My Little Arkham

by ADHD365

Protocol

“RUN!”

Everypony turned tail and ran toward the gate as fast as they could. The bullets from the helicopter’s machine gun sprayed the ground where they had just been standing full of lead. They screamed out of the gate and took off down the street. The helicopter followed them, making the ground behind their hooves look like pepper.

Rainbow flew in front of the group, looking ahead for anything they could use for a hiding spot. Her pupils were like pinpricks as she looked left and right. They had to break the helicopters line of sight with them.

Glancing left, she saw a narrow alleyway. “In here!” She screamed as she darted inside.

The remaining five ponies followed her into the alleyway. It was narrow and it led to a dead end, but the helicopter couldn’t reach them in here. It flew above the buildings and shone its spotlight at the entrance of the alleyway. The helicopter hovered in the air for a moment before flying away.

“We have lost visual with the ponies. I repeat; we have lost visual.”

All six ponies shook violently in the darkened alleyway. Their breaths were heavy and they chattered their teeth, but they remained as still as they could. From where they were, they could hear machine gun fire, distant explosions, and screaming.

“Wh-Wh-What is that?” Twilight asked.

“I d-don’t know.” Rarity replied.

Fluttershy broke down and started weeping where she was. She sobbed and cried into her hooves in absolute fear. Pinkie walked over to her and wrapped her in a hug. Fluttershy quickly returned the embrace, crying harder.

Applejack gulped. “I-I-Is it c-clear?” She asked.

Pinkie looked to her. “I d-dunno.” She replied. “Rainbow, go check.”

Rainbow shot her a look of pure terror. “What?! Me?!”

Pinkie nodded. Rainbow looked back at the street and back to her over and over again before she gulped. She placed a hoof in front of her and slowly made her way to the opening of the alley. She peered outside and looked up and down the street.

“Well?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow looked back to her. “Its clear. I think.”

Twilight nodded and turned back to everypony else. “Come on. We need to get in the Steel Mill.”

Fluttershy looked up to her, her cheeks stained with tears. “T-Twilight, we c-cant.” She squeaked. “We’d d-die if we left.”

“Batman will die too, Fluttershy.” Rainbow said as she walked back. “He’s saved our lives so many times tonight and now he needs our help. You heard that helicopter. Batman is down. We need to make sure he’s still okay.”

“B-B-B-But… I… I…” Fluttershy croaked out before sobbing again.

“Fluttershy, it’s going to be okay.” Pinkie said. “All your friends are here and we wont let anything happen to you.”

Fluttershy paused for a long moment before she sniffed and reluctantly nodded. Pinkie looked up to Twilight and gave her a small smile. Twilight gave the same look to Rainbow.

Rarity smiled. “Now come on, girls. Who knows when that helicopter is going to return? We need to get moving.”

Applejack nodded. “Ah think we’re gonna need a plan in case one of them helicopters finds us. Ah say we split up into three groups.”

“Yeah. That way if they find us, they’ll only have to go after two of us.” Rainbow agreed.

“We’ll keep this plan until we find out how to stop Protocol 10.” Twilight said. “Lets get out there.”

Everypony took a few moments to regain their composure before slowly exiting the alleyway. They took a few looks around the air as they made their way back to the Steel Mill. The next block over, they saw a helicopter shooting missiles into a building. The building side burst in a huge ball of fire before the helicopter flew away.

“Confirmed hit. Multiple inmate casualties.”

Everypony gulped as they continued to the street corner. The Steel Mill was right across the street. They would have to book it if they didn’t want to be seen. Rarity peered around the corner to see the next street over. Inmates were fleeing and running around crazily as a few helicopters mowed them down from above. Three or four inmates fell dead before she had to look away.

Twilight took a few deep breaths. “Okay. On the count of three, we run as fast as we can over to the Steel Mill, okay?”

“Twilight, the doors wouldn’t open! How are we going to get inside?” Pinkie asked.

“The hole where the missile hit!” Rarity said, eyeing the hole in the side of the building.

“Batman must be right inside there!” Rainbow said.

“Okay. Once we get inside the gate, we’ll duck into one of the old ice cream trucks they have and wait for a minute.” Twilight said.

Everypony nodded and Twilight turned around. “So just to clarify, is it ‘One, two, three, go’, or is it ‘one, two, go on three’?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight turned to face her. “Uh… go on three.”

Pinkie smiled. “Okie Dokie Lokie! Just thought I’d spare us the confusing back and forth banter! It’s a classic element of comedic dialogue, insanely funny, but we’re in a hurry right now, so I thought it best to just get moving!”

“Right… well, thanks then.” Twilight said, turning back to face the Steel Mill. “One… two… three!”

All six ponies took off in a mad dash toward the open gate. Twilight shot a glance to her right to see if any helicopters had spotted them. They all looked busy dealing with the inmates to notice them. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and looked forward again. She wasn’t glad that the helicopters were killing all those inmates, but at least they weren’t going after them.

They ran inside and dove behind one of the ice cream trucks parked inside the perimeter. They all waited in silence for a moment. None of the helicopters stopped their assault on the inmates of Arkham City.

“Counting twenty, no. Forty more casualties.”

Twilight peered around the front of the ice cream truck and up to the flaming hole in the side of the building. On the ground floor, she saw a staircase that led up to a section right beside the hole. It was somewhat hidden and in the shadows. Perfect.

Twilight pointed to their destination. Rainbow took one last look around at the sky behind them and gave the ‘all clear.’ All six ponies swiftly but stealthily moved toward the staircase. They climbed up the steps and made a right at the top. After climbing another set of stairs, they turned left and walked in front of the flaming hole.

Twilight squinted and peered inside. “There’s too much smoke. I can’t see him from here.” She said. “Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, you stay out here and keep watch for any helicopters that come our way. Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack come with me. Lets find Batman.”

In front of the hole in the wall stretched a balcony that went straight out a ways. Either side looked down to the ground floor over everything and everyone could be seen. Pinkie stood beside Fluttershy as they slowly walked out a ways to look out at the city.

Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity and Twilight ran inside the burning building to try and find Batman. Smoke and dust was everywhere. They coughed for a moment before they grew somewhat accustomed to it. They looked around at the room they were in. Debris was everywhere. It looked like this place had just experienced an earthquake. A few Christmas lights flickered on the wall in front of them. They also saw a few doors, now blocked with enough debris to prevent entry.

They continued to look around for a moment before Applejack stubbed her hoof on a piece of concrete. She looked down. Underneath the pile of stone and destroyed wall was Batman. He strained to open his eyes at her.

“Here he is! Ah found him!” She cried.

Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow went to her side immediately. They looked down at Batman. Twilight and Rarity used their magic to lift the stones off while Rainbow and Applejack lifted with their hooves. Batman was awake enough now that he also helped lift the stones off. They all flipped the large pieces of stone off him and he slowly stood up.

“Figured you could use our help, darling.” Rarity said with a smirk.

“You’re right. I think I chipped a nail back there.” Batman replied with the slightest hint of sarcasm.

Everypony chuckled. “You just stick with the ‘tough guy’ act. Let US handle the jokes.” Rainbow said.

Batman gave a small smirk and started walking toward the exit. Everypony walked beside him. “What happened in here?” Rainbow asked.

“I confronted Joker. He’s taken both the cure and Talia.” Batman said.

“Talia?” Twilight asked. "What was she doing here?"

Batman nodded. “She offered eternal life to Joker in order to spare me. She wants me to follow her. She still has the tracker I used on that Ninja.”

Twilight nodded. “Okay, but we need to stop Protocol 10 first. Now that we know what it is, we need to hurry if we want to stop it.”

Batman ignored her and continued toward the hole. He walked out of the smoke and dust and into the clear night. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow and Twilight were right beside him. Batman went to the computer on his gauntlet and pressed a few buttons. Rainbow and Applejack stayed with him while Twilight and Rarity walked out to Pinkie and Fluttershy. They were holding each other and looking out to the city. Pinkie’s mane was completely flat.

“Pinkie? Fluttershy?” Twilight said.

“Are you girls alright?” Rarity added.

Neither ponies answered. Twilight and Rarity walked over to them. They walked around to see their faces. Fresh tears were pouring from their eyes. They watched in horror as the assortment of helicopters slaughtered everyone in Arkham City.

“Girls?” Twilight asked.

“We saw them…” Fluttershy began. “We saw them die. All of them; the inmates, the clowns, everyone, we saw each of them killed.”

“Fluttershy…” Rarity said.

Fluttershy sniffed. “No one, no matter how bad they are or what they did, no one deserves this. This is the most unimaginable act of evil I’ve ever seen.”

“We need to stop Hugo Strange.” Pinkie added. “This kind of slaughter should never even exist.”

“We will. Batman is okay now. He’ll stop Strange and we’ll get the Elements back. We’ll fix everything.” Twilight assured them.

Pinkie nodded and nudged Fluttershy. “Come on, Fluttershy. Lets stop this once and for all.”

Eventually, the four ponies walked back to Batman, Rainbow and Applejack. Batman was just finishing getting himself back in order. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie joined Rainbow and Applejack in front of Batman. He put his fingers to the side of his ear and began speaking.

“Oracle, Strange is launching missile strikes on Arkham City from Wonder Tower. You shut this place down. Joker’s taken Talia. I’m going after them.” He ordered.

Everypony looked at him. “What?” Twilight asked.

“You cant. Hundreds will be killed. I need your help to stop the attack.” Oracle replied.

“He’ll kill Talia!” Batman said.

“Batman, you can’t turn a blind eye to this.” Twilight said, motioning toward the city. “Its not right. You need to stop this now.”

“You need to think this through.” Alfred said. “Batman can’t let all these people die.”

Batman ignored them and pressed a button on his gauntlet. It made a negative beep after a second.

“My tracker’s not activating. Re-route all Wayne-Tech satellites to boost the signal.” He ordered.

“Don’t do it.” Twilight ordered on her comm. “He can’t just ignore this.”

Batman gave her the meanest glare he could. Twilight gulped, but didn’t back down. If looks could kill…

“I can’t do that. I realize it is difficult, sir. But you need if one life is worth sacrificing to save a thousand.” Alfred replied.

“Don’t do this, Alfred.” Batman pled.

“Batman must save Gotham.” Alfred said.

Batman looked back up to Twilight. “Deep down, you know he’s right, Bruce.”

Batman paused for a moment. He tried his best to show no weakness, but he couldn’t stop his lip from shaking just slightly. Twilight looked at him apologetically. Everypony else also looked at him with the same sincerity and understanding, but none of them backed down either.

Batman closed his eyes. “Oracle, DO NOT lose Talia’s signal.”

Everypony exhaled and smiled warmly. Twilight let a single tear fall. “Thank you.” She whispered.

Batman lowered his hand and produced his cryptographic sequencer. “Okay, the tower’s locked down. No way in without the codes.”

“What do you need us to do, Batman? We’re all yours.” Rainbow said.

“One of the choppers will be carrying the Master Control Program. We just need to find that chopper.” Batman said. “I’m uploading all the data to each of your computers to find the program. All you’ll need to do is scan a chopper to see if it’s the command chopper. That chopper will have the program.”

“Those choppers are pretty far away. How’re we gonna get to ‘em?” Applejack asked.

“Fluttershy and I can fly up to them.” Rainbow said.

Batman nodded. “I’ll go with you two to find the chopper. The rest of you get back to the main entrance to Arkham City. Get there as fast as you can. Hide from the choppers if you need to, but stay on the move as much as you can. When you get there, hide. We’ll meet you there when we have the program.”

Everypony nodded uneasily. This was the first time they had all been back together since they were put in Arkham City. They didn’t like the idea of being forced to split up from one another again. They all looked at each other.

“Don’t worry, guys.” Rainbow said. “We’ll be fine and so will you. Me and Fluttershy will meet you guys at the entrance, okay?”

The four remaining ponies nodded again. “You two stay safe, alright?” Rarity said.

“Yeah, listen to her.” Applejack said. “Ah wanna see ya’ll again.”

“They will be safe! Fluttershy is the best at being safe, right?” Pinkie asked with a giggle. “You show Rainbow a thing or two about being safe! A daredevil like her needs a few more lessons like that!”

Fluttershy tried to chuckle. “Oh, I w-will.” She replied.

“Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.” Twilight said with a smile.

The six ponies embraced one last time before Rainbow and Fluttershy flew up into the sky. Batman grappled up to the roof of the Steel Mill and waited for the two pegasi. Once they were beside him, he spread his cape and glided over the streets toward a group of helicopters in the sky.

“Yeah.” Twilight whispered as another tear rolled down her cheek. “Everything’s going to be just fine.”

---

“Hit successful. Inmate targets neutralized.”

Batman, Rainbow and Fluttershy flew through the air directly underneath a helicopter. Batman twisted in the air and shot his grapple at the helicopter. He zipped up to it and hung from the rails on its underside.

Rainbow and Fluttershy flew up to the helicopter as well. “What do we do now?” Rainbow asked loudly.

Batman produced his cryptographic sequencer again and held it right next to the helicopter. Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at their computers. The helicopter was quickly scanned. The words ‘Master Control Program Not Present’ appeared above the helicopter’s picture on the computer. Batman put the sequencer away and dangled for a moment longer.

“That’s all we need to do?” Rainbow yelled. “Just scan it?”

Batman nodded and let go of the helicopter. He flipped around once and spread his cape again. He glided away from the helicopter and turned toward another one. Rainbow nodded and took off in a different direction. Fluttershy yelped and flew right behind her.

They flew towards a helicopter on their left. It was shooting its machine gun at a group of inmates running for cover on the ground. Fluttershy tried not to look as the inmates’ bodies were ripped apart by the bullets and they fell to the ground in puddles of their own blood.

Rainbow reached the helicopter first. She grabbed the rails underneath and hung upside down. She held her computer next to the helicopter as close as she could as it scanned it for the Master Control Program. After a few seconds, the helicopter was scanned and the program was not found. Rainbow dropped off the helicopter and continued on her way.

“Missile locked. Structure is hit.”

Fluttershy didn’t think she could hang from the bottom of the helicopter while she scanned it. She was afraid that her grip would weaken and the shock would prevent her from opening her wings again to save herself. She looked around at the structures around her. In the distance, she saw an old chimney that stood higher than most of the helicopters’ altitudes. One or two helicopters were right next to the chimney.

Thinking quickly, she flew to the chimney as fast as she could. She flew up and landed on top of it. She could see everything from up here. Each helicopter was bombarding a different section of Arkham City. It made her sick to her stomach to think of how many inmates were being killed right now.

She shook her head and brought up her computer. She pointed it at the nearest helicopter a few yards away. It took a bit longer than usual, but the computer scanned it. Like the others, no program was aboard. She turned around and faced the helicopter right behind her. It hadn’t seen her yet, but it was rising up to her level quickly.

She quickly scanned it, breathing heavily as the helicopter continued to rise. Once her computer beeped negative, she jumped off the opposite side of the chimney and flew away as fast as she could. She looked back to see the helicopter fly up and over the chimney she was just on. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued toward Rainbow Dash.

She found her flying alongside Batman toward the GCPD. Rainbow called to her. “Did you find it?”

“No I haven’t yet.” Fluttershy replied.

“Its okay, we’ll keep trying.” Rainbow said.

The trio continued through the air with Batman leading the way. He had to grapple up to a rooftop and jump off again every so often to stay in the air, but they made their way toward the GCPD, stopping at every helicopter on the way.

As they neared the edge of the water, a helicopter on their left shined its light on them. All three of them turned to face it as it quickly flew toward them.

“Batman spotted.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in horror as the helicopter began to spray the air around them with bullets.

“Break off!” Batman ordered.

Rainbow flew over to Fluttershy, grabbed her, and dove backwards. Batman dive-bombed toward the water and pulled up just before hitting the surface. Rainbow and Fluttershy glanced at the helicopter. It was going after Batman and not them.

“I don’t think so.” Rainbow growled.

She threw Fluttershy up in the air and flew toward the helicopter, being careful to avoid the machine gun fire. Fluttershy caught herself and flew after Rainbow. Rainbow neared the helicopter and aimed at the machine gun. She flew to impact it as hard as she could from the side. She bucked it a few times before the machine gun bent out of whack and stopped firing.

“I have a weapons malfunction. The cannon isn’t responding.”

Rainbow bucked the gun one more time and broke off one of its hinges. It hung limply and sparked. Rainbow was tempted to fly up to the cockpit and make a face at the pilot, but Fluttershy held her back.

They flew behind the helicopter toward the drawbridge. There was another helicopter flying low in front of them. Rainbow flew behind it and toward its underside. Fluttershy looked around and saw another helicopter shooting missiles at a set of buildings to her right. Batman was hanging on its underside and scanning it. After a second, he dropped and glided toward a building to his right. He grappled to the rooftop.

“Come on, Fluttershy! We need to get going!” Rainbow said from behind Fluttershy, startling her.

They both flew over to Batman. He ran toward the edge on the opposite side of the building and took flight. Rainbow flew ahead to a helicopter that was flying behind the GCPD. Fluttershy looked left and saw another helicopter flying above where the freeway had previously been. She gulped and took off toward it.

She didn’t dare grab on to the railings so she scanned the helicopter from a little ways away. Like before, the system scanned the helicopter for the program. This time, her computer made a positive beep and the words ‘Master Control Program Located’ came on her screen.

“Oh!” She exclaimed. “I found it!”

---

“We have multiple inmate casualties.”

Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack took off down the street in front of the Steel Mill as fast as they could run. Twilight led the way, blasting away any obstacle in her path. They retraced their steps and ran as fast as they could toward the bridge. They had passed the bodies of several dead inmates scattered along the street. They did their best not to look at them as they ran.

Rarity tripped and stumbled over an inmate’s body, covering the front of her leg in what she desperately hoped was water. She caught herself and continued with the rest of the ponies.

“Ponies have been spotted. Commencing attack.”

Pinkie turned and looked up to see a helicopter right above them. It fired two missiles toward them. She yelled in fear at Twilight. Twilight whipped her head around to see the two missiles hurdling toward them. Thinking quickly, she created a magical shield around them and the missiles impacted. Twilight dropped the shield and they all made a hard right down the next street.

“We have lost visual.”

They scrambled into an alleyway and waited a few moments for the helicopter to continue on. After they saw no sign of it anymore, they ran out of the alleyway and made a hard right. They practically flew down the street as they made their way closer to the bridge.

Rounding a corner, they saw two clown inmates running toward them. Everypony groaned as they got ready for a fight. However, the inmates continued running right past them down the street. If there was anything good about this, its that they would be left alone by all the inmates, at least while Protocol 10 was still going on.

They continued down the street until they got to the familiar entryway. The adrenaline was preventing them from feeling tired, but it did next to nothing to stop them from feeling sore. Nevertheless, they pressed onwards toward the drawbridge.

Twilight’s horn glowed. “Get behind me!” She ordered.

Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie all complied and Twilight teleported them to the other side in an instant. They shook themselves off and continued running, but skidded to an immediate stop when they saw the edge. The ice-cold water was directly below them and the freeway was gone. They were trapped.

“Over there! That rooftop!” Pinkie exclaimed, pointing to her right. “Twilight, can you get us up there?”

“Yeah! Get ready!” Twilight replied.

Her horn glowed and flashed. The four ponies were now on the rooftop right next to where they just were in front of the drawbridge. They took a moment to regain themselves and started running along the rooftops toward the other section of Arkham City.

They all ran as fast as they could, vaulting over obstacles, jumping off and up to rooftops, and keeping an eye out for any helicopters. They ran as far as they could until they couldn’t go any further. The only way to continue was to jump down to the section of freeway that still stood and onto the next part of rooftops on the other side.

They jumped down to the freeway. The rooftop they needed to go on was low enough that it could be jumped to easily. Applejack got there first. She took a running start and leapt off the edge toward the roof. She barely made it. Her back hooves were hanging off behind her, but she pulled herself up and turned around. Twilight didn’t need to take a running start, but she did anyway. Once she reached the edge, she teleported herself up to Applejack.

Rarity was right behind her. She ran as fast as she could and let instinct take over. As soon as she got to the edge, she jumped as high as she could, but it wasn’t enough. She barely missed the edge. Applejack and Twilight couldn’t catch her in time and she started falling toward the water screaming loudly.

Pinkie moved like lightning. She ran to the edge, jumped behind Rarity, and pushed her up to the rooftop. Rarity caught Applejack and Twilights hooves and they pulled her up. Meanwhile, Pinkie curled into a ball as she careened into the glass window on the side of the building. Glass shards flew out and hit the ground and water below.

Pinkie landed with a thud inside the building. She felt a stinging pain on her cheek and flank. She got to her hooves and examined herself. A piece of broken glass had made a nice slice through her lower flank just under her cutie mark. She dabbed at the cut under her eye with her hoof. Blood began to trickle down her face.

Ignoring herself, she ran back to the window. “Keep going! I’ll meet you guys later!”

Twilight called back. “Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine! Just go!” Pinkie replied.

She turned tail and ran into the next room of the abandoned apartment. She opened the front door and took off up the stairs. At the very top of the staircase, she was met with a door that read ‘Roof: Authorized Personnel Only.’ Pinkie turned the handle. Locked.

She growled as she though about how to open it. She examined the doorknob. It looked old and rusty. Maybe it was weak enough to the point where she could break it. She backed herself up and bucked the door as hard as she could. It barely made a dent. She bucked the door again and again, but it didn’t budge.

“Urgh! Come on, Pinkie! You used to work on a rock farm! You can get a door open!” She yelled to herself. She sat there for a moment before looking up in desperation. “So, do you think you can help me? Please?”

Hmm, I don’t know Pinkie.

“Come on! I really need help here! I can do lots of stuff, but I can’t buck as well as other ponies! You know that!”

True, but you know I’m not supposed to help in these situations.

“Well… Well…” She stammered, looking for a response. “Well you’re not supposed to make Fluttershy cry! You wrote the story so she was crying her eyes out a few pages ago!”

Well, I was trying to make a part to make people have feels!

Pinkie folded her arms. “Still not a good reason to make Fluttershy cry. Bad form on your part, Mr. Author.”

Okay fine. I’ll help. Just don’t tell her or anyone else, please? That would make me look really bad.

Pinkie nodded. “Okay deal!”

There’s a spare key in the old fire extinguisher case behind you.

Pinkie turned around and saw the red case. She opened it up and lifted the fire extinguisher. There sat the spare key.

“Yes!” Pinkie said, taking the key. She inserted it into the keyhole and unlocked the door. It swung out away from her and she ran out onto the roof.

She turned right and saw the remaining ponies all running away from her along the rooftops. Pinkie took off running after them. She called out to them and they stopped running to turn around. Once Pinkie caught up with them, they all continued running along the rooftops.

Eventually, they came to the edge of the rooftop that overlooked the freeway ramp below. They all jumped down to it off the roof. Twilight used her magic to slow each ponies’ descent right before they landed on the ground.

They turned and ran down the ramp toward the gate separating them from the rest of the city. Twilight blasted it open and they all ran through. They did a mad dash to the small haven underneath the rest of the freeway and skidded to a stop to catch their breaths.

“Okay…” Applejack huffed. “Lets… take… a break…”

“Yeah… lets…” Twilight replied.

“Pinkie… thank you… so much for… saving me back there…” Rarity thanked.

“Aww, its no biggie!” Pinkie said. “I just wanted to make sure you were going to be okay!”

“What happened to… your face, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“Well, when I crashed through the window, the glass cut me up pretty bad.” Pinkie replied, showing off her scratch on her flank.

“Oh gosh!” Twilight exclaimed. “Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah! Don’t worry I’m fine! Luckily, the glass didn’t scratch my cutie mark! The balloons would’ve popped and then I would’ve been really sad!” Pinkie said happily.

Everypony wanted to object, but they held their tongues. Knowing how Pinkie Pie was, that exact thing probably would’ve happened to her.

Once they all caught their breaths, they quickly turned tail and took off past the church. They started running as fast as they could toward the main entrance to Arkham City. Hopefully, with Rainbow, Fluttershy and Batman there to meet them.

---

Batman grappled up to the helicopter that Fluttershy was flying behind and grabbed onto the rail. He scanned the helicopter again to make sure that the program was there. When he confirmed it, he struck the underside of the helicopter with his fist, causing a panel to come loose.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow called. “You found it?”

“Yes! Batman is just getting it now!” Fluttershy replied.

Batman placed the cryptographic sequencer near the helicopter beneath the open panel. He quickly downloaded the Master Control Program and put the sequencer away.

“I’ve got the code. I’m heading to Wonder Tower.” He said.

“Good. You’re doing the right thing. The code should let you enter the guard room, via the main gate.” Oracle replied.

“Don’t lose Talia’s signal. When I’m finished with the tower, I’m going after her. She doesn’t know Joker. He’s out of her depth. I need to save her.” Batman replied.

Just before he let go, Fluttershy’s computer beeped twice. Her and Rainbow brought their screens up to see what it said.

---

“Missile Launch Detected?” Rarity read her screen aloud.

Suddenly, they heard a noise that was louder than Pinkie’s constant screaming “Twitchy tail! Twitchy tail!” They looked up to see a single missile fly from the top of Wonder Tower and head right toward them. Everyponys eyes went wide with fear.

“Duck and cover!” Twilight screamed.

They ran toward a giant yellow dumpster to their left. They dove inside and shut the lid. From inside, they heard the roar of the missile as it approached. After a few seconds, the roar changed into a deafening boom while the ground shook violently beneath them. They all screamed loudly for a moment before the shaking ceased. They opened the lid just a crack to inspect the damage done.

Right across the street, the missile had hit the courtroom. The entire front of the building was now covered in fire and pieces of concrete were falling to the ground below. They honestly didn’t know if Strange had aimed the missile at them or at the building. They decided to wait for a few moments.

---

“Come on! We gotta see if they’re okay!” Rainbow exclaimed as she flew ahead.

“Wait for me, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy pled.

Batman was gliding right behind them. Rainbow pointed herself over to where the missile had hit and accelerated. Fluttershy tried to keep up with her as best she could. They flew over the church, right next to the top of the steeple. Rainbow narrowly dodged the big green question mark.

Rainbow finally made it in front of the courthouse, inspecting the damage. “Guys?! Are you here?!” She screamed.

“Yeah, we’re right here!” Applejack called from behind her.

Rainbow whipped around to see Applejack holding the lid to a dumpster open for Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie as they all climbed out. Rainbow smiled widely and flew over to them. She wrapped them all in a big hug. Fluttershy joined them a second later and also wrapped her hooves around them in a hug.

“We thought you were hit by the missile!” Fluttershy said.

“Almost! Luckily, my Pinkie-sense was going off like crazy!” Pinkie said.

“Well, we’re not out of this yet, ya’ll. Come on! We still need to get to the main entrance!” Applejack said.

“Right! Lets go!” Twilight said.

They broke off from their group hug and ran down the street toward the main entrance of the prison.

---

From their hiding spot across the way, they saw the entrance to Arkham City. This very place is the first piece of outside they saw in this world. Hopefully, it would be the last time they ever saw it. Once Strange was dealt with, they were going to get the Elements of Harmony back and find a way back to Equestria. If what he said and what Princess Celestia’s letter said was true, then Strange now controlled the elements, and Equestria was on its last breaths. They needed to hurry.

Batman went on ahead to the balcony above to unlock the guard doors. He quickly dealt with the two snipers positioned there before ducking down to crack the code for the door. After a moment or so, everyponys computers beeped and Batman stood up.

“Its unlocked, come on.” He said over the comm.

The ponies ran across the open yard in front of the main doors toward Batman. Fluttershy and Rainbow had flown up while carrying Rarity and Pinkie Pie with them. Twilight used her magic to teleport herself and Applejack up to the balcony. Once they were all there, they ran into the door and turned right.

They ran down the hallway, passing many various pieces of electrical equipment. They made it to the end of the hallway where Batman used his electric shock to open the security door. It slid open and they all ran inside.

The next area had a balcony that overlooked a large pool of water directly below. Another balcony was underneath them. Batman vaulted over the rail and glided down to it. The ponies followed after him. He approached the security door and brought up his electric shock to open it. Once it slid open, he walked through it. All six ponies walked in a group right behind Batman.

“This is it.” Twilight said. “The final stretch.”

“You sure you’re okay with what we’re about to do?” Batman asked them. “I can do this on my own.”

“We know you can. Doesn’t mean you have to though.” Rainbow said.

“Don’t you worry none, Batman.” Applejack said. “We’re with ya all the way.”

“Whatever you need from us, we’ll provide it as best we can.” Rarity added.

Batman gave them all one last look before turning around. “Okay, lets go.”

He reached forward, turned the handle, and opened the door.

Author's Note:

Its here! On a Tuesday! Things are back to normal!

Comments

[Sabo88]

Nice!

[Windbuck]

It's going down. That includes Strange.

[Zekromic]

stay tuned dawgs, next chapter should be comming

[Zekromic]

I FINALLY GOT RIDDLER, YOU DESERVE THAT PUNISHMENT FOR WHAT YOU DID TO APPLEJACK

[sonicandmario826]

Time to confront Strange.

[Pamoh2019]

Rainbow whipped around to see Applejack holding the lid to a dumpster open for Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie as they all climbed out. Rainbow smiled widely and flew over to them. She wrapped them all in a big hug. Fluttershy joined them a second later and also wrapped her hooves around them in a hug.

Doesn't that hurt pinkie?
Oh never mind this is pinkie i'm talking about ,She'll survive