Suri Polomare found herself in a place that she was in no way accustomed to, a prison cell. All things considered, it could have been worse. At least they didn't stick her into that nuthouse where the Batmare's costumed challengers usually end up, but it was still a horribly unpleasant position for her.

Not to mention her identity was now revealed to the world. No respectable pony would ever give her orders in the fashion industry or trade antics with her. That didn't bother her half as much as she thought it would. She's had plenty of bits saved up and stolen treasure hidden around locations only she knew about. What bothered her the most was the Batmare.

She almost managed to get away in time before the police showed up. If it wasn't for that insufferable do-gooder, she wouldn't be sitting here right now! She never really hated anypony before in her life, but after pretty much ruining her life, it was safe to say that the Batmare made it to the top of her list.

She looked out the window of her cell which overlooked the courtyard. It was pretty dark already but she could still see most of it. Most of her equipment had been seized from her, but her night vision contact lenses remained operational. She could probably break out of here if she still had her stuff, but without it, it was hopeless.

She was about to slunk down back on her bed when she saw something from the corner of her eye. The shape of a bird flew across the moon and headed straight for her window. To her surprise, a falcon landed right between the bars and looked straight at her before tearing the small note it was carrying from its neck and tossing it to Suri. The surprised mare slowly reached for it and picked it up.

'Greetings, Cat!

I'm working for somepony who is in a dire need of your talents in the field of acquiring things. I assure you, the employment I offer is very profitable and I can also make sure your troubles with the authorities will be a thing of the past. You will find a means to break out of your cell on the back of this note and your equipment will be waiting for you in the evidence room. If I wasn't certain you are able to handle yourself on your own, I wouldn't be sending you this message. I will be waiting for you in the sewer entrance near the basement within the hour. Don't be late.'

Suri turned over the note and saw a paperclip taped to the back of it. She removed the pin and looked at her celldoor. It was clear what she had to do with it. She'd done it more times than she could count. The falcon snatched the note out of her hoof and flew away, leaving her alone in her cell. But not for long.

It wasn't long before a guard on patrol made his way to the cell she was being held at, only to notice that the door was wide open. The guard ran to check on the cell, only to get a strong kick to the back of his head from the ceiling. The guard lay out on the floor, unconscious as Suri dropped down from the ceiling with a smug smirk and removed the guard's keys from his belt. She was never one to keep a customer waiting.

Twilight Sparkle was sitting behind the batcomputer as it ran an analysis on the unknown substance she discovered at the crime scene. Meanwhile, Spike was serving Apple Bloom's breakfast who was still sitting in the glass container in the middle of the cave.

"How much longer am I going to be rotting in here?" The young mare complained as she grabbed her tray. "I'm practically growing roots in here!"

"Until I make sure you won't say anything to anypony about any of this." Twilight replied, waiting for the results. "Which will no doubt involve a memory wipe. Until that happens, you'll be in there sitting on your flank."

"Thanks for the trust." Apple Bloom replied sarcastically, taking a bite of her sandwich. "Did it ever occur to you that I wouldn't want to sell you out? That I actually approve of what you're doing? That my sister is Supermare and I never sold her out?"

"I'm not your sister. And you did nothing to earn my trust." Twilight replied, but before she could say anything further, a beep from the computer interrupted her.

"Anything helpful?" Spike asked as he walked up next to her.

"I did manage to isolate the formula. It appears to be a performance enhancing drug."

"Somepony was testing the effects of this drug by taking out Croc?" Spike asked with terror creeping into his voice.

"It would appear so." Twilight replled with a nod. "And that test was fairly successful by the looks of it."

"As if a giant, pony eating dragon wasn't bad enough, now we have steroid enhanced criminals running around the city." Spike worried. His thoughts were the same as Twilight's. "This stuff has to be destroyed. I'll have the bats searching for it right now."

"Already tried it." Twilight replied. "They couldn't find anything. But I did manage to isolate the components of the drug. We know where they can be obtained from in the city." Spike raised an eyebrow.

"You think they're going to hit those places to steal components to make more?" Twilight narrowed her eyes.

"I just got a call from Captain Garden this morning. The Cat was broken out of jail. There's no way that's a coincidence." She then looked back at the computer. "I narrowed the possibilities down to three locations. Stag Industries, Cyan Cosmetics and the old Ace Chemicals building." Spike gulped from the bad memories that place brought up.

"Somehow, it always comes back to that place." He shuddered. "Since the downfall of the Falcon family, that place has been derelict. If I wanted to steal some chemicals for my steroids, that's the place I would rob." Twilight nodded.

"I'm gonna notify the MPD of this development. If anything happens in any of those places, we'll know." She said before turning around and hopping out of her chair. "Until then, we'll go around our day as usual." She headed towards the exit before she was interrupted by a knock from Apple Bloom.

"Hello! I'm still here!" She complained.

"And you're gonna stay in there a while longer so you might as well get comfortable. You've already done enough trouble. Mor’ng had to interrupt her studies to take over your duties in the library. And it's gonna be awkward enough to explain to Applejack why her little sister has been replaced by a shape shifting alien." Spike shuddered.

"Yeah, I'm not looking forward to that conversation." He said before following Twilight, but the purple mare stopped him.

"No, Spike. I'm gonna need you to stay here and keep an eye on her." She said, motioning at Apple Bloom with her head. "Make sure she doesn't try anything stupid." Spike raised an eyebrow.

"You're putting me down here for the whole day?"

"At least you'll have company." Twilight said before being interrupted by the screeching of bats. "Company that can actually talk back for a change." She said before exiting the cave. Spike turned to face the yellow mare.

"Is she always this cynical?" She asked. Spike shrugged.

"On her better days." He sighed as he rolled up his chair in front of Apple Bloom's container. "Do you like comics?"

Hoofy Dent was sitting in his office, reading the morning paper. When he read the story about Killer Croc's death, he was conflicted on the inside. On the one hoof, he should feel glad that one of those super criminal maniacs was off the streets for good. On the other, he was angry there was another, potentially even more dangerous threat on the loose. He angrily crumbled the paper before throwing it in a nearby trash can.

He was understandably agitated. He hasn't heard anything from Capper ever since speaking to him a few days ago. He wasn't sure if he was actually doing anything about his mayoral campaign but he couldn't allow himself to wait for it. He also learned from the papers that Croc's killer has been using a very dangerous steroid. It was confirmed by Captain Garden who got his information form the Batmare.

The MPD's ineffectivity also infuriated him. They boasted the best minds of Manehattan working in their chemical department, yet they needed a nameless, costumed outsider telling them that. This couldn't go on like that. If he was gonna be the mayor - and he damn well hoped he will be - he was gonna have to play a more active role in the city's fight against crime. And he already had a pretty good idea about doing that.

He reached for the phone lying on his desk and picked the receiver before dialing a number. After a few beeps, a stallion answered his call.

"Manehattan Police Department."

"This is District Attorney Hoofy Dent. Get me Captain Garden on the line."

When the day was over and Twilight finally closed up the library, she was about to head to the Batcave when she heard the sound of the beeper in her pocket. It was already dark and that meant Captain Garden could activate the Bat-Signal for her to see. She instantly suited up and headed towards the police station where the captain was already waiting for her.

"Good of you to show up. Something happened." The stallion told her. It was clear that the matter was urgent. Not only did Garden signal her immediately when it was dark, but he didn't even bother lighting a cigar.

"What happened?" The vigilante asked, growing rather worried herself.

"Dent took over the investigation." Garden replied frustratedly. "The chemicals from all three possible locations have been seized and taken to a classified location. Nopony has told me where." Twilight narrowed her eyes beneath her mask.

"If Dent takes all the chemicals to a secret location..."

"...he becomes a target himself." Garden finished for her. "I tried warning him but he won't budge. He wants to look in control over the situation for the voters. This election is his top priority right now."

"He needs to reevaluate his priorities." Batmare replied before heading towards the edge of the roof. "I'm on it." She told the captain before leaping off the roof. When she landed, she put a hoof to her ear.

"Spike, did you hear that?"

"Every single word," The drake replied into the communicator. "Our new mayor wannabe might as well have painted a target on his back. The bats are ready to go in search of those chemicals."

"Good call." Twilight replied. "We actually know what we're searching for this time. The bats should have an easier time to find such a high concentration."

"In the meantime, why don't you come home?" Spike asked. "The search could take a while." But Twilight had other things in mind.

"Thanks for the tip, but I'd rather make a quick visit instead."

Hoofy Dent was quite the workaholic of a stallion. It was one of the reasons none of his relationships ever lasted long. As Batmare expected, she found him once again in his office, doing his paperwork. He was sitting at his desk with his lamp lighting the right side of his face, jumping in fright as the desk lamp suddenly went out.

Hoofy wasn't superstitious and he quickly figured out what was going on. His heart rate didn't even raise as he laid back in his chair and put his front hooves together.

"Other ponies normally get appointments with me." He said calmly. He wasn't exactly sure where his nighttime visitor was, but he was certain she could hear him.

"I'm afraid our business needs to be taken care of immediately." Batmare replied from behind Dent's chair.

"If you're here for the location of those chemicals, you can just leave now. Garden didn't manage to get them out of me and you won't either." The district attorney said with the determination. Batmare narrowed her eyes at his stubbornness.

"You're playing a very dangerous game, Dent." She growled, making the stallion roll around in his chair, glaring her straight in the eye.

"I don't play anything!" He spat. "I'm done with sitting back and letting you do all the work!"

"And you think needlessly risking your life will make you a good leader?" Batmare countered. "These are very dangerous ponies you're messing with." But Dent remained unfazed.

"I can be a very dangerous enemy myself. And I know what I'm doing. Now, if there is nothing else, would you mind leaving my office, I have things to take care of." Batmare opened her mouth, but before she could respond, she was interrupted by the ringing of a nearby phone.

"Dent." The stallion spoke upon picking it up.

"Sir, we have movement outside. The trap seems to have worked. We are ready to engage, just give us the word." Dent was about to speak but before he could, the lights suddenly came back on and he looked up to see the Batmare was no longer there.

"Sir?" Dent's attention was snapped back to the phone.

"Wait a little longer." He said finally. "I believe things are about to get even more heated down there tonight without us interfering."

Batmare grappled her way to the top of Dent's office before putting a hoof to her ear communicator.

"Spike, tell me you have located those chemicals! Things have turned urgent!"

"The bats are closing in on their location." The dragon replied through the communicator. "It seems they are somewhere near Neighton Island. Does that give you any ideas?" Twilight tried to recall any connection between Dent and Neighton Island, but failed to find any.

"No. Have the Batcomputer run a search on any property owned by Hoofy Dent in that area."

"Right away." Spike replied as he did what he was told. "And bingo! There is an old refinery he inherited from his parents. He's been trying to sell it for a while to fund his campaign. But recently there's been some activity around there. Just let me scan it with one of the bats." The scanning took a couple seconds, during which Batmare already made her way towards the refinery Spike mentioned.

"Twilight, the scanner just lit up like a Heartswarming Tree! We found it! No doubt!"

"I'm almost there!" Twilight replied, grappling her way to the place. "I'll round up whoever they sent to retrieve those chemicals and make them confess where their hideout is! Call back the bats! It's time to end this!"

Bird was rather annoyed. Somehow the MCPD was already onto them and the attorney had seized exactly the chemical materials they needed and had them carried to a secret location. Finding the place was pretty easy. His trained bird friends have been a huge help in that regard. But the fact that the police knew about their operation already was still an inconvenience.

No matter. With the location of the chemicals known and the best thief in the city on their side, getting them from that abandoned refinery will be foal's play.

"How much further?" The Cat complained as they made their way through the sewers underneath the city alongside a few of the former guards.

“We’re almost there!” The pegasus replied as he approached a tunnel, leading to the underground area of the refinery. “This tunnel was used for waste disposal when the refinery was still active. You should be able to access it through these sewers without anypony noticing. Once you are inside, let us in and we will take the components we need for the steroid.”

“They pretty much did us a favour!” One of the henchponies chuckled. “They have gathered all the chemicals we need in one area for us.”

“Save the celebrations to when we actually have the stuff.” Bird said before stopping at a ladder. “This is it. Get up there and secure a path outside. We’ll bring in the carriages and bring those chemicals back to the hideout.” The Cat cracked her front hooves and her neck.

“No problem. Just make sure you have my payment ready.” She replied before climbing up the ladder. The manhole was sealed off, but to a master thief like her, this wasn’t going to be an obstacle. She reached into her belt and pulled out a diamond blade which was sharp enough to cut the iron covering the exit.

Once the lid was out of the way, the cat burglar made her way inside the building and she quickly found the barrels containing the chemicals her employers needed in a storage room near to the exit of the waste disposal area.

“Piece of cake.” She grinned. She was about to make her way to the front gate to let Bird and his crew in, but her path was blocked by a black cloaked figure appearing out of nowhere. The Cat was momentarily stunned by the Batmare’s sudden appearance, but she quickly recovered and activated the claws in the gloves on her front hoof and tried to slash the Batmare’s face, but her hoof was blocked with little effort.

“We have got to stop meeting like this.” She snarled. The Cat smirked.

“But it’s so fun!” She purred before roundhouse kicking the vigilante in the face. Batmare grabbed her hind leg and threw her onto the ground.

“Let’s not do a repeat of our last performance.” Batmare scoffed. “You didn’t break out on your own, did you? Who are you working for?” She walked up the Cat, but she spun around on the ground and kicked her legs out from beneath her.

“Not so fast, Dark Knight” She said. “You gotta treat a lady before she’ll give you what you want.”

The two fighters clashed again, but little did Batmare know that there was another creature in the refinery she should worry about.

Back at the entrance, Bird and his crew were already setting up the carriages to take the chemical barrels away and were waiting for the cat burglar to open the main gate for them. To their surprise however, it was someone else that greeted them.

The henchponies were more than a little surprised to see Suri's pet cat, Onyx opening the main door for them. With the exception of Bird. He had trained birds himself, so it was no surprise to him that an animal can do that.

"Nice! I knew it was worth it to free you as well from the animal pound!" Bird cheered. "Now where is your master?"

The Cat knew that she needed to keep Batmare away from the barrels. She couldn't just go and open the main entrance for Bird's crew, lest she'd risk the vigilante destroying them. Thankfully, her little partner in crime, Onyx the cat, was more than able to handle such a task. And no matter how good of a fighter she was, she was still just one mare. She can't handle all those ponies by herself. All she had to do was keep her occupied until they arrived.

"You wondered who I was working for earlier?" She questioned as she blocked an incoming strike from the heroine.

"Yeah, so what of it?" Batmare countered as she backed away. The Cat smirked.

"Turn around and you'll find out." Even under her mask, Batmare looked unamused.

"Do you think I will fall for that?" She asked in annoyance, before she felt a huge blow to the back of her head and the whole world went black. The Cat smirked.

"No, but it kept you entertained until they took you out." She gloated. Bird and his crew slowly entered the room and began to empty the room and began carrying the barrels out as their leader walked up next to the Cat, looking down at the unconscious vigilante.

"Twilight? Twilight?!" Spike panicked as he screamed into the communicator, only to receive no response before the line went dead. "No! No! No!" He stuttered, beginning to hyperventilate. "What am I gonna do now?!"

"Let me out!" Apple Bloom screamed from her cell. "I can help! I'm Twilight's only hope!" Spike looked up at the young earth pony. He knew what she said was true. He couldn't possibly send Mor’ng out, especially after the recent Changeling invasion. And he was definitely not prepared to take on whoever attacked Twilight. There was no other option. He had to do it.

"Twilight is gonna kill me for this!" He shuddered. "But at least she's gonna be alive to do it." He finally conceded before opening the container for Apple Bloom.

"Hurry, we don't have much time!" The dragon complained as he handed Apple Bloom a bag of equipments. "Don't try playing hero too hard. Just get Twilight out of there!"

"I'll handle it!" Apple Bloom said as she gathered the stuff.

"You're gonna need something to hide your identity though." Spike suggested. "Unless you want every crime lord and wacko to gun for you by tomorrow." Apple Bloom thought for a minute before her eyes widened and a smile slowly grew on her face.

"I think I have something just for that occasion."

Back in the refinery, the unconscious Batmare was being held by two henchponies as the others cleaned the place out. Bird and the Cat were standing to one side, watching the progress while the Cat shot glances at the knocked out vigilante.

"What are we going to do with her?" She asked. Bird looked at her with amusement.

"My employer wants this place destroyed once we have the chemicals. He will be extremely disappointed he didn't get to kill her himself. But I doubt he will mind if the ruins of this refinery will end up as her tomb."

For the first time that night, the Cat actually looked shocked.

"Whoa there! You didn't say anything about having to kill anypony?" Bird just looked at her unamused.

"What did you think we were going to do to her once we have her?" Before the Cat could respond, the group was interrupted by a sharp voice from outside.

"THIS IS THE MCPD SPECIAL FORCES! CEASE AND DESIST AT ONCE OR WE'LL OPEN FIRE!" The ponies inside jumped in surprise, almost dropping the barrels they were carrying.

"An ambush?!" Bird hissed in anger. "Not that we weren't prepared for it!" He clapped his hooves together, making his henchponies put the barrels down and pull out machine guns. "If it's a fight they want, they will have it!" Bird was about to follow his compatriots, but the Cat interrupted him by taking a hold of his rifle.

"Hey! There's no need for this!" She protested. "We could take the barrels down the hole I came in!" The stallion yanked his weapon away.

"Our crew doesn't run from a fight!" He growled. "Get into position!"

Bird's crew hid behind the various pieces of machinery lying around the refinery and waited for the police to enter. The Cat wasn't sure what to do next, but before she could figure it out, a thump was heard in the background.

All the ponies inside the refinery pointed their rifles in the direction of the voice. One of the stallions went to investigate. He scanned the darkness with his rifle, only to have it knocked out of his hooves and having a hard piece of metal clash into his muzzle, knocking him out.

Surprised, two more stallions opened fire in that direction, but a sharp disc knocked the weapons out of their hooves before flying back into the hoof of pony who jumped between the two stallions and held up a metal rod between them. The two of them stared in confusion before the rod extended itself, hitting the two stallions in muzzle.

The remaining ponies tried in vain to hit her, but she was far too acrobatic for their weapons. She jumped across the machinery, making them hit it instead, causing sparks to fly around, blinding them and allowing her to slip back into the shadows.

Bird slid back against the wall along with the Cat as the rest of his goons were rounded up by the mysterious interloper. One by one, they were picked off by her, including the ones who were guarding the Batmare. The cargo outside was lost. It was too far for them to reach at that point and in the storage room, there were only a hoofful of barrels left.

"Looks like we will be proceeding with your plan after all." He grumbled. "Grab a barrel and let's head out where you came in." The Cat raised an eyebrow.

"I thought your crew didn't run from a fight." She quipped, but the pegasus paid her no mind. The two of them picked up one barrel each and slid away while the remaining ponies were picked off by the mysterious attacker.

As the police waited outside, they heard the sound of a rumble taking place in the refinery. They were quite used to the Batmare dismantling criminal operations before their arrival so they knew they had to wait.

When the sounds finally stopped and they entered, weapons ready, they found a group of unconscious ponies tied together in the middle of the refinery. Of their assailant, there was no trace. The only thing they found was a sewer entrance forced open and an empty storage room.

When she opened her eyes again, Twilight found herself lying on a bed inside the Batcave. She suddenly remembered what happened before everything blacked out and she suddenly sprang up, but she was surprised to see that she wasn't in a trap or cell built by some super criminal, but back home.

"Whoa, whoa, Twilight!" Spike yelled, running up to her and pushing her back down. "Take it easy! You've been through quite an ordeal!" Twilight just looked back at him in stunned surprise.

"How... How did you get me out of there?" Spike looked down nervously, unsure of how to bring the subject up, but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep the truth away from her for long.

"Well, you see... I didn't."

"I did."

Twilight turned to the owner of the voice, seeing a young yellow mare wearing a black, hooded cape with a black domino mask, a red leotard and red boots.

"So, did this earn your trust?"

Author's Note

Hello, everypony! Welcome back for another chapter!

Looks like Apple Bloom had her first outing as Robin. But will it be enough to convince Twilight she is the help she needs. And Suri is having second thoughts about the ponies she's running with. Perhaps there is hope for her yet as well.

Tune in next time as more about Apple Bloom's rise to crime fighting will be revealed and to witness the birth of the dynamic duo in...

Issue #8: Partners