Bruce stood by the door, glancing at his watch, seeing time ticking away. Grumbling to himself, he looked up. "Rarity!" he called out. "We need to get going!"
"Just a minute, Father!" she called out happily from upstairs. She had become much more vocal ever since her last front tooth came in and she lost her lisp. She had, in fact, refused to go out where she would have to talk with anyone else until that happened, which was why this had been delayed so long as it was.
Bruce grumbled under his breath, leaning back against the wall again. After waiting a while longer, he glanced at his watch again before calling out, "Rarity! We're going to be late!"
"Coming, Father!" she called back, clip-clopping down the stairs. She was wearing a rather pretty blue sundress and silver hoofshoes, along with a ruby pendant Bruce recognized as having belonged to his mother.
Bruce blinked. "Where did you get the outfit?"
"I made it," Rarity explained. "I ordered the materials online. I was hoping to surprise you. Does it look good, Father?"
Bruce smiled. "It looks very good. And...the pendant?"
"My magic showed me an old jewelry box in the attic," she explained. "It had so much lovely jewelry in it, so well made too...I just couldn't leave it moldering up there! So I brought it down to my room to wear with some of the outfits I've made myself. Is that alright?"
Bruce was silent for a time. "...that was my Mother's jewelry box," he says at last.
"Oh dear," Rarity gasps, putting her hoof gently to the pendant. "Do you think she'll mind?"
Bruce winced internally. For all Rarity had taken to calling him Father and behaving as though they were already family - which they were only a few days of paperwork processing away from being - she still didn't know the family history. "...I don't think she'll mind," he said at last. He didn't want to upset Rarity just now. She had already begun showing a flare for dramatic behavior when appropriate, and they didn't really have time for a storm of weeping.
Rarity smiled happily. "Will I get to meet Grandma?" she asked hopefully.
"...someday," Bruce said at last, opening the door. "Come on, it's time to head into the office."
Rarity let out a happy squeal, prancing over to the car. "Can I drive?" she asked eagerly.
"No," Bruce replied immediately and firmly.
At the office, Bruce was surprised at how well things went. He had three goals in bringing Rarity to the office, and so far all three showed good progress.
The first had been to test and see if Rarity's skills at Day Trading - which she described as 'finding rare gems in the market' - could be applied to situations in the work place. So far, she had already identified three employees with underutilized talents that could benefit the company through a lateral move just by talking to them, and that was before they had even made it to Bruce's office to go over paperwork.
The second was to see how she handled herself with other people. While her reallocation of personnel proved that she knew how to manage people, it didn't demonstrate social skills. However, she quickly proved adept there, as she proved able to recall many details of anyone she met in the company every time she saw them, and engaged in small talk quite easily.
The third goal had to do with how she addressed him. Given how her talents had shown, he had already set things in motion to clear the adoption paperwork to make her legally his daughter(1), he wanted to test the waters at the company to see how his employees felt regarding his new daughter...especially regarding the possibility of her being his heir, and eventually becoming head of the company. So far, she seemed to be getting a favorable reaction from the personnel. Those that didn't coo over how adorable she was were impressed with how she handled herself, and her mere presence seemed to reassure many of the lower level workers, especially after all the worry which had become palpable since the beginning of Powers' hostile takeover attempt, which - prior to Rarity's arrival - had slowly been gaining momentum.
So far, his plans seemed to be bearing fruit, and Rarity - for her part - seemed to absolutely love working with the company and managing things. She had already found several accounting errors and missed details that allowed for a drastic improvement in efficiency. Bruce wasn't sure if she was simply that good at spotting errors or if her magic was letting her 'sense' where things didn't quite add up.
At the moment, Bruce was waiting on a rather unpleasant meeting coming up. As per usual, Powers would be coming in to once again attempt to convince him to sell the company, or at least a large enough portion of it for Powers to execute a merger. Hoping to keep Rarity from being a focus of attention - or discussion - he had given her another mobile unit to play with at a desk off to the side. Last he checked, she was day trading again.
At that moment, Powers came in. "Bruce!" he said expansively. "So good to see you again!"
"Powers," Bruce replied curtly.
"Oh come now, Bruce," Powers continued, still trying to be friendly. "I was hoping, what with our upcoming business arrangement, we could be friends! We will be working together after-"
"That arrangement won't be going through, Powers," Bruce interrupted. "I've made other arrangements. I have other plans for my family's company."
Powers' smile flickered briefly. "Come now, Mr. Wayne," he continued. "Don't you think you're being just a bit stubborn? You've built up the company so well...you'll have to retire one of these days. Wouldn't you rather the company held together? Isn't it time to pass the torch to a younger man?"
"Or perhaps a younger mare?" Rarity suddenly spoke up, levitating her unit aside, still manipulating the holo-display as she turned her attention to Powers, her forehooves crossed over her barrel as she stared at him over half-moon sunglasses.
Powers blinked, having been caught off guard. "And you are?" he asked sweetly, condescendingly.
"Rarity Wayne," Rarity said firmly. "Father's been introducing me to the workings of the family company." Her smirk could have been friendly, but Bruce bet it was in response to the back step Powers had taken at her emphasis. "And I don't see why Father would want to get into business with your company, Mr. Powers, all things considered."
"Oh?" Powers asked. "And why is that?"
Bruce watched carefully. He could see that Powers was starting to get a bit unsteady. Something Rarity was saying was getting to him, putting him off his game, and he was interested in seeing what her plan was.
"Well, it's just that several of your recent business decisions seem rather...questionable," Rarity explained. She brought the comp unit back to in front of her. "Your recent explorations of the arms market appears to have over extended your company's capital, and despite your reports to your investors, unless you're able to accomplish this merger with Wayne Enterprises - or acquire a rather large dose of liquid capital - you may yet have to file for bankruptcy...especially as those weapons you decided to invest in producing proved less than effective, especially with the new generation of body armor Wayne Enterprises has provided for law enforcement and the military." She smiled sweetly. "You know, you really should have a clean house before you try to buy your way into someone else's."
Bruce narrowed his eyes as he watched this interchange. Powers was actually sweating! He didn't know where Rarity got this information, or what she was planning to do with it, but she was playing Powers like a fiddle.
Moments later, Powers' mobile unit went off with an alert. "A moment," he said, taking it out of his pocket and checking the display. After a moment, his grin turned vicious, and he confirmed a transaction of some sort. After a time, the unit confirmed that the transaction was complete. "I don't think that's something you - or I - need to worry about anymore, Miss Wayne."
"Oh, do you mean the seven billion dollars you just acquired for your personal stock shares in your company?" Rarity asked sweetly. "Voting share at that...a full 25% of the voting shares if I'm not mistaken. Rather risky to let go of that much control of your own company, don't you think?"
Bruce felt his eyes widen in shock as Powers face paled. "How could you possibly-" Powers began.
"Oh, and to someone with the username 'Lady Mysterious'?" Rarity continued. "Certainly a risky venture, to give so much over to someone about whom you only know that they have the funds and...'a vested interest in the outcomes of your dealings'?" As Powers' face contorted in rage, Rarity sat back in her chair. "I think you'd best consult with your investors before you make any more big decisions about your company. You may find things have changed drastically."
Powers growled. "A minor setback," he grunted. "Still not enough to control the direction of the board of investors, and when they learn you're-"
"Oh, but 'Lady Mysterious' isn't my only anonymous account I Day Trade with," Rarity interrupted. "It's perfectly legal to use multiple anonymous accounts after all. Perhaps you'd best check your Board members list again. A few names to keep an eye out for...PrettyPonyPrincess, RareGem, DiamondGirl, and PinkPuppy?"
Blinking in confusion, Powers looked at the list of his Board of Investors, and discovered that many of those with voting shares had recently sold theirs off for triple their current market value. Four particular accounts had acquired those portions of the voting shares in Powers Technologies.
PrettyPonyPrincess owned 5% of the voting shares.
RareGem owned 10%.
DiamondGirl owned another 5%.
And PinkPuppy owned 6%.
Powers slumped in on himself like a puppet whose strings had just been cut. He glowered at Rarity. She had, right under his nose and in the same room as him, played him like a lute and become the majority shareholder in his company...right under his nose. With one last glower, he turned and stormed out.
"Have a nice day now, darling!" Rarity called after him. As soon as the door was closed, she fell back in her chair and giggled. "Oh, Father, that was so much fun! Are any of your other business rivals such mean-spirited idiots?"
Bruce chuckled. "No, Rarity, he was the only one."
"Pity," she sighed. "Still, it was quite fun."
"Rather amusing to watch, as well," Bruce admitted. "Just one thing, though...PinkPuppy?"
Rarity tittered. "Well, Ace was so adorable when I prettied him up that I just had to take a picture with your camera. I was at a loss coming up with new account names, and that picture made the perfect avatar, so..."
"Ah," Bruce replied, nodding his understanding. He sat back, watching Rarity as she went back to shifting happily between day trading and company paperwork.
His suspicions were confirmed. He had felt her intellectual development was outstripping her physical development by a good margin. Short of her being a member of a race of 'miniature ponies', there was no biological reason for that. Which implied a magical reason. Her easy handling of Powers confirmed his suspicion that it was not only natural talent, but suppressed experience that was allowing her to handle such things so easily. This meant she had undergone some form of age regression.
The only questions that left was how, why...and how to prepare her for what would come.
(1) The Alien Foundling Act of 2030, as passed by the UN at the urging of the Justice League, stated quite plainly that an infant that arrived from the stars, the depths of the sea, another plane of existence, or another dimension could be claimed as ward and child of the one who found them if the child proved to be content in the arrangement one year after arrival. It also stated that entities from the Foundling's point of origin who shared enough genetic commonality with the Foundling to be identified as parents would have to prove justification for the child being lost and why to reclaim them outside that one year time period. The act was instated to be retroactive, so Superman - as Clark Kent - didn't have to worry about legal issues involving his legal lineage.
THE KAWAII DESU IS RISING!
Dang. so rarity now own 56% of powells company? Way to go!
this was a great chapter. can't wait to see more
5658111
51%, actually.
So...is her being a talking pony walking about a non-issue, then? I mean, yes, there's this adoption act, but I figured people are more used to somewhat more humanoid entities being involved...
5658115
darnit. I messed up the math. now i'll never be able to build my Equestria to Earth transmat device.
5658124
Yup, non-issue. It would be an issue, but she's adorable, so no one cares.
5658137
Eh, fair enough.
Poor stupid Powell.
While I enjoy this, I have to wonder what part, if any, Terry will play. I like Terry.
5658142
Probably little to none...unless he becomes Robin.
5658145 why'd you say that? Now you HAVE to do it.
Hmm. Well, her being public knowledge is certainly completely sensible, but if Rarity ever puts on the outfit in the story's cover image, it's going to be absolutely, blatantly obvious who Batmare is! I'm trying to think of other possible explanations, and "quadruped robot" and "someone dressed a small Equus ferus caballus in a Batsuit and trained it to fight crime" are the most plausible things I can come up with!
Powell got burned by Rarity!! Nice!
I do believe Rarity has just performed a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
5658124 think about this, at that point earth has been invaded several times is host to an agent of an intergalactic peace-keepers force has several non human inhabitants and even had a community of humans surgically modified to have animal traits, not to mention all the supernatural and demonic crap that happens on some parts of the planet, a little talking filly is barely noticeable heck is more of a media issue that she going to be bruce wayne successor than she being an alien
Never have I enjoyed such a business exchange like this
5658145 If Terry was 15-17 at the beginning of Batman Beyond, and this takes place 20 years before then, that must mean that Terry hasn't been conceived yet. Since Amanda Waller used Bruce's DNA to act as Terry's father because she assumed that they're must always be a Batman, as long as Rarity becomes Batman, or Bruce retakes the mantle, she'll have no reason to have Terry born/created
5658652
Wait, what are you talking about?
5658670 Didn't you see the Justice League Unlimited episode 'Epilogue'? It shows that after Bruce gave up being Batman, Amanda Waller used his blood to rewrite another man's sperm so that when he had a kid, Bruce would be the biological father. I swear I am not making this up
5658727
Never saw that one...weird.
5658145
That job is cursed! No way!
It's actually a pretty good episode. Though a Justice League Unlimited episode, it's more of a finale to Batman Beyond
5658727 So wouldn't this mean that in essence Rarity is the older sister and Terry is the younger one?
5658274
By this point in the story, Bruce actually has mechanized bat suits. He just doesn't use them much yet because they are bulky (getting in the way of his preferred agility), and the ones leading up to the Batman Beyond suit (which got rid of the previous problem of bulkiness) put a strain on an older man (which he is, even by this point, hence his retirement).
If Rarity decides to assume the mantle of the Bat, Bruce would most likely make the Batmare Beyond suit for Rarity to wear while piloting a reconfigured older model mechanized Batsuit, with her snuggly hidden inside a well armored torso, operating the controls via hooves, mouth, and magic (mostly hooves and magic, I expect, but a few mouth controls would be wise, just in case).
And Bruce would darn well tell Rarity that if it came down to her life vs. keeping the fact that "Batman" is now a pony, revealing their secret, then she had damn well be prepared for the identity of Batmare to be publicly known because he'd much rather she be alive than preserve a secret that would be worthless in his eyes if she died!
As for Powell... Whoo! Losing that much control over his own company in such a short amount of time is not going to endear him to his board of directors. And the circumstances that turned him into a plasma powered supervillain aren't in place yet, so if he goes the normal route of Batman's Gallery of Rogues, Powell will either try to go the Criminal Mastermind route (Penguin, Riddler, and several others), buy or otherwise procure some form of superpower with his remaining resources (too various to list), or go criminally insane (Joker, Scarecrow, and many others)...
And, along with deducing that Rarity is the victim of some sort of age reduction, Bruce can take comfort in the fact that rarity's base personality is showing strong signs of being good and generous! And thus extremely unlikely for her to have been a villain! Of course, nobody would reduce someone's age and then send them to another world just for being good and generous, so the odds are favorable that Rarity was either an important social figure, some sort of hero, or both. She will have had enemies and allies alike.
And so Rarity will be trained. She will be capable of fighting her former self's enemies, whoever they may be. She will also be trained to stand up for her right to make an informed decision should her former self's allies have a valid reason for her to return with them.
Personally, I'd get a kick out of it if Rarity does decide to return to Equestria, and brings her new father along so he can retire in comfort. Mostly because I want to see the expression of the faces of Bruce's business rivals and Batman's former villains when the he leaves everything to either Terry McGuiness, Commissioner Barbara Gordon, Static (who would be a well respected superhero by that time), Kal El, donate it all to various charities, distribute it to the more responsible and trustworthy members of his board of directors, or some combination. And then tell everyone: "Screw you all! I fought crime as batman, saving countless lives and keeping Gotham safe for nearly forty years! I earned my retirement, and I'm going to spend it on a world of candy colored ponies!"
5658532 Fair enough. That sort of thing doesn't come up in the comics or the shows as often as you'd think, though. Well, at least not in Gotham...
5658771
Wow. All very good points and well raised.
But I have my own plan regarding Batmare.
As for the rest of it, Rarity isn't the only one who technically qualifies as Bruce's adopted child...just the only one he happens to be on speaking terms with at the moment.
5658783
Citizens of Gotham: "Yay! We finally have our own alien! Hey, Metropolis! Our alien is more adorable than yours!"
5658765 Yes
5658814
Citizens of Metropolis: Yeah? Well, OURS can fly fast enough to turn back TIME! And is invincible, can breathe ice, has heat vision, is nigh-invincible, and fights guys way stronger than some freak dressed like a clown or a scarecrow!
5658847
Citizens of Gotham: "Ours can use magic to turn yours into a tea cozy."
It's true. The one force Superman never had a really viable defense against was magic.
5658839 Well this is going to be an awkward family reunion.
5658864 Isn't that why he sometimes hung out with Doctor Fate?
Citizens of Metropolis: Maybe, but at least he won't spend hours in the bathroom if he thinks his hair is even a smidgen out of place!
I really like this explanation of why Rarity, and the rest of the Mane 6, are able to do and understand things that seem over their age mentality. The information on how to handle various situations never went away; it was just repressed and shows itself as they grow up.
wow rarity that is how to steam role right over top of a problem, and smash the competition in one smooth move.
this is a grate chapter in a really good story.
I am finding it funny with a good plotline but is keeps a pony guessing at the same time.
good work Tatsurou keep up the good work
Harts Fire
Why Rarity? I'm not complaining at all, why, I'm enjoying this, but I feel this is rather a Luna role. I take it that choosing Luna would be too clichéd, am I right?
5658783 there is a mention of the surgically altered humans group on a chapter of batman beyond, the one about the news guy with the belt that allowed him to get past solid objects
5658991
This is one of a set of six stories that will eventually be a massive crossover involving the Mane 6 being raised in this style then being back in Equestria for various adventures.
It wasn't so much Rarity being the best match for Bruce as Bruce being the best match - in my fandom experience - for Rarity.
5658893 well memory loss doesn't means loss of any knowledge one has acquired. even with brain damage the victim is still able to do the thing he/she has learned regardless of why those have learned, since the brain doesn't store memories and knowledge the same way. the fact he noticed it is another thing
5658847 yet for some reason he and pretty much everyone on the justice league doesn't want to face him
5659004
Yes, I know, but Gotham seems to lack some of the more fantastic stuff that other super-hero cities deal with. I mean, Flash's archenemy is a psychic gorilla. And he got turned into a puppet once.
5659033 Face whom?
5659037 well yeah i mean metropolis only seems to get musclebound brutes that go around wrecking stuff, while gotham gets all the psychos that make you have nightmares just from hearing about the stuff they have done
did you read the injustice comics?
5659069
Yes, I've read Injustice. Great comics.
Also, Metropolis has Lex Luthor, the baldest supervillain on Earth!
Freaking love Batman Beyond.
How did I know this was gonna end in Rarity taking over Powell's company at that exact moment? But it was still awesome, even if I saw it coming.
Bruce should hurry up with letting her in on the family past, otherwise she'll likely figure it out on her own before he brings it up.
Oh sweet Faust the FEELS!
5659008 *looking at other stories* I take it these other ones are the ones you mentioned? If so, this is will be ONE HELL of a crazy crossover!!! And I am now looking towards it.
5662016
Yup. Those other stories following this vein - Mane 6 being raised MLD style by fictional characters - are the ones involved in the crossover.
you know I was wondering how Rarity would integrate with human society. but that whole "Alien Adoption" thing made it anti-climatic. Don't get me wrong, it makes sense now that I think of batman beyond as a whole with the DC universe, but it sorta strange. never the less, great work!!! please continue.
5659033
5659058
There is no real mystery behind why they don't want to face him. And Ri2 the 'him' in this case is Batman. This is a man, who despite NOT having actual superpowers, has outsmarted GODS whom are stated to have "Super Intellect" as a power, frequently goes one on one against foes who outclass him physically in every possible way (and he usually wins such engagements), and put "The Fear of Batman" into beings great and small, up to and including Superdick himself. This is a man who's reputation is so powerful it should actually be a superpower. There are moments that people are so convinced of Batman's ability to predict, plan, and counter plan so well that victory is impossible for anyone else, that they actually cause themselves to be defeated by Batman without the Dark Knight actually doing anything useful.
This is also the same man who has taken on every core member of the Justice League, sometimes more than just one at a time, and beaten them. Including Superdick. There is a reason that almost everyone is either afraid of Batman, or has a very healthy respect for what he can do. It should be noted that the few people who are not outright afraid of the man usually fall into 2 categories. They are criminally insane, or Batman had a personal hand in their training. And even among people who do fall into one of those categories, Batman usually still scares the crap out of them. Toss this man a Yellow Power Ring and watch the cosmos tremble.
Edit:
5658864 Since you reminded me of that, I would LOVE to see how a showdown between Batmare and Superman would go down. While Rarity may not have Twilight's raw power, or even skill, it would be a simple matter for her to contain Supes. Her TK is a magical effect, and while Superdick HAS been shown to power through magical mental effects and magical blasts, (Simply by virtue of being SUPERMAN!) I can't recall him overcoming anything remotely like magical TK.
And yes, I do have a strong dislike for the character of Superman. The concept is solid. Superman is less a man or a hero, and more of an ideal. His being a physical god doesn't bother me. The reason why Luthor is his greatest villain is not because of the clash of their physical power, but because of the titanic clashing of ideologies and beliefs involved. Same with Darkside vs Superman to an extent as well, though the New God is at least more of a physical match for the Boy Scout. Those are the moments when Superman shines best. However a lot of Superman moments focus more on the powers of Superman. And that's where it becomes stupid. This is a being with limitless physical strength, speed, and durability. And even the few weaknesses that he has, have been overcome at times simply by virtue of his being "Too Super To Stop". Sometimes that is played up as heroic determination, but more often its simply portrayed as "He is Superman, he simply overcomes such things." And that's just shitty ass writing.
5665212
Funny you should ask for a Batmare v Superman fight.
You know there was this one episode of Batman Beyond where Superman wound up with a mind control parasite on his chest...which Terry eventually beat by electrocuting Superman, since the parasite proved vulnerable to electricity...
5665212
Yes, I love Batman too. Everything you said is more or less right.