Batman Restarts

by TheClownPrinceofCrime

Chapter 16: Batman vs. King Sombra

10 MINUTES EARLIER

Batman was in the midst of darkness that surrounded him completely. Everywhere he looked, it was deep darkness. “Where am I? Am I dead? No...this has got to be a dream...” he muttered. He looked around to see if Sombra was around; however, he was nowhere to be found or seen in the midst of the darkness. He was hoping that he would not fail his mission in saving the lives of not only his own people but also the lives of the ponies who welcomed him and cared for him.

Suddenly, angry voices could be heard from afar. Within a moment, he was surrounded by millions of people who glared at him while some had tears on their eyes. Batman stood there while watching the people of Gotham encompass him and draw nearer to him. “YOU FAILED US, BATMAN!! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT US, AND YOU LEFT US TO PERISH!!” some of them cried wrathfully.

“Where were you when those criminals took over Gotham?! Some hero you are!” a man scorned.

Things got more personal minutes later. Emerging from the angry mob were Alfred, Gordon, and...his parents. “You are a freak, Batman!! You doomed their families and MY family!! I should have never allied with you in the first place. That’s a mistake I’ll never make again.” Gordon angrily sneered. The whole crowd then vanished from his eyes except for Alfred and his family.

“Shame on you, Bruce. Your parents would be very ashamed of you. I am truly disappointed in you. Dressing up as a bat to feel good about yourself and doing the police’s work is not how you represent the Wayne legacy. I expected better from you.” Alfred condescendingly scorned.

“Why Bruce...why didn’t you save us from that man? You could’ve done something...b-but you-you didn’t. I thought you loved us.” Martha said, sobbing to herself.

His father gave him an angry and disappointed look. “If you didn’t take us out of that theater during that night, we would still be alive. You are no son of mine. You are a complete failure of a son...a scared, naive, insignificant child.”

Batman’s eyes widened in shock and fear during all this. He listened every word they had said to him. To say the least, it struck him emotionally. “Wait, stop! Father! Mother! ALFRED!!” he yelled after them. But it was already too late. They vanished from his sight, leaving him to his thoughts. He kneeled down, took off his cowl, and covered his face with his right hand. Moments after meditating on those harsh, cruel words, he felt a tear fall from his right eye.

“NOOOOO!!!!” he screamed in hearty rage. He was then once more surrounded by the darkness. “This is all a hallucination! This is all a lie! I will never allow anyone...or anypony to perish at the hoof of this monster! No one will fall under my watch! Not now, not ever!! I might have made mistakes in the past, but they shouldn’t define me of who I am. For I know who I am...” he bravely spoke while wiping the tear from his eye and putting his cowl back on.

“I am vengeance.”

“I am the night.”

“I AM BATMAN!!” he victoriously proclaimed.

At that moment, a large orb of golden magic appeared to him. Before he could touch it, it expanded and opened up in all of its bright glory. It encircled Batman and engulfed him completely. Several minutes later, the golden brightness disappeared as it revealed the Dark Knight with bright blue eyes and a blue crystalline aurora encompassing his bat suit. Once he looked down to gaze at his power, he saw a small crystal heart stamped on his bat symbol.

“Whoa...I look...dazzling.” he muttered. Suddenly, he was taken back from the darkness and awoke from his slumber. “Wha-I’m back. I still have this power on me. I have to give this a try.” he said as he noticed himself still in the magical cage Sombra put him. He raised his arms and instantly shot large beams of crystal magic at the top of the cage. The whole cage exploded and dissipated, freeing the Dark Knight.

He stood up and saw the dwelling place of the king of shadows. “This is probably King Sombra’s home. I have to look around and see if I could find anything else against him.” he planned. He walked around the dark crystals that reassembled a castle. He passed by the drawers and the tables; he also passed by a yard of purple crystals that reflected all the faces of the ponies Batman met. He even saw Scootaloo’s face on one of them.

He clenched his fist in anger. “Don’t worry, Scootaloo. I’ll come for you...for all of you.” he thought. Lastly, he stopped in front of a room that appeared to be his bedroom. He walked in and saw all the artifacts, treasure, crystals, and bones properly stored and laid down. One of them caught his attention: a large dagger made purely out of a pink crystal. He held it up and saw its beauty.

“Hmmmm, this should do the trick.” he said, smirking.

AT THE PRESENT TIME

“You are all now under my supreme lordship! The Crystal Empire and all of Equestria is under my jurisdiction from this time forth!” Sombra exclaimed before his minions and his new prisoners. The Mane 6, the Princesses, the guards, Shining Armor, Cadence, Scootaloo, Alfred, and Gordon were all tied up before him and held down by the Gothamites. The Crystal Crane roared loudly as he stood beside his master.

“As for you, my pet, you will do as you please. Once I return, I will give you further instructions.” Sombra commanded. The beast growled in compliance.

“Now, if you will excuse me, I have some kingly business to attend to.” Sombra dismissed. His army bowed before him and took the prisoners away. He opened the portal and entered therein.

“Ahhhh, now for my sweet talk with the Dark Knight.” he said, priding in his accomplishment.

He entered into his palace with the feeling of self-victory. With just one simple bonus of defeating Batman for good, nopony would be able to stop him. He was so close to total domination over Equestria. By eliminating loose ends, nothing would stop him.

Just as he entered into the dungeon, he expected Batman to be sulking in his anger, fear, and depression for his utter failures. This would be a sweet moment of triumph for him. But alas, he was not there...the entire cage was gone.

“Huh? I in-prisoned him here in my cage! How is he gone?!” Sombra shouted. After he said those words, a loud noise caught his hearing. He soon caught the source of the noise from his bedroom. He morphed into fog form and swiftly flew to his bedroom to investigate. “What is the meaning of this?!” What he saw stopped his corrupt and dark heart. The Dark Knight was surrounded with the crystal magic aurora and fully empowered by the short crystal heart in his chest.

“You should know better than to allow a complete stranger enter your home. Terrible things can happen.” Batman taunted with a smirk. “Big mistake on your part.”

“NO!! NO!! THIS CANNOT BE! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! WHY ARE YOU NOT CONQUERED BY YOUR FEARS?!?” Sombra shrieked in terror.

“I’ll show you how.” he menacingly replied. He raised his hands and shot beams of crystal magic at the tyrant. Sombra yelled in pain from the blasts. Enraged by this, he retaliated by igniting his horn and shooting back his dark magic at his opponent. Batman shielded himself by raising his right arm to block the shots and flew toward him.

He punched Sombra in the face three times, kicked him on his left side, and falcon-punched him on his chin. Sombra fell on the ground slightly wounded; however he was not an easy foe to take down. He raised his hooves and tried to knock down Batman in a manner in which horses do. Batman rolled his eyes and kicked him off.

“You cannot win, Sombra.” Batman said.

“This is my kingdom! MY destiny!!” Sombra protested.

He ignited his horn once more and shot more beams of magic at Batman. He deflected two of the blasts but received the third one on his right leg. He slightly grunted from the shot, but he wasn’t too hurt from it thanks to the crystal power.

Sombra then fiercely charged at Batman while the latter held his hands up to clash with his charging opponent. They both held hooves and hands together in a fierce struggle to dominate the other. “You...will...bow...to...MEEEEEEEE!!!” Sombra screamed in desperation.

Batman head-butted Sombra which caused him to lose his balance. Taking advantage of his distraction, he grabbed a batarang bomb and threw it on the ceiling. Wasting no time, he grabbed Sombra by the neck and ran out of the palace ten seconds before it exploded.

The whole castle crumbled to pieces as it was engulfed in an inferno. The fire caused the whole dimension to shake out of balance which caused the realm to slowly fade. Batman flew down toward the abyss while holding Sombra and extending his batwings.

They flew out of the portal before it completely exploded to atoms. They landed on the ground while catching the attention of everyone around them. “BATMAN! You’re okay!!” Scootaloo shouted in joy.

“Look! He’s glowing with the crystal magic! How did that happen?!” Shining Armor asked, bewildered.

“ENOUGH!!” Sombra silenced them. He pushed Batman off of him before the latter tripped him, held him down, and threw another batarang, which was empowered with his crystal magic, at the chains of his friends. It sliced through the chains, freeing the captives. They cheered for their savior.

“Gothamites, ATTACK!!” Sombra angrily commanded. They uttered their war cries as they charged at the heroes. Sombra flew away to meet with the Crystal Crane.

“Ponies and guards, commence the battle!!” Celestia ordered them. The Mane 6 and the Royal Guard charged at the approaching army although they were vastly outnumbered.

Alfred and Gordon met up with Batman. Once the latter saw them, he was both surprised and glad to see them again. Of course, he restrained his emotions to focus on the task before him. “Batman, Batman! You’re all right!” Gordon exclaimed.

“Great to see you again, Gordon.” Batman greeted before turning to Alfred. “I take it you’re Bruce Wayne’s butler?”

“Indeed, sir.” Alfred said, slightly bowing.

“Is he all right? Where is he?” Gordon asked.

“He’s fine. I brought him back to Gotham through my portal. He is now safe and sound back in his home.” Batman said.

“Thank God...” Alfred said, playing along. “Good save there, Master Wayne. Haha” he chuckled in thought.

“Well, that’s good news. How are we supposed to defeat this shadowy beast and revive our people from his control?” Gordon asked. A mighty roar shook their attention. They shifted their gaze on the Crystal Crane as it intimidatingly stepped forward.

“Crane, exterminate them ALL!!” Sombra commanded as he stood on top of the monster. The beast breathed purple fire on them before they immediately jumped out of the way.

“Take that, you ruffian!” Rarity said, kicking at the ones who tried to attack her. A few mind-controlled police officers shot their guns at her, but she protected herself with her magical diamond shield.

“Luna, look out!” Celestia warned. Luna looked ahead of her and saw three criminals rushing forward with metal pipes. She blasted them away and vaporized their weapons. Celestia likewise blasted off her raging attackers from behind her.

“Anybody wants to PARTY?!?” Pinkie shouted enthusiastically. She blasted her apple pies from her party cannon which splattered on the faces of several Gothamites before they could reach her.

“Yeee-hawww!!” Applejack cried out before bucking a Gothamite on the back. He landed on the ground which casually caused two more of them to trip over him. Applejack then launched her lasso rope around a large group of the minions and tied them up. “Now, we’re talkin’!”

“Can’t catch me, punks!!” Rainbow Dash bragged. She flew above ten other Gothamites while blowing raspberries at them. They threw large objects at her such as knives, rocks, crystals, and stones. She flew out of harm’s way while making funny faces at them.

They screamed in frustrated rage until they were tackled by a manticore. It roared at them which terrified them all. Fluttershy landed on the ground and patted on the manticore’s head. “Good boy! Glad you were able to help!” she cooed.

“I can’t hold them off for much longer!!” Twilight stressed, blasting her opponents off one by one. Cadence and Shining were fighting beside the Royal Guard. “Any ideas you may have?”

“All we can do is hold them off! There’s too many of them!” Cadence said, holding her breath as she fought off the Gothamites. “Where’s Batman?”

Scootaloo ran from one crystal to another to hide from the attacking Gothamites. She anxiously hoped Batman would skillfully hold his own against both Crane and Sombra with his new power. She looked ahead and saw the battle with her very eyes.

Batman levitated in the air with his magic and cast a couple of spells to immobilize the monster. Crane roared in irritation as he swatted him away like a fly. He shot tiny shards of crystals at him, but he dodged them all with ease. Alfred and Gordon ran behind Crane and hid in a bush. “I need to buy him some time. Once we distract him from Batman, he’ll be able to strike him on his back head to take him down.” Gordon said, taking his firearm out.

“Excellent strategy, Gordon.” Alfred commended.

However, before Gordon could fire on Crane, Sombra vaporized the entire bush and held the two men through telekinesis. “You won’t get away that easily, you pests! I’ll have you two watch your precious hero get demolished by my pet. Hahahahaha!!” Sombra taunted.

Having had enough of Batman’s antics, the Crystal Crane punched him down on the ground and held him with his large claws that sunk into the ground. He then opened his mouth and prepared to scorch him to ashes. “FINISH HIM!!!” Sombra exclaimed. Alfred and Gordon looked on helplessly as their hero was about to die.

Suddenly, a large rock was thrown at the beast’s left eye. He roared in pain which caused him to loosen his grip on Batman. Then another rock was thrown at him; this time, it was directed at his mouth. The beast accidentally swallowed it whole which resulted in him gagging and coughing violently. Batman seized the opportunity by using his grappling gun and shooting its hook on the beast’s left leg before running around him in a circle to wrap up his legs. He then pulled with all of his might to bring Crane down to the ground for good. The beast indeed fell hard on the ground and remained unmovable as it was defeated.

Batman shot his beam of magic at the astonished King Sombra, knocking him out and releasing both of his close allies from his grasp. He ran to them to check to see if they were okay. “Are you all right?” he asked them.

“Better than being crystal monster chow, that’s for sure.” Gordon joked. Alfred chuckled as he and Gordon were lifted up from the ground by Batman.

“Where did those rocks come from?” Alfred asked. Batman looked behind him and saw Scootaloo running to him and hugging him around his waist tightly with tears on her eyes.

“I had to do something to save you guys. Especially you, Batman. You’re my hero.” Scootaloo sobbed. Batman looked at her with compassion and softly stroked her mane.

“You are a very brave filly, Scootaloo. You’re very brave. I’m proud of you.” Batman said.

“Don’t forget about me! I threw that second rock!” a familiar voice called out. Batman lifted his face and saw Engine Run coming to him fully recovered from the accident. “After what you did for me in saving my life, I thought I would return the favor.” he said.

“Thank you for your help, Engine. I’m proud of you, too.” Batman said.

“THAT’S IT!!! I’ll KILL HIM MYSEEEELFFFF!!!!!” Sombra screeched in seething rage. He ran forward in a vain attempt to bring one fatal blow on the Dark Knight with his igniting horn. Batman unsheathed the pink crystal dagger, jumped in the air, and brought the whole blade on Sombra’s horn.

The moment the blade made contact with his horn, it glowed bright pink and shot its aurora around the dark king. “What?! What’s happening?! No!!” he cried. The magic of love and hope surrounded him completely and made cracking noises around his body. A pink, glowing hole appeared on his chest and grew larger and larger. He was screaming in indescribable pain as he levitated in the air. “AHHHHH!! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!” he made his last words before he was finally disintegrated, and his entire horn was erased.

The magic grew even more once it destroyed Sombra and expanded widely around the entire landscape, vaporizing all the dark crystals in the Crystal Empire and in the field, turning the sky back to normal with the sun shining bright, and bringing all the raging Gothamites back to their normal state of mind from Sombra’s control. They saw themselves in a strange, bright, and new world, and they had no clue or remembrance of what happened during all that time.

In Gotham, all the dark crystals vanished into thin air, and all the destroyed property in Gotham was magically rebuilt to its former state. Back in Equestria, Crane transformed back into a human although he saw himself without any clothes. “It’s over. It’s all over. My dream, my goal, my vision...all gone.” he mourned to himself.

Batman looked around and saw everything play out before him. Equestria and Gotham have been saved. They have won the battle.