Chapter Six: Clash
Applejack took the lead as the girls charged towards the warehouse. Rainbow could've easily passed her, but she slowed down, not wanting to face a bunch of armed criminals without her friends by her side. Rearing one fist back, Applejack punched the front door, breaking the lock and sending the wooden panel tumbling to the floor. She stomped inside, with the other six on her tail, to discover what awaited them.
Batman stood in the middle of the room, his cape whirling around him like a cloud of darkness as he danced around the villains attacking him. Killer Croc, the Joker, and the Scarecrow were all going for hand-to-hand combat, though Scarecrow also had a large scythe he was using. Several thugs stood on the sidelines, priming their guns. Meanwhile, the Penguin and the Mad Hatter both had weapons in their hands as well, but made no attempt to shoot, presumably out of fear of accidentally shooting their comrades.
Joker was the first to notice the intruders. "Well, what do we have here?" he asked, jumping out of the fight to stare at the Rainbooms. "Looks like he replaced Robin with a group of cheerleaders! Really, Bats, did you have to invite company over tonight of all nights? Admittedly, I did that, too, but still!"
Batman turned to face the door. "What are you doing?!" he demanded. "I told you to wait—" He didn't get to finish before Croc delivered a painful punch to the back of his head.
"Batman!" yelled Rainbow. She zipped forward, blasting past the Joker and the Scarecrow, and rammed her fist into Croc's stomach at super speed, sending him flying backwards into one of the crate stacks. "Don't worry, we've got your back!"
Scarecrow brought his scythe down towards Batman's head, only for him to block the blade with the spikes on his gauntlets. Batman then spread his arms, tearing the wooden staff apart, and leaving Scarecrow without a weapon.
"I can handle this!" he insisted, as he kicked Scarecrow in the stomach, driving him back. "Get out of here!"
"No can do, Bats!" replied Applejack, as the rest of the girls charged forwards. "We ain't leaving you to get your butt kicked by this many guys!"
Twilight raised both hands as the Joker advanced on them, pulling a spray can out of his jacket. Her raspberry aura enveloped the can, yanking it out of his hands, and tossing it off to the side. She didn't crush it, afraid she'd release the Joker venom inside. Then she pinned his arms to his sides, and sent him flying backwards towards the Mad Hatter, who barely managed to dodge.
Killer Croc didn't know who these newcomers were, but he didn't really care. Taking his focus off of Batman, he raised both fists and charged towards Applejack, before swinging his arms down on top of her in a powerful overhead smash. What he didn't expect was that she would catch him by both wrists, completely immobilizing him. Then she used his own strength to flip him over her back, and slam him into the ground.
Batman groaned, slapping himself in the face, before shaking his head. "Okay, fine," he acquiesced. He pointed towards the brainwashed people. "Take them out, but don't hurt them! They're not doing this of their own free will!"
"Got it!" replied Pinkie, pulling out her jar of sprinkles. She shook a small pile into her hand, before reeling back and tossing it to the floor. The sprinkles glowed, then exploded in a burst of pink smoke, blinding all the gunmen and preventing them from getting a clear shot. Rainbow Dash zipped around, grabbing the mind-control chips off the necks of the thugs, ripping them off, and tossing them to the ground. Once removed, the people crumpled like origami, landing unconscious on the ground.
"Who are these miscreants?!" demanded Penguin, as he reloaded his umbrella gun. "Batman's never had them fighting by his side before!"
"Who cares?!" Joker shot back, as he climbed to his feet. "The more, the merrier, I say!"
He squeezed the gag flower on his lapel, squirting a stream of green acid towards Twilight, who was presently occupied with the Mad Hatter. Luckily for her, Rarity noticed just in time, and projected one of her diamond barriers, blocking the acid.
Joker frowned at the sight. "Super powers?" he complained. "Well, that's no fun, ladies."
"No fun for you, maybe!" Rainbow shot back. "But then again, you're a sicko!"
Joker's frown grew even deeper. He rolled up his sleeves. "Didn't your mothers ever teach you not to call people names?!" he growled, advancing on Rainbow.
Underneath her mask, Rainbow smiled. She waited patiently for Joker to walk towards her, then as soon as he reared back for a punch, she used a burst of super speed to zip away.
"Can't touch me!"
Then she heard the click of a gun behind her, and wisely used the one second she had to zip back to another corner. That move saved her life, because it enabled her to dodge Penguin's bullet.
"You children may be powerful," he remarked, blowing the smoke off the tip of his umbrella, "but clearly, you're out of your league here in Gotham."
Rainbow clenched her fists. "We'll see about that, flipper boy," she growled.
Meanwhile, Batman and Applejack were currently fighting Killer Croc together. Applejack was mostly playing defensive, blocking and redirecting Croc's blows, because she wasn't sure of the upper limits of her super strength. Croc may have been a jerk, but she still didn't want to hurt him. She figured her best option was to keep him busy so Batman could take him down.
Batman lashed out with a devastating roundhouse kick, only for Croc to catch his leg under one arm. He then swung the masked man around, causing him to crash into Applejack before she could move. The two tumbled to the ground, and the straight stick fell out of Batman's utility belt. Croc wasted no time in scooping it up.
"I ain't got a clue who you are, girlie," he growled, raising the stick, "and I don't care. Killer Croc's gonna waste ya!" He brought the straight stick down, and the magic in it activated, elongating it. Applejack just barely managed to raise both hands to catch the shaft.
"That's the best line you could come up with?!" she demanded. "I'm no theater writer, but even I could do better than that!"
She was speaking to try and cover up her own fear. She was lying on one hip, and had no leverage to try and overpower Croc, even with her super strength. As if that wasn't enough, the magic of the stick made it harder for her to push back. If this situation kept up, she had no doubt that Croc would win.
That was when Batman jabbed Croc in the stomach with one kick, forcing him backwards. The straight stick was removed from Applejack's grip, though Croc didn't drop it. This gave her just enough time to jump to her feet.
"Thanks, Bats!" she said.
"Don't thank me just yet," replied the Dark Knight. "We're not out of the woods."
Indeed, it appeared Batman's kick hadn't done much besides make Killer Croc angry. He raised the straight stick above his head once more, and as it elongated, brought it down like a hammer. Batman and Applejack were forced to jump to opposite sides to avoid the crushing blow.
At the same time, Twilight was dealing with the Mad Hatter. With his brainwashed thugs downed, she'd hoped he would be an easy foe to deal with. Unfortunately for her, he'd grabbed the magic gun before she could stop him, and was currently taking shots at her with it. Twilight's telekinesis could barely slow down the magic bullets, likely due to them being magic as well, so all she could do was redirect them away from her body, while making sure they didn't hit anybody behind her.
"Will you knock it off?!" she demanded, using her magic to knock Tetch backwards and sending the gun flying out of his grip.
"If you have such a problem with being shot at, maybe you shouldn't have joined Batman in this fight!" Hatter shot back. "You're playing with the big boys now, girl!"
He produced a switchblade knife from his pocket, popped it out, and hurled it at Twilight. Fortunately for her, he was no knife thrower, and it only took a lazy pulse of magic for her to send it into the floor.
"You know, I'm beginning to see why you get sent to Arkham Asylum every time you get captured," Twilight quipped. "You clearly need a lot of help."
"Oh, I need help?!" Hatter roared. He abandoned all thoughts of strategy, instead charging forward like an enraged bull. Twilight didn't have time to react before he punched her in the cheek, driving her to the floor. Advancing on the downed girl, the Mad Hatter raised one arm in a hammer fist pose, preparing to deliver another blow.
Twilight, dazed and in pain, couldn't think clearly, and frantically reached out with her magic, snagging the Hatter in her telekinesis. She levitated him upwards, and his momentum carried him until he crashed into the upper wall of the warehouse. Once she released her grip, he fell forward onto his face.
"You'll pay for that..." he growled.
Simultaneously, Rainbow and Sunset dealt with Joker. Normally, Rainbow would've crushed him easily with her super speed, but the Penguin kept taking shots at her, forcing her to keep dodging. Sunset was keeping the Joker at bay with martial arts, but she didn't know how long she could hold out, because the mad jester was a lot stronger than he looked. She delivered a particularly nasty haymaker to Joker's stomach, driving him backwards.
"Oof!" grunted the clown as the air was driven from his lungs. "Nobody's allowed to smack me around like that besides Batman, and sometimes Harley! Heck, even that's a rarity!"
"Pardon?" asked Rarity from her position across the warehouse.
Joker looked over at her curiously, but this left him open for Sunset to punch him again. Which she did.
"OW! Now you're asking for it!"
Joker reached inside his coat, pulling out a stack of playing cards. Sunset raised her eyebrows, wondering how those could possibly be threatening. Then she remembered who she was fighting.
The Joker proceeded to pull four cards from the deck, holding them between two fingers. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the cards flying towards Sunset like shuriken, and she wisely dodged to the side. Even so, she got a small scratch on one arm, revealing that the cards were razor sharp. She turned her head to see that they'd embedded themselves in the wall behind her.
"You're a real maniac, you know that?" she demanded, turning to face Joker again.
"Oh, you are too kind!" laughed the clown, taking a mock bow.
Gritting her teeth, Sunset raised her fist back and aimed a powerful punch at his head. The Joker swerved to the side, narrowly avoiding her blow, and caught her wrist. With Sunset in his grip, Joker punched her in the gut, then uppercut her jaw, leaving her dazed.
"Now, let's put a nice smile on that face..." he chuckled to himself, as he pulled out yet another spray can of Joker venom.
"Little help, please!" Sunset called out, as she struggled.
"Comin' at ya!" said Rainbow. She zipped over, vibrating her fist at super speeds to increase her striking force, and punched Joker in the stomach. The clown was forced to release his grip on both Sunset and the Joker venom, as his whole body flipped over, then slammed into the floor.
"Take that, you chalky—" Rainbow began, then cut herself off as she heard a gun click behind her again. She zoomed away to dodge yet another bullet from Penguin. "You know, you're gonna run out of bullets sooner or later, pal!"
"Hm. Perhaps you have a point," admitted the tuxedoed villain. He jumped down from the crate he was standing on, deploying his umbrella to slow his descent. With another click of a button, a blade popped out from the tip of his weapon.
"I don't see how you think this is gonna go any differently," Rainbow tutted, folding her arms. "You know you can't keep up with me."
Penguin's grin grew longer. "Who said I have to keep up with you?" he asked. "Who said that was my goal?"
Rainbow's eyes widened in realization, but before she could move, Joker smacked her in the back of the head with a rubber chicken. Ordinarily, that wouldn't have hurt, but he must've put something heavy inside it, because Rainbow felt like she'd been clubbed with a hammer. She staggered forwards, clutching her skull in agony.
"Now, for the finishing blow..." began the Penguin, raising his umbrella blade.
However, he and the Joker had fallen into their own trap. Sunset, who'd recovered from her earlier injury, made a sweeping kick under Penguin's legs, knocking them out from under him. Joker, seeing his ally in distress, raised his rubber chicken, only for Sunset to bring her foot around and smack it into his groin, forcing him to drop to his knees.
"Thanks," Rainbow breathed, rubbing her head.
"Call it returning the favor," replied Sunset.
Meanwhile, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie had engaged Scarecrow. They'd thought the mad scientist would be helpless without his scythe, but those hopes had been dashed when he pulled out a sickle. The weapon was much smaller than the scythe, and thus, easier for him to control. Still, he was no match for Rarity's diamond barriers.
"Insolent little wretches!" he shouted, as Rarity blocked yet another slash from him. "How do you even manage to produce these infernal crystals?!"
"That's my little secret, darling," replied Rarity. "Now, if you would take off that ridiculous mask and lay down your weapon, we could put an end to this foolishness."
"Ridiculous?! The face of the Scarecrow instills fear into the hearts of men!"
"I don't know about that," replied Fluttershy. "I admit I scare pretty easily, but I'm not afraid of you. You just look kind of silly."
Scarecrow roared with fury, lunging at Fluttershy with his sickle raised, until Pinkie threw a tiny handful of glowing sprinkles at his feet. The resulting burst of pink smoke and sugar blinded him for a moment, and caused him to trip forward, slamming into the warehouse floor.
"Take that, you big meanie!" Pinkie cheered. She bounced over to him, and kicked his sickle away with one foot. "Now, do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Raising his head up with a grunt, Scarecrow frowned, but his grin quickly returned. "As a matter of fact, I do," he replied. "Take a deep breath."
With those words, he raised one hand towards Pinkie. A fine red mist shot from his fingertips with a hissing sound, and quickly enveloped the party girl. Pinkie inhaled the gas before she knew what was happening, and coughed beneath her mask. She smacked Scarecrow's hand away, but it was too late.
"What was that supposed to do?!" she demanded. "What did you—" She faltered, her eyes dilating in their sockets.
Scarecrow grinned wickedly. "What do you see, girl?" he asked all too eagerly. "What kind of fear grips your heart?"
Pinkie's hands flew to her head, and she trembled where she stood. Her legs fell out from under her, and she fell, landing on her back.
"Pinkie!" exclaimed Sunset. She punched the Joker in the jaw, dropping him to the ground, and rushed over to help her friend. The other Rainbooms followed suit, leaving Batman fighting Killer Croc all alone. With one quick punch, he knocked Croc back, and approached Pinkie alongside the others.
"Pinkie, what's wrong?!" Rainbow implored her. "I don't know what to do!"
Pinkie's entire body shook, and she balled her fists against her head. She didn't respond to any of her friends' attempts to snap her out of it, instead muttering to herself over and over again "Stop...please stop..."
"Batman, what's wrong with her?!" asked Twilight, the fear palpable in her voice.
"Scarecrow poisoned her with his fear toxin!" replied the crime fighter. "She's experiencing hallucinations of her worst fears! She needs the antidote now!"
"Where is it?!" demanded Sunset.
"I don't have it on me! We need to leave, now! Get her to the Batmobile!"
"On it!" Rainbow shouted. Her speed kicked into overdrive, as she grabbed Pinkie and lifted her up, before zooming out the door in a rainbow trail. Batman and the five remaining Rainbooms followed, with only a few scattered bullets coming after them as they went. Once they were gone, Joker and the other villains gathered around, as the Clown Prince of Crime twirled the magical gun in his fingers.
"Well," he proclaimed, after a few seconds of silence, "that went better than expected. Even with all that help, old Batsy wasn't a match for us!"
"Hey! What do you mean 'us'?!" demanded Scarecrow. "If it hadn't been for me and my fear gas, we might've lost!"
"All right, don't get a swollen head about it, Crane," said the Mad Hatter. "But we didn't accomplish our main objective. Batman still lives."
"True," replied Joker. "But now, we know his weakness. Whoever those girls are, he obviously cares about them." His mouth morphed into his trademark, terrifying smile. "And weaknesses are made to be exploited."
