//------------------------------// // The Fastest Mare Alive Vol. 1: Rogues: Issue #4: Honor Among Theives // Story: MLDC: The Justice League of Equestria - Omnibus 1 // by littleman001 //------------------------------// The first thing Rainbow Dash sensed when she regained consciousness was the ringing in her ear. She found that odd. She didn't remember Zephyr Breeze being so strong that he could punch her hard enough to cause that. But as her senses became more clear, she realised that it wasn't her ears that were ringing. It was the alarm bells of the bank. Her eyes suddenly shot open as she remembered the bank robbery she came here to stop. The realisation made her completely recover and she jumped back on her hooves, ready to give Zephyr and his cohorts what was coming to them, but by the time she stood up, the robbers were nowhere to be seen. All she saw was the still frozen security guards, the still unconscious workers and the piles of moneybags lying around her. She raised an eyebrow in confusion. She definitely didn't remember all those moneybags being there when she arrived. Apparently, the robbers were in such a hurry to get away that they left some behind. Looks like they really did know who she was and knew they had to get away as fast as they could while she was still unconscious and they were in such a hurry that they didn't even kill her while they had the chance. It wouldn't do them any good. She was the fastest mare alive and nopony could escape her. She would track them down in no time. She was about to speed off in pursuit before she remembered one small but significant problem. She didn't know where the robbers escaped to. She quickly stopped and rubbed her head sheepishly. Okay, perhaps it will take a little more time than she first thought. She then heard the door of the garage opening and looked up to see another squad of security ponies running inside. Initially, she welcomed this development. Surely the authorities would be able to help her catch the robbers. But as they surrounded her and aimed their weapons at her with angry expressions, her hopes quickly faded. "Don't move, freak!" One of them yelled aggressively. "Get down on the ground and put your hooves over your head!" Rainbow's faw fell in disbelief. It all made sense now. She didn't give the robbers enough credit. They didn't escape from her and they didn't kill her because they were so eager to get away. They were planning to frame her for the robbery. And judging from the furious expressions of the guards around her, they succeeded. Some of the remaining guards went to check on their comrades trapped in the ice blocks, which only served to increase their anger. "What have you done to them?!" They demanded. Rainbow was still speechless. She couldn't get over the fact that they believed she was the bad guy. She had to get out of there and fast. Fortunately, fast was her specially. But the guards have done their research on her and when they saw the electricity that began to sparkle around her body, they immediately knew what she was about to do. "She's getting away!" The leader of the guard yelled. "Open fire!" That was all the cue Rainbow Dash needed. She switched to super speed and ran off before the guards pulled the trigger. As she ran past them, she wiped her forehead in relief before looking back at the guards. She wished she didn't. With her body out of the way of the bullets, each one was now flying toward the guard on the other side of the circle they were forming. "Ugh!" Rainbow groaned. "Curse my big heart!" She rushed back and stood behind one of the bullets as they flew through the air at the speed of a snail. She it and carried it forward until she was directly in front of the guard and his weapon. She placed the bullet directly in front of the weapon's barrel before doing the same to you every single one and once she was sure she didn't miss any, she ran to the exit and switched back to normal speed. The bullets entered the barrels and destroyed weapons, knocking the guards back on the ground as they shattered to pieces. "Good." Rainbow nodded, happy that she was able to resolve this situation without anypony getting injured. "Now let's get out of here!" She ran up to the sealed garage door and phased through it, ready to speed back to her hotel room, but that plan was put to rest when she came face to face with another group of security guards. "The Flash?" One of them exclaimed in surprise. "What is she doing here?!" Another one narrowed his eyes. "Isn't it obvious?! She's the one robbing the place!" He accused. Rainbow finally managed to regain enough composure to deny the accusation. "No, I didn't! It was the..." She tried, but the guards weren't in the mood to listen. "Seize her!" The guards attempted to lunge forward and take a hold of Rainbow, but she slowed down time around herself just in time dodge them. By the time they slammed into the garage door, Rainbow was already hundreds of meters away from the bank. She hoped that she will be able to make it back to her hotel room from here without any obstacles, but once again, fate seemed to have another thing in store for her. Halfway through the city, she heard her stomach rumbling loudly and for somepony with super fast metabolism, this was always a bad sign. "Oh, no!" Rainbow cried out. "No, no, no! Not now!" Her prayers went unanswered. She felt herself starting to lose speed as the world sped up around her. The only thing she could do now is find a secluded place and use the last remaining speed to remove her suit and then get lost in the crowd. She eventually located a narrow alleyway and ran into it before hiding behind a dumpster. Once she made sure she wasn't being followed, she removed her suit and hid it under the dumpster. Now she was just plain old, awesome Rainbow Dash who might not have an easy time disappearing in the crowd as a famous Wonderbolt, but since nopony knew she was the Flash, she shouldn't worry about the law enforcement. The rumbling of her stomach interrupted her thoughts. She was getting hungry and she knew from experienced that this meant that if she won't get any food anytime soon, she will run out of energy like a battery and pass out in the middle of the street. But after all the misfortune she suffered today, her luck seemed to be returning. As she peaked around the corner, she saw that the building she was hiding behind was a bistro. Just what she needed right now. She entered the building and slammed several bits onto the counter, greatly startling the cashier. "Give me one of everything!" The Rogues cheered as they jumped through the mirror portal the lead back to their headquarters, sharing hoofbumps and laughing in triumph before heading to the storage room and pouring the contents of their moneybags onto the already impressive pile of cash. "Just one more, guys!" Mirror Master cried out. "One more and all of the Wonderbolts' money will be ours!" "Get done admiring this pile quickly!" Captain Cold told his crew. "As soon as we have the third load, we're gonna pack up and open an account for each of our shares. Gonna look suspicious if we run around, throwing around so much cash." "I'm more worried about how we're going to pull of that third robbery." Heat Wave said, tossing his emptied bag aside. "It is in Manehattan after all." Captain Boomerang and Mirror Master turned to him with teasing smirks. "What's wrong, matchstick?" Boomerang said. "I thought you told me you aren't scared of the Bat." The short stallion narrowed his eyes at him. "It's not the Bat I'm worried about!" Heat Wave protested rather unconvincingly. "But you know how that city is full of maniacs! They probably have the most well guarded bank in all of Equestria! That's all!" "Sure!" The other two Rogues mused as they exchanged knowing glances. Cold decided to end this before the short tempered stallion went off. "Cut it out!" He ordered them, making all of them look at him. "We took out the Flash. The Bat will be nothing." His expression then turned into a smug smirk. "And with the little set up we just pulled over the speedster, we might just get lucky and they'll take each other out." He remarked, earning a series of laughs from his cohorts. "Still, if she does show up, we should probably be ready." Captain Boomerang suggested. "And I believe I have just the thing." "Really?" Mirror Master asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do tell, Boomerang." The stallion pulled out a boomerang from his coat and the others could immediately tell that this was not and ordinary piece. It was far narrower than they usually saw him throw around, this made them suspect this was a more aerodynamic design. It was also painted yellow with two red streaks at each end and it had a small switch in the middle. "Captain, may I have some targets for a demonstration?" His curiosity piqued, Cold nodded and set his cold gun on minimum intensity so it would produce several pony shaped ice sculptures that his boomerang would be able to cut through. Boomerang pressed the button on his weapon and the other Rogues noticed small electric sparks jumping out of it as it began to vibrate. He then threw it away and the other three found themselves stunned as the boomerang disappeared from their sight and reappeared in Boomerang's other hoof in less than a second as the heads of all the ice sculptures were sliced clean off. Boomerang smirked at his shocked companions. "Well, what do you think?" The group's leader, Captain Cold was the one who found his voice first. "Super fast boomerangs?" Where on Equus did you get those from? "The slim stallion just smirked in reply. "A guy's gotta have his secrets." He mused. "Now, I believe this will definitely give us the edge over Flasher. So if we form a great plan like the one for the last heist, neither she nor anypony else will be able to catch us." The Rogues cheered in agreement. "For once, you actually said something smart, Boomerang!" Captain Cold laughed. "Alright then, let's get planning!" This order quickly evaporated their enthusiasm and earned disappointed groans. "Come on, Cap!" Mirror Master complained. "We just pulled of a successful heist. Don't you think we've earned a little rest and celebration?" Cold just narrowed his eyer in response, making the three other criminals nervous and take a step back. They have never seen their leader so angry before. "There will not be any rest until the Wonderbolts are ruined!" He growled, slamming his hooves on the table in front of him, making the others jump. "In case you have forgotten, those bastards ruined my life and took everything away from me! As well as you! We won't stop until we did the same to them!" Heat Wave and Mirror Master shared a worried glance. They have never seen him like this before. While Boomerang looked slightly amused. He may not have suffered any mistreatment from the Wonderbolts, but he did appreciate the show in front of him. Cold then turned to the mare of the group. "Now, summon a surveillance mirror!" She looked uncertain but in Cold's current mood, she didn't dare to raise an objection. She set up four large mirrors in the middle of the room and wired it up to a computer. After a few adjustments, she managed to connect the mirrors to the security cameras of the Manehattan Bank, giving the Rogues a good view of it's interiors. "I actually haven't been to this bank before, but with this, it won't matter. Now let's get planning!" Rainbow Dash heard the loud and persistent knocking on her door once again. That could have only been her father and she already knew that he arrived with this morning's paper no doubt writing about the Flash at the bank. And if that was the case, he was not going to be happy. "I'm comin... UGH!" The knocking stopped and Rainbow Dash didn't know if this was out of reassurance that she would soon open the door, surprise that she was actually awake this time, or concern about the sound she just made. The third was actually connected to the second as the reason she was awake so soon was because she made a huge mistake yesterday. Ordering 'one of everything' at the bistro she hid behind yesterday was not a smart move as so many different food being consumed so fast did not sit well with her stomach. And now she was paying for it as everything she consumed yesterday came back with a vengeance and she was currently emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Once she was certain she was done, she wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet before heading to the door. Once she unlocked the door, her father didn't even wait for her to fully open it. He slammed it open himself and stormed inside, nearly knocking his daughter over in the process without even saying anything to her. "Good morning to you too, dad." Rainbow said sarcastically. But when Bow turned to her, she saw it in his eyes that he wasn't in the mood for his daughter's sharp tongue. "Good morning? Is it really, Rainbow Dash?" He demanded angrily before tossing the newspaper he was holding to the table. Rainbow merely shot a glance at the headline that said 'The Flash robs a bank!' complete with a picture of a red and yellow blur dashing away from the Baltimare Bank. "It certainly wasn't when I saw this in the morning paper! Would you mind explaining this to me?!" Rainbow didn't find her voice for several seconds. She just looked down in shame and tried her best to avoid her father's inquisitive gaze. What was she supposed to tell him? That she completely disregarded his warning to be careful and let her ego get the better of her, resulting in those robbers getting the better of her and making it look like she was the one who robbed that bank? Well, it's not like she could tell him anything else for that was exactly what happened. Whether Rainbow Dash liked it or not, all throughout these years, she felt herself untouchable because of her super speed. She felt like if she ran fast enough, she would catch everypony and nopony would be able to catch her. And ironically, in the end it was her own arrogance that caught her. How foolish she had been! "This is what you always wanted, isn't it?" She growled, greatly confusing Bow. "You wanted me to make a mistake. To mess up and finally have my own arrogance be my downfall so that you could tell me that you told me! Well go right ahead! Tell me!" Bow looked down at her with contemplation, trying to find the right words to use. "It's true." He replied after a few moments of silence. "I did always want to tell you. But I just knew that when that day finally comes, that will be the day when I won't want to." He said before pulling out a chair and sitting down. "Since I know it wasn't you, tell me, how do you plan to get out of this mess?" And for the first time in her life, Rainbow Dash found herself speechless. For she had nothing to say. Eventually, there was only one thing she could think of. "I don't know." It was Bow's turn to be speechless. "You don't know?" He repeated incredulously. "Your brain is supposed to work faster than anypony else's and you don't know what to do?" Rainbow Dash shrugged. "For my whole life, my hooves and my wings were both faster than my brain." She started, but Bow interrupted her. "Don't forget your mouth." Rainbow was not amused. "Yes. Thank you." She commented half-heartedly. "Anyway, yesterday I had a wake up call of sorts. I realised that super speed didn't make me invincible as I always thought. They removed me out of the way so easily that I didn't even notice it despite my hyper awareness. Not only that, but they even managed to make it look like I was the one who robbed that bank! Now I'm wanted, defeated and I have no idea what to do!" She finished, dropping her head on the table and burying it in her forelegs. Bow was unsure of what to think as he watched his daughter's breakdown. He always wanted to see her finally get over her arrogance but as her father, seeing her so lost and hopeless was painful. And as her father, it was his responsibility to help her pull herself together. And he might just have the perfect idea how to do that. "You have no idea how long I wanted to hear you utter those words." Rainbow looked up to see her father look down at her with a proud smile. "I raised you to be a winner but a winner is not only measured by their accomplishments, but also by their personalities. And quite frankly Rainbow Dash, your personality was that of an arrogant, obnoxious, loudmouthed, narcissistic jerk." Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Is that your idea of a peptalk?" Bow held up a hoof. "Let me finish. What makes a real winner, Rainbow Dash, is humility, respect for her abilities and those of others. But most of all, a winner gets up after every blow and gets back into the fray. A winner learns to take defeat with grace and views every loss as a learning opportunity. I never wanted you to always win. Because if you never lose, you never learn. If you truly want to be a winner, than you'll have to get back out there and find a way to overcome this defeat!" Rainbow Dash couldn't believe her father's words. "Go back out there?!" She yelled in shock. "Since when are you so encouraging on my crime fighting carrer?! For my whole life you were afraid that it would be the end of me! Both figuratively and literally." Bow just smiled at her kindly. "But I never saw you talk so humbly and responsibly before. The restlessness you always showed was bound to get you killed or ruined someday. But seeing you basically getting reborn in front of me, now I know you are ready. Ready to become a winner and..." Bow looked like he was really struggling to say the last word of that sentence. But deep down, he knew he had to, for he knew it was true. "... and a hero." At first, Rainbow Dash thought she didn't hear that right. In a swift moment, the roles between her and Bow have changed. Now she was the one lacking faith in her hero capabilities and her father was enthusiastically supportive of her. It felt unusual, but also a very welcome change. While Rainbow found her spirits slightly lifted from her father's speech, she still felt uncertain. The lack of a plan prevented her from fully regaining her enthusiasm. "I don't know, dad. As fast as I am, I'm still just one pony. If one of them could get rid of me so easily, I'm almost afraid to imagine what the whole gang will be capable of." She said, dropping her head back on the table. Bow just shook his head. "I'm a little disappointed, Rainbow. You of all ponies should know better." Rainbow looked up questioningly, not really understanding what he meant. "Understand what?" "I see your performances with the other Wonderbolts and the way you are always so in sync with them. Always work so well together with them. You of all ponies should understand the value of teamwork." Bow said firmly. "It is obviously the main strength of these robbers. If you want to even the odds, you will have to get some help too." "Help from who?" Rainbow asked dumbfounded. "I mean, my Wonderbolts teammates are great and all, but I don't see them joining in the fight against those bastards. Especially since now they all believe I was the one behind the robberies." "I wasn't talking about the Wonderbolts." Bow replied mysteriously. He was obviously implying something, but Rainbow was too caught up in her emotions to get the clue. "Well, who else is there?" Rainbow demanded, frustrated by her lack of options. "Who else would be able and willing to help me protect the bank in Manehattan?!" Bow didn't reply, but he didn't have to. As soon as the name of the city left her mouth, she finally understood. "Manehattan! That's it!" She shouted as she jumped up from her seat and flew over to her father to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, dad! You're the best! Now I know what to do! I'll head to Manehattan as soon as my Wonderbolts duties are done for the day!" Rainbow's newfound enthusiasm faded the moment she saw her father's expression drop upon the mention of that. "Uh, I'm sorry you have to find out from me, Rainbow, but you won't have any duties for today. Or the foreseeable future for that matter." Rainbow processed what he heard for a few moments with a blank expression before her expected reaction hit. "WHAT?!" She screamed, making the whole room shake and Bow cover his ears. "Why not?!" Once Bow got over his shock at the outburst, he cleared his throat to answer. "Well, you see, yesterday's robbery really broke Spitfire. The Wonderbolts lost so much money that they can't even afford to rent these hotel rooms anymore. So the tour is officially canceled and everypony is going home." Rainbow Dash was horrified by the news. "Spitfire? Broken?" She asked in disbelief. This was almost incomprehensible to her, but Bow confirmed it with a nod. "Yeah. Right after the meeting where she told everypony, which you once again failed to attend, I might add..." Rainbow looked down in shame upon hearing that. "...she instantly downed an entire bottle, wasting herself. I could barely make it out when she asked me to tell you the news as well." Picturing that broke Rainbow's heart. Spitfire has always been her idol and she couldn't imagine anything that might break her. This was the point where she took a vow. No matter what would happen, she will take down the Rogues. For Spitfire and the Wonderbolts, this was now personal. Her face hardened with determination. She would not get a wink of sleep until she found these criminals and brought them to justice. She wiped her mouth and ran off into the bathroom to get ready and got back from there in her Flash suit, ready to head out and do battle, until... ...Rainbow Dash let out a huge yawn and realised that emptying her stomach earlier was finally catching up with her. With no food in her, her body was taking energy from elsewhere. She was extremely embarrassed with herself that she was about to break her vow already, but she knew what was about to happen. "Oh, ponyfeathers..." She mumbled before passing out in the middle of the room. Bow watched the scene in sight amusement, shaking his head with a chuckle as he listened to Rainbow's loud snores. His daughter may have finally gained some humility, but she still had a lot to learn. Such as knowing her own limits. He got up and threw Rainbow on his back before carrying her back to her bed and tucking her in. He then made his way to the door and exited as quietly as he could. He had some shopping to do. Rainbow Dash had slept through the entire day. By the time she woke up, it was already past 6 pm and the sun had long since set on the horizon. His father, bless his heart was waiting for her in the living room with quite a feast he had cooked up for her. As he put it, it's better to eat your own father's cooking than stuffing yourself full of junk food all the time. Something Rainbow couldn't agree more with. Once she was full, she finally felt ready to head out and set her plan for Manehattan's defense in motion. The only thing she was worried about was possibly being late to stop the next robbery, but since the robbers waited a few days between the first and the second heist, she was optimistic that this would the case in this city as well. Once she rented herself a hotel room, she got to work. Her father suggested that she got some help in dealing with the Rogues and that was just what she was going to do. She already know who would be the perfect pony to ask for help. The only problem would be actually getting in contact with them. But she had an idea. She spent the evening running around the city in search of all the electric and hardware store she could find. She wasn't a skilled engineer by any means, but what she wanted to bulld was a simple device and with her super speed, she should be done with it in no time. Once she had all the necessary parts, she delivered them up to the tallest building in Manehattan one by one. She assembled all the parts into a giant reflector and when it was finished, Rainbow reached into her suit and pulled out the last part. It was large metallic object carved into the shape of a bat which she then planted across the reflector before pulling the switch on it's side and activating the device. The sky of Manehattan was lit up with a brilliant white light orb in the middle of it's starless blackness. It shone so bright that most ponies probably would have mistaken it for a second moon, if it weren't for the very noticeable difference of having a huge bat silhouette visible across it. Even Rainbow Dash was amazed by her creation. There was no way the pony she was trying to reach didn't see this. And if she was as dedicated about her profession as Rainbow herself was, she would no doubt show up. The only question was, how long would it take her. As it turned out, not very long. When Rainbow turned around after a few minutes of waiting, she found herself standing face to face with the pony she was looking for. It was none other than Manehattan's stoic protector, the city's Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader of justice, the Batmare. The two costumed crime fighters observed each other for a few moments, each of them waiting for the other to make the first move. Eventually, the black clad pony broke the silence. "You wanted me? Here I am." Rainbow could barely manage to hold herself back from jumping in surprise, but she was glad she did. She didn't want to look like a fool in front of her fellow hero. "I..." She struggled to say what she wanted to for hours now. Some of her remaining pride still made it hard for her to, but she managed to swallow it. "I need your help." She said finally before pulling out the newspaper detailing her failed attempt to stop the Rogues at Baltimare and painting her as the culprit. "The guys I was trying to stop here are going to come for your city next." Batmare took the newspaper and examined it for a few seconds before folding it putting it away. "I know about you, Flash." She told the speedster. "It's obvious you're not really the one behind this robbery. But what makes you think they'll strike at Manehattan next?" "They're after the Wonderbolts' cash!" Rainbow said with such conviction that she would have managed to convince Princess Celestia herself. "They're also the ones who hit the bank in Cloudsale and in both of those banks, they only took their money. Manehattan has the last bank with the Wonderbolts' money in it. They will come for it next, if they haven't already! They can get it done without anypony noticing! The only way we'll be able to stop them is if we stay alert around it day and night!" Though her features were completely covered by her mask, Rainbow could still see the unconvinced look the other mare was giving her. She had to convince Batmare that she needed her help. But she knew exactly what she'd have to say. A few days ago, she also had the same arrogance in her that kept preventing her from realising she needed help. "Look! These guys, they're a little tougher than the mobsters and psychos you're used to. They can do things you haven't seen before. I won't make the same mistake twice. I'm not saying we should take on them together, I'm asking you to help me track them down. If you have something of your bat gear that can pinpoint the location of their hideout, they'll have nowhere to run. I know I only have my word to give you as assurance, but I'm asking you to help me clear my name and catch these bastards. Will you help me?" Batmare didn't answer at first. She said it herself that she didn't believe Rainbow was responsible for the robbery, but that was more out of factual rationality rather than trust. She spent a great deal of time studying the other costumed heroes that have been popping up all over Equestria recently and she saw several articles about the speedsters taking down many of the so called super-criminals and that showed nothing but dedication to justice. But she also heard how she took down threats far bigger than she ever faced with her super speed, so she knew that if something was able to neutralise her, than that threat was not to be taken lightly. And if there were ponies who were better suited to take care of such threats, it was better to have them out there, risking their lives against them than the average law enforcers. That being said, the Batmare was not one to trust anypony easily. Given her troubled past of being disappointed by other ponies had that effect on her. Manehattan was her city to protect and she made a promise that she would uphold that duty no matter what. But that 'no matter what' also included accepting help when needed and the Flash had proven herself as a competent crime fighter. She was in a dilemma to say the least. Before she could give her answer, she heard the door leading to the rooftop opening and turned to see two police officers rushing out of it. "What the hay's going on here?!" One of them shouted in confusion. "Who set this thing up?!" They then turned to see the two vigilantes next to the reflector. "Hey, isn't that the super fast bank robber from Baltimare?" Asked the other cop. "She sure is!" His partner replied as they reached for their weapons. "Step aside, Batmare! We'll take it from here!" Batmare said nothing, she merely took one of Rainbow's hooves and twisted it behind her back. "Hey, what gives?!" The colorful mare complained, but was ignored. "Don't worry, officers! I have everything under control." She told them before leaning over to Rainbow's ear and whispering into it. "Play along and get moving!" She instructed. Rainbow was a little concerned but she complied. The two mares move past the cops and disappeared into the staircase leading down below. The cops then turned back to the reflector and shut it down. "What do you think we should do with this?" The addressed pony pondered for a while before he got an idea. "Call the chief! I think I know the perfect place for it!" Rainbow Dash's prediction proved right. The Rogues didn't concern themselves with their targeted city being protected by the most feared vigilante in Equestria, it took them only a few days to find the best approach for robbing the Manehattan bank and unfortunately, the security staff would unwittingly play a big part in it. As it turned out, the security employees of Manehattan's financial and other institutions have become complacent knowing that their Batmare was out there looking out for them. Whether it was a pyromaniac pegasus trying to burn down the city's museums or an earth pony hitting banks and jewelry shops on the years biggest holidays without anypony noticing, the Batmare always took care of them. Her mere presence in this city made the number of bank heists extremely low, so when the city's biggest bank locked up for the night, the security staff was more than certain nopony would be foolish enough to disturb their night. They would be proven horribly wrong. Keen Eyes, a pegasus nightwatchpony has been doing his nightly rounds for hours now. He was getting tired, both figuratively and literally. Looking around to see if anypony was watching him, he slumped down into the chair behind the receptionist table and pulled out a donut from his vest. He was about to eat it before something swooped past his face and he found himself biting into nothing but thin air. "Hey, what the..." He looked behind himself and was quickly silenced as something wooden crashed into his muzzle and knocked him out cold, making his head fall down on the desk. The wooden object flew back into the hoof of it's thrower who happily removed the donut attached to it and consumed it himself. "Remind me again why did we have to enter through the windows of the front entrance?" Mirror Master complained as the group of four made their way inside the lobby. "We have to mix things up sometimes." Captain Cold replied before spotting two security guards approaching them and freezing them with two blasts from his weapon before they could draw theirs. "If we rob all the banks the same way, they're gonna link the robberies and be more wary of us." "Eh." Captain Boomerang shrugged before dropping one of his weapons at two other guards which struck the weapons out of their hooves and knocked them out as it came back. "Whole Equestria is after Flasher now. They'd probably just assume she emptied this one too." He said, catching the weapon. Captain Cold didn't share his casualness. "Flash or not, it won't be long before they are all after our flanks if we mess up." "Yeah, well we're leaving witnesses all over the place." Heat Wave commented, shooting fire blasts everywhere, forcing the guards to flee from the heat. "I'm pretty sure that counts as a mess-up in the process of a robbery." "Not to worry." Cold replied. "Once we're done here, we'll erase the camera footage and it's not like these guys know enough to put the cops on our trail. Speaking of, Mirror Master, are you seeing anypony heading for the alarm system? Alerting the police is something we should avoid if we want to stay hidden." The addressed mare raised her right front hoof and pressed a button on it, summoning several small mirrors all showing what the security cameras in the bank were seeing. "Nope. I guess we made quite the ruckus for all of them to come here and try to take us out in person." Cold nodded in response. "Good. Let's wrap this up then." The criminal quartet kept fighting the guards as Mirror Master enchanted one of the security cameras over them, making it's lense glow with bright blue light. "Cover me!" She told her fellow Rogues as she flew up and disappeared into the mirror portal she created. The mare reappeared inside the vault of the bank which had been left unattended while the guards were dealing with her colleagues at the lobby. Just as they planned. She was about to open the safe door, but a strange sensation inside her gut stopped her. She looked around the vault and even though there was nopony there, she couldn't help but feel like somepony was watching her. No. There was no way anypony could see her right now with the whole staff being occupied by her teammates. She shook her head and turned to open the safe door. "Took you long enough." Boomerang complained before catching a boomerang that knocked out the last remaining guard in the bank. The mare gave him the stink eye but Captain Cold decided to break up a potential fight before it began. "Easy now!" He yelled at them as he stood between them. "In case you have forgotten, we have a job to do." He reprimanded them as he tossed them their saddlebags. "Get inside the vault and get packing!" The two Rogues shared another annoyed glance with each other but eventually complied. Captain Cold sighed in exasperation as he lead his group to the vault concealing the money of the Wonderbolts. Being the leader of a ragtag bunch of misfits was frustrating enough, but when said misfits were completely different from each other, it was like carrying a container of different explosive chemicals that could blow up anytime. Not particularly fortunate when one is attempting such risky business as bank robbery. He only hoped that they would be able to keep themselves from killing each other long enough to finish this job without screwing anything up. Upon reaching the Wonderbolts' vault, he instructed Heat Wave to melt the electric lock, gaining access to the money inside. As the stallions began emptying the vault, Cold instructed Mirror Master to go back to the window they entered through and get it ready for their escape. When Boomerang and Heat Wave finished packing, they headed towards the exit while Cold loaded the last pile of money into his saddlebag. Before he put the last bit away, he felt a sudden rush of wind hit him in the back of his head. He pulled out his cold gun and spun around but he couldn't see anypony, just a few pieces of paper floating around in the air. He darted his eyes around in suspicion before finally putting his weapon away and continue to pack. When he was done, he left to meet his fellow Rogues who were gathering around the window of the main entrance with their loot. As Mirror Master began enchanting the window to turn it into a portal for them to slip through, Captain Boomerang returned from the security room where he erased the footage of their fight with the guards while Heat Wave tied them all up. "Everything's ready, Captain!" Boomerang said with a salute. "Operation: Ruin the Wonderbolts is officially complete. All we need to do now is go home!" Cold grinned smugly to himself. He was usually cautious about making such bold claims, but at the moment, he allowed himself a moment of satisfaction knowing that there plan was mere steps away from completion. The robbers stepped through the mirror portals and in the safety of their hideout, they began to pile up all the money they had stolen. They shall wait a few weeks until the dust settles and then they will divide the loot and each of them will deposit their share in a different bank. But for now, it was time to celebrate. They all poured themselves a drink and clashed their glasses together in front of their pile of money. "Well done, Rogues!" Cold praised his crew before chugging down his beverage. "Perhaps we should extend this partnership to future undertakings." The other three liked the idea, but before they could voice their approval, the celebration was interrupted by a fifth voice. "The only thing you four will share is a prison cell!" The Rogues spat out their drinks in surprise before turning to see the Flash standing in front of them with a look that promised pain for the four criminals. She hasn't forgotten how they tried to frame her for the Baltimare heist and she was eager to get some payback, much to the robbers' fright. "What the... How did you..." Rainbow gave them a cocky smile. "A little bird told me where you four rats were hiding, or should I say..." She pressed a button on the sleeve of her suit and suddenly, the Rogues heard a sharp beeping sound coming form behind them from the money pile. Cold reached into it and pulled out a small tracking device shaped like a bat and suddenly everything became clear. "...a little bat." Cold growled in fury before throwing the device on the ground and stomping on it. He then reached for his cold gun, but to his surprise, all he felt in his holster was thin air. "Looking for this?" Rainbow quipped, holding the weapons of Captain Cold and Heat Wave in her hooves. "Not this time, pricks!" She was about to switch to super speed and blow these jerks away, but Boomerang quickly threw one of his weapons at her. Rainbow scoffed at the idea and was about to easily step out of the boomerang's trajectory, but this time, she was in for a surprise of her own when she noticed that the boomerang did not slow down along with the rest of the world. The surprise was so great that she couldn't step aside in time and the boomerang pierced her chest. Rainbow cried out in pain, dropping the weapons and pulling out the boomerang from the newly created wound. Taking advantage of the mare's disarray, Cold and Heat Wave quickly regained their weapons and wasted no time before attacking. Rainbow managed to remove the boomerang from her chest and saw the opportunity of disarming one of the two stallions with it. In the end, she picked Cold. She could flee from Heat Wave's flames even at regular speed, but she wouldn't go anywhere trapped in a block of ice. She threw the boomerang at Cold and knocked the gun out of his hoof and up into the air before running up to him with the intention of taking it away for good. Heat Wave tracked her movements with his flamethrower for a while but when he got too close to his boss, he couldn't keep firing without injuring him as well. Which was exactly what Rainbow Dash banked on. She punched Cold in the muzzle and reached for the weapon as it fell, but Cold still had enough composure left in him to pull out a cold grenade from his coat and plant it onto Rainbow's chest. The device made a few beeping sounds, gaining Dash's attention, but it was too late. She looked down but barely got a glimpse of the grenade before it went off, sending her back against the wall and covering her chest with a thick layer of ice. Cold smirked before reaching up to grab his weapon and shooting an ice beam at Rainbow. With her chest already frozen, Rainbow couldn't speed her molecules up enough to access her super speed, she had to think of something else. Her right front leg was still unfrozen so she managed to use it fast enough to carve the ice off of her chest and hold it in front of herself. As the ice absorbed the cold energy from the stallion's weapon, it became bigger and bigger until Rainbow couldn't hold it anymore. She pulled back one of her front hooves and collected as much energy into it as she could before punching the massive block of ice with enough mass to send it forward against the cold ray's push and knock Captain Cold off his hooves. With Cold out of the way, Heat Wave was no longer afraid to interfere. He raised his flamethrower and released a massive burst off flame onto the floor, forcing Rainbow back into a corner. With the fire raging on in front of her, she was once again prevented to reach her super speed and her opponent planned to take full advantage of it. "Burn, baby, burn!" Heat Wave chuckled before pulling out a grenade. But before he could pull the pin, Rainbow backed away into the corner as far from the flames as she could. She still couldn't switch to full super speed but she should have enough to pull of what she had in mind. She raised her front legs in front of herself and began to rotate them as fast as she could, making small whirlwinds shoot out of her hooves and blow away the fire. Heat Wave already threw the grenade so he had no time to react before Rainbow sped up and tackled him to the ground, wrestling the weapon away from him. Captain Boomerang tried to take advantage of the struggle by throwing another of his weapons at the scarlet speedster from behind. He did manage to catch her off guard and hit her, giving Heat Wave the chance to recover and knock the mare off of himself. Rainbow reached behind her head to get the boomerang now stuck to her costume off, but Boomerang beat her to it. He pressed a button on the device on his front hoof and the boomerang let out a series of loud and high pitched screeching sounds, disorienting Rainbow and forcing her to cover her ears. Boomerang saw that the distraction was working, but knew it won't keep the speedster occupied for long. "Well, this is fun, but I'm afraid this party is getting a little too hot! Forgive the pun." He joked, motioning to the flames left by Heat Wave's weapon still burning in the corner and slowly spreading. He then turned to Mirror Master. "Sweetheart, if you can get us out of here, now's the time!" The mare turned to the mirrors on the other end of the room and quickly flew over to them. "I'm gonna need a specific destination!" She shouted as Cold and Heat Wave walked up to them. "Anywhere that's not here!" Cold ordered before grabbing his saddlebag and packing as much money into it as he could. "Possibly somewhere far away!" As Mirror Master carried out the order, the other three Rogues also began loading their bags with the stolen cash. Meanwhile, Rainbow finally puller herself together enough to remove the sonic boomerang from the back of her head and smash it onto the ground, breaking it to pieces and silencing it. The Rogues noticed the odd silence and turned to see the Flash standing up and looking at them with furious eyes. Captain Cold glanced at Mirror Master and nodded to her. The mare took the hint and spread her wings, sending several of her mirror shards flying around the room and surrounding their pursuer, making her see several dozen of the criminal quartet she was chasing. "Oh, no, you won't!" Rainbow scoffed. This primitive trick won't fool her. She finally had the chance to turn up her speed to the max and she moved forward, darting between the trick mirrors and shattering them to pieces. The Rogues grabbed their saddlebags and jumped through the mirror portal Thunder created for them. The Mirror Master was the last to make a leap for it but she wasn't fast enough. Rainbow reached the mirror as she jumped through it and managed to break it, but she was in too much of a rush to notice that the other mare was only partly through the portal. Once Rainbow broke the last remaining mirror, she turned around with a look of triumph, hoping that she managed to break the mirror portal before they made it to the other side. But that triumphant look was short lived as it was replaced with a look of sheer horror and shock. In the middle of the room where the Rogues were just a moment ago, was now lying the severed and bleeding hind leg of the purple mare who opened the portal. On the other side, three costumed stallions were staring in similar horror at the mare of their group who was now lying on the floor with on of her legs missing and several shattered mirror pieces sticking out of her badly bleeding body.