Twilight replied. She looked over to Batman and gave him a look. “She IS safe, right?” She asked him.
Batman returned the look. “She’ll be fine.”
They walked through the massive room as they made their way toward Mr. Freeze’s suit. Twilight looked around in awe. There was so much knowledge here she could learn. Had the circumstances been different, she would have liked to stay and read about some of this stuff. It all looked fascinating. Rainbow smirked and rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what Twilight was thinking.
They got to the display case. The suit was behind bulletproof glass and stood taller than Batman in height. It had a series of tubes and mechanics running all along its exterior. The glass casing that would surround the head looked like an upside-down fishbowl.
“So that’s the famous Freeze suit.” Officer Miller said.
“Unfortunately.” Batman replied.
He stepped forward and looked at the glass. He brought himself back and pounded his elbow into it, smashing it to pieces.
“Woah! What are you doing?!” Rainbow demanded.
Ignoring her, Batman reached behind the suit and pulled out a glowing blue vile, similar to the one that Freeze had on his chest. This vile glowed brighter with a darker shade of blue.
He gave it to Officer Miller. “When I leave here, wait ten minutes. Then get this over to Freeze. He won’t be dangerous.”
Officer Miller took it and set it in his pocket. “No problem, Batman!”
He turned and walked away. Batman turned back to the suit. He looked all along the exterior like he was looking for something.
“So, what are we looking for exactly?” Twilight asked him.
“Something to help us get past Penguin.” Batman replied.
He reached to the left wrist gauntlet on the suit and pulled out something. It was a small piece of metal. He reached into his own belt and produced a small, handheld device. It didn’t look like his other gadgets. He slid the piece of metal inside a small slot on top of the gadget and briefly examined it. Then he put it away and turned around.
The gadget had a button on the top of it. Twilight immediately thought it was some sort of detonator. What did he have planned?
He walked toward the doorway. Twilight and Rainbow followed him on either side. “So is this the part where we go show Penguin a thing or two?” Rainbow said with a toothy smile.
“Rainbow, please.” Twilight insisted. “There is still a lot of danger and we need to be careful.”
“She’s right. Penguin has a lot of resources and is very dangerous.” Batman said. “We should be fine as long as you listen to me.”
Rainbow looked at the two of them and exhaled. “Fine.” She said.
They opened the door and went out into the hallway. They followed it all the way down until they made it outside. Rainbow looked out into the water. Twilight and Batman made their way to the nearest raft while Rainbow flew around above them.
Batman pulled out his claw-gadget and aimed at an anchor point under the Iceberg Lounge. He fired and it connected. He began pulling himself and Twilight across the water at a quick, but steady pace. They said nothing to one another as they moved. They were all thinking about what to expect next. This was it, their final stand against Penguin.
As they got into the open, Rainbow saw something under the water in front of them. She squinted her eyes to get a better look. It was dark and big. It wasn’t moving; it was sitting there completely still. As Twilight and Batman passed over it, it flinched. Rainbow’s eyes widened.
“Guys! Look ou-!” She exclaimed.
She was cut off by the sound of the massive Great White breaking through the water right in front of the raft. Batman jumped backwards. Twilight fell off the raft and into the water. Rainbow gasped and lunged down to get her. Twilight’s head broke through the water and looked around in a panic. She didn’t know if there was more than one shark in the water and she didn’t want to find out.
Thankfully, Rainbow swooped down and picked her up. She lifted Twilight into the air and watched as Batman punched the shark several times on its snout as it tried to bite through the wooden raft. After five hard punches, the shark released the raft and retreated back into the water.
Rainbow flew over to the balcony and set Twilight down. She was hyperventilating. “Twilight! Calm down!” Rainbow said. “Just breathe, you’ll be okay!”
Twilight collapsed to her side and the book fell out of her saddlebag. Rainbow grabbed it and flipped through the pages as fast as she could. It was almost too good to be true. She stopped on a page that taught a spell to cause complete warmth and comfort.
“Cast this spell on yourself while you still can!” Rainbow said.
She held it up in front of Twilight and she read it. She was still hyperventilating and was beginning to go into shock. If she didn’t do it now, hypothermia would start to kick in. She focused as hard as she could and her horn began to glow. In a flash of light, she was dry.
Twilight was still breathing hard, but she wasn’t hyperventilating. She was calming down very quickly. She inhaled deeply and gave a sigh of relief. Rainbow did as well.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said with a smile.
“No problem, Twi.” Rainbow replied.
Batman vaulted over the balcony and walked over to them. “Are you alright?” He asked.
“Yeah, she’s fine.” Rainbow said as she helped Twilight to her hooves.
“Okay, good. Let’s go.” Batman said.
They all took off inside the Iceberg Lounge. They ran down the stairs, passing two more display cases on either side of them. They continued until they got to the door. Batman set his hand on the door and looked at the two ponies once more.
“Are you ready?” He asked.
“Ready!” Twilight and Rainbow said in unison.
“Okay.” Batman said as he turned the doorknob. “Follow my lead.”
--ICEBERG LOUNGE--
They walked through the door and entered the Iceberg Lounge. They walked onto a balcony that circled the entire room. There was an opening directly in front of them that was lined with fancy red drapes on either side. Beyond the railing was Penguin standing on a large iceberg. He had Freeze’s gun pointed directly at them.
“Well, well, well. Look who it is!” Penguin said.
Batman, Twilight and Rainbow stopped walking and glared at Penguin. He had the remaining hostages on either side of him. One was crouching down while the other lay motionless on the ground.
They braced themselves, ready for anything. Suddenly, the gun whirred and Penguin fired. Batman and Rainbow dove off to the right while Twilight dove to the left. A line of shots from Freeze’s gun struck the ground where they once were.
“Hold still! Ha ha ha ha!” Penguin laughed.
Rainbow and Batman ran down the hallway as it circled to the right. Another line of shots rained down from the opening directly in front of them. Rainbow barely made it over while Batman slid under. They continued to run.
Twilight did the same on the other side. The next opening she passed also had a line of shots coming down. She skidded to a stop until they stopped firing at her. Once Penguin moved to try and hit Rainbow and Batman again, she began running again.
“Watch the birdie, pretty pony! Ha ha ha ha ha!!!”
Twilight was almost hit with another line of shots and stopped. She tripped and fell down before backing up behind the safety of the wall between her and Penguin. He finally stopped and Twilight peeked around the corner.
Rainbow and Batman had made it to the bridge connecting the outer balcony to the platform in the center. Batman pulled out his detonator-looking device and came into view.
Penguin pointed the gun toward the ceiling. “Tell you what, Batman? I’ll give you this one for free!”
Batman held the disruptor behind his back and walked toward him. Rainbow followed behind him closely. This had to be a trap. Twilight took advantage of this momentary cease-fire and ran around to the bridge. It was just two openings away from her position. She got to the bridge and slowed to a walk. Her horn was glowing brightly. She was also ready for anything.
They took a few more steps forward before Batman pressed and held down the button on the detonator. It made a loud mechanical whirring and beeping. The gun began to expel blue smoke from its sides.
As they approached, Penguin brought the gun down and pointed it to them again. Rainbow and Twilight halted and braced themselves for anything.
“What?!” Penguin demanded.
He began to hit the gun’s side and pull the trigger repeatedly. Batman continued to close the gap between them. Rainbow and Twilight looked at each other and grinned. They also began to walk toward Penguin again.
“Come on! Fire, damn you!” Penguin shouted.
Batman was a foot away when Twilight and Rainbow jumped to either side of him. He brought his fist into the air and gave Penguin a nice uppercut. Twilight and Rainbow also jumped into the air and kicked him on either side. He shouted and fell to the bottom of the iceberg platform. He crashed onto an old wooden table, breaking it on impact.
Twilight untied the hostage. He ran back to the platform on the bridge. She levitated the, deceased hostage and ran back to the platform as well, trying to push the image of his frozen, handless arm out of her mind.
“You’re finished, Cobblepot.” Batman growled from the top of the iceberg.
Penguin sat up. “No, I’m sorry! Please, don’t hurt me!” He begged.
Rainbow stood next to Batman, giving Penguin the same angry glare Batman gave. “We can’t guarantee that.” She growled.
Penguin gave a slight chuckle and pulled out a similar detonator from his pocket. “Me neither!” He said, pressing the button.
Immediately, the iceberg they stood on exploded into a million pieces and collapsed beneath them. Rainbow and Batman lost their balance and fell down to the ground. Rainbow’s instinct told her to fly away, but there was a great deal of debris and ice that fell with them. She thought it best to not chance flying into the ice.
“RAINBOW!” Twilight yelled from the balcony.
The explosion destroyed most of the bridge. She covered her face with her hoof and peered out. The iceberg was now falling down to the ground. She ran to the edge and looked down.
Rainbow grunted loudly as she hit the ground. She immediately felt a sharp, stinging pain in her left wing. She cried out in agony as the rest of the debris fell around her. Batman was lying beside her on his back. They were both lying in a dark room underneath the Iceberg Lounge.
“I tried to help you, Batman.” Penguin announced from above. “I gave you the opportunity to walk away, but oh no. You had to be the big man! Well guess what? From up here, you look pretty small.”
Batman got to his feet and looked around. Rainbow stood up, careful not to hurt her wing anymore. She wouldn’t be flying out of this. They looked around at the room they were in. It was filled with old mechanics and gears. Above them was a series of generators and tesla coils that looked like they powered something.
Penguin pressed the button on his detonator and a hatch opened up from the ground. It shot an arc of lightning to one of the electrical diodes on the ceiling. The diode caused the entire room to glow a shade of blue.
“Oh don’t look so sad!” Penguin said. “I’ve got a little surprise for you!”
Behind them, chained to the wall was some sort of monster. It was bigger than the TITAN henchman they had fought. It had a very tattered pair of brown pants and a ripped vest. It looked like it had been taken apart and put back together in different parts of his body. Its arms and legs were covered with stitches. It wasn’t moving at all. It just slouched there on its knees, held up by the chains on its wrists.
Penguin pressed the button again and the electricity arc went into the dead creature. Its veins began to glow bright blue and it grunted slightly.
“Uh oh.” Rainbow said.
Penguin pressed the button again. The same electricity entered through the creature’s chest, causing it to flinch and grunt again. Penguin pressed the button a third time. The creature shook its head and grunted as if it was in pain because of the electric current. The fourth time, its grunts became deeper and it flinched less. On the fifth time, it didn’t grunt or flinch at all. Its eyes opened and glowed a bright yellow. Its veins continued to glow after Penguin had released the button. He pressed it once more and the creature growled angrily. It slowly got to its feet and glared at Batman and Rainbow Dash.
“…Solo..mon….Grundy…” It growled.
Rainbow backed up slowly, fear beginning to take control of her. Penguin had just brought this monster back from the dead!
“…Born on a Monday…”
It brought its right arm above his head and took one step forward. It brought its arm forward, pulling the iron ball connected to the chains behind it.
“…Christened on a Tuesday…”
It took another massive step forward, staring daggers into their souls.
“…MARRIED ON WEDNESDAY!” It roared.
It brought its fist forward and aimed it directly at Batman. The iron ball on the wall behind it stopped its fist nearly a foot from Batman’s face. He didn’t even flinch. Rainbow had backed up nearly two yards away from him. How did Batman not even flinch?
“I found him down there when I bought this place.” Penguin announced with a chuckle. “Comes in handy.”
Grundy looked at the iron balls chained to the wall behind him. He backed up and wrapped the chains around his wrists. He held his arms behind his head and leaned back. With a loud grunt, he brought them forward and broke the supports keeping the chains on the walls. They crashed around Batman with a loud bang. They caused sparks and debris to fly all around him. He covered his face and backed up a few steps.
Twilight noticed that Rainbow didn’t look quite right. She had injured herself really badly and looked terrified. She was starting to shake violently. Twilight whipped out her book and looked for a spell that could help. She needed to get down there and help or else Rainbow would die.
She found one. It was perfect. She quickly memorized it and concentrated on Rainbow. With a flash from her horn, she appeared right where Rainbow had been on the ground. She looked up and saw Rainbow on the bridge. She looked shocked.
“Rainbow! Stay there!” Twilight ordered.
Rainbow nodded. No way was she going to argue now.
Grundy stood to his full height, carrying the balls and chains in his hands like giant pendulums. He roared loudly, causing Twilight to cover her ears. The machines around them began to whirr to life and the three openings in the ground shot out more arcs of electricity toward the diodes on the ceiling. They bounced the arcs into Grundy. He stretched his arms out and took every bit of it. The electricity was healing him!
Twilight thought quickly. Looking at the openings, she figured out that they needed to take them out first. Batman ran to the nearest hole and quickly sprayed some of the explosive gel on it. He must have figured it out as well. He pressed the button and the hole exploded.
The brightness in the room dimmed slightly before returning to its previous state. Grundy grasped his chest as if he was in pain. Twilight ran to the opening on her right and prepared to fire a bolt of magic inside. Grundy roared again and prepared to throw one of the iron balls at her.
Twilights gasped and jumped out of the way. The ball struck the ground behind her before Grundy pulled it back like it was on a bungee cord. Batman made his way to the other opening and got his gel ready. Grundy saw this and prepared to do the same.
Now was her chance. Twilight ran to the hole and looked inside. She grunted and fired a blast directly inside. The resulting explosion made her fly back a few feet.
“Oi! Those are antiques! Leave ‘em alone!” Cobblepot yelled from above.
Twilight got to her hooves and looked at Batman. He sprayed and detonated the final hole. Grundy fell to his knees and the room went completely dark. She ran over to Batman as he made his way to Grundy. He began to punch Grundy in the face several times. After a few swings, Grundy leaned back, grabbing his face in pain.
“You’re asking for it now! Let’s see how much that ugly son-of-a-bitch can take!” Penguin yelled.
He pressed the button a few more times. The generators failed to start the first time. He pressed it a few more times before the generators sputtered and whirred to life once again.
The electric arc went to the ceiling and into Grundy again. The electric bolts seemed like they were more powerful than last time. Once Grundy got to his feet, his vest exploded and he was on fire. The iron balls he held on chains also burned brightly. Grundy’s chest had been literally ripped open revealing his ribcage. It, like the rest of his exterior, glowed a bright blue.
He stood up and prepared to strike again. Twilight was already on the move toward one of the openings in the floor. She prepared to strike as she approached one. She lowered her horn and fired inside. It exploded brightly and knocked her back again.
Grundy roared loudly and brought both his arms into the air. He began to twirl in a circle with his arms outstretched. The chains extended out and the iron balls at the end swung above Twilight. She timed her teleportation spell with the next swing perfectly. Once he swung them at her, she appeared over by Batman. When Grundy swung at them once more, they both jumped out of the way. Grundy brought the balls back and stopped twirling. Batman had set a bit of explosive gel over the nearest hole and detonated it. It exploded and Grundy roared again.
“Enough with the magic and the bloody explosives! I mean it!” Penguin yelled.
Twilight teleported behind Grundy and fired another blast of magic into the hole. It exploded and Grundy went down. The room once again went completely dark. She went around to Grundy’s face and began to blast him with all the magic she could. Batman ran past her and kicked him in the face. Grundy backed away and grabbed his chest. He fell to the ground and stopped moving.
“What? No! You can’t kill him! YOU CANT!” Penguin yelled.
Twilight breathed heavily and cautiously walked toward Grundy with Batman. Grundy looked dead. He wasn’t moving at all. She still wasn’t going to relax just yet, though. He could be brought back. Batman climbed on top of him and stared into his open chest. He paused for a moment before preparing to break his ribcage.
Suddenly, Grundy grabbed Batman with one massive hand and knocked Twilight away with the other. She flew back and tumbled across the ground. Grundy crawled toward the main power supply at the other end of the room.
“Well whaddaya know?! You really can’t kill that bastard!” Penguin laughed.
Grundy approached the main power hub and grabbed one of the iron balls in his hand. He thrust his fist directly into the generator and it immediately began to power Grundy once again. He was holding Batman and was simply watching him. Batman was trying desperately to pry himself free of Grundy’s grip. He was being electrocuted to death.
He got free enough that he gave Grundy a swift kick in the face and fell to the ground. He jumped away and faced Grundy, now stuck in the generator. The openings in the floor shot a constant beam of electricity at him.
Twilight got up. She had to last just a little longer. She looked around at everything happening. The openings in the ground continued to shoot beams of lightning at the coils in the ceiling. Twilight took a deep breath and focused on them.
“Batman, look out!” She screamed.
Batman turned to face her and saw where she was looking. He leapt out of the way and Twilight fired. The conduit exploded and fell to the ground in a mess of glowing shrapnel. Grundy grasped his power source and tried to keep it working. It exploded and his other arm shot to his right. His fist was now caught in the gears. He tried to pull it free, but to no avail.
He tried once again to break free, but fell on his knees. Batman ran to him and began to punch his chest mercilessly. He punched and struck Grundy countless times before he climbed on his chest and ripped his ribcage right out of him. His heart was now completely visible. Batman ran up to Grundy and smashed his heard. Grundy gave a weak grunt before going limp for the last time.
“Oi!” Penguin yelled from across the room. “Just you and me left! The Bat vs. the Bird!”
He had acquired a rocket launcher and was pointing it directly at Batman. He fired and the projectile flew toward Batman. He dodged it and ran toward Penguin. He fired again and again but Batman dodged it every single time. Once he was in reaching distance, Batman punched the heartless villain repeatedly before grabbing him by the shirt and pounding him into the ground. Penguin screamed in pain as he landed on his head.
Twilight breathed heavily and wobbled. She fell on her side and her vision blurred. She couldn’t stay awake anymore. She saw a blurry Batman walking over to her while grabbing Penguin in one hand, and then she slipped from consciousness.
---
“Twi! Come on! You gotta get up!”
“She’ll be fine.”
Twilight heard Rainbow and Batman talking. Their voices sounded distant. She also heard Fluttershy, Cobblepot, and Rarity.
“Oh! Are you sure?!”
“’Course he’s not sure! She’s probably long gone!”
“Quiet, you!”
Twilight opened her eyes to see Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity looking up at her with tears in her eyes. She was rocking back and forth on Batman’s shoulder as he walked. Cobblepot was being dragged in Batman’s other hand on the floor.
“You-YOU’RE OKAY!!!” Rainbow screamed. She grabbed Batman’s arm, knocking him off-balance and dropping Twilight in front of her. They all hugged her as tight as they could.
“We were so worried about you!” Rainbow said. “I watched the whole fight! I didn’t know if you were gonna be okay!”
Twilight was still half asleep, but she was awake enough to feel happy again. “Thank you so much, girls!” She turned to Fluttershy and Rarity. “What are you two doing here? I thought you would be with Mr. Freeze.”
They all released her and helped her walk with them.
“I heard a bunch of noise coming from the Iceberg Lounge so I told Mr. Freeze that I would be right back after I made sure everything was okay.” Fluttershy said.
“I waited on the balcony the whole time.” Rarity said. “Once I saw Batman coming out of the Iceberg Lounge with Cobblepot in one hand and you in the other, I assumed the worst!”
Twilight still wasn’t completely sure of what was going on. Rainbow walked beside her, giving her balance and explaining to her how they had made it out, and were now making their way back to the entrance to the museum. Freeze was there waiting for them. She felt much better when they approached a door and Batman opened it.
They had entered the lobby. They saw Mr. Freeze in his massive suit with his back turned to them. He was talking to the ninja in the display case they had seen meditating when they first entered the museum. Fluttershy suddenly felt very nervous. She knew it was the same Freeze, but his suit made him look awfully scary.
Freeze slowly turned around. “Where is Cobblepot?” He slowly asked. Each movement he made caused his suit to whirr.
The four ponies walked in front of Batman as he dragged Cobblepot up the stairs. He threw him at Freeze’s feet. Cobblepot landed on his back and looked up at him with a sneer.
“Well, look who it is! Mr. Fr-“ He was cut off by Freeze planting one foot on Cobblepot’s broken hand.
He screamed and shrieked loudly as Freeze simply applied more pressure onto his injured hand. His bones cracked underneath Freeze’s foot. Fluttershy watched in horror as Cobblepot’s suffering cries intensified. She didn’t like him at all but she still didn’t want to see him suffer. She turned away and covered her ears. He wiggled and tried desperately to get out from under Freeze’s boot, but it was in vain.
“Stop!” Fluttershy whispered. “Please, stop!”
Freeze didn’t move a muscle. He stared down at Cobblepot as he continued to suffer. Twilight and Rarity comforted Fluttershy as much as they could, but Rainbow continued to watch. She looked pretty angry as well.
“Enough!” Batman barked.
Again, Freeze ignored them. He was going to savor this moment. It’s what he had been waiting for this whole time.
Batman stepped forward. “Freeze! Enough!” He ordered.
“Of course.” Freeze replied.
“Oh thank Celestia!” Twilight thought to herself.
Taking his foot off Cobblepot’s hand, Freeze bent over and picked him up by the neck. He turned around and pressed him up against the case behind him, cracking the glass.
Freeze brought his face closer to Cobblepot’s. “You will regret what you did, Mr. Cobblepot.” Freeze growled slowly.
Freeze dragged him across the ground and over to a display case off to the left. Rainbow followed him close behind, staring hate straight into Cobblepot’s eyes. Freeze pressed a button and the glass disappeared into the ground. He threw Cobblepot inside and shut the glass once again.
Batman walked over to him. “The cure, Freeze.”
Freeze hesitated before finally turning around. “There isn’t one.” He replied.
“What?” Batman demanded.
Twilight stepped forward next to Rainbow. She was curious about this cure and this sickness that afflicted Joker.
“Perhaps I should elaborate.” Freeze said. He pressed a button on his gauntlet and a holographic projection of scientific elements appeared it. “Creating an antidote to the disease that afflicts the clown was easy. Unfortunately, the cure degrades too quickly. It needs a restorative element; some kind of reforming enzyme. Without it, it breaks down before it can help its host.”
Batman looked at the holographic projection. “I’ve seen this before.”
Freeze continued. “Finding a suitable enzyme is not the only problem. It needs to be adapted; bonded to human DNA. That will take decades.” He shut off the projections. “Time, it appears, you do not have.” He said somberly, turning away.
“What if I told you I know a man who’s been exposed to that enzyme for centuries?” Batman asked.
Freeze turned back to him. “What man?”
“His name is Ra’s Al Ghul.” Batman replied.
Rarity and Fluttershy noticed that the ninja behind the cracked display case glass suddenly got up and was now listening to their conversation.
“Bring him to me. All I need is a sample of his blood. It is your only hope.” Freeze said.
The ninja began banging on the glass, trying to break it.
“Ra’s Al Ghul is dead.” Batman said.
“Then you and the clown are doomed.” Freeze simply stated.
Twilight and Rainbow looked at Batman. He was sick with this illness too?
“Not exactly. I need someone to tell me where the body is. Then I can go wake him up.” Batman said
Twilight looked at him curiously. “What’s that supposed to mea-“
The shattering of glass behind her cut her off. Fluttershy shrieked and everypony jumped back, startled. The ninja rolled on the floor and landed on her feet. She was grabbing her arm as blood began to drip from a new flesh wound.
“Blasphemer!” She hissed at Batman. “You are not worthy to speak to the great Ra’s Al Ghul!”
She ran and jumped up the entire flight of stairs to her right. She climbed over the railing and disappeared outside. Batman walked to the small pool of blood on the ground where she cut herself.
“You are a fool, Batman. You’ve let your only hope escape.” Freeze accused.
Rainbow looked like she wanted to chase the ninja. It wouldn’t work. Her wing had been injured pretty badly, so flying was out of the question. Twilight watched Batman bend down and dip his fingers into the pool of blood and examine the small amount on his fingers.
“No Victor.” He said, standing back up. “If Ra’s Al Ghul is in Arkham City, I now have a trail right to him.”