//------------------------------// // Chemical Crisis // Story: Batmare: Birth Of The Dark Knight // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// Batmare, as you could imagine, became an overnight senesation. As media sources raced to publish the remarkable revelation, of a crusader for justice working outside the system, everyone became interested in learning what all the fuss was about. What little they learned of Batmare fascinated them in one way or another. For the average law abiding citizen, Batmare was a figure of mystery. But one that seemed likely to fix the problems of the overrun and long suffering justice system of Equestria. Especially since she wasn't operating on the same level as the police or the royal guards. As for the criminals, Batmare became someone to fear. A lot of low level thugs, and even a few high ranked muggers gave up their lives of crime within a week of learning about Batmare. Those that stayed heard conflicting stories about the nature of their new opponent. Some criminals said she was just some freak in a costume running around, not really thinking about the consequences of her actions. Others said that she was an actual batpony hybrid, that came out at night, to attack anything or anyone, unfortunate to cross her path. Some even said she hungered for the blood of ponies. Whatever the case was, it wasn't enough to scare away every criminal. And eventually the world of crime prepared itself to take on this mysterious new threat. The weapon it needed however, seemed missing. For anyone that tried to take down Batmare soon discovered, that the Dark Knight seemed to always be one step ahead of them. Even the highest of muggers began to realize that unless they found someone or something that could rival Batmare in terms of power and influence, their days of crime were numbered. The rival to Batmare would come in the most unusual of ponies. The ex Prince Blueblood, now under the name of Blueblood. He had been stripped of his title after it was found out that he was directly funding an illegal smuggling ring, which Batmare had taken down in the string of a few days. Blueblood insisted that he had no idea he was funding the ring, and even claimed in court that he had been forced to support the ring against his will, in order to ensure that no harm befell the throne. But evidence submitted by Batmare, and a rising district attorney by the name of Fancy Pants, proved that Blueblood knew all along what he was involved in. And had brided many of the criminals within the ring into giving false testimony to make him look innocent. The scandal was a huge embarrassment for the royalty, and the nobility. And Blueblood's adopted aunt, Princess Celestia had personally seen to it that Bluebood was given the harshest verdict possible. In the end it was decided that Blueblood would not only lose his royal title, but also be expelled from the Canterlot nobility. All of his assets would be used to pay for the damages the smuggling ring had caused since he started funding them, any money left over would be donated to various chairites. To top it off, it was decided that, for good measure, Blueblood was banned from the city of Canterlot for life. The instant he set hoof in the town he was to be thrown in prison to rot, until it could be decided what to do with him. Blueblood developed a hatred for Batmare for ruining his life, and vowed to somehow get even. His chance came sooner then expected. About a month after being stripped of his title and being expelled Blueblood had found a new job at AXIS Chemicals in the city of Manehattan. Albeit a lowly desk job, where all he did was file paperwork, and approve memos. His boss told him that if he did well enough he would one day be able to climb the ladder, but Blueblood was begining to grow impatient. He was about to consider quitting his job all together, when his boss called him into the head office. Blueblood was quite shocked to learn that the boss wished to see him. From what little he knew about his boss, he knew that said boss was a stallion that usually didn't arrange for one on one meetings with his workers, unless they did something wrong. Blueblood was filled with dread at the thought that this was the case for his sudden visit. "Ah Blueblood, you're here." his boss said in a scruffy voice. His brown coat, as well as trimmed black mane and tail, matched quite nicely with the suit he was. Especially since it prevented Blueblood from seeing his boss' cutie mark. "You uh wanted to see me sir?" Blueblood asked nervously. "Darn right I did!" his boss chuckled "As you know I'm not a stallion that likes to waste time with idle chit-chat so let's get down to business. Have a seat." "Okay?" Blueblood said, unsure what to make of his boss' unusual cheerful nature. He was certain that it was all an act. After all, what reason could his boss have for being so friendly with him? Sure, it was possible he had turned over a new leaf. But Blueblood doubted that such a thing was possible. "As I'm sure you're aware, our company's profits have been dropping lately. We've been in the red for the past few weeks." his boss explained "We seem to have hit a bit of a rough patch, and unfortunately, the bank has just called in our loan. They're going to shut us down if we don't pay back the money we owe them soon. That's where you come in." Blueblood had a bad feeling about what his boss was going to say next, but against his better judgement he said "What can I do to help?" "Well Blueblood, I'm glad you asked." his boss said, his voice suddenly becoming quite serious "I know you got into some 'legal trouble' not too long ago, and I REALLY hate to do this to you. But I need you to help two thugs break into our factory. You don't have to do much, but the thugs insisted that they get a mole on the inside in order to keep quiet. Cause a comotion, but make sure there's nothing that can link us to the crime. The insurance company will provide us with a heeping sum of cash to pay for the damages, which will be used to pay off the loan. Once we've done that we'll go back to business as usual, and when our customers see that even crime isn't enough to stop us, we'll be back in black in no time. Do you think you can handle this assignment?" Blueblood was shocked. After the smuggling ring funding had blown up in his face, Blueblood had sworn never to return to a life of crime. But now his boss was asking him to assist a break-in so the company could pay off its debt. The former prince was certain that there was a much better solution to the loan problem, but he lacked the confidence to tell his boss this. Also, he was certain that if he didn't do it, his boss would find some other sap who would. At least this way he could insure that no harm would come to anyone, and an innocent pony wouldn't have to stain their reputation with a pre planned crime. "I'll do it." Blueblood said reluctantly. "Excellent! I knew I could count on you to take one for the team!" Blueblood's boss said "And don't worry, this will just be our little secret." "Well then, guess I'll go meet those thugs." Blueblood said "Where did they say to meet up?" "Oh, silly me." his boss said "Take this letter. It contains your instructions. Follow them to the letter and everything should go smoothly." "If you say so." Blueblood said, and left the office. He had no way of knowing that he had just been suckered. His boss didn't trust the thugs to stay quiet, and he didn't like Blueblood at all. So he decided it was best to let the police take care of his problems for him, by alerting them to the break-in. With any luck they'd arrest Blueblood and the thugs, and lock them away before they were ever the wiser. What the stallion failed to account for however, was the prescence of Batmare. And it would be this mistake that would come back to bite him hard. Batmare was out and about, driving the Batmobile while looking for any signs of crime. So far the radio had been silent, crime seemed surprisingly absent. Then, everything changed. "Attention, Manehattan Police Department to All Units! All points bulletin! All available units report to AXIS Chemicals A.S.A.P! An anonymous tip reports a break-in in progress. Repeat, BREAK-IN IN PROGRESS! The criminals are armed and considered dangerous, and are being led by a mysterious stallion in a red hood and cape. Apprehend the suspects at all costs! Lethal force is authorized, but only if lives are in immediate danger!" the radio blared. Applejack quickly pressed a button and Granny Smith appeared on the screen. "What is it Applejack?" she asked. "I've just learned of a break-in at AXIS Chemicals in Manehattan. The police are responding but the situation sounds like it could get out of control. I intend to provide the police with whatever assistance is needed." Applejack said. "Be careful Applejack. The police might mistake you for one of the criminals. Make sure you avoid detection by the police as much as possible." Granny Smith said. "Will do Granny Smith, over and out." Applejack said. The screen went black as Applejack switched it off. The Batmobile raced towards Ponyville Park, where a tunnel to Manehattan awaited. "I just hope the police can hold their own until I get there." Applejack thought to herself. Blueblood felt so stupid wearing the red hood and cape, but the thugs had insisted that he wear it as part of their deal. Not long after the break-in began however, Blueblood and the thugs heard the familiar sound of the Manehattan Police Department's patrol carriages. Apparently someone had alerted the police, despite the fact that the first thing the thugs had done after breaking in was cut the plant's telegraph lines. This could only mean one thing, this was a set up! And Blueblood had a good feeling about who was behind it. "When I get my hooves on that dirty double crosser I'm gonna make him wish he was never born!" Blueblood thought to himself as he tried to avoid the gun fire that errupted when the thugs began to fire on the police. The ploce quickly retaliated, and within minutes the thugs were gunned down. This left Blueblood all alone to try and escape from the police. Escaping through the front door was impossible, the police had the building surrounded, and he knew it. His only hope was to reach the rooftop and escape that way. But as Blueblood approached the staircase leading to the rooftop he suddenly found himself face to face with the one thing he feared more then the cops. Batmare, the caped crusader who was responsible for making his life a living hell. "You!" Blueblood said angrily. Batmare said nothing, and mearly glared at Blueblood. Unable to see him through the redhood he was wearing. "There he is men!" the police chief shouted "He's up there on that platform!" "Hey look, there's someone right by him!" a police officer said. The police couldn't see the other figure properly, and thus did not recognize that it was only Batmare. They thought it was another thugh "Whoever you are, this is your only warning!" the police chief shouted "Lay down your arms and surrender, or we will shoot!" Batmare was prepared to do just that, but at that very moment Blueblood charged at her and attacked. Batmare had no choice but to defend. The police mistook this as a sign of agression, for Blueblood did not appear to have any weapons on him. Suddenly gunfire began to rip through the AXIS Chemical plant. Batmare and Blueblood barely managing to avoid the bullets that whized past them. Then, one of the bullets struck a pipe, shattering it! This action caused the pipe's contents to shoot out at a high speed. Batmare threw her cape over her mask, thankful that she had the foresight to make her cape immune to chemicals. The same could not be said for Blueblood however, as he had been standing right by the pipe when it shattered. The chemicals that shot out of said pipe came with no warning, and hit him in the face. Blueblood stepped back, screaming in pain. "My eyes!" he cried, covering them with his hooves. Unfortunately, by doing so he couldn't see where he was going. But Batmare could. Blueblood was about to plunge off the platform into a vat of chemicals below. "Watch out!" Batmare cried. But it was too late. Blueblood lost his balance, and slipped off. Thinking quickly Batmare grabbed Blueblood with one hoof. Blueblood still hadn't opened his eyes, and was now flailing madly. He was in a state of panic, and wasn't thinking clearly. "Hold on! I've got you!" Batmare shouted, tried to reassure Blueblood. Blueblood was too busy freaking out to hear Batmare properly, and continued to scream and holler. All the while flailing like crazy. This did not help Batmare's grip, and before long she felt Blueblood's hoof slipping. She pleaded desperately with Blueblood to hold on, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. A few seconds later, Blueblood's hoof slipped out of her grasp. "No!" Batmare gasped. All she could do was watch as Blueblood fell into the vat of chemicals below. She would've stayed to see if Blueblood was alive, but at that moment the leaking chemicals from the shattered pipe came into contact with the electric generator. Fire began to rip through the chemical plant, and soon it had turned into a raging inferno. "This place is gonna blow! All units fall back and retreat!" the police chief shouted. The Manehattan Police Department cleared the plant like lightning. Batmare did the same. Not long afterward there was a planet shattering "Kaboom!", and the AXIS Chemical Factory was nothing but a memory. By the time the Manehattan Fire Department arrived on the scene the blaze was threatening to spread to nearby buildings. Batmare managed to slip away in the Batmobile as all of this was going on. Relieved to see that she had come out of that crisis in one piece. In all the confusion no one knew that, as part of the factoryt's emergency protection system, the instant anything fell into one of the vats all the vats were drained and their contents stored in containers that had been magically enchanted to ward off explosions. And so, only moments before the factory went up in smoke, Blueblood was flushed out, still alive. Somehow he managed to force his way out of the tank, the chemicals having completed covered his body. Instantly, he swore revenge on Batmare, and the boss of AXIS Chemicals for his accident. But before he could put any plans of revenge into motion, he headed for a plastic surgery center. The owner was a good friend of his, and owed him a favor that Blueblood intended to call in.