"Yes, Mrs. Orange, Apple Bloom is doing great!" Twilight Sparkle shouted joyously into a phone receiver. "She enjoyed her job at the library so much that she decided to sleep here so she can begin as early as she could today!" She gave the younger mare in question a sharp glare as she was still sitting inside the same glass container Spike trapped her in last night when he caught her in the Batcave.

"No, no, I cannot get her on the phone right now! She just had breakfast and she currently has so much work to do that she is working so very hard that I cannot distract her even for a minute." Twilight said nervously, hoping she'll buy it. "Um... Sorry, I have to go. A customer just came in. Goodbye!" She said before hanging up and letting out a frustrated sigh. She turned back towards Apple Bloom who was still looking at her with awe.

"You're the Batmare!" She said in wonder. Twilight ignored her and turned to look at Spike who just entered the cave.

"Spike, have you finally managed to get in touch with a psychic pony who can wipe that from her mind? Or at least somepony who has the technology for that? That Mr. Terrific guy in Maretropolis owes me a few favors." In response, Spike just looked up at Twilight sadly and the unicorn could instantly tell that there was something wrong.

"What is it?" She asked in concern. Spike looked down before handing Twilight the morning newspaper. She took it and opened it before her eyes went wide. "No. This cannot be..." She muttered as she became misty eyed. But it was true. The article in front of her was clear as day.

Her brother, Shining Armor, was a wanted pony. And he was on the run.

In the cargo hold of an old freighter ship, the former captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor was currently finishing his daily training routine as his second in command, Zombie was maintaining his Venom dispenser device. The machine was simply effective and therefore he had little trouble taking care of it and even making a few slight improvements.

Shining had the most trouble finding a suitable place that can support the weight of his newly acquired muscles. The first few iron bars he tried using for pullups, snapped under the pressure. He had to ask Trogg to weld one to a few columns. When he finally finished, he walked up to the elderly bat pony.

"Is it ready?" Zombie nodded.

"The scumbag scientist back in Canterlot actually tried to install a device that cuts off the Venom supply as a mean of controlling the user. I managed to remove it and it significantly increased its dispersal speed and I even made sure the flow of the drug is more balanced across the entire body." He explained as he helped the unicorn reattach the device to his body.

"Make sure you include these changes to the basic plans of the device." Shining ordered as he pulled on his mask. "I want it to be ready for mass production as soon as possible."

"Do you already have an idea which of our 'workers' would be most suitable for the test?" Zombie asked.

"A few. I have to make sure their bodies can take the drug. As well as gathering a few more components for the device in Manehattan. Speaking of which, when are we arriving?"

"Within the hour." Zombie replied. "Bird managed to secure a false identification for our ship and made sure we won't be bothered by the authorities. And I know a suitable place where nopony will be looking for us."

Shining nodded before turning to a few dossiers lying on a table nearby. They were of the costumed criminals wanted by the Manehattan police. Before he launches an attack on the Batmare, he needs to properly test his newly developed abilities. And he was sure some of the freaks running around the city would do just fine as test sudjects.

He already had his sights set on the perfect candidate.

It was almost midnight when the crew's ship entered the Manehattan harbour. Barely anypony had been around during that time so there weren't many around the docks to question them. The officials Bird had contacted let them pass without an argument. They probably just assumed they were another crew bringing in a shipment of drugs to another wannabe crime lord.

Once they moved their cargo full of venom tanks off the ship, Bird took charge of the group and lead them to a giant pipe opening, leading to the sewers under the city. After a few hours of seemingly aimless wandering, the group finally arrived at their destination.

"What in Tartarus is this place, Bird?" Trogg asked as he looked around. The place reminded him of an underground bunker, not unlike the Harsh Punishment prison. It was obvious nopony has been down there for quite some time. It was unkempt and smelling horrendously with dirt stains everywhere. At least, they would have preferred to think it was dirt.

"It used to be an old hideout of one of the crime bosses in Manehattan." The Pegasus replied. "He was either captured by the bat or killed by one of the whack jobs running around the city. A few of his surviving gang members told me of this place." Trogg looked back at him.

"Other ponies know about this place? I hope that won't spell trouble for us." Bird waved his hoof dismissively.

"Don't worry. They left town long ago. Besides, we have more important concerns." He then flew up and looked down at the other ponies. "Put those tanks over there! This used to be a drug lab as well as a hideout so we'll need to sort out the remaining ingredients and see if there's anything we can use. Then get rid of the rest and head out to the city to get more. Cap wants the mass production of Venom to begin as soon as possible. Trogg, make yourself useful and help them set up shop!" He barked at the earth pony who only glared up at him in response before doing what he was told.

Zombie watched for a while as the group got settled in before realising in concern that it has been a while since he saw the captain. After a minute of asking around, he eventually found him, investigating something at the bottom of the lair.

"Is something wrong, Captain?" He asked as he flew down next to him. Shining didn't look at him, he just kept staring at the ground, almost like a machine analysing something.

"We are not the only creatures in this hideout, Zombie." He said, pointing at the ground. "Look." The Bat Pony did as he was told and saw a few stains on the ground that were unmistakably blood. But that wasn't the most interesting part. The stains looked like whatever left the blood marks was dragged along the floor, right towards an opening that lead deeper into the sewers. What's more, the blood stains appeared to be fresh.

"This could be troubling to say the least." Zombie remarked. "What are we going to do now?" Shining smirked.

"On the contrary, if this is what I think it is, then I would say it is the hand of fate." He said, cracking his neck before making his way into the tunnel. "I'll be back before sunrise. You're in charge while I'm gone." Shining didn't even wait for his response before walking off.

The sewers have been surprisingly spacious. Far bigger than the ones in Canterlot. And dirtier too. It was clear that the lowlifes living in this city haven't been taking care of it. He frowned. Such a filthy, lawless place. Once he got rid of all the supers in this city, only he will be able to bring order into it.

The sewer was seemingly endless. A lesser mind would have probably gotten lost in them and that’s no doubt what the creature he was sure he was hunting was banking on. But he was one of the finest minds of the Royal Guard. He would not get so easily confused and he noticed that his opponent wasn’t exactly a mindless beast either.

He noticed a couple of bones lying at the edge of a corner, clearly meant to attract the attention of anypony passing by. He walked up to them and picked up one to examine it. It was a rib large enough to be from a younger pony. It was not completely dry, it wasn’t from a fresh kill. His opponent was trying to lure him into a trap. But all he managed to accomplish was to anger him even further.

“You will not claim any more victims.” He growled before putting the bone down. He looked around and saw another bone lying nearby. He was being left a trail of crumbs. But he had learned a long time ago that sometimes the best way of springing a trap is by walking into it. His hunter made the mistake of underestimating his prey and he will pay dearly for it.

Following the trail of bones, he was finally lead into a dead end where he saw a truly gruesome sight. He was facing a brick wall with a message written on it in blood. It said ‘Got you!’ Shining’s ear raised behind his head as he heard the splashing of water. He spun around to see a large shape bursting out of the sewage below and throwing itself at him. The stallion decided to surprise him by grabbing it, where he assumed it was the creature’s waist and managed to counter its strike, by slamming it into the ground.

Shining attempted to keep the creature down as it struggled to resurface. It tried to reach out and grab Shining Armor, but it failed to take a hold of him, so it used its claws to slash him on the cheek. Shining’s mask absorbed most of the damage, but the claws still hurt enough to make him let go of it and back away.

The creature emerged from the water and Shining finally managed to take a good look at it. His guess was correct. He was looking at a large dragon with dark green scales, a yellow stomach and a long, flat snout, resembling that of a crocodile and full of razor sharp fangs. He was looking at the infamous Manehattan predator, Killer Croc.

“You’re one ugly mother bucker.” Shining mused as he cracked his neck, trying to goad him into attacking. He clearly succeeded as Croc narrowed his eyes at him and lunged at him with his jaws wide open. Unfortunately for him, Shining wasn’t an average pony he could just sink his fangs into. Even without his newly increased strength, Shining was able to match his strength as he raised his hooves and grabbed his jaws, able to hold him in place and pull his jaws apart.

Choc began to feel the pain in his jaws and knew that if Shining kept this up, he would break them. He once again used his claws to slash the stallion’s chest, forcing him to back away. Croc finally realised he wasn’t dealing with an average pony. He couldn’t defeat him with brute strength alone. He needed to change tactics.

He lowered his hand into the sewage beneath him and swept it at Shining, managing to get it into his eyes and blinding him for a few seconds. By the time Shining managed to clear his vision, Croc was gone. The stallion wasn’t concerned though. He knew the dragon will be back. He was probably swimming around him even now.

Shining looked up and saw a cable on the wall. He quickly jumped out of the sewage onto the concrete above and pulled the cable off the wall before lowering it into the water, sending powerful electric shockwaves throughout it. The shockwave was enough to make Croc give away his location. He burst out of the water, screaming in pain as the electricity rushed through his body.

After finally locating him, Shining pulled the cable out of the water and lunged to tackle the brute. He began hitting him in the face but the dragon managed to stop his hooves by grabbing them. Shining was stronger than the average pony so he was able to prevent him from breaking his legs, but he couldn’t free them either to continue to assault.

Croc eventually pushed him away before throwing himself at the stallion and attempting to close his jaws around his throat and rip it out. Shining managed to grab them before they could enclose around his throat and headbutted Croc in the face with enough force to send him back in the water before slowly pushing himself back onto his hooves.

Shining groweld. He’s had enough of playing around. He pressed a button on his venom dispenser and in a few seconds, he could already feel the liquid drug flowing into his body from the Venom tank on his back. By the time Crom got back on his feet, Shining’s stature had increased from the amount of Venom he pumped into his body, standing at an equal height as the pony eating monster.

Shining wasted no time in attacking and tackled the dragon onto the ground. Croc struggled to get the unicorn off of him, but since Shining was now as big as him, it was much more difficult. In a desperate attempt, he grabbed one of the tubes and managed to cut it with his claws. In a panic, Shining got off of the dragon and attempted to stop the Venom from leaking out, but he still lost a considerable amount before he succeeded.

Croc had seemingly learned the right lesson from this as he attacked another one of Shining’s Venom tubes. Shining barely had enough time to block his strike before he severed another tube and grabbed his arm, twisting it back, earning a yelp of pain from the dragon. But he still had enough composure to slash Shining’s face with the claws on his other hand.

Shining lost his balance from the strike enough for Croc to take advantage of it, grab him and lift him into the air. With the solid ground lost from beneath his hooves, Shining found himself to be helpless, struggling to take a grasp of something. Croc noticed the Venom tank on his back and opened his mouth to literally bite it off of Shining’s back, but before his mouth reached it, Shining’s leg smashed into his face, making him let go.

Shining fell onto his hooves and grabbed the cable he ripped out of the wall and jumped at Croc, grabbing him from behind and wrapping the cable around his neck. He stuck the end of the cable in his mouth, electrocuting him with it and simultaneously tightening it around his neck until he heard the bone underneath give way with a loud snap. Shining let the lifeless body of the behemoth fall forward into the sewage with a loud splash.

It was over. Shining’s field testing of the Venom formula was a complete success and he already managed to reduce the amount of maniacs in the city. A triumphant smirk grew on his face as he stood over the slain dragon’s body. This will be an excellent message to all those other freaks out there. A warning that he’s coming for them. Including the Batmare.

His head snapped towards the distance in the tunnel when he heard hoofsteps approaching. Quickly, he made his way back towards the hideout his followers had occupied, knowing full well they wouldn't be able to find him. He heard the horrified exclamation of ponies behind him, knowing that they will no doubt get the message out there. That there was a bane of existence for these maniacs and let them flee from it in terror.

Captain Garden stood on the edge of the sewage in which lay the lifeless body of the loose dragon that has been foalnapping and eating ponies for over two years now. As he smoked on his cigar with a troubled expression, he felt like he should be relieved that this tremendous problem was off his shoulder for good, but he still felt troubled.

“Some maintenance workers found him when they came to investigate a power outage in the area.” Bulldog explained as he came up next to his partner. “And they found a cable torn from the wall wrapped around his neck like this. I don’t want to rush you Jambo, but the workers up there are ready to lift him out of here and load him onto the carriage and I’m getting a little tired of their complaining. How much longer do they have to wait?”

“Keep them waiting a little longer, Hardy.” Garden told him, taking another whiff of his cigar. “I want her to see the scene too before we clean up.”

“I keep forgetting you are the pony they always call for super cases like this.” Bulldog snorted. “It’s like they know she would get involved. Very well, I’ll keep them off but don’t take too long.” He said before leaving back towards the surface. Once he left, a dark shadow immediately made its way out of the darkness and stood next to Garden, observing the crime scene.

“So what do you make of this?” The captain asked.

“First, I think you should quit smoking at crime scenes.” Batmare replied before beginning to inspect the body. “Second of all, if there's somepony or any other creature in Manehattan that can take down Killer Croc like this, that could spell trouble for the city.”

“That’s what I thought.” Garden nodded. “I doubt ponies will cry over him, some still consider him to be just an urban legend, but when the top predator of the underworld is taken down by another, the whole food chain changes drastically.”

Batmare tried to ignore his words as she switched the goggles in her mask to UV light. Perhaps she would notice something the police ponies have over looked. Once again, she was proven correct as she noticed an unfamiliar liquid sprayed on the wall. Garden noticed how intently she approached the wall and began to inspect it.

“Did you find something?” He asked. Batmare narrowed her eyes at the wall.

“I think so.” She pulled out a q-tip and took a sample of the unidentified liquid. If it was used in a fight against Killer Croc, it could have been a powerful toxin to weaken him or a liquid virus his killer was spreading in the water running beneath the city. Whatever it was, she could tell it was bad news.

“I’m gonning to run some tests. I’ll let you know if I found anything.”

“Don’t take too long. This case is not one we could just bury in a drawer.” Garden replied before turning to let the workers up there know they can take Croc away. “I’m not gonna turn around, I know she’s already gone.”

[he]

Apple Bloom’s day was less than thrilling. Twilight refused to let her out of the glass container she was in since yesterday, only opening it whenever she was given her meals. She felt like a prisoner. She was still locked in, lying on her back and staring up at the ceiling with a bored expression as Spike was sitting at the Batcomputer, watching through Twilight’s eyes as she was investigating in the sewer. She was quite shaken from the dead dragon she saw on the screen at first, but she quickly got over it. She saw her fair share of death in the past year.

“So… how is it working for the Batmare?” The young mare found herself nonchalantly asking. Spike was taken aback upon hearing her voice. This was the first time she spoke to him in her containment.

“I’m… not sure I’m allowed to talk about that with outsiders.” The young drake replied. Apple Bloom groaned.

“Come on, Spike! Don’t be such a shut in! Aren’t you an important enough part of this team to make your own decisions?” Spike narrowed his eyes in thought.

“I’m not sure I would call this a team.” He replied sadly. “Twilight calls the shots around here. I’m lucky if she takes into account what I say.” Apple Bloom opened her mouth but Spike quickly cut her off. “I know what you are going to say and I’m going to stop you right there. She’s going to say no. She’s already reluctant to rely on me and wants nopony else in her little inner circle.”

“Don’t think I don’t know why Twilight does this.” Apple Bloom called out to him. Spike nervously looked back at her. “I’ve heard what happened to her groom. Doing what she does is a better way to deal with losing a loved one than sitting back and doing nothing. But there are others out there who went through the same thing as her. Like me.”

Spike wasn’t sure what to say. He knew Apple Bloom was right. There are many ponies out there who lost somepony precious to them, and they didn’t become costumed vigilantes. Then again, most of them didn’t have Twilight’s skills and resolve. Or Apple Bloom’s for that matter.

“I’m still mourning my Granny Smith. I know I lost her to natural causes, but I can’t help but feel like all this crazy stuff going on around us had something to do with it. It was too much for her old heart to take. I know there are better ways of dealing with it than beating the daylights out of thugs and psychos, but it would feel like I’m making a difference.”

Spike knew what she was going through. He also really liked High Culture and unlike Twilight, he couldn’t deal with losing him by beating up criminals. But guiding her from the safety of the cave made him feel like he was part of the action. Like he was helping. But Apple Bloom was just a teenager, barely an adult. He cannot in good conscience allow her to even entertain the idea of joining Twilight out there.

And at the same time, he understood her completely. There were times when he wished he could do more to help Twilight. Being out there with her - even if only to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn’t do anything stupid - was just a fantasy, but Apple Bloom proved that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. And could take care of Twilight as well.

And he hated himself for it, but the more he thought about it, the more he found himself entertaining the idea.

Shining Armor reentered his hideout to find his ponies busily working. They already set up everything they needed to start manufacturing Venom but from what he saw, the production was still fairly low.

“Welcome back, Captain.” Zombie greeted when he noticed the buff unicorn. “I take it you took care of our little intruder problem.” Shining nodded.

“Indeed. But I’m gonna have to make some repairs.” He said, motioning to the severed Venom tubes. “How are things going in here?”

“Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to produce as much and as potent Venom as Dr. Rainy made for you. We lack several ingredients to make more. But I have been able to find somepony who will be able to provide them for us. Bird has left to recruit her as we speak. She is the best thief in the city, she could probably steal city hall. Though she is incarcerated at the moment. That could raise some problems.”

Shining frowned. He didn’t like having to include even more ponies in their endeavor than they already have, and he especially didn’t like the idea of working with one of those lunatics, but needs were a must. He had preparations to make for his assault on the Batmare anyway.

Author's Note

Merry Christmas, guys! Here is my present for you: an update for my story!

Spike is beginning to like the idea of Twilight and Apple Bloom working together and Shining Armor is also here to make a name for himself. Their confrontation will surely be one for the ages! And it looks like Suri/The Cat will also be coming back. The climax is slowly building up and it will be glorious! At least I hope.

Anyway, Happy Holidays and a successful new year for all of you! See you next year for...

Issue #7: Taking Flight