//------------------------------// // Attack On Ponyville: Part 5 (The Final Showdown) // Story: Batmare Triumphant // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// It didn't take long for Batmare to find where Robin was being held prisoner. Just outside of Ponyville stood a massive mobile laboratory, with a roof that seemed ready to open up and reveal something at a moment's notice. "Just hang on Spike. I don't know what's happened to you, but I'll try my damn best to save you!" Batmare thought to herself, as she snuck inside the laboratory through the ventilation system. Nightwing had been moved to the control room of the giant freeze ray, still trapped in a massive glacier of ice that came all the way up to his neck. Miss. Freeze had taken the liberty of leaving his staff with one of the few stallions that had remained with her during Two Face's failed assault on Ponyville. Two Face himself was locked away in a holding cell deep within the base. "Look at the snow around you, Nightwing, is it not beautiful?" Miss. Freeze asked her captor, as she continued to make final preparations for the firing of her freeze ray "Notice how before the snow, all is equal. There is no good or evil, all is frozen. It is pure, uncompromising in its prescence, uncaring of who or what lays before it." "But it's also cold." Nightwing replied. Miss. Freeze simply nodded "Much like the cruel hoof of fate itself. One moment, life is all sunshine and roses, and the next you are awoken with a cold slap of reality. Just when you think that life is okay, fate steps in and reminds you of who is in charge. I learned that lesson months ago, and now I intend to teach that lesson to the rest of the known world." "I know the truth." Nightwing spoke up "I investigated Canter. Corp. and I learned about what happened to you. I'm sorry, I never knew you were trying to save your loved one. If I were in your place, I'd probably do the same thing." Miss. Freeze remained unmoved, she replied coldly "I appreciate your sympathy, bird boy, but emotions are beyond me at this point. My heart has been frozen to the world around it, no longer can I feel such emotions as pity or concern. But it matters not, for soon I shall unleash a new world order. In a matter of moments, Ponyville will be a frosty graveyard, void of life." "There's still one thing I don't understand." Nightwing went on "Just what happened to you that caused you to wear that suit? Was it a result of the chemicals in the lab?" "Ah, you are just like your mentor, a fine detective. Indeed, the chemicals made it impossible for me to survive for long in anything above freezing." Miss. Freeze explained "But my icy powers are the result of something you cannot begin to comprehend. When I was left for dead by that monster who calls himself a stallion, I would not have survived the incident were it not for the help of the windigos themselves. They saved me, and as a result I learned of their incredible powers. I came to understand that the windigos were misunderstood, they did not wish to murder all of ponykind, they merely sought to save the world by purging it of hatred. Because the ponies were foolish enough to hate, the windigos were left with no choice but to exterminate them." "You expect me to believe that?" Nightwing asked crossly. "It matters not what you believe, when my beloved Shadow Mist was taken from me, I vowed to stop at nothing to avenge his demise." Miss. Freeze said ominously "And in a matter of moments, I shall have done just that." "But what will vengence solve?" Nightwing asked. "I would not expect you to understand." Miss. Freeze said coldly and turned away "You have not experienced what I have, therefore you cannot truly say what you would do. If you had someone you loved, would you not move mountains to save them if you had to?" "Of course I would, but not like this." Nightwing replied. Miss. Freeze didn't answer, she just set to work on operating the console. "Once I activate the countdown sequence, nothing will stop me!" she thought to herself. Suddenly, there was the sound of a commotion from outside the control room, followed a few seconds later by a soft thud. If Miss. Freeze was concerned, she didn't show it, as she continued to focus her attention on maintaining control of the freeze ray. But only a moment later, who should drop down from the vents, but a figure clad in a familiar dark gray suit with spiked shoulder pads, a black mask, matching black gloves and boots, and a black bat emblazoned into the center of the suit. Nightwing instantly recognized who it was, and at that moment he couldn't have been happier to see her. "Batmare! Oh, I'm so happy to see you!" he said happily. "Just hang on Nightwing, I'll get you out of there in a jiffy!" Batmare replied, and used a special batarang she had designed specifically for this sort of occasion. She planted it onto the ice block, and within seconds the ice began to melt. As soon as Nightwing was freed, Batmare presented him with his staff. "Thanks for the help." Nightwing replied, and took back his staff. He hadn't fully forgiven Batmare for what had happened a few days ago, but for right now he was glad to have someone to fight by his side. "No problem, it's what superheros do." Batmare said kindly "Now come on, let's put Miss. Freeze on ice!" "You're too late, dynamic dimwits!" Miss. Freeze called, as she pressed one last button on the control console. The freeze ray began to rise up, the roof parting to let it pass through. The ray continued to rise until only the very bottom of it was still inside the laboratory, and then it positioned itself at the unsuspecting town of Ponyville. "What's going on?!" Batmare asked Nightwing. "Miss. Freeze is gonna use that thing to freeze Ponyville to the core!" Nightwing replied. "I figured that out when I spotted the plans on the table outside the control room! How are we suppose to stop it?!" Batmare asked Nightwing. "It cannot be stopped!" Miss. Freeze shouted, brandishing her portable freeze ray "Can you feel it coming, detectives? It is the dawning of a new world order. Once Ponyville is frozen dead, all of Equestria and beyond will be next to suffer! In just five minutes, everything will change forever!" "Not if we have anything to say about it!" Nightwing shouted "Batmare and I will take you down! This is your last warning, surrender now and call off the freeze ray!" "NEVER! I will not stop until my revenge is complete!" Miss. Freeze bellowed, and fired her portable freeze ray at the two superheros. Both Batmare and Nightwing dodged to opposite sides as the beam approached. They quickly regrouped and dove for cover behind the massive freeze ray, where Miss. Freeze couldn't see them. "Got any plans?" Nightwing asked Batmare. "I've got one, but it's a longshot at best." Batmare admitted. "Whatever the risk, we have to try it!" Nightwing insisted "What's your plan?" "If one of us distracts Miss. Freeze, the other one can shut down the massive freeze ray from the control console. Then, together, we can defeat Miss. Freeze herself." Batmare explained. "Okay then, I'll distract Miss. Freeze. And you focus on stopping that freeze ray." Nightwing replied. But Batmare shook her head "No, Nightwing. I want you to focus on shutting down the freeze ray. I'll distract Miss. Freeze. You've put yourself in harms way several times in the past, it's time I returned the favor." "Well, alright, but I hope you know what you're doing." Nightwing said seriously. "Just promise me that, no matters what happens, you'll concentrate on stopping the massive freeze ray first." Batmare said seriously, and swung up to where Miss. Freeze was waiting. Meanwhile, Nightwing carefully sneaked over to the control console, and set to work on figuring out what he needed to do to disable the freeze ray. "Four minutes to freezing." a computerized voice called out. Miss. Freeze simply smiled "It won't be long now until everything freezes over." she said to herself, standing on a platform that was part of the massive freeze ray. "I've got some bad news, Miss. Freeze! Ponyville's not freezing today!" Batmare shouted, and landed in front of Miss. Freeze. Miss. Freeze was not pleased to see Batmare again "If you've come here to stop me, you won't succeed!" she told Batmare, and fired her portable freeze ray. Batmare dodged the beam, and knocked the portable freeze ray out of Miss. Freeze's hooves. It landed on the ground and fell onto its side. Batmare smiled, with the portable freeze ray out of Miss. Freeze's clutches, the supervillan would have to fight with her physical strength instead of counting on her icy powers. But when Batmare threw a punch, she was surprised when Miss. Freeze not only blocked it, but also threw Batmare back quite a bit. "If you thought my icy powers were the only perks of my condition, you are sadly mistaken. This suit was not only designed to keep me alive, but also to make me stronger than anyone in existence!" To demonstrate her point, she picked Batmare up and began to strangle her a little. Nightwing, meanwhile, was trying his hardest to work the console and shut down the freeze ray. But he was having little luck, and growing steadily more frustrated as the seconds ticked by. "Come on, come on!" he said angrily, pounding at the panel in anger "Why won't this damn thing obey me?!" He continued to press different buttons, but not one of them gave the command that he needed. "I hope Batmare's having better luck then I am right now." he thought to himself. Batmare struggled to break free of Miss. Freeze's choking grip. She could feel her lungs gasping for air, as she tried to overpower the powerful supervillan. Just when Batmare thought she was a goner, Miss. Freeze let up and dropped her onto the ground of the platform. "A valiant effort, Batmare, but ultimately futile. You and bird boy have been a thorn in my side for too long, and it is time you both felt the icy touch of death!" "Three minutes to freezing." the computerized voice called out, alerting Batmare to the fact that Nightwing hadn't shut down the massive freeze ray yet. "It is a shame it must end like this." Miss. Freeze said omniously, as Batmare caught her breath "I would've wanted you to be alive to witness what is about to happen. But the longer you remain alive, you become that much of greater a nussiance and much more of a threat to my plans. Therefore, I have no choice but to kill you here and now!" But as Miss. Freeze approached, Batmare spotted an opportunity. Thinking quickly, she dug into her utility belt and pulled out her grappling gun. She fired it into the sky, and as luck would have it, it latched onto the cannon portion of the giant freeze ray. Batmare quickly swung up, evading Miss. Freeze's grasp. Then, she quickly swung back around and kicked Miss. Freeze hard in the back. It hurt, but it accomplished the effect of catching the supervillan off guard and knocking her onto her back. Batmare seized the opportunity, and in one swift motion, she planted a batarang similar to the one she had used to free Nightwing onto the back of Miss. Freeze's suit. "That should shut you down!" she said seriously. Miss. Freeze could soon feel the heat from the batarang work its way into her system, it was an incredibly uncomfortable feeling "You can't kill me!" she pleaded. "You're right. I can't, and I won't." Batmare replied "This batarang won't kill you, but it should disable your icy powers and reduce your phyiscal strength to normal. It'll still be cold enough for you to survive." And she quickly grabbed the super villan, and brought her down to the ground. "This... is not... the end." Miss. Freeze said, as Batmare hoofcuffed her and destroyed her miniature freeze ray. "You still haven't stopped my giant freeze ray. Victory WILL be mine!" "Two minutes to freezing." the computerized voice called out. "How it's going, Nightwing?!" Batmare called. "Unfortunately, not very good!" Nightwing grumbled in reply "I can't figure how to get this damn thing to turn off! It's driving me up a wall!" "Well, keep trying! We've gotta stop it before it's too late!" Batmare said, raced over to try and help Nightwing out. With Miss. Freeze out of the way, her attention now turned to stopping the freeze ray. But just as Batmare reached Nightwing, a familiar gravely voice spoke up. "I don't care if all of Equestria freezes to death, I'm not going to that hell hole they call an asylum!" A second later, Two Face emerged from the shadows, brandishing his familiar tommy gun in his right hoof. Before either Batmare or Nightwing could stop him, he fired several bullets into the control console, effectively destroying it, and preventing anyone from shutting down the freeze ray it controlled. "How'd he get loose?!" Batmare asked, as she subdued the crime boss with a swift kick and proceeded to hoofcuff him. "I must've somehow set him free while trying to figure out how to turn off the freeze ray." Nightwing said in reply, as he observed the damage caused to the console. "And unfortunately, it looks like he just totaled the only thing that can shut said ray down." "Then there's only one thing to do!" Batmare said firmly "We demolish the freeze ray on our own power!" "Are you nuts, we'll never succeed!" Nightwing replied. "Maybe not, but we've got to try!" Batmare said, and grappled up to the platform she had fought Miss. Freeze on. Nightwing just shrugged, and leaped up to the platform using his own grappling hook. "Now I'm starting to see why she told me never to leave home without one." he thought to himself. "One minute to freezing." the computerized voice called out "T minus sixity seconds and counting." "No time to argue, Nightwing!" Batmare shouted, as Nightwing joined her on the platform "We've got to find a way to destroy this thing once and for all!" "We don't have enough time! Ponyville is done for!" Nightwing shouted back. "Not if I have anything to say about it!" shouted a voice that was unrecognizable to Nightwing, but was recognizable to Batmare. In a blinding flash of white light, a figure appeared with its face obscured by a purple cloak and matching hood. "What can you do to help us?!" Nightwing asked the figure "And how can we trust you?! "She's the one that led me to you in the first place!" Batmare replied "I think it's safe to say that she's on our side!" "Just leave everything to me, dynamic duo!" the figure told Batmare and Nightwing "You two get out of the way, and I'll destroy this thing for good!" Batmare and Robin grappled down, as the computerized voice called out "T minus thirty seconds and counting." Once the two superheroes were safely out of harm's way, the cloaked figure teleported up to where she was now hovering over the massive freeze ray. Taking a deep breath, she bellowed out a phrase that neither Batmare or Nightwing had ever heard before "Azera, metrion, SYNTHOS!" the cloaked figure bellowed, and two small purple orbs appeared around her. Using the orbs, the cloaked figure lifted the massive freeze ray into the air as if it were a toy. Then, the figure made a clapping motion, and the freeze ray began to crumble up and fold in on itself as if it were made of paper. Once the freeze ray was reduced to nothing but an unrecognizable metallic ball, the cloaked figure smashed the freeze ray back down onto the ground, and made a motion that seemed to represent a hammer pounding a nail into a board. That motion caused the freeze ray to fall apart, and shatter into tiny metallic pieces. Pieces so tiny, that it would be impossible to reconstruct them into anything useful. When the freeze ray was completely demolished, the cloaked figure flew back and landed in front of both Batmare and Nightwing "It is finished. Ponyville is safe." the figure told them. Then, the figure turned to Nightwing and said "I'm sure you have many questions about who I am, and why I have only chosen to reveal my prescence to you now." "You took the words right out of my mouth." Nightwing replied. The figure tossed a small pin to Nightwing and said "Meet me at the specified location if you wish to know more." And with that, the cloaked figure disappeared in another blinding flash of white light. "Shadow Mist, forgive me." Miss. Freeze thought to herself, as she realized that she had been defeated. "Alright, Miss. Freeze, time to go." Batmare said seriously, as she headed over to the supervillan and prepared to escort her away "I already contacted the royal guard, by now they should be waiting for us just outside your base." "Wait, all this time you had the royal guard at your disposal?" Nightwing asked furiously. "Unfortunately, no." Batmare replied "Once I had freed you, I contacted the royal guard through my own methods. But they specifically told me that it would take a while for them to show up. By the time they could gather enough of a unit to take this base, it would've been too late to stop Miss. Freeze's plans." "I see." Nightwing nodded "I guess that makes sense." And he turned his attention to Two Face. "Any last words before I turn you over to the royal guards?" Batmare asked Miss. Freeze. Miss. Freeze's response, was to dig into her suit and pull out a vial of some sort. It appeared to be colored blue. "Take this as a parting gift." she said to Batmare. "Just what is this stuff? Some sort of contingency plan?!" Batmare asked crossly. Miss. Freeze shook her head "Part of my studies into the world of cryogencis involved understanding the way a pony's body works." she told Batmare "This is a sample of my blood, it contains properties not found in any other pony species." "And your point is?!" Batmare asked. "Surely you have wondered why my sister and I have been around for thousands of years?" Miss. Freeze began. "The thought had crossed my mind." Batmare admitted. "We are the last of our kind, the last pure blooded alicorns." Miss. Freeze explained "Exposure to the sun and the moon have altered us in ways that most ponies could only dream of. One of them is immortality. For as long as we are connected to the source of our power, we cannot die or age. But, if our connections to the sun or the moon are damaged or destroyed, then we become mortal." "That explains why you almost died after being shot by Jet Set." Nightwing realized "The bullet must've severed your connection to the power of the moon." "Indeed." Miss. Freeze replied "This immortality is a part of us alicorns from our heads to our hooves, right down to the blood itself. With this sample, you should be able to extend the life span of whoever you inject." "And why would you give this to me?" Batmare asked Miss. Freeze. "I understand that Granny Smith has been a bit 'under the weather' to put it lightly." Miss. Freeze explained "I fear that it will not be long until she is at death's door. With this sample, you can extend her life for a few more years." "How do I know I can trust you?!" Batmare asked angrily. "I tested the sample on Shadow Mist's replacement as captain of the night guard." Miss. Freeze told Batmare "It worked like a charm. If the subject is not suffering from a terminal disease, the blood of an alicorn can extend its life for a small number of years. It's not much, but it can be a big help." Batmare took the vial, and put it away in her utilty belt. Then, she and Nightwing delivered both Miss. Freeze and Two Face to the royal guard. Both super villans were tried, and put behind bars. Two Face went to Canterlot Asylum, as did Miss. Freeze (who was given her own specially designed cell to accomodate for her inability to survive in above freezing temperatures). And just like that, Equestria was safe once again.