Issue #2: The Wall-Eyed Wonder!
The prince spent his following days in a state of quiet uncertainty, following his forced excursion into the world of comic books. On one hoof, he'd been drafted into a possibly dangerous task. On the other, that task was awesome! He got to be a super hero! Living the dream!
...Kindof.
He didn't exactly handle that first case in what seemed the ideal, heroic fashion, but he'd been Batmane, saved the day! That was pretty amazing, wasn't it...? He'd never gotten much warning from Celestia, who must have known what was going on if the communicator ended up on his desk, but he'd not had the courage to ask her about these events.
So he waited, going about life as normal until it was time for the next adventure, hoping he'd have something up his sleeve besides the less tolerable mannerisms of the Canterlot Elite. Sure enough, the communicator, which he now carried on his royal person at all times, eventually sounded.
Bwoo-deep-bdeep-bdeep!
Taking a quick look around and finding himself to be alone, he answered it. "Hello?"
Spike seemed cheerful. "Heya, Blue! It's time for action, you remember what to do?"
He nodded, having been briefly briefed on what the newest addition to his chambers was for, a magical device that meant he could safely cancel the early-access subscription and still enter the comic world. It loses some of the urgency when one is directly involved, I find...
"Great, up up and away!" There was a long pause. Spike coughed once. "Uhhm... Lookin' for something heroic to say for the start of these things, ya know? I'll keep working on it."
The feed cut off and Blueblood made his way to the chair hooked up to a magic carpet that, he was told, would transport him into the first activated comic, no matter where it was. He didn't question how this worked so much as why the chair happened to resemble a large bean-bag. He'd pushed the thing, carpet and all, into a corner of his chambers and hung decorative banners around the area to hide it.
Nopony even associated with high society should be seen in proximity to such a seat, he thought, even if I disappear seconds after touching it.
And that, he knew, was what he now had to do. Brushing past the banners to access that corner of the room, he set a hoof on the bag-chair and waited.
When nothing happened, he deigned to press both forehooves into it's surface, then stood atop the bulbous cushion with all four hooves. It was just as he pondered, feeling foolish, whether or not this was more or less dignified than being found in a bean-bag chair that he vanished in a flash of white light.
---
Maretropolis
Night had fallen, though the fictional city was practically under Nightmare Moon's influence in most issues. Standing at the edge of a high rooftop, Batmane triple-checked that the grappling hook in his utility belt was fully functional.
Bwoo-deep-bdeep-bdeep!
As was the communicator. "Hello?"
"Hey, Blue! It looks like the Mane-iac's goons are on the prowl, and a lot of 'em." Spike grinned. "Don't worry though, you're not alone this time!"
"How so," he asked, peering over the edge of the rooftop in search of the aforementioned band of thugs, keeping an eye out for terrible manecuts and eye-gouging attire, "are the Power Ponies involved in this one?"
"Uhmmm," Spike uhmmm'd nervously, "There's, uh... No, not quite."
Batmane waited for elaboration. He'd assumed he'd only had to work alone last time because he entered the comic first, nopony else yet there to assist him and waiting around not something he was keen on doing.
"Well, the first time this happened, six ponies were brought to the comic world, each taking the role of a Power Pony. Right now, I'm only reading two hero billings; you and the one who set off the comic."
He decided against interpreting Spike's commissioner jargon. "So where's the other one?"
"Should be in there somewhere, probably fighting already. I'd go look for Mane-iac's goons, good luck, Batmane!"
The feed cut off. Peering through Bat-noculars, he caught sight of poorly-dressed thugs a few blocks over, drew the grappling hook again, muttered a quiet prayer, and set off.
It proved easier than he would have guessed. Maybe he really was Batmane in here?
---
Nope. The Mane-iac's primarily green-maned henchmen proved to be a different kettle of fish to the Under-Dog. He had approached them with the quiet intensity Batmane was known to project, held out a hoof as they approached, and tried diplomacy.
"Stop where you are," he'd said, "you've all been working for the Mane-iac long enough to know how this goes, have you not?"
They stopped, many nodded.
"Then you know that you stand no chance of succeeding, don't you? That hapless mooks like you always fail utterly?" He puffed out his chest a bit, grinning. "That will be the case here, for I am justice, I am the night, I! Am! Batmane!" He stood on his hind legs with the last utterance, throwing out his cape not unlike a traveling showpony he'd never heard of.
The goons shrugged, one of them ready with a retort. "Maybe so, but we don't put a lot of stock in past attempts. Like the boss always says; doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result is the definition of success!"
It was at this point Batmane noticed that there were over a dozen of them and one of him. Time to see if I can channel Batmane's legendary hoof-to-hoof technique as well!
Nope. In minutes, he was subdued, restrained, and hung upside down from a lamp post. Swinging gently where he was, he turned to the one he'd talked to earlier, or at least one that looked exactly like him, and asked "Best two out of three?"
They actually seemed to consider this, but before any could reply, two that had been standing close were hit from the side by a red streak of light and sent flying, the red streak zipping about furiously in the air.
"It's a phoenix," cried one of the thugs, pointing a hoof at the whirl of motion as it plowed into another henchpony, who landed face-down in the hatch of a mail box.
"It's a manticore!" Two more taken down.
"No, it's...!"
It finally slowed down after smashing into a nearby office building, tearing straight through the brick wall. All was quiet apart from hoofsteps, until, emerging from the hole was a blonde, grey-furred pegasus in a long, red cape, a red and yellow emblem of several circles in a vague line pattern on her chest. She waved a hoof, a cheerful, almost vacant grin on her face. "Hi, everypony!"
The goons still standing cried out at once. "Super Mare!!"
Blueblood, still hanging upside down not unlike his namesake, grinned. While a boring hero to read about in most cases, Super Mare was perhaps the strongest, most powerful hero to date in the few years comic books have really been coming into their own in Equestria, which made her ideal backup. All he'd really have to do now is-... What is she doing?
Super Mare approached Mane-iac's goons as they banded together threateningly, smiled, and said "I'm here to help!" The thugs paused, looking at one another for a moment as glanced around curiously, a happy little grin on her face. "That's what super ponies do, right? Help other ponies? And griffons? And sea serpants? Whoever needs a helping of..." her brow furrowed for an instant "Help?"
"Yes," Batmane called out, "you could help by-"
"Yea, sure," a mook said loudly, drowning out Batmane by virtues of volume and proximity to the listener, "we could sure use some help gettin' some stuff outta that bank over there, right fellas?" His comrades nodded a collective affirmative.
Batmane rolled his eyes, though none could likely see it through his mask without X-ray vision. Which he believed Super Mare had. Please, they don't really think she's that stu-
"Okie-dokey!"
I hate my life.
He watched helplessly as Super Mare knocked on the bank door twice, then bucked it down at the request of a green-haired henchpony. They filed into the building as the communicator sounded.
Bwoo-deep-bdeep-bdeep!
With a light of his horn, he answered. "Hello, you've reached Upside Down Town, where criminal lunatics are assisted by super heroes and others are hung from lamp posts. If you'd like to leave a message-"
"Hey!" Spike snapped, "Batmane doesn't do quips, no sense of humor?"
"Right, sorry."
"It's cool. Anyway, what are you doing? There are like, fifteen different ways you can get out of that!"
Batmane sighed. "Yes, but what am I to do when they politely ask Super Mare to punch me through a wall?"
"Um-"
"Then BACK through the same wall with the velocity she used to fly around the world to intercept me while I was airborne?"
"Just let her know they're the bad guys, I'm sure she'll stop helping them when she knows who's who. Derpy might be a little slow, but she's not stupid."
"Derpy?"
Spike chuckled. "I'll tell ya later. Don't worry, if talking doesn't work, I know her weakness! Now you've gotta go stop those crooks, you're the Batmane!"
beep!
Sighing, but not sure what he had to lose now if this didn't work, Batmane lit his horn to trigger the blades hidden in edges of his cape, which gained the full sturdiness of steel swords as they extended, his cape launching out to his sides like the wings of a great and terrible blade-bat as they cut the ropes.
He landed on his head.
Paying no mind to the faint stars dizzily dancing in his peripheral vision, he got up as the cape-blades retracted and charged after the criminals -and Super Mare- into the bank.
---
When he caught up to the group, they were standing before the thirteen-ton vault door, behind which a wealth of gold, currency, and various valuables awaited.
Batmane wouldn't have been surprised if the Mane-iac just wanted her goons to steal the door and leave, money untouched.
Keeping his distance, he pressed himself against the wall of the doorway closest to the vault. Drawing a smoke bomb from his utility belt, he was confident that he'd at least have plenty of help from his telekinesis rather than his throwing skill in making sure it hit home. Glancing quickly through the doorway and making a note of where Super Mare stood, he sent the projectile on it's way, thick clouds immediately filling the area.
He dashed in, holding out a hoof to shove the two thugs between him and his target aside when he got near them, grabbing Super Mare, who responded with a startled exclamation, by the cape, and quickly pulling her away from the group of coughing henchponies. There were no decent hiding places in the bank, but the nearest broom closet would have to do, cramped though it proved to be.
"Alright," he whispered, her yellow mane tickling his snout as he tried to look her in the eye, "I don't know what kind of hero you're familiar with, but-"
Her eyes, which he realized now were pointed in different directions, widened slightly before she scowled, grabbed him in both forehooves, and slammed him against the nearest wall, which he was already pressed against. "I've gotcha now, Mr. Bad Guy!"
"WHAT?!"
She nodded with a cheerful little grin. "I'm a super hero, don't worry, it's what I'm here for."
"That's not the part that worries me!" Wrigging out of her grip was proving difficult, possibly more because they were cramped in a closet than due to her super strength. "What makes you think I, a fellow pony in a costume, am the villain here?"
She spoke simply, as though describing the color of the sky on a sunny day. "You were apparently getting in the way of those nice ponies outside, you're dressed in black, you were sneaking around, and now you've tried to kidnap somepony." She gave a quick nod, her face the picture of calm happiness. "Bad guy."
Sputtering for a second, Batmane realized his usual methods -well, the normal Batmane's usual methods- did in fact, seem a little under-hoofed and vaguely sinister, but he had his reasons! "Haven't you ever heard of stealth?"
She quickly blinked one eye, then the other. "Huh?"
"No? Fitting, I suppose..."
Super Mare tilted her head, confused.
The Dark Knight shook his head, for what he could. "Sometimes it's necessary to utilize less obvious tactics to achieve a given task, you can't always use brute force and expect everything to work out, sometimes guile is more useful than-WAIT!" Feeling a flare of annoyance at a sudden realization, he planted both forehooves on Super Mare's shoulders and pushed her against the wall opposite the one she had been pressing him against, eliciting a startled shout. "What," he uttered through gritted teeth, "are you doing here if you don't even know who Batmane is? Weren't you drawn into this world through a magic comic?"
She nodded quickly, apparently having forgotten Super Mare's powers of nigh-invulnerability long enough to be intimidated.
He eased up slightly. "Then you're a fan of these things, aren't you? We're playing the parts of two of the best-known heroes in the comic book industry, how do you not know who we are, and not know Mane-iac's thugs when you see them?"
She smiled sheepishly, a hint of a blush growing under her fur. "I, um... I was just delivering a package, but it slipped out of it's wrapping and when I picked it up, I got sent here somehow. Sorry?"
Staring at her for several seconds, expressionless, Batmane decided they were probably running out of time, the smoke bomb's effects had likely worn off by now and the band of goons may soon be upon them. "At any rate, we have to stop those criminals, they-"
Super Mare's expression returned to the obliviously cheerful one he'd first seen her with. "Okay!" She slammed him against the wall again.
He stared at her, silent rage filling the air not unlike the emissions of the smoke bomb mere moments before. Batmane's cowl hid his eyes, the only part of him not covered in shiny blackness being his muzzle, and he guessed he must have been displaying an impressive scowl as his supposed ally started to sweat, looking more nervous than one of her power should be in this situation.
"Umm," She uttered, forcing a smile, "I-I take you to jail now, right?"
He was so very tempted, if he could move his forehooves, to repeatedly punch her. Once. Lightly. Maybe not at all. Not like she would feel it, anyway... While proving herself to be more vexing to work with than anypony he could recall, he couldn't seem to stay angry for long. The World's Greatest Detective reasoned that it must have been something in those golden, mal-aligned eyes, an innocent 'I'm just trying to help' kind of look. He let out a long breath through his snout, not paying any attention to Super Mare's embarrassed cough at their close proximity.
"Listen," he said as calmly as possible, "those ponies you were helping, what do you think they're up to?"
She drew a forehoof to her chin, face scrunching up in concentration. "Um..."
Time being a factor, he sped things along. "They wanted into a bank. At night. The doors were locked. What were they asking you to do before I arrived?"
Super Mare smiled, she knew this one! "Open the big, shiny door!"
"The vault."
She nodded quickly, cheerful little grin proudly displayed.
"The vault in a bank, which they wish to withdraw from at night, when the bank isn't in hours of oper-"
Her smile vanished and eyes widened as she interrupted him. "They're robbing the place!!"
"YES!!"
Voices of Mane-iac's minions sounded distantly from outside the closet.
You hear that?
They're over here!
This way!
"Alright," Batmane said quickly, "they'll soon find us, but with a bit of planning, I think we can-"
Super Mare became a red blur, her vibrant cape firing through the closet door with an audible WHOO-CRASH, leaving pegasus-shaped hole that went clean through the immediate brickwork as Batmane spun in place for a few seconds. Right, he thought once he could stand straight again, I guess winging it works too.
When he caught up to her, she was standing off against the group of thugs, all now armed with pipes, chains, and baseball bats. Super Mare's stance was an aggressive one, legs apart, wings unfurled, head slightly lowered, and giving the best wall-eyed glare she could manage. She spoke to the henchponies. "You lied to me."
"Get her!" one cried out, the rest charging with weapons raised, Super Mare standing perfectly still as they approached. Batmane flung a single batarang, missing the throw, but guiding it to the back of a pipe-wielder's head telekinetically, sending him muzzle-first to the floor. Sadly, this did nothing to stop the rest, who descended on his partner in a whirlwind of violence and grunts of exertion by Mane-iac's goons. He couldn't see or hear any sign that Super Mare was fighting back, no minions sent flying, no laser vision, not even any cries of pain.
I don't think I can aim batarangs well enough to help her in that tumult, another smoke bomb might disorient them, but then we'd be back to square one, perhaps another gadget could-No, he knew what he was supposed to do, situations like this called for Batmane's signature martial arts prowess to break up the melee. He had yet to prove himself in that field so far and had no illusions about recreating his 'success' with Under-Dog here, he would have to strike them with his hooves to give Super Mare some breathing room. Galloping into the fray, he took a deep breath, pulled back a hoof, and swung it, -clean over his target's head- and was unwittingly struck in the chest by a thug winding up a swing of his baseball bat, blind-sided by a stray forehoof, and knocked back by a stumbling goon who hadn't seen, or felt, Batmane standing there.
Getting up, Batmane once again stood back, weighing options. Perhaps he could throw a desk at them or something? Pull a fire alarm and see if it proved enough distraction to-
The violence had stopped. The dust settled as the Mane-iac's henchponies stood panting, their weapons broken, Super Mare standing in the middle in her exact stance from when it began, not a scratch on her. The minions exchanged worried looks.
"You lied to me," she said, as though the last few minutes hadn't happened at all, "nice ponies don't lie to eachother. I trusted you when you said you needed help and you used me. That hurts." Her voice dropped slightly, not quite becoming a growl, but very much filled with... Not anger, but perhaps, disappointment? "Now go sit in the corner, all of you."
The band of criminals stood flummoxed, some scratching their heads with a hoof. "Um-"
Super Mare stomped, the noise as startling as the cracking of pavement under her hoof. "NOW!"
The surrounding felons quickly scattered, some shoving eachother aside for a few seconds as they fought over different corners of the room before all were seated, facing the walls.
Batmane, however, stood with his head spinning, and not just due to the blow to the head from a moment ago, desperately trying to get his brain to work as Super Mare casually trotted up to him, face set in an apologetic smile. She spoke softly. "Sorry about, um... All that stuff that happened. Are you ok?"
It was somewhere in the time it took for police arrive to start cuffing Mane-iac's goons that he finally managed to sort out what had happened, but wanted to double-check anyway. "Let me see if I understand this: You weild power beyond the scope of even the mightest earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasai put together, and deal with a dozen assailants that spent a good minute or so wailing on you with all their might by scolding them?"
Super Mare nodded, cheerful little grin shining once more. "Yup!"
"...Might I ask why? You're very much allowed to strike back, you know, it's even encouraged."
She frowned for a moment. "Maybe, but it doesn't sound very nice."
He deadpanned. "And it was 'nice' taking out a half-dozen or so when you first arrived, before tearing through that building?"
Her eyes widened in alarm. "I was running into ponies again?!" She turned her attention to the group being led away in hoof-cuffs, waving a hoof pleadingly. "Sorry I hit you earlier, I couldn't really see where I was going!" Many, both cops and would-be robbers, turned to look at her for a moment. "I'm not used to flying that fast and it was kinda hard to steer, so I'm really, really, really-"
The stream of really's was cut off by laughter, first from Maretropolis's Finest, then from the criminals themselves. Not by Batmane, though, who clenched his teeth to keep a straight face. Batmane had no sense of humor, after all. Super Mare went from worried contrition to lightly embarrassed hoof-shuffling, smiling sheepishly as Batmane put a hoof on her shoulder. "You did well, Wall-Eyed Wonder, you did well."
She blinked once before beaming proudly, standing tall with wings extended as the last henchpony was cuffed, a blinding light pulling the two heroes in.
---
Landing softly on the beanbag chair, Blueblood now felt he understood why it hadn't been a little throne or something enchanted to bring him into that world. He chuckled. "I'd say you did well for your first time playing a-" Looking around his chambers, he was alone. Somehow he thought the pony in Super Mare's stead would come with him, but couldn't think why.
Bwoo-deep-bdeep-bdeep!
The prince shrugged, answering the communicator. Spike seemed pleased. "Great job, Blue! Next issue's a big showdown with the Mane-iac herself, according to the ad pages." His draconic glee faded a little, concern clear in his face. "Here's hoping you get somepony to help with the next one too."
Blueblood nodded. "Indeed, Mane-iac has taken on all six Power Ponies at once and put up a fight quite a few times, and if she brings that paralytic hairspray..."
Spike smiled. "Well, Derpy got in, right? I'm still trying to figure that one out, but unless you're the one who activates the comic, you're almost sure to have backup, so don't worry about a thing!"
He returned the little dragon's grin, albeit without the fangs. "Until next time."
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Lol. Aw, no silly wall-eyed laser vision... Oh well! *shrug* Still fun.
4347670
I couldn't fit it in this chapter, but Ditzy'll have plenty of opportunity to play with various super powers.
4347675 SUPAH-DERP!
I thought her daughter would be the comic fan. XD
*sudden image of Derpy Hooves as Wonder-Mare*
Such hate for bean-bag chairs.
Good choice for the first guest star.
Derpy + heat vision = Man of Steel level destruction
Her cluelessness is cute, but then you add in that she doesn't read comics, further justifying it. I guess that makes sense, though.
I forget, did you plan this to be DC counterparts only? I recall the Power Ponies being somewhat of a mishmash of superhero archetypes.
4461851
There's no particular plan, I'll play with whatever I can think of something for. For now, however, DC's all that's been coming to me.
I'll try brushing up on Marvel stuff a bit before writing the chapter after the upcoming one and see if I can think of more than Spider-Filly shooting web at the wrong targets and just making a big mess, Blueblood suppressing the urge to recoil while commenting on his recent grooming. I recall Star Wars had a series of comics, too, so Star Horse (completely different roles for all involved) may be somewhere down the line.
Err...
True, but she's a nice pony and with all her strength and little ability to restrain herself well, she might kill them. And that would be bad.