Owlman In Equestria

by Bico

Act III: A Dark Knight Dawns

OWLMAN IN EQUESTRIA
~BICO
ACT III: A DARK KNIGHT DAWNS

"What are you, dense?" Boss Screw Tight screamed. "Are you retarded or something? Who in Tartaros do you think I am? I'm the Lunadamn Boss Mare!"

Owlman couldn't help but feel a wave of déjà vu as he took his benefactor's verbal abuse. That was unimportant, however. He had what he needed, and he didn't need the raving pony before him anymore. "I got it, Boss. I couldn't catch 'em. There were six of them. I wasn't counting on that."

Boss Screw Tight was rigid. "That's right... you said one of them said 'Trixie.' And 'Carrot Top'? There's no mistaking it: those were the Elements of Harmony."

"Feh," Owlman snorted. "Some little superhero group? If we were back home they'd be crushed under the Crime Syndicate's heel in ten seconds flat."

"Well, we aren't 'back home,' are we?" Boss Screw Tight said with a malicious grin. She turned away from him and looked out her window on the city. "No way we're going to be able to take on the Elements along with the Royal Guard, now. You're becoming a liability, Owlman. I told you I'd be putting the screws to somepony tonight, and—buddy—you got me barking mad..." She turned and realized she was addressing an empty room. "How the buck did he...?"

Something new was on the top of her desk. It was a small, circular device of some kind, and it was blinking. When Screw Tight approached, she could see that there were numbers on a small screen. "What? Some kinda... clock? Is it counting down?" Her ears went flat against her head. "Oh, no."

Owlman chuckled to himself as he lounged on the ledge of a building adjacent to the one that held the former Boss Screw Tight's office. The explosion shattered her pretentiously large window and he could see a small, burning object fall to the ground below. He wouldn't have to deal with her anymore. Better, he was now in the perfect position to take control of her organization. "But first," he said to himself as he hefted the book he had stolen and began to flip through the pages. "A little light reading. Well, Princess Luna, let's see what you know about transuniversal teleportation.

---

"You really got yourself into a heap of trouble back there, you know that?" Shining said. The six Elements and he, plus BonBon, were at the Manehattan Guard Station discussing the events of the night, though it had become something more akin to playing the blame game.

Trixie scoffed. "Oh, please. He wouldn't have come after us if he'd had even a hint that the Guard were involved, and there's no way you could've been subtle about it. Besides, I doubt you'd have even let us go through with it, since you have it out for us, anyway."

"I don't have it in for you," Shining said, throwing up his hooves. "I just... look, it's water under the bridge as long as you can help me protect Equestria. Or, at the very least, try not to destroy it!"

Trixie crossed her forelegs. "Well... if you don't have it in for me, you could try to be a little nicer."

Shining's hoof planted itself firmly on his face and slid down his muzzle slowly. "Alright. Listen. You brought the Elements of Harmony with you, right? How about you use them to... I don't know... purify him or something?"

"The Elements don't fix crazy," Cheerilee said. "Though... he did have some sort of... hypnosis ability. Obviously, you saw me freak out and try to kneecap Captain Shining here."

Shining glanced away, an uncomfortable look upon his face.

"Anyway," Cheerilee continued. "He drank something right before that. He said it was another dose... some kind of drug, I guess. I think he uses it to increase his mental powers."

"'Mental powers'?" Trixie asked incredulously. "What do you even mean?"

"Oh, you know," Cheerilee said. "Like those comics where a normal earth pony is suddenly able to read other ponies' minds, and gathers together an intrepid team of like-minded mutant ponies?"

"Dinky's still waiting for you to give that issue back," Ditzy mentioned.

"She shouldn't have been reading it during math," Cheerilee countered. "I guess I can give it back after we get back, though. I'm done with it."

"So you're saying this thing's psychic?" Shining asked.

"If he's using some kind of potion or something to enhance his mind," Trixie said. "The Elements might actually work on him. They seem to purify pretty much any kind of unnatural thing out of a pony and return her to her natural state. Hopefully, this thing's natural state is that of an invalid."

"I doubt it, but I'd keep the Elements on standby, anyway," Shining reasoned.

"'With us'?" Trixie's brow rose curiously.

"Of course." Shining let loose a world-weary sigh. "You six are involved, now, whether I like it or not."

Cheerilee clapped her hooves together. "So we're going to be 'part of the team,' or something?"

"Or something," Shining said. "We're going to work together, alright? Don't... don't read too much into it."

"I don't know how much help I'll be with a hurt wing." Raindrops frowned as she attempted to stretch her left wing and winced in pain. "Ugh. It's not broken, but it might as well be."

Shining shook his head as he wore a light smile. "Raindrops, you left your hoofprints in solid concrete during your fight with Owlman up on that roof. Wings or not, if you weren't already part of the Elements of Harmony, I'd offer you job with the Royal Guard right now."

"What about Lyra?" BonBon asked. "She's still a bit... you know..." she slammed her hoof on the table behind Lyra, causing everypony else to jump, but Lyra didn't react.

"What's got you guys so jumpy?" Lyra shouted.

"The medic was pretty sure the ringing would fade in a day or two," Shining Armor assured them.

"Captain!" one of the sergeants called to Shining. He stood before his superior at attention and gave a crisp report. "Sir, there was an explosion in Lower Manehattan, Financial District. They say it was a bomb, and it got Ms. Screw Tight, long suspected to be involved somehow with the Mad Dog Mares."

"Oh, really?" Shining's face pursed into a deep scowl. "Screw gets hit the same night our perp escapes our custody, huh? This can't be a coincidence."

"That's not all, sir," the sergeant continued. "There've been reports of riots and looting breaking out in the area. One pony reported that she saw a shady character wearing a studded collar instigating one of them."

"The Mad Dog Mares," Shining concluded. He turned to the seven mares with him. "It looks like this is just going to get worse before it gets better."

Trixie hung her head, a silent curse on her lips. "Great," she said eventually.

---

"Hey, Boss!" a young filly galloped into Owlman's workshop as he was tightening the screws—an action which caused him no small amount of amusement—on a large machine. The filly was clad in black spandex with red boots on her hooves and a red cape on her back. A red domino mask also adorned her face and the spandex over her flanks had a "T" within a circle inscribed on them. "How do you like my outfit, Boss Owlman? I figured... you know... you might need a new sidekick. Maybe a Talon IV?"

Owlman turned slowly to regard the young pony. In all his villainous career, he had taken on a few young men as his wards and trained them to be his partner in crime. The first Talon had been very much like he had been, but his arrogance had gotten the better of him and he struck out on his own to found his own crime organization, the Teen Tyrants. The second had always been a bit too noble and kind, but that didn't stop the pain when he found that his ward had betrayed him for the side of good when he fell in love with Jokester's daughter. His current Talon back home had proven obedient thus far, and competent enough to lead the Crime Society's offshoot, the Young Offenders. Looking at this filly clad in spandex, looking eagerly up at him with hope in her eyes, however...

"No way," he said flatly.

"Aw, c'mon!" she prodded. "I've even taken tumbling. Watch!" She proceeded to attempt a back flip, which resulted in her landing squarely on her head.

"I don't even know how an equine could do that to begin with," Owlman commented as he made his final turn on his screwdriver. "Listen, I have things to do. It's taken me awhile to figure this whole 'magic' thing out, but I've finally got it."

"Yeah, and we've been doin' real good at making a distraction for you all week, right, Boss?" the pony Talon asked eagerly, hopping on the tips of her hooves.

Owlman suppressed a smile. Couldn't let the kid think she was wearing him down. "That you have. This controlled chaos... it's what I live for. It's my true calling." He crossed his arms and gazed at the machine which towered over them. "Ultraman could never understand that. It's always hit things first and ask questions later. Bah. I'm halfway tempted to just take over this world on my own." Now he did grin, easy laughter escaping his lips. "Pretty sure he's responsible for my getting stuck here anyway. Guy's so jealous, but it's his own fault his wife is..." he trailed off.

"His wife is what?" Talon asked.

"Uh... is... not... making him... lasagna. His favorite food." Owlman cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Because he's not very nice to her. But she makes it for me because I'm very, very nice to her, and that makes him a bit angry at me."

"Oh," Talon said. "Well, I guess he should just be nicer and maybe she won't do that anymore."

"My thoughts, exactly," Owlman concluded. "Talon, go press that big yellow button over there for me, would you?" Damn, I just called her Talon, he thought immediately. Then again, I don't even know her name. Who even is she? One of the goons' daughters or something? He shook the thoughts out of his head. It didn't even matter anymore, honestly. He was all set, now. It was time to call in the cavalry.

Talon pushed the button and the ceiling began to slowly open. "Wow," she said. "You really have this place all decked out."

Owlman sneered. "Well, my Owlnest is far better equipped, but one would be surprised what one can do with even this place's primitive technology."

"One would," Talon concurred. She cocked her head and rubbed a hoof against her chin. "Wait... who's 'one'?"

"Me," Owlman said irately. "I was referring to myself."

"Oh, yeah, 'cause you're number one, Boss!" Talon cheered.

I guess it's nice to have a sycophant, Owlman thought as the ceiling finished opening and he walked over to a giant spotlight. Even if she is incredibly annoying, it's nice to be recognized for my genius. He flipped a switch, and the light came on, shining in the night sky above them. His own Owl Signal was now lighting the clouds, leading any who cared to observe it right back to his lair.

"Come in to my parlor..." Owlman said, dark laughter bubbling out of him.

"Okay, I am getting a little bored," Talon interjected. "Maybe we can have some tea and talk about sports or something."

Owlman frowned. "You know what? Fine. Let's do that."

---

"Alright, girls," Shining said, holding a hoof up. "We have to play this cool."

"Excuse me," Ditzy said, pursing her lips. "I don't know if you can really call a single mother a 'girl'."

Carrot Top nodded. "True, that does seem a little demeaning."

Shining paused, staring at the mares behind him. No, he wasn't going to get into this. He remembered last time Princess Cadance had mentioned her age, and he had foolishly been caught in her trap. As beautiful and kind and perfect and... well, as great as the Princess of Cavalia was, she could also be rather frightening.

"You're thinking about a mare right now, aren't you." Trixie's inflection implied that she wasn't so much asking as stating. She crinkled her nose as she looked at Shining's wistful smile. "You sicken me."

Shining Armor coughed and turned back to the warehouse that they were preparing to raid. "That's not... listen, we're about to bust in on a dangerous criminal creature whose capabilities so far seem... daunting, at best. We need to focus on the task at hand."

"I don't know if you've thought about this," Lyra cut in, pointing her hoof at the open roof and the beam of light coming from inside. "We just followed a spotlight with an owl face on it right to this spot. This is pretty much the most obvious trap, ever."

"You're absolutely right," Shining Armor said with a gracious half-bow. "Which is why I'm going in first. My defensive magic will allow me to shrug off pretty much anything they throw at me. Once they run out of whatever ammo they have, you and my troops can come in and finish the job."

"There is absolutely nothing that can go wrong with this plan," Lyra declared.

Carrot Top scuffed a hoof on the ground. "I... I don't know about that. I mean, what if he—"

Trixie nudged Carrot Top and shook her head. "Don't go messing with our boy's head, now, CT. After all, he's our shining star..."

Shining Armor grunted. He took off like a stampeding buffalo, charging straight at the warehouse wall. His shield sprang up around him when he was halfway there, and with a resounding crash he burst through the wall. He then dropped out of sight.

"Was it a trap door?" Carrot Top asked. "Oh, I was going to say 'trap door.'"

"I know, CT, I know," Trixie said. "It's no biggie, though. Like he said, he's pretty much invincible, so even if they have alligators that shoot throwing stars out of their nostrils, he should be fine. The important thing is that he's accomplished his mission and let us see what exactly they were going to throw at us if we just went barging in there."

"Won't they be expecting us, now?" Raindrops reminded them.

"You're absolutely right, Dropsy," Trixie said, patting her friend lightly on the withers. "Let's not keep our audience waiting."

---

"I can't believe he just came charging in like that," Talon said.

Owlman shrugged. "Well, you can't expect much in the way of brains out of these brute strength guys. Let's hope Luna's Six are a bit more up to speed."

A puff of smoke and fireworks suddenly filled the center of the warehouse. "Ladies and gentlecolts!" Trixie's voice seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. "And weird naked bears of all ages..."

"I'm a human, just sayin'," Owlman corrected her. "Not even in the same order as bears."

"Feast your eyes, for you are about to witness the most astounding feats of magic of all time!" Trixie continued. The smoke cleared, and she was standing by herself in the middle of the floor. She had somehow managed to get a small stage to stand on, as well.

"Awesome!" Talon squealed as she clapped her hooves.

"Evil sidekicks don't clap for magic acts," Owlman reminded her. "Especially when they're being done by heroes."

"Well," Trixie huffed haughtily. "I see we have a neighsayer in the audience." She removed her cape and lay it on her stage. "For my first trick, I'll need a volunteer. Anypony?"

Talon eagerly began to wave her hoof in the air, "ooh"ing "uhh"ing.

"Howww abouuut... you!" She pointed a hoof squarely at Owlman.

"Moi?" Owlman asked, voice thick with sarcasm. "Why, I'm shocked. I'd have never thought I'd be so lucky in a million years." He casually walked down to meet his enemy on her turf.

"If you would just... step on the cape," Trixie said, gesturing to the article of clothing laying flat on the floor.

"Oh, you mean this cape?" Owlman asked, pointing at the only cape for miles around.

"Yes, that cape," Trixie said, her brow beginning to sweat.

"Let me guess," Owlman said. "You've set up some kind of trap door in your little stage here, right? So when I step on it I get trapped?"

"Not at all," Trixie assured him. "Just step on the cape."

"You can't have really thought I'd buy this," Owlman said with an exasperated sigh. He reached down and pulled the cape off the floor, only to be struck beneath the chin by a honey-colored hoof. "Gahh!"

"I owe you for the wing!" Raindrops snarled as she punched the human again, knocking him on his back.

"Alright," Owlman said tightly as he rolled back to his feet. "You got me there. Good one."

"Oh, we're just getting started," Trixie said with a smirk. "Before, we were just tag teaming you. Now we're going to fight you en masse. Préparez-vous!"

A musical hailstorm began to buffet the cowled criminal as Lyra began to play. Raindrops also continued to press her attack while Ditzy and Carrot Top flanked him to prevent his escape.

"Don't worry, Owlman, I'll save you!" Talon cried, galloping to the rescue. She skidded to a halt when she saw a mulberry-coated mare standing in her way. "H-hey, get out my way, Miss..."

"It's Miss Cheerilee," she introduced herself. "But, if I may ask, what time is it right now?"

"Uh..." Talon began to fidget. "It's... um... about midnight?"

"As a matter of fact," Cheerilee said. "It's 12:23AM. Not only that, but tomorrow is a school day."

"I-I don't go to school," Talon objected.

"Ridiculous, every foal goes to school in Equestria," Cheerilee said. "Our Princess considers the education of our youth to be paramount to Equestria's well-being. You are going to school tomorrow."

"I-I guess," Talon acquiesced. "But!"

"No 'but's," Cheerilee insisted. "Except the ones marching themselves to bed this instant."

Talon hung her head, but turned to go. "Aw, I never get to do anything fun," she complained.

Meanwhile, Owlman tossed Raindrops off of him, and removed a disk from his belt. He tossed the disk at Lyra, and suddenly her music stopped, though she kept frantically plucking strings. "Like it? I made this one just for you. A bit more sophisticated than the old one, yeah? Your ears will thank me."

Ditzy and Carrot Top advanced on Owlman, but he leaped over their heads with ease, dropping bombs in their midst as he went. When the smoke from the bombs cleared, they could see him running up to the deck of a large machine, right in front of some circular, gate-like construction.

"I can see I'm not going to be able to take all of you at once, though," Owlman said. He pulled three vials from his belt and popped the tops off of all of them.

"Alright, ladies," Trixie shouted. "This is it." She looked directly at Lyra, who still seemed preoccupied with getting her lyre to make a sound, and she jerked her head back toward the group. Lyra fortunately seemed to get the message and galloped over to join the other five mares. "We're going to take this guy down." She donned her tiara as the others put on their necklaces.

Owlman guzzled the vials, and his reaction was violent. He doubled over, his veins bulging as he growled like an animal. He tore off his mask to reveal his monstrous eyes, now completely white. His eyes met the now glowing white eyes of Trixie. He blinked.

Trixie felt the friendship of her companions fill her to the brim, and she let it all loose on the creature that had terrorized Manehattan for nearly two months. The rainbow beam streaked toward him... and then went right through him. "Wh-what?"

The power of the Elements of Harmony struck the gate, and its power seemed to flow out, creating a rainbow portal. From the portal, an ethereal wind began to blow into the room, and laughter filled the warehouse as Owlman—the real one— dropped from the ceiling. He clicked a button on his belt and the Owlman that the Elements had attacked flickered and disappeared. "You're not the only one who can use illusion to his advantage, Trixie Lulamoon."

Trixie cringed, both at the fact that she'd been fooled, and that the villain had used her hated last name. "Wh-what have you done? What is that thing?"

"A transuniversal portal!" Owlman said, spreading his arms wide as his cape blew in the wind of the portal. "It took me awhile to figure it out from Princess Luna's notes, but it's shocking how much sufficiently analyzed magic resembles science. I built this portal according to her designs." He crossed his arms. "Now, I can bring the full force of the Crime Syndicate of AmeriKa down upon this world, and I will spread chaos and havoc across the land."

"Please, don't!" Carrot Top cried. "You... you said you owed me a favor. Well... I'm cashing that favor in, now."

Owlman frowned. "Dammit... well... I can't let an old debt go unpaid for." He grinned. "How about this? When the Syndicate takes over your world, I'll make sure that you get to keep that little carrot farm of yours all to yourself. Heck, we'll even give you the land that that... ah... what is it, the Apple Trust? Yeah, I'll give you the Apple Trust lands back there in... heh... Ponyville."

Carrot Top's lip began to shiver. "N-no..."

Owlman activated his communications device. "Come on, Ultraman, you great big idiot! We have a new world to conquer. Come on through."

Through the technicolor portal, the ponies thought they could see some hulking shadow looming behind it. They were at a loss as to what to do now. Could they destroy the portal in time if they just rushed it?

"Got it," Cheerilee said from an open panel. "There's your problem right there. You switched the polarity from 'suck' to 'blow'."

"Wh-what?" Owlman growled as he looked back at the mulberry mare who was fiddling with his machinery.

"Here, let me fix that for you," Cheerilee said with a smile. She hit the panel with a wrench, and it began to spark and pop.

The wind suddenly reversed direction, pulling more strongly than before. "N-no! Dammit, no!" Owlman found himself being lifted off his feet. The portal caught his cape, and it yanked him in by the neck. He grabbed onto the side of the gate with his right hand, however, and then caught it with his left hand. He fought desperately against the wind to pull himself out, but his strength alone was no match.

Owlman's right hand let go of the gate and went to his belt, where it found his newly built grappling gun. He pointed it at a window high up in the distance and began to squeeze the trigger.

That was when an alligator hit him square in the face. The villain and the enraged crocodilian tumbled together into the multihued vortex, which began to shrink, and finally closed with a pop.

Trixie looked behind them to see Shining Armor, dripping wet but none the worse for wear. "Did you... just throw an alligator at that guy?"

"Well," Shining said sheepishly. "That's all he had down there."

"Wow," Ditzy said as she trotted up to the captain. "So... did it shoot rockets out of its nostrils?"

Shining gave her a quizzical look. "Uh... no. Let's just go home. This has been a very long night."

"I've seen longer," Trixie said with a grin. The seven ponies shared a laugh as they exited the building as Shining's Guards began to file in, securing the area.

---

Owlman found himself face down on the warm ground. He was outside, he realized, and the sun was shining high in the sky. "Well," he muttered to himself as he kissed dirt. "I may not be able to conquer a world of colorful ponies, but at least I'm back home where I can get petty revenge on Kent."

"Thomas?" a deep voice inquired, causing the villain to jump to his feet. He saw the source of the voice, and shock ran down his spine. It was a man clad in dark spandex with a cowl that had pointed ears and a ragged-edged cape. A symbol of a black bat was subdued on the gray material that stretched over his defined chest. "Thomas, Jr?" Batman asked more insistently.

"Bruce!" Owlman exclaimed in recognition. No... I'm in his universe? His gaze shifted slowly down, and suddenly he realized he was mistaken once again. This obviously wasn't Batman's universe.

He saw a group of six ponies and a purple baby dragon surrounding the dark hero. The ponies all wore necklaces with gems in them that were of a similar shape to the marks on their flanks, except for the lavender unicorn, who wore a tiara. Owlman could only stare for a moment before he turned his gaze back to his alternate universe brother.

"You too?" they both asked simultaneously.

Fin.

Comments

[Darth Wedgius]

I'd so watch this show!

[Daequo]

Which Owlman is this since at least one Owlman wore a strength enhancing suit that let him match the strength of Wonder Woman at least for a little while.

[Fizzy Orange]

Brilliant and fun!

[Bico]

2429543
He's meant to be basically the Antimatter Universe Owlman, though I threw in a few other ideas from the various other versions of Owlman. He does have devices that enhance his strength, though for the sake of this story, I'd say Wonder Woman levels are probably a bit much.

[BenRG]

"I really think we should figure a way out of here, Bruce. Something tells me this bunch is far more competent than the ones that I nearly tricked into letting the Syndicate into their world."

"Odd. I never thought I'd ever agree with you, Tom."

[DreadedCandiru2]

Well, at least it isn't the idiot from Brave and the Bold.....If it was, Red Hood would be hanging around making quips.

[Bico]

2430607

This one just has to deal with The Jokester, who Owlman pretty much created when he killed his manager and love interest, Harley Quinn, and slashed his mouth to give him a permanent smile. All 'cause he couldn't take a joke. Jokester's a good guy, but still a bit psychotic like his evil counterpart, so he's probably be more fun than Red Hood.

[Imaginary Valued]

This was all sorts of fun. Though the recent animated movie has the unfortunate effect of me hearing James Woods' voice acting for Owlman throughout. Still, Cheerilee more than made up for it.

[Bico]

2432261

I know, right?

Anyway, I was really wanting to actually give Cheerilee a justification for being the Element of Laughter in the Lunaverse. I mean, she's kind of lighthearted in other Lunaverse stories in which I've seen her, and certainly the type of pony who seems to like to make others happy, but she rarely makes me laugh. I figured I could pull it off while hopefully staying true to her established character, and avoiding making her go full-on Pinkie Pie random with it. I kind of like the idea of her representing a more mature form of humor, while Pinkie Pie is the random, childlike humor.

[Bico]

2433759

Me, too. So far I've only seen clips. I'm more familiar with the comicbook Owlman, personally. It's especially ironic for you, though, given how many people seem to assume that Crisis on Two Equestrias is some kind of homage to it.

[RainbowDoubleDash]

Looking at this filly clad in spandex, looking eagerly up at him with hope in her eyes, however...

Don't do it! You'll just become a Mare in a Refrigerator!

...

...I liked the Spoiler...poor Stephanie...

2433783
Yeah, it's just the name. In fact when I first thought it up I wasn't even aware of Two Earths, though I was aware of Infinite Earths.

Incidentally...did Owlman end up in the main universe with Batman...or an Evil Alternate version of the mainverse, that Batman has been stuck in?

[Bico]

2433882

He ended up in M!Equestria, yeah. I don't know if I was obvious enough, but the book that Owlman stole is intended to be whatever book (or possibly a copy of the book) Twilight learned her dimension hopping spell. Cheerilee recognized it in Act II because I imagine, this being intended to be sometime post-Crisis, she would have seen it in Twilight's collection that Trixie was... borrowing. The actual reason that he ended up in M!Equestria, therefore, is that he made the same mistaken assumption that Twilight did, and thought the spell would take him to whatever universe he wanted, but it's actually destination-specific.
That, and the whole thought that made me do this is that, if the Lunaverse is the mirror universe to the Mane Universe and Owlman's Antimatter Universe is the mirror to the normal DCU, then if Owlman ends up going to Equestria he would end up in the Lunaverse while Batman would naturally end up in the Maneverse. Much like canon Star Trek Kirk would beam down to M!Equestria and mirror Kirk would try to conquer L!Equestria. Kind of a weird idea, granted, but it appealed to me.

[nightelf37]

Yeah! Wait! This is Post-CO2E?!

[Bico]

2846614 Yeah, it's meant to be, though I have no idea how it's going to end.

[nightelf37]

2849238
Okay.

[Walabio]

> “’Well,’ Trixie huffed haughtily. ’I see we have a neighsayer in the audience.’”

It seems like I heard this line, somewhere.

;-)

[Bico]

3197775

It's almost like I lack the ability to come up with my own memorable lines and instead plagiarize others while covering it up with the façade of an "homage."

[Walabio]

3198212

That was a subtle nod, acknowledging your homage. It shows that your readers appreciate and notice what you do, instead of being oblivious. Since you do not like subtly, I shall be blatant instead:

¡Great homage to the Dark Night!

¡Great homage to 01:06 BoastBusters!

Homages are good. They tie works together. I a crossover, it is good to have references and homages to both universes.

[Walabio]

3199602

I need to apologize:

I had a bad day and when I read "It's almost like I lack the ability to come up with my own memorable lines and instead plagiarize. … ", My mind jumpedto not a pony accusing me of accusing the pony of plagerizism. In my bad mood, I did not even notice the rest of the comment fully. All I got was that you tried to explain that it was a homage, so I aggressively explained that I understood that.

I guess that this is why my grandma always said that before making an angry telephonecall or writing an angry letter, one should sleep on it, and in the case of the letter, sleep on it yet another night before mailing.

Saying that I made an ass out of myself would be an insult to Matilda and Cranky Doodle Donkey.

Sorry.

[Bico]

3202376

I didn't take it poorly to begin with.