Young Amazons

by Wanderer D

First published 6th of April, 2016

Sunset Shimmer is flung into another universe

In her successful attempt to stop Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer ends up in the universe of The Batman. Now, with the help of her mentor Zatanna Zatara and two best friends—Barbara Gordon and Pamela Isley—she has to figure out her place in a brand new world.

My personal thanks go to Pen Stroke and Burraku_Pansa for helping me bounce this idea around and suffering through my naming process.

Chapter 01: Fate

Magic twirled around the pair as Twilight and Sunset faced each other, hovering in their transformed states outside of reality itself.

"Take my hand, Twilight," Sunset said gently, extending her hand towards her. "Let me show you there's another way, just like someone once showed me."

Twilight Sparkle hesitated. After all, this was all her fault. She had made the machine that drained the magic. She had fallen for Cinch's blackmail and abuse. And now, could it be that easy? Could things be fixed by such a simple gesture?

The magic swirled around them, power manifest, pulsating with eternal, infinite knowledge, incomprehensible possibilities... and yet, this gesture, this simple act, the presence of the offered hand in friendship and understanding went beyond even the promise of all that.

With a mental sigh, somewhat regretting the immensity of what she was about to ignore in favor of something as mundane as friendship, Twilight took a deep breath and made up her mind, taking Sunset's hand and letting go of the magic.

Sunset smiled, and for a second everything was fine... then the magic cracked around them.

Portals opened all around, seeming to suck the energy out of the universe and both girls had to fight the pull with all the strength their wings were giving them, using their magic to seal them as fast as they could... but to no avail. As the whole of reality was consumed around them, Sunset turned to Twilight and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Wha—"

"It's not your fault," Sunset whispered to Twilight. "Don't blame yourself. Be strong. Be there for my friends and the princesses when you meet them."

"But what do yo—" Twilight began to say, but stopped as the magic left her body and she returned to her normal self. She looked around with wide eyes, then to Sunset who smiled reasuringly at her.

And then Sunset Shimmer pushed her, surrounding her in a magic bubble and forcing her through the remaining light barrier. Everything flashed, like an explosion going off right in front of her. She felt the last of the magic fade and suddenly she was on her hands and knees, staring at cracked concrete below her.

She heard hushed voices around her and then...

"Twilight!"

Spike ran up to her and jumped into her arms. "What happened?!"

"Twilight!" the Rainbooms called out, running up to her, followed by the heads of the schools. "Where's Sunset?"

Twilight's eyes widened and she looked around in growing horror before the tears slowly accumulated in her eyes until she couldn't hold them back anymore.

"S-sunset... she pushed me out when the magic collapsed... she's... she's gone," she said in a low voice, unable to look at them. "She's gone..."

Droplets of water on her face made her stir and try to block more from splashing her.

Sunset groaned rolled over, only to slide down the pile of trash she had landed in, upending at least three trash cans at the base before she came to a stop.

She tried to make sense of what was going on, looking around in confusion. What had happened to Twilight? Sunset herself was back in her normal clothes, leather jacket included, and completely soaked already from the rain, alone and in an alley for some reason. She had a pounding headache, and felt weak all over.

Slowly memory came back:

Twilight's demonic form fading as she returned to normal.

The sudden spike of energy that had threatened to destroy her world... encapsulating Twilight and making sure she made it safe back to Canterlot High... drawing the magic into herself, fighting the pull of the portals so that she could close them all... and nothing.

Coughing and gagging at the smell, she pushed herself until she was sitting up and studied the buildings around her, coming to one conclusion: wherever she was, it wasn't the town of Canterlot or Equestria.

It looked more like what you'd expect a dead-end alley would look like in Manehattan or Chicacolt.

"How did-did Twilight send me to the other side of the country?" Sunset forced herself to stand up, leaned against the wall for support and dug into her pocket, fishing out her cell phone. For a moment she stared at her hand, then looked at the other and pulled back the sleeves of her jacket, revealing that she was not imagining things and her skin was now a much softer orange... almost rosy white instead of warm sunlight. "What happened?!" She gasped in horror.

When she started hyperventilating, she forced herself to calm down. Other than the change of skin color, she was basically the same. Even her hair had remained yellow and red, and as far as she could tell, no other mutations had happened. Perhaps the drain of magic had affected her more than she anticipated.

Groaning, she lifted her phone up and tried to call Fluttershy. "No signal? In the middle of a city like this?" She sighed. "Great, now I need to figure out a way to get home from here."

"I'm telling you I saw a flash over here," a muffled voice said amidst the clit-clatter of falling rain and distant thunder.

Sunset lowered her phone and glanced warily as a pair of men walked into the alley, both blinking owlishly when they saw her. Their confused glances changed into smug smirks and their body language spelled trouble.

"Well, well, what have we here?" the bigger of the two asked. "What's a young girl like you doing here all alone?"

"Don't worry honey, we'll help you out," the other one added with a sneer.

"S-stay back!" Sunset warned them, shoving her phone in her pocket and crouching in a basic self-defense pose. She swayed, trying to ignore the growing pain from her headache, but was unable to stay standing still, and ended up leaning once again on the wall. "You really don't want to make me angry."

"Oooh, I'm so scared!" the bigger one taunted, laughing, and took a step forth. "She think's she's The Batman."

"The who?" Sunset asked, eyes narrowing.

"Oh, she's new in town? Even better," the smaller stated, walking to the side so that her escape route was completely cut off and flipping out a switchblade. "Let's see if you're all bark, missy."

Things were definitely not looking good. With the headache, the confusion from her still-waking brain, the strangeness of her location and... the unexpected flexibility and conflictive nature of the magical field here, there was a very high chance of hurting them if she acted... but not acting was not an option.

Sunset's eyes narrowed. "I might be a lot of things," she muttered as she let the full power of magic flow through her, using her own natural aptitude to try to balance and harmonize it inside of her. Her eyes glowed with power, and she felt a sliver of satisfaction when the two thugs' eyes went wide. "...but I will never be a victim!"

She pushed away from the wall, and raised her fists, which glowed with flame-like eldritch energies. She allowed the power to seep out, creating a thick, dangerous-feeling atmosphere around her, practically pushing them back.

The pair took several steps back before screaming and turning around to run, and just in time, as she felt the power leave her. She stumbled, trying to keep her eyes open as she watched the pair almost make it to the end of the alley before something emerged from the ground and trapped them.

"N-no..." she stammered already falling back. She couldn't pass out. Not while in danger like this...

"Easy," a female voice said behind her and she felt arms catching her. "I've got you."

She tried to lift her hand to point at the black form tossing the pair of thugs around, but her body felt sluggish and heavy.

"Don't worry," the voice assured. "They're safe, just incapacitated."

Sunset wanted to say more, but her eyes were closing against her will. That last flare of magic had drained all her willpower. She could do nothing but trust the owner of this voice, as foolish as it was to go in blind.

After making sure the two would-be-muggers were tied up, she sighed. "That takes care of them. But they are not important, I wonder where you came from?" Zatanna asked, giving the unconscious girl in her arms a look as she eased her down to lean her back against the wall.

She checked the girl's jacket and found a wallet. "Sunset Shimmer," she read. "Student at... Canterlot High? I've never heard of it. Nor the city of Canterlot."

"That would be because they don't exist in this reality," a voice said. "But, I believe it's best to discuss this somewhere else."

The world flashed around Zatanna and she found herself in a lavishly decorated, two leveled room.

Rather than walls, the whole room was covered in books and strange objects, all of them teeming with magical energies. Some of them she recognized... some were believed to have been lost to the ages.

Her practiced eye, however, could immediately tell that all of the artifacts were old... ancient even.

There didn't appear to be a way in, nor any form of exit unless she counted the chimney—which was currently lit. The wooden floor hadn't sounded hollow at all, and if their method of arrival had been any sign, the only way in or out was through the powers of their host.

The girl, Sunset Shimmer, was laying on a sofa, while the one responsible for bringing them there took a seat across from Zatanna. A sofa table had been set up already with steaming cups of tea and crackers. "Please," he said, motioning with his hand at a comfortable-looking Victorian chair across from him and to the right of the sofa. "We have much to discuss, involving the future of this young lady."

Zatanna quirked an eyebrow, looking from the man to Sunset before sitting down and leaning back. "Indeed. And she must be more powerful than I initially thought to have drawn the attention of Doctor Fate himself."

Fate didn't give any indication that he was surprised Zatanna knew his name, but he did nod.

"So why bring us here, Fate?" Zatanna asked.

"Because this girl ripped reality to arrive in Gotham," Dr. Fate replied. "A feat not easily achieved, and even less easily replicated. The powers of Chaos and Order sealed the rift behind her, absorbing any residual energy... in other words..."

"We can't track it to get her home," Zatanna finished, looking at the girl. "Is she a danger to Gotham?"

"That remains to be seen," Fate replied.

"Fate, this girl is unique," Zatanna spoke up, making him turn his head to her sharply. "I did feel the rip in reality, but when I got there, I saw her somehow channeled both Chaos and Order magic into herself and make it work."

"Hence the need for us to make a decision," Dr. Fate stated. "She arrived in Gotham, which I believe is an interesting choice. Why not in a more magical environment? Maybe the fates have something planned for her, but as an agent of Order I cannot allow a channeler of Chaos to roam free."

Zatanna set down the tea she had been sipping and leaned forward, eyes narrow. "I don't like the sound of that, Fate. I didn't sense evil in there, and the forces were too well balanced for it to have control over her."

Dr. Fate stood. "She must be contained... as much as it pains me to deny one so young of time, she cannot be allowed free rein in our world."

"And I cannot allow you to imprison her for a crime she did not commit," Zatanna retorted stepping up to him. "Unless she does something wrong, she should not be judged, and the only thing she has done so far is defend herself."

"Bringing you here is professional courtesy," Doctor Fate replied. "Knowing you, you would have found your way here in some misguided attempt to find the truth of why I brought her here. And so, I have explained everything to you. Surely you understand—"

"I understand you are making a lot of assumptions," Zatanna interrupted. "This girl has power... and perhaps the knowledge to travel back to her own universe. Until we know, we shouldn't act."

"Zatanna, surely..."

"I understand your concerns, yes," Zatanna replied, nodding, "But you have decided the fate of a teenager without her even having the chance to defend herself, speak or tell us if she knows how to go home."

Dr. Fate's mask hid his expression, but he turned around and sat down. "What do you propose?"

Smirking, Zatanna sat back in her own chair. "I propose a very simple set of actions to take, depending on her actions when she wakes up and has a chance to talk to me."

"You?" Dr. Fate asked.

"Me," Zatanna repeated. "I know you didn't expect a young woman from another world to wake up alone to the sight of of a masked man and not freak out."

"And once you've talked to her?" Dr. Fate asked.

"Then we decide what to do."

Sunset Shimmer groaned and stretched in the comfortable... sofa? "What..."

She pushed herself up into a sitting position, rubbing her eyes and blinking in confusion at the place she was in. "Um... hello?"

"I see you're awake," a familiar voice said, making Sunset turn to stare at the chair to the right of the sofa. She was sure there hadn't been anyone there a moment ago, but now a black-haired woman dressed in a fishnet, corset and tuxedo combo, including a walking stick and a top hat was sitting there, smiling at her.

"Y-yeah," Sunset stammered, staring around at all the magical tomes and the sheer feeling of magic surrounding her. "How did I get here?"

"Ah, that is the million dollar question, isn't it?" the woman said. "But first, allow me to introduce myself, I am Zatanna Zatara, professional stage magician and actual wizard."

"Sunset Shimmer, high school student," Sunset replied, not ready to fully trust this new acquaintance.

While Princess Twilight Sparkle would have probably babbled everything and made things work through sheer friendship, Sunset had still been living with humans and some cynicism would now always be part of her genetic make up. "And I'm sorry, but you mean to say you don't know how I arrived here? Last time I was... in an alley, somewhere. I think I heard your voice and suddenly I'm here."

"Ah," Zatanna smirked. "Here as in this specific sanctum of magical knowledge? I certainly know how you arrived. A friend of mine brought you here after you passed out. I insisted on staying by your side until you woke up."

"Um... thank you, I guess?" Sunset grimaced. "I don't suppose you know how to cast teleportation spells?"

"I do," Zatanna replied. "But my friend and I have already discussed trying to send you back to your home universe—"

"Wait," Sunset interrupted, eyes wide. "What do you mean my home universe? Are you saying..." she looked around, feeling herself panicking. "Oh no. Don't tell me I'm in a different one altogether."

Zatanna nodded and Sunset felt like the world had been yanked from under her feet.

"We were trying to figure out a way to send you back, but whatever link you had to your previous home faded away when you arrived here... you see, your magic is very... harmonious, whereas this universe's magic is governed by the opposing ends of Chaos and Order..."

Sunset groaned and covered her face. "And when I came in, the magic of Harmony was distorted by both ends pulling at their components and nopon—no one was around to keep it cohesive..."

Zatanna nodded, looking slightly surprised, if not impressed.

"I studied magic for years where I'm originally from," Sunset confessed, forcing a chuckle that she didn't feel. She shook her head. "That explains why I'm not orange anymore," she muttered to herself.

"Well then," Zatanna smiled. "This makes things easier and more complicated. On the one hand," she turned her left hand outwards, producing the Enchantress Tarot Card on it. "...you already have some training in controlling your energies and manipulating magic, on the other hand," her sleight-of-hand revealed The Devil card on her right. "With the rules for using your power being different here, you'll need to learn how your choices affect your life in unexpected ways. I'm not sure how our rules will necessarily apply to you, but you will need someone to teach you these basic differences, lest you end up turning to... the darker side."

Sunset cringed, her mind going back to her demonic transformation. "I don't want that. But if magic brought me here, it might be the only way to find my way home. I'll need to be able to use it to do so."

Zatanna nodded. "And we intend to help," she said. "If you're willing to remain under my supervision and tutelage, I believe I can help you start a life in Gotham City, the place you arrived at, and I should be able to stay there for as long as I'm needed to cover what you need to know." She smirked. "In fact, we might be able to give you as close to normal a life as we can, with school starting next week."

"And if I don't?" Sunset asked, more out of curiosity than because she was planning on declining.

Zatanna's face darkened. "It depends," she said at length. "I don't think you're evil, but you might still be a threat. Different powers and beings might come in contact with you and try to sway you to their service. Some of them with vast amounts of power, possibly even beyond mine in some cases."

Sunset smirked. "A bit confident, aren't we?"

Zatanna's smile did not waver. "But never arrogant."

The pair chuckled before settling into a pensive silence, and after a few minutes, Zatanna raised her eyebrow. "Well?"

A self-deprecating chuckle was the initial response. "The first time I left home I had some means to my name," Sunset said, looking down at the sofa table. "I had some gems which turned out to be extremely valuable in my new home. I was arrogant, angry and unafraid. I had convinced myself I had nothing to lose.

"It... took some time, but I eventually made friends with some help. I'm alone again, and this time in a place where people will try to take advantage of me and my power."

She took a deep breath and looked away, hugging her arms. Her previous mistakes came to mind. Leaving Celestia's side, fending on her own, sneering at offered hands, breaking friendships, chasing people away, hitting rock bottom and being pulled up. Did she have the strength to deal with a new life on her own?

Did she want to go out there blind, in a new, dangerous world? Not five minutes in, she had been almost mugged. And then she had been taken away into what could only be a pocket dimension by another magic user. Already this world was darker than her previous home, and with the wealth of knowledge contained in this room alone, it wouldn't be smart to just let it go, right?

"I don't know if you're really trying to help me, or why, but at least you seem to be on my side... I guess I could always use a mentor in this new world."

Zatanna smiled and used a finger to lift up Sunset's chin, so that she was looking at her straight in the eyes. "Be a little more confident, Sunset, you seem like a capable young lady. I'm sure with a bit of help you'll be able to manage things just fine."

"What do you think?"

Dr. Fate remained silent for a moment, gazing through the semi-transparent walls at the girl sitting on the sofa, looking through the pages of a book. "Do you believe you can help her control her powers and join our society while we figure out how to send her home?" he asked Zatanna.

The magician nodded. "She seems to have a good head on her shoulders, I think she can get used to living in Gotham, under our watch of course. I'll teach her to keep her powers in check and I know someone who I can ask for help to arrange for papers and a place to live for her."

"I believe I observed enough to trust you can keep her in check. I will be keeping an eye on her, however, and should she step in the wrong direction, I will step in."

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen, then," Zatanna said with a confident smirk.

Author's Notes:

More info in the Blog Post!

Chapter 02: Education

Sunset shifted from one foot to the other. If there was something that hadn't changed in any world so far was the clear distinction of who was rich and who wasn't. And the easiest way to tell—even if it was sometimes misleading—was a mansion. While she was comfortable being around rich people, thanks to Celestia's upbringing, the last few years on her own had made her painfully aware of the gap between normal and "upper class".

Zatanna had taken her back to Gotham City, where she was staying in the penthouse of a really expensive hotel. After a quick phone call, they had been on their way in a classic Rolls Royce, driven by Zatanna herself, to the outskirts of the city.

She had watched as they drove past Chicacolt-like buildings, fading into a thick wood, and eventually emerging at the top of a hill overlooking the city, reaching the gates around a huge piece of land with a mansion so big it could be a hotel in the center of it.

The gates had opened without pause for them, and soon enough they had been allowed in by the butler to wait in the library—a decently sized one at that—for master Bruce.

"So, how is it that a stage magician from Vegas knows someone like... this guy, um, Bruce Wayne?" she finally asked.

"I can answer that," the butler replied, walking into the room with a tea set. "Young master Bruce and Miss Zatanna became acquainted when the young master insisted on learning how to perform stage magic from a professional, and Giovanni Zatara has had no equal in the world, save perhaps Miss Zatanna here."

"Oh, Alfred," Zatanna laughed. "You're too kind, but no one can replace my father."

Alfred shook his head, smile not fading. "That is indeed true, and now, young miss," he said turning to Sunset, "I can see you are a bit nervous, how about some tea to relax a little, and I assure you, Master Bruce is quite friendly."

"Oh, thank you, yes," Sunset stammered. "I'm sorry about that, it's been a while since I was last in a place like this."

Alfred smiled good-naturedly, and set down the tea, inviting them both to take a seat. "The young master will be back soon," he said, serving them both before bowing out and leaving them alone once more.

"So, you've been around the rich and famous before?" Zatanna asked, eyebrow lifting.

"In a way," Sunset confessed. "It's a long story, but the one that taught me... was a princess." She rubbed her arms sheepishly. "I sort of grew up in a palace."

"My, my, surprises never end," Zatanna smirked. "You'll have to tell me all about it after we talk to Bruce."

"Talk to me about what?" a voice asked, and Sunset turned to take her first look at the famous Bruce Wayne. He was younger than she expected. Maybe mid twenties at most.

"Hello, Bruce," Zatanna purred, standing up to give him a hug.

"Zee, it's good to see you again," he replied, smiling as he stepped back. "And who is your young friend?"

"Her name is Sunset, and she's new in town, she's been homeschooled, but would like to finish her education if possible in an actual institution," Zatanna explained. "Since you know the board of education, I was wondering if you could give her a hand. I'll be paying for her school fees and living expenses—"

"Whoa, no," Sunset said, standing up. "You said you'd help me get into high school, but we never agreed on you paying my expenses." She shook her head, and looked at Bruce. "Mr. Wayne, if you can help me with getting into school, I'd appreciate that, but I should be the one paying for my bills. I'll get a job or something."

Zatanna's smile became slightly strained. "That's sweet, Sunset dear, but you do remember you don't have work experience an—"

"Oh, I do, most of it was payed under the table, but I'm smart enough to be a lab assistant, or if worse comes to worse, I could go back to waiting tables for a little while."

Bruce, who had stepped back while the two talked, cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him. "Well, I may have a solution," he said evenly. "If Sunset was homeschooled, she'll need to take a test to make sure she's up to par with what Gotham High School's students. If she gets a good enough grade, she should be able to qualify for the Wayne Foundation Scholarship."

"I..." Sunset gulped. "I'm not sure I'm okay with—"

"Sunset," Bruce interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I promise you that I won't mess around with the results, but I do like helping brilliant young minds achieve their dreams. If your score is—and only if—good enough, you'll qualify. If not, I can at least help you get a job that'll allow you to make your payments."

Sunset blinked. "Oh, well, that sounds—"

"Perfect!" Zatanna interrupted. "If you can email me the forms, I'll have Sunset fill them out and she'll be ready for test taking in a couple of days."

Bruce chuckled. "Well, why don't you both stay for dinner? I would like to hear what you've been up to the last few years, Zatanna, and how come you're here in Gotham."

"Oh, Bruce." Zatanna winked. "You know why I'm here, I saw you bought tickets to my show." She chuckled. "But I think dinner would be fine, tell me, does Alfred still make those wonderful nachos?"

Bruce smirked. "He started already."

"Well then," Sunset said, smiling sheepishly. "How about a tour in the meantime?"

"Quite the charming company that Miss Zatara brought for dinner tonight," Alfred observed, placing down some tea next to Bruce.

"Hmm," Bruce nodded, typing away. "I haven't been able to find anything at all about her, though," he said after a moment, leaning back and glaring at the large monitor as if it were to blame. "Sunset is not a very common first name, but there are no records of her in the system at all."

Alfred quirked an eyebrow. "Really, Master Bruce, is a high school student's personal life worthy of a personal investigation by The Batman?"

Bruce took a sip of tea. "Probably not. It's just unusual for Zatanna to sponsor someone just like this. I would have expected Sunset to have some history with her, perhaps as an assistant in her shows or something, but it just looks like Sunset appeared out of thin air."

"I am surprised that such a well-mannered young woman would require this much investigating." Alfred shook his head. "Personally, I thought she was an exceptionally quick young lady, friendly and smart. Were all teenagers so amiable."

"You don't know Zatanna as well as I do, Alfred." Bruce gave him a slightly exasperated look. "When it comes to her and anything related to her, nothing is exactly as it seems. So even though I like Sunset, I'm going to keep tabs on her," he said at length when the Bat Wave went off. "Just in case, besides..." He pushed away from the computer, closing down the file with Sunset's limited information in it. "Zatanna has never asked me for a favor, so this deserves some attention anyway."

Alfred didn't look convinced, but nodded regardless. "Good luck tonight, Master Bruce," he called.

Bruce didn't answer, pulling the cowl over his face and heading out into the night.

...Detective Ellen Yin has stated that there are few indications as to the culprits that stole the statues from the museum, but it is believed to be the work of The Penguin and the cat burglar known as Cat Woman. The police have yet to make an official statement on whether The Batman is involved in any way, but with Chief Rojas' history with the bat it's all but a given. Back to the studio, Joe...

Sunset muted the TV and glanced at Zatanna. "What is it about this city and animal-named vigilantes and criminals?"

Zatanna shrugged. "Just the way it is, I suppose. If you decide to become a super heroine, maybe you should choose an animal name too. Like, Foxgirl or The Corn Snake."

Sunset gave her a look, but it devolved into frown a second later. "So, why are you so interested in those statues?"

"Well, you probably couldn't feel it through the TV, but I know about them. They're magical artifacts with several possible uses, the easiest, and most likely one, is creating powerful bursts of light. More like a laser than the illuminating type."

"That's... not good." Sunset chewed her lower lip. "Shouldn't you tell someone? Offer to help the police?"

Zatanna smirked. "Oh, I'll help out. But first, I need to open the door."

Sunset blinked. "Why?"

There was a knock on the door and both of them turned to look at it.

"Because I'm expecting a package, of course."

Zatanna walked up to the door and took an envelope, giving the bellboy a small tip and a wink before closing the door behind her.

"What is that?" Sunset asked, leaning over the back of the sofa.

"This, my dear Sunset, is you," Satanna declared, tossing the envelope to her with a flourish. "Or rather, the new you."

Susnet arched an eyebrow and slid out the documents from within the envelope, spreading them on a table. "So, I was born in... Venice? American mom, Italian dad. Moved to the US early on, so I don't need to speak italian, that's a relief... and my last name is Lucciola?"

Zatanna smirked. "Your father was a friend of mine's, which is how we got in contact together... and the Lucciola last name is a little secret between Bruce and I. I wonder if he'll ever catch on."

Sunset rolled her eyes, but checked every paper in order. "Life on the road, home schooled. Parents dead... it's the quintessential tragic orphan story." She sighed. "I realize that sending me back home might take some time, Zatanna, but is all of this really necessary?"

Zatanna sat down next to Sunset. "I'm afraid so... listen, Sunset, I want to send you back home as soon as possible too. I know it can't be easy to be here, with your family and friends left behind, but we have a very slim chance of doing that, even using your power as a reference, are you aware of how the multiverse works?"

Sunset grimaced. "A little. A friend of mine and I were working on a magical treatise on it."

Zatanna raised an eyebrow. "You really must tell me your life story at some point. But, returning to the one I was trying to make; multiple realities exist consecutively in an infinite number of possibilities, with more appearing every day. The closest the world you find yourself in is to your home universe, the easier it is to find that point of origin... but, there is no Canterlot here. No Canterlot High, Crystal Prep, no Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna... no person in this world is registered with the names Twilight Sparkle, Rarity Belle, Pinkie Pie, or Applejack Apple... there are some similarities, there's a Manhattan, Baltimore, Las Vegas, but no Manehattan, Baltimare or Las Pegasus."

"So what you're saying is that this could take years, if it ever even happens." Sunset covered her face with her hands. "Shouldn't I be doing everything then to figure it out? Spend every second working on that?"

Zatanna sighed. "You can. If you want to, I won't stop you, and I'll ensure you have access to the knowledge that would help that research regardless of which way you want to approach this, but you have to decide if it's for the best."

"What do you mean?"

Zatanna looked away. "I could obsess over magic to try and bring my father back to life. To go back in time to change his choice. To be a family again. But the truth is he made his mind, and I am now responsible for my own choices. I paid a price, but I also owned up to it and I know he wouldn't want me to waste my life blindly following an ideal solution that might not come to pass." She smiled. "If I ever come across a way to save him from his own folly, a way that will fix things so that he can come back and not destroy everything I've worked for, I might use it right then and there, but I refuse to give up on life to my own detriment, and I know he would not approve of that either."

Sunset gulped. "When I left, I know I managed to fix everything back home... I'm not afraid for them, but they are all I have. I want to go back."

"And you will," Zatanna said. "But ask yourself: would they want you to spend years isolated, without friends, without a chance at life for the slim possibility of returning home? Or would they happily embrace you back and be proud of your success and growth in another world while you figured out how to go back to them?"

Sunset sighed, looking down at the papers.

"I'm not saying give up. Don't give up," Zatanna said, raising Sunset's chin with her finger so that her young protege could look her in the eye. "Do your best to go back. Study. Read, experiment... but don't give up on yourself either. Make friends. Go out. Find special people to give you the strength you need to continue. If you find your way home, your friends will be there to help you. If you don't, your friends will have been with you all the way."

Sunset closed her eyes and nodded.

"That is my advice, in any case," Zatanna said standing up. "It's up to you what you make of it, but for now let's put that behind us and maybe I can teach you some tricks to make sure you at least can pass as my apprentice."

Sunset chuckled. "Sure, why not."

Later that night, Sunset stared at the blinking light of the fire alarm, unable to sleep. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the last moments in her earth, where Twilight had returned fully to her normal form before everything had gone wrong.

She knew somehow, that Twilight was fine. That her world was in no immediate danger, and she was sure her friends would inform Princess Twilight of her disappearance. With the princess herself helping, they would surely be able to find her again... wouldn't they?

That just left her to decide. Once before she had been consumed by a single, less than noble, objective. She had dedicated her every waking moment to bring about the doom of Equestria through the initial destruction of Canterlot High and syphoning the power of the Elements into herself. And the power that had defeated her was no less than the power of Friendship.

Zatanna had inadvertently hit the nail in the head by suggesting she make friends here too. Was there a greater power? Would she be worthy of Princess Twilight's forgiveness if she didn't put that ultimate lesson of friendship to use?

She knew enough about magical interdimensional theory through her own research to know that Zatanna was not making things up. Her world—either of them—was vastly different from this one. She wouldn't deny herself a life, but she wouldn't waste her time either. She would start her research as soon as possible.

It was just as she was about to drift off to sleep that she felt the surge in magic. Confused, she rolled out of bed and walked to the window.

Behind the closed curtains she could see intense flashes of light, and then she heard a distant explosion.

"What the..."

"It seems the Penguin and Catwoman used the statues of Horus and Bast," Zatanna said, emerging from her own room and walking up to her.

Sunset drew the curtains open and they watched the distant explosions coming from a lighthouse.

"This place is so much more violent than my previous homes," Sunset whispered. "Not that there was no violence but... this seems to be a normal occurrence here."

"This world is home to several super heroes and villains," Zatanna said, watching the distant battle. "I myself have joined the forces of good fighting crime and mystical threats to this world."

Sunset's eyes were wide. "You have?"

"Indeed, and so has Dr. Fate," Zatanna replied with a nod. She looked at Sunset. "With your power, the forces of good would gain a powerful ally."

Sunset chuckled weakly. "I don't know if I'm super hero material, Zatanna... my plate is going to be full between working, studying and trying to get home."

Zatanna shrugged. "Something else to think about, I suppose. Be warned, however that your power will draw attention eventually when you use it, and I fully intend to have you be at least somewhat capable of defending yourself."

"I know some offensive spells, and I learned how to fight," Sunset muttered.

"You need a well-rounded education. Defense and offense. I'm going to insist you attend martial arts classes, maybe even join a gymnastics class," Zatanna said, and her tone was pretty serious.

"Gotham is going to be your home and I can't stay here forever," she continued. "But what we with mystical power face goes beyond super villains. In this universe there are forces and entities and intelligences that from time to time take an interest in us. Some which you might be able to fight... some that you might be able to escape, and some you have no hope in defeating or escaping or even reasoning with.

"I'll try to get some of my friends to assist in teaching you, but ultimately your survival falls down to you. You are not a regular person here. You have power, and a somewhat unique ability to mix both sides of the spectrum at will. You cannot be too careful."

"Alright, alright," Sunset replied, raising her hands. "I'm not trying to make things harder, I just... don't want to involve myself in fighting superpowered beings. I've had enough abuse of magic in my life to want to take part in battles."

Zatanna nodded. "Perfectly understandable, but being able to defend yourself and even win if necessary doesn't conflict with those interests, does it?"

Sunset shook her head.

"Good, now, it seems the battle is over," Zatanna pointed out, and Sunset could no longer see explosions or flashes of light from the lighthouse. "I suggest you get some sleep, Sunset. You have a test to take and I have to adapt my show for my new assistant."

Sunset yawned and nodded, closing the curtain and making her way to bed. She laid down and started to drift into sleep when Zatanna's words broke through. She sat right up in bed. "Wait, what?!"

Sunset walked the long hallway, her hooves making an echoing clip-clop sound that only stopped when she reached the doors. She placed a hoof against them, braced herself, and pushed.

"Princess," Sunset bowed, tears streaming from her eyes. "Thank you for welcoming me back, I've missed you so much!" She looked up at Celestia, sitting in her high throne. "I'm so sorry, Princess... I didn't understand back then... I'm still trying to learn, but now that I'm here, I know I can—"

"Silence," Celestia interrupted, opening her wings threateningly and frowning down at her. "I know what you did, Sunset Shimmer. I know of your attempt to subvert innocents and turn them against Equestria!"

"But, Princess, I have changed! I promise, I—"

"Your crimes shall be punished!" Celestia snarled, eyes glowing. "You would enslave children! Use them as weapons!"

"I was wrong!" Sunset cried, using her hooves to cover her head, fearful of the Princess' wrath. "Twilight taught me a better way! She helped me change before I did irreparable damage!"

"All you did was bring destruction to their world!" Twilight said, emerging from behind the throne, eyes blazing with magic. "I left you to learn friendship, and since then you almost let reality be ripped apart!"

"You abandoned your friends, and now you intend to bring doom to another world!" Principal Celestia added, standing up from her throne.

"I will cast you into a different, far-off universe, where you will have no possibility of returning!" Twilight Sparkle declared.

Sunset found herself surrounded by her friends, who sneered and laughed at her.

"What are you gonna do now, little unicorn?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Are you going to bully me again?" Fluttershy snarled.

"How about we teach you what we do to unruly horses at the farm?" Applejack added.

"And while we're at it, maybe I can use your hide to make a throw rug," Rarity stated, smirking cruelly.

"And then I'll throw a party since you're never coming back!" Pinkie said cheerfully.

The group circled around her. Celestia and Twilight voicing their disappointment, the others reminding her of how since had gone to hell since she had come to their world.

Sunset closed her eyes and trembled under their verbal assault, the cacophony making it hard to even think. She was sure they would burn her with magic, get rid of her and she deserved it. Goddess, she deserved it.

The feeling of a cold hoof on her shoulder made her start, and she opened her eyes, looking around wildly, but there was no sign of the others, just shadows, lurking and circling.

She stood up and turned to look in confusion at the white coated, black maned unicorn standing next to her. His cutie mark was a strange, almost skull-like white mark in a black background, and his eyes... his eyes were strange, shrouded in shadow, but she could see the pupils, glowing like silver stars.

"W-wha—"

"Nightmares," the unicorn explained, and there was a tone to the sound of his voice; a sense of eternity and strangeness that she was unable to fully comprehend. "Only nightmares, Sunset Shimmer. Nothing to worry about."

Sunset accepted his words...

...and woke up to the sound of the door to the penthouse closing and the smell of breakfast and coffee.

She took a deep breath and smiled. She felt rested, more so than she thought she would early in the morning after waking up in the middle of the night to discuss her possible encounter with evil and the need to learn how to fight.

Zatanna knocked on her door and peeked in. "Ready for breakfast?"

Sunset hesitated for a brief second before she nodded. "Ready for a new day."

Chapter 03: Green

The drive from the hotel hadn't been long, although Sunset had taken the time to try and familiarize herself with the area. Although the city was fairly large, it reminded her a lot of Chicacolt, and just how once you were downtown everything was relatively close.

From what she could see, the museum, opera house, Gotham Theatre, and the library were all within walking distance.

"Gotham City was founded in 1635," Zatanna spoke as they drove through the streets. "It was the site of several rituals and magical forces meeting... old world against new world magic among other things. It has kept growing and being modernized, but it will always have that certain feel to it... of a long magical history to it and the struggle between light and darkness that eventually created the hero that lives here, as well as the villains that are drawn here."

Their car eventually turned around the last block before stopping in front of a large, gated building. Sunset blinked and followed Zatanna out of the car before glancing at the granite sign on the side of the gate.

"So this is Gotham High," Sunset stated, looking at the building past the gates. "It looks like a prison. I bet Principal Cinch would have been the perfect warden for this place."

Zatanna shrugged. "I'm not surprised it looks this way, Gotham needs as much security as they can afford and it's natural that they would protect the younger generations. I don't know who this Cinch person is yet, but you might want to keep an open mind."

Sunset gave the gates a cautious tap. "I think I'll call it 'Shawshank' for now." She tapped her chin. "Or 'Gothshank'?"

Zatanna looked at the building somewhat critically. "That is oddly appropriate, but remember that this is where you're going to study, so a healthy outlook is best. Now, come on, we need to talk to the principal about your test."

"You know, I could just try and get a job..."

"You already have a job," Zatanna interrupted. "You're my assistant while I'm in Gotham, and this is not only about education, it's about cementing your identity here. And you told me that you'd represented your school in their all-program Olympics, right? Math, English, History and such. You should have no problem dealing with homework here."

Sunset grimaced. "I guess."

"I'm sure it'll be fun," Zatanna said with a smile. "I do know that they have the best gymnastics team in the state, so joining them should be a priority. Remember that I want you to be limber and more agile than you already are. We also need to find a good place for you to learn martial arts."

"Oh ponyfeathers," Sunset muttered, making Zatanna raise an eyebrow at the strange expression. "How am I going to juggle showbiz, school, gym, martial arts, friendship and magical studies?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Zatanna said. "We'll find a good balance for you and Dr. Fate has granted us access to his study, which exists out of time and space for some study sessions," she explained. "For now, you and I will be working on mixing your magic while show-training and put it into practice at show times.

"Acting will be important, so start thinking of the type of character you want to be in my show. Usually I'd tell you all about the prestige, but I want you to live your own life and as long as your public persona is stable, I'll be happy with that.

"And as I promised, I will send letters to my acquaintances so they can visit and give you additional training. You'll be meeting the best of the best!" She patted Sunset on the head and motioned towards the school so they could start walking.

Sunset tilted her head and gave Zatanna a sidelong glance as they crossed the gates into the empty front yard of 'Shawshank'. It was as square as the buildings and went well with the spartan decor it had... a few large square planters with trees in them and the occasional bush.

"Would it kill them to plant more things around?" Sunset asked, grimacing at the spartan state of it. "I hate to be critical but... well, I mean, there's scientific study about the mental and psychological benefits of having more green, living things around. Not to mention the environmental impact, the aesthetics and—"

"That's right!" a voice called out, making both Sunset and Zatanna turn to look at a girl with straight red hair, thick-rimmed glasses and green eyes emerging from the side of the building. "You have no idea how hard it is to get everyone's head wrapped around the idea that plants do not only deserve rights, but the fact that we are sorely lacking in ways to preserve them and help them grow! I've been conducting a series of tests on the chemical composition of the grounds around the school, and there's no reason that we couldn't grow an amazing garden here and even a urban garden on parts of the roof of the building!"

She walked to a stop in front of Sunset and Zatanna, offering her hand to the younger of the pair. "Pamela Isley, I'm starting a green-advocacy club this year for that specific purpose among other more global issues. In fact, I just registered it! I hope to get a good amount of environmentally-conscious people involved!"

"Sunset S—Luciola," Sunset stammered out. "Nice to meet you."

"I don't think I've seen you before, are you a new student?" Pamela asked.

"Yeah, I'm taking an exam for placement here, I'm a bit nervous but it shouldn't be much of a problem."

"If so, once you're part of the student body, maybe you'd be interested in joining my club?" She offered Sunset a little brochure. "Take a look and think about it, would you?"

Sunset took the brochure and smiled. "Thank you Pamela, I'll definitely think about it."

"Great!" Pamela grinned, turning to go. "I hope you do! Good luck in there! I'll see you around when classes start!"

Sunset waved and turned, stopping cold when she noticed Zatanna's grin. "Aww, you already made a friend!" The magician teased, ruffling Sunset's hair. "That's my assistant! I'm so proud of you!"

Sunset shook her head, batting away Zatanna's hand and started to walk towards the school entrance. "Well, you know what they say, 'Friendship is Magic'."

Sunset had to admit—once she was inside the building—that Gothshank wasn't as dreary as a prison within. The halls were kept clean and were spacious enough to allow for a large amount of student movement.

She could also appreciate the architecture. While it was amusing to make fun of the outside design, the interior gave it a very traditional air. Unlike Canterlot High, which was very modern in design, the columns, the arched roofs and tall windows made Gotham High seem more like what she envisioned Harvard or Oxford would look like.

Maybe the nickname was a bit too cruel for the school.

That this was a place of learning was very clear and Sunset could only hope that as stern as the building was, the staff wouldn't be quite so... traditional. Strange things did happen around her—as her even being in that world was proof of—and she didn't want to be kicked out because of some random occurance got it into her teacher's head that she needed to be expelled.

The secretary wasn't the standard, bored-looking lady Sunset had come to expect on television shows, she was probably in her mid twenties, short blond hair down to her shoulders and dressed in a modern professional attire that contrasted with what she had expected her to look like. A picture of the principal, a dark-skinned woman with a soft smile and warm brown eyes, hung behind the young receptionist, also breaking her previous misconceptions of a vulture-like Cinch-type, overlooking her evil empire.

"Welcome to Gotham High, I'm Miss Kean, how can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm Zatanna Zatara, and this is my young charge Sunset Luciola, we spoke yesterday?"

"Ah, yes, if you brought all her paperwork, we can get started," Miss Kean said. She looked at Sunset with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry you don't have much more time to prepare for the test, but classes will be starting very soon and we need all of this sorted out very quickly."

Sunset shrugged and smiled back. "I just hope I do well enough."

"I'm sure you will, Miss Luciola," the secretary said, standing up and guiding Sunset into another room with a couple of desks inside. She set down a stack of papers, writing utensils and a printed test on top of one. "You can take your test here, but I will need you to leave your cell phone and purse behind."

Sunset nodded, giving her both items before sitting down.

Miss Kean gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "You have two hours, good luck!"

Sunset nodded, filling in her new information on the cover sheet before turning the page to the first question.

“The octagon P_1P_2P_3P_4P_5P_6P_7P_8 is inscribed in a circle, with the vertices around the circumference in the given order. Given that the polygon P_1P_3P_5P_7 is a square of area 5 and the polygon P_2P_4P_6P_8 is a rectangle of area 4, find the maximum possible area of the octagon.” Sunset blinked. "Huh. Well, that's not so bad..."

She shrugged and started working. After a few minutes and some diagrams, she turned to the next question. "A bit involved, but nothing too serious. This might be somewhat easy."

“If one train on the Gotham Express leaves Gotham at 5:30 at sixty kilometers per hour and another one from Metropolis at 6:00 at fifty kilometers per hour, and they cross at 6:30, what was the color of the caboose used in both trains?"

Sunset stared at the problem for a solid minute, reading it twice, then checking below it to see if it continued onto the next page.

It didn't.

"Oh, joy."

Zatanna frowned at the wall full of extracurricular activities. While the gym classes seemed solid, there was no martial arts training other than a club, but that wouldn't be enough. She needed something more intensive. "Hm, might have to ask Richard... and maybe Dinah for some help there..." she muttered, before she noticed someone coming out of the office.

"...and that is why, young lady I don't want you hanging out with—" the man stopped berating the young redheaded girl with him, blinking when he noticed they were not alone.

"I believe I know who you are," Zatanna smiled. "Commissioner Gordon, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Oh, wow!" the girl next to him spoke up, eyes widening. "It's Zatanna Zatara!" She skipped over and shook Zatanna's hand. "I'm Barbara Gordon, and I'm a big fan! I've watched the Tokyo special at least five times!"

"That, I can attest to," Commissioner Gordon said with a good-natured grumble before he also shook Zatanna's hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Miss Zatara, but I admit a surprise. Are you doing a show here at the school?"

Zatanna chuckled, shaking her head and smiling at Barbara's downcast expression. "I'm afraid not, my new assistant is going to attend Gotham High, and I was thinking she could do some gymnastics for possibly more demanding routines."

"Oh! I'm in the gymnastics team!" Barbara said excitedly. "It's amazing, but really demanding!"

"I've heard it is the best in the state," Zatanna stated. "So I'm hoping she's up to the challenge."

"The teachers here are very good," Commissioner Gordon said, glancing at his daughter. "Provided the students don't skip class."

Barbara crossed her arms and looked away, pouting, which made Zatanna grin. "Well, I'm sure Sunset will like it then. Maybe Barbara can give her a tour of the school and the gym before classes start?"

The Commissioner and his daughter exchanged glances, before Barbara shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Excellent!" Zatanna said, raising her hand and, with a flick of the wrist, producing three tickets for her show. "On me," she said giving them to the Commissioner. "They're good seats, I promise."

"Thank you!" Barbara giggled. "I was wondering what the plans were for tonight!"

Commissioner Gordon shook his head. "You're still grounded, Barbara."

"But daad!"

"We'll talk it over with your mom, and maybe tonight we can go, but it doesn't mean that you're off the hook, young lady."

"A small victory," Barbara stage-whispered to Zatanna. "Worth it."

"Thank you, Miss Kean! I hope to see you again soon!" Sunset emerged from the side office and closed the door with a groan. Leaning against it for a moment and taking a deep breath.

Zatanna, who had been juggling cards and had more than twenty flowing smoothly through the air, summoned them all back to their box and looked at her young charge. "How was it?"

"Confusing." Sunset admitted. "But once I got the hang of it, not too bad. Even the history section wasn't a big deal... oddly enough, same dates, slightly different names for the most part, although there's no Gotham or Metropolis where I come from. I fear that will be my lowest score."

"How about biology, chemistry, etc?"

Sunset grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

Zatanna laughed. "Excellent. Now come, we need to practice... tonight's your first show and we need to get you familiarized with some basic aspects of showmanship as well as the tricks you'll participate in."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Did you already have magic tricks planned with an assistant in mind?"

Zatanna shook her head, leading Sunset down the hall. "It's easy enough to adapt some of the tricks that require audience assistance, and I've been doing this for so long that if I didn't have ideas and tricks up my sleeve for an assistant to work with, I should find another job."

"If you say so," Sunset said, following Zatanna. "You think I'll be ready?"

"Well, considering Bruce Wayne, Commissioner Gordon, the Mayor, and several prominent Gothamites will be attending?" Zatanna grinned. "You'd better be."

Author's Notes:

I aoplogize for the short chapter, next one will be definitely more involved! But! Sunset has met Pamela! And Barbara is hovering close by. How will things progress from here? Check the next chapter out, same Bat-Channel, and who knows what Bat-hour or Bat-day. But soon. Ish.

Chapter 04: Presentation

Sunset looked from behind the curtain to see the crowd that was waiting in the building for the show to start. Many of the prominent movers and shakers of Gotham City were sitting all over the place at their dinner tables. It almost appeared like all of Gotham had come out to this charity gala. Old billionaires and business men sitting with their trophy wives hanging on their arms as well those of the Average Joe kind that was lucky to get tickets to the show.

“Wow, you really weren’t kidding about what you said earlier.” Sunset stated. Looking back, if she was informed that she would be performing as Zatanna’s assistant before a huge crowd only a few hours after a test that she really didn’t study for, she would’ve gotten more sleep the night before.

“Maybe a bit more than I originally thought, but nothing too much to worry about. After all, I have full faith in your abilities,” Zatanna gave the girl a light pat on the back. “Besides, you did read the whole script of what I’ll be doing tonight, right?”

Sunset gave a nervous look. “Uh… with everything that was going on, it kind of didn’t cross my mind.” The former unicorn admitted. Zatanna’s eyes widened.

“Are you serious?” She exclaimed in a hushed tone. “Well, hurry up! We’ve only got twenty-five minutes till curtain!”

“Not to worry. I can handle it,” Sunset informed before quickly walking over to the table where the script waited and picked it up. She then flipped through the pages in succession as if she was shuffling cards. “Done!” She said after looking at it for about four minutes with a proud look on her face.

Zatanna could only blink. “Done?” She questioned. “You read all of that and got it memorized by just flipping through it in only a few minutes?”

Sunset smiled. “Well, no, I didn’t memorize all of it word for word, but I used some tricks that my friend, Twilight Sparkle, gave me. I don’t need to actually remember it all, just look out for key words and take the queues from that. Trust me; I think I’ll be able to pull it off when the curtain rises. ”

Zatanna grew a smile of her own. “You and your friends are quite interesting, Sunset.” The magician confessed before she turned her gaze towards the crowd she could see from off stage. “Alright, you stay back here and keep looking over it while I go over to the main table to talk with Bruce and the others before the show, ok?” Sunset gave her the thumbs up before going further backstage.

“So remind me why you’re here instead of Commissioner Patterson, James?” The mustached Police Chief Angel Rojas asked the Deputy Commissioner.

“Well, there are two answers to that, Chief Rojas. The first of which is that Zatanna herself gave me and my family three front row tickets earlier today, which is why I won’t be sitting with you, Mayor Grange or Mr. Wayne.” The red haired James Gordon replied calmly.

Rojas raised his eyebrows in a curious look. “She personally gave you tickets?” He questioned with a hint of disbelief. “Why would she do that?”

Gordon shrugged. “Don’t fully understand. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that her assistant is going to go to Gotham High this year and she thought that maybe Barbara, who admitted her admiration of her when we met her earlier at the school, could help guide Sunset through the first few days of school.”

“Well, that answers why I can see your daughter sneaking backstage.” Gordon quickly turned around to see that indeed in his only child was doing what Rojas said. “Relax, Jim. She’s probably looking for Zatanna’s charge so she knows who to look for come next week. Besides, that still doesn’t answer my main question of where is Patterson.”

Gordon groaned. “Sometimes, I just wish that girl would stay out of trouble. And to your question, Angel, the Commissioner has more important things to do tonight. Something about having an anniversary dinner with his wife of thirty years.”

Rojas’ eyes widened. “Shoot! That was tonight? I completely spaced out on that.” He turned his head to a nearby lieutenant. “Delaney! Remind me to send a card to Patterson congratulating his anniversary.”

The lieutenant quickly nodded. “Yes, sir.” He responded.

Rojas turned his head back towards Gordon. “Speaking of wives; where is yours?”

“She had to work a late shift at the hospital so she couldn’t make the show,” Gordon replied while rubbing the back of his head. He then noticed Mayor Grange walking by. “Listen, Rojas, I need to speak to the Mayor about something Patterson wanted me to handle so I’m gonna have to cut this conversation short. I’ll see you after the show, all right?”

“Yeah, enjoy the show.” Rojas said as Gordon walked away. He took in a sight of the room to see if anything was going on before the show and sure enough, he saw a sight that he really didn’t expect: Detective Ellen Yin was having a conversation with Bruce Wayne.

Ellen Yin had not been doing too well for the past couple of weeks. It seemed that her life had taken quite a down turn ever since she came to this town. Yin was a well-respected and decorated detective from Metropolis who was rising through the ranks fast. There were those who thought she might be well on track to being one of the youngest police captains in the history of the country. That was until she was transferred to Gotham.

Now she was never one to truly complain about an assignment, but her idea of what she was going to do when she came to this city was shaken violently on almost her first day. Sure, Metropolis had its fair share of crime: burglary, assault, homicides, but most of those could be pointed to heat of the moment and crimes of passion. In Gotham, much of the crimes she was getting dealt with were going up against those beyond any rational thought. Pure and utter insanity. Crazies were coming out of the woodwork in this town and she just had to draw the short straw of going after them. Her and her partner, Detective Ethan Bennett.

Ethan Bennett. The person that was contributing to her recent depression.

Rojas had assigned the two of them to deal with the mysterious Batman, a masked vigilante that was going around and taking the law into his own hands and it was her job to find out who was under the mask and arrest him. Now, while it seemed that the Bat was doing a good thing, Rojas was having none of it. He believed that the man was a danger to society and needed to be put behind bars. At least that was the message he gave the press. The more personal reason was that Rojas felt that the Bat was making the GCPD look bad, and Gotham’s cops had a long history of problems ranging from incompetence to corruption that Rojas wanted to clean up.

One unfortunate effect of being on the Batman case was dealing with the certain ‘super criminals’ that the Batman would fight. Cat burglars, a bird obsessed creep, a man hooked up to super steroids, a walking ice storm, and possible the worst of them: The Joker.

The other half to her depression could be contributed to the so-called ‘Clown Prince of Crime’. A few weeks ago, Ellen and Ethan were working a case and were getting close to the Bat when Ethan ended up getting captured by the Joker. The clown used him for a sick game of breaking a man mentally as well as trying out some of his new toys. ‘All it takes is one bad day.’ is what Ellen remembered. The Batman was able to rescue Ethan, to which Ellen passed up a chance to find out who was under that mask as she felt his actions earned him this one pass, but the damage was already done to poor Ethan. Ethan was gone forever.

At least, that’s the way she was seeing it. It was better to think Ethan was dead than the actual truth. She was supposed to have his back and she let him down and now he was a shell of his former self in Arkham Asylum.

Clayface.

“Detective Yin?” Ellen immediately snapped back to reality to see that she was looking at billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. “Are you okay, Detective Yin?” They met once or twice before; she recalled first meeting him when Oswald Cobblepot was going on his first burglary spree after returning to Gotham from his string of crimes in Asia.

Yin shook her head to wake up from her memories. “Uh, yes, I am. Sorry, I was zoned out there for a moment.” She apologized. Yin’s opinion of Wayne wasn’t a very good one. Sure, he was quite the philanthropist and did a lot of good for the city but Yin heard more stories of the stingiest of those with so much money and it set her opinions of them quite deep.

“So, are you here to see the show tonight?” Bruce asked.

“No, Mr. Wayne, some of us work nights.” She held up her glass which showed it was filled with water and not champagne like many of the other attendees.

“Have things being going okay lately?” Yin’s mood soured once again.

“Ye... Yeah, they are,” She hesitated. “Actually, not really, the past few weeks have just been a mess for me…”

“Ethan was one of my oldest friends. I just… I’m sorry about what happened to him.” He explained with sorrow in his voice.

“Yeah, well, just his luck, eh? One of the best partners a cop could ask for and he gets stuck with the worst.” She admitted.

“Now don’t you blame yourself for what happened, Yin. I won’t have that,” Rojas announced as he walked up to the pair. “If anything, I’m more to blame for what has happened with Ethan.”

Bruce raised his eyebrow in curiosity. “What do you mean, Chief Rojas?” He asked while extending his hand to shake the chief’s hand.

“I’ve been thinking these past couple of weeks, and have finally come to terms with what had happened and the mistakes I made. I should’ve seen the signs. I was pushing both you and Ethan too far, Yin, on this whole Batman case, and putting you into way more danger than two detectives should handle.” He explained before he took a quick drink of water from the cup that was in his hand.

He finished his sip before he continued. “The worst part of it was after we got Ethan back from that maniac and what do I do? I blame him for losing the chance of finding out who the Bat really is. Kick a man down when he’s at his lowest, and now, well, the less said about what happened next the better.” Rojas finished with a guilty tone in his voice.

“So what about the Batman case? Still want me on it, Chief?” Yin questioned before Rojas shook his head.

“No, I’m taking you off of it for the time being… I still want to know who that madman is, but I’m not going to lose another darn good detective in the effort.”

“You know, there are whispers that the Bat is actually more of a hero. Perhaps the GCPD shouldn’t be focusing on him.” Zatanna walked over to the group before holding out her hand to Bruce. Those words just added some more guilt to Yin. When she and Bennett were working the Batman case, Bennett was always in the corner that the bat was more of a force for good while she just saw him a dangerous vigilante.

The past couple of weeks had made her slowly see Ethan’s side of things. She worked with the Bat to stop Ethan, and then recently had been directing police away to give Batman some room to deal with the whole Egyptian Idols incident involving Cobblepot last night. In short, she was basically on his side now.

“Well, you’re not the first to express that idea, Ms. Zatara.” Rojas grumbled before Zatanna shook hands with both him and Yin. “But, at the end of the day, the man is a vigilante and we have laws against that. It’s the police’s job to deal with these creeps; not his.” Rojas turned around and started to walk away before he stopped and kept looking forward. “Yin, take the next few days off. I expect to see you at eight on Thursday.”

“I’ve never actually seen Rojas look that guilty before in the time I’ve been here in Gotham…” muttered Yin. “Of course, that last moment, he looked like his old self.”

“Sorry,” Zatanna said. “Didn’t mean to set him off.”

“Pretty sure he was on that verge…” Bruce shrugged his shoulders before checking his watch. “Oh, looks like the show’s about to begin. Better get my seat.” He smiled. “See you after the show, Zee.” He then walked back towards the back of the room where his reserved seat was.

“‘Zee’?” Yin looked at the stage performer curiously.

“We’re old friends,” Zatanna gave her own smile. “Enjoy the show, Detective.” She walked away towards the backstage leaving Yin alone to herself.

Yin sighed and took a drink of the water she had in the champagne glass. “Heaven knows I’ll try.”

Sunset was sitting down backstage as she was currently rereading the script that Zatanna had for her. She felt very confident that she would be able to easily keep up with her on the stage but it didn’t hurt to be as prepared as she could. Of course, she would have to pause on the studying when she saw a red headed girl walking around; looking very much like she shouldn’t be there.

“Can I help you?” Sunset spoke up and caused the girl to nearly jump out of her skin for a moment there.

“Oh, jeez…” Barbara caught her breath after it escaped her. “Sorry, you startled me is all… Um, you can actually help me though; you wouldn’t happen to know where I could find Zatanna’s assistant, would you?”

Sunset gave a small smirk and pointed to herself. “You’re looking at her.” Barbara’s eyes widen.

“Oh, thank goodness!” She shook the other girl’s hand. “I’m Barbara Gordon. I’m a student at Gotham High.”

“Sunset Lucciola.” She said, holding a steady grip herself before realizing the last name that Barbara gave sounded familiar. “Gordon? Are you related to Deputy Commissioner Gordon?” Sunset asked. Barbara nodded.

“He’s my Dad. We’re actually sitting in the front row tonight,” She pulled out the ticket stubs. “Big Zatanna fan. She even gave us tickets when she was at the school earlier today!”

“Well, that’s nice to hear. But I don’t think those are backstage passes.” pointed out Sunset. Barbara chuckled and scratched the back of her head.

“Yeah, they aren’t… I was actually looking for you.” Sunset had a confused look on her face.

“Me?” She pointed to herself again.

“Yep.” Barbara nodded. “Zatanna said she wanted you to join the gymnastics team. Considering that you’re a new student, perhaps I could show you around Gotham High.”

“Of course Zatanna had an alternative motive for this.” Sunset wasn’t upset though, but she honestly felt slightly guilty that Zatanna was still doing all this for her.

“That’s good to hear. It would be nice to have a friend on the first day… well, make that two since I already meet Pamela Isley at school this morning. I kinda promised I’d join her green advocacy club.” Sunset dug into her pocket and pulled out the brochure that Pamela gave her earlier before handing it to Barbara. The girl looked at it for a moment before handing it back to her.

“Pamela Isley? Not really familiar with her, I mean, I’ve seen her around school, but she’s a bit more of a… she kinda keeps to herself a bit, you know?” Sunset mentally smirked. The way Barbara described Pamela reminded Sunset of Fluttershy.

“She certainly was a lot more forward when I mentioned the plants.” Sunset said, chuckling.

“Hmm… well… I suppose I might check it out too, since I’m gonna be sticking around with you.”

“That’s very nice of you to offer, Barbara. I certainly look forward to it then; certainly makes things better if I at least know one person when starting out.” A thought then occurred to Sunset. “Hey, wait a second. You’re not just being friendly with me just so you can get close to Zatanna, are you?”

“Yes.” Barbara bluntly stated. They were quiet for at least five seconds before both of them just couldn’t hold it and started to laugh. “Sorry, I just thought that was funny!”

“It was! It was!” Sunset was trying to calm back down.

“Well, it looks like you two are getting along well already.” Zatanna walked over to them. Barbara nearly jumped again as Zatanna spoke.

“Oh, Zatanna! I’m so sorry! I know I’m not supposed to be backstage but I just…”

“It’s quite alright, Ms. Gordon,” The magician interrupted her. “I’m glad you two have already met at least.” Zatanna assured her which calmed Barbara down quite a bit. “However, I’m afraid the show is about to begin. If you don’t want to miss the magnificent magic of tonight’s show, you’d better head back to your seat, young lady.” Barbara was slightly disappointed but knew she was right.

“Okay then…” She started to walk away before she turned back. “Hey, is there any chance that perhaps you could have an audience volunteer sometime during the show?” Barbara asked hopefully. To see a Zatanna show live had always been a dream to her but to be a part of it? That would be even better. Both Zatanna and Sunset glance at each other and smirked.

“We’ll see,” Zatanna winked.

“What exactly were you doing backstage, Barbara?” James Gordon gave his daughter a stern look as she joined him at the table by the stage.

Barbara gave a small sheepish grin.“Sorry, Dad… I was just looking for Zatanna’s assistant so I know who to look for when school starts in the next few days.”

Gordon sighed at his daughter's answer.“Okay, I understand why you did that… but you could’ve just waited until she was on stage and then have your answer there.”

“Well, I just wanted to say hi too.”

“Barbara, please, I just wish you’d listen to what I ask of you. I thought I taught you better than this,” he said, shaking his head.

“You did.” Barbara spoke up as she felt slightly hurt by that remark. “Sorry, it’s just… sometimes I feel you’re a bit too stuffy with all these requests and orders.” She admitted.

Gordon understood what she meant. She was just a slightly rebellious teenager. It was completely normal but he did wish she was still that little girl he remembered. “I know. I just want you to be safe and responsible is all. I do it because I love you.” Barbara smiled as she gave him a slight side hug.

“I love you too, Dad. Don’t worry; I’m not going to do anything completely irresponsible.”

“Good… also, don’t think all this sweet talking and you being here is getting you out of being grounded.” He smirked, which caused her to huff and cross her arms.

"Darn," she grumbled, slightly irritated at his answering chuckle.

A moment later, the lights died down and all that was left was mostly the bright lights of the stage.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight you will experience wonders never seen before in the world!” The show announcer said. “You will witness unbelievable feats of magic that has to be seen to be believed! Brace yourselves, for the one, the only… the amazing… Zatanna!” Within a moment, the stage exploded in smoke before it died to reveal Zatanna on the stage. The whole audience clapped at the sight of her.

“Thank you! Thank you!” She bowed. “It’s a pleasure to be here tonight, especially for such a great cause. There’s nothing nobler than supporting all the good that the Gotham Children’s Hospital does.” She smiled. “As you well know, your tickets tonight will be full donations to the hospital, and in return, I will give you all a unique show! Tonight, you will also witness the birth of greatness, as I’ll be helped by my lovely and promising new assistant! Please welcome... Sunset Lucciola!” Sunset walked out on stage before taking a bow herself and remained in the corner of the stage while the attention went back to Zatanna.

“And now… prepare to experience magic like never before!!”

About an hour into the show, an officer discreetly walked over to where the Gordons were sitting. “What is it, Callahan?” James whispered to the officer.

“Anonymous tip just came in. Cobblepot has been spotted several blocks away; near the main branch of the Gotham Credit Union.”

“I thought he was dealt with last night with those idols?” Gordon asked. "The reports said that during last night's confrontation the cat statue was destroyed. And that the bird one was returned to the museum. What happened to Cobblepot?"

“We never actually arrested him last night," Callahan grudgingly admitted. "Guess maybe since he couldn’t extort the city for a billion dollars, he’s now just deciding to knock over a bank for some cash.”

Gordon scratched his chin as he thought about what to do next. “What’s Rojas’ response?” he asked.

Callahan gave him a weak chuckle in response. “He wants almost every cop in the area to converge on that bank. Says ‘I want a hundred guns pointed at the door when Cobblepot walks out.’”

Gordon gave him slight nod before looking over his shoulder to see Rojas whispering furiously to a few officers around. He also noticed Bruce Wayne looking like he got a text message and was on his way out of the building. He didn’t focus on it for long as he had more important things on his mind.

“Okay, then, let’s move… though I don’t feel as comfortable leaving this place unguarded," he admitted, "Barbara," he said, turning to his daughter, "we’re leaving.”

Barbara looked devastated when he said that. “But, Dad!” she whispered harshly, trying to keep her voice down.

“Barbara. Please. I just want to make sure you’re safe, okay? I’ll make it up to you.” He explained, feeling disappointed in himself that he had to do this. Barbara kept looking at the stage before looking back at him.

“End my grounding and I won’t say another word.”

He nodded. “Done. Come on, let’s go.” He took her hand and almost all of the GCPD were walking out of the building. The only one who stayed behind was Detective Yin who Rojas ordered to stay. Still, it was just a skeleton force that would be keeping the peace at the gala. Gordon looked back at the stage while still holding Barbara’s hand before turning around and heading out to the cars in the parking lot.

Sunset was keeping up with Zatanna's planned tricks as she went along with the performance. She had felt nervous at certain points, fearing she would forget her lines or cues, but whenever she felt she was losing control of the situation, Zatanna would be quick to give her a cue, or meet her eyes, silently guiding her back to her show persona. Even though most of the time she'd recover quickly enough, her mentor's presence and attention made the whole thing a lot easier than she had anticipated it to be.

Sunset was watching the crowd from backstage once more as Zatanna was performing her solo acts at the moment when she saw the GCPD guards all leave. She honestly wondered what the issue was but it didn't seem to have anything to do with the show, and for now, that's what she had to concentrate on. The crowd clapped once again at Zatanna’s act before she took a bow and announced a short intermission, granting her guests the chance to refresh themselves and get new drinks while she prepared for her next trick.

“Been a great night so far,” he said, grabbing a glass of water to refresh herself.

“How have I been doing?” Sunset wondered. "I'm sorry you had to save me so many times."

Zatanna smiled and put her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “You’ve been doing terrific, Sunset. You’re a natural at this.”

Sunset smiled back and was about to say something, but she was interrupted by a loud shattering of glass that echoed through the theater.

The pair peeked through the curtain at the gala, and saw two women in red, skin tight suits that covered their bodies jumping in from the roof. The only thing not red on them was the kabuki masks they wore on their faces and the long, sharp triple bladed fingers on hands. Behind them came a swarm of different birds with bags in their mouths. Finally, a last figure holding an umbrella jumped down and floated onto a table.

The man was short, pudgy, and dressed in a suit with a large top hat and monocle. Sunset noticed with some unease that he also had a long nose and sharp teeth.

He cackled, looking around theatrically at the gathered guests. “What’s this? A large wealthy gala and there wasn’t an invite for Penguin?!” His smirk turned dangerous. "Maybe you nice people can make up for that faux pas now."

Chapter 05: Theatrics

“Zatanna… who is that?” Sunset whispered while pointing at Penguin as the two of the kept watching.

“Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot,” Zatanna whispered back. “Also known as the Penguin. He’s a criminal that uses his trained birds and trick umbrellas in his crimes; mostly high profile robberies.”

Sunset studied the situation as her teacher spoke, noticing that several birds that had arrived with the Penguin were holding large bags in their mouths; and were either circling in the air like vultures, or sitting on the tables, waiting for orders.

“His family used to have considerable wealth, power and influence both here in the United States and the United Kingdom,” Zatanna continued as they both crouched behind the curtain when one of the kabuki girls glanced in their direction. “However, generation after generation started to lose that power and influence before it was finally gone. First was the British side of the family that had left for the United States just to avoid the shame of losing everything.”

“Let me guess,” Sunset interrupted her. “That only dragged down the American side of the family?” When Zatanna nodded, she continued. “Judging from what’s going on right now, looks like he’s using robberies to try and bring that fortune back.”

“You certainly catch on pretty quick. He did a string of thefts in Asia before coming back to Gotham a few months ago.” Zatanna then pointed to the two kabuki girls that were slowly dragging their blades across a few tables that made some of the nearby attendees nervous. “He also picked up those girls. There's almost no information about them, and that’s what makes them so intimidating. From what I’ve heard they’re almost fanatically loyal to Cobblepot.”

Sunset and Zatanna continued to watch from behind the curtain at the gala’s gate crasher. From the looks on the crowd’s faces, it was clear that they were intimidated by this short man who called himself the Penguin; or at the very least, the two women with large daggers for fingers.

“I have to say, being handcuffed to a woman that dresses like a cat for several hours only after I have my plans ruined has certainly put me in a ‘fowl’ mood!” He snickered. “So,” he continued. “I’m not to be played with today.”

Sunset tried not to laugh when the Penguin jumped off the table with surprising grace, only to begin waddling across the room.. His destination was the large gala table at the back where the biggest supporters of the gala and powerful members of Gotham society sat. Of course, the table was a bit empty since both the Chief of Police and Bruce Wayne left earlier; but Penguin’s eyes ignored those spots and were focused on Mayor Grange.

“Hello, Mayor. I’m a bit disappointed that you didn’t send me an invitation.” Penguin had a sick grin on his face that showed off all of his sharp teeth. He then climbed up on to the large table and was now only inches away from the Mayor’s face.

“This gala was for people who planned to donate to the Children’s Hospital; not common thieves like you,” Mayor Grange defiantly looked him dead in the eyes. “After all that happened last night, I expected you to be in chains on your way back to Blackgate.”

Penguin snorted, opening his arms wide and grinning confidently. “What can I say? I’m just a jailbird who just needs to spread his wings! Most of you folks are here only because you would be crucified as greedy penny-pinchers for not showing up and donating; you’re just as much of thieves as I am!” He declared to the crowd.

“Mr. Cobblepot, we’re not going to be intimidated by your actions here tonight,” the mayor said, and Sunset was honestly impressed by Grange’s defiance, especially since the Penguin had now held up his umbrella and a sharp blade popped out at the top of it, just as Zatanna had hinted earlier.

“Hmm…” the Penguin looked around the room. “Quite bold considering that my little tip got the GCPD to leave the party." He smirked at the Major's expression. "What? Don’t act so surprised. Those cops are nothing more than simple stooge pigeons; all I had to do was leave a trail of breadcrumbs and they’d follow me anywhere!” He started laughing, taking in the sounds of dismay from his unwilling audience.

He then paused as the sinister smirk on his face was replaced with one of confusion and he soon started to scan the theater. “Hey, wait a second,” he said, scowling as he turned around, trying to find something. “Where’s Brucie?”

Mayor Grange kept his composure as he faced the Penguin. “Mister Wayne had to leave early tonight. He said there was something about urgent business at Wayne Corp.” He then adjusted the tie he was wearing, looking at the criminal with some disdain. “But not before making a sizable donation to the Children’s Hospital,” he added, smirking as he said that.

“Well, now it’s going to be a sizable donation to the Cobblepot Foundation; a foundation whose propose is to bring the Cobblepot’s back to their rightful status of being kings of this city!” The short man shouted as he stabbed the table right in front of the mayor with his umbrella.

Sunset’s eyes soon glanced over to the woman near the corner that she saw talk with Bruce and Zatanna earlier before the show. The woman was obviously an officer as she was slowly unholstering a handgun that she had on her; a SIG Sauer P226 that was one of the standard issue sidearms for Metropolis officers.

Penguin continued to boast about how brilliant he was; all the while, the officer was slowly sneaking up towards him. “I don’t think she’s gonna have much luck trying to arrest them by herself,” Sunset whispered to Zatanna, “we’ve got to help her.”

Her new mentor gave her a slight pat on the back. “I’m extremely proud of your desire to help and, yes we will, but give it a moment.”

“A moment?” Sunset gave her a confused look. “Come on, a few spells and we can put that bird on ice.”

Zatanna chuckled at Sunset’s words. “There’s a bit of an issue with that I’m afraid. I can’t exactly use most of my magic out there.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow, waiting for Zatanna to continue.

“I can use simple tricks like most magicians who don’t have real magic, but nothing really incredible, or even something that could easily deal with them.”

“But why?” Sunset asked as she glanced back to the officer that continued get closer to Penguin. The policewoman ducked down behind a table before one of the kabuki girls spotted her.

“Because few people in the world know that my magic is real; in fact, most people think magic is fake. They’re wrong, of course, but simply revealing that would honestly shake up society quite a bit. There’s also the fact that if I did, perhaps people would think that it is fake, but that Cobblepot was in on it and I’d find myself in a lot of trouble. Understand?”

Sunset nodded. She had done the same thing too when she first arrived at Canterlot High; keeping her true nature and magic a secret from everyone at school. She was a Grade-A jerk, but she relied on her brains and her threats to get at the top; not her magic.

“GCPD! Hands where I can see them!”

Both magic users looked back to the crowd and saw the female officer pointing her gun right at the Penguin’s back. The well-dressed thief slowly turned around and snorted before he just couldn’t hold back and laughed.

“Well, well, well… looks like those pigeons aren’t as dumb as I thought. They at least leave behind one of their own to hold the fort.” He started to twirl his umbrella, smiling menacingly at the officer.

“I’m not asking again!” The lone police woman warned.

Sunset was honestly surprised with what she was witnessing. Not once was Penguin looking at all worried at the gun pointed at him, nor were his girls moving towards the officer to try and disarm her. She knew something was up when his smile only grew.

“Don’t bother,” He simply said before two cords shot out from the umbrella and connected with the officer, electrocuting her. A scream of agony tore out of her mouth as she fell to the floor, writhing in pain.

Sunset’s eyes widened when she saw the brave woman get hurt like that. Penguin just laughed as he kept shocking her with his umbrella. Sunset knew she had to do something before the villain killed her, and saw a large metal pole on the ground just off stage, grabbing it before she dashed forward.

“Wait, Sunset!” Zatanna chased after her but found her path blocked by the kabuki girls who turned their attention on her while Sunset kept running until she threw the pole and cut away the cords that were shocking the office. She knew striking it while holding would’ve only got her shocked as well.

“Leave her alone!” Sunset cried as she picked back up the pole and aimed it at Penguin who looked quite surprised by the sudden appearance of the red-haired girl that was in front of him, but he recovered and smirked.

“Quite brave of you sweetheart, but I suggest you run off now. You’re a little sardine swimming in a pool full of sharks.” He hopped off the table and it was clear he was even shorter than Sunset thought originally.

Meanwhile, Penguin glanced over Sunset’s shoulder to look at Zatanna and his girls. “Ladies, please get Mrs. Zatara’s autograph.” Zatanna found herself having to duck as one of the girls tried to take her head off and was forced to back-flip onto a nearby table. Penguin then looked back to Sunset who still stood her ground. “Last chance.”

“No way. I won’t let you get away with robbing and hurting everyone tonight!” Sunset declared; feeling a little more confident when facing him directly.

Then reality hit like a freight train when Penguin lunged forward, the blade of his umbrella flashing in the light. Within a second, Sunset found herself knocked onto the ground with the pole she was holding perfectly sliced in half. She had underestimated the small man, who clearly even more dangerous than she assumed.

Penguin jumped forward to try and stab her, but Sunset, thinking quickly, dodged behind a small food cart, and pushed the cart hard, crashing it into the Penguin and knocking him onto the floor. Realizing she was in trouble still, Sunset decided to dash backstage while she had the chance.

“Grrrrr…” Penguin gave a dark growl as he got back up and cleaned off the food that was on him. “Ladies and gentlemen, please hand over all valuables and cash to my pretties.” He motioned to the birds that started to swarm the gala attendees. “Oh, and if you only have your checkbook, just make a large amount out to cash,” he said before he chased after Sunset.

Zatanna ducked underneath another blade while she had to move her left leg over to avoid getting it cut off by the other girl. However, it did allow her to have momentum as she twisted her body and had her right leg came over and kicked the first girl, who tried to take her head, right in the chest.

Both assassins backed off as Zatanna caught glimpse of Sunset running backstage with Cobblepot close behind her. She tried to get over to help her but the twins were just keeping her in place. Both girls charged forward once more but Zatanna had a plan for that as she took off her hat.

“Go fish!” She shouted as she threw several decks of cards out of her hat that blinded her assailants for a moment, which was all she needed. They cleared away the cards before finding Zatanna missing. She used the distraction to roll around behind the girls and kicked both of them in their lower backs; knocking them to the floor.

Zatanna was about to turn backstage but found both girls blocking her path once again as they recovered fast. “Boy, you two really don’t want me back there,” she muttered to herself before she engaged the girls once more.

This time, they tried to attack her head and waist simultaneously with their blades. Thinking fast, Zatanna jumped through between the blades. Barely avoiding getting nicked by the sharp weapons. Fortunately, this allowed her to get past their defenses and she delivered a kick to the face on the kabuki woman closest to her. At the same time, her hands grabbed hold of the other girl’s face and she used her momentum to pull her down and slam the back of the head of her attacker on the floor hard. When she let go, the woman remained on the floor, breathing steady.

The remaining twin saw what Zatanna had done and, while her face couldn’t be seen behind the mask, her body language made it clear she was extremely unhappy about it.

Zatanna had to do several back-flips to avoid the rapid swarm of stabbing strikes that came her way.

She knew she needed to end this fight now so she could help Sunset deal with Penguin, so she dug into her sleeve and pulled out a long string of neckerchiefs tied together. She swung it around, taking advantage of her opponent's surprise and soon it wrapped up the kabuki girl, making her stumble and fall down.

Zatanna then smashed a heavy plate on her head, making sure she wouldn't get up anytime soon.

Zatanna then looked to the crowd that just watched in awe at what she just accomplished. She smiled before bowing. “Sorry, I’ll pay for that,” she apologized turning around and heading for the backstage before realizing that Detective Yin was not where Penguin had left her.

Sunset was in dire straits at the moment, hiding as best as she could backstage behind some props and theater equipment while Penguin was slowly walking around while still swinging his umbrella handle like a mace.

“Come out; come out wherever you are, my dear… I won’t hurt you… I just wanna talk.” She could see him licking his lips as he kept searching for her.

“Won’t hurt me? Then why are you still swinging that thing?” Sunset thought to herself. She dare not speak or make any sound to alert him of where she was hiding. This was bad though; she was almost completely defenseless now and stood no chance of fighting him, much less winning without using magic, but if she exposed herself, she'd be branded a freak, or potentially draw even worse opponents.

Her only hope was Zatanna coming to her rescue and saving her, but last she saw, she was tied up with those crazy ninja girls.

Sunset took a deep breath and took in a look of her surroundings. She wasn’t fully defenseless thanks to her magic… but she clearly wasn’t fully able to rely on it.

She wasn't sure how she had used it against the muggers in the first place, and even if she could do that again, she'd be completely drained. The fact that magic was not harmonious in this universe probably had something to do with it, but risking it was too much.. If she did that to Penguin and missed, she’d be wide open to him doing whatever terrible thing he could think of. No,she’d have to play something a bit safer; and that was hiding for now.

Or at least it was until she noticed a bunch of sandbags up in the rafters and followed the rope down to where it was tied… and Penguin was just nearby where they would drop. If he just moved a bit closer and if she could get a distraction, she could probably untie the knot and drop them.

As Penguin kept searching for her, she slowly inched her way to the knots below the rafters, doing her best to not be seen as she moved from cover to cover, but even then, it was an exercise in patience before he was finally in position. Just as she shifted to start untying the ropes, the officer she had saved showed back up with her gun pointed once more.

“Freeze!” the policewoman shouted as Penguin turned around and smiled in a very sinister way.

“Back for more, my dear? Ozzie always has something the ladies want,” he boasted, preparing himself to attack, but the officer had provided all the distraction Sunset needed. She grabbed one of the security locks on the ropes and pulled hard and down, releasing it.

“Hey!” Sunset came out of cover the moment the sandbags started to fall. Penguin turned around , keeping his sick smile as he found his prey… before he was crushed under the heavy bags; putting him out of commission for the night and leaving him perfectly immobilized until the police would come back to arrest him.

“Thanks… how did you do that?” The officer walked up to Sunset and holstered her gun. Sunset pointed to where the knot was.

“A magician never reveals her secrets!" Sunset said, crossing her arms and smiling just like she had seen Trixie do a thousand times.. "That and some luck, and it came down at the right time.”

The officer blinked with some amusement, but clearly not wanting to rain on Sunset's parade, simply nodded as Zatanna ran over.

“Sunset, are you okay?” She asked before noticing that Penguin was out cold and buried under the sandbags. “I suppose so, considering he’s been taken care of.” Zatanna patted her on the back. “Good work.”

“Detective Yin, needing backup at Northside Theater. Cobblepot tried to rob the gala. All assailants are taken care of and need pickup,” the officer said into a walkie-talkie, as she nodded in thanks to Sunset and Zatanna.

“That takes care of them… but what about the birds?” Sunset asked, remembering the large amount of birds that were now holding a bunch of jewels and cash in their bags.

Zatanna was about to say something, but a sudden and loud piercing noise caused the birds to drop their bags and all fly out the skylight, causing the guests to shout and cover their ears..

At the top of the skylight, just out of sight of all the gala patrons but in clear sight for Zatanna and Sunset, there stood a dark hooded figure with a large cowl over his head. The mysterious man simply turned around, cape fluttering, before vanishing into the darkness.

“Zatanna… was that…?” Sunset pointed.

“Yes, Sunset. That was the Batman,” Zatanna told her with a knowing wink before turning around to address the crowd.

Sunset continued to look at the skylight her mind going over everything that had happened that night. A small grin slowly grew across her face.

“Cool.”

After the show, the two performers were now in Zatanna’s ’84 Phantom VI Rolls Royce as they headed back to the hotel.

“Well, I have to say that was a fine show before it was rudely interrupted," Zatanna said, "still, you did great tonight, Sunset; both on stage and when dealing with Cobblepot.”

“Thanks.” Sunset blushed at the praise. “I just couldn’t stand by and watch Detective Yin continue to get hurt like that.”

“That. That right there is the sign of a true heroine, Sunset. I dare say you’re practically a natural for crime fighting.”

“You really think so? I mean, I just rushed head first like a fool and nearly got sliced by that creep. Not to mention I put you in harm’s way as well.”

“It’s fine. It was going to happen anyway, you just force my hand a bit, that’s all.”

Sunset was honestly surprised that Zatanna was not mad in the slightest about what she had done. She looked guiltily at her hands. “I honestly thought I could take him; short, tubby man like that looked easy to fight, even if I didn’t really have much training… shows how much I know.”

“One thing you need to learn is to never underestimate your foe, Sunset. Bad guys like Cobblepot are full of nasty surprises.” Zatanna turned the wheel as they pulled into the parking garage by the hotel. “Look, I’m sorry I’m being a bit forward with this whole asking you to be a heroine. If tonight has made you change your mi—”

“Don’t,” Sunset interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. “If anything… I think tonight has made me more sure about what I want to do.” She then smiled at the older woman. “I want to be a super-hero. I get the feeling trouble is something I'm probably not going to be able to avoid if tonight is any indication. So I guess I may as well accept your offer of hero training. Besides, I actually liked the thrill of it. Made me feel that I was actually doing some real good."

Zatanna couldn't fight a proud smile on her face when Sunset made that declaration. “Well, then, I’m glad to hear that. But right now, let’s just focus on getting you settled in and give you some training before letting spread your wings. Be a simple high school-er first before being a crime-fighter.”

Sunset nodded. It would indeed be smarter if she at least was better prepared than she was tonight.

Of course, the offer of it all was the more important thing to Sunset as it was a clear chance for her to truly do some good and hopefully try to make up some of her past sins.

Bruce Wayne was currently sitting in front of the Bat-Computer several hours after the charity gala. He continued to type, ignoring the elevator to the Bat-Cave opening up and Alfred walking over with a small cup of tea in hand.

“Certainly an unusual night when it turns out that it’s not the Batman bringing down the party-crashers,” he said, placing down the porcelain cup on the table in front of Bruce, who merely nodded in thanks as he kept looking at the screen. “And once again, Gotham’s Billionaire Playboy Bruce Wayne is nowhere to be found at the moment things went wrong.”

“Well, you did tell me that Penguin was about to hit the Credit Union according to the GCPD. He clearly fooled all of us. I should’ve seen it sooner. There was more money to be stolen at the gala then at the bank,” Bruce admitted, as he leaned back and took a sip of tea.

“That was my bad, Master Bruce. Still, I wonder how Chief Rojas is going to talk his way out of this one.”

“He’ll find a way to somehow escape this mess. In the meantime, it was certainly good that Zatanna had things under control. According to Detective Yin, Zee handled the Kabuki Twins while her assistant dropped some sandbags on Penguin.”

“I must say, Miss Lucciola is quite resourceful then if she was able to get the drop on that blowhard.”

“Yeah…” Bruce stroked his chin as he typed up Sunset’s name in the database.

“Looking her up again, Master Bruce? I seriously think this is something you don’t need to concern yourself with.”

“Alfred. Something is up with her and Zatanna. Last night I couldn’t find any information about her; today, it’s all right here. I’m positive we didn’t overlook her. And then there’s that last name. Lucciola is Italian for firefly… and that’s a clear reference to the time I spent with Zatanna in Italy.” He leaned back. “She knows something that she isn’t telling.”

“Master Bruce. I’ve supported you for so long, but I must ask that you put this whole investigation behind you. I’m sure there’s an explanation to it all and that Zatanna will surely tell you soon,” Alfred insisted.

Bruce nodded. “I can’t fully put this behind me… but you’re probably right. Sunset seems like a good girl, and Zatanna will probably explain things soon enough, but I would like to not be kept in the dark about it for too long.” He then shut down the search and stood up, stretching and yawning.

“Get some rest, sir. I’ll remind you that you have a shareholders meeting at Wayne Corp. tomorrow at ten.”

Bruce leaned over and picked up the cup of tea before he finished it and handed it to Alfred.

“Okay, then. You better get some sleep too. Don’t stay up too late.” He smirked as he got on the elevator and went back up into the mansion; leaving Alfred all alone in the Bat-Cave.

“Speaking of being in the dark… I’d very much like to know this whole ‘Fireflies in Italy’ story with Miss Zatanna,” Alfred muttered as he began cleaning after his charge.

Chapter 06: Past

After Sunset and Zatanna arrived back to the hotel, things were mostly quiet between the two. They each took to their rooms, getting ready for bed.

Sunset finished up washing in the shower before putting on a pair of pajamas that Zatanna had left for her. Her mentor had been kind enough to get her a pair or two of new clothes earlier, since Sunset arrived to Gotham with only what she had been wearing that day. Zatanna told her she’d help buy Sunset a whole wardrobe in the few days before school just to help her fit in with her new surroundings more.

“Really, Zatanna.” Sunset walked out of the bathroom drying her hair with a towel while wearing her new pajamas. “You don’t have to go to all these efforts for me. I can easily just myself a part time job and cover for the clothes at least.” She continued the conversation the two of them were having.

“It’s fine, Sunset. I’m perfectly willing to help you anyway I can. A new wardrobe is necessary regardless, you might be new to this world, but no one here would expect you to have literally nothing in the way of possessions. It would be really strange for any new friends you might make,” Zatanna explained as she sat in the chair that was in the hotel room.

Sunset rubbed the back of her neck as she finished drying off her hair and placing the towel back on the hanger that was on the bathroom door. “Sorry, it’s just I feel that I should at least be trying to do something in return for all the help you and Bruce are doing for me.”

Sunset saw her mentor roll her eyes once more at her continual insistence of not needing help.

“It isn’t a problem, okay, Sunset? Trust me.”

Sunset nodded as she finally relented; she was clearly ready for bed but she still wanted to talk more to Zatanna. “You know, it’s funny… I’m still so excited from that rush of doing good earlier that I can barely fall asleep!”

The older woman laughed upon hearing that confession from Sunset. “Not entirely the thing I expected to hear from you given your initial reluctance, but it is nice to know that you've changed your mind. I honestly think you’ll be a great heroine and a driving force for the forces of Order.”

“Ah, right… you mentioned those forces of Order and Chaos the other day when we first met.” Sunset recalled the first conversation the two of them had where Zatanna said that she had a considerable gift that could be used for good.

But she had also mentioned that Sunset was at risk of falling to her old ways without proper tutelage. Sunset already was a monster before; luckily, no one got hurt before she was forced to see the error of her ways. Still, that was something she really wished not to dwell on anymore.

“I’ve seen plenty of examples of those who use Chaos magic before.” Zatanna was beginning to have a dark look on her face. “So many lives destroyed by those who used the dark arts. I think that anyone that uses dark magic is beyond any point of redemption. I want to make sure you don't stray from the light simply because the rules here are different. Those little changes in how magic works here in contrast to your world could inadvertently lead you to darkness.”

Zatanna put back on a smile after those words, but it deeply troubled Sunset. Now she was truly happy she hadn't pulled a Princess Twilight and blab her whole past. Would Zatanna honestly be doing all this for her if she knew what she had done in the past?

“Sunset?” The young woman nearly jumped as Zatanna’s voice brought her back to reality. Zatanna looked at her curiously before glancing over to the muted TV that had a local story on talking about the earlier events of the night.

One such subject that was obviously being talked about was Bruce Wayne. That was actually a perfect out for Sunset to change the subject. “Hey, there’s Bruce again.” She pointed to the screen. “That reminds me, how old is he?”

Zatanna kept looking at the screen as she saw the pictures being shown were ones taken after Cobblepot and his girls were apprehended and on their way back to Blackgate Prison. She knew she was probably going to be mentioned about bringing them down. “Twenty-three.” She glanced over before looking forward again.

Sunset’s eyes widened. “Twenty-three!? Wow, how is it he’s that young and yet that rich?” Zatanna’s mood darkened once more. “Did I say something wrong?”

Zatanna sighed. “No… no… you didn’t say anything wrong.” She turned back to look at her young charge. “It’s not a good story but I guess you’re gonna hear it eventually.”

Sunset listened on as Zatanna began. “Bruce was the son to Thomas and Martha Wayne. The Waynes were a powerful family similar in terms of the Cobblepots; however, the Waynes were the opposite in terms of personality to them. Thomas was not only the owner of Wayne Corp. but he was also a doctor.”

“One night, the Waynes were leaving the Monarch Theater late at night and made a wrong turn and went down an alley.” Zatanna paused for a moment. “There was a mugger waiting there. He… he gunned Bruce’s parents right before his eyes. He was only eight.”

Sunset was suddenly horrified with what she just heard. She assumed Bruce’s parents probably were gone, but nothing this tragic. She also realized just how lucky she was with those thugs that tried to attack when she first arrived to Gotham; just how quick it could’ve been for her to be an anonymous corpse in the alleys.

“Two of the last bright lights in this city, snuffed out just like that,” Zatanna added. “I can’t even imagine what Bruce was going through those first few years before I met him.”

To Sunset, that recent revelation really shook her; neither Equestria nor Canterlot High was this remotely violent. But in a way, with that story, Sunset felt like she had a sort of connection with Bruce; like kindred spirits.

“I can sort of relate to that,” she quietly spoke up as she leaned back and lay on the bed; her eyes now looking up at the ceiling. Zatanna raised an eyebrow in curiosity with what Sunset said.

“Would you be so kind as to explain?” The magician asked.

Sunset took a deep breath. Perhaps now would be a good time for her to tell the truth; well, most of it. The she-demon and dark magic stuff could be left out… for now.

“Unlike Bruce, I never knew my parents. My earliest memories of my life were that of being raised in an orphanage,” Sunset began.

“I understand. Orphanages are sometimes a random chance; some are good, others can be bad,” Zatanna said.

Sunset sat up as she said that. “No, it wasn’t…” Sunset closed her eyes and took another deep breath. “Okay, Zatanna, when you found me, it… it wasn’t the first time I had jumped dimensions.”

“Come again?” Zatanna tilted her head.

“Canterlot High's world wasn’t my original home. I actually come from a land called Equestria. It’s a large world populated by many magical creatures; dragons, hydras, griffons, mostly creatures that are considered fantasy here. The most predominant species in Equestria… are ponies… and I’m one as well.”

“Ponies? Like the whole world is ruled by horses?”

“No, ponies. We’re a bit smaller compared to actual horses. Equestria is separated into three main races of ponies; there are a few subclasses but the main ones are these...” Sunset paused and held up her left hand.

“First.” She put up her index finger. “There are Earth ponies. They are closer to the ground in terms of their improved strength and their connection with land and animals. They tend to have a range of jobs but most food grown in Equestria is done by Earth ponies. In short, we’d probably starve without them.”

“Next.” Sunset held up her middle finger next to her index finger. “There’s the Pegasi. They’re ponies with wings on their backs which allow them to fly. They also have the ability to walk on clouds which several of their cities are built out of them. They also have control over the weather; meaning they can clear the sky on a sunny day or move storm clouds to an area that needs rain.”

“Finally.” Sunset held up her ring finger. “There’s Unicorns, ponies with horns on their heads; I was born a Unicorn by the way. Anyways, we have the ability to use our horns to perform magic. While all Earth and Pegasi have some small innate magic to them, Unicorns are able to perform spells and vast magical feats.”

Sunset could tell that what she had just told the older magician completely surprised her. She wondered if the thought of not being human originally ever crossed Zatanna’s mind.

The next few minutes Sunset explained a little bit more about Equestria and some of the vast differences between the realms. Zatanna soon asked if Sunset could return to the original conversation and explain a bit more about her past.

“Oh, right, sorry,” Sunset apologized, “well, the first thing I need to mention is that Equestria is ruled by a powerful Alicorn named Princess Celestia. An Alicorn is a combination of all three races. Unicorn horn, Pegasi wings, that sort of thing. Celestia herself is responsible for rising the sun.

“She’s also immortal and has ruled Equestria for...” Sunset quickly shook her head. “Longer than I could possibly guess.” She decided not to mention Luna as that was something for another time.

Sunset paused for a moment so she could get a glass of water as she was feeling a bit dry. “Now, then, for the first few years of my life, I was living in the orphanage. I was about five years old when Celestia discovered me there and realized that I had considerable potential.”

“And I must guess that she took you under her wing?” Zatanna then chuckled at the pun.

Sunset, on the other hand, wasn’t as in a humorous mood considering she felt much guilt in the memories. “Yes, she took me in as her student. The express purpose was more or less to groom me into being a princess and a ruler of Equestria, similar to what she did with her adopted niece, Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“Who?” Zatanna interrupted.

“She was a Pegasus that Celestia made into an Alicorn. She’s the Princess of Love and ruler of the Crystal Empire. Her husband is Shining Armor who is the older brother of my friend Twilight. She was a unicorn before becoming an Alicorn and the Princess of Friendship.”

Sunset took another sip of water. “For the first few years of being raised by Celestia, I felt good, it was nice; looking back, Celestia was less of a teacher and more like a mother to me.”

“However, I suppose with many children, I soon grew resentful of her. As the years went on, I slowly became more impatient, selfish, and greedy. I honestly thought that Celestia was holding me back; that I was ready to become a princess.” She started to feel some tears building in her eyes.

Sunset took a moment to compose herself, then quickly wiped her face to get rid of them. “Looking back, I was the one holding myself back, not her. We started to argue and get angrier at each other before we…” She paused as she was careful not to reveal the entire truth. “She said I was no longer her student and planned to have me escorted out of the castle.”

“Now, some time before, I found this magic mirror that showed me what I desired that Celestia told me also contained a portal to another world. In my anger, I fought off her guards and made a dash for the mirror. Next thing I know, I’m human and at Canterlot High.”

“That explains that thing you said about being orange.” Sunset remembered one of the first things that she had said to Zatanna when she arrived in Gotham.

“Yes.” Sunset nodded. “At Canterlot High, it was quite a surprise with the vast changes and the fact that the school was run by a human counterpart of Celestia, but I figured things out pretty fast. I did a lot of hurtful stuff and was a real jerk to almost every one as I lusted for power in the school.

“I always planned to return eventually when I could prove Celestia that she was wrong to deny me of my destiny.” Sunset sighed as she just let the terrible memories flood.

“So, what changed?” Sunset guess that Zatanna was curious to know how Sunset became the girl that sat in front of her.

“Twilight happened.” Sunset smiled. “She arrived in Canterlot High one day and after a few augments, she showed me the magic of friendship; she truly turned my life around that day. From then on, I made it an effort to try and right the wrongs I made and apologize to those I hurt.”

“And things were better from then on?” Zatanna concluded.

“Very much so. Things did get better… until recently when the human version of Twilight let curiosity overwhelm her and she ended up tapping into magic she really shouldn’t have messed with,” Sunset added before drinking some more water.

“Something went wrong that you had to fix but then ended up here. I think I got that right?” Sunset nodded at Zatanna’s guess.

“Yep, and here we are now.” The young girl finished her drink then started to move the covers on the bed as she was ready for bed. “Sorry, this whole conversation has made me a bit sleepy.” She yawned before she crawled in.

“Okay.” Zatanna walked over and patted her on the shoulder. “You’ve had a long day, you should get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning then.” She started to walk for the hotel room’s door.

“Zatanna,” the tired apprentice spoke up. “One thing I forgot to say was that if you find me a way back home, I know what the first thing I would do. Go back to Equestria and reconcile with Celestia.”

Zatanna smiled at what she said. “Sunset, I promise I will try to find your home so you can do just that. Good night.” She flipped off the light switch to the room and then closed the door behind her; using her magic to lock it so Sunset wouldn’t have to get back up to do it.

“Miss Zatara? Miss Zatara?” Zatanna woke up after hearing the knocking coming from the door of her hotel room. She was still pretty groggy as she didn’t sleep much last night; trying to take care of Sunset’s future plans of being a crime-fighter required her to stay up later than normal.

She put on a robe from the hotel to make herself more decent before opening the door to a bellhop. “Good morning, ma’am. Letter just came in for you.” He handed it to her before walking away.

Zatanna looked at the letter and saw that it was addressed from the Wayne Foundation. This letter clearly had to be the results Wayne Foundation Scholarship that Sunset hopefully qualified for. While tempted to open herself—considering she was technically Sunset’s legal guardian—she resisted the urge: this was something that Sunset should do herself.

“Wow, they were fast,” Sunset admitted when she was handed the letter. She was eating some cereal that Zatanna brought back from the breakfast buffet downstairs while she slept.

“Well, that’s the beauty of the twenty-first century sometimes. Come on, Sunset, open it. I’m sure you did well,” Zatanna said with an encouraging smile.

“Okay...” Sunset had a bit of hesitation in her voice before she started to open it. When she did, her eyes widened as she read it. “N-n-ninety-two! I made a ninety-two!” She exclaimed.

“That’s amazing Sunset!” Zatanna walked over and looked over the results. Beyond the overall grade, it elaborated on how she did in each individual subject. “Straight A+ 's on everything except history which is a C and that’s to be understood.”

“Yeah, I kind of just guessed with most of those questions, I’m honestly surprised I did that good enough there,” Sunset confessed.

“With this score, you more than qualify for the Wayne Foundation Scholarship and you would be more than qualified to attend Gotham High." Zatanna brightened up as a thought crossed her mind. "Oh, by the way, I got another gift for you that showed up in the lobby for me.”

“Please.” Sunset held up her hands. “You’ve already done so much for me, Zatanna.”

The older woman chuckled. “Sorry, but you can’t say no to this.” She then tossed some keys into Sunset’s hands.

“What is this?” She asked.

“That, Sunset, is the keys to your new apartment.” Sunset’s eyes went wide. “Now, as I said before, I’m not going to be around Gotham all the time and you need a place to stay. It’s a pretty calm area and near the school. I trust you can take care of yourself?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, I can. When I first arrived to Canterlot High, I had to do that. I said before that the gems I had on me were valuable, but I didn’t have any sort of identity so there was no way for me to get an apartment. I actually slept in the school’s gym secretly for a while before Twilight came and then I slept in Principal Celestia’s guest bedroom. I was thinking of getting a place near the school soon.”

“Well, now you have your own place. And before I forget, this wasn’t my idea actually; Bruce is the one covering for it,” Zatanna added. “We’ll check it out in a bit, but there’s some things I need to show and tell you.” Zatanna made a few hand gestures before opening a portal in the room.

Dr. Fate was standing with his back opposite of Zatanna and Sunset who were sitting on a sofa in the Tower of Fate. “A unicorn. Fascinating.”

“Thank you?” Sunset said warily. Fate was not being actively threatening, but he still off an aura that felt cold and distant. Zatanna obviously knew he was on the level, but perhaps he knew more about her than he let on. For all Sunset knew, he had read her mind and discovered her past.

“And now Mrs. Zatara informs me that you wish to join our cause against the forces of Chaos.” Again, Fate refused to even look her direction, the only acknowledgement of her presence a slight tilt of the head in her direction. Perhaps he was contemplating a vast mountain of ideas, but Sunset felt it was more like he was just simply forcing himself to tolerate her presence by not facing her directly.

Normally she would be irritated by this kind of attitude, but Zatanna had warned her before coming over that he was not someone she wanted to provoke. For better or worse, she needed to suck it up for now, until she won his trust or acceptance.

“When you first arrived, Fate and I talked about how you could be of a great help to us; that is with some proper training and only if you truly want to,” Zatanna reminded her.

“Well, I was already well trained in magic, but not in a human form, so I guess I’m kinda back to square one.” Sunset felt herself blushing slightly at the thought of having to do the equivalent of magical kindergarten again.

Zatanna put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “You don’t need to worry or feel ashamed about that. Here, you’ll be able to gain a wealth of knowledge and—as I said yesterday—this place exists outside of space and time, so you can spend as much time as you wish to study.”

Sunset chuckled upon hearing that. “If you said that to Twilight… it would be a big mistake as you probably would never get that bookworm to leave.”

“Now then, Sunset,” Zatanna spoke up again. “You should learn how to open up gates as soon as possible to be able to reach this place, as well as the locations of some of my friends who can also give you some valuable training to help you with fighting crime.”

“Don’t worry about me leaving though, I still teach you most of you need to learn,” Zatanna quickly assured her young assistant. “If not in Gotham, then certainly here in this place.”

“Here.” Fate turned around and held up his hand. A book floated off from one of the shelves and flew into his grasp. He then handed it to Sunset, not letting it go when she took it.. “This book should help you get some basics in using magic; I’ll also make sure to give you what you need to learn how to open a portal to this place,” he said flatly, finally releasing the tome.

Sunset nodded as she looked at the book. “Thank you Zatanna. I’m truly thankful that I was found by someone like you rather than someone who was… evil.”

“You’re more than welcome,” Zatanna said. Fate then motioned Zatanna to talk with him away from Sunset.

“Admit it, you like her.” Zatanna smirked as they entered another room. The long silence that Fate gave clearly meant that he was in no laughing mood. She had heard stories about how serious and no nonsense Fate was. Today Zatanna knew that those stories were all true. “Okay, what’s the issue?”

Fate kept his back turned to Zatanna once more. “You well know what the issue is. She poses a considerable danger. Her magic is raw and almost like nothing this world has never seen. It would be better if we just kept her here. At least here, she would be less of a threat to the world.”

“I swear, you sound more like a villain right now," Zatanna said, crossing her arms. "She’s just a girl; okay, a former unicorn, and perhaps she might be a bit unpredictable, but you’ve got to give her a chance. I thought we already agreed on this the other day.”

"I think that you might be placing too much trust in her for pulling off the stunt she did last night. We don't know her. We know nothing of her world, or her true motivations." He held Zatanna's eyes in his own. "You are lucky she decided not to use magic, or we would be dealing with agents of Chaos trying to reach her as well."

“I think you’re being paranoid. All they would see right now is a young girl that helped me take down some thieves at a show. They would assume the magic was mine. Nothing at all to worry about.”

“That remains to be seen. If what she said was true about this so called Princess Celestia… if she has even a fraction of the power that she claims that Princess has, then she is a real threat. She might not even know her full potential, to both her detriment and ours.”

Zatanna paused as she contemplated this. “Now that you mention it, I do believe that she was a bit hesitant in her story, like she was trying to hold something back.”

“Then my concerns might be more valid than you want to admit after all.”

Zatanna looked back at him. “You can't use that as some sort of proof to lock her away. She left in anger and learned her lesson. She wants to return to apologize to her teacher, and this other princess, Twilight, already considers her a friend. I think she's just a teenager that is afraid she might be rejected by her mother figure if she just goes back.”

Fate took a deep breath. “If you so insist, but I’m still going to keep my eye on her. Perhaps you are correct, but don’t let yourself be so completely blinded,” he said.

“Trust me. I’m not letting my guard down entirely. But I do think she’s honestly a good girl. She’ll certainly be quite the student… and friend.” Zatanna then began to move to the door to the room to rejoin Sunset.

“We’ll see…” she heard Fate whisper ominously.

Zatanna unlocked the door to the apartment after Sunset and her returned back from the Tower of Fate. Bruce was certainly right about the place. It certainly was a calm area and was only a few blocks away from the school. Sunset only needed to walk through the nearby park then go around a city block and she was there.

“This is a really nice place,” Sunset said as she looked around. It was a small two bedroom apartment with one full bath. Although it was already tastefully decorated already, it didn't really have much personality, at least to what she guessed were her young charge’s tastes. But if Sunset was going to be living here, Zatanna knew that she would definitely make the place more… hers.

“Indeed.” She smiled as Sunset looked into the bedrooms while Zatanna checked one of the phones that was left and discovered a listening bug. She shook her head and then leaned in. “Bruce, it’s quite rude to spy on young girls,” she whispered teasingly, knowing that he would hear the message, before she turned it off.

She knew she was going to have to sweep the place of bugs but knew that Bruce only did this because he obviously was curious of Sunset and her seemly mysterious past.

“Did you say something, Zatanna?” Sunset poked her head out of the bedroom she decided was hers.

Zatanna shook her head. “No, just thinking out loud.”

“Okay. Well, I think I’m going to like this place. Especially this room.” She grinned before looking somewhat disheartened. “You know, it’s funny. I actually had my own place in Equestria, right in Celestia’s castle.”

Zatanna walked over to her and smiled. “Would getting some new clothes and furnishings for this place help?” She tried to cheer her up.

Sunset responded by giving her a smile. “Oh, yes, definitely.”

“Okay, Sunset. You can do this,” Sunset said to herself as she took a deep breath.

The past few days had gone by fast. Zatanna helped her out with her clothing and sprucing up her apartment before she left the day before to continue her tour.

At the same time, Sunset was doing what she could to try and get a bit settled into her new reality. Zatanna left her a list of events to look out for in terms of history and pop culture; just to make sure that Sunset wasn’t as much of a standout in school.

The list also contained what she should focus on learning in terms of magic as she was to begin preparing to do hero work; though Zatanna told her she could take all the time she needed until she felt she was fully ready.

Right now, Sunset was focusing on being a good junior attending Gotham High. She stood right by the gate as multiple students were already walking to class as they prepared for the new school year. She could hear many of them bellyaching about how summer vacation was now over.

“Sunset!” She could hear Barbara’s voice calling out to her. She turned around and saw the red-headed girl running up to her before trying to catch her breath. “Sorry, my mom’s car had a flat tire and I had to run the rest of the way here,” she explained.

“Relax; I think we still got plenty of time,” Sunset assured her.

The two girls talked on their way into the building. “So, how was the show? Heard that creep Penguin crashed the show when we left.”

Sunset stopped for a moment as she was asked. “Er, yeah, he did show up. He spent some time telling everyone about how he lured away the GCPD and planned to rob everyone.”

Barbara’s eyes were twinkling, making it clear that she wanted to hear every detail. “Is it true that Zatanna beat up his two knife girls? What did you do?”

Sunset almost didn’t want to say anything but knew that there wasn’t much to hide; at least with that night. “Well, the detective that was left behind got electrocuted by the creep so I had to save her. Knocked his cords away with a metal pole then he chased me back stage. Zatanna beat up his helpers while I dropped some sandbags on him.”

Barbara's smile grew with every word Sunset said. “That’s amazing! That was one of the coolest things I ever heard! If I did something like that, my dad would have a fit! I actually always wanted to be an officer like him but he doesn’t want me to put my life in danger like that.”

Sunset rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah, well, I was actually really scared at that moment, if I’m honest. Don’t ever want to do something like that again.” That wasn’t fully a lie. Yes, she wanted to stop more folks like Cobblepot, but at least next time go in better prepared.

The two girls soon walked into their assigned homeroom and found sheets of paper on the front desk that included their class schedules. Neither girl had time to go over them together as the bell suddenly rang and the two of them ran to their seats.

“Good morning!” A middle aged, brown hair man greeted as he walked in. “I’m Mr. Peterson and I’d like to welcome some of you back to another year here at Gotham High. If you’re a freshman or a transfer, then let me be the first to welcome you. It’s going to be a memorable year, so let’s get started, shall we?”

Sunset smirked, already thinking about her future as a heroine and how things would change. Mr. Peterson was right: it was certainly going to be quite a year.

Chapter 07: Meeting

As the homeroom lecture went on, Sunset kept on glancing at her class schedule. She wondered how many classes she was going to have with Barbara and Pamela.

Her classes were split into eight sections: there was homeroom and then seven different periods. Her fifth one was much longer but that was because that was lunch. It was spread out into five different sections. One group would just head straight for lunch as soon as fifth period started and then another group would show up. With such a large student body, the lunch room could only hold two groups at once.

Still, she was honestly surprised how efficiently things were organized and how the school times were different. School started at seven-thirty and then ended at two-forty-four; that was certainly not the times she had back in Canterlot High.

There were also only five minutes in between classes to get her things so Sunset knew she had to prepare and organize what she needed for the classes that would involve her skipping her locker. She actually felt she was one of the most organized people at school today; perhaps not as organized as Twilight would be, but still pretty thorough.

The whole day was more or less just going over the school’s handbook in each section for class. It ranged on the attendance policy, bullying, cheating, punishments, codes of conduct and the like. Most students honestly looked like they clearly didn’t want to be here today which made some sense. None of the classes were starting their lessons so it’s not like they would miss anything; it would be especially boring for those who were returning and had heard this all on their very first day of school.

There were no surprises for Sunset schedule-wise, since she had spent some time considering her choice of courses.. For her first two periods she was all by herself in terms of knowing anyone.

Thankfully, her next two classes she found herself with Pamela and the two of them quietly chatted for a bit. Sunset informed her that she managed to get Barbara to show up to join the club after class. Pamela was very excited to hear that, though when asked why, Pamela said she would explain after school.

Sunset headed over to the lunchroom after fourth period, and was pleasantly surprised by Barbara joining her at her table.

“Hey, Sunset!” The red-headed girl smiled as she sat across from Sunset.

“Barbara! Am I glad to see you!” She smiled back as her friend organized her food. “You got the first lunch group too?”

“Yeah, though I think we might be in different classes still.” Barbara took a bite of the sloppy joe that she had picked up before she cleaned off her hands and then pulled out her class schedule. She then handed Sunset the paper so she could compare the classes.

Sunset finished her bite before looking over the schedules. “Okay, so it looks like we only get the forty minutes of lunch together before we have to go to different classes. Oh, looks like we’re in luck! We share our seventh period gym class together!”

“Yes!” Barbara pumped her fist. “Gym is certainly more exciting than most of those boring lecture classes, and having that at the end of the day makes it all the more better. At least it’s something to look forward before the school day ends.”

“Speaking of that.” Sunset took a sip of her drink. “When exactly do I get to try out for the gymnastics team?” Zatanna had told her that she should probably join the program to give increase her physical skills, since that would greatly help out when she engaged in some actual crime fighting. Zatanna also had warned her that sometimes, just relying on her magic would be a mistake, and she would need to use her fists and feet effectively.

“Well,” Barbara began to answer. “Ms. Vann, our gymnastics coach, always has tryouts on Tuesday and Thursday after class on the first week of school. I’ll have to get you a flyer for that just to be sure she didn’t change anything up.

“Speaking of after school activities, there’s also a wide range of clubs that are trying to find members this week as well.” The young girl gave a small grin. “The whole first week is just a mess but thankfully when it’s passed, things tend to calm down and get in order.”

“Hey, you girls talking about clubs?” A brown haired boy with glasses walked over to the two girls. Both of them nodded. “Listen, my name is Felix Murphy, and we’re organizing a film club.” He handed them some flyers. “We’re actually going to watch the 1970 classic M*A*S*H after school today if you’re interested.”

Sunset shook her head. “Thanks for the offer, but we’re actually planning on joining Pamela Isley’s Green Advocacy Club.” Sunset’s kind smile began to fade as Felix slowly gained a nervous look on his face.

“Uh… okay… good luck with that.” He then started to walk away. “Just keep our group in mind.”

Sunset redirected her attention back to Barbara. “What was that all about?” She wondered.

“I’m not sure.” The redhead scratched her chin like she was trying to process past thoughts. “I think there are certain rumors about Pamela that I know I’ve probably heard before, but never really got any confirmation on.”

“That being?” Sunset raised an eyebrow.

“I hear that she hasn’t had the greatest luck when it comes to her friendships or her club efforts. This is actually the first year she got that club off the ground after failing her first two years here.”

“Her friendships? Doesn't she have any friends?” Sunset asked to which Barbara shook her head.

“I know she has acquaintances, but not much in terms of people that hang out with her,” She explained, shrugging. "I've never been too close to her, so I wouldn't know."

“Well, I for one am going to be a good friend to her," Sunset stated, "she was the first girl I actually met here and I think we might have some things in common. I certainly hope you’ll perhaps do the same?”

“Hey, I said I’d join the club, but I rather get to know Pamela before I say we’re friends,” She admitted.

“Understandable… but I think she certainly will appreciate seeing us. Actually, she already was very excited when I told her about you joining earlier.”

“That’s nice to hear.” Barbara gave a small grin. “Then perhaps those rumors were just that. Rumors.”

“Oh my god, they shot him! Hot Lips, you incredible nincompoop, it’s the end of the quarter!” The girls looked over a few tables away from them and heard those words being said by Felix.

“What was that all about?” Sunset wondered to which Barbara tried to stifle a laugh.

“Oh, that’s just normal Murphy. Trust me when I say those words you shared with him were the closest you are going to get to having a normal conversation with him. The guy is like a walking pop-culture machine. Almost everything he says will always tie into some sort of movie or TV show.” Both girls then began to laugh.

While Sunset’s fifth and sixth period had no familiar faces aside from Murphy, her seventh was much better. Not only did she have the same class as Barbara as she found out earlier, but Pamela was there as well.

Unfortunately, the gym teacher was very insistent on arranged seating during the days when they had to be in a class so the three of them were spread out, with Pamela sitting near the door.

The class was as boring as the rest of the day had been with the lecture finishing up the handbook before finally everyone was allowed to leave.

The other students immediately fled the room, either heading home or to whatever club had interested them. Pamela was one of them, presumably heading straight to start setting things up..

“Hey.” Barbara grabbed Sunset’s shoulder, holding her back. “If we're going to be helping Pamela, I think we should get some snacks and other things for the club. You know, just in case a group of people show up.”

Sunset nodded at the idea. It honestly sounded like something Pinkie Pie would come up with. “Good idea. I think Pamela would really appreciate that. There any places that sell stuff like that?”

Barbara nodded. “Yeah, there’s actually a pretty good bakery that’s only a few blocks from here.”

“Then let’s go.” Sunset smiled and the two of them left to go to the bakery.

When they got there, it was clear that apparently today was a busy day for the store as there was a good amount of people waiting for pastries and the store was falling behind in the orders.

“Hey, maybe we should try some other place, perhaps?” Sunset suggested.

Barbara shook her head. “No, this is the only place nearby that I can think of. Besides, if we go anywhere else, we run the risk of perhaps going into some more questionable areas of the city.”

Sunset shuttered as she quickly remembered both her first few minutes in this world as well as the story about the Waynes that Zatanna told her. “Okay then… crap, I didn't get her phone number, maybe I should go back to the school and tell Pamela what’s going on then?”

Barbara shook her head “It shouldn’t take too long, and we're almost at the counter. What do you think though, how many people do you think will show up?”

“Hmm… well, I think perhaps we should get maybe enough for seven or eight people. If we have any extras, we can just split them up amongst ourselves and take them home.”

“Good thinking.” Barbara then pulled out her wallet but realized something. “Oh, shoot… I don’t have as much cash on me as I thought.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Sunset said, patting Barbara's shoulder “I can cover the bill if you want.”

“Oh, no! I don’t want you to spe-”

“Relax, I can easily handle it. Don’t worry,” she assured her. "Besides, we all will be in on the club, I'm sure you'll get a chance to cover the groceries sometime."

Barbara stopped and nodded. The two of them were asked to come forward and order but they would have to wait for a bit as more of the pastries and snacks had to be cooked.

“Okay, now I’m pretty sure I should’ve have at least ran back to tell her we were going to be late.” Sunset sighed as she and Barbara were walking back to the school with their order. It turns out they had to wait much longer than they thought as it was now almost three forty-five; almost an entire hours since school ended..

“Okay," Barbara admitted, "that was my bad. It's never taken that long before. But look, with what we brought, it’ll clearly make up for our tardiness! I mean, who can stay angry when we come bearing gifts?”.

"Besides, it might give her some time to get to know any other new members besides, us right? Yeah, I think you're right."

However, as the two of them got closer to the room where they were supposed to meet up, they heard loud, crashing noises and frustrated screaming. The two of them looked nervously at each other before running in.

As they got into the doorway, they could now clearly see what had happened. There was a bunch of posters and papers scattered around the room; most of them had been torn apart and destroyed.

At the center of the room with her back turned to them, stood Pamela who was shaking where she stood.

“Uh… Pamela?” Sunset spoke up. The glasses-wearing girl quickly turned around, and flashed a face of pure rage before it quickly shifted into a mix of shock and embarrassment.

“I… I… um…” The girl was speechless and fell to her knees while covering her face.

“Sorry we’re late,” Barbara apologized as she walked over and cleared a table full of destroyed papers before placing the snacks she was holding on the table. “There was quite a backup at the bakery.”

“We thought perhaps we should bring some snacks for anyone that showed up today,” Sunset explained as she placed down her food as well and went over to help Pamela up. “Um, did anyone show?”

Pamela just sighed as she grabbed a chair and sat in it. “No. No one showed up,” she said miserably, not looking up to meet their eyes.

“And the room?” Barbara asked as she took a seat herself. Sunset followed suit and both girls looked at the disappointed club leader.

“Yeah, that was me.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry… this isn’t the first time I’ve tried a club like this before. Nobody would show up or worse, some would—” She stopped before she said anymore.

“Wait, why would that be bad?” Barbara asked, while Sunset sighed knowingly.

Pamela soon held her head up to look her in the eyes. “Because they would promise to come and leave me hanging, then make fun of me for believing them. Or they would come and destroy my things. Or make fun of my projects.. Sometimes I would try to set up a few gardens, and they would end up being destroyed.”

Both Barbara and Sunset looked at each other before looking back at Pamela. “That’s terrible,” Sunset said, shaking her head a little guiltily, making Barbara raise an eyebrow, but Sunset ignored her, concentrating on Pamela. "Bullies will do anything to get under your skin, but you're not alone anymore.".

“Yeah. But then I met you the other day, Sunset, and thought maybe there was at least someone else that shared my likes involving plants. Then there was earlier today when you also said you had got Barbara here to join us and that got me more excited.”

“But when it looked like we flaked out on you and just left you alone and then—” Barbara waved her finger around the room to indicate the mess that was lying throughout the classroom. “You clearly got very upset.”

Pamela nodded. “Yeah, I probably am going to get a stern talking-to about my actions from the school sometime this week… and then that’s going to get back to my mom and there’s a long lecture I don’t want to hear.” The girl groaned.

“Well," Sunset said, "I'll be the first to apologize for making you wait, Pamela. We didn't mean to do so, and I didn't realize I didn't have your number until we were there." She motioned with her hand at Barbara. By the way, I don’t think you two have properly been introduced. Barbara, this is Pamela Isley. Pamela, this is Barbara Gordon.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Pamela held out her hand and shook Barbara’s. “Well, I have seen you around school for a while now but, you know...” She rubbed the back of her head nervously

“Yeah, same here,” Barbara admitted.

“Now then, since we’re all friends now.” Sunset had a warm smile on her face as she stood up. “How about we get the meeting started while we still can? I’ll help clean up the mess, Barbara; you can pass out the snacks and drinks.”

Both Barbara and Pamela stood up with Sunset and they all did their respective tasks. Barbara got the pastries out of their boxes and spread them out. Meanwhile, Sunset cleaned up the torn stacks of paper and tried to salvage what could be salvaged. Finally, there was Pamela at the front who was writing some things down on the classroom’s whiteboard.

“Alright then.” Pamela stopped writing on the board and turned around to face the girls. Sunset was on the floor getting some more papers while Barbara had a cupcake in her mouth. “Welcome to the first meeting of Gotham High’s Green Advocacy Group. Just to clarify, we’re meeting after Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

“Now, then, what is our goal?” Pamela continued, “well, our goal is mostly to spread awareness involving plants and the benefits they have. Both physically and psychologically.”

“That’s right,” Sunset spoke up, “the first time I showed up here, I noticed how dreary this place looked. In fact, it looked more like prison.” Both girls nodded at that.

"I really do love Gotham High," Barbara said, "but the school certainly could use a bit more life around it rather than it looking about as dreary as the Mojave.".

“Exactly!” Pamela pointed to the whiteboard. “Look, we have some big ideas, but right now this club should start with a more reasonable goal: that being the spreading of information and awareness of plants.”

“What exactly would be an end goal?” Barbara asked.

“Good question." Pamela smiled, crossing her arms. "Well, I suppose an end goal would be perhaps defending the rights for plants.”

Barbara gave her a strange look.

“I know, I know. It sounds silly, but listen for a moment. Plants are living, breathing things just like us, so why don’t they get rights too? They provide so much for us and most people don’t even bat an eye when they simply step on them or destroy them to make way for some sort of building.”

“That’s not even including certain companies like, Chlorogene, that seem to go out of their way to harm plants with chemicals which they claim is helpful but in reality is nothing more than poison. There’s also psychological effects involving plants and simply being around them can work wonders.”

Sunset nodded, interrupting Pamela’s speech. “Just a little bit of green could go a long way. It would certainly probably have a positive effect on the students here.”

“Without plants we couldn't survive at all in this planet. They deserve as much respect and protection as we can give them."

Barbara was certainly surprised by how strongly the two girls felt for all this. “Okay, okay, you convinced me,” she said, putting her hands up in a placating gesture.

“Great!” Pamela had a big smile on her face. “Barbara, you can honestly be a big help to us just by being here actually.”

The red headed girl raised an eyebrow, suddenly wary. “Uh, how exactly?”

“Simple. Your father is a deputy commissioner in the Gotham City Police Department, right?” Barbara nodded at Pamela’s question. “Well, if we can, we might actually get to be able to put up flyers around the police stations. That would be a great way to spread awareness.”

“Woah, hold up there!” Barbara held up her arms. “It almost sounds like you only want me in this club just so you can use my dad’s position in the GCPD.”

Pamela’s eyes widen as Barbara said that. “Oh, no, no, no!” She quickly waved her hands. “Far from that! Okay, you’re right, it does sound like that but believe me, that’s not why I want you here.”

“Look,” Barbara sighed. “I’d rather us get to know each other better before we even consider that.” Pamela nodded.

“It was a good idea,” Sunset told her. “But let’s just stick to stuff involving the school before we start going further. I must admit, that is a pretty smart idea, but we might also want to think very carefully about what we can do, if anything. I imagine outreach and such is our first goal.”

“Hey, I’ve done plenty of thinking about all this.” The glasses wearing girl smirked. “So, I’m sure I can up with a few brilliant ideas.” She then walked over to the snacks at the table before pouring herself a cup of soda. “Girls, shall we make a toast?”

Barbara and Sunset walked over and followed suit. All three of them held up their cups. “To the Green Advocacy Club,” Pamela said.

“To the Green Advocacy Club.” The girls smiled and they all bumped their plastic cups together.

“Well, certainly sounds like you had quite a first day.” Zatanna’s voice echoed over the phone that Sunset was talking to her on.

Sunset arrived home late since she and the girls spent a lot of time talking and trying to make up for the time that Barbara and Sunset missed getting the snacks. At least the good news was that they weren’t assigned homework.

While she was on the phone, Sunset was also getting a few stretches in as she was preparing for the gymnastics tryouts tomorrow afternoon.

“Yeah, I still feel bad that we left Pamela hanging like that. She was so upset when we first saw her...” Sunset’s voice trailed off near the end as she leaned forward and touched her toes.

“Sounds like you’re talking from experience,” Zatanna said.

“Yeah,” Sunset admitted, thinking carefully about what to say. “In a lot of ways, Pamela reminds me of the Twilight Sparkle that went to Crystal Prep Academy back in the other human realm I was in. I didn’t get to know her well, but it was clear she was quite… lonesome. Didn’t have many friends, you know?”

“I hear what you’re saying. I suppose that sometimes we all just kind of reach that place where we feel kind of alone. I know I didn’t have many friends growing up; traveling around the world with Dad means that you never stayed put in one place for long.”

“I wonder how they’re doing right now.” Sunset’s thoughts drifted to Canterlot High and Equestria. Did the girls at least send word back to her through her magic journal or did a simple visit through the mirror answer that?

“I hope everything is okay, I imagine the other Twilight probably is hating herself right now for what happened.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Zatanna assured her, “from what you told me, your friends are terrific girls and will probably be supporting her in your absence.”

“I hope so.” Sunset still had some slight concerns. However, there wasn’t much she could do now. All she could do was hope that perhaps Fate and Zatanna could find the dimension that contained Equestria or Canterlot High.

“Listen, I need to hang up and get ready for another show, okay?” Zatanna told her. “I expect you to keep up with your studies, both in school and extra-curricular.”

“I hear you. Goodnight, Zatanna.” Sunset sighed.

“Goodnight, Sunset.” Sunset then heard the dial tone indicating that Zatanna hung up.

Sunset sighed as she settled down and cleaned herself up after her workout. She then laid down on her bed and glanced over to the bookshelf that she had bought when she went out with Zatanna.

She walked over and pulled out an empty journal that she had gotten and sat at the desk that was also in the room. She reached over and used magic to slightly levitate a pencil into her hand. She was making progress in magic training as a lot of it was like riding a bike. Being Celestia’s former student, much of her training was coming back to her, though it had to be readjusted due to her different form and being in a different universe.

Sunset stared at the blank pages for a few moments before she started to write some things down. “Dear Princess Twilight…” She started to write while saying what she wrote down aloud. “Oh, this is pointless.” She sighed in defeat as she knew that it would never reach the Princess of Friendship.

However, Sunset decided to write once more as it could be used as a sort of catharsis; making her feel like she still had a sort of connection to her original home, even if it would only be read by her.

“Okay, let’s try this again.” She started to write again. “Dear Princess Twilight, this is honestly strange for me to write but once again I find myself in a strange new world; this one a lot more violent and dangerous than the one I left. At least it’s still somewhat familiar, what with me still being human and that’s just the start of it.

“I’m now currently living in a place called Gotham City. This world I’m in is inhabited by a good amount of humans with extraordinary gifts. In fact, I now find myself being the apprentice to a superheroine sorceress named Zatanna who also lives a double life of being a world famous stage magician.

“Now I’m currently doing the same. To most of the world, I’m Sunset Lucciola, an orphaned girl that serves as Zatanna Zatara’s assistant and attending Gotham High School. However, I’m also learning this world’s magic in preparation for my dual life as a crime fighter.

“Oh, I also made some new friends. Their names are Pamela Isley and Barbara Gordon. We’re all in a Green Club and plan to try and spread plant awareness across this city. Gotham is, well, it’s not that good looking of a city. Even Manehattan was much prettier on its exterior. Anyways, these girls, I know I just met them but I know I’m probably going to end up being close with them.

“Well, it’s getting late and I got class in the morning so I need to head to bed. This probably won’t reach you but, hey, stranger things have happened. I thought I was beyond any help and you showed me how wrong I was there. I just hope that everything will be okay and that you’ll help deal with the troubles that I’ve now been forced to leave behind. Until next time, your faithful friend, Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset put down the pencil and leaned back against the chair. She took a deep breath and honestly felt good now that she wrote all that down. A thought then crossed her head and she got out a small note pad and tore out a piece of paper.

She found herself writing down several names over the next thirty minutes on that note pad paper. Her brain was now focused on trying to come up with a great superheroine name that she would eventually use. She soon yawned, put down her pencil before she got up and crawled into bed and fell asleep after setting her alarm.

On the sheet of paper that laid on top of the journal had a multitude of names with only one circled.

Alicorn.

Chapter 08: Tryouts

The next day of school went the way Sunset expected it. Now that the school handbook was out of the way, the classes were actually doing their assigned subjects. However, some instructions tended to drone a bit and made the day feel even longer than it was. Of course, that was also the case back in Canterlot High so it never bothered Sunset.

The day went on as usual, and she barely kept interest in some of her classes. Most of the material related to science and math was something she was not only well versed in, but very much ahead of the curve, while social sciences and history were different enough to demand her attention. It just wouldn't do to let her grades slip.

Sunset spent lunch with Barbara once again, only this time the conversation was about what Sunset should expect when she tried out for the gymnastics team. According to Barbara, Gotham High School was actually one of the best gymnastics teams in the nation with multiple state titles and even a few national ones. The demanding effort to make it would be perfect for training for her eventually crime fighting life.

Finally, the school day reached its end. One more positive thing about having gym at the end of the day was that Sunset would be ready in the same gymnasium where the gymnastics team would meet up.
After class, Barbara asked if Pamela also wanted to try out for the team, just to give the girls more chances to hang out. Pamela wasn't interested, but told them that she would be sure to watch the team compete later in the year.

After their conversation, Pamela headed back home; though not before reminding them to not be late tomorrow for Green Club, which caused both girls to roll their eyes. Sunset thought that Pamela was going to hold that over them for a few weeks at least.

“You okay?” Barbara asked Sunset as the two of them walked over to where several girls were gathering in the gym.

“Yeah, I just want to make sure I make it, you know?” Sunset nodded. “I guess it’s just nerves and all. After all, it seems like there’s a lot of pressure on the team and I certainly don’t want to be part of it only to let it down.”

Sunset didn’t know what she was going to do if she didn’t make the team. She supposed that more training with Zatanna’s allies would cut it, but she certainly didn’t want to burden or interrupt them. Especially if they also were fighting dark forces as well.

Barbara chuckled. “You just need to relax, okay? If anything, I should be feeling more pressure than you.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Really? But you’re already on the team, what do you mean you’re under more pressure.”

“You’ll see soon enough. Hey, listen, if you do make it, I’ll be sure to send you some weights that I use to help train,” Barbara offered.

“Thanks, Barbara… but let’s just wait and see if I do make.”

The girls sat around while they waited for a few more people to show up for the tryouts. During that time, Barbara was already limbering up and getting ready. Sunset decided to follow suit as it probably would give her a better chance of making it if she did what Barbara did.

It was now three o’clock when a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman in her mid-thirties walked over to where the girls had gathered.

“Afternoon,” she began, “I’m Sheila Vann, Gotham High’s Women's Gymnastics coach. I see we’ve got plenty of new faces this time around. That’s good. We’ve lost a lot of talent this past year as we had quite a number of seniors on the squad that have now graduated.

“I’m going to say this right now so there are no mistakes in the future. This is not some sort of social club or a place to have fun with your friends. This is an actual team; I’m not saying not to be friends, far from it, but at the end of the day, we are competing for titles. This sport is going to push you hard and demands you to give more than one-hundred and ten percent. Now then, if that’s not your cup of tea or what you were expecting; feel free to leave, we won’t hold it against you.” Sunset glanced back and saw two freshman girls stand up and walk away.

“Anyone else?” Ms. Vann asked. “Alright then. Now, there are quite a few spots open on the roster but that doesn’t mean that everyone will make it. We have more new faces here than we have spots after all. Don't assume that a good performance today will guarantee your spot. There is another tryout on Thursday, and I expect more potential members to show up then." She studied the group and crossed her arms. “I have one more thing to say before we get started. As some of you know, Gotham High has won several state championships and even a few national ones. With those titles comes some significant attention.

“Throughout this year, those of you that make it will notice some scouts. You see, you might not only represent this team in a state, regional or even national tournaments. If you’re incredibly lucky, you might have a chance to be on the United States Gymnastics team and represent us all at the Olympics, like our very own Ms. Gordon.”

Everyone’s eyes drew over to Barbara as she stood up and took a bow. “Oh, so that’s what you meant by being more nervous than me.” Sunset thought to herself. "Now I definitely need to make it into the team," she muttered under her breath.

“So you can see what I mean by how taxing this team will be,” Ms. Vann continued once more. “But I don’t want that to intimidate you. Now, that’s it for my little speech. Let’s get to the tryouts. First, you girls are going to want to limber up so you don’t pull something.”

Once again, Sunset found herself stretching along with the rest of the girls. She could easily tell several of the girls who were already on the team along with Barbara. She still honestly couldn’t believe that Barbara was actually an Olympic hopeful.

The Olympics. Yet another similarity to the world she previously left. Both worlds had the same grand sporting competition like that of the Equestria Games. Sunset remembered she was seven, two years into her apprenticeship to Celestia, when she watched the games in Vanhoover.

She stopped thinking about the past and focused on the present once again. “Hey, Barbara?” Sunset whispered to her friend as the two of them kept stretching.

“Yeah? What is it?” She asked.

“When exactly were you going to tell me you were an Olympic hopeful?”

Barbara gave a slightly nervous chuckle. “Well, you were going to find out eventually so I decided just to wait.”

“Well, now I’m even more nervous!” Sunset hissed which cause Barbara to laugh.

“I’m telling you, you’ll do fine.”

“Okay, girls,” Ms. Vann spoke up, “I think that’s enough stretching. For those already on the team, I would like you to start providing some moves on the equipment as an example for newcomers. For those of you trying out, watch closely and try to do the same when your turn comes. But just remember to relax, it’s only tryouts; certainly not the end of the world if you screw up.” The older woman assured.

“How are you feeling?” Barbara asked Sunset as the two of them were leaving school dressed in their school clothes again.

“A bit sore…” Sunset answered as she rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to get the stiffness out of it. The tryouts had gone well. Ms. Vann did give her a lot of positive feedback so that might have been a good sign.

“Trust me, Sunset, that’s gonna be normal for a little while as you get started. Your body will get used to it.” Barbara put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Thanks, that’s good to hear.” Sunset nodded. “Hey, how do you think I did?”

“Personally? I think you did terrific, and I think Ms. Vann thought the same. After all, you were the one who got the most compliments from her. I’ve noticed when she does that, those people end up on the team,” Barbara said.

“Well then, sounds like my odds are good then.”

“Looks like that way. Though, I wouldn’t consider yourself to be assured to make the team just yet.”

“No, of course not,": Sunset said, "until I see that list of who made it with my name on it, I will not assume anything.”

“That’s smart, Sunset. I knew several girls that honestly thought they were shoo-ins for the team only not to make it.”

“Well, surely you’ve heard the old saying: ‘Don’t count your chickens before they hatch’.” Sunset smiled.

“Truer words were never spoken.” Both girls soon began to laugh after that.

“Okay, now I want you girls to look at these photos,” Pamela said as she started to pin several pictures to a corkboard on Wednesday afternoon.

“Now then, these are pictures of some of the best high schools in several of the largest cities in the country,” Pamela began pointing at several of the pictures. “These two are from Metropolis on the East Coast, these three are in Star City on the West Coast, and finally, these two are in Houston, Texas.

“Now then, would anyone like to tell me the difference between these schools and ours?”

“Well, considering this is a green club, I would have to guess that the answer would be that those schools are more green and lively compared to most in Gotham?” Barbara answered.

Pamela blushed, looking away. “Er, right… should’ve made that rhetorical,” she muttered to herself.

“Not your fault,” Barbara told her. While they talked, Sunset was looking closely at a flyer she was holding in her hands. The colorful document proudly announced tryouts for the fencing club later that day.

Her mind kept replaying Penguin and his blade, and how perhaps if she had more practice, she would do better against him if he used that umbrella sword again. She was positive going to run into him again once she started her hero work..

“Now,” Pamela continued, raising her voice, though Sunset still wasn’t fully listening. “I spent most of Monday night and yesterday as well getting some of this information.” Pamela then put up a bunch of lists underneath the respective photos.

“These are the G.P.A scores and attendance records of these schools; these are all public records by the way, the students themselves are anonymous, this all can easily be found on the internet. But, just look at the comparisons between these schools and ours.”

Barbara stood up to look at the numbers that were being shown. “Well, would you be kind enough to explain what I need to see?”

“Certainly.” Pamela smiled. “If you look closely, you can see a bit of a higher average in grades throughout all those schools compared to Gotham’s; the same goes with the attendance average. This is a great example of proving how simply getting this place some plants would do wonders for this place.”

“Well, the school board and teachers would certainly agree with you on this. But let’s not forget Pam, this is Gotham we’re talking about. Attendance might be a bit lower due to all the crime; even if the Bat is out patrolling the streets,” Barbara countered.

“I’m fully aware of that. Gotham City is well known throughout the nation due to its high crime rate, but that certainly can’t be the only reason.” She then paused for a moment as she caught the other thing that Barbara said. “Wait a second, ‘Pam’?”

“Yeah, is it okay if I call you by that?” Barbara asked, cringing slightly. "Sorry, I didn't think it would be an issue."

“No, it’s fine, but if you’re gonna do that, then I get to call you ‘Babs’.” The glasses wearing girl had a smirk on her face.

“Please, anything but that, I’m not a small wise-cracking pink bunny.”

“Hey, everything okay, Sunset?” Pamela asked as the two girls looked over to her.

“Huh?" Sunset looked up from the flyer, startled. "Oh, yeah, everything is fine!” she assured them.

“Really? You’ve been pretty quiet this whole time.”

“What is that you’re holding?” Barbara asked as she walked over and looked at the flyer that Sunset had in her lap. “Fencing club?”

“Uh, yeah… it was something that I used to do with my father before he died,.”she said, lying through her teeth. She felt guilty, but she couldn't tell them the truth about Canterlot High's fencing team, but she had to keep up the story that she had been homeschooled.

“Could I take a look at that?” Pamela spoke up before Barbara handed her back the flyer. “Well, while the tryouts are today, the meetings will be on Saturday.”

“Is that going to be an issue with you?” Sunset asked.

“No… but what if we need to you to help with some stuff on Saturdays?”

Sunset sighed. “Look, girls, trust me, I know it seems like I’m putting a bit more on my plate than I probably should but it’ll be alright. I’ll still make this club a first priority, that good with you?”

Pamela and Barbara looked at each other before Pamela nodded. “Okay, Sunset. It’s fine, just be sure to help us out when we still need it okay?”

“Of course! I'm not going to leave my friends hanging! But for now… let me run and see if I make the cut.” Sunset smiled before leaving the room and heading to the gym where the Fencing club was meeting up.

When Sunset entered the gym, she could easily tell where the fencing club was considering a few of them were already dueling. She walked over to them where the apparent coach was standing.

“Ah, new arrival,” the tall brown haired man said, noticing her approach. “Good afternoon, Ms-”

“Lucciola. Sunset Lucciola.” She held out her hand and the man took it.

“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Lucciola. I’m Mr. Andrew Winters. I take it you’re looking to join us today?”

“Very much so. That is, if there’s room for me.”

“Plenty. We’re always on the lookout for new talent in this group. Do you have any experience with fencing, or is this all new to you?” he asked.

Sunset nodded her head. “A little bit, I mostly did it as a hobby with my deceased father,” ,he said.

“Well, then, let’s see how you can do right now. Larson!” A boy who was currently dueling looked over to the coach. “Would you be willing do duel with this girl?” The boy nodded before Sunset walked over to where he was.

She picked up the sabre that was on the ground and soon was in a fighting stance opposite to the boy.

He made the first move by lunging forward and trying to get a point by striking her in the chest, only for his strike to be knocked out of the way by her counter and her landing a strike on his shoulder.

It was clear that he wasn’t very experienced at fencing, because no fencer would lunge that far forward and leave themselves so open to a counter like that.

The next several minutes were quite easy for Sunset as she soundly trashed her opponent. She was getting much praise from the rest of the team as the fight progressed, until Mr. Winters told them to stop.

“Well, Ms. Lucciola, I think it’s safe to say that there’s now a spot for you here,” He said, smiling as the rest of the team gathered to congratulate her on her victory..

Sunset had a smile on her face as he said that. “Thank you very much, sir.”

Since there was nothing much for her to do on Thursday afternoon after she finished all her homework, Sunset thought it would be a good chance to study up on some more magic. A quick call to Zatanna and one portal later, Sunset was currently reading up on some books in the Tower of Fate.

Sunset was honestly surprised by how much of the magic she was reading about was similar to the stuff she learned in Equestria as Celestia’s protégé. Maybe the worlds had a closer connection than she thought, although this universe tended to really tilt the balance of the magic in one direction or another, to the point that an unwitting magician could cast a spell with unintended consequences.

Still, despite those similarities, Sunset could only guess the difficulty that she would have to deal with to even come close to finding either the dimension where Canterlot High was or Equestria.

There was also the issue that Fate still acted very coldly around her. The whole time she had been in the Tower he hadn’t even said a word to her, much less looked at her, which made her feel even more lonely despite knowing he was somewhere around.

She decided to take a break from learning this world’s magic and pulled out several blank papers from her backpack. She thought that perhaps she should start thinking about what kind of attire she would use when she took to the streets as Alicorn.

Sure, she had the name down, but the outfit would be just as important. It would definitely have to be something she could move very well in. Something too flashy would be cumbersome and could get her and others hurt or worse.

As she drew some designs, she slowly got more and more frustrated with each scrapped concept.

“Ugh… Rarity… where are you when I need you?” she said to herself. If anyone could’ve been able to come up with a truly amazing superheroine outfit, it would be the self-proclaimed fashionista. Although she might have focused more on aesthetics than effectiveness.

The only thing that she knew she wanted was an eye mask to cover her face as well as learning a spell that could change her hair color. It would definitely make it harder for her to be identified; the last thing she wanted was Gotham High to be attacked by a vindictive villain that was after her.

She nearly jumped up in fear as Fate just suddenly appeared right in front of her and loudly dropped a book right on the table. She looked up at the golden mask in confusion, but—again without comment—he turned around and walked away.

Shaking her head, she turned her attention to the book. A quick glance inside showed that it was actually a spell book that was designed for enchanting armor and gear. She glanced back around but found that Fate had vanished once again. “Thank you,” she called into the seemingly empty tower but once again, she got no response.

Sunset was leaning back in a chair after a long day at school. The good news was that it was Friday and she now had a weekend to herself after attending Green club with Pamela and Barbara.

However, she wasn’t currently relaxing back at her apartment in Gotham, but rather she was in a large studio apartment in Star City.

“Okay, here’s that tea you wanted.” A blonde-haired, blue eyed woman wearing a leather leotard with fishnet stockings, a blue biker jacket and black fingerless gloves handed Sunset a cup of warm tea.

Zatanna had said in no uncertain terms that Sunset should learn martial arts and dealing with combat situations before she even thought to go out and fight crime in Gotham City. Yes, there was a lot of work to be done, but Sunset knew it was best to be over prepared for this rather than overconfident.

That night with Penguin was a great example of how not ready she was. She was honestly still surprised that she came out of that unscathed.

Thus, Zatanna had spread word of her new apprentice to her multiple allies and asked Sunset if she wanted to learn to fight properly from a good friend of hers. Sunset agreed and that’s how Sunset was now sipping tea in the home of Dinah Laurel Lance, also known as Black Canary.

“Thank you, Ms. Lance,” Sunset said as she took the tea before blowing it and taking a sip.

“So, Zatanna has told me quite a bit about you. You seem to have held your own against Cobblepot well last week.”

Sunset chuckled. “Word seems to travel, huh?”

“Indeed it does,” Dinah said as she sat down across from her. “But it’s nice to hear that you want to take up the reigns of superhero work. I honestly wish I had the support that Zatanna is giving you. My mother had a fit when she found out.”

“That reminds me,” Sunset spoke up. “I was doing some research last night when Zatanna told me about this meeting but, well, you obviously look very young but the Black Canary has been spotted in Star City for the past few decades.”

“Well, that’s because that was my mother," Dinah said with a conspiratorial smile. "She was the original Black Canary. I inherited her powers and took up the mantle of being the Canary after age started catching up to her. She didn’t want me to but relented soon enough. Now, she’s just living quietly with my father while I help keep Star City safe.”

“I see.” Sunset leaned back, nodding in understanding.. “Well, you obviously do a good job so I guess I should be honored to learn from one of the best.”

Dinah nearly choked on her drink when she started to laugh. “Please, Sunset, you give me too much praise.”

Sunset couldn’t help but laugh with her as well. The two of them chatted for several minutes about the Canary's history and adventures before Dinah suggested that it was time for her to start training with her.

“Okay, first of all, I must ask Sunset, but what sort of training do you have?” Dinah asked as the two of them were stretching.

“Well, other than knowing some magic spells and fencing, mostly it’s just some street fighting… and not that much I might add. I used to rely more on my brains than my skills in a brawl,” Sunset answered. The little close combat training she knew had come in handy the day she was cast out by Celestia. She had used it on some of the royal guards before she bolted for the mirror and ended up in the world that Canterlot High resided. Needless to say, that fighting experience did not translate to a human body.

“Okay then, let’s just start with what you know then. I want you to come at me, and don't pull your punches.” Dinah told her.

Sunset nodded and charged forward with a fist raised. Dinah was quick on the charge and dodged out of the way before tripping Sunset and sending her flat on her face. Sunset rolled over and rubbed her cheek, she had hit the training mat hard.

“Sorry about that, but you need to learn that you can’t just charge forward. Sure, most criminals might not be smart enough to move out of the way, but those that do… I don’t think I need to tell you what could happen,” the older woman advised.

“No, you do not.” Sunset nodded and got back up. She raised her fists and slowly moved closer to Dinah before she threw a right hook at her face. Dinah countered by grabbing Sunset’s fist and pushing it back, giving her some slight discomfort as her wrist was screaming for release.

Sunset, while her right fist was still locked, tried to use her left to jab Dinah in the stomach, only for the trained hero to flip her over, and pin her right on the ground.

Sunset quickly closed her eyes as she saw Dinah's fist coming right for her face.

The punch never came and Sunset opened her eyes to see the woman holding it near her face.

“If this was real, that would’ve ended up with you getting a bloody nose at least. Still, you trying to get me in the gut was actually smart. What you should have done was to turn the tables when I had your right fist locked and leave me exposed to a strike.” Dinah explained before getting off Sunset and helping her up.

“Thanks. Like I said, it’s not much training.” Sunset rotated her right arm to alleviate some of the stress it had.

“Yeah, well that’s something important you need to know. You just can’t rely on magic spells do fight. Sometimes you’re gonna have to use your hands and feet in a fight.”

“That’s exactly the same thing Zatanna told me.”

“It is sound advice. After all, I can’t rely on my powers all the time.”

“That reminds me, what is that power anyways?” Sunset wondered.

Dinah smiled. “Oh, I can produce a supersonic screech, just like my mother. Hence the whole ‘Canary’ moniker.”

“Could you be willing to give a demonstration?”

“You sure?” Dinah had a bit of a hesitant look on her face.

“Yes.” Sunset nodded… and immediately regretted it as she found herself on the floor trying to block her ears as they were assaulted by a loud screech that came from Dinah’s mouth. After a few moments, the sounds stopped and Sunset’s ears were now just ringing.

“I could taste my own thoughts!” Sunset cried out as rolled on the floor, still disoriented.

Dinah chuckled. “Sorry, but I did warn you.”

Chapter 09: Patrol

After several hours of sparing with Dinah, Sunset found herself on the heroine’s couch while the woman had left to go out patrolling Star City.

Meanwhile, Sunset was having to deal with the several ice packs on the multiple parts of her body that were lightly bruised. Dinah constantly kept apologizing for them as their training got slightly more physical than what it probably should’ve have, but Sunset assured her that it was all good.

The phrase ‘No pain, no gain’ was being taken to heart by the former unicorn. She knew that she had to be tested if she wanted any chance of being able to go out and be a super-heroine. While the pain was a nuisance; it was necessary to prepare her. After all; it was only a few hours of training, but Dinah was saying that Sunset was making great progress. She had made the mistake of thinking her fencing experience from Canterlot High would give her an edge against the Penguin, after all, and she had stood no chance.

The down time from training with Dinah gave Sunset a chance to look over more books and spells. She was just about ready to finally being able to create a portal that she could use to get to the Tower of Fate, and stop having to call Zatanna to do it for her.

However, all the training had come at a slight cost. With all the time she was taking with both her schooling and her hero training; it gave her almost no time to try to pinpoint where in the multiverse Equestria or the world that contained Canterlot High resided.

Thinking about that actually made Sunset pause. Was this really the right choice for her? Or did she accidentally let herself get swept up in everything? It was true that she knew that she probably had considerable power that could truly be used for good...

But was it what she truly wanted?

Sunset was honestly surprised she was thinking this after getting this far, but she was still at a point where she could turn around and decide to just live a more normal life; or a normal one for the most part as she focused her efforts on trying to find home.

"But ask yourself: would they want you to spend years isolated, without friends, without a chance at life for the slim possibility of returning home? Or would they happily embrace you back and be proud of your success and growth in another world while you figured out how to go back to them?" Zatanna’s words from the first day Sunset met her rang through Sunset’s mind.

Sunset took a deep breath and leaned back. She just needed to put things back into perspective. She knew what she was going to do, but it didn’t hurt to get a reminder every now and again.

Zatanna was probably right; the odds of Sunset finding a way back home were not in her favor, but it was better to lay the foundations of a new life rather than wasting all of it trying desperately to get back to the old one. Of course, if she did find a way back, she probably would be more likely to say her goodbyes to this world and return to Canterlot, although, she had a slight feeling that the longer she stayed in this world, the more difficult it would be to make the decision to go back home.

Sunset groaned as she realized that she needed to take a break from all the thinking, so she leaned over to grab the remote to the television that Dinah had and turned it on.

“Hundreds of channels and there’s nothing to watch,” grumbled Sunset, "I guess that some things don't change regardless of where you are in the multiverse."

She flipped channels until she finally caught a news story involving Gotham. It must have been a pretty big story if local Star City news stations were talking about it. The TV showed this Goth-looking man being led onto the back of a police van, and Sunset could just catch a glimpse of Detective Yin sitting in the back of another van with a blanket and a hot drink in her hand.

“The terror tonight has been dealt with by the GCPD. The criminal who was responsible for leading the police on a wild chase across the city is now being sent on his way to Arkham Asylum," the voice of a reporter informed as the video progressed, “Police are not giving out too much information, but it appears that the man refers to himself as the Riddler. He had been placing bombs all along the city which we are now told were canisters filled with—not nitroglycerin or any other explosive substance—but store-bought green gelatin. It appears his true target was hacking into Gotham’s infrastructure to steal cash and information from the city’s databases.

“Thankfully, the GCPD was able to figure out his plan and put an end to his short reign of terror. I’m Vicky Vale, reporting live from Gotham Central Bank, Channel 5, WMAQ.”

“Now, then,” The TV cut back to a man in a studio. “Back to more local news. Today was a crosstown interleague rivalry game as the Stars and the Rockets went up to bat.” Sunset turned off the TV a moment later.

Her mind was more focused on the man that was recently caught. “Great,” She muttered, “Probably going to have a run in with that weirdo sooner rather than later.”

“I thought I gave the order for you not to get caught up with the whack jobs when they showed up.” Chief Rojas sighed as he leaned back in the chair in his office while smoking a cigarette. Detective Ellen Yin sat across from him after he finished speaking.

“I didn’t mean to, sir. I thought I was just going in to assist the bomb squad in defusing the bomb.” She paused. “Guess I should’ve expected something crazy when I saw the giant hourglass.”

“Yeah, a perfect sign that this was the work of someone who’s out of their mind.”

Yin’s mind was running a full replay of what had happened yesterday. It seemed like it was just a normal day until there was a bomb threat at the Gotham Central Bank. She offered her support to the bomb squad as they were disarming it; however, the way to disarm it was the answer to a riddle.

That was how she ended up running all over Gotham City playing the Riddler’s sick game, and it wasn’t even meant for her. Throughout the whole night, she had the Batman secretly helping her solve all the puzzles and word games while also saving her life a few times; like when the Riddler’s van drove off the Gotham Bay Bridge.

The true reason behind all the tricks was to distract the police so he could try and steal much of Gotham’s data on the city’s hard drives. It was also so he could solve ‘the greatest riddle of all time’: the identity of The Batman. She and the Dark Knight were captured and were forced to play a deadly game of Twenty Questions.

The game was deadly because while the Riddler tried to guess the Batman’s identity through the game, each lie he gave would result in Yin getting electrocuted. She was thankful that the only shock she got was not that severe; any higher and she was probably sure she wouldn’t be sitting in Rojas’ office today.

The two of them were able to get the jump on Riddler and helped take him down before leading him away. Of course, he blew the lid on her secret partnership with the Batman by directly telling Rojas, in the form of a riddle that she answered.

Thankfully for her career, Rojas just thought he was crazy and making it all up considering he never saw the Batman once during the night. Plus, the rumor was going around that Riddler was just driving Rojas nuts. Apparently he was completely stumped by the riddle ‘Everything inside me is ancient,’ which the answer was simply the Natural History Museum of Gotham.

“Well, at least he’s in Arkham now, and out of our hair.” Rojas blew a puff of smoke from his cigarette.

“Didn’t know you were a smoker, sir,” Yin said.

The mustached man grumbled before putting it out. “I tend to only smoke when I’m stressed out. The bad thing is I’ve been doing it a lot lately with all these crazy criminals coming out in force. Every time we put one of these so called ‘super-criminals’ either in Blackgate or Arkham, a new one just makes an appearance.”

“Well, we’re certainly trying our best. Trust me, Chief, I know it doesn’t look good right now, but I’m sure things will probably get better,” Yin tried to assure him.

“Yeah.” Rojas sighed, “Wake me up when you do that. Anyways, let’s get back to this guy we just caught. Got any information about him?”

“Early records just came in.” Yin pulled out a folder and started looking over it. “He calls himself the Riddler but his name is actually Edward Nigma.”

“E. Nigma? Oh for the love of…” Rojas nearly slammed his hands on his desk but managed to restrain himself.

“Yes, I know. It’s all probably just part of some sick joke. That isn’t his true name though; he had it legally changed from Eddie Nashton.”

Rojas stood up and walked to the window. “What do we got on him then?”

“A couple of arrests over the past fifteen years. First priors were when he was seventeen for a domestic dispute. Says here he was raised alone by father and there was a history of child abuse. The arrest was actually dropped when it was discovered he was acting in self-defense when his father tried to beat him with a shower curtain poll.

“After that, he attended the Gotham University and graduated; that’s when we start getting multiple arrests, like a few assaults and even a kidnapping charge.”

“So, this was apparently all this should’ve been seen coming, am I right?”

“Well, he certainly should’ve been in our sights, but the whole Riddler persona is new.”

“What about those that were arrested with him?” Yin remembered that the Riddler had some henchmen that were assisting him. She actually beat them all up while the Batman went after the Riddler himself.

“Actually, that’s two cases that were solved.” Yin pulled out a separate file and placed them on Rojas’ desk. He sat back down and looked over them.

“Those missing persons reports that we got the past few days this week? That was all of them.”

“I can’t believe this,” Rojas read the file, “How did he get them all in his plan?”

“He didn’t. We found them all with those strange devices on their ears and eyes. These people have no recollection of what happened, but there’s a theory going around that he used hypnotism and mind-control on his victims.”

Rojas gave out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness we stopped him then before things got worse. Who knows what he could have done if left to his own devices. Still, I’m a bit concerned about that whole thing involving the Bat… what did he mean by all that?”

Yin shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I can tell you right now that we still don’t have any leads on who he might be.”

Rojas nodded. “I swear, we can’t even get close to this guy… and now there’s starting to be some support for him.”

“Some do see him as a sort of hero, Chief.”

“Yeah, well, truth be told, I wish we had a dozen Batmen, then this city would be pretty good.” Yin raised an eyebrow upon hearing that from Rojas. “The problem is that he’s uncontrolled; we don’t have anything on him to keep him straight and…”

“And what?”

“He’s not the first vigilante I’ve dealt with,” Rojas said as he sat back down.

“Sir?” Yin questioned.

“This was in the late eighties when I was still a Sergeant in the 4th Precinct. There was a man, Lance Bergmann, seemed like a normal, mild mannered person but that was before...” he paused, “...his mother.”

“Lance Bergmann? That name sounds somewhat familiar.”

“It should. You see, Lance’s mother was walking around the south side one day when three homeless men attacked her. They mugged her and left her for dead. By the time an ambulance arrived, she was already gone.

“There were a few witnesses to it so we were able to identify and arrest her attackers. Two of them got ten years while another received twenty. That should’ve been the end of it.”

“Let me guess,” Yin interrupted Rojas’ story. “Bergmann didn’t think that was enough?”

Rojas nodded. “Once again, you show why you’re probably the best detective I have in this city. Bergmann wanted revenge because he thought the court was too… soft on the crime. I ended up encountering him several weeks later. However at that point, he decided to take the law in his own hands.

“I was one of the arresting officers to the Underside Slayer; Bergmann was responsible for the murders of thirteen homeless people before we finally got cuffs on him.”

Yin silently nodded as now she realized why the name sounded familiar.

“That’s the reason, Yin, why I have an issue with all these vigilantes; not just here, but throughout the nation. Many people do see them as some sort of heroes, but how long until they reach a breaking point and end up becoming the very monsters they try to stop?”

Yin leaned back in the chair across from Rojas. He made a solid point. There were laws regarding vigilantism and yet here she was currently assisting one under her superiors’ noses. Still, could she continue to trust the Bat, or did she start needing to make a plan to take him down for that day where he might end up turning on Gotham?

The next two weeks for Sunset flew past like a blur. At school, it was as normal as it was back in Canterlot High with a few exceptions. For one, on the Monday of the second week of school, Sunset found that she made the gymnastics team, much to both her and Barbara’s delight.

There was also the growing friendship between Sunset, Barbara and Pamela. The three girls were almost always seen together throughout the day, and they certainly acted like they were the oldest of friends instead of just having met only a few weeks prior. Having had to struggle to build her friendship with the Rainbooms due to her past actions, the speed of this friendship had really surprised Sunset, even though Princess Twilight had told her in their journal writings that she and the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony had become really close friends within the first week of her moving to Ponyville..

Given that endorsement to fast and true friendships, Sunset felt at least comfortable enough to relax more with her two new close friends. They were now even calling each other by nicknames. Pamela was now ‘Pam’, Sunset was now called ‘Sunny’, and Barbara was referred to simply as ‘Red’.

That wasn’t the only thing that was going on in Sunset’s new life, however. She had also used the past two weeks to hone her understanding of magic and train for her eventual career as the superheroine known as Alicorn. May the princesses never find out.

Sunset’s prowess with magic in this world was now far greater than when she had started; she still had much to learn, but Zatanna said she was progressing faster than what she expected. She had even managed to finally learn how to open a portal to the Tower of Fate, so she no longer needed to interrupt Zatanna with whatever she was doing to get there.

The gymnastics training, along with the combat training she was getting with Dinah was violent, but necessary. She was sore most of the time, but the results could not be disputed, and she was slowly feeling more and more confident overall with her fighting abilities. All the pieces were coming together.

The final thing that Sunset needed to be ready to fight crime would be her outfit. While she was struggling before with coming up with an outfit, she got inspiration from Dinah’s outfit.

“Maybe I should’ve used the name Phoenix instead of Alicorn. But it's probably taken.” Sunset thought, which made her chuckle. If any of the girls back in Canterlot High saw her right now, they would notice that Sunset was wearing almost the exact same clothes that she wore when she had the entire school in her hands; back when she was obsessed with getting her revenge on Celestia. Now, they were her crime fighting outfit. When it all came down to it, both Dinah and Zatanna had kept it simple, and if she was being trained by them, certain similarities in their attire would also help enemies think that Sunset, or rather Alicorn, had come from Star City. It also helped that Alicorn had been spotted fighting alongside Black Canary the previous week; all more efforts to keep up the disguise.

She was looking into the mirror in her apartment bathroom as she was making the final observations. She adjusted her black boots with purple-ish flames on them. She then patted out any of the creases on her skirt which was a mix of purple, yellow and orange. She was wearing a purple leotard with a black biker jacket over it; both of them lacked her cutie mark but that was understandable. She was honestly surprised that these clothes that looked almost exactly like her old ones even existed.

All the clothes had gone through multiple spells and runes that gave her better protection. Some Sunset applied herself, while more advanced ones were added by Zatanna. However, given the materials used, the protection wasn’t going to last forever as the spells would wear off eventually or be worn down by intense fighting. Sunset made a mental note to not let herself feel too confident on surviving hits; the clothes might be able to weaken the force of a punch, but they didn't make her invulnerable.

Finally, she leaned over onto the sink counter and held up the final piece of her costume: her eye mask. It was a large red one that would cover her eyes. It too had been infused with several spells like ones that would keep her vision clear even if she walked into smoke and other disorienting or blinding effects.

It also would magically stick to her face so she didn’t need to worry about it slipping or coming off in a serious fight. It would only be removed by either herself or someone powerful in magic like Zatanna; though it was likely the clothes, as well as the spells, would need to be recast occasionally. She snapped her finger and saw her hair changed from its yellow and red mix to straight red.

Sunset took a deep breath and nodded into the mirror before she put on the eye mask and walked out into the living room where Zatanna was sitting on the couch.

“How do I look?” Sunset asked as she showed off her costume.

Zatanna’s eyes lit up and a proud look crossed her face. “Brilliant, you look absolutely brilliant.”

“Thanks,” Sunset started to do a few stretches. “I’m a bit nervous about tonight.”

“Listen,” Zatanna stood up, “I’m positive you’ll do well tonight, but I want you to know that you don’t have to do this if you’re not ready. We can train more until you’re really prepared.”

“I understand. There’s still a lot I know I need to learn but I think I should at least get some practice at least. Hands on experience is the best way to learn, I hear. After all, I got a good amount with Dinah already. Only difference this time is I’m going alone tonight.”

“That is true, but the downside is that you won't get any brakes if you do run into some sort of criminal. It’s not going to be like fighting me or Dinah; you’re going to be pushed.”

“I know,” Sunset poured herself a glass of water to have a quick drink before heading out. “I’ll try not to push it. Keep myself from biting off more than I can chew, you know?”

“That’s smart,” Zatanna sat back down. “I’ll be waiting here while also using some magic to keep an eye on you.”

Sunset nodded and headed for the back window where she would sneak up onto the roof.

“Oh, Sunset?” Sunset turned to look at her mentor. “Good luck.”

For the next few hours, Sunset found herself slowly making her way along the rooftops of Gotham City. She was careful about where she was going as she still wasn’t full trained to perform more elaborate acrobatic moves nor the magic to do something similar.

It was getting close to midnight on a cloudy night before she heard some scuffling in an alleyway. She jumped a few ledges before she was right above the alley where she saw two large men pushing a smaller guy against the wall.

“Listen, I’m telling you guys, the money is coming! There’s just a snag and all with it coming, I need more time!” The man that was being pressed to the wall whimpered out.

“Yeah, well, the way Umberto sees it, you don’t have the cash now, then it’s not coming,” One of the large men said.

“And if it’s not coming, then that means we’re going to have to… make it show up.” The other man pounded his fists together.

“No, please!” The small man begged. Sunset could see that she was needed and started to slide down several fire ladders as she moved her way down to the street level.

The sounds of the metal shaking she made quickly unnerved the two men.

“Wha… what was that!?”

“Shoot, you think that was the Bat?” They were greeted by Sunset who landed right near them. “Hey, wait a second, that ain’t the Bat. It’s just a little girl!”

“Heh.” The other man chuckled. “Playing superhero are we, sweetie? Shouldn’t you be in bed right now?”

Sunset shook her head. “You boys might wanna back off before you get hurt,” Sunset teased. The man that was being threatened bolted as fast as he could behind her, leaving only her and the two thugs alone in the alleyway.

“Last chance, girl. Get out of the way or we’re gonna have to take our aggression out on you,” The slightly taller of the two men threatened while the other one cracked his knuckles.

“Well, then, let’s have some anger management right now.” Sunset smiled before she charged forward and threw a double kick right into the tall man’s gut; knocking the air right out of him.

His comrade tried to grab Sunset but she ducked down and kicked his right ankle which dropped him to one knee. Now at eye-level with him, she threw a quick punch right to his face with a little magic added to it. Sunset’s knuckles didn’t feel a thing while her opponent had his nose broken.

“Ah! You little-” The other man caught his breath and reached out to try and get his hands around Sunset’s neck, but the former unicorn wasn’t having that. She jumped up and managed to backflip over the him before landing and giving him a swift kick right into the lower spine. The man cried out in pain before landing on top of his partner.

“So, you boys still think I’m playing super-hero now?” Sunset dusted off her hands before she heard the cocking of several guns. She turned and looked down the alley to see three men aiming their weapons right at her.

Two men that stood to the side of the man in the middle were carrying small submachine guns while the more well-dressed black haired man in the middle had two pistols in his hands.

“I send you bozos to get the cash out of Woznick’s hands and you end up getting beaten up by a teeny bopper in a biker outfit? Pathetic.” The man, who was probably the infamous Umberto, shook his head.

Sunset knew she was in serious trouble as the men all aimed… just before smoke exploded around them and then her.

While the thugs were all coughing from the smoke, Sunset felt someone suddenly land behind her and wrapped their arms around her before she felt herself being lifted up.

A moment later, when she was let go on the top of one of Gotham’s roofs, she turned around to find herself staring at the Batman.

“Uh, thanks for the save…" Sunset said with a nervous chuckle. "...didn’t know those guys were there.” She could hear the sounds of the goons all running down the alleyway; opposite of where the man they threatened earlier ran.

“So, it’s finally good to meet the watchful guardian of Gotham, Bat Man?”

“I’mBatman,” He replied. “And you shouldn’t be here.”

“Hey, I’m just starting out, I’ll get better. I just will be a bit more observant if more guys come down an alleyway. I handled those first two guys pretty well.”

Batman turned around to look out towards the city, eyes narrowing as he glanced her way. “Here’s a piece of advice. Gotham City is a whole other animal compared to where you were before. This is no place for someone wanting to play hero.” He coldly stated.

“But I-”

“No,” he interrupted her, stalking forth to stand right before her. “This is not fun and games. You’re just gonna end up getting killed if you try something like this again. Trying to be a hero isn’t going to have a happy ending. You think you’re just going to show up and fix everything?” He asked, looming over her.

He turned away, walking to the edge of the roof and looked back to her. “Head back to Star City; it’s a lot easier there.” He then jumped off the roof and soon was gliding away from the building he left Sunset on.

Sunset stood up there for a good few minutes as she just kept looking on at the city before sighing and deciding to go back home, but not before looking one last time at the direction she saw the Dark Knight fly off to.

“Well, word certainly does travel if you know I’ve been training in Star City,” she muttered into the darkness.

Chapter 10: Cracks

It was almost midnight when Bruce Wayne was sitting at the Batcomputer, currently going through some research. His patrol was cut short by his encounter by the girl he ran into earlier in the evening. Thankfully, it seemed like tonight was a bit of a quiet night for Gotham for once and he headed back home early.

“Spying on young girls again, Master Bruce?” Alfred wondered aloud, which caused Bruce to turn around in his chair and give his loyal butler and father figure a look. The older man gave a slight chuckle indicating it was all a joke.

“Very funny,” Bruce turned the chair around back to the screen. “I knew there was a reason why Zatanna had a sudden interest in Sunset.”

“Miss Lucciola? Why on Earth are we-?”

“Because I just saved her life earlier tonight. She was out in the streets dressed like a crime-fighter and actually fought some members of The Outfit; shortly before Umberto Maroni showed up,” Bruce interrupted.

“Are you sure?” Alfred was quite surprised by what his charge had said. Bruce pulled up multiple articles and pictures on the screen. Most of the photos weren’t really good shots as it was clear that the person in the photo was trying to avoid being captured by the lens.

“It makes a lot of sense,” Bruce scratched his chin, “It’s obvious that Sunset is clearly under Zatanna’s wing but the two of them tried to throw off the scent. Have her first make appearances in Star City, be seen in close relation with Dinah, and base her outfit off of hers.”

“How were you able to figure this out so quickly? If you don’t mind me asking, sir.” Alfred wondered.

“Not at all,” Bruce smirked, “She may have changed her hair tonight, but look at these pictures from half a week ago. Not the best photos, I know… but you can still see well enough." He zoomed in on them and sure enough, Sunset’s red and yellow streaks were in clear sight.

“Good lord… you’re right. It is her.”

“She also was wearing a different eye mask, but that couldn’t change the fact that I recognized her due to her height, build, and voice.” Bruce informed.

“Sir, your impeccable attention to detail is truly something I will always be impressed with. Maybe that’s why the reason why the moniker ‘World’s Greatest Detective’ is being said about you.”

Bruce turned around in his chair once more. “Who’s calling the Batman that?”

Alfred shrugged. “I’ve mostly heard that being said on the telly. It fits though, wouldn’t you say? Especially after you easily dealt with those two crazed geniuses like Cluemaster and Riddler,” He then looked like he had a shiver come over him. “I shudder to think what would happen if those two decided to join forces.”

“I get the feeling those two with their egos wouldn’t make much progress.” Bruce said.

“Well, going back to the subject involving Miss Lucciola, what are you going to do about it?” Alfred asked.

“I get the feeling that she honestly wants to be a crime-fighter, so there’s probably nothing I could do about it,” He paused, “That and I’m pretty sure that Zatanna would be all over me if I did.”

“That certainly sounds like her,” Alfred chuckled before noticing that Bruce continued to glare at the screen. “Sir?”

“I told her that she should go back to Star City. I mean, Star City is a lot calmer and a better place for her to operate out of. Less chances for her to get hurt… or worse. Not here though,” Bruce shook his head, “Gotham is a place no one should have to don a cape and mask and protect.”

“Perhaps you should take your own advice then,” Alfred interjected. It was no secret that the butler truly hated what Bruce would do. He still supported him, but he truly wished that his young charge would put an end to it all. He already had to bury two of the Wayne family; he didn’t want to have to bury a third one, even younger than his parents when they were tragically taken from Bruce.

Bruce said nothing—like he usually did whenever Alfred said something like that—before he closed up everything and got up. “Good night, Alfred.” He said before he grabbed the fire pole and was carried up back into Wayne Manor.

Sunset didn’t encounter any sort of trouble as she headed back to her apartment. She was careful about not being seen as she climbed onto the fire escape and entered through her bedroom window.

“Welcome back,” Zatanna greeted as she leaned against the doorway to the bedroom. Sunset gave her a small smile before she removed her mask and changed her hair back to normal. She then took a deep breath and fell forward right onto her bed.

“Boy, I had a close call,” She said, “Though; I know I did some good tonight. I stopped some guys from attacking this guy in an alley. I actually took care of them and helped the guy escape before the thug’s boss showed up. Some guy named Umberto, I heard from them.”

“Sounds like you ran into Umberto Maroni. He’s one of three sons to Sal Maroni, the ‘supposed’ head of The Outfit, Gotham’s largest mob group. They had their fingers in everything at one point though the power of the mafia has died down quite a bit in recent decades.” Zatanna explained.

“Well, they certainly had power tonight. As soon as I dealt with those guys, he and two of his men showed up with guns and had me right in their sights. I actually would’ve been shot right there if it wasn’t for Batman showing up when he did. I mean, I know we put some spells on the clothes that give them some bullet resistance, but I didn’t want to test that there; especially with all the guns those guys had.”

Zatanna’s eyes lit up. “Well, at least you’re safe and sound now,” she paused before she realized the other thing Sunset said, “Wait, you actually were saved by The Bat?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, he threw what I had to guess was a smoke bomb and got me out of that alley before those guys could fire.” She let out a quick sigh. “Guess I still need a lot more work, huh? I mean, I should’ve been paying more attention to my surroundings and not letting myself nearly get jumped like that.”

“I say that we look at this night like the glass being half full, if you’re familiar with that expression,” Zatanna said. “As you said, you did do good tonight by saving that man’s life.”

“I don’t know,” Sunset expressed some doubts, “It honestly sounded he was in pretty deep with those Maroni guys. I think all I did was just maybe give him a few extra days to live his life.”

Zatanna gave a small smile and sat on the bed with Sunset before putting a hand on her shoulder. “You may be right, but that’s one of the things that comes with being a hero. It might feel like you’re not accomplishing anything, but trust me, you are.”

“How so?” Sunset wondered.

“You’re giving people hope. You’re giving them the assurance that they don’t need to be afraid to simply walk out of them homes and do anything. You’re providing something that some have honestly forgotten, and trust me, if there’s a city that needs hope, it’s Gotham.”

“Yeah, I think I can kinda see it, but… am I really in the right place? Maybe Batman is right, maybe I should just stay more in Star City or somewhere less dangerous than here. I mean, you’re constantly traveling everywhere so there’s no real place for you to stay put and protect like Dinah.”

“I can’t say I fully agree with him because of three reasons; The first is that Star City has enough protection as is, and while you could, we both know you want to be able to help here in the maximum way possible.”

Zatanna paused for a moment. “The second reason is that despite what he says, and what he wants, even someone like Batman can’t truly defend this city all by himself. Finally, do you really just want to leave this city and everything that you’ve already done?”

Sunset sat up. “No!” she exclaimed. “I’ve really come to like this city, I mean, I like Gotham High and I like that I have such good friends in Barbara and Pamela and I wouldn’t trade that, but… I just don’t know what to think when it comes to crime fighting.”

“It’s early nerves. We’ve all had that issue where we question early on what we’re doing. You’ll get better at dealing with that the more you accomplish and experience.” Zatanna then stood up and left the room.

“Wait, where are you going?” Sunset asked.

“Just a moment,” Zatanna called out from the living room/kitchen. A moment later, she walked back in with two glass soda bottles. “Here,” she handed her young protégé a glass before getting out a bottle opener.

“What’s this about?”

Zatanna gave a proud smile. “Well, I thought we should celebrate your first night going solo. You’ve made amazing progress already and I know you can only get better. So I thought we should make a toast.”

“Also, this is usually done with alcohol but considering you’re underage and I don’t usually drink, I decided to substitute them with cola.” Sunset started to laugh before Zatanna joined in. The two of them held up there drinks and clanked them together.

“Here’s to Gotham City’s newest guardian, the amazing Alicorn!”

It was almost two in the morning when Zatanna left the apartment. Thankfully it was a Friday so Sunset could sleep in until about eleven when she needed to make Fencing club at the school at one.

During that time, Sunset was just about ready to head to bed after taking a shower considering she had been out fighting and it was a humid night. Apparently Gotham summers were quite hot despite how north of the equator the region was.

After drying off and getting into her pajamas, Sunset walked over to her bookshelf and pulled out the journal that she wrote in a few weeks ago. A somewhat ridiculous thought crossed her mind as she opened up; hopeful that somehow it still got to Twilight and that there was a response by the Princess of Friendship left in the journal.

However, there was no response after the entry she left last time. It was a silly thought, but deep down she wished it was true. She knew that there wasn’t much of a point to do it, but if it helped retain one connection to her true home, then she was going to do it. She sat down and grabbed a pen and once again started to write in it again.

“Dear Princess Twilight,” she said aloud as she wrote once more, “It’s been a little bit but things have been picking up. I’m now a super-heroine and defending Gotham City. Well, tonight was my first night but it’s only the start.”

“I received some training from Zatanna and another friend of hers called Black Canary who helped teach me some basics in magic and fighting. The magic was Zatanna by the way; Canary’s only abilities are a supersonic screech she can make. Let me tell you; that will knock you on your flank in a heartbeat.” She chuckled for a second.

“It’s honestly surprising how similar this place is to one of Spike’s comic books now that I think about it, like the one you guys ended up in that one time according to you. Anyways, I spent the past few weeks going out and fighting alongside Canary before I finally went solo tonight. It went… okay.”

”I actually saved a man from being beaten up by two mob goons who he apparently owed money to, but I found myself ended up biting off more than I could chew and ended up get rescued by Batman. He’s a guy that dresses like a bat as his name suggests and he’s the one who protects Gotham. I bet good bits if he somehow ended up in Equestria, he’d be a Thestral.”

“Yeah, so aside from that, Zatanna says I’m doing well, though I know that I need a lot more training before I could truly consider myself ready. You know, it’s funny. Looking back, that’s exactly what I thought at one point. I thought when I was Celestia’s student that I was certainly ready to be a Princess.”

“I now know how wrong I was, but at least I know it now that I was and have greatly learned from it; thanks to you. Speaking of the past, my superhero outfit is actually more or less that outfit I wore the first time we met at Canterlot High. I also have an eye mask and magic dye my hair to keep my identity a secret, though I’m pretty sure I could’ve had something better if Rarity ended up with me.”

“I think I’ve rambled on quite a bit so I just hope that everything is still going okay without me. I’m honestly a bit concerned about something happening without me, but I’m sure that the girls can handle it without me. After all, they handled me well enough when we first met. Anyways, as always, your faithful friend, Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset put the pen down and closed the book before putting the journal back in the bookshelf and yawning. She climbed into bed and closed her eyes, needing her sleep for fencing tomorrow afternoon.

Barbara knew what she was doing was strange. The fact that she was going to a school on a Saturday was strange to those that knew she had nothing that required her normally to show up on this day, as opposed to Sunset who had her fencing club on the same day.

Barbara was actually going back to the school because she realized she had left one of her books for an assignment in her locker and she didn’t realize it until it was dark the night before.

As she walked into the building, her eye immediately caught glance of someone’s head sticking out from a room and looking down a hallway.

“Murphy? You’re here today?” Barbara asked as the boy turned his attention to his fellow classmate.

“Oh, hey Barbara. I could ask you the same question; I’m pretty sure you’re like most students and don’t want to be here on a Saturday.”

“I left a book in my locker that I needed for an assignment this weekend, that’s my reason. What about you?”

The brown hair boy shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, I was bored and was in the area so I thought I would check out what was going on here today.”

“Okay then,” Barbara took a step forward before she turned around to look at the glasses wearing student once more. “Wait a second. What were you looking down the hallway for?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, uhm, well, your friend Pamela is here and she just got told some bad news. Now, I’m pretty sure she’s on the warpath.” Barbara’s eyes widen and she started to run down the hall. “Nice seeing you too.” Murphy said as he went back to his own thing.

Barbara turned the corner and found Pamela with one of the teachers. Pamela clearly looked very distressed and upset.

“Mr. Varga! You can’t do this!” Pamela shouted to the older man.

“Pamela, I’m sorry but you know the rules. I can’t continue supporting your club if you don’t have a certain number of members. Three is nowhere close to the eight needed.”

“Please! I’ve been trying so hard but I just can’t get many people to care!” Pamela was clearly trying as best as she could to save the club.

“I’m sorry. I really am,” he said, “I am fully behind with your group, I am, but it’s out of my hands.” It was clear he too looked disappointed to say this to her.

He soon walked away and left Pamela alone before the red-haired girl fell to her knees and started to cry.

“Pam?” Barbara spoke up and got her friend’s attention. Pamela tried to wipe her face to hide her tears but it was already too late.

“Hey, Red, how much of that did you hear?” Barbara sat down next to Pam on the floor.

“Most of it. So I guess the meeting on Monday is canceled then.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe this,” Pamela buried her head in her hands. “I really thought that this year was going to be different. Especially after you and Sunny joined.”

“I got the feeling too. Man, Sunny is going to be disappointed to hear this. Think we should tell her during her fencing club? I mean, I know she’s going to be here in a few hours.”

Pamela shook her head. “No, we can tell her on Monday when we see her. I just don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. I keep trying to follow my passion and all it ends up is bringing me nothing but misery.”

Barbara wrapped an arm over Pamela’s shoulder. “Hey, Pam, listen, you can’t give up just when things look tough. I don't know why the others can't clue in on why the environment and plant life is so important, but just because they don't get it, doesn't mean we should quit. ”

“I swear, it just really feels like everyone is out to get me.”

“Don’t think that. You’ve got me and Sunny to help you. Besides, it seemed like Mr. Varga did seem like he didn’t want to do this as well; I could see it on his face.”

Pamela nodded. “Me too, that’s why I didn’t really lash out at him, but I really thought I could make some progress this year.”

“And we can!” Barbara stood up, “With you, me and Sunny, we can still have our club even if it’s not an official club.”

Pamela looked up and soon perked up fast. “You’re right! We just need to change some things, but we still can be able to spread awareness. Actually I have an idea right now, I just need to go home and get some things.”

“Yeah!” Barbara pumped her fist as she was glad to help raise her best friend’s spirit. “And I need to grab my book.”

Pamela gave her a look. “Wow, that just took all the enthusiasm out of the air.”

“Um, when you said you had some new ideas, I wasn’t aware if was going to be something like this.” Barbara muttered as she and Pamela met up once more near the rail station.

“Trust me, it’s fine. We just need to spread the word, you know. Simple flyers sometimes don’t cut it as folks will just throw the paper away in a heartbeat, but this-“ she held up two ski masks and some cans of green paint “-this will get people’s attention.”

“Or get us arrested,” Barbara pointed out.

“Relax, Red. It’s after lunch so things are surprisingly quiet at the moment so we won’t get caught.” Barbara was aware that Pamela had troubles in the past, but she never expected that Pamela would resort to vandalism and graffiti to spread her message. It was always the quiet ones.

She was also beginning to think about what would’ve happened if Sunset was with them at the current moment. Would she easily go along with this, or would she have some strong arguments about this?

“Here,” Pamela handed Barbara a ski mask and a one of the cans of paint; along with a brush, “You work the signs on this side of the terminal, and I’ll take the other side.” The glasses wearing girl handed her friend the items before Pamela put on her ski mask and started getting to work.

Barbara decided to follow suit, though she clearly wasn’t feeling as comfortable about what she was doing. She was the daughter of a cop and yet here she was clearly breaking the law. Pamela was certainly her friend, but was this really something she should follow or should she put her foot down and risk her friendship with her for her morals?

She glanced around as she started to spray some words about being more green conscious but her heart wasn’t in it as much as Pamela obviously was. Perhaps all this was more of just her airing out her frustrations about the club being shut down and that this would be a one-time thing.

But Barbara had a building concern that might not be the case. After an hour of work, Pamela rejoined Barbara and the two of them removed their masks before walking away.

“Well, I think we did some good for plants today.” Pamela looked proud of their accomplishment. It was honestly surprising how they weren’t spotted at all by anyone nor was there a camera in sight in the area.

“Uh, yeah, we did.” Barbara rubbed her arm as they walked past some of their signs.

“Yeah, this is going to be the first of many things we’re going to do.” Pamela smiled.

“We’re going to do more?” Barbara’s worries began to build once again.

“Yeah, oh, by the way, could you not tell Sunny what we did today? I’d rather ease her into this my own way, okay?” Barbara gave a slight nod.

As the two of them walked past an ad for Chlorogene, which had the words ‘Wanted from crimes against nature’ painted on it, Barbara’s mind began to drift.

She promised Pamela she wouldn’t tell Sunset, but the girl was still their friend. Barbara wondered how things would have been if she hadn't met Sunset and ended up in Pamela's club. Would she have had an easier time jumping into doing these kind of things?

One thing was sure in her mind, the next time she could be alone with Sunset, she was going to tell her everything. She could only hope that Pamela could see reason before things ended up going too far.

Author's Notes:

Hey guys, thanks for reading! Remember that this is the last week to both, help Midnight Dancer with her Honeymoon Fund, and to pre-order Gunsmoke!

So don't hesitate! Also, expect a new blog soon regarding Bronycon and schedules for panels!

Chapter 11: Swamped

It was a surprisingly quiet September night in Gotham City. Most of the city was already in bed as strange things were beginning to happen around the waters of Lake Gotham.

As a large lake freighter slowly move to port, a dark shadow in the water behind it broke off and started moving towards one of the city’s canals. It made its way deeper towards downtown until it reached one of the road bridges before jumping out of it onto the top of a box car, and quickly hopped its way across the rooftops.

At the same time, a large jewelry store was being broken into by several organized criminals who finished drilling their way out of a barred window and into the alley next to the building. The first man, a tall, bulky man with a black beard with some grey sprinkled in his hair motioned with his hands after checking to see the coast was clear and a black bag was thrown out into his arms.

Out of the now opened window, two men followed suit. One of them also had black hair, but in difference from his boss, he had a goatee rather than a beard. The other one was the smallest of them in terms of muscle. He was red-haired and had glasses. All three men now had black duffel bags wrapped around them carrying their haul.

“Alright,” The bearded man spoke up, “Grabbing them was the easy part, now we need to lie low until the heat dies down and we can move the rocks, clear?”

“Crystal,” The goatee man responded, just as a dark shadow began to loom on the alleyway.

“Um… speaking of heat.” The glasses wearing thief sounded very nervous as he was the first to see the dark figure.

“Oh, man! Is that the Bat?” The three men backed up a few steps and got ready for a fight. They looked up to the archway that was blocked by a car before the figure jumped down and smashed the front of the car underneath its weight, causing a massive wave of dust.

Once it cleared, what they saw looked more like a crocodile that was somewhat humanoid; he had glowing yellow, reptilian eyes, with a scar of the right side of his face, a tail, and was dressed in a simple black vest.

“Boys,” he said with a very thick Cajun accent, “I’m a whole different breed of animal.”

“And just when I thought this city couldn’t get any weirder,” The bearded man motioned his duffle bag to hide more behind his back, though the gems in it shone for a split moment before they were hiding from the crocodile’s sight.

“Looks like you had a busy night.” The reptilian man smiled, revealing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. “That’s good; ‘cuz y’all working for me now.” The goatee and glasses wearing man both gave a small laugh upon that suggestion.

“Oh, really? Boys,” their leader said, “show the walking freak-show who’s boss around here.”

The two men stepped forward before the crocodile-man growled. He simply body charged into the glasses wearing thief which hurled the smaller man into the alley wall. He then swung his arm and knocked the goatee man into the dumpster.

“You city boys need to learn yourselves some manners.” The crocodile walked up to the final thief and towered over him.

“Who are you?” The bearded man asked as he had his duffel bag snatched right out of his hands.

“The name’s Croc. Killer Croc, but you can call me: ‘Boss’.”

“Gotham has a sudden burst of nine seemingly unrelated heists.” Bruce typed a few keys into the Batcomputer which brought up several recent news articles. “With stolen goods ranging from explosives to jet skis.”

He then put his fingers on his temple as he tried to figure out this strange mystery. “There has to be a link between these crimes.”

Bruce suddenly turned around in his chair as he heard the sound of a crane being operated. He saw the giant mechanical head of Arnold Wesker’s puppet Scarface being lowered down deeper into the Batcave.

“Apologies, Master Bruce,” Alfred said as he held the remote control to the crane. “Just a bit of Spring Cleaning.”

Bruce slid down the fire pole to the level of the cave that Alfred was on before the ropes released the Scarface head. Bruce took a step back as the head rolled over before he started walking over to the butler once again.

“Uh, Alfred, first of all, it’s still summer, and two; where are you taking the evidence?”

“Little pet project of mine,” explained Alfred, “There’s no longer any need of them and I think it would be wasteful to simply get rid of them all.” He knelt down and tried to raise up the head onto but it was too heavy for him alone. Thankfully, Bruce could see he needed help and gave a hand as they moved it to some of the other items from the Batman’s past adventures.

“So I’ve decided to archive them,” Alfred continued as they set the head down, “A private museum if you will. A show of the Batman’s great’s accomplishments; even if we’ll be the only ones to ever see them.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea, Alfred,” Bruce smiled before he suddenly came to a realization. “Water.”

“Excuse me, sir?”

“I just figured out the link between the robberies. They were all near the city’s waterways,” Bruce pulled out a PDA that had a map of the city, “Six of them were near the canals and the remaining three were on Lake Gotham.”

While she didn’t suit up the day after she was saved by the Batman, Sunset had been patrolling the streets for the past five days now. She was now being extra careful while she was doing work as she didn’t want a repeat of what had happened earlier in the week.

However, unlike the first night, she was having much more success than she had before. The past few nights she focused on stopping very small groups of criminals; ranging from thieves committing some breaking and entering to thugs snatching purses.

It wasn’t anything too heroic or eye-catching, but she knew she had to start somewhere. It did also give her good experience which was something Zatanna told her she needed.

Sunset was currently sitting on the edge of a rooftop near the lake’s edge as she was resting for a few moments. The rest didn’t last long as she heard some scuffling in a nearby alley.

“No, please, help!” A voice cried out from the direction of the scuffle; to Sunset, it sounded like an elderly lady. Sunset went straight into action by sliding down one of the ladders of a building’s fire escape before she was soon back at ground level.

She made a quick dash around the alley before she found a large man trying to steal a purse from an old woman.

“Hey!” Sunset got the man’s attention as he let go of the purse and turned his back to the woman that he was robbing. “Stealing from little old ladies? Have you considered other job alternatives?”

The man gave no response as he pulled out a switchblade knife and pointed it right towards Sunset before he ran right for her.

“Always got to do it the hard way,” Sunset muttered before she ducked down and caused the man to overshoot his charge.

Sunset took advantage by doing a leg sweep that caused the man to end up on his back but before Sunset could finish him off with a hard punch to the face; he swung at her leg with his knife, causing it to graze outer right thigh.

However, the knife didn’t penetrate her skin; in fact, it didn’t even cut her skirt. All of it was thanks to the light enchantments that Sunset had placed on her clothes. The man was surprised by the fact that he didn’t even cause a scratch but it only lasted for a split second.

That second was all Sunset needed before she threw a hard, magic infused punch that knocked the guy out cold. Sunset got back up and dusted herself off before checking her leg to see that the enchantment worked like a charm.

“Oh, thank you very much, dear,” the woman said to her.

Sunset gave her a smile before she turned around and ran away. “No problem!” she cried out as she left the scene. The man was not going to bother anyone for a while and the woman would be long gone by the time he came to; that was why Sunset was running away rather than staying until some police unit patrolled the area to pick the attacker up.

Sunset soon found herself looking out towards the lake once more before she saw something weird involving a lake freighter. She dug into her coat pocket and pulled out a mini-telescope and got a better look at what was going on.

She saw a man operation a ship crane while two others had finished tying up what looked like the members of the ship’s crew and led them down into the ship. Sunset was about ready to move before she saw Batman hanging on oxygen tanks that were being lifted by the crane.

She saw him starting to fight the men before she decided to help him out. He probably didn’t need it, but she thought that giving him a hand was a way to make up for him saving her before.

She dashed over to the ship and then ran up the boarding ramp to the freighter before she found all three of the hijackers lying on the ground in pain around the bat.

“Aw, I was hoping I could at least help with one.” She sighed.

Batman slowly turned his head towards her before he glared at her. “Didn’t take my advice, I see.”

Sunset shrugged. “Well, it was always a plan to help in Gotham, so no matter what you say was going to change that. Besides, I just proved that this can only help this city as you clearly can’t be everywhere at once. I just saved an old lady from being mugged only moments ago.”

The Dark Knight said nothing in response before both of them heard a strange growling noise that sounded like it came from the top of the ship’s bridge. Both of them looked up to find nothing, but then that sound came once more; this time from behind the pile of oxygen tanks.

“My daddy used to say...” Both masked heroes turned to see a large reptile-like man staring them down. “‘You want something done right, best to do it yourself’”

The reptile showed his clawed hand before he swung down and knocked off the top of an oxygen tank. The tank suddenly shot towards Batman and Sunset like a torpedo as all of its compressed air was violently released.

The two of them dodged it, though it was just an inch or two away from hitting Batman. More tanks were sent flying but once again, both of them were left unscathed.

The reptile then soon pushed the rest of the tanks and sent them rolling right towards them. Sunset rolled out of the way but Batman took it one step further by first placing his foot on the first tank that rolled to him and then used momentum to jump up and spin over the tanks.

The tanks crashed into the side railing of the freighter, causing them to break it and fall into the lake waters as Batman landed back onto the ship’s deck. The lizard man took a few steps forward and soon towered over him.

“You look to be this Batman legend I keep hearing about. Well, folks are gonna start hearing about how Killer Croc stopped you good.” He then glanced over to Sunset. “You... I don’t think I’ve heard of you.”

“Guess word of me hasn’t spread as much as I thought,” Sunset said as she slowly moved into a fighting stance.

Batman made the first move before anything else could be said. He threw several punches but despite his imposing size, Croc was clearly much faster than he looked as he simply avoided the punches.

He then changed tactics by going for hits to the head but Croc raised his arms up to block them. Batman then tried to roundhouse kick Croc in the face, but like with the punches, Croc’s speed kept contact from being made.

The spin that Batman made in the kick had his cape in Croc’s face which temporarily obstructed his view which gave the Bat a window to throw a hard punch right into the crocodile’s solar plexus. Croc took a step back as he wrapped his arms around his gut in pain.

Sunset kept her distance as she continued to watch the fight. If Batman was having trouble with his opponent, then Sunset would be dead meat if she tried to join in, or worse, she'd be in the way.

Croc launched his own counterattack which brought Batman to the edge of the freighter before the reptile-man tackled Batman and sent both of them over the ship’s side.

Sunset ran to the ship’s edge and looked down into the water below as the two faded from view. For a split second, she thought about jumping down to go after them, but realized she would be at a fatal disadvantage.

Knowing that she had to at least do something, her attention was directed to the henchman that Batman dealt with. She then remembered the captured crew. She ran into the bowels of the ship and found six men all tied together.

“Hey!” a man, who looked to be the ship’s captain, called to her.

“Hang on.” She ran over to them, “I’ll get you out in a few seconds.” She knelt down and started to untie the rope. It took her several minutes but she finally got all of them freed.

“Thanks a lot.” The captain rubbed his wrists as he was freed from the rope. “Who are you?”

“Just call me Alicorn,” Sunset responded before she quickly made a dash for the deck. She was taking another lesson Zatanna gave her to heart: never stay in one place as it’s a recipe for getting caught.

When she returned on deck, she found that several more of the oxygen tanks were missing and so were the henchmen. She looked over the railing to see the three of them and Croc getting away on a small fishing hauler.

She then glanced back towards the lake and saw Batman floating in the water.

“Hey, you okay?” She called out to him. He looked over to her but said nothing before a strange looking boat pulled up right next to him. He climbed into it and it soon sped away in the opposite direction of Croc’s hauler.

“Guess I should make myself scarce too,” Sunset said to herself before leaving the area as well.

Bruce stood near the Batcomputer with a towel wrapped around his neck. The only sounds that could be heard echoing in the cave were the sounds of electronics running and the dripping of water that came from the drenched Batsuit.

The sounds of footsteps soon took precedent as Alfred walked up and looked at the dripping outfit.

“Master Bruce.” Alfred picked up one of the boots and dumped out some water, “Your Batsuit may be drip-dry; you, however, are not.”

Bruce’s response was to slam his fist down on the console. “Sorry, Alfred. I let myself get caught in a fight on Croc’s terms rather than my own. Next time, I’ll be sure to stay out of the water when fighting him.”

“Well, it would certainly leave quite less of a mess for me to clean up.” Bruce turned and gave Alfred a small apologetic smirk.

“Croc wasn’t the only one I ran into; I also had an encounter with Sunset again.”

Alfred’s eyes slightly widened. “Miss Lucciola? I see. So it appears that she is still willing to stay here.”

“Looks that way. Although, I have to admit, she seems to be taking the lessons she’s learned to heart. Like not to bite off more than what she can chew, or be more aware of her surroundings.”

“Well, that’s good to hear, but I still find it very unnerving that a girl her age wants to take up this kind of lifestyle. Especially one with so much talent,” Alfred said.

“We can only hope that maybe she’ll find that she not really cut out for this sort of thing and goes back to being a normal teenager.”

As soon as Bruce said that, the Batwave suddenly went off. The computer screen then showed a news reporter in a studio with a picture that read ‘Gotham Flooded’.

“This was the scene moments ago as Gotham’s financial district was hit by the largest flood in the city’s history,” the news reporter said as images of ranging torrents of water engulfing the district were shown.

“What?” Bruce asked as he was completely shocked by this sudden turn of events.

The screen now showed images of people being saved from the water. “Emergency crews are now arriving to assist with the evacuation of local residents. The cause of the flood is still unknown.”

The Batwave went off once more on a different screen; this time it showed a map of Gotham and three glowing red lights.

“Three bank alarms in Gotham’s waterlogged financial district?” Bruce wondered before he came to the same conclusion as Alfred.

“Your amphibious acquaintance?”

“Reptile, Alfred. He’s a cold-blooded reptile.”

Sunset was enjoying breakfast at her apartment while flipping through some channels on her TV before she ended up catching the local news report about the flooding. She guessed that Killer Croc probably had something to do with the freak floods, but decided that Batman could handle him.

As for her, she would go down there and try to help save those who had been caught up in the water.

After getting suited up, she headed for the financial district which actually wasn’t too far away from her place. She went over a few blocks, jumping from rooftop to rooftop before she reached several streets that had found themselves under an inch or two of water; though the real heavy flooding was still ahead of her.

Sunset was soon traversing the flooded streets on building ledges and balconies before she saw what looked to be a boy no older than five years old with a grey-haired dog trying desperately to keep their heads above the water.

“Help! Someone, please!” The poor boy cried out in terror.

“Don’t worry! I’ll get you out of there!” Sunset called out to him from a balcony that she was on. She looked around for anything that she could use to try to fish the boy out.

Thankfully, there appeared to be a few long pieces of plywood from a submerged pickup truck that could be used. The water level was only half a foot below the balcony’s edge so Sunset reached over and picked up one of the wet boards before holding it out to the stranded child.

“Here! Grab this! I’ll pull you up!” She shouted. The boy nodded before he placed his dog on the board and he grabbed the other end. Sunset then slowly started to pull him over; not making any rapid motions that might accidentally throw him off.

After about a minute, she pulled both of them up on the balcony. The boy quickly wrapped his arms around Sunset’s waist while his dog tried to shake himself dry.

“Thank you so much! You saved me and Rusty!” Sunset blushed at the affection he was giving her but it was actually cute.

“You’re more than welcome. I couldn’t just let you stay out there.” She then kneeled down to look at the boy at eye level, “But, could you tell me what happened?”

“I was out taking Rusty for a walk before the water started to come,” he explained. “We got on top of a bus but the water just kept rising until we got swept away.”

Sunset gave him a small smile. “Well, you should be safe now until you can be truly rescued. Now, I got to see if anyone else needs rescuing, so you be good now, okay?” Sunset got a running start before she jumped off the balcony and onto the ledge of the building next to it.

“Thank you!” The boy waved. “You’re my favorite hero now!” That comment warmed Sunset’s heart and once again galvanized her to keep up with what she was doing.

Sunset soon found herself leaning up against another ledge two blocks away before she heard the sound of a motor getting closer. She soon looked down and saw two men on jet skis driving by with a large amount of cash in water-proof bags.

A few moments later, she saw Killer Croc on another one with Batman pursuing him. However, it appeared that he didn’t notice the third man coming right behind him until he took a swing at Batman. The Dark Knight moved out of the way, only to be knocked off his jet ski by Croc.

“Mind your cowl now!” Croc taunted as he escaped while the other man stopped and turned around. It was clear that he intended to run over Batman who was floating in the water. Sunset knew she had to do something and against her better judgement; she decided that she would need to jump and try to land on the jet ski.

She waited a few moments as she tried to time it right before she jumped off the ledge down to the flooded streets below. She was off by a fraction of a second so instead of landing on the jet ski, she landed on the man and knocked both of them off.

The sheer impact knocked the man out so Sunset quickly grabbed him before he drowned and brought him back to the surface.

“Meant to land on the front of his jet ski.” She grinned to Batman before she lost her grip on the thief. “Hey, can I get a hand with him?”

Batman gave her a hand as he got back his jet ski and the two of them tied the thug up before hanging him upside down from the lance of the Gotham Knight statue.

“So, Croc was obviously behind all this,” concluded Sunset.

“All the major thefts these past few days were all related to him. He and those three henchmen of his used the flood to make off most of the contents of several banks in the area.” Batman explained to her.

“Well, at least we got one…” Sunset gave a slight silver lining.

A moment later, the bearded thief was slowly coming too and the first thing he saw when he awoke was the dark cowl of the Batman with his eyes practically bearing into his soul.

“Croc’s story. Spill it,” ordered Batman.

“I ain’t telling you anything!” He spit back.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Batman clearly had very little patience for the man.

“Forget it!” The man still remained defiant. However, an idea popped into Sunset’s head and she tapped Batman on his shoulder.

“Allow me,” she climbed over the jet ski and was now face to face with the criminal. “Now, then, you’re going to tell us what we want to know, or I can easily just pick your mind apart and find it.”

“What!? You’re bluffing! And when did you become a sidekick for the Bat?”

“Ally, not sidekick. My motif doesn’t exactly mesh with his. Besides, I’ve already got a mentor.” Sunset waved dismissively at the thug before she placed her hand against his face and her eye mask began to glow brightly.

“Wait, what are you doing!? No, stop! Get out of my head!” The thug screamed. “Okay, okay! I’ll tell you!”

Sunset stopped a fraction of a second after he said that. She then climbed back to the rear of the jet ski and left the thief facing Batman once more.

“Now then, talk,” Batman said once more.

“Alright! He’s ex-military, I think. Mercenary type. Some think he’s a genetic experiment, a crossbreed soldier or something. Others think he messed with the wrong kind of voodoo in the bayou. Me? I’m thinking circus freak...” The man explained.

“Facts,” Batman responded sternly, “not folktales.”

“What’s to tell? Croc’s just showed up recently but he plans to make his name fast by pulling off some big jobs.”

“Bigger than robbing banks?”

“Croc said today’s flood was just a dry run.”

“If I wanted to do some big-city Croc hunting, where would I go?”

The bearded man’s eyes widened. “Oh, no way!” He shook his head, “Boss Croc’s cold-blooded, man. I talk, I wind up fish food!”

Batman grabbed the man’s face and started to tighten his grip around his cheeks. “You don’t talk, we could all wind up fish food.”

“And I could always just go through your head again,” Sunset added.

Faced with the realization that he really had no choice, the man confessed. “Alright, he’s hiding out in the sewers, near West Grand’s canal.”

“Thank you,” Batman said before he punched the man unconscious.

“Well? Let’s go,” Sunset said.

“What’s this ‘we’? I’m going after Croc, you’re going home,” Batman told her.

“Don’t treat me like some kind of pest, alright? Despite what you might say, you’ll probably need my help. You go down there alone, it’s still three on one; with me, you’ll have a better chance. Look, I’ll distract his henchman while you focus entirely on Croc. What do you say?”

Sunset thought she made some good points. If that fight on the freighter was any indication, then he knew it was probably going to need all his attention to be on Croc. However, those henchmen would probably do whatever it took to try and distract Batman and leave him wide open to whatever Croc would throw at him.

After a few more moments, Batman sighed before he made his decision. “Alright, but you are to listen to everything I say and follow my orders to the letter, understood?”

“Perfectly.” Sunset nodded as Batman started up jet ski once more and they started to head towards Croc’s hideout.

“By the way.” Batman glanced back to Sunset. “Can you actually read minds?”

Sunset smirked. “Nah, I was just bluffing, and he fell for it.”

Sunset hung onto the Batman tight as they zipped through the flooded streets. They soon came across the street where the henchman had told them and Batman stopped the jet ski.

“Here.” He turned around and handed her a small object, “It’s a rebreather; keep it firmly locked in your mouth so you can breathe,” He told her before he pulled out a second one and placed it in his mouth.

Once he saw Sunset get the rebreather in, he revved up the jet ski and it soon began to sink into the water. It soon split in half and revealed a diver propulsion vehicle. The two of them soon descended deeper into the sewer tunnels.

After many tight corridors and turns, Batman pulled up and had them resurface in what clearly was Croc’s hideout. His jet ski, the cash, jewels and gold that he stole were all seen in the small chamber.

“Ugh,” Sunset complained as she was dripping from head to toe, “I knew I should’ve learned a waterproofing spell for my clothes.”

“Having second thoughts, are we?” Batman said as he walked out of the water.

“Not at all. Just complaining about the fact that I will have to take a dozen showers and burn these clothes just to remove the stench this place is coating them in. I’m not backing down from this.”

Batman walked up to the table that had much of the stolen goods laid out. He picked up a diamond and looked closely at it.

“Hey,” Sunset tapped his shoulder, “These are maps of the city’s waterways right?” She held up several pieces of paper to him. He looked at them closely. “What are they?”

“Schematics of Gotham’s canals,” he explained.

“You sure got a lot of bloodhound in you, for a bat,” Croc’s voice echoed before the two of them turned to see him coming out of the other tunnel. Batman subtly motioned Sunset to get behind him.

She was well aware of her limited abilities and the fact that she wouldn’t stand a chance in a one on one fight with Croc. Maybe someday in the future, but certainly not today.

“I see the little lady is still following ya; taking someone under your wing, are we?” Croc chuckled, “No answer, huh? Well, then how about an answer to this; what do you think?” He held up his hands and waved his hands around the room. “A dry little spot to catch my breath between heists.”

“And right beside the overflow pumps for Gotham’s canal system.” Batman threw the map onto the floor.

“They were designed to drain the canals into the bay in case of flooding.” Croc moved away from the other tunnel and towards the one that Batman and Sunset had entered through. “But I did some thinking. If you reverse the pumps-”

“They draw water in from the lake, filling the canals until they submerge any part of Gotham situated below the lake’s level,” Batman stated.

“Which includes just about all of downtown, where the good shopping is.”

“But if that happens… then thousands of lives would be lost!” Sunset concluded to her horror.

“And I’ll shed a crocodile tear for each and every one.” Croc flashed his sharp teeth in a sick grin. Sunset looked down and saw Batman tightening his fist.

He then moved into a fighting stance which was met with Croc lifting his tail up high, before bringing it down onto the water. And as if on cue, the moment he did that, two large crocodiles came right out of the water.

“And speaking of, my pets haven’t had a decent bite since we arrived.” Croc then turned around and started walking into the water, “Now, if you’ll pardon me, bat snacks, I’ve got some more pumps to reverse.”

Croc soon vanished into the sewer waves before Batman and Sunset began to quickly back up away from Croc’s pets.

“Run, down the other tunnel!” he ordered. Sunset nodded and ran with him right behind her and the crocs behind him.

“Stop!” he shouted as they ran a few feet into the tunnel, as the crocs followed behind and blocked their way. Sunset was about to say something before he wrapped his arm around her waist. “How much do you weigh?”

“About a hundred and twenty-four I think.” Batman held up his other arm with his grappling hook in hand and shot it into the roof of the tunnel. The two of them then swung over the two snapping reptiles before they were outside the tunnel.

Batman then threw a Batarang at the top of the tunnel entrance before it started to beep and then exploded. The whole roof of the tunnel collapsed and kept the crocodiles trapped on the opposite side.

“Well, that will take them a while to crawl out,” Sunset admitted.

“Come on, we need to stop Croc now.”

“Nothing like good old elbow grease,” Sunset heard Croc say as she and Batman reached one of the major overflow pumps. They were still hiding in the water as they saw Croc turning a large wheel that controlled the pumps.

Knowing they had the element of surprise, Batman made his move by latching his grappling hook onto the wheel right by Croc’s head.

“You are peskier than a fly in a-” he didn’t get to finish his saying as Batman was being pulled by the hook right towards Croc and punched him hard in the face. Croc crashed into the wheel and then stumbled forward. Batman jumped over him and delivered a double kick right to Croc’s back which knocked him into the water.

Sunset got out of the water and ran towards Batman while keeping her distance from Croc. Her attention was locked onto Croc’s two remaining henchman who started running towards Batman. He merely pulled out a bola and threw it out which tied the two men up.

“Catch of the day,” Batman said before he turned around and started to reverse the wheel on the pumps. Sunset looked and saw an indication that showed the pump was currently outputting water into the canals.

“Hurry,” she shouted, “the water’s probably rising as we speak!”

She then heard Croc growl and turned to see him just running past her and body slamming Batman against the pipes behind him. He delivered a few hard punches that knocked the Dark Knight onto the ground before grabbing him and throwing him into the water.

Croc then turned towards Sunset. “Sorry, darlin’ but my momma always taught me to treat a lady with respect, so I ain’t gonna fight you.” He walked over to his henchman and held up a claw, “They, on the other hand, probably never got the same advice.”

Croc cut the bola and freed his men. The two henchmen got untangled and then looked directly towards Sunset. Sunset took a deep breath and got ready. She did say she would help keep those two distracted while Batman handled Croc, and that’s what she was going to do.

Everyone was quickly distracted by the earthquake-like roar Croc gave before he looked back at the wheel and started to turn it.

“You gotta put your back into it, boy.” Sunset saw the indicator showing that the pumps were outpouring again. Batman resurfaced out of the water and got ready for another round with Croc.

“You best give it up, Bat. By the time they figure out what caused the flood, Downtown Gotham will be my personal swamp.” Batman charged forward and started to fight Croc once again while Croc’s goons ran towards Sunset.

Sunset ducked down as the goatee man tried to hit her in the face and then she rolled to the side as to avoid the kick the glasses wearing man tried. She got back up on her feet as she dogged another punch before she counterattacked and delivered a hard one right into the glasses wearing man’s kidney.

While one attacker was temporarily distracted with his pain, Sunset could focus more on the remaining thug that was still coming after her. She did a small backflip, but made sure it was close enough that her feet could kick the man right into his jaw. He fell backwards on the ground as the other man rejoined the fight.

As he started to dash towards her, Sunset decided to try something new. She held out a hand and started to channel some energy. What happened next was something not that amazing, but it would make all the difference.

A small orange field of energy appeared right before the man’s legs; it looked like an ethereal one by two wooden board. The man didn’t see it until he found his leg colliding right with it and tripping him forward until he landed hard on his face on the filthy stone ground. The impact was so hard that it both knocked him out cold and also smashed his glasses.

“You’ll pay for that!” the remaining thug shouted as charged towards her. However, he was so blinded by rage that Sunset merely jumped and delivered a kick to his face causing him to crash into the wall behind him; which caused him to get knocked unconscious as well.

Sunset then turned around to see Croc being knocked into the water, while the pumps were reversing the overflow and one of Croc’s teeth was embedded into the wheel.

“Boy, you are beginning to stick in my craw!” Croc yelled as he and Batman clashed in the water once more. Batman’s punches were blocked before Croc wrapped his arms around him and dragged him under the sewer waters.

Sunset stared at the water as the bubbles soon vanished before everything became calm and eerily quiet. Her deep fear was that Croc was going to resurface while holding Batman’s drowned corpse.

Finally, something appeared from the water; it was Croc’s hands and it looked like he was struggling before they went back under again and the bubbles stopped once more.

A few moments after that, more bubbles appeared before Croc surfaced… with Batman carrying him underneath. He got out of the water before he threw Croc’s body onto the ground.

“What happened?” Sunset asked, “Is he...”

“No, he’s just out of breath,” Batman told her, “Crocs may spend a lot of time in the water, but they still have lungs; not gills.”

“So he’s not unstoppable underwater then.”

“Yeah, now then, you want to wake one of those two up so they can give lizard-lips a little mouth-to-mouth?”

“Ugh,” Sunset stuck her tongue out in disgust, “Thanks for giving me that image.” Batman smirked before he gave Croc his rebreather and got the cold-blooded monster breathing again.

Much of the flooded waters had receded as Batman finished chaining up Croc and his goons to the Gotham Knight statue where he and Sunset left the other thief.

“This ain’t over, aqua-bat! Gotham is gonna be my backyard bayou!” Croc roared as he struggled in the chains.

“I won’t hold my breath,” Batman merely said before he grappled onto the nearby roof where Sunset was waiting as police cars started driving towards the statue.

“Well, hopefully the police can handle him with ease. Last thing we need is him to escape before he gets to prison,” Sunset said.

“GCPD will make sure they take all the steps necessary to contain him. They’d be stupid if they didn’t take the precautions.”

“Yeah, all in a day’s work, I guess.” Sunset dusted off her hands, “So, I have to ask, aside from being wet behind the ears,” she brushed her hair and some water dripped out, “Uh, quite literally; how do you think I did?”

The Dark Knight said nothing.

“Look, I know what you said before about being somewhere else but I’m not going anywhere; I’m here to stay so you might as well get used to it, okay?”

Batman continued to say nothing before he pulled out his grappling hook and latched it on to a nearby building.

“Tell Zatanna that the Batman thinks you did alright today, Miss Lucciola.” He then jumped off the building and swung away.

“What!?” Sunset’s eyes widened as he said that. She then sighed. “I knew I should’ve kept all that magic stuff to myself.”

Chapter 12: Pets

Yet another week in Gotham had passed for Sunset by the time she realized she was beginning to settle into a pattern. There was the "normal" life that she was living; going to school, doing her homework, attending her clubs like gymnastics and fencing. She was disappointed to hear that the Green Club had been shut down, but like Barbara suggested, they could still have one even if it wasn’t sponsored by the school.

That was the reason why the girls were meeting at each other’s houses. Barbara’s was usually quiet due to the fact that both her parents were usually out; what with her father being a deputy commissioner in the Gotham Police and her mother working different hours as a nurse.

There was one night the other day where Deputy Commissioner Gordon was home during the time they met and he made them dinner. Barbara was always claiming that her father’s pork chops were the best and after that night, both girls agreed completely with her claim.

Then there was the night the girls met at Pamela’s house. With Pamela, it was a different story. She lived in a nice house, but it was only her and her mother. Her father was a high paying lawyer but couldn’t stay faithful. He ended up having an affair with one of his clients, and had left them.

Of course, he only left after he was found out. Pamela’s mother managed to get a large amount of money in the alimony every month so thankfully Mrs. Isley wouldn’t be overburdened with working multiple jobs just to be able to properly raise Pamela.

Outside of those normal teenage experiences, Sunset was still working hard at being Zatanna’s apprentice and a rising superheroine. Much of her free time outside of school had her looking into spell books and practicing both the spells and her fighting just so she could have a good chance of dealing with any sort of trouble that would come her way.

Her assistance with Killer Croc and the thefts she was stopping didn’t really draw any attention to her. For the news, it was all about the Bat. Not that she minded; she was more than happy to let the spotlight be on him rather than her, it meant less trouble for her, and simple criminals were not taking her as seriously as they would the Dark Knight. Their foolishness in underestimating her would always be their undoing.

Sunset also informed Zatanna about how Batman had figured out Sunset’s identity. She could tell, even when it was over the phone, that Zatanna wasn’t surprised in the least.

The former unicorn did agree at least considering how intelligent the man behind the mask was. He had to be, or they probably never would’ve found Croc, and most of Gotham would still be under water.

Still, Sunset was fairly sure that Zatanna, Dinah and several of their allies knew exactly who the Batman truly was, but they were keeping that to themselves. The old Sunset would’ve been greatly upset about being left in the dark, but that girl was long gone. She had a much cooler head on her shoulders and knew that learning his identity would be something she had to earn.

Trying to figure out who Batman really was, however, would have to be put aside as Sunset was currently focused on being a normal high school student. Her biology class was having a special weekend field trip to the Gotham Zoo as part of an assignment about animal physiology and behaviors, and if she wanted to have enough free time to train, she needed to focus on that first.

Most of the students spread out doing their own assignments while Sunset and Pamela were sticking together. The two of them hoped they could find an animal to observe that would give them great notes and perhaps easy A’s on the assignment.

“Hey, Sunny, look at this thing,” Pamela said as she tapped her friend on the shoulder. Sunset turned around and found herself staring at a large cage with a huge black bird with a red head standing inside.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that," Sunset said, gasping in awe. "Is that a vulture?”

Pamela took a few steps up to the cage’s edge and read the description of it. “According to this, this is actually Andean condor, on loan from the San Diego Zoo and one of the largest ever held in captivity.”

Sunset walked next to Pamela as she read the plaque as well. “Hmm, it appears the thing has quite the temper; these birds are supposedly untrainable,”

“I wonder how they caught it,” Pamela wondered.

“I read once that condors were scavengers,” Sunset told her, “it feeds of the carcasses of animals, though with its size, I have to guess it’s not feeding off small rodents but probably much larger animals. My guess is they just led it to a large cage by leaving a large animal corpse for it to feed on.”

“I tell you what: I would not like to see what this thing would be like out of its cage,” Pamela said while the condor just continued to sit on its perch and do nothing. “Don’t think we’re going to get much work off of him.”

Sunset shook her head. “No, he’s kinda like a sloth right now; come on, let’s see if there’s any-” she was suddenly cut off when something exploded on top of the cage, throwing them off their feet.

The condor’s cage was filled with smoke and Sunset could just make out the hint of someone laughing in the smoke. She recognized the cackle in heartbeat as that of Oswald Cobblepot’s. A moment later, the smoke cleared and the large bird was now missing.

“Wha- What just happened!?” Pamela gasped. Sunset just stared at the hole that was now left at the roof of the cage.

“I don’t know for sure, but I got a good idea...” she muttered.

To Sunset’s disappointment, her teacher didn’t cancel the assignment due to the chaos that Penguin had caused. That meant that she couldn’t immediately go after him, but instead had to still find an animal to do her assignment on.

Pamela and Sunset decided that they would both do orangutans and jotted down notes as they watched the apes interact with each other. After an hour, Sunset believed she had enough information on apes to write a good paper and started to leave while Pamela decided to stick around longer to get some more notes.

As she passed by the condor’s cage once more, her eyes caught something in the darkness of the cage.

She took another step before she ended up locking eyes with Batman, who was silhouetted against the shadows. She gave him a quick nod before she saw several officers walking over to her location; probably the response team to the theft.

“Okay, I’d like everyone to back up and give us some room,” one officer said as some people were checking out the scene.

Sunset glanced back into the cage and saw that Batman had now vanished which meant that he probably left the moment the police got close.

“Ah, Miss Lucciola, nice to see you again.” Sunset turned to see Detective Yin approaching her.

“Oh, Detective Yin, it’s nice to see you too. Are you doing okay?” Sunset asked
.
The detective nodded. “I’ve been fine, or at least as fine as a detective can get in this city, it seems.”

“That’s good to hear,” Sunset smiled, “I’m guessing you’re here about the theft of the condor?”

“Yes.” Yin pulled out a small notebook. “Were you around when the theft took place?”

Sunset nodded. “Yes, I was. I was walking around with my friend when we noticed the condor and was looking at it before there was an explosion from the cage roof.”

“Next thing we know, the cage is filling up with smoke and I heard some laughter before the smoke cleared and the bird was gone.” Sunset then paused for a moment. “I think it was Cobblepot who stole it.”

Yin stopped writing for a moment, looking at Sunset intently. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I recognized his laugh from that night, it was the same one. And, if his thing about using his birds for crimes is anything to go by, he obviously would be the most logical choice, right?”

The detective nodded in agreement. “This would all fit with his MO in previous crimes, but we’ll have to prove that it was him. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Lucciola.” Yin shook Sunset’s hand.

“Always happy to help the GCPD,” Sunset said.

Sunset was lying on her back on the couch in the apartment’s living room as she now relaxed after finishing her assignment.

With her school work taken care of, she was now deep into thought about today’s events. Right now, the news was still reporting that the bird was abducted so Penguin had not used it for any crimes yet.

“What on Earth would Cobblepot want with a bird like that?” Sunset wondered aloud. “I mean, I can see him using it for a few thefts, but it’s still untrained, and I doubt he has the time and patience for trying to train it for his heists. That is, of course, if it can actually be trained,”

Sunset’s phone interrupted her thoughts and she reached over to grab it.

“Hello, this is the apartment of Sunset Lucciola, this is her speaking.” She answered.

“Sunset,” a familiar voice said on the other end of the line, which caused her to sit right up.

“Uh, is this—”

“We’re on the most secure line you can think of,” Batman interrupted, “so you are free to say anything.”

“Oh, okay.” Sunset got up and walked into her bedroom. “When me and Zatanna talk, we tend to keep things a bit more vague because you never know who’s listening in sometimes.”

“Comes with the territory.”

“I’m beginning to figure that out. Oh, speaking of Zatanna, she thanks you for your kind words after that whole business involving Killer Croc.” There was no response, which was what Sunset expected.

“Anyways,” she continued, “I’m taking that this isn’t a social call?”

“No, I’m calling to make sure that it was indeed Cobblepot who was at the zoo today and made off with the condor,” he said.

“I’ll tell you the same thing that I told Detective Yin earlier: My friend and I were at the zoo on a school project, we were near the cage when the explosion happened; next thing I know, the cage is filled with smoke, I hear Cobblepot’s laugh, and then when the smoke clears, the bird is gone,” she explained.

“The thing I’m trying to figure out,” she continued, “is what exactly he wants the bird for; I know it’s to help him steal things that probably are a bit heavier than any of his normal birds, but this one is supposedly untrainable so I don’t see why he would even bother,”

There was a short pause before Batman spoke once more. “That might not be an issue anymore.”

“Hang on, that’s extremely cryptic, did you find out something more? Has the bird been seen again?”

“No, actually its-” he didn’t finish his explanation when a loud ringing noise came up on what appeared to be Batman’s end of the line.

“What’s that?” asked Sunset.

“There’s a robbery at a branch of Gotham National Bank right near you,” Batman informed her.

“Okay, then, I’ll meet you there.” Sunset hung up on him before he could say anything more. “Not going to let you tell me that I shouldn’t come,” she said to herself as she went to get suited up.

The bank’s alarm bells were ringing when Sunset arrived. She saw at least two police cruisers were parked out in front, which meant she needed to keep her distance in a nearby alleyway.

She picked up a new sound when a loud motor roared over the alarm noises and she could see a very unique car pull up. The top of the car opened up and Batman jumped right out from the roof of it before landing right next to her.

“Very impressive looking car,” she said as she came out of the alley’s shadows. “I had an ex that was quite the car guy. He’d probably be drooling if he saw that.”

Batman said nothing in response to her comment but rather motioned her to follow him. The two of them walked through the front door of the bank where they found the double doors smashed in. Both of them kept their eyes peeled for wherever the officers that responded to the break in were at, or for any signs of the robber.

They found the place to be abandoned before they reached one of the vaults, and found the large metal door completely ripped off and thrown to the floor. The only clue of what caused its destruction was three large claw marks imbedded in the metal.

“Either Penguin has been working out,” Batman observed, “or he needs a manicure.”

“I’m guessing neither,” Sunset responded, “but this doesn’t make sense, I saw that bird and even if Penguin trained it within a few hours, no way it could do this. The vault door looks to be made of pure steel, about a foot thick and probably weighs several tons; that condor would never be able to simply yank it off of its hinges.”

Their observation continued before Sunset saw some greenish-brown substance drop down right in front of her. Batman saw it as well and the two of them looked up to find five men, one security guard and four GCPD officers, pinned to the ceiling in a sticky substance.

Sunset had seen a lot of strange and unnerving things during her time under Celestia’s wing, and even when she crossed over through the mirror, however, the thing that crawled out of the vault; it almost caused Sunset to scream.

In the simplest of terms, it could be described as a bat, but it was unlike any bat she had ever seen. Its body was anthropomorphic and it was nearly a foot taller than even Batman, and was carrying two large bags of cash in its claws.

“Man-Bat,” Batman growled. “Wouldn’t a blood bank be more your style, Langstrom?”

The so-called "Man-Bat" roared a piercing scream that caused Sunset to cover her ears due to the sound. It tried to dive bomb Batman and Sunset. She felt Batman push out of the way as Man-Bat landed back on the floor with neither of his targets in his claws.

“Get out of here! I’ll deal with him!” Batman told Sunset as Man-Bat jumped right on him and pinned him to the floor. He raised his claw up and looked ready to deliver a killing blow but to both heroes surprise, Man-Bat simply let him go, grabbed the money, screeched at them, and then flapped his wings, flying straight out of the front doors of the bank. Batman and Sunset ran back outside as the monster took to the skies.

Batman made his way over to his car and pulled out what looked like a large pair of batwings connected to some sort of jetpack.

“I’ll handle Langstrom; you head back home?” Batman said as he hooked up the jetpack.

Sunset’s thought about freeing the officers stuck to the ceiling but decided against it. If it was just one, she could free him and get away but with five of them, chances were that they would try to arrest her given half the chance.

“Be careful, I don’t want to find myself being the only hero in town all of a sudden,” Sunset told him.

“I’ll be fine,” he assured her before activating his jet pack and taking off into Gotham’s skies. A moment after that, his car suddenly started to drive away by itself leaving her all alone.

“You say that but you’re flying right after the deadly monster…” Sunset muttered to herself.

Sunset thought that her work relating to Penguin and the stolen condor was over the moment the so called ‘Man-Bat’ got involved with the adventure.

She wanted to be able to see the case at least to the end considering she was the one who was at the theft of the rare bird herself, but now it looked like that Batman would deal with it all. The biggest issue for the apprentice magician was that she had no idea where Man-Bat, Batman or the Penguin were.

That was until she read the newspaper that talked about several highly rare statues from the Wayne Foundation that were to be donated to the Gotham Museum. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Penguin would have the statues as his next target.

Sunset suited back up and made her way across the city rooftops until she reached her final destination: the freight yards of Gotham where the statues were waiting.

The young woman pulled out her mini-telescope and scanned the area for any sign of trouble.

“Looking for something?” Sunset nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Batman’s voice behind her.

“Give a girl a heads up before you sneak up on them,” She caught her breath. “So, looks like I was right about Penguin heading out here.”

“Saw the article too, huh?” The young super-heroine nodded.

“I know you’re probably going to tell me to go home or take care of some random guy trying to rob an ATM, but I at least want to find that condor,” she explained, “That was it. I certainly wasn’t expecting that giant bat monster to get involved with everything.”

“I’m pretty sure Penguin didn’t either.” Batman said.

“Speaking of which, what’s the story with that… thing?” Sunset asked about Man-Bat.

“Dr. Kirk Langstrom was a former scientist working for Wayne Industries,” Batman explained, “specifically, it was experiments involving bats. He was trying to find a cure to deafness.”

“Experiment gone wrong?” Sunset quickly guessed.

“Experiment gone right,” Batman countered. “He was never for finding a cure but rather discovering a way to transform himself into monster and terrorize Gotham.”

“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain how Penguin is involved in all this.”

“About an hour after he stole the condor, I followed Penguin’s birds as they attempted a separate robbery,” the Dark Knight recounted, “A local scientist had designed a sonic emitter could be used to communicate and essentially order birds,”

He then pulled out a small, silver object that looked somewhat like a microphone. “However, during a scuffle I had with them, this was dropped on the ground and broke, so they stole a second one-”

“Which was modified to communicate with bats!” Sunset interrupted.

“Exactly,” Batman nodded, “that’s why Man-Bat is robbing banks and stealing stuff for Penguin.” Batman then pulled out what looked to be some sort of listening device. “I plan to use this to capture the sound of Penguin’s modulator and then reuse the frequency to break his hold on Man-Bat.”

“Sounds like a solid plan then,” Sunset agreed before she reached out to grab the listening device. “Do you mind if I at least use this? I would at least like to be somewhat helpful for you.”

“Only if you listen to what I say, you’re still inexperienced to crime-fighting and don’t stand a chance against Penguin or Man-Bat as of right now. Either take it, or get going.” Batman told her. She reluctantly nodded before he handed her the listening device.

Sunset turned to look at the crate that was labeled with the Wayne Foundation seal; meaning that it contained the statues.

“A crateful of highly expensive statues, just when you need to lay a trap for Penguin,” Sunset said as she and Batman took up a hiding spot near the water tower. “Does Bruce Wayne know he’s helping you?”

“Sheer coincidence,” Batman told her, “but it’s too tempting of a target for Penguin.”

“Anything to get that fortune back, right?”

“Exactly.” Batman put down his binoculars as finished scanning for any sign of Penguin, “Alright, let’s go over the plan one more time. When Penguin and Man-Bat get here, we’re going to use this listening device to capture the sounds of Penguin’s sound modulator.”

“Right,” Sunset said, nodding. “Once the sound has been captured, you’ll reconfigure your modulator to cancel out Penguin’s control and taking Man-Bat out of the picture.”

Batman nodded in approval. “You catch on pretty quick, but remember: leave Man-Bat and Penguin to me. You stay put and only help just in case.”

“I got it.” Sunset sighed. She was disappointed that she couldn’t really do more, but she had to relent if she even wanted to be here. “But, I’d like to point out one issue with this whole plan.”

“What is it?”

“Well, even if we do get the signal, you’d still be in a tug of war with Penguin in terms of ordering Man-Bat,” she explained, “I think someone should at least try and get Penguin’s modulator as well.”

“I’m aware of that. Penguin will be so preoccupied with why his control isn’t working that I’ll get in there and grab it.” Batman then placed his hand to his head, “Batcave, are we ready?”

Sunset assumed that someone or something was on the other end getting things ready. She held on tight to the listening device as she heard Penguin’s voice suddenly being picked up.

“All right, Fido. Time to fetch,” Penguin said as there was a strange feedback sound. Sunset gave Batman a thumbs up indicating that they got the sound.

“Okay, Batcave, we’ve got it,” Batman said to the radio he had in his cowl just as Man-Bat dived down onto the crate where the fake statues were being held. Both heroes kept themselves hidden so they wouldn’t spook Penguin.

Man-Bat landed on top of the crate and dug his talons right into the box before he started to pull it up. However, the weight of the crate was clearly heavy even for him. As he tried to bring his prize back to Penguin, his talons went loose and the crate suddenly dropped.

Sunset, from her hidden position, could see Penguin mutter the words ‘Don’t break’ repeatedly before the crate hit the ground and revealed piles of scrap metal. Within a moment, Penguin’s face turned to one of anger as he realized he had been played.

The short man turned his head to look all around the area for the Dark Knight who obviously led him into a trap. His must have spotted where Sunset and Batman were hiding as a moment later he pointed his finger right towards their position.

“Man-Bat, get them!” Penguin shouted into the modulator.

“Standing by, Batcave,” Batman said as Man-Bat took off and began to circle the heroes from the sky. A second later, Batman kept tapping his ear. “Batcave, come in, Batcave.”

“What? What happened?” Sunset worried.

“I think we’re on our own,” The Dark Knight grimly admitted. Man-Bat dived down and began his attack causing both Sunset and Batman to jump off the water tower they were hiding near.

“So, plan A is a bust, tell me you’ve got a plan B!” Sunset cried as she got back on her feet.

“Yeah.” he nodded. “I’ll deal with Langstrom, you keep Penguin distracted. Remember, don’t take him head on.”

“I’ve beaten him before,” Sunset reminded him.

“What did you do?” His tone of voice made him sound like he was unconvinced, and Sunset knew he was right.

“I hit and dropped some sandbags on him,” she admitted.

“Exactly.” The two of them ducked out of the way once more as Man-Bat passed right by them. “Just keep your distance with him, don’t try to deal with him yourself. Here...” he tossed her something off of his belt.

“What is this?” She looked at it and realized it was the same device Batman used to shoo away Penguin’s birds the night of the gala. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Just in case Penguin sends his birds after you. Now, go.” Batman turned and started running towards the shipping containers while Man-Bat pursued him.

Sunset took the next few minutes slowly making her way up to the roof where she last saw the Penguin and sure enough he was still there. He was looking through his bird telescope while holding the sonic modulator in his hand.

“Shadows won’t protect you, Batman, my Man-Bat can hear in the dark!” Penguin muttered, distractedly as he watched the pair fight. While he was focused on them, Sunset reached the roof and started getting closer before all four of Penguin’s birds turned their heads towards her and screeched.

“Huh?” Penguin turned around and noticed Sunset’s mask. “Aw, the little girl who thinks she’s playing super-heroine.” He smirked.

“Says the guy who thinks he’s a bird.” Sunset smirked.

Penguin pointed his finger at her. “Make yourselves useful and get her!” Penguin ordered his birds. They flew right towards Sunset but she merely activated the sound amplifier that Batman gave her and the birds turned around and flew away to avoid it.

“No, come back, you bird-brains! See, this is why I stole the condor!” He shouted at the fleeing birds.

“Speaking of condors,” Sunset said, crossing her arms, “where is it?”

“Bah! Like I have to tell a dead hero!” He held forward his umbrella and a trail of flames shot out

Sunset rolled out of the way of the flames as Penguin cackled before the fire stopped. She readied herself as Penguin charged right for her. Penguin first tried to roundhouse kick her but Sunset ducked down and avoided the kick. However, Zatanna and Batman’s warnings about Cobblepot were well founded as Penguin quickly tried to punch her in the stomach.

Sunset found herself on the complete defensive as Penguin continued attack after attack. A kick here, a punch there; she either dodged them or blocked them but it was clear that Penguin had the considerable advantage over her in a one-on-one fight.

She grew tired of all the dodging and decided to try to flip the script on the short man. Sunset channeled a small ball of energy in her hand and when she ducked down to avoid another punch that Penguin threw; she took her chance. She brought her hand up to his chest and he was blown back almost to the edge of the other end of the roof.

Penguin growled, pointing his umbrella at Sunset once more and the sound of a gunshot rang out. Sunset’s eyes widened as she felt something crack into her chest, knocking her back. Her clothing spells kept it from penetrating and causing any serious or even fatal damage, however, the impact had her laying on the ground almost unmoving. Penguin gave a sinister chuckle as he slowly walked over to her. Sunset continued looking through her mask before his face was right in hers.

“Now then, let’s see who you are before I leave you as my pets’ next meal.” Sunset could feel Penguin wrapping his fingers on her mask before he started to pull… and couldn’t even peel it off an inch.

“What the?” He sounded very confused. “How’s this thing come off?” As he kept trying to yank off the mask, Sunset took advantage of his distraction, kneeing him in the gut. She got back on her feet before she noticed Penguin’s sonic modulator on the ground. Penguin, however, knew what she was trying to do and before she could get her hands on it, he had recovered it.

“Oh, now we wouldn’t want this thing in the wrong hands,” he cackled as Man-Bat landed right behind him. “Aw, the champion returns. So the mighty Batman is finally-” Man-Bat suddenly roared in Penguin’s face, which quickly wiped the smug look off of his face. “Oh, boy…”

Penguin was about to order Man-Bat once more but then suddenly realized something was missing. His eyes widened when he turned around and found Sunset was now holding the sonic modulator and had a grin on her face.

“What was that about this being in the wrong hands?” She then turned on the device. “Man-Bat, kindly bring Cobblepot back to Batman.” she ordered.

Penguin screamed as he tried to run but he didn't get far before Man-Bat picked him by the shoulders and flew over the shipping containers.

Sunset followed the two of them until they reached Batman. Penguin grumbled before Man-Bat started to screech out. Sunset was worried for a moment as she thought he was about to attack again.

However, instead of attacking, Man-Bat slowly started to shrink and revert back into a grey haired, slightly pale man; the aforementioned Kirk Langstrom. After realizing his surroundings and noticing Penguin right next to him, Langstrom had killer look in his eyes and they were directed to his former slave driver.

“Oh, hey, Dr. Langstrom,” Penguin nervously chuckled before Langstrom jumped on him and tried to strangle him. “AHH! Please, someone! Get him off!” Cobblepot choked out. Not wanting to let Langstrom murder the other man, Batman pulled out a pair of bolas and incapacitated the two men by tying them up.

Sunset and Batman watched the police dragging Cobblepot back to Blackgate and Langstrom to Arkham from a nearby rooftop.

“So, you mean to tell me you that gave Detective Yin a communicator that you could use to talk to her?” Sunset questioned after Batman had used said communicator to contact Yin about not only where Cobblepot and Langstrom could be arrested but also where the stolen condor was being kept after Penguin revealed where he had been hiding out.

“I needed at least someone inside the GCPD so I keep a slight edge ahead of them as well as some information.” The Dark Knight explained.

“Well,” Sunset kicked her feet as she sat on the roof’s edge, “maybe next time Penguin will stick with birds rather than bats.”

“Maybe next time, he’ll learn to stay put in his cell,” Batman countered.

“Yeah, I think we both know that’s not going to happen.” She chuckled. “Still, to think that a simple school project at the zoo would end up getting me all caught up in this adventure,”

“Like I said last night.” The Dark Knight smirked. “it comes with the territory.”

“Speaking of territory.” Sunset stood up. “Got another one of those communicators for me?”

Batman simply pulled out his grappling hook and wrapped it around a nearby gargoyle statue. “Have a good night, Miss Lucciola.” He then swung away into the Gotham skyline.

“You could’ve just said you didn’t have any spares,” she huffed before she headed back home.

Chapter 13: Lessons

It was another seemingly average patrol for Sunset. Things had slowly started to turn into a sort of monotonous trend for her: She’d go out late for a patrol, find some robber or thief, and beat them up before either returning what they stole or leaving them for the police. Tonight was no different for her.

She was currently running across the rooftops of Gotham as she was chasing after two men that had just robbed a check cashing business. Sunset’s gymnastics training was paying off in spades as she was able to keep up with them while pursuing on the roofs, as opposed to the alleys.

The crooks did catch sight of her, which was the reason why they were running, though she now had the advantage over them as they truly couldn’t tell where she was or if she was even still chasing them. It was going to be a big mistake on their part.

After a few more turns through the alleys, Sunset made her move and slid down several fire escapes before she ended up blocking the path of the two men.

“So, how do you guys want to do this? Sit here and kindly wait for the police, or fight it out?” Sunset asked. As she expected, the criminals thought that fighting her would be the better option.

Sunset stood in place as the man carrying the stolen cash ran forward to try and tackle her. She waited for the right moment until she threw a fist upward and connected with the man’s jaw, sending him backwards and onto his back.

The young heroine then waited for the other man to make his move. The man followed his partner’s lead and tried to charge her as well. When he got close, Sunset roundhouse kicked the man in the face and knocked him onto the ground right next to his friend.

Sunset smirked as she dusted off her hands at her success. However, confusion struck her as the two men were looking up; not at her, but something behind her.

Everything suddenly went black within half a second for her.

When she slowly started to recover consciousness, she could feel the back of her head throbbing with pain before opening her eyes.

She was no longer standing in an alleyway, but rather leaning against the small brick edge of a Gotham roof. Also, she wasn’t seeing the two men in front of her, but Batman.

“Finally awake?” he said, his back turned to her.

Sunset groaned as she rubbed her head to try and alleviate some of the pain she was still feeling. “Yeah, I think so. Ugh, did someone get the license plate of that truck that ran me over?”

“That wasn’t a truck. It was a man,” Batman told her. “How many men did you count robbing the store?”

Sunset hesitated to answer but eventually did. “I…I counted two leaving the building.”

“It was three,” he said. “The third man was keeping watch for them, and those two you were chasing had led you back to him to ambush you.”

“Oh, that explains why those guys were looking behind me before it all went black.”

Batman turned around and kneeled down in front of her. “How many fingers am I holding up, Sunset?”

“You’re holding up four,” she answered.

“Okay, well, it looks like you haven’t suffered a concussion, but I think you should probably take it easy for a few days just to be safe.”

Sunset nodded slowly before getting up, making sure to keep herself balanced on the roof’s edge.

“If I wasn’t nearby when everything had happened,” Batman paused for a moment. “You might not have woken up.”

“Well, those guys certainly got lucky. They won’t catch me off guard like that again.”

“It wasn’t luck that they got the drop on you,” Sunset couldn’t see his eyes, but she knew that he was glaring at her from behind the cowl. “It was you being overconfident.”

Sunset turned red in the face with shame and she looked away. “You need to learn that the longer you do this, the harder things will get. The reason for that is you’re slowly starting to be taken as an actual threat to criminals in this city.”

“I doubt they’re as intimidated of me as they are of you,” Sunset quickly interjected.

“No, but that’s not the point,” Batman then sighed, “Listen, Sunset, I’m not trying to be a bully here, I actually appreciate some of the help you’ve been giving, but I need to be realistic with you. You’re starting to be known in this city and with each passing day, and with every criminal that you stop, word will get around. Tonight is a great example of this slow change; they’re slowly starting to not underestimate you.”

Sunset nodded. The words hurt, but she knew they were necessary.

“You’re right. I let myself fall victim to that same issue I had that first night you saved me,” she said. “I guess these past weeks have made me sluggish with simple thugs.”

“Well, you are only human; you’re going to make some mistakes from time to time, even when being a hero,” Batman said.

“Yeah, but I can’t make mistakes and then just rely on someone like you to swoop in and save me. I need to be able to get myself out of tough situations by myself because I might not have anyone around to rescue me.”

“I would tell you maybe you should probably put the mask away and just live a normal life,” Batman said, watching as Sunset shook her head. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Then, if that’s the case, maybe you should let Zatanna give you some more training, at least enough to help you in the future.”

“I think you might be right,” Sunset got back up on her feet and started to walk away. “I’m gonna head back home. Thanks for the save. I’ll be sure to take all you said to mind.” She glanced back and saw Batman already gliding away to another rooftop as he continued his work.

Sunset sighed before she started heading back towards the apartment.

The first thing Sunset did after she got back home and rested was to make sure to inform Zatanna of her need of some perhaps stronger training.

The basic stuff she was learning had truly helped, but as Batman clearly told her, it was slowly starting to not be enough. Sunset needed to keep ahead of the curve if she was going to keep up crime fighting.

Sunset knew that if she wanted to learn more advanced forms of magic, Zatanna would teach her. There was plenty of knowledge in the Tower of Fate to help as well, but only if Dr. Fate allowed her. He still hadn’t even said a word to her during any of her visits.

The issue that Sunset was focused on was the combat training. Gymnastics was certainly keeping her limber, and she was already proving to be one of the best on the team. The training she was getting from Zatanna and Dinah was a strong start, but she need to learn some more advanced moves.

There was only one person that Zatanna could think of that would be of great help to Sunset: Richard Dragon. Dragon was one of the foremost experts in martial arts that Zatanna knew, and would certainly have the time to train her in some advanced forms of fighting.

Zatanna was sitting in a chair, watching Sunset stretch in the Metropolis Dojo, where Dragon was currently residing. Both Sunset and Richard were dressed in karate robes as he waited for her to get ready.

“Well, whenever you’re ready, Sunset,” Dragon said, “First, show me at least what you know. Try and hit me if you can.” He positioned himself in a fighting stance and waited for Sunset’s move.

Sunset nodded after she finished stretching and stood up. Zatanna gave Sunset a small thumbs up as her young protégé looked over to her. Sunset smiled before getting into a fighting stance herself and stared Richard down.

Sunset slowly took a step forward before she charged ahead towards the martial arts master. She got up in his face and threw several punches that Dragon easily dodged.

Sunset tried to change the target of her punches from Dragon’s face to his torso. Just like the punches before, Richard dodged them as well. Sunset tried once more, but this time Richard blocked them with his arms rather than just simply avoiding them.

Zatanna watched as Sunset quickly backed off to regroup and rethink her strategy. Dragon looked like he wasn’t even trying.

“Come on! Show me everything that you’ve got. I’m sure you can do better than this.” Dragon told her, which fired up Sunset. She ran towards him and attempted to first hit Richard in the head before she sent the next punch for his stomach.

The martial arts master performed as Zatanna expected and blocked the attacks her student delivered before Sunset tried to kick him in the chest. Dragon grabbed Sunset’s leg before he spun around and tossed her several feet away to the floor.

Sunset panted for air as the sudden force of the landing knocked it out of her.

“You okay, Sunset?” Zatanna asked. Sunset responded with a small thumbs up of her own as she sat up.

“How did I beat you?” Richard asked as he looked one of his hands.

“Quite soundly, thanks,” Sunset huffed as took a few more breaths. “You’re the expert after all. I never stood a chance to begin with.”

“You never stood a chance because you’re fighting like a child,” Sunset looked at him with a confused look. “Your moves show that you do have training, but not much of it.”

Sunset got back up on her feet. “Man, what is it with everyone lecturing me about doing things wrong lately?”

Zatanna smirked at Sunset’s complaint.

“Sometimes you need to be broken down in order to be built back up,” Richard said. “You do possess huge potential. From what Zatanna has said, and what I can see in your eyes, there’s a well of considerable power lying inside you.”

Sunset gave a small chuckle. “Well, thanks. Though, I thought the saying was that ‘the eyes are windows to the soul’, not windows to see the power someone possesses.”

Dragon crossed his arms and smirked. “Well, I’ve certainly been around the world, and that saying surprisingly rings true. But there is an important lesson that you should know that goes hand in hand with power and being a hero.”

“What is that?”

“Sunset, you must remember that all the power in the world is worthless without the knowledge and more importantly, the discipline to use it effectively. Take your magic, for instance; a bit of extra strength in a blow, the merest force field to help block a strike, a flick of telekinesis to reset a safety on a firearm. Little things like that will help you in your endeavors.”

“I understand.” Sunset nodded.

“One can easily master many arts of fighting, but being a true master requires being a master of the mind.”

Dragon walked over to the table that Zatanna was sitting near and picked a white bandana off of it.

“Being a master of the mind,” Richard continued, “also requires one to be a master of their senses. If you truly want to be a heroine, then having your senses heightened is a must.” He walked over to Sunset before he tied the bandana around her head and covered her eyes.

“Um, is there any specific reason why I’ve suddenly been blinded? How exactly is this going to help me?” Sunset wondered as she tried to keep herself steady.

“Say, for instant, you’re in a dark warehouse on a cloudy night and the power is cut, leaving you blind to your surroundings. This will help you with hearing more subtle noises, Sunset. Like maybe hearing the quiet footsteps of someone who is trying to sneak up behind you and knock you out,” Zatanna said, recalling what the young girl had told her before.

Sunset was not that amused as she frowned in Zatanna’s direction. “Should’ve known that was going to be brought back up.”

Zatanna quietly chuckled. “It’s all about helping you, Sunset. That’s the main reason for practicing; it’s all about trial and error. It allows you to make mistakes that you can correct and make sure they’re not repeated out in the real world.”

The magician saw her student giving her a look, even when half her face was covered with the bandana. “That’s almost word for word the same thing that Princess Celestia once told me.”

“If we’re ready to continue,” the martial arts master interrupted. “Now then, Sunset, I want you to walk around like you’re not currently blindfolded. I will attempt to sneak up behind you, and I want you to try to block my strikes. Are you ready?”

Sunset bowed to the master, while Zatanna observed that Dragon was already slowly moving to ambush her protégé. “Yes, I’m ready.”

Zatanna leaned back in her chair as she watched Sunset slowly walked forward with her arms out in a defensive stance, just waiting for Richard to make his move.

Sunset was trying hard to catch even the faintest of sounds that Dragon was making, but he was an expert of stealth, as even Zatanna could barely hear his steps. It surprised her because she had much more training to heighten her senses than her assistant had.

Richard stepped closer and closer to Sunset before he made his move and slapped his open palm gently on Sunset’s neck.

“And you’re out,” he said as Sunset turned around in his direction. She was going to argue with him about not being ready, but held her tongue. She knew she failed, and would just simply try again.

Sunset walked ahead once more as Dragon began to slowly circle around her to strike her again. Sunset took a few more steps before Richard slapped her neck. She let out a small groan of frustration.

“Come on, Sunset. I know you can do it.” Zatanna thought as she watched her apprentice take a deep breath and get ready for the next attempt.

Sunset kept her guard up as she waited, listening for any sign of Dragon making his move. Zatanna watched as the man started his next assault, and was just several feet away from Sunset before the young girl swung around and blocked his incoming strike.

Zatanna got up out of her seat and clapped at her student’s success. She saw a wide smile spread on Sunset’s face.

“Well done, Sunset.” Richard gave his approval with a nod.

Sunset rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, I was just getting tired of you hitting me in the neck.”

“Just be lucky that’s all we were doing. If this was a real fight, I would’ve immediately chopped you in the throat.”

Sunset removed the bandana off her head. She had a worried look on her face as she moved one of her hands to her neck.

“Thanks for the heads up about that.”

“Very good, Barbara, as expected,” Ms. Vann praised Barbara as she tried to catch her breath from the tough routine she had to do for gymnastics.

Barbara smiled as Sunset walked up next to her. She was the next in line for the routine.

“Good job,” Sunset whispered, “I hope I can be a good follow up.”

“You’ll do fine.” Barbara assured her as she sat down next to the other girls and watched as Sunset got ready to perform.

Things had been calming down in Gotham over the last few days since the Joker terrorized the city with his pirated television station that he called JTV, which he used to broadcast insane shows involving his crimes.

Said crimes included kidnapping Mayor Grange and a GCPD detective named Cash Tankinson before dragging them along to any other crazy robberies he performed.

He also attempted to get his sick hands on that new superheroine, Alicorn, that had recently been appearing in Gotham. However, she was nowhere to be found so Joker just settled with broadcasting him fighting The Batman. Thankfully, the Dark Knight stopped Joker’s show and the crazed criminal was sent back to Arkham.

However, Barbara was more concerned about issues closely related to her, and they all stemmed from one person: Pamela.

She was concerned about her friend ever since the glasses-wearing girl had dragged her along to commit some vandalism after the Green Club had been shut down. Barbara had kept her mouth silent about it from Sunset because she thought maybe Pamela just wanted to get some aggression out of her system.

She was wrong. Pamela was making good on her promise of keeping up her acts of vandalism. She already informed Barbara that they were going out on Saturday for another graffiti wave.

Barbara knew it was time for an intervention, and the only person that could probably help her with this was Sunset. Perhaps Pamela’s two best friends could talk her out of her plans before they ended up getting arrested, or hurt, by them.

“That’s terrific, Sunset,” Ms. Vann’s voice brought Barbara back to reality. “That routine would earn you plenty of nines and tens.”

Barbara watched as Sunset smiled before she stepped down off the balance beam and walked over to sit next to her.

“Told you would do fine,” Barbara smiled to Sunset, though she felt slightly guilty considering that she zoned out throughout much of her friend’s performance.

“Well, I was told this team would be demanding,” Sunset said. “I felt like I had to contribute just as well. That Double Arabian flip you did just made the rest of our moves look amateurist in comparison.”

“Okay, girls,” Ms. Vann spoke up. “That was good work today. Now, I’d like to remind you girls that we have our first tournament coming up next week, so I want you all to prepare and get in the right mindset. But remember, it’s not the end of the world if we lose. Just have fun. Alright, that’s it for today. Get cleaned up, and I’ll see you all next Tuesday.”

Everyone got up and started heading for the locker room to wash up and change, but Barbara stopped Sunset before they got moving.

“Hey, Sunny, can I talk to you?” she asked.

“Sure, what is it?”

“No, not here, somewhere more… private. Like maybe your apartment? It’s nearby right?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Sunny, please, it’s important.”

“Okay, if you say so.” Sunset nodded before the girls headed for the lockers.

It was about forty-five minutes later that the two girls had cleaned up and were now right outside Sunset’s apartment as she unlocked the front door.

“Here we are. Feel free to leave your shoes at the door.” Sunset said as she took her shoes off and walked to the kitchen. “Hey, you want a drink or something microwavable?”

“I’m fine on the food, but I’ll have a Coke,” said Barbara as she sat down on the couch. Sunset opened up her refrigerator and then walked back with two Cokes before handing one to her friend.

“There you go,” Sunset sat down on the chair next to the couch. “So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?”

Barbara took a deep breath. She felt bad about betraying the trust that Pamela had in her, but she was only trying to help her friend.

“It’s about Pam… I…” Barbara hesitated for a moment before she started to speak again. “Sunny, what I’m going to tell you, you must promise that you will never tell a soul.”

Sunset nodded her head. “I promise not to say a word, Barb. Now, tell me. What’s going on with Pam?”

Barbara fidgeted nervously, wrestling with herself whether or not to get the words out. Finally, she worked up the courage to speak. “Well, it all started back on that day the Green Club got shut down. Pam was completely devastated about what had happened when I had showed up. You were at your fencing club at that time.”

Sunset nodded.

“Anyways, I couldn’t imagine what was going through Pam’s mind about her hard work being thrown away like that, but I assured her that we would still be there for her and that we didn’t need the club to continue helping her with her passion. As it turns out, helping her went in a very radical direction as we ended up vandalizing some posters near one of the Gotham rail stations.”

Barbara paused as she waited for Sunset’s reaction.

“So…” Sunset sounded a tad confused, “you two just messed up some posters? The way you were sounding, it was like you were confessing to a murder or something.”

“Okay, maybe I’m being a bit strong here, but this is serious, Sunny,” said Barbara glared at her. “She said after we finished, it was just the beginning. At first, I thought maybe she just needed to get that aggression out due to the club’s closure, but she’s planning something new on Saturday.”

“Why wasn’t I told of this sooner?” Sunset asked as she took a sip of her drink.

“Because Pam said she would figure out how to get you involved sooner or later. Look, Sunset, we need to do something for her soon before she ends up getting arrested…or worse.”

Sunset nodded. “Okay, well, what do you think we should do?”

“The smart thing would be to cut ties with her and let her deal with all this on her own, but we both know that we wouldn’t do that to her. Not after all the trouble she’s dealt with at school over the years. She really needs her two best friends more than she realizes.”

Sunset stood up. “Couldn’t have said it better myself. I know what it’s like to feel alone; having the comfort of knowing that you have friends behind you can mean the entire world.”

“Exactly!” Barbara quickly jumped up on her feet. “As her friends, it should be our responsibility to help her get off this dark path she’s treading before it goes any further.”

“An intervention certainly sounds like the plan we’re going with then,” Sunset paused. “But…if I appear with you when you’re supposed to meet up with Pam, she’ll know that you told me what was going on.”

“And run the risk of either our intervention not having any affect, or worse, tearing our friendship apart.” Barbara concluded. “I know. That’s what I was thinking too.”

Barbara saw a look of realization cross Sunset’s face.

“I’ve got it!” she exclaimed. “What if I ‘accidentally’ caught you two in the act?”

Barbara smiled widely. “That’s brilliant, Sunny! That might actually be the perfect solution to this problem! Do you think you could act like you don’t know anything?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “You’re talking to the assistant of the great Zatanna Zatara. Yeah, I can act.”

The red haired girl chuckled. “Right, that was a dumb question.” Barbara took another deep breath before she sat back down. “Still, as hopeful as I am, do you honestly think that we can make this work?”

“Barb, trust me. This is going to work out just fine.”

“Thanks so much for agreeing to do this with me, Barb,” said Pamela. “We’ll show these plant killers what happens when you mess with Mother Nature.”

Barbara chuckled nervously. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Pam.”

The two teenagers stood outside of the subway station and were planning on vandalizing Wayne Enterprises tonight. As Pamela put it, Wayne Enterprises was representative of what she called ‘inconsiderate companies that was destroying the planet.’ It was clear sign to Barbara that Pamela was planning to take things way too far, but in order for her plan to work, she went along with it.

“You know, Pam,” she said as they walked down the street. “This is really risky, I mean, we might get caught by the police, or worse, The Batman or that Alicorn girl.”

Pamela glared at her before giving her a reassuring smile. “Just trust me, okay Red? What we’re going to do, it’s the only way those suits are going to listen to us.”

Barbara rolled her eyes, but didn’t say a word as the two continued on. They mixed in with the crowds that would fill up at various points until they finally stood outside the front gates of Wayne Enterprises.

“You ready?” Pamela asked. She took out two cans of spray paint and extended one out to her friend.

Barbara exhaled sharply before resuming her façade and took the canister. She was hoping that Sunset nearby to ‘catch’ them before they could start. “Yeah.”

The two girls quietly made their way around to an alley near the large building so they could sneak their way onto the property.

“You girls planning to do some renovating?” a female voice said, followed by the sound of footsteps landing on the ground. The two girls turned.

Barbara gasped at the sight of the girl that stood behind them. “Alicorn.”

“Who are you?” Pamela glared at the newcomer. “If you think you can stop me from doing what Mother Nature commands we do, then you are sorely mistaken.”

Barbara pinched the bridge of her nose. “Now I suddenly wish that my dad had caught us.”

Chapter 14: Cats

Pamela kept her guard up as she stared down the superheroine that had snuck up behind her and Barbara. She glanced over to see her friend looking more nervous, while the crime fighter kept staring at them.

“I’ll ask again,” Alicorn crossed her arms. “What exactly are you two planning on doing?”

“It’s none of your business. Why don’t you just leave us alone and crack some dumb carjacker’s head or something?” Pamela spat out.

“Would you be quiet?! You’re already making this worse!” Barbara worried.

“Okay, girls, this is what my guess is with whatever you two are planning. Judging from the spray cans and the location, I believe that you two are planning to do some graffiti on the walls of Wayne Industries.”

Pamela looked back to Barbara and started to feel nervous as well. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the longer Alicorn just stood in front of the girls, the more intimidating she got.

“I hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?” Neither girl said anything to the heroine. “Well, let me just say a few things then. You two realize who owns the building you’re planning on vandalizing right?” Both girls slowly nodded.

“It’s Bruce Wayne, owner of Wayne Industries; a company that takes part or help leads in multiple fields of, well, just about everything you can think of. It’s worth billions, and is located in Gotham City that has quite a well-known crime issue,” The masked girl paused. “And he can afford enough security equipment and armed personal that rivals that of a small nation’s military.” She then placed her hands on her hips. “And you two were planning to simply just jump a fence and not get spotted at all?”

Pamela saw Barbara giving her a ‘Really?’ look, which caused the glasses-wearing girl to blush and rub her arm. “I suppose I hadn’t really thought of that when I was planning this out. I was just focused on making a company that neglects our planet be more aware of the sort of damage they were causing.”

“Exactly. You weren’t thinking fully about this, which leads to my second point,” The girls were just waiting for something bad to happen. “Need an extra hand?”

Both Pamela and Barbara looked at the superheroine like she had grown a second head. They couldn’t believe what they had just been asked.

“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that? Did you say you wanted to give us an extra hand?” Barbara asked.

The crime fighter nodded as she smiled. “But not here at Wayne Industries, of course. I’ve got a better place in mind where we can do a little tagging.”

Both girls ended up following the vigilante to an apartment block that was scheduled for demolition within the next few weeks. It was perfect! Any evidence of their graffiti work would be eventually reduced to rubble.

It wasn’t exactly what Pamela wanted; she wanted to send a clear message to Wayne Industries, but after what Alicorn said about the security, she now realized perhaps that wasn’t the best course of action... yet.

“This certainly is much easier than sneaking onto Wayne Industries property, wouldn’t you agree, girls?”

Pamela glanced back as Alicorn took a step back to admire her handy work. She was absolutely stunned at the work that Alicorn had done with just a few cans of spray paint. At the same time, Barbara was giving the superheroine a look, as if she were trying to figure something out.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Pamela shrugged her shoulders as she finished up with cans of spray paint. Since she wasn’t spray painting on the walls of an “inconsiderate company", her message was less of writing, but more of a vibrant picture of nature. It was the best she could do with the lack of additional spray paint colors.

“So, tell me,” Alicorn spoke up. “What’s a pair of girls like you wanting to vandalize Wayne Industries for?”

Pamela sighed. “Well, we and another friend of ours named Sunset had this Green Advocacy club at our high school. We wanted to help spread awareness for plants and the benefits that so many seem to just ignore.”

“That’s certainly a good cause to be behind.”

“Exactly!” Pamela cried out. “But, we didn’t have enough people in the club, so the school had to shut it down.”

“She’s had some issues with this in the past,” Barbara said. “Sunset and I were actually the first girls to really help her with her passion.”

Alicorn then appeared to raise an eyebrow, though it was hard to tell because of her eye mask. “So then, what’s with the spray painting?”

Pamela looked down. “Well, I just got really upset because I felt that everyone was against me and my passions and that I needed to send a more powerful message.”

“Pam, listen, about today,” Barbara put her hand on Pamela’s shoulder. “I actually told Sunset what we had done that day the club got shut down.”

Pamela was about to say something, but Barbara continued. “I know. It was a complete breaking of your trust, Pam, but Sunny and I were worried about you. I’m well aware you were upset, but all this vandalism, it’s a real slippery slope and we don’t want you to end up doing something we will all regret.”

“You should listen to her, and I’m pretty sure if your other friend was here, she’d say the same thing.” Pamela turned her back to Alicorn as she said that, but the super heroine continued, “Listen, I understand where you’re coming from. You’re strong about your passions but you feel like everyone is against you with them, right?” Pamela nodded. “I was in a similar position like you once, but I learned that one of the most important things in life are your friends. No matter what happens in life, your friends will be there for you. Just remember that.”

“Pam, Sunny and I are on your side but when you start doing stuff like this,” Barbara took a deep breath, “we’re both worried about where this will end up, and we don’t want to see our best friend get hurt.”

Pamela said nothing as she went deep into thought. Was this really something she should be doing? Going around, performing all sorts of vandalism just to try and spread the word about plants?

Then there was also the fact that Barbara said she and Sunset were her friends. It sounded somewhat silly, but Pamela never really had true friends for most of her life.

She knew that dragging them into doing things they didn’t feel comfortable with wasn’t being a true friend, and she certainly didn’t want them to stop being her friends like others had in the past.

“Just keep in mind what I said,” Alicorn said before she ran towards a fire exit on a building and started to climb up it to the roof. “Now, if you girls will excuse me, I’ve got some thieves’ heads to knock. Enjoy the rest of your day, Pamela, Barbara.” She left the two girls alone in the alley.

“Well, that was certainly an experience,” Barbara said.

Pamela nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah, I definitely wasn’t expecting her to tag along with us like that.”

“This is going to be quite the story to tell Sunny, which reminds me, I’m gonna have quite a conversation about why she wasn’t here.”

“Did you tell her to find us near Wayne Industries?” Pamela asked. Barbara face palmed.

“I totally forgot to mention where to meet!” The look on Barbara’s face quickly changed as soon as she said that. “Wait a minute. How did she know my name?”

Pamela thought back to their conversation. “Well, I know we said my name, but—” She shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe she just recognizes you because of your dad.”

“Maybe.”

Pamela gave a small smirk. “You totally think she’s awesome, don’t you?”

Barbara smiled. “Oh yeah, she’s amazing!”

“Honey, I’m home!” Catwoman shouted as she closed the door to her penthouse apartment before removing her mask. “Oh, I forgot, I’m not married,” she grumbled as she walked to her living room in a sour mood.

Selena Kyle had a rough life growing up. She lived in a broken home until she was three, when she was removed from her neglectful, and drug-abusing parents. Not that the orphanage she was sent to was any improvement. She ended up spending most of her youth alone with her only sort of friends being some of the stray cats that tended to come around the home.

From an early age, Selena had to grow up fast just to survive. She discovered very quickly that she had a great affinity for stealing, and she slowly became more and more experienced. With that experience, she started to get bolder with thefts. Instead of some food or a few wallets, she began robbing jewels and antiques that she would sell off somewhere else.

However, she wasn’t simple minded, she was actually sublimely clever, despite having more of a street education rather than one in the classroom. Her robberies also involved getting secrets from powerful people that she ended up using against them.

It was the reason why most of Gotham became aware of wealthy socialite Selena Kyle, a young woman who gained her fortune after the death of her great aunt. It was a lie, but she made extra sure to cover her tracks. No one ever found out. Those that knew already, she had so much dirt on them that they would never dare say a word.

However, despite the fact that she had more than secured herself socially and financially, she still couldn’t get over the rush that came with her robberies. Her only childhood friends being cats played a huge influence when she soon became known as the notorious thief Catwoman.

Instead of stealing whatever she could that would sell back, she was now robbing items that she would keep and all of them had a certain theme to them: cats. Whether it was jewels, paintings or Egyptian statues, if it was rare and had something to do with cats, she would try and steal it.

That was the reason for her recent frustration as she sat down on her couch while her pet cats purred near her legs. She had tried to steal a rare animation cel done by Fleischer Studios in the twenties that involved a cartoon cat.

It would’ve been an easy steal until a triple jointed contortionist dressed like a stitched together ragdoll showed up. Ragdoll, as the man called himself, fought off not only her, but Batman as well, and made off with the cel.

“Ugh!” Selena threw a couch pillow across her living room. “If that Ragdoll ever crosses paths with me again, they’ll never be able to stitch him back together.”

Selena was different from most of Gotham’s more eccentric criminals. She was merely a thief, not a crazed psychopath. She didn’t want to fight if she didn’t have to; better to sneak in and quietly get out before anyone realized she was around. However, if someone got in the way between her and her prize, then they would end up with a few nasty scratches.

“Okay, calm down, Selena,” she said to herself as she took a deep breath. “Maybe it’s time to take a short break and steal the more legitimate way.”

She picked up a letter, an invitation to a gala that was going to be held in the next few days. It was another one of those fancy parties where much of Gotham’s millionaires were going to attend. It never usually failed for her; she’d show up, charm some rich old man, and then he’d eventually give her cash or some expensive gift before she move onto the next one.

She placed the letter next to a newspaper before she looked it over and found a small article that mentioned the newest vigilante to show up in Gotham. Selena gave a small chuckle about what the article guessed about the girl that called herself Alicorn.

“She’s certainly got heart, that much is true.” One of the woman’s cats jumped on the couch and nuzzled against her. “Oh, I know what you’re saying, sweetie. She’d probably make a fine ‘Catgirl’, but I get the feeling she’s a bit of a goody two-shoes like a certain bat.”

“Still.” Selena rubbed the ears of her feline pet, “If I run into her, I might at least make an offer.”

“Seriously, thanks for coming, you two,” Barbara thanked Sunset and Pamela as they stood near a support beam at the gala.

When Commissioner Patterson had to miss the gala, Barbara’s father accepted to attend in his stead. While Barbara’s parents would be busy talking to other adults, their daughter would just be bored, so a few calls later, both her friends were allowed to attend.

“It’s no problem, Barb. Besides, it’s the least I could do considering I missed meeting up with you guys at Wayne Industries.”

“Yeah.” Barbara gave her a look. “Wait, how did you know we were at Wayne Industries?”

“You told me,” Sunset replied.

“I did?” Barbara scratched her head as she tried to remember when she supposedly said it. “I could’ve sworn that I forgot to mention it.”

“No, you did.”

“Ugh.” the red haired girl quickly shook her head. “Maybe I did and just forgot.”

“Look, I appreciate what you girls tried to do for me, alright?” Pamela said. “But I still need to think through some things. Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you either of you to do anymore street tagging.”

“No offence, Pam, but some of that stuff you said when Alicorn jumped us, you sounded less like an activist and a bit more like an eco-terrorist, if I have to be honest.”

A small guilty look crossed the glasses-wearing girl’s face. “R-Really? I…I didn’t even realize I sounded like that.” She stammered.

“Hey,” Sunset held up her hands. “Let’s just leave all that in the past and move forward with our lives, okay? Live and learn, you know?” The two other girls nodded in agreement.

Pamela took a drink of water—the only drink that the girls were allowed to have since all the rest were alcoholic—before her eyes caught the deputy commissioner. “Your dad certainly looks like he’s working more than enjoying himself, Red.”

“Yeah, I think he’s pulling dual jobs right now. He doesn’t want a repeat of Zatanna’s show this time. I hear that Chief Rojas is still in a bit of hot water about that.”

Pamela chuckled. “Relax. If anything were to happen, we’d just sic Sunny on whomever the party crasher is.”

Sunset blushed before the three girls started to laugh. “Come on, Pam! It wasn’t like that at all!” She calmed down before spotting Bruce Wayne walking towards the bar. “Excuse me, girls. I need to talk to Mr. Wayne over there.”

“Wait.” Sunset felt Pamela grab her arm. “That’s Bruce Wayne! You just can’t walk up to him.”

“Relax. One of my first days here in Gotham, Zatanna and I had lunch with Bruce at Wayne Manor. He knows me.”

Barbara shook her head. “Sunny, I really envy you sometimes.”

Sunset flashed them a smile. “Just continue enjoying everything as best you can. I’m gonna quickly say ‘hi’, then rejoin you.”

She walked across the gala floor towards the bar where Bruce immediately spotted her.

“Ah, Sunset.” The young billionaire smiled as Sunset walked up to him. “Nice to see you again. I wasn’t expecting to see you at this event.”

“Likewise, Mr. Wayne.” she shook his hand. “My friend’s family was invited, and since she would pretty much be the youngest person at this event, another friend and I tagged along with her.”

“I see. Yeah, these sorts of events are pretty boring. Just Gotham City’s elite mostly bragging to each other about their wealth. Oh, by the way, you know you can just call me Bruce, right?”

“If it’s all the same to you, Mr. Wayne, I’m not truly comfortable being that informal with you like you are with Zatanna, considering we don’t really know each other that well.”

“Very well, Sunset.” The two of them started walking the remaining few steps to the bar. “So, I trust everything is going well at school for you?”

“Yes, my grades are very good, and I’ve been doing great with the gymnastics team. Although, I’ve missed a few fencing club meetings, but I’ve gotten busy with studying on a few weekends.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that you’ve adjusted well to the city.” Sunset watched as Bruce leaned against the bar and tapped the bartender on the shoulder as a black haired, blue eyed woman about Bruce’s age walked up next to him.

“A Manhattan with a cher—” Both Bruce and the woman stopped speaking as they realized they were ordering the same thing. The two of them blushed at the coincidence.

“I’m sorry. Better make that two Manhattan’s with a cherry,” Bruce ordered.

“Oh, and can I get a refill on some water, if that’s okay?” Sunset handed her glass to the man, who nodded before going to fulfill the orders. “Really, you think there would be a little more variety with the drinks at this event.”

The woman chuckled. “Well, most of the people here drove here in their limos so they certainly were never planning on driving. I certainly don’t think teenagers were expected to show at this event, Ms…?”

“This is Sunset Lucciola. She’s Zatanna Zatara’s assistant.” Bruce introduced.

“The world famous magician?”

“That’s right,” Bruce said. “Sunset here is finishing up her schooling in Gotham City. Zatanna and I go way back, so I’m kinda keeping an eye on Ms. Lucciola here as a favor for an old friend.”

“Although, you haven’t really done much in terms of keeping an eye on me.” Sunset gave Bruce a smirk.

He responded back with one of his own. “Only because Zatanna hasn’t called me to check in on you yet.” Bruce chuckled before turning his attention back to the woman. “I’m sorry. I actually haven’t got your name.”

“Selena. Selena Kyle. And there’s no need for you to introduce yourself, Mr. Wayne. I’m well aware of who you are.” The two of them shook hands. “Hmm, the news seemed to forget to mention that Gotham’s most eligible bachelor had quite the grip.”

“Shake a lot of hands, do we?”

“A firm handshake is a must in my line of work,” Selena explained as she leaned against the bar like Bruce.”

“And that work would be?”

“I do fundraising for charities,” she said.

“Charities and drinks? Seems like you two have a few things in common,” Sunset teased.

Bruce smirked at her once more. “Very funny,” He turned to look at Selena again. “besides, that’s just a different way of saying that you find wealth philanthropists like myself and spend our money.”

Selena gave a slightly hurt look, though it was clear she knew Bruce was joking. “Please, Mr. Wayne, you make me sound like some sort of villain. And it’s only for good causes.”

“Would you care to name a few?”

“Certainly. How about over dinner at your place?”

Sunset saw that Bruce was a bit surprised by her suggestion, but he regained his composure.

“I’ll call up my butler and have him get something ready.” Bruce pulled out his cellphone while the bartender returned with the drinks.

Sunset got hers and started to walk away. “Well, you two enjoy your night then. I’m going to talk to my friends again. Nice seeing you, Mr. Wayne. Tell Alfred I said ‘hello’.”

“You too, Sunset. Stay out of trouble.”

“Oh, if only you knew what I was doing at nights,” Sunset whispered under her breath as she headed back to where Barbara and Pamela were standing.

Sunset turned to look back at the bar for a moment where she saw Bruce and Selena walk away and a strange-looking man with blonde hair approach the bar right behind them.

Sunset’s eyes widened as the man grabbed a drink that was left on the bar counter with his left hand and twisted it around his back to look like he had two right arms as he drank from the glass.

“Listen, Sunset. Keep your eyes peeled for a triple jointed contortionist that calls himself Ragdoll. He’s been starting a robbery spree, and I just wanted to give you the warning in case you accidentally run into him.” Sunset recalled what Batman told her on a patrol a few nights ago.

There wasn’t a doubt in Sunset’s mind that the man she was looking at was the civilian persona of Ragdoll.

“You’re just completely lucky we’re civilians at the moment, or I’d wipe that smug look off your face,” Sunset growled to herself before reuniting with her friends.

Sunset had her binoculars dead set on the top of the Gotham Clock Tower as she stood on a nearby roof. She would’ve been finishing up another one of her normal patrols since it was well past midnight, but recent events had drawn her to the building.

“You’re talking about the Cat’s Eyes? The supposed emeralds that mobster Frankie Scolacci hid in the clock tower during the thirties? Well, the tower has been searched plenty of times before, though maybe we did miss a nook.” Sunset recalled what Bruce said on the news when he announced the reopening of the clock tower that his family built over a century before.

“With Ragdoll running around and stealing some rare items from this city, you just had to mention this, Mr. Wayne. I swear, the Penguin trap was a coincidence, but this? You’re hiding something, though I don’t know what right now,” Sunset muttered to herself as she put away her binoculars.

“See you watched the news as wel.” Sunset quickly turned to see that Batman had landed on the roof she was on.

Sunset chuckled. “One of these days, you’re not going to get the drop on me.” she turned back around and looked at the tower once more. “Yeah, I thought those jewels that Bruce Wayne mentioned might be something Ragdoll would be interested in.”

“They would more entice Catwoman rather than Ragdoll.”

“Oh, right. Her. Zatanna mentioned her once. Who is she exactly?” Sunset asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure it out, but she’s not easy to catch. Always keeps getting away.”

“I see. Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon. You discovered my identity pretty quick.” she paused. “So, hold on a second, if these are going to attract Catwoman, what about Ragdoll? I need to tell you this, but I actually saw him, or his civilian persona, at a gala I attended the other day. I know for a fact it was him since he contorted his arm in a way no normal person could.”

“Clearly he was scoping out targets that day. He robbed Bruce Wayne later that night. I went after him once I found out but along the way, I ran into Catwoman who was also after him.”

“What does she have to do with this?”

“Catwoman tried to steal something earlier this week but Ragdoll showed up and took it from her. She then stole the statue that Ragdoll had taken from Bruce Wayne when I was chasing them.”

Sunset gave a small smirk. “No honor amongst thieves, huh?”

“Indeed.” Batman turned his attention to the clock tower like Sunset. “Now, Catwoman will more than likely try to find and steal the jewels, while Ragdoll will try to even the score between them.”

“Do the jewels exist?” wondered Sunset.

“It doesn’t matter, so long as Catwoman and Ragdoll show up. That’s what’s important.”

“Want me to give you a hand with this? I took your advice and started getting some more advanced training; not going to say I’m an expert, I know I still have much to learn, but I’m getting better day by day.”

Batman said nothing for a moment until he turned his head towards her. “Alright, just be careful though. The fight probably will happen inside the tower so watch the gears. And things might be a bit easier for you since Catwoman and Ragdoll will probably fight each other.”

“Got it.” Sunset nodded before looking up at the tower. “It just occurred to me. How exactly am I going to get up—” She felt Batman wrap his arm around her waist before he fired a grappling hook towards the top of the tower. “—there!” She cried as they rapidly scaled the building.

After catching her breath and sneaking inside the clock, Batman and Sunset lied in wait for either one of the thieves to show. The constant clicking of the tower’s second hand and the cranking of the turning gears was quite loud, so trying to hear for the faint sounds of footsteps was out of the question for Sunset.

The waiting game paid off, however, as both heroes saw Catwoman slowly making her way across several of the tower’s beams as she was on the prowl for the jewels. She soon stopped before sticking her hand in a crevice.

“What have we here?” she purred before backing up as Ragdoll crawled his twisted body out of the crevice.

“Nope, they’re not in here, kitten.”

Catwoman grabbed the man as he got himself back up. “Listen here, Rags, if those emeralds are here, they’re mine, got it?”

“You two certainly can’t leave each other alone, can you?” Batman got their attention as he stepped out of the shadows.

“Well now, isn’t this a surprise?” Ragdoll laughed as he twisted his neck around to look at the Dark Knight. Sunset followed Batman’s lead and walked out of the shadows as well.

“Oh, and look who also joined. It’s finally nice to see the other costumed girl in this town.” Catwoman smirked at her.

“I’d say ‘pleased to meet you’, but I don’t see it as a pleasure to meet a thief like you.” Sunset crossed her arms.

The discussion ended abruptly as Ragdoll took a swing at Catwoman before doing backflips off the catwalk and onto several of the giant clock gears below. Both the cat and the bat followed suit and chased after them, while Sunset stopped at the catwalk’s edge.

“Whoa, wait a second. I need to time this one right.” Her confidence of easily landing the jump was nowhere near the level of the three other combatants, so she slightly hesitated to make sure she did it right.

During that time, Ragdoll evaded a few of Batman’s punches before he grabbed Batman’s cape and stuck it between two of the moving gears. Sunset watched from above as she saw the hero slowly getting dragged towards his doom if she didn’t do something fast.

“Tick tock, tick tock, Batman. You can easily save yourself here. Lose the mask. I know I would!” Ragdoll laughed like what he was seeing was the funniest thing ever.

Sunset took a deep breath and got ready to jump to save the man. Catwoman beat her to the punch, however, and used her claws to tear half the cape, freeing Batman.

“Please! And let him ruin the aura of mystery he gives off?” she said with a roll of her eyes, standing above him.

“Thanks.” Batman coughed as he regained his breath.

“Next time, think about how I feel when you tie me up.”

The whole clock tower suddenly rumbled as the clock struck one in the morning, which caused Ragdoll to fall off of his small perch and fall into the gears.

Everyone watched in horror as they heard the sounds of his screams coming from the turning gears before the scream became something more of a chuckle. A moment later, he came out of the gears, looking no worse for wear and having a big smile on his face.

“Boy, that certainly was quite the massage. Oh, and look what I found!” He held up his hands to reveal he was holding both of the Cat’s Eyes emeralds. “Bet these will fetch six figures at least!”

Sunset finally took her chance and jumped down to land on the catwalk below, just in front of Ragdoll. She then found herself being flanked by Catwoman, who jumped over the nimble man and landed right next to her, while Batman remained behind Ragdoll.

“If it’s money you want, go rob a bank, rag face. Those emeralds are two of a kind and they’re mine!” Catwoman charged forward and tried to swipe the man, but he jumped up onto the clock gears. She and Batman chased right after him, with Sunset left behind once more.

“Looks like there’s three of us now, and two of these, so how’s about we split them one-way!” Ragdoll taunted as the fight continued.

Sunset kept her eyes on the fighting as she ran down several stairs that connected the multiple catwalks as she tried to keep up with the others.

The young heroine watched as Ragdoll lost one of the emeralds to Catwoman before losing the other one to Batman. Then Catwoman turned her attention to Batman and knocked both him and Ragdoll down off the platform. The emerald Batman had flew high in the air before landing in her hands.

“Now then, let’s go home, you two,” Catwoman said to her prizes before she turned around and found Sunset standing right in front of her. “Oh, still around are we?”

“I’m going to ask nicely.” Sunset held her hand out. “Hand them over.”

“Finders keepers. Besides, these don’t have an actual owner, so they can be mine.”

“They were in Bruce Wayne’s clock tower, so I would think that he’s the proper owner,” Sunset countered.

“Wayne? Like he would appreciate these as I would. Besides, the Cat’s Eyes are a legend; they’re not even supposed to be here, so it’s not like anyone is going to miss them.” Catwoman then sighed. “Fine,” she said before Sunset felt the woman’s boot crash into her chest and knock her onto the ground. “Didn’t want to do that, sweetie, but I’m not giving these up!”

Sunset got back up and found Catwoman jumping out of a small opening in the clock tower. She chased after her until Sunset found that Catwoman had jumped down onto the roof below the tower.

“Okay, can’t hesitate this time.” Sunset took a deep breath before she stepped forward and landed on a small, ethereal platform she conjured up. The platforms were small, just large enough for her feet, which she used as a makeshift stairwell down to the roof below.

Catwoman was focused on the jewels rather than continuing to make her escape. That would be a big mistake on her part as Sunset landed several feet behind her.

Catwoman was momentarily surprised to see Sunset had followed her, but she quickly had a smirk on her face.

“Can’t seem to know when to quit, huh?”

“Sorry if I’m interrupting your plans, but I’m not letting you get away tonight.”

“I admire your determination and spirit,” Catwoman purred. “How’s about leaving the Bat and joining me? You’d make a good ‘Catgirl’.”

Sunset chuckled. “Sorry, not that much of a cat person. And I’m not a thief like you.”

Catwoman slowly started moving into more of a fighting stance in front of Sunset. “Why don’t you make a smart decision right now and leave? Do that or else.” She flashed her claws. “I might just have to make you into my scratching post.”

“How about you go play with a ball of yarn!” Sunset spat before Catwoman ran right for her.

Sunset put all of her training that she got from Dragon to the test as she focused on trying to dodge the swipes and kicks that Catwoman was throwing at her. The woman was certainly as nimble as a cat, and whenever Sunset tried to make use of an opening, Catwoman would respond with almost cat-like reflexes and block her attacks.

Sunset tried a leg sweep, but Catwoman jumped over her and kicked her right in the face. Sunset shook her head, somewhat disoriented, and watched as Catwoman tried to make a break for it.

Sunset reached out and used a spell similar to her levitating something when she was a unicorn. There was a nearby television antenna that was slowly being leaned backwards before she released it. The antenna shot right back up and smacked Catwoman upside her head.

Sunset tried to make the most of the opportunity that was given as Catwoman was dizzy from the hit and ran towards the woman. Catwoman was getting back up, so Sunset channeled some of her magic into a small energy ball in her hands and detonated it right in Catwoman’s face.

The woman was blown backwards, but not before she made one swing at Sunset’s face, which knocked her back as well. Sunset hit the ground and looked up to find the two emeralds were in front of her, and so was her mask.

“Perfect. Great time for the magic on my mask to run out.” Sunset thought to herself as her identity was exposed. However, she wasn’t the only one. Her eyes widened when she saw that Catwoman’s mask had been knocked off as well. She was now staring into the face of Selena Kyle.

“Well, if it isn’t Sunset Lucciola. This is certainly a surprise,” Selena said as she picked up her mask.

“Indeed it is, Ms. Kyle. Tonight’s just been full of surprises I guess,” Sunset responded as she grabbed her own mask and the emeralds before holding them tight.

“So, what happens next then, hmm? How’s about you hand me those emeralds, and you won’t find yourself on the front page with Gotham Police knocking on your door?”

Sunset smirked, calling Selena’s bluff. “You would have me there, but I see your face too, Ms. Kyle. What exactly is going to stop me from simply telling the world that you’re Catwoman? I just have to pass the information along to the Dark Knight, and he’ll easily find a way to expose you. Besides, I’ve got a plan in mind if I ever was found out; something that I don’t think you truly have.”

Sunset knew exactly what she could do if she was ever found out. She’d probably just take refuge in the Tower of Fate; somewhere the police couldn’t get to and concentrate on finding a way back home to Canterlot High or Equestria.

“So, what’s it going to be? We can just simply walk away and keep the knowledge we’ve learned to ourselves, or we can ruin each other.” Sunset got ready for another fight. Selena growled and then sighed in defeat.

“Fine. But mark my words. I’m going to get those emeralds one way or another.” She put her mask back on and then jumped off the roof.

Sunset took a long breath before she sat down and laughed to herself. She was completely surprised that she managed to come out on top by ending up with the Cat’s Eyes.

“You alright?” Sunset heard Batman ask her as she turned to find him looking down at her.

“Never better.” She got back up on her feet. “Look what I managed to keep.” She smirked before handing him the Cat’s Eyes.

“Impressive. Though, you do know your mask is off, right?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, she found out who I was, but I did the same to her. We agreed to simply keep what we’ve learned to ourselves when she realized I was more willing to allow my identity to be exposed than hers.”

“Well, you’ve certainly done an amazing job tonight, Alicorn. I’ll admit, I didn’t think you were going to get these.”

Sunset crossed her arms before shrugging. “I don’t blame you. To be honest, I didn’t think I would pull it off myself. By the way, what happened to Ragdoll?”

“He’s currently ‘tied up’ at the moment. The police will certainly have quite a surprise when they show up.”

Sunset giggled at the pun. “Good to hear that he’ll be taken care of then. So, I take it that you’ve got a plan to get those to Bruce Wayne?”

Batman nodded before Sunset yawned. “I think you’ve had a long night. How’s about you head home and get some rest?”

“Yeah.” Sunset put her mask back on. “I’ll go do that.”

“Oh, wait for a second.” Batman stopped her. “Here.” He tossed her a small device that Sunset recognized as a communicator.

“Wait, is this—?”

Batman smirked at her and nodded. “Consider it a reward for earning my approval.” He jumped off the roof before swinging away from her.

Sunset felt a wave of pride come over her as she looked at the device. She tried to put it in her jacket pocket but realized it wouldn’t fit in there.

“Great. Now I have to figure out how I’m gonna carry this thing.”

Chapter 15: Clay

“I honestly can’t believe that he trusts you.” Sunset heard Detective Yin’s voice crackled over the communicator that Batman had given her after the Catwoman/Ragdoll encounter at the Gotham Clock Tower.

For Sunset, even after receiving the communicator and earning the Dark Knight’s approval, most of October felt like the same old routine that Sunset was used to. She goes out on a patrol, deals with some low-level criminals then head back home; all without interacting at all with Batman.

“Well, it’s more of his approval rather than his trust. If he truly trusted me, I’m pretty sure I would already know his identity.” Sunset said as she was looking over a spellbook. Most of her free time had been deep into studying magic as she wanted to make sure that the incident involving her mask would never happen again,as well as a range of other spells like some healing ones after some of the bruises she would inadvertently end up getting.

“You know, he’s probably listening on us right now.” Yin pointed out.

“I’m aware. But I’ll admit; it is nice to hear a friendlier voice on this thing. By the way, Detective, I’m not putting you in danger right now by talking to you, am I?”

“No,” Yin told her. “I’m currently spending Halloween off from work for a few days, so as of right now, I’m in my apartment with little worries of Chief Rojas or someone walking in and seeing me have this.”

“That’s good to hear. I would’ve contacted you sooner but I didn’t know if you were going to be able to talk without being discovered.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I think the bigger concern is more about what you do.”

Sunset gave a small chuckle. “Oh, are you talking about me going around being a vigilante just like the Bat?”

“Well, yes,” Yin paused. “I mean, from reports and everything else I have, I’m guessing that you’re at least high schooler and yet, you’re out there risking yourself.”

“First of all, Detective, you are right about my age, but I might not be a high schooler; I mean I could be homeschooled or something.”

“Look, that’s not the point I’m trying to make. I’ve come to understand that Batman might be the only one who can deal with all these crazed criminal that has been tormenting Gotham lately.”

“And?”

Sunset heard the older woman sigh over the communicator. “Listen, I’m just concerned that you want to do this stuff too.”

Sunset nodded, even if Yin couldn’t see her. “You’re not the first one to express your concerns to me, but-” Sunset paused for a moment as she tried to think of what to say next. “- it’s something that I feel that I need to do. I have the abilities to do it, and I feel that I would be wasting them not doing what I’m doing.”

Sunset heard nothing from Yin’s end until a moment later when she heard the Gotham detective started to chuckle. “Is something funny, Detective?”

“You certainly have quite the heart if you want to do something like this. I’ve been thinking about some of the perps we’ve brought in. Most are terrified of the Bat, but you?”

“I’m still not being taken seriously, am I?”

“No, far from it, but I hear more things about you from people you help. The way I see it, if the Batman brings fear to the criminals of Gotham, then Alicorn brings hope to the citizens.”

“You’re giving people hope. You’re giving them the assurance that they don’t need to be afraid to simply walk out of their homes and do anything.” The words Zatanna gave Sunset on the first night she went crime-fighting in Gotham echoed in her head.

A smile crept along Sunset’s face as she now truly understood what her mentor had meant that night.

“You don’t know how good that makes me feel, Detective. It makes me feel like what I’m doing is making an impact and all worthwhile.” Sunset checked her clock and realized how late it suddenly was; being buried in those spellbooks made her lose track of time.

“Listen, Detective Yin, it’s getting late and I need some rest. It was nice to finally talk to you.”

“Yeah, I’ll admit, it was kind of nice to talk to a more friendly voice on this thing. Take care of yourself, Alicorn.”

“You too, Detective.” Sunset turned off the communicator and put it down. She stretched her arms as she got ready for bed and school in the morning.

She walked back to the living room as she heard that the television was left on. As she turned the hallway corner, she saw that the TV was on the news and there was another story involving Bruce Wayne.

Sunset leaned down and got ready to turn it off but as she got close to the screen, she stopped. Her eyes were locked to the screen and Bruce’s face while her mind began turning as if she was trying to solve a puzzle.

A moment later, her eyes widened and she turned off the TV to head back to her bedroom. She quickly pulled out the journal she was writing and add something to the entry she wrote earlier in the night.

‘PS Princess, I think I just discovered something a moment ago. It’s a mystery that has been somewhat bothering me, though I’ve been a bit more preoccupied with my whole training and schoolwork to think about it.’

‘However, I think I may have just solved it, though I don’t have much in terms of proof. It’s involving the identity of Batman. Most probably wouldn’t figure this out since most people have little interaction with him and don’t get close to him, but I’m not like most people.’

‘The car he drives, the gadgets he uses; it’s someone with a lot of money. And even though he has a cowl on, it’s clear that he’s young and learned much from many different people around the world. With all this, and quite possibly a perfect motive, there could be only one person.’

‘I think that the Batman might be Bruce Wayne.’

“Boy, classes was certainly boring today,” Barbara said as she, Sunset and Pamela were walking out of the school once classes were over.

“Yeah, it’s Halloween and the school allows the students and faculty to dress up; lucky us we get the teachers that don’t get the mood.” Pamela chuckled.

“Certainly would’ve made things a bit more enjoyable,” Sunset agreed. “Maybe they did have costumes, though they might have been on the banned list.”

“Yeah, I saw some of those bans.” Barbara nodded. “They made sense though; pretty sure it would be in bad taste if somebody showed up as the Joker or something.” Both Sunset and Pamela nodded at that.

“Hey, did anyone see Principal Lewis’s Solomon Grundy costume? He looked intimidating.” Pamela said.

“Who’s Solomon Grundy?” Sunset asked.

“Solomon Grundy!” The girls nearly jumped before turning around and seeing Murphy walk out with his two friends, Harvey and Jason.

All three of them were dressed up for Halloween with Murphy in this sleeveless blue outfit with some sort of plastic flail whip on his hip, Harvey wearing a different blue outfit with a cape and a fake mustache and Jason was dressed like a cowboy with a large poncho wrapped around his torso.

“Grundy is supposedly a Gotham legend. He’s a swamp zombie that will rise out of Gotham Swamp on a lunar eclipse during Halloween night and cause havoc for the wealthy elite of the city.” Murphy explained.

“Well, I can see you boys certainly dressed up today.” Barbara crossed her arms.

“The school is having that Halloween party tonight so we were planning to attend,” Harvey, the dark-skinned, black-haired boy said.

“What about you girls? You planning on showing up tonight?” Jason, the light-skinned, brown-haired boy asked.

“Sorry, boys, I’m going to spend the night with my mom giving candy out to trick or treaters,” Pamela told them.

“I’m going to have to spend most of the night with my dad at this office since my mother’s got a late shift and they don’t want me to stay home alone,” Barbara explained.

“And I’ve got some school work to take care of so I’m out as well,” Sunset said.

“Alright then, take care of yourselves,” Jason turned around and the other two boys followed him.

“Oh, keep your eyes out; it is Grundy’s Night after all!” Murphy teased. The girls shook their heads as they rolled their eyes.

“I swear, Murphy is the biggest weirdo in this school.” Barbara chuckled which caused her two friends to follow suit.

“Well, I hope you girls enjoy your night, I’m gonna get into the books,” Sunset said as she got ready to split with the group.

“Okay, then, don’t overexert yourself there, okay Sunny?” Pamela said.

“I will. Bye.” Sunset turned around and walked back to her apartment. “Another Nightmare Night away from home.”

Sunset opened the door to her apartment, walked in before she headed straight towards her closet and got out her Alicorn outfit.

“Considering that it’s now Halloween, there’s probably a good chance for some crooks to try and get away with their crimes tonight,” Sunset said to herself before she chuckled. “I wonder if any of them are going to think I’m the real deal. If not, they’re going to be in for a surprise.”

Sunset’s belief that she was going to have a lot of work on the patrol tonight turned out to be quite a bust. Most she was encountering as she ran along the rooftops were disorderly conduct and teenagers playing some Halloween pranks, but nothing in terms of a crime that needed to be stopped.

She soon found herself sitting on a small bench in an isolated area of the city with a few houses in the area. It was one of the wealthy areas where many of the descendants of the town founders and several of Gotham’s elite resided.

“Hey, we have the same costume!” Sunset’s train of thought came back to reality as she turned and found herself looking at a smaller version of her, or rather; a little girl was trick-or-treating as Alicorn.

Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, we sure do. That looks good on you.”

“Thanks! My daddy helped me make it! Alicorn is the coolest superheroine ever!”

Sunset felt a wave of pride come across her as she heard that. It was lucky she had the mask on or the girl would’ve seen some joyful tears starting to build in her eyes.

“Molly! Molly!” A young man, possibly the girl’s father, ran up to the two of them. “Molly, remember, don’t stray away, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy! Look who I met, it’s Alicorn!”

The man laughed. “Yeah, it sure is her. Certainly looks good,” The father sat down next to Sunset while the little girl sat on the ground and looked through her candy pile.

“Yeah, I was going to a costume party with some friends but they bailed,” Sunset lied. “So now I’m just walking home.” Her voice was quieter so that only the man heard her; just to keep up the idea that the girl met the real Alicorn while her father met some random girl dressed as the superheroine.

“Well, I know my Molly is going to be talking about this for a long time, so thanks for really making her night, ma’am.”

Sunset shook his hand. “No problem, sir. Have a good night. You too, Alicorn.” She waved at the little girl before she stood up.

“Bye, Alicorn!” The girl called out as Sunset walked away.

However, after walking a few dozen yards away from the father and daughter; Sunset heard what sounded like a house violently collapsing in the distance. She ran towards the sound and saw on the wreckage of a large home on a hill.

Sunset ran as fast as she could up the hill to try and see if any survivors needed to be rescued. When she got to the wrecked front door, she saw there were two old ladies, who were twins, clutching each other in the ruins that surrounded them.

“What exactly happened here?” Sunset asked and got the women’s attention.

“Can’t you see we’re not giving candy right now!?” One of the sisters snapped at Sunset.

“I’m not trick-or-treating, ladies. I’m the real Alicorn and I’m trying to help you right now, so tell me, what exactly happened?”

“It was him! He came for us!” The other sister shouted, her eyes filled with horror at what had just happened.

“‘He’? I’m sorry, you two, but you’ll have to be more specific.”

“Solomon Grundy!” The first sister cried out. “Look how strong he is, he did this all with his bare hands!”

Sunset looked around the ruins of the home. “It does certainly look that way. I’m pretty sure the home was structurally sound,” Sunset then looked back at the old ladies again. “But, why did he do this?”

“It’s all part of his revenge! We’re Georgia and Virginia Bolton, great-granddaughters of Emmett Bolton, one of Gotham’s founding families who helped rebuild the city after the Great Fire in 1871.” Virginia explained.

“It’s exactly as how the legend goes: one night, Grundy would rise from the swamps on the darkest night to take and destroy the descendants of all that they had,” Georgia said.

“Look around now, our home, our assets, Grundy took everything from us. We’re just lucky he decided to spare our lives.”

Sunset put her hand to her chin as she went into thought. “So, Grundy is obsessed with revenge. And you’re sure you saw him?”

“Of course, we’re sure! If you don’t believe us, then go to the others! Grundy came after us so they’ll be next!” warned Virginia.

“Others? Who exactly are these others?”

“Winslow and Parish. Those two are the descendants of the men that helped Great-grandfather Emmett.”

Sunset nodded. “Okay, then. You two stay here and wait for the police to come. I’ll go after this infamous swamp zombie of yours.” Sunset turned around and ran back out of the ruins and down the hill.

As she reached the base of the hill, the Batmobile pulled up right in front of her before the top opened up and the Dark Knight jumped out.

Batman looked up at the ruins for a moment before looking back at Sunset. “Care to explain?”

“I can on the way,” said Sunset. “But we need to find a man named Winslow, a descendant of one of the city’s founders. Do you know where he lives?”

Batman nodded. “I do. Get in.”

The Batmobile pulled up to a large mansion not too far away from where the Bolton sisters lived. Sunset and Batman got out and started walking towards the front door where it was clear that it had been knocked in.

“So the women were convinced that a mythical swamp zombie destroyed their home,” Batman said.

“Well, I’m pretty certain it was up to code so right now, I’ll take their word for it,” Sunset told him. The two of them entered inside the building to find a trail of mucky footprints on the floor and the main foyer completely torn apart.

“If this is indeed Grundy, he works surprisingly fast for a zombie.” Sunset observed.

Batman walked forward before putting his finger up to his mouth as he motioned Sunset to follow him and stay quiet. The two heroes moved deeper into the mansion as they heard the sounds of furniture and walls being wrecked.

The two of them turned their heads around a corner and saw an older gentleman in the study backing away with a terrified look on his face.

They ran into the room only to find in the corner a truly grotesque figure. He stood almost well above eight feet with pale rotting skin, bleach white hair that was in long clumps and soulless pale yellow eyes. This was the infamous Solomon Grundy in the flesh.

“Winslow! Run!” Batman called out as Grundy turned his attention to the two heroes. The zombie stared right at them before he roared in anger.

“Grundy wants revenge! Grundy must destroy!” The trench-coat wearing monster shouted before tossing aside a table and flinging it into a wall.

Batman responded by aiming his grappling hook at Grundy and causing it to wrap around the giant to tie him up. However, Grundy simply tore his way out of the cable like it was made of string.

The zombie charged forward, his attention more towards Batman rather than Sunset, but the Dark Knight ducked out of the way and landed a few punches in Grundy’s back. Sunset came up close and did a leg sweep at Grundy’s leg to try and knock him over but the ghoul merely shrugged off her hit.

The two heroes backed up a few feet before Batman threw out some smoke bombs. The bombs detonated in Grundy’s face as a distraction and to cover Batman’s next move as he ran up and kicked Grundy in the face.

Batman continued the assault with a few more punches before Grundy grabbed Batman’s arm and had him at his mercy.

“Destroy!” Grundy yelled before he tossed Batman right into Sunset’s direction. She tried to duck down but the speed Batman was thrown at her caused him to collide into her and knocked them into one of the hallways, with Batman trying to somewhat soften the blow for Sunset as they landed.

Sunset got back up first as Batman was still disoriented. She ran towards Grundy, jumped over his arms as he tried to grab her and delivered a kick right to the side of Grundy’s head. When she connected though, pain shot through her entire leg as if she kicked a brick wall.

“Ahh!” Sunset cried out in pain as she fell on the floor and clutched her leg. “Ugh… I’m going to feel that in the morning.”

Sunset soon found herself getting picked up and thrown through the air before she ended up crashing right through the wall of the building and ending up outside. Thankfully, the protection spells on her clothes took most of the damage, but she still ended up getting hurt from some of it.

The former unicorn tried to get back up, but her body’s injuries were screaming at her to stay down for the time being. She could only turn her head and watch as the whole mansion began to crumble apart.

She then heard loud footsteps at the front door before she saw Grundy walking out and turning back to look into the foyer.

“Grundy wins,” the zombie said before he swung his arms and took out the support beams on the front porch and caused the entire mansion to finally implode and collapse.

For the next few minutes, there was no movement coming from the house as Sunset slowly began to get back up. She stumbled over the ruins as she tried to find any signs of life in the wreckage.

She heard the sound of a man groaning in pain before she came across Batman who was currently pinned under some rubble.

“Hang on, Batman,” she said as she started to move some wood and stone off of him. She noticed that his arms were pinned and that she could peak under his mask if she wanted to prove her theory that Bruce Wayne was Batman.

Curiosity began to get the better of her as she reached over and nearly grabbed his mask before she pulled her arm away.

“No,” she shook her head. “It just doesn’t feel right.” She then sighed and continued to free him from the debris.

“My home… everything I’ve owned, gone.” Sunset turned her head and saw that Winslow had somehow managed to escape from the ruin.

After taking off a few more planks of wood, Batman seemed to recover from his disorientation and got back up.

“Thanks,” he said to Sunset as they soon heard police sirens getting closer. “We should probably get out of here before the police think of pinning all this on us. Come on, I’ll drop you off somewhere away from here.”

“I’ve got my own way out of here,” Sunset told him. “Besides, I’d like to get some information about our certain zombie.”

“Alright then, but don’t take too long. I’m sure we’re not done with Grundy tonight.”

Sunset gave him a thumbs up before she opened up a portal to the Tower of Fate. “Got it,” she said before stepping through.

She took a few steps into the grand hall where all the books were in the Tower before looking around. The Tower felt empty like the many times before that Sunset had been here.

“Hello? Doctor Fate?” She called out as she started walking up some stairs at the center of the Tower. She soon heard the sound of something materializing and turned to see that Fate had appeared behind her.

“Ah, there you are. Listen, I’m sorry to bother you at such a late hour and be unannounced,” Sunset respectfully bowed. “But, I need some information, like right now.”

The man said nothing to her, like with every one of her visits to the Tower. Sunset rolled her left shoulder as it still felt somewhat stiff after landing on it when she was tossed through the wall. It was clear to her that Fate noticed this.

“Oh, yeah, about my bruises and scratches, it’s related to why I’m here. Please tell me that there’s a book that contains any information pertaining to an eight-foot-tall zombie.”

Fate continued to look at her. “Okay, you may be wearing that mask, but I’m a hundred percent sure you’re raising an eyebrow right now.”

“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the truth, I’m sure of it. Batman and I ended up getting tossed around by Solomon Grundy, the infamous swamp zombie of Gotham City. That’s why I came here; I need whatever you have on this monster, including some information about how to stop him.”

Fate said nothing as he held his hand over Sunset and it began to glow. A warm tingling feeling went through her body before Sunset realized that Fate was performing a healing spell on her.

After the powerful magic-user was finished, Sunset rolled her shoulder once more and felt almost no more stiffness in it.

“Thank you, Doctor,” she bowed once more. “I would’ve tried to heal myself, but I doubt I would’ve done it as well as you did.”

Fate slowly nodded his head once before he held his hand out once again and a book ended up flying off the shelves and landed in his hand. He flipped through a few pages before he handed the book to her.

Sunset saw that he had found a book about Gotham’s legends and flipped the pages to the section involving Solomon Grundy.

“Wow! This… this is perfect! Thank you!” Sunset exclaimed before the Doctor floated to the center of the tower and teleported.

Sunset walked back down the stairs and sat in one of the chairs that were placed in the tower as she looked over the pages.

“Okay, Grundy, where is it you come from?” she said to herself.

“According to this, Gotham Swamp wasn’t originally a swamp. Before, it was a lake home to a predominant number of Eastern European laborers who helped rebuild Gotham City after much of it was destroyed by the Great Fire.” Sunset thought to herself.

“However, three businessmen, Bolton, Winslow, and Parish, conspired with each other and turned the lake into a dumping ground with the industrial waste that the rebuilding efforts had created, which turned the lake into the mostly uninhabitable swamp that the city knows today.”

“Several of the laborers turned out to be well versed in magic that they learned from their native countries. On All Hallows Eve, during a lunar eclipse, they performed a ceremony that created Solomon Grundy from the wastes of the swamp.”

“Because the laborers and their families lost everything to the greed of Bolton, Winslow, and Parish, Grundy would hunt them down and their families throughout the decades, attempting to leave them as destitute as the ones they wronged.”

Sunset closed the book and rubbed her temples. “Alright, well, I would say those men had it coming back then, but their descendants shouldn’t have to suffer the sins of their ancestors.”

The apprentice magician then growled. “But curse it all, this thing doesn’t say anything about how to defeat this walking corpse!”

She then sighed before she came to a realization. “Wait a second; Grundy still has one more target in terms of the Parish family; that means he’ll be going after them any minute now!”

Sunset quickly reapplied several of her wards and spells on her outfit as she got ready to leave the Tower.

“Thank you again, Doctor!” She called out but received no reply. She then opened the portal and headed back to Gotham.

When Sunset returned to Gotham, she made sure to try and find wherever the Parish’s were in the city. It didn’t take too long to figure out that Grundy’s target wouldn’t be their home but rather one of the oldest attractions in the city: The Gotham Wax Museum.

The Gotham Clock tower struck midnight as Sunset climbed onto the roof of a building that overlooked the wax museum.

“Night, Mr. Parish,” a man waved at the other man who was locking up the building. “Happy Halloween.”

“You too, Frank,” Parish said as he locked the door and started walking away.

“I see you made the connection too,” Sunset glanced behind her and saw Batman walking up to her.

“Yeah, I discovered that the Depression wasn’t too good for the Parishs so they didn’t keep as much of their wealth as the Boltons or the Winslows.”

“That means the only thing that Grundy could take away from them would be their wax museum, which happens to get quite a bit of money during Halloween. Hmm, if that’s the case, then Grundy might not be all he appears.”

Sunset gave the Bat a look. “You’re thinking there’s something deeper to this than a supernatural curse?”

“I’m running an analysis on some of the mud that Grundy left on me back in the Batcave. The results should prove whether or not Grundy is truly a supernatural monster, or something else,”

“Something else?” Sunset asked. Batman didn’t continue as the sound of Grundy’s moaning echoed across the alleyways. The two of them looked towards the source of the noise and saw Grundy slowly walking towards the direction of the wax museum.

Grundy began to walk through a curtain of steam that was rising out of a nearby pipe. Both heroes took the opportunity to jump down to the alley and hide before Grundy could walk through the steam cloud and see them.

Batman looked over to Sunset and silently nodded before they both moved out of cover and looked down the alley... only to find that Grundy had just vanished. The two of them looked back towards the other end of the alley, but still no sign of their target.

“For a swamp zombie, Grundy seems to move pretty fast,” Batman said before some trash cans rustled down the alley. The two of them quietly hurried over to the sound only to find a black cat walking by.

“Black cat, hope that’s not an omen for us,” Sunset bit her lip before they turned around and found themselves being yelled at by a guy in a demon mask. The heroes jumped back before the man held his hands up.

“Whoa, easy, easy,” he took off his mask and chuckled. “I’m just messing with you two. You know, I don’t think I saw you guys at old man Parish’s party. Nice costumes, by the way, Batman and Alicorn, right?”

“Yeah, my daughter and I were coming back from a different party,” Batman made up an excuse. “Though we’re looking out for a friend of ours, bit of a tall man, he was dressed like Solomon Grundy.”

“Well, I haven’t seen any swamp zombies lately, but if I do see him, I’ll be sure to tell him that The Batman and Alicorn are looking for him!” The man laughed.

“Come on, Dad,” Sunset pulled on Batman’s arm to keep up the charade. “Let’s try this way.”

“Have a good night, sir,” Batman said as he and Sunset turned and started walking down the alley.

“You too, buddy,” the man walked away from them.

“Go ahead,” Sunset saw Batman putting a hand up against his head which meant that the Batcave was probably contacting him. “It was in the mud itself.”

“What? What are you saying?” Sunset wondered.

“The results came back from the Batcave, looks like my suspicions were right. Grundy isn’t supernatural, but that doesn’t change the fact that his threat is all too real.”

As if on cue, the two crimefighters turned looked behind them and found Grundy standing right over them.

“Grundy will destroy!” The zombie roared at them. Grundy proceeded to knock Sunset aside before he grabbed Batman and threw him through a brick support beam and crashed right in front of the wax museum.

Sunset watched as Grundy charged forward towards Batman who was slow to get up, but fast enough to at least dodge the charge; causing Grundy to knock a hole into the side of the wax museum’s wall. However, Grundy grabbed him by his cape and dragged him into the zombie’s arms.

Sunset got up and ran towards the two of them as Grundy proceeded to wrap his arms around Batman and squeezing him like he was trying to snap him in two.

“Revenge!” Grundy shouted as he squeezed tighter.

“Halloween’s nearly over, Grundy. Time to lose the mask,” Batman said as Sunset stuck Grundy in the back with a small blast of magical energy. The zombie lost his grip and Batman escaped while pulling off Grundy’s face.

Sunset expected to see a skull or some horribly deformed flesh, but instead, she saw a different kind of deformed face. It was a darker grey color that looked like it was slightly melting and instead of a yellow eye, Grundy now had one bright green eye glowing.

“Trick or treat, Clayface,” Sunset could see that Batman was right about Grundy not being supernatural, but she still had no idea what was going on.

“You can’t blame me for having some Halloween fun, can you, Bats?” Clayface laughed. “By the way, when exactly did you start bringing your ‘daughter’ to work?”

Sunset realized that Clayface was also the man in the demon mask they encountered earlier. This man was a shapeshifter, similar to a Changeling.

“I’m surprised not to see you in that glass cage in Arkham,” Batman said as he took a few steps back.

“Took a few months, but I managed to finally make good my escape. They won’t know I’m gone till morning.”

“Terrorizing the descendants and destroying their homes, that was nothing more than a cover to you robbing them of their cash.”

“Leave them destitute just like the story told.” Clayface reverted his face to the Grundy look while his hand morphed into a giant mace. He wasn’t just a shapeshifter in terms of looks; he could also morph his body into anything he wanted.

Clayface jumped up and tried to slam the mace down on Batman and Sunset but both of them jumped out of the way, leaving behind a small crater that Clayface stood in.

“No one would think of going after Grundy just because he stole the money,” Sunset put together the rest of the mystery. “If they even believed the survivors that Grundy attacked them, they would still have to dredge Gotham Swamp.”

“And I’d be long gone with my loot while taking any face I wanted,” his face now turned into that of the man with the demon mask. “Alive, dead or nonexistent.”

“Knew we couldn’t have lost a five hundred pound, eight-foot-tall zombie that easily,” Batman muttered to himself.

“I may not have tricked you, Bats,” Clayface charged the duo once more and knocked them both out of the way as he ran into the large open hole in the side of the museum. “But I’m still gonna collect my treats!”

Batman walked over to Sunset and helped her up before they looked into the hole that Clayface had escaped into.

“What ‘exactly’ was that thing?” Sunset asked.

“Clayface, he’s a shapeshifter, able to mold himself like clay and take the form of anything or anyone.”

“Where exactly did he come from? How is he able to do all this?”

“It’s not important right now, Alicorn, what’s important is stopping him.” Sunset stomped her foot down and grabbed Batman’s arm before he could walk any further.

“No, I want to know exactly who we’re dealing with!” she shouted.

Batman stared at her for a moment before he sighed in defeat. “Okay, he’s actually Detective Ethan Bennett of the GCPD. He was Detective Yin’s old partner.” Sunset’s eyes widened as she heard that.

“One day about half a year ago, Joker managed to capture him and tortured him. He then used some sort of unstable chemical on him and caused him to mutate into Clayface. He tried going after Chief Rojas but Yin and I stopped him and sent him to Arkham.”

“Wait, why he is doing all this, why did he go after Chief Rojas instead of the Joker and be some sort of super cop?”

“I’m not sure, but something snapped in Ethan’s mind when he was tortured. Rojas chewed him out for letting me go; he and Yin were assigned to try and arrest me. After that, he came back as what you just saw and tried to attack Rojas.”

“Ethan’s mind… it seems like he’s suffered from some sort of split personality, except the split persona of Clayface has taken complete control. He’s been in Arkham since that day, and as that clay-being form, you just saw. Essentially, no one has seen Ethan since that day.”

Sunset looked back to the hole in the museum’s wall as she processed what had been told. “So, Ethan is a prisoner in his own mind?”

“As I said, looks that way,”

Thoughts crossed Sunset’s mind as tried to figure out what she could truly do to help Batman fight the shapeshifter. It suddenly hit her; while she was researching spells, she came across one that was helpful in clearing one’s mind. It was of great help to her when she just needed to calm down after a long day of school or a rough patrol over the last few weeks.

So, could it be possible to calm someone else’s mind? Could she be able to help clear Clayface’s mind, and perhaps allow Ethan to come back and take control of himself if what Batman said was correct?

There was one catch though. If she wanted to make sure that Clayface just simply take back over Ethan’s mind, then she was going to have to put a lot of magic into the spell. The problem was that the odds of it working were probably against her, and she might end up doing some serious damage on either Ethan or herself.

After a few seconds of thinking it through, she made up her mind.

“I think I have an idea to permanently stop him.”

“How?” Batman asked.

“Well, it’s not something I’m too sure about,” she told him as they walked inside.

The two of them kept glancing around the building as they walked past multiple wax figures in different dioramas. Knights, vampires, werewolves, aliens, all sorts of different statures; and any one of them could be Clayface.

“Looking for a shapeshifter in a wax museum,” Batman shook his head.

“Like looking for a needle in a haystack, right?” Batman nodded at Sunset’s analogy. They walked towards a statue of Grundy but Batman shook his head.

“No, it would be too obvious,” Sunset glanced back and pushed Batman out of the way as soon as she saw an alien trying to slice at them with one of his claws. The claw crashed into the Grundy statue as the two heroes got back on their feet.

Clayface’s arm got caught on the Grundy statue and he threw it away, but it took too long which gave Batman enough time to throw a green vial at him. The vial exploded and engulfed Clayface’s leg in ice.

“My leg!” He cried out as Batman jumped up and tried to dive kick the shapeshifter but Clayface just knocked him away with his free arm. “Sorry, Bats, but I’m the one providing the chills tonight.”

Clayface proceeded to simply cut off his incapacitated leg and then stood back up as he let a new one reform. He then turned into a gray blob of clay and hopped around the museum away from Sunset and Batman.

“What exactly was that plan of yours again?” Batman looked to Sunset.

“I just need him to hold still for a few moments, that’s all,” Sunset ran in the direction Clayface did while Batman stayed behind.

Batman didn’t follow after Alicorn as she didn’t know exactly where Clayface was. However, Batman knew where Clayface was going thanks to the ice melting away and the remaining part of Clayface that was left behind began slithering back to its host.

Batman followed the blob up the stairs into Mr. Parish’s office, as he should’ve expected. He slowly opened the door and noticed nothing was amiss except for the large safe door that was slightly opened. He was sure that Parish would’ve kept that locked so it must have meant that Clayface was already inside.

He walked up to the safe door and opened it wider… only to find himself looking at another safe door. In an instant, he realized his mistake, but it was too late as his hand was soon engulfed by the door.

Clayface began to change back into his normal form and wrapped Batman in his fist before slamming him against the glass door that led to the massive wax vats that made the figures.

Clayface then took his other hand and engulfed Batman’s head in his slimy form. “The problem with your mask there, Bats, is the lack of air holes!”

Batman could feel himself running out of air but he was still able to reach his utility belt. He pulled out a Batarang and stabbed it into Clayface before activating an electrical surge that tore through the shapeshifter’s body.

The Dark Knight took a deep breath as Clayface backed away and allowed him to breathe again. Clayface growled and punched Batman right through the glass to the ground floor of the wax factory.

He looked up towards the offices feeling very disoriented and seeing Clayface looking down on him.

“Hey! “ Batman could hear Alicorn’s voice coming from up in the office. “Were you forgetting about me?”

Clayface chuckled as he looked over to her. “Not really, but I didn’t feel like bothering with you since you’re no challenge to me.”

“It’s not wise to underestimate me; I think you of all people should know that, Bennett.”

The look on Clayface turned from smugness to anger. “Ethan Bennett was a weak fool! I’m the one in charge here, not him!”

“So, you like to think? I’m not going to let you get away with what you’ve done tonight.” Sunset took a deep breath before Batman could see her moving into a fighting stance.

Clayface just burst out laughing. “You? You think you can stop me!? Oh, that’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard! Tell you what, I’ll be sporting and let you get a hit on me before I crush you.”

Sunset walked up to him as her hand started to glow before she slapped it against his face. “Big mistake,” she said as her hand got brighter.

“What? What is this, what are you do-” Clayface looked confused before his eyes widened completely. “No, stop, don- AHHHHHHH!!!” He gave out a bloodcurdling scream.

Batman watched as Sunset looked like she had a pained look on her face as if she was really straining with whatever she was doing. This went on for about a minute before there was a bright flash of light and both Sunset and Clayface vanished.

Batman fired off his grappling hook and got himself back up to the office level before he looked at the sight in front of him. It was nothing that he was expecting.

He saw Sunset lying on the floor with that pained look still on her face. Her mask leaked a stream of tears slowly running down her face.

Meanwhile, the more surprising sight was that the other figure on the floor wasn’t Clayface but rather the body of Ethan Bennett.

Batman went into this utility belt and pulled out his communicator. “Detective Yin, come in.”

“Huh, what?” he heard her say as it sounded like he woke her up. “I’m up, I’m up, what is it?”

“I need you to come to the Gotham Wax Museum immediately,” he told her.

“What for?”

“It’s Bennett… he’s here.”

There was a slight pause. “I’m on my way.”

Chapter 16: Bennett

Zatanna was resting comfortably in Rio after she returned to the hotel room. Things had gone on a bit longer than expected due to some behind the scenes issues involving the show, but Zatanna was never one to truly make a big deal out of issues like that.

She had quickly got ready for bed before she essentially crashed on it and fell asleep. It was getting close to four in the morning when Zatanna’s dreams began to change.

“Zatanna. Zatanna,” she heard the voice of Dr. Fate in her dreams. “Wake up; I need you to come to the Tower of Fate immediately.”

A minute later, the dreams stopped and Zatanna slowly began to wake up, her mind focused on the words Fate had said. She yawned before she looked over to the clock and saw the early hour.

“Oh, this better be important if you’re waking me up now,” she grumbled to herself as she got out of bed and got dressed.

By fifteen minutes after four, she was opening the portal to the Tower and walked into the main chamber where Fate was sitting.

“Considering it still is very early for you right now, would you care for some tea, Ms. Zatara?” Fate asked as he levitated a teapot near him and poured himself a cup.

“Coffee, and make it extra strong,” Zatanna huffed as she sat down in the chair opposite of him.

“Certainly,” he said before he had a cup of coffee appear on the table in front of her.

Zatanna reached forward and took a sip which quickly jolted her awake. “Well, that certainly helped,” she told him before she put the cup back down. “Now, what exactly is going on that requires you to meet with me at four in the morning?”

“It’s relating your apprentice,” Fate explained before he took a sip of his tea; it somehow just went through his mask into his mouth.

Zatanna suddenly felt a wave of worry roll over her after he said that. “Sunset? What? Is she okay? Did something happen?”.

“I believe so,” Fate answered vaguely, “I was quietly meditating earlier before I suddenly felt a rapid surge of magic come from the world; it wasn’t just any normal magic, but very powerful chaotic magic; not dark, just uncontrolled.”

Zatanna leaned back in her chair as she felt slight dread now coming over her. “And, what,” she paused, “does this have to do with Sunset?”

“It originated from Gotham,” Fate said, “and I only know one being there at the moment that could have the power to use magic in such a powerful way that I could easily notice even here.”

“And you’re absolutely sure it was her? Could it be possible that some other magic user was there?”

“No, I know it was her, it was the same kind of power I felt the first day she arrived to our world,” he took another sip of tea. “Remember when we first met, Zatanna, your apprentice has considerable power with both Chaos and Order.”

“An almost perfect blend, like Harmony, as she later told me,” Zatanna look down, “but that still doesn’t answer what has happened.”

“I’m not entirely sure myself, but all I know is that the girl used some sort powerful spell earlier tonight.”

Zatanna could guess where this was going. “Now, hang on Fate, I think I know where you’re going with this, so how about I try to figure out what she did and if she’s okay before you decide to throw the cuffs on her. I still haven’t forgotten what you wanted to do with her when she arrived.”

Fate slowly got up out of his seat and was practically glaring at the magician. “She’s still a danger, no matter what you’ve been doing these past few months. After tonight, with that power I felt, I’m certain a few agents of Chaos will be checking out Gotham soon.”

Zatanna crossed her arms while giving Fate an angry look. “All I’ve seen is a remarkable young woman and friend that has been trying her hardest to be one of us. She’s proving herself all the time and yet you still refuse to acknowledge that. I mean, you haven’t even said a word to her since the day after she dropped those sandbags on Cobblepot. What does she have to do to finally earn your trust?”

Fate didn’t respond to her, he merely just continued to stare at her. The tension was only broken when Zatanna’s cell phone surprisingly went off.

“Wow,” she said as she pulled it out. “I didn’t know this place was able to get reception. Hello?” she asked as she flipped open the phone.

“Zatanna, are you there?” She heard Bruce’s voice on the other end.

“Yes, who is this?” She knew it was Bruce’s but considering the time it was, she just wanted to make sure she didn’t say the wrong thing in case anyone happened to be listening; much like how she and Sunset talked on the phone.

“It’s Bruce, listen, I need you to come to Gotham as soon as you can.”

“It’s about Sunset, right?” she guessed.

“Yeah,” he said. “She’s going back to her apartment right now.”

Zatanna nodded. “Alright, I’m on my way, thanks for telling me, Bruce, I’ll meet you there soon.”

“See you then.” The dial tone soon rang as the call ended.

“I think it’s safe to assume that the Batman might know more about what happened tonight,” Fate said as he sat back down in this chair.

“Well, he won’t know for sure, I know that. Bruce wasn’t much for magic since he couldn’t use it,” She didn’t bother keeping Bruce’s secret identity hidden since Fate was already well aware of the connection. “He only learned tricks from my father in his journeys.”

Zatanna began to walk out of the chamber before Fate stood up once more. “Oh, Zatanna,”

She turned around to look at him. “There’s one more thing I should mention. Sunset was here earlier tonight.”

“She was?”

Fate nodded. “She showed up looking like she had been in quite the fight, as she explained, with an eight-foot-tall zombie.”

Zatanna raised an eyebrow as she tried to figure out what he meant. A few seconds later, her mind clicked on the answer. “The old Solomon Grundy legend?”

“She specifically asked for information about him,” he said.

“Well, if it was indeed Grundy, then maybe there’s a reason why you felt all that magic; perhaps she was attempting to stop Grundy once and for all,” Zatanna suggested. “Whatever the answer is, I’ll figure it out and then tell you what I’ve discovered. I’m sure there was a reason.”

“That remains to be seen,” Fate replied coldly before Zatanna left.

Zatanna arrived in Gotham through a portal not too long after leaving the Tower. She walked towards Sunset’s apartment, the only people around were those just leaving Halloween parties or those who had some late errands to do.

She got up the stairs to Sunset’s level before she pulled out the spare keys she had on her and unlocked the door. She opened the door before locking it behind her and quickly moving towards Sunset’s room.

Zatanna turned the corner and found Sunset lying on her bed with a pained look on her face.

“Sunset…” Zatanna whispered as she kneeled next to the bed and felt pain grip her heart. The young red and yellow-haired girl was her protégé and friend, and more recently, felt a bit more like a little sister at times.

“She’s alright, just clearly in some sort of coma,” a voice said behind her. Zatanna turned around to see the Batman looming over her. Zatanna stood up before pushing the Dark Knight out of the room before closing the door.

She then continued to push him back into the living room before she raised her hand up and nearly slapped him, but not before he grabbed a hold of her arm and stopped her.

“Why didn’t you tell me she was in a coma, Bru- Batman!?” she shouted but kept it down as not to alert any of Sunset’s neighbors.

Batman had a somewhat disappointed look on his face underneath the mask. “I didn’t want to make you worry more, especially considering it’s somewhat my fault she’s like this.”

“What happened?” Zatanna asked in a stern tone.

“Sunset and I were after Solomon Grundy. He was doing as the legend told and attacking the descendants of Gotham’s founders; at least, that’s what he wanted to believe.”

“It wasn’t the real Grundy?”

Batman shook his head. “No, it was Clayface. He escaped Arkham and was performing an elaborate crime tonight. Fake being Solomon Grundy-”

“-and make people think that the real legend had returned to life,” Zatanna finished his sentence. “I have to admit, that’s pretty clever.”

“Even had me fooled for a bit,” Batman sighed. “Anyways, we figured him out when we confronted Grundy at the wax museum and fought him. Clayface got the drop on me when I was in Parish’s office. Ended up on the wax factory floor while Sunset confronted him.”

“So what happened next? It doesn’t look like Clayface did that to her.”

“No, Sunset said she had a plan, the two of them exchange a few words before Sunset uses some sort of magic that caused Clayface to scream and shined a bright light; what she did exactly, I have no idea,”

“And?” Zatanna asked.

“And when the light died down, I ended up back in the office; she’s on the floor, out cold and crying, while Clayface reverted to Ethan Bennett. Gotham PD will more than likely take him back to Arkham,”

Batman shook his head once more. “I should’ve done something more… I shouldn’t have fallen for that trap Clayface laid for me. Maybe I should’ve just convinced Sunset to go home or something, I probably would’ve taken care of him myself.”

“Please, you should know that Sunset wouldn’t listen to you about going home.” Zatanna chuckled.

Batman gave her a stern look. “You’re the one encouraging her. She’s just a girl, Zatanna, she shouldn’t be doing this, she should have a normal life,” he sighed. “Not like us.”

“Listen, she has considerable power, a power greater that she thinks. That’s why she’s doing all this, I asked her if she just wanted to live a normal life or use her gifts to help others,” Zatanna explained. “She made her decision that night Penguin crashed our show, she wanted to help.”

“I’d still like to know where you found her,” Batman crossed his arms.

“Sunset would be more than likely to let you in if you did it yourself. I think she’s close to figuring you out, Bats. She’s an incredibly clever girl.”

Batman couldn’t help but nod in agreement. “You’re right about that, she is smart.”

“Look, how’s about you head back home, I’ll look after Sunset now.”

The dark vigilante nodded. “Alright then,” he glanced back down the hallway. “I do hope she’ll be okay. I hate to admit it but she’s kinda growing on me.”

“Oh, is the Batman looking for a sidekick?”

He smirked. “I wouldn’t dare to truly take her away from you. I’d be much too scared,” he snuck back out the window before swinging off into the dark Gotham night.

Zatanna walked back into Sunset’s room and brought a chair with her that she sat down in and slowly dozed back asleep, making sure that Sunset would at least know she was there when she hopefully woke up.

Bruce Wayne walked the dark halls of Arkham Asylum, hearing only the cries and insane laughter of those admitted as he followed along one of the chief doctors of the asylum, Dr. Hugo Strange.

“I appreciate you taking the time out of your day and coming down here, Mr. Wayne,” Strange said. “I was almost thinking you wouldn’t have even picked up when he asked for you.”

When Bruce woke up in the morning after finishing his patrol as the Batman, he was surprised to learn from Alfred that the asylum had called and informed him that Ethan wanted to talk to him.

“Ethan is one of my oldest friends, Dr. Strange, but I’m honestly surprised to talk to him; I thought he was still, well, unable to be reached.”

“That’s the thing, Mr. Wayne, in all my years of physiological analysis; I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Like what, Doctor?”

“Last night, several of the orderlies saw him in his cell while he was still in his Clayface persona, still answering to that name rather than Ethan. Then he managed to escape sometime in the night before he was brought back by the police, only he was as himself once more.”

“Well, that’s certainly interesting,” Bruce admitted.

“That’s not what’s unbelievable. He woke up sometime early in the morning and asked if his family could be contacted and allowed to visit. Now, of course, that’s mostly not allowed, but I was at least curious to know why. I spent an hour talking to Ethan and for the first time since he arrived, he was acting exactly like he used to.”

“You mean he was like his old self again? Before the Joker captured him?”

“Mr. Wayne, in my professional opinion, I think Mr. Bennett was somehow cured sometime during the night,” Dr. Strange said as the two of them reached the room where Ethan was held. “Not once in our conversation did the Clayface persona make an appearance.”

“Th-that’s great!” Bruce smiled. “What exactly did you do during the night, Sunset?”

“Anyways, his family quickly came over and we observed his conversations with them. Like before, he was perfectly normal; albeit, at one point he did shift his arm into something else.”

“His biological mutation wasn’t cured but his mental health was, right?”

“Yes, but that's not what he was admitted for as you know,” Dr. Strange soon had an orderly unlock the door. “Now then, we’re still keeping him in containment just to be safe, so do understand.”

“I understand, Doctor. Thank you.” He shook the man’s hand before the door was opened and Bruce walked in by himself. He knew he was probably being observed as he walked forward into the room where Ethan was sitting on a small bench behind a glass wall.

The moment Ethan noticed Bruce walking in; a smile crept along his face. “Hey, Bruce!” The dark-skinned man waved as he stood up and walked up to the glass.

“Ethan,” Bruce replied as he took a seat in a metal chair that looked to the glass. “You’re certainly sounding like your old self.”

“I certainly hope so, today has been practically one of the best days of my life considering what’s happened. It feels like I’ve finally woken up from a long nightmare that I couldn’t get out of.”

“So you think that maybe you’re all right in the head again?”

“Got that right,” Ethan sat back down on the bench before looking around. “I wish they’d let me out of this cell sooner, but I understand their hesitation, just need to keep proving that I’m alright to be discharged.”

“Yeah, that’s probably the smart thing to do right now,” Bruce nodded. “By the way, I heard your family was here earlier, how were they doing?”

“Man, I tell you what Bruce, I have never seen my Moms cry like that the moment she saw me this morning. More or less, we just spent the time talking, though my niece wanted to know if I could still do my thing,” Ethan held up his arm and morphed into a S.W.A.T. riot shield. “So, in terms of my head, I pretty good there, though my body is still pretty screwed up.”

“Well, trust me Ethan; I’ve had Wayne Industries working on finding a cure for you so that shouldn’t be an issue for you one of these days.”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of cool now that I’m not crazy, but I just want to be old normal Ethan again.”

Bruce smirked at his friend’s words.

“Once I get out, I’ll try to see if maybe I can get back on the force, go back out and do some good on the streets, you know?”

“I have some connections and favors I could use if you truly want to be a detective again, I’m sure there’s several at the GCPD that would be happy to see you again; Detective Yin for starters.”

Ethan nodded. “It would be nice to partner up with her again, though if that happens, I just hope we’ll stick on more normal work rather than going after some of those whack jobs again. I tell you what Bruce, I’m still uncertain about what I would do if I ran into Joker again; I’d either run the other way as fast as possible or do the city a favor and shoot him.”

“Maybe you should probably leave him for the Batman,” Bruce suggested as he slightly moved in his seat.

“Probably, besides, it was him and that girl that helped me last night,” Bruce raised an eyebrow. “Okay, the whole Clayface thing, the best way to describe it was I felt like a prisoner in my own body. I could see and hear everything but I just couldn’t do anything about it.” Ethan looked disappointed as he looked away from Bruce.

“And now?” asked Bruce.

“Last night, Clayface tried to pull a successful robbery as well as an escape from Gotham undetected. Anyways, the Bat and that girl, Alicorn, if I remember hearing that right, tried to stop him at the Gotham Wax Museum. I remember Clayface tossing Batman away before he let that girl try to get a hit in.”

“Sounds like a mistake on his part.”

“Oh, it was. There was some light show that she did. Next thing I know, Clayface suddenly is, well, I guess the best way to explain it is that he’s paralyzed in my mind.”

“You mean he’s unable to come back out?”

“Yeah, of course, it’s my head, to begin with, so it allowed me to regain control. I’m just locking him deeper and deeper into my mind so he never comes back again. I still feel him somewhere, but whatever she did, he’s isn’t going to be much of a problem anymore.”

Bruce smiled. “Well, that’s amazing to hear,” his cellphone started to buzz before he pulled it out. “Darn it, I’m sorry Ethan, but I’m needed for some meeting at Wayne Industries.” Bruce stood up. “I’ll be sure to visit again, Ethan.”

“Don’t bother, I might be out pretty soon if the docs think I’m good in the head again,” he paused. “Though, I’ll wait till I’m off the island to be sure that I’m free.”

“Take care of yourself, Ethan,” Bruce said as he walked away.

“Oh, Bruce, one last thing,” Bruce turned around. “Next time we meet out there, we’ll do some one-on-one.”

The billionaire gave the former detective a smirk. “Oh, think you can keep up with me up and down the blacktop?”

Ethan laughed. “Oh, now you’re asking for me to blank you! You won’t even get a chance to shoot the rock!”

Bruce couldn’t help but chuckle. “Remember, it’s got to be fair. No stretching your arm to cover the hoop,” He turned back around and left the room as Ethan sat back down in his cell.

Sunset’s head was throbbing with dull pain by the time she began to wake up. Even though her eyes were closed, she could tell that she wasn’t waking up in the wax factory but rather a bed; probably her apartment.

She opened her eyes slowly and saw that it was indeed her room. She pulled off her covers and found herself still dressed in her Alicorn outfit while her mask was lying on the nightstand next to her.

The clock beside her showed that it was twelve and since the sun was out, it meant that she slept in and missed most of the school and probably would miss gymnastics training.

“Morning, or rather afternoon,” Sunset turned to the bedroom door and saw Zatanna leaning against it. “Your friend Barbara called and asked if you were coming to school this morning, I told her you weren’t feeling good though that was only after she calmed down when she realized she was talking to me.”

Sunset gave a small chuckle. “Well, Barbara is one of your biggest fans. I guess you came as soon as you heard.”

Zatanna nodded. “Batman clearly brought you back home and Fate told me that he felt a powerful wave of magic from somewhere in Gotham during the night, and I came almost immediately.”

“Magic portal or the red-eye?” Sunset asked as she rubbed her eyes as she tried to fully wake herself up. “Weren’t you playing in Brazil last night?”

“Yeah, I was, and yes I used a portal, but don’t worry,” she moved her hand and a flight ticket appeared in her hand. “I usually always make sure just to leave a bit of an alibi just in case.”

“The world would probably think you being halfway around it so fast would be more of a stunt rather than actual magic,” Sunset said.

The older magician gave a small laugh as she brought in a chair and placed it next to Sunset’s bed before sitting down. “I’ve thought about doing that kind of stunt, but it would raise a few too many questions.”

“Speaking of questions, I bet you’ve certainly got a few,” Sunset sighed.

“Yeah, I do,” Zatanna nodded. “I was told by a certain Dark Knight about what happened last night when I came over. Sounds like quite the mystery, thinking you’re dealing with a swamp zombie raised by black magic only to find yourself facing a shapeshifter.”

“Surprised he stuck around just to tell you after bringing me back here,” Sunset paused. “Then again, wouldn’t surprise me considering its Bruce under that mask.” If Sunset hit the mark, then Zatanna had quite the poker face because she clearly couldn’t see a tell that would confirm her accusation.

“What makes you so sure it’s Bruce?”

“Well, mostly the gadgets, the body type, plus he certainly would have a pretty good reason to be a crime fighter, wouldn’t you agree?”

“You know, Bruce was attacked by Cobblepot a few months ago, while he was being recorded for a news story. It was at Wayne Manor and Batman showed up while Bruce was still with the news crew.”

“So? Maybe Alfred was the one wearing the suit or something,” Sunset said as she rolled her eyes. “I think I have it figured out so why don’t you tell me if I’m right?”

Zatanna smirked. “Does a teacher tell you that you got a question right on a test when you ask them?”

“Touché,” Sunset smirked back. “I suppose you’re right when you put it that way. Still, it would be nice to know for sure.”

“You’re a smart and talented girl, Sunset, you’ll find out sooner or later,” Zatanna patted her protégé on the back. “Now, could you tell me what exactly you did last night?”

“Yeah,” Sunset nodded. “It all began last night after we discovered that Grundy was truly Clayface trying to perform a robbery while leading us in the wrong direction as well as truly escaping from Arkham. Batman told me about who Clayface used to be.”

“Detective Ethan Bennett, he was an old friend of Bruce’s,” interrupted Zatanna.

“Did not know that,” the young superheroine continued. “Well, the Bat explained to me about what happened to him and how his mind was, broken, that’s a good word to sum it all up. I had a thought cross my mind about a way that I could help him,”

“See, I was learning from some of spell books that the Tower had and one of them was a sort of calming spell for the mind that I’ve been using for myself to clear my mind but I thought perhaps I could be able to do the same for Ethan and help him maybe break Clayface’s hold on him. Of course, to do something like that, required me to do something that I didn’t want to do, or at least, what I could be able to do at the time.” Sunset wrapped her arms around her legs like she was curling up.

“Do what? What didn’t you want to do, Sunset?” Zatanna sounded concerned with Sunset’s vague answer.

“I wasn’t going to be able to use just the calming spell itself as it only works on the one casting it, so I had to mix with another one that I knew,” Sunset took a deep breath before speaking once more. “Well, with what I did, it felt a bit similar to something King Sombra used to do; the difference being was that I was trying to heal, not harm.”

“King Sombra? Harm? Sunset, you’re going to have to explain more.”

“King Sombra was a unicorn that took over the Crystal Empire a thousand years before I was even born and ruled with an iron hoof. He was the equivalent to several of the dictators that this world had or currently has,” explained Sunset.

“When I was Celestia’s student, I let my curiosity get the better of me and I read some things that I probably shouldn’t have. One of them was a spell that Sombra would use on his captives, he would torture them with the spell that would cause the victim’s mind to shatter and leave them a former shell of themselves.”

“You… you used dark magic last night?” Sunset could hear a touch of pain and anger in Zatanna’s tone.

“No, it wasn’t, but it could easily be used as one. I was trying to free Bennett from Clayface’s control, not break Clayface’s mind since that could’ve harmed Ethan.”

Zatanna took a deep breath. “I’m a bit disturbed that you kept this information from me, Sunset,” The magician stood up out of her chair.

“I know,” Sunset muttered before she got up as well. “I’ll start packing my things; maybe Pamela or Barbara can let me stay with them.”

Zatanna gave her young charge a look. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re probably firing me as your apprentice; it’s how that conversation with Celestia started too when I first crossed the mirror.”

Sunset felt Zatanna place her hands on her shoulders and turned her around. “Sunset, I’m not firing you or kicking you out, I’m sorry I gave that impression but it’s just, this isn’t something to be taken lightly.”

“I know.” Sunset disappointedly said.

“The use of dark magic, can send someone down a slippery slope and I for one do not want to see you falling to the forces of chaos.”

“As I said, Zatanna, I was only trying to help him, hurting Bennett was the last thing I wanted to do.”

Zatanna nodded. “Well, I am upset that you did it, but you clearly are showing me that it wasn’t of malicious intent, but next time, maybe just try to stay away from trying to use anything that resembles dark magic.”

Sunset nodded as she gave a small smile. “Trust me, I’m not planning on using that spell again, nearly took everything out of me and was dangerous. There was a good chance it probably wouldn’t work. And for all I know, constantly trying it might end up shorten my lifespan, so I don’t want to take that risk.”

“Well, don’t risk yourself like that, but it seems to have paid off. I just finished talking with Bruce shortly before you woke up and from the sounds of it; Ethan appears to be recovering quite well at Arkham.”

The smile grew on Sunset’s face. What she had done seems to have bared fruit. “That’s, that’s terrific! I guess you were right about what you said before about me bringing hope.”

“Looks that way, you just quite possibly removed from Gotham one of the greatest threats of a criminal it had, and in a non-violent way, I might add,” Zatanna smiled as she patted the young girl on the back. “You’re very well on your way to being quite the superheroine.”

Zatanna left the bedroom while Sunset just stood there for a moment, deep in her thoughts about what Zatanna had said to her.

“Would you be saying that stuff about me if you knew the truth, Zatanna?”

Chapter 17: Fangs

“Okay, Sunset, you can do this,” Sunset thought to herself as took a deep breath and looked forward, her nerves heightened as she felt extremely nervous about her next move. She steeled herself as she ran forward… and landed perfectly on the ground before the crowd began to cheer.

Sunset looked over to the judges' table to see what her score was. The five judges held up their respective scores for her: she had scored a forty-nine out of fifty; one woman had given her a nine for her Arabian Double Front. While not the score Sunset would’ve liked, she was still happy for the near-perfect numbers since she hadn’t truly nailed down the move.

She walked back over to the rest of Gotham High’s gymnastics’ team; the school was one of several that were competing in an invitational being held in Gotham. Sunset’s teammates were patting her on the back and congratulating her for her performance.

“Try and beat that,” she said to Barbara who was up next. “And I’m serious about that. Beat my score and we will easily beat that school from St. Paul.”

“Relax, I’ve got this handled,” Barbara assured her.

“Now, girls, let’s not get overconfident; wait until after the final performance before we start celebrating,” Ms. Vann reminded them.

Sunset took her seat and watched as Barbara stretched for a moment before she got ready for her performance. Barbara ran forward and jumped onto the springboard and in less than a few seconds; she had landed on the mat after flawlessly attempting an Amanar Vault.

Sunset could see Barbara was panting as she tried catching her breath from the difficult stunt. The action paid off though as the crowd erupted in applause and Barbara was getting a perfect fifty from the judges; easily sealing the win for Gotham High.

“That was amazing, Barb!” Sunset congratulated her friend after the team had received their awards and were now joining the rest of the crowd in the building by going home.

“Well, you did say that you wanted me to beat what you did, that was the only thing I could think of that would do it.” Barbara rubbed the back of her neck as she felt slightly embarrassed.

“Either way, that was great, you honestly prove why those scouts think you’re Olympic material,”

“I wouldn’t say I’m the only one proving it, I think you were certainly getting their attention as well.”

“From the way I see it,” Both girls turned and saw Pamela walking towards them. “I think Red is right about those scouts, Sunny.”

“Hey, Pam,” Barbara smiled. “You came out to one of these?”

Pamela shrugged her shoulders. “I was feeling a bit bored today so I thought I should come out and watch you two. You did great by the way, I guess. Sorry, I’m not well aware of the whole rules about competitive gymnastics.”

All three girls chuckled at Pamela’s comment. “It’s fine,” Sunset said. “Just know that we won and that’s it.”

Pamela nodded. “Well, if that’s the case, then do you girls feel like celebrating for a great job?”

“Celebrating?” Barbara asked.

“Yeah, do some girl things you know? Hang out, get a bite to eat, maybe go see a movie?”

“Oh,” Barbara realized. “That sounds like a great idea; a good way to relieve all the stress I still have in my system.”

Sunset checked her cell phone and noticed the time. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to pass on that offer, girls, I’ve got some things I need to take care of back at the apartment.”

“You sure?” Pamela asked. “We could hang out with you at your place if you want.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Sunset assured them. “You two have some fun and enjoy our victory for me. I’ll see you girls on Monday.” Sunset then began to walk towards one of the exits.

“Okay then, see you at school,” Pamela nodded.

“Oh, great job again.” Barbara waved. “By the way, be careful tonight, we’re supposed to get some thunderstorms.” The redhead added.

“Got it. Bye.” Sunset waved.

“Hmm, maybe I should’ve just taken Pamela’s suggestion and hung out with them tonight,” Sunset sighed as she sat on the edge of a rooftop while Gotham’s sky slowly began to get darker than normal.

Sunset passed up on hanging out with her friends so she could be able to go on a patrol but so far it seems like even criminals were heeding the weather report and deciding not to commit crimes tonight.

Still, she was sure that someone would try something. The bad weather was sure to at least slow down the Gotham police which would be perfect for some small-time thieves to attempt a robbery.

The crack of thunder filled the air as the sky flashed before Sunset could feel the rain coming down. It was yet another reason why she probably should’ve skipped the patrol. She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out the Bat communicator.

“Hello, are you out there, Batman?” she asked.

“I’m here,” Batman’s voice crackled over the communicator. “You currently patrolling mid-town?”

Sunset looked around expecting to see Batman on a nearby rooftop somewhere. “How-“

“The communicator has a tracker in it, shows me where exactly you are.”

Sunset nodded as she should’ve expected that. “And I’m to guess that while you can track me, I can’t track you?”

“You of all people should know the phrase about ‘magicians revealing their secrets’.”

“Ha, ha,” Sunset gave a deadpan laugh. “Certainly doesn’t look like there’s much going on tonight.”

“Agreed, the storm is probably keeping most of Gotham’s criminals indoors tonight.”

Sunset gave a small sigh. “If that’s the case, then I’m going to go back home and get out of this rain,”

“Come in, Batman, Alicorn, either of you, come in.” Sunset now heard Detective Yin’s voice on the communicator.

“Go ahead, Detective,” Batman said.

“You two doing anything at the moment?” Yin asked.

“I can’t speak for Batman at the moment but I’m currently getting soaked to the bone right now,” Sunset told her.

“Well, if you consider getting caught in the rain as the worst part of your night, I’m afraid I’ve got worse news.”

“What is it?”

“We’ve got a dual breakout tonight,” Sunset saw on her communicator two mugshots of Penguin and Joker with the words ‘escaped’ over their pictures. “Penguin has escaped from Blackgate while Joker snuck out of Arkham.”

“At the same time?” Batman asked.

“Just about, we have no idea where they’re going and it’ll take a while for us to figure out how they escaped if we even do figure it out. Those two always seem to stump the GCPD with their escapes,” Yin reluctantly admitted.

“Do you think this was planned?” Sunset wondered.

“Doubtful, Joker and Penguin are certainly not ones to have similar goals with each other nor work together. Penguin is obsessed with money to regain his family’s fortune while Joker...” Batman paused for a moment. “He’s more obsessed with just causing chaos.”

“Well, at least then we wouldn’t have to worry about those two allying.” Sunset gave a small sigh of relief. She still had not encountered the infamous Clown Prince of Crime in the flesh, but his infamy was all too well known to the young superheroine.

“Okay, thanks for the heads up, Detective,” Batman said.

“You got it; I’ve got to go,” Yin said before she went silent.

“Guess I’m not going home then.” Sunset stood up as she got ready to move.

“Listen, I’ll handle Joker, Alicorn, you tail Penguin and try to find out where he’s going; I’ll help deal with him after I take care of Joker.”

“Alright, I’m not too far away from Blackgate, I’ll see if I get lucky enough to spot him.”

“Just be careful,” The Dark Knight reminded her.

“Don’t worry, I will,” Sunset then turned off the communicator and started to run along the rooftops; her eyes peeled for her prey.

The next fifteen minutes bared no luck for her as she was forced to slow down due to the storm; the roofs slowly becoming more slippery which kept her from searching at a full sprint.

“He’s a short man in a suit with a beak-like nose, how hard is to spot him?” Sunset stopped for a moment and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath to calm down.

“Okay, Sunset, no point in getting upset, just be patient and you will surely find at least a clue to his whereabouts.” As if on cue, she heard some grumbling coming from one of the city’s rivers below her.

Her eyes widened as she saw that Cobblepot was walking along one of the city’s river canals as he was trying to dry out his clothes as best as he could.

“Once again, good things come to those that wait,” Sunset smirked as she kept her eyes on the short man and followed him while staying hidden on the roofs.

“Curse that fruit loop and his little tricks,” Cobblepot growled as he had his umbrella out to try and keep him dry from the storm. “Why did I not see that joy buzzer coming? And now he knows about the stash, ugh, way to open your big mouth there Ozzie.”

Sunset kept moving along with him while keeping her ears open. Cobblepot ran into Joker and now the two of them were after some sort of stash.

“I mean, what’s he going to do with all that money? It’s not like he cares about it as I would. At least that clown’s got the Bat on his tail which leaves me all alone for all that money. Certainly not going to share it with that loser I ditched at Blackgate and especially with that screw loose ”

Now, Sunset could tell the stash involved cash; more than likely it was all stolen. She glanced back down but unfortunately leaned against a loose brick that soon fell off the building and landed right next to Penguin.

She ducked down; hopeful he didn’t see her but Cobblepot wasn’t entirely stupid and was more than likely looking at her direction.

“Oh, been following me tonight, have you, my dear?” Cobblepot snickered. “Don’t bother to hide, I know it’s not the bat since he’s with Joker, which leaves only one other person in this town.”

Sunset mentally cursed to herself before she stood up and revealed her presence. “Didn’t realize you were out on parole already, bird brain.”

“Oh, you know the justice system, it’s like a revolving door.” He laughed.

“Then how’s about revolving it back with you in your cell again.” Sunset crossed her arms.

Cobblepot flashed a sick grin with his sharp teeth. “If you want to do that, you’re going to have to catch me then!” He shouted before he took off running.

Sunset ran across a few more rooftops before she started to go down a few levels, getting closer to the ground while Cobblepot continued to edge the distance with her. She soon was at street level and ran parallel to the river canal that Penguin continued to follow.

Penguin was desperate to lose her so he could be able to beat Joker in whatever race they were having. Penguin soon got out of the river canals and the chase moved into the alleys.

The two of them ran through the rain-soaked streets of Gotham with neither of them gaining or losing ground. However, the two of them soon found a very busy street right ahead of them.

Sunset tried to get a bit more speed to catch with Penguin but the man took a huge risk and decided to distance himself from Sunset by running through the traffic. Sunset came to a complete stop as Penguin jumped over a few moving cars before he ducked down a different alley and out of Sunset’s sight.

“Dang it! Almost had him,” Sunset snapped her fingers as she wouldn’t take as huge of a risk as Penguin. “Should’ve expected this, when it comes to the flight-or-fight response, the bird will take flight.”

She then heard the sounds of a nearby police siren and knew that it was time to hide back in the shadows once again.

Sunset climbed her way back up onto a Gotham roof before she sat down and let the rain continue to fall on her. She pulled out her communicator once more and got ready to tell Batman how she failed to keep an eye on Penguin.

“Come in, Batman, it’s Alicorn,” she said into the device.

“I hear you,” Batman responded, though his voice sounded a bit darker like something had happened. “Did you find Penguin?”

“Yeah, but I got some bad news with that. I accidentally got his attention and I had to chase him for several blocks before he lost me. He jumped through a busy street just to escape me, and I hesitated in following him.”

“No, you did the right thing,” Batman told her, much to her confusion. “If he wants to be foolish enough to put himself in harm’s way like that, then let him. You shouldn’t risk your life like that, not when you’re still not truly confident in your abilities,”

“Being a crime fighter means you need to be smart and sometimes be willing to allow an adversary a small victory for the time being,” The Dark Knight explained to her.

“I understand, we’ll get him whenever he pops his head back up again. By the way, he mentioned something about being after some sort of stash of riches that he was trying to get to before the Joker, what happened with him?”

There was no response for a few moments. “Joker’s gone.”

“He got away?”

“No, he fell. I chased him to one of the Gotham sewage treatment plants and he ended up falling into Lake Gotham. I tried to pull him up as he was hanging for his life, but he tried to get me with his joy buzzer - which ended up electrocuted him when he fell into the water - and he never came back up.”

Sunset had to pause for a moment as she tried to understand what she heard. It sounded like Joker was dead but Batman was deeply impacted by it. Maybe he was willing to not let the clown die, as a way of perhaps proving he was better than the criminals he threw in jail.

She took a deep breath and soon dismissed those thoughts. There was no point in trying to understand what was going through the Dark Knight’s head. The issue at hand was that the Penguin was still on the loose and that he needed to be stopped.

“Well, as you said a moment ago, if he wanted to put himself in harm’s way, then let him. It wasn’t your fault that he met his end at his own devices,” Sunset said.

“You’re catching on quick,” he said. “I’m heading back to the Batcave; I think you should probably go home and get some rest. We’ll deal with Penguin soon enough.”

“Alright,” Sunset turned off the communicator once more and headed back home.

Penguin was truly terrified for once in all his years.

The short, bird-obsessed thief was running for his life after crawling out of the cave that was connected to the tomb he was in; not daring to look back at the horrible monstrosity that was chasing him.

It all seemed so normal only a few hours before. Cobblepot was getting ready to break out of Blackgate his usual way, the police still had not figured it out and made efforts to close his escape route, before he received a new cellmate. The man was in for robbing an armored truck that broke down and had gotten thirty years; he tried to fake mental illness to get ten at Arkham but was figured out quick.

However, the man knew that Penguin could escape and let him in on where he hid not only the money but as well as the gold and jewels that some gangsters were hoarding throughout the years in Gotham. He told him it was in a crypt in Gotham Cemetery, a place that hadn’t been used much in recent decades and promised to share with Penguin half of the fortune if he could get him out.

The man was a bit too naïve as Penguin made his escape but left his cellmate behind. He was smart enough to at least keep hidden which crypt the stash was held in, but that didn’t bother Penguin. He was sure that he was going to find it sooner or later since the only other person who knew about it was still locked up.

Or at least that was the case until Penguin opened his mouth while sneaking through Gotham’s canals and accidentally said the whole thing aloud; just as the Joker was right within earshot, much to Cobblepot’s surprise.

Joker offered to split the take with Penguin and he stupidly fell for one of the clown’s tricks as he got joy buzzed when they tried to shake hands. At least karma caught up to Joker as Penguin last saw him being chased after Batman.

After he managed to lose Alicorn, Penguin soon arrived at the cemetery but was lost as there were more crypts than he expected. He decided to pick one and walked in where he found a coffin that was chained up by some heavy chains. The whole decor screamed that something frightening was buried there and shouldn’t be opened.

He should’ve believed it. He tried to open the coffin with his umbrella blade and ended up cutting his hand before looking inside. Inside was a corpse that was almost nothing by dirt by this point, though it didn’t look human. Penguin decided to try to see if the treasure was hidden somewhere else in the tomb before he found a cave behind one of the walls.

And that’s when he heard the moaning of something rising out of the coffin before he looked back and saw the corpse had returned to life. It was practically nothing but bones with very thin pale flesh covering it and glowing blue eyes.

That was the predicament that Penguin found himself as he was trying to get away from the cemetery alive with the monster close behind him.

He was running along the cemetery’s edge as he tried to get back to the main road of the city; he could care less if he was caught by the police, he just wanted to not be slaughtered by this horrific creature from the depths of the underworld.

Penguin quickly glanced down as he kept moving and realized that the deep cut on his hand was still bleeding and probably leaving quite the trail for the monster. He turned a corner and ducked down behind a tree before he went deathly quiet.

“Blood,” Penguin heard a raspy voice say near him. He slowly peeked around and found what looked like the cemetery guard shining his flashlight on the monster.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” The man asked which turned out to be a fatal mistake. The monster turned his attention from the Penguin to the man and jumped him. The guard cried out in terror as Penguin heard the sound of flesh being pierced before the man’s cries began to die down.

“That will do,” the monster said as he got back up, his voice sounded not as raspy as before. Cobblepot took his chance and tried to make a break for it. He looked back to the guard as he ran but found the monster to be missing; until Penguin ran right into something and was knocked to the ground.

He looked up to find the monster looking right at him, somehow it got in front of him. Penguin slowly began crawling backward until he bumped into the corpse of the guard.

“Looks like this bird is the main course,” Penguin feared before he was in for a major shock. The corpse suddenly leaned back up looking alive; aside from the guard’s glowing eyes and pale skin.

“Gah!” Penguin cried out. “You’re dead! The dead don’t get back up like that!”

“Not dead,” the monster said as he broke off the metal collar he had around his neck. “Undead.”

The undead guard got up and charged towards Penguin, his mouth showing off two large fangs. However, before the recently deceased man could get a hold of Penguin, the monster held his hand up and the guard stopped; as if he was ordered.

“He is not for feeding upon,” the monster ordered. “I will require a live human servant to act as the guardian for my coffin during the day.”

“Now hang on just a moment!” Cobblepot took offense to what the monster said and regained his courage. “I’ll have you know that you’re addressing a Cobblepot, and Cobblepots do not serve anyone!”

The monster glared at Penguin before his eyes turned red and Cobblepot was placed under a hypnotic trance. Despite his intelligence, Penguin had no chance of resisting the monster’s control. A moment later, Penguin had a smug grin on his face.

“My name is Oswald Cobblepot, but you can call me Penguin,” he took off his top hat and bowed. “I will be happy to serve you.”

“Good,” the monster looked forward and stared at Gotham’s skyline. “I have been asleep for quite some time. Transylvania looks so different now.”

“Oh, I’m afraid we’re not in Transylvania, or Romania or even in Europe, my lord. You’re on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in the United States, this is Gotham City.” Penguin informed him.

“I see, so I am in the recently discovered New World,” the monster nodded in understanding. “Then if I’m not in Transylvania, near my castle, events must have happened that drove me away. I must have been killed while I rested in my coffin. The fools who killed me must have placed me on a boat and hoped I would’ve been claimed by the sea if I am in the New World.”

He turned to look at Penguin once more. “I want you to take me on a tour of this so-called Gotham City, Penguin, the night is still young, and I still thirst.”

For the next week, things were pretty quiet in terms of criminal activity in Sunset’s eyes; Joker still had not made an appearance, which meant that he probably was dead, and Penguin was still gone to ground. However, despite the respite, a new fear was gripping Gotham for the past few days that Sunset could see on the news.

“The tally of missing persons has spiked dramatically in Gotham this past week. Gotham PD has informed that they have no real leads or are coming any closer to who or what is behind the mysterious disappearances of these ‘Lost Ones’, one thing is certain: a cloud of fear has descended upon this city.”

Sunset turned off the television as she leaned back in her chair. The Lost Ones certainly was the mystery. During her patrols, she could find nothing short of a clue to the vanishings or the culprits and it seemed like Batman was stumped as well. This was truly a problem if even he couldn’t solve it.

The young superheroine got up and headed to her room before she started to suit up. One way or another, she was going to figure out this mystery before even more people end up disappearing.

Sunset spent the next hour constantly on the move trying almost desperately to be lucky enough to find whoever was behind the Lost Ones in the act.

She settled down near one of Gotham’s rail lines as the areas underneath them were a perfect area for someone to get ambushed.

The former unicorn watched as a lone black haired woman walked down from one of the stations by herself; clearly, the woman wasn’t as concerned about the disappearances as she probably should’ve been.

Sunset kept her eyes on her before she noticed a beanie-wearing man jump out from a nearby alley, run up behind her and snatched her purse.

“No, stop!” The woman cried out. Sunset shook her head; she was disappointed it wasn’t whoever was behind the Lost Ones, but she certainly wasn’t simply going to let the thief get away.

Sunset sprang into action and jumped down, timing her kick perfectly as she ended up slamming both her boots into the man’s back, knocking him onto the ground and causing him to drop the purse.

“You certainly picked a bad night to try and steal a woman’s purse,” Sunset kneeled and picked up the purse as she stayed on the man’s back. “Now then, why don’t you be alone with your thoughts for the next few minutes while I return this.”

The woman had a relieved look on her face when Sunset walked up to her with the woman’s purse.

“Oh, thank you very much! I thought he was sure to get away with this,” the woman thanked as Sunset handed the bag off to her.

“No problem, ma’am, dealing with guys like him are just an average night fo-“

“AHHHUGGGG!!!” Sunset suddenly stopped as both she and the woman turned around and saw the man get violently thrown out of the alleyway. He landed and Sunset could see that the attempted thief wasn’t moving. A security guard walked out of the alleyway and faced the two of them, his head down so Sunset couldn’t see his face.

“Ma’am, I suggest running home now and locking your door.” Sunset positioned herself as she was ready to run at a moment’s notice while the woman took her advice and bolted from the scene.

The guard started walking towards Sunset before she glanced up and saw Batman land on a nearby rail beam. Sunset could easily tell that something was off about the man as she slowly started to back up.

“Sir, I don’t know what you did to that man, but I’m warning you,” she told him. She didn’t get a chance to say anything more before the guard looked up, and Sunset came face-to-face with practically Death himself.

The guard hissed at her before he showed off his massive fangs and tried to wrap his long hands around her. Sunset ducked down and delivered a swift kick to the guard’s groin before backing up a few feet.

“Batman! Help!” she cried out to the Dark Knight as the monstrous man recovered faster than she expected and tried to grab her again. Batman went right into action and swung down before delivering a double boot kick to the man’s face.

The kick knocked the man over Sunset’s head as ducked down and ran next to Batman. The monster landed perfectly on his feet before he jumped up and landed on the side of a building before crawling on it like a bug.

This action was something that took both heroes aback before the guard jumped down and tackled Batman. He was pinned on the ground as the guard looked like he was trying to bite him with his teeth before Sunset kicked him off of the dark vigilante.

Batman used the opportunity that Sunset had made by going on the attack and delivering punch after punch on the attacking man before he threw one hard punch that sent to the guard to the ground. Sunset ran next to Batman to see the knuckles on his right hand exposed; he tore up his gloves punching the man.

“Guessing that doesn’t happen often,” she observed. The two of them suddenly turned their heads towards the thief as they watched him slowly get back up; something Sunset thought would be impossible since she was sure he was dead. The thief turned around and stared at the heroes, looking almost exactly like their attacker. “And I’m pretty sure that doesn’t happen at all.”

The two monsters roared at them before they went on the attack once more. Both Batman and Sunset quickly dodged the rapid strikes as the creatures didn’t slow down for even a moment. Sunset held out her hand and a bright light wrapped around one of the legs of the thief but nothing happened.

“Oh, no…” Sunset said as she ducked down to avoid a swipe from one of the creatures.

“What did you do?” Batman asked as he punched a creature in the gut.

“I tried to do a numbing spell on his leg, to make him at least lose his balance. No response,” she explained as she performed a leg sweep.

“Come on,” Batman grabbed Sunset before he launched his grappling and carried the two of them up onto the rail lines before he threw some smoke bombs onto the monsters. However, they both watched as the two monsters practically flew out of the smoke and landed right behind them when they landed on the rail.

Batman pulled out two of his Batarangs and held them tight as the monsters turned their attention on him. The attacks were violent as Sunset watched Batman trying to fight off the monsters that had the ferocity of a wild animal.

One monster clawed Batman in the chest before knocking him on the ground. Sunset ran to support and managed to throw a blindside punch on the guard before kicking the thief off Batman. He looked over where he saw a train coming right for them and grabbed Sunset once more.

“Hang on tight,” he told her as he held her tight and grappled a train going away from the monsters; while leaving them staring right into the lights of the incoming one.

Sunset watched as the train hit the brakes before Batman jumped back on the slowing train while she got off the moving one. She waited for a few moments before Batman came back to her.

“Well?” she asked.

“No sign of them looks like they got out of the way,” he said.

“So, I know we’re probably both thinking it, but do correct me if I’m wrong,” Sunset took a deep breath. “Those monsters we fought, they were vampires, weren’t they?”

Batman said nothing for a moment. “I wish I could say you have an overactive imagination, but I saw the same thing. Those were vampires.”

“Great, that’s just great,” Sunset started to walk away. “Well, I’m going back to my apartment and locking the doors tight until we can figure out how to deal with these bloodsuckers.”

“No, you’re not,” Sunset felt Batman grab her shoulder. “Follow me.”

Sunset followed him down to the street level before the Batmobile pulled up in front of them. He motioned for her to get in which she obeyed. She put on her seatbelt and the car zoomed through the empty Gotham streets.

The car soon pulled up into an alleyway with a dumpster at the end of it before Batman hit the gas. Sunset felt very worried as she watched the dumpster get closer and closer. Before they could hit it though, the dumpster rose up and the Batmobile went into a tunnel. Sunset sighed relief before she glanced over and saw Batman with a small smirk.

“Very funny,” she huffed. The car continued to drive down a long dark tunnel before it finally came to a stop in a chamber with multiple levels of platforms around it. Sunset looked around and took in the sight of the Batcave.

However, as soon as she stepped out, red flashing warning lights began to flare.

“Batcave, cancel intruder alert and recognize intruder as friendly,” Batman called out before the sirens stopped.

Sunset kept looking around before she whistled. “I have to say, this is not really what I imagined the Batcave. It’s more impressive than I thought. Oh, and nice to know that I’m friendly in your eyes.”

“Well, you’ve certainly proven yourself over these last few months, though I attribute that more to Zatanna’s training, as well as her faith in you.”

“I’m guessing that if I didn’t have Zatanna helping me, you would probably not been so...accepting... of my help if I was say—untrained, or not getting assistance.”

“Exactly.” He walked over to a fire pole and was suddenly carried up to a higher level. Sunset grabbed it after him and was carried up as well. “And now, after losing Joker, I don’t intend to lose anyone else while I’m around, especially you.”

“So that’s why you brought me here?”

Batman nodded. “Considering we are dealing with vampires, I would feel better if I could at least be sure to keep an eye out on you,”

“I guess that would be the smart thing. I mean, I could at least give you a hand with this, after all, two heroes would be better one,” she explained. “Plus, I know where I could get some information on vampires from a very reliable source.”

“What you said about two heroes.” Batman turned around to look at her. “I think you might be right for more than just this.”

Sunset gave the Dark Knight a look. “Excuse me?”

“Sunset, I trust you enough to be able to keep this a secret,” Sunset’s eyes widened as Batman reached up to pull off his mask… and reveal his identity of Bruce Wayne.

“Called it.”

Chapter 18: Blood

“Vampires, Master Bruce?” Alfred questioned as he poured a glass of water before handing it to Sunset as the faithful butler joined the two heroes in the Batcave. “Are you sure it wasn’t simply a trick played by your imagination?”

“Hey, I was there too,” Sunset spoke up. “We both know what we saw.”

“I’m not saying I don’t believe the two of you, Miss Lucciola, but Master Bruce’s sleep schedule is quite.” He paused. “Well, it’s worrisome with how little sleep he gets sometimes.”

Sunset turned to look at Bruce who was sitting in front of a large computer at the center of the Batcave. “You don’t sleep a full eight hours, Bruce?” she said.

“Do you?” Bruce calmly countered. Sunset didn't say anything else since he was right, she didn’t have too many full nights of rest herself.

“Look, Alfred, I know what I saw and Sunset agrees. I don’t want to believe it; I want to think it’s another trick like Clayface all over again, but not this time. They had fangs.” Bruce said.

“May I remind you that Halloween was only a few weeks ago?” Alfred replied. “It just have easily been a prank.”

“It wasn’t just the fangs, Alfred,” Sunset spoke up. “It was the way they moved, their eyes, everything about them screamed ‘Not human’.”

“There was one of them; he was dressed like a security guard, that I delivered a whole bunch of punches on. The force of them, a normal person would be out cold after a few, but he simply just got back up like it was nothing,” Bruce recounted.

“Not to mention he crawled on the wall of a building like he was a bug,” Sunset added. “Also, the thief that I stopped before all this, the guard attacked him and he was lying on the ground, unmoving. He was dead, Alfred, I know it and then he just got back up!”

Alfred said nothing after that. Sunset could understand his hesitation, after all, no one would probably believe what Sunset and Bruce had seen.

“Well, I will take your word for it, though I will still be slightly cynical until I have some actual proof.” Both Sunset and Bruce nodded at Alfred’s answer. Sunset had a feeling he’d probably be getting that proof soon enough.

“Now, then, if you don’t mind, I’d like to remind you, sir, that you have some other duties to perform soon, such as hosting the Wayne Industries energy expo at Wayne Manor tomorrow night,” Alfred said. “With the lovely Miss Vicki Vale as your date.”

“Vicki Vale? The reporter from Channel 5?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah,” Bruce nodded. “I had an interview/date with her earlier before tonight’s events.”

“After blowing her off four times before, Master Bruce,” Alfred pointed out which caused Sunset to chuckle. “She is an investigative reporter, and it certainly wouldn’t have been good for you to have her sniffing around trying to find out why you couldn’t meet with her.”

“Right,” Bruce turned around in his chair and stood up. “It’s always a challenge to try and live a double life doing this, Sunset. That’s something I kind of envy about you. You don’t have a constant spotlight on you.”

“Except for the fact that I’m Zatanna’s assistant, but that doesn’t bring much attention to me as opposed to my friends; they’re the only ones who I have to keep up a dual life for,” she then remembered something. “Them and my clubs, I’ve missed quite a few fencing club meetings.”

“One of the issues that come with this sort of life, having to constantly lie and try to keep stories straight; all to try and protect people.”

“I hear that,” she nodded in agreement to Bruce’s comment. “I understand why we do it; I wouldn’t want my friends at school to end up hurt because of me.”

“Sunset, may I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead,”

“Well, I would’ve asked Zatanna about this, but since you’re here now, would you be willing to tell me where you came from?”

“Master Bruce, are we having this conversation again?” Alfred interrupted.

“I’m just curious to know,” Bruce said to Alfred before turning his attention back to Sunset. “When Zatanna first introduced you, I wanted to know who you were; however, apparently there was no information about you at all.”

“Let me guess,” Sunset crossed her arms. “The next day you checked, you suddenly found a bunch of information about me.”

“Please forgive Master Bruce, Miss Lucciola. He’s not usually this forward,” Alfred apologized.

“Oh, it’s completely alright, I understand you probably have some questions,” she paused as she stood back up. “But, I think it’s probably better for another night. I have class in the morning then I’m going to get some research done as I’d like to remind everyone that Gotham has a vampire infestation.”

Bruce nodded. “You’re right, we’ve have more important things to worry about.”

“Such as you getting your rest, sir,” Alfred said. “It wouldn’t look good for Wayne Industries’ big night if its owner fell asleep sometime during the gala.”

“Hey, would it be alright if I sleep here tonight? I’m not very comfortable being out there alone after what happened tonight.”

“I think I can pull out a few bedsheets for you, and I’ll be more than happy to drive you to your apartment before class in the morning.”

“Thanks, Alfred,” she smiled before she followed him to the elevator that would lead out of the Batcave. They both looked back to Bruce who was still sitting in the chair at the computer.

“Are you coming as well, sir?”

“Yeah, I’ll be up in a minute,” Bruce told him before he turned around and got back on the computer.

True to Alfred’s word, Sunset was able to make it back to her apartment early in the morning and make it to school on time. However, the whole day she was preoccupied in her mind the events that happened the night before.

By the time school had ended, she dashed back to her apartment and teleported to the Tower of Fate; while at the same time, asking for Zatanna to meet her there. Once there, she explained everything that had happened to both magic users.

“Vampires?” Fate asked as Sunset expected he would.

“You know, I think that’s the first thing you’ve said to Sunset for a few months now,” Zatanna said.

“Look, I understand how hard it is to believe it, but I’m telling the truth, Batman and I encountered vampires last night and barely escaped without having our throats torn out like the thief I stopped,” Sunset told them.

“It’s not that we don’t believe you, Miss Shimmer,” Fate turned around and walked to one of the many walls of books. “To most of the world, vampires have been relegated to myth and folklore.”

Fate grabbed a few books that he levitated towards him before he put them down on a table. “The problem is that vampires were supposedly destroyed years ago.”

“Well, according to Sunset, Fate, they’re making a comeback, which bodes ill for Gotham,” Zatanna said.

“I suppose the good news is that whoever is behind this dark plot isn’t much for subtly; the vampires are attacking indiscriminately and people are noticing,” Fate sat down in a chair opposite of the magician and her apprentice. “A clever monster should’ve been quieter, perhaps target Gotham’s homeless population; no one would’ve noticed until it was too late.”

“Then I guess we should count our blessings there.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. I had an issue with them,” Sunset said as she sat down and started to look through one of the books. “During the fight, I tried to use a numbing spell on one of the vampires, just around his leg, however, it was unsuccessful.”

“Vampires are the result of powerful and dark use of magic, for someone like you, you’ll find combating a vampire with magic to be much more difficult.” Fate explained.

“Good thing she knows someone who can give her an extra hand,” Zatanna spoke up and gave Sunset a pat on the back. “We’ll go back to your apartment and then we’ll-”

“I would have to strongly advise against that.” Fate quickly interrupted her.

“What?” Both women asked.

Fate gave a small sigh before he stood up. “Miss Zatanna, if what Miss Shimmer says is true, and Gotham is dealing with an infestation of what was thought to be wiped out creatures, it might be a bad idea for you to go.”

“So what are you trying to say, Fate?” Zatanna crossed her arms. “You’re saying that Sunset should just handle this all herself?”

“Well, I’m not alone, I do have Batman with me,” Sunset pointed out.

“Still,” Zatanna looked back at Fate. “Why do you think I shouldn’t help her?”

“Zatanna,” Fate began. “You have proven yourself to be a powerful member of Order in our fight against the forces of Chaos. The issue is that you can easily turn.”

“What makes you think I’d go dark?”

“Not of your own free will, of course,” Fate turned to look at Sunset. “Miss Shimmer, how many victims who have been drained of blood have been found?”

“You mean corpses?” Sunset thought for a moment. “For the past week, I’d have to say that no one has been killed… yet.”

“And yet more of citizens join the ‘Lost Ones’, which means,”

“Their ranks are swelling. Pretty soon, they will be so many of them that Gotham will be overrun, and who knows what comes next.” Zatanna concluded.

“We’ll have to get involved, and a lot of innocents will die. The issue I have at the moment, Miss Zatanna is that the forces of Chaos will gain considerable power if you’re bitten and turned.”

“That’s a risk I’m going to take,”

“No, you shouldn’t,” Sunset said.

Zatanna gave her student a look like she was completely surprised to hear that. “What? Why?”

“Fate is right, this is serious, if there’s a mistake, then any chance we have to stop them will be lost.”

“Sunset,” Zatanna kneeled in front of her protégé. “Sunset, I don’t want anything to happen to you that I can’t prevent.”

“Zatanna, I know, but Fate makes a good point. Look, Batman and I will try and deal with this on our own, but,” Sunset took a deep breath. “I would like you to stay away until you must come.”

“When will that be? When you’re one of them or amongst the dead?”

“Probably, but it’ll be less of a risk then both of us turning,” Sunset explained.

Zatanna looked away as she appeared to go deep into thought. The whole room was silent for a minute before Zatanna sighed.

“Okay, if you insist, but,” she placed her hands on Sunset’s shoulders. “Just be careful, okay?”

Sunset nodded. “Don’t worry, Zatanna, I’m sure Bruce is already probably thinking of a plan anyways,” Sunset saw her mentor widen her eyes in surprise. “Batman took me to the Batcave after we fought off those vampires and revealed to me that he was Bruce. Did I not mention that?”

Zatanna chuckled. “No, I don’t think you did.”

Chief Rojas leaned back in his chair as he took another puff of a cigarette in his office as he looked over the files on his desk. He heard a knock on his door and looked up to see Detective Yin poking her head in.

“Hey there, Chief, you wanted to see me?”

He nodded. “Yeah, take a seat, Yin.” He motioned for her to sit in the chair in front of him. “So, please tell me we’ve got something new about the Lost Ones, and not just more people who have vanished.”

“Well, several more people have been reported missing,”

Rojas groaned. “I swear this job is going to kill me someday. Commissioner Patterson is catching some serious heat from all this and we’re no closer to solving this.”

“I was just about to get to that, we did manage to catch a break and picked up an eyewitness,”

Rojas quickly stood up in his chair. “Well, why didn’t you start with that!? That’s great news!”

“Not sir.” Yin handed him a folder. “The witness was a vagrant who had been rummaging around one of the alleys; it was clear when we brought him in for questioning that he had a lot to drink last night.”

Yin could see Rojas's mood sour once more. “Oh, that’s just great, just our luck, huh? We catch a break and the only guy who saw anything was a bum who was probably so drunk he wouldn’t be sure what he saw.”

Rojas leaned back in his chair as he took another puff of his cigarette. “If we catch the guy who’s responsible for the Lost Ones, and he’s our only witness, a defense team will be able to fly a 767 through the hole we would give them with his testimony.”

Yin nodded in agreement. Any prosecution that the GCPD could put up would be shot down quick.

“So.” Rojas looked back at the detective. “What exactly did the guy say?”

“Well, sir, he claims that he saw one of the victims being attacked,” she paused as she wasn’t sure if she believed this. “By a giant bat.”

Rojas’ eyes widened. “What did I tell you? He was bound to snap eventually.”

“Sir, are we sure that it’s the Batman? I mean, abduction and all doesn’t match his MO, and I’d like to remind you that the witness was drunk; who knows what he saw.”

“I know, Yin, but right now this is our strongest lead.”

“But what happens if we catch him and it turns out he’s not the one responsible? The Lost Ones will still be missing.”

Rojas sighed once more as he looked down. “No, you’re right there, the city would rather have us find our own before we put the cuffs on the Bat.”

“Maybe it’s Cobblepot; he’s still missing, and could be using the Lost Ones as some sort of hostages?”

The police chief nodded. “Possibly, but doesn’t sound like his MO either. We need to make a break in this case soon before even more people wind up being the Lost Ones.” Rojas paused as he had a look of realization on his face. “Yin, has the news gotten hold of this information?”

Yin thought about it for a moment before she grabbed a remote from Rojas’ desk and turned on his television. She then flipped through a few stations before she turned it onto Channel Five. Sure enough, there was the man on television talking to Vicky Vale.

“Is that him?” Rojas asked.

“Yep.” Yin sighed.

“I saw what got the guy! I saw it as clear as day! It was a bat! A giant shadow of a bat attacked the guy and took him away!” The eyewitness claimed.

“Gotham PD has yet to announce their chief suspect in the case, but it’s in this reporter’s strong opinion that the perpetrator is none other than The Batman.” Vicky Vale reported.

“Bah!” Rojas snatched the remote from Yin and turned off the TV. “News reporters, they’re like vultures, all of them! Feel free to report after we nab the perp.”

“Can’t really blame them for wanting every bit of information regarding this.”

“But now our job gets harder. People will complain to the City Council, and then they’ll get on Patterson who in turn will insist we get our hands on the Bat since everyone now thinks he’s responsible.”

“I thought you were still one for catching him?” Yin raised an eyebrow.

“I am, but like you said, what if he’s not the one responsible? Look, Yin, I just want to put an end to this soon.” He took one last puff of smoke before he put out the cigarette. “Before the bodies start showing up.”

Sunset was quietly let through the gate of Wayne Manor as she walked towards the front door. The day before, she and Zatanna were studying heavily on vampire research before Sunset had to go back home for school. The one flaw of living a double life was that she still had to keep up the appearances of a normal high school girl.

She quietly adjusted her bag that had several items in it that Zatanna gave her, some stuff from friends of hers in Italy that Zatanna believed would give Sunset an extra hand. She rang the doorbell and looked into her bag. The items were some vials of holy water, a cross, and a few extra things that Sunset hadn't checked out yet.

She placed her Alicorn clothes over them and looked back up at the door when it was opened by Alfred.

“Ah, Miss Lucciola, please do come on in,” Alfred held the door open.

“Thanks, Alfred, I-” she caught a scent on her nose as she smelled something. “Do I smell… garlic?”

“Apologies, but I’ve been spending much of the day building up Wayne Manor’s defenses against any vampire incursions.”

“Oh, you believe now?” Sunset followed him along to the study where they would head down into the Batcave.

“We had an incident during the gala last night, one of our hired hands during the party, well; he wasn’t casting a reflection in the mirror. Dracula had gotten to him.”

“Dracula?” Sunset stopped walking as Alfred said that.

“Yes, the infamous count posed as a Dr. Christopher Stoker at the gala. We only figured out his identity when we saw an old drawing of the count; he looked exactly like our mysterious guest.”

“Well, that’s not good for us, I guess. Has Bruce come up with a plan on how to stop these monsters?”

Alfred went over to the statue bust and opened it up to press a button. “Master Bruce is under the impression that we can cure the Lost Ones of their vampirism.”

“Do you guys know it’s based on dark magic and the supernatural?” Sunset asked as she watched the grandfather clock in the study open up to reveal an elevator.

“Yes, but it infects blood and spreads like a disease which is why Master Bruce thinks it’s curable. Besides, it’s not like we have any other ideas.”

“Beats the one I found on how to deal with them,” Sunset said as she and Alfred got in the elevator.

“Which was?”

“Stake through the heart, put garlic in the mouth, cut off the head and then burn the body to free the victim’s immortal soul,” she explained.

“Yes, well, let’s see if we can try to find a less medieval form of helping them.” The two of them headed down until the doors opened and Sunset walked out to find Bruce already suited up.

“Sunset.” He glanced over to her as he kept typing at the computer. “Alfred fill you in?”

“Yes, he did, it’s not just any normal vampire we’re dealing with but Count Dracula himself,” she said as she put down her bag and started to get her stuff out.

“That’s right. At the moment, I’m trying to figure out where he’s hiding out.”

“Well, I can tell you that my mind has been racing with trying to figure out how to fight them. I read so many books yesterday, but it’s a mess. There’s so much about vampires that it’s hard to tell fact from fiction.”

“Then we’ll have to get some firsthand experience to find out what’s true and false; know how to deal with them and hopefully find one we can capture so we can get a test subject for a cure.”

“Sounds like we’ve got a lot to deal with, but if we don’t Gotham and perhaps even the world is doomed.”

Bruce nodded. “Exactly. Now, then.” He typed on the keyboard. “I think I may have a lead to Dracula’s hideout. One of the first victims of the Lost Ones was a night watchman at old Gotham Cemetery.”

“Makes perfect sense, plus it’s the best lead we’ve got.” Sunset began to enchant her outfit. “Think that guard was the same one we fought the other night?”

“Strong possibility, Miss Lucciola,” Alfred said. “Oh, sir, I’d like to remind you that the windows and doors of the mansion are not the only things I’ve laced with garlic.” Alfred then held up a box of Batarangs, all with the smell of garlic on them.

“Thanks, Alfred. Hurry up, Sunset; we need to move before it gets too late.” Bruce got up and began loading up his equipment.

“Got it,” she replied as she finished up her enchantments.

The drive to the cemetery was short but quiet for the two heroes before they finally stopped and made the rest of their way on foot. It was a bright full moon and the air was deathly calm as the two of them snuck into the graveyard.

Sunset looked around for any sign of trouble or any clues relating to the bloodsucking count. All she could see were tons of graves with crosses on them.

“Well, they might not be here, if vampires have an aversion to crosses,” Sunset observed.

“Detective Yin calling Batman, come in,” the two of them heard the detective’s voice before Batman pulled out his communicator.

“Go ahead, Detective,” Batman said.

“Listen, I know you’re probably aware that the public thinks you’re behind the Lost Ones,”

“I’m not,” he quickly responded.

“Yeah, I know, doesn’t sound like you but that doesn’t change anything. Listen, if you’re at Gotham Cemetery right now, you’ve got three SWAT teams heading your way, and I’m not sure if they’re planning to take you in alive.”

“Got it, thanks for the warning.” Batman ended the connection before putting the communicator away.

“So much for investigating then.” Sunset sighed.

“Looks like it. We need to move, split up and we’ll meet on the roof of Montrose and Damian, got it?”

Sunset nodded. “Right,” she soon got a move on and started making her way towards the building though she took a long way around. It was a smart move since she heard gunfire not too far away from her. Looks like the SWAT teams were on Batman.

She quietly made her way out of the cemetery before she soon came across a surprisingly quiet street. Sunset had to guess that the Lost Ones were starting to make Gotham’s citizens get home quick and stay indoors before nightfall. Smart, but if she and Batman didn’t do something, then hiding at home wasn’t going to matter.

As she started to cross the street, two bright headlights from a car pulled up. She was temporarily blinded by the car that stopped in front of her before red and blue lights lit up. Sunset’s eyes widened as she suddenly realized that she had walked out in front of a police car.

Panic quickly set into her as she dashed across the remained of the street and ran as fast as she could to try to avoid the police. The car behind her gave chase as she ducked down an alleyway. However, it was now only up for her in terms of escape as the car blocked her way out and there were no windows or doors for her to go through to get into the building; at least on the street level.

“Freeze!” she heard the sounds of pistols being cocked. Sunset knew trying to run at this moment was a bad idea. While her clothes were enchanted to resist a bullet, she was sure the officers weren’t just going to fire one shot; and there was a greater chance that they might hit her in an area that wasn’t protected by her clothes.

“Hands where we can see them!” An officer demanded. She reluctantly turned around and held her hands up high.

“Believe me, officers, I understand why you’re doing this, but trust me, you’re putting the city and maybe even the world at risk by trying to stop me right now.” She told them.

“Oh, I’m sure the judge will be very understanding when you tell him that, now don’t move a muscle.” Sunset watched as the two officers started to slowly move towards her.

However, in a twist of dark luck, one of the Lost Ones landed right on the front hood of the car behind the police. They turned around and didn’t even say a word before they were attacked by the lone vampire.

As much as she would’ve wanted to help, Sunset knew there was nothing she could do and had to use the chance to make her escape; despite the cries for help she was hearing. She made a mental note that somehow she would help save those two officers from their disease in the future.

Sunset climbed her way up the fire escapes of the alley before she quickly got on the roof and looked down to see the vampire finishing up biting and turning the other officer into another one of the undead horde that was building in Gotham.

She looked around to check and see where the meet up was before she heard the faint sound of automatic gunfire from a nearby building. She was certain that probably had something to do with Batman so she made her way across the roofs to that location.

The door to the roof suddenly swung open as she landed on the building and saw Batman dashing out and hiding around the corner as several bullets came out of the open doorway. He glanced over and saw her before motioning her to stay hidden.

The young heroine did as she was told and hid before things went quiet. She was expecting an officer to walk out but instead, a weapon was tossed out. Sunset got up and walked over to Batman.

“Are they surrendering?” she questioned.

The Dark Knight shook his head. “No,” he glanced into the doorway before looking back at her. “But I think we’ve got bigger problems.” Both of them looked back to the gun as the moon broke through the clouds and cast their shadows on the roof… along with a darker hovering right above them.

They turned and looked right at the visage of evil that was lurking over them. The infamous vampire Count Dracula in the undead flesh. Sunset felt a small chill run down her spine as she saw those piercing blue eyes looking at her direction.

The count was dressed in the typical outfit that Sunset expected; a suit styled for a rich aristocrat from perhaps half a millennium ago with a long, dark flowing cape that seemed to defy the wind and gravity in a few places. It made somewhat sense since he was standing on a part of the roof that was sharply angled but not looking like he was trying to keep his balance.

There was also his face. It was fairly handsome and had a noble look about it but despite the calm complexion, it was merely the mask of a black-hearted monster.

“Well,” the count finally spoke, his accent that of an Eastern European tone. “So the stories are true, I am not the only bat in Gotham City.”

“Count Dracula, I presume?” Batman said.

“You are indeed correct,” the bloodsucker gave a small bow. “I should’ve expected as much from an admirer.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Batman responded with a hint of venom in his voice. Sunset could tell he was disgusted to even be compared to the vampire.

“Have you not been watching the news?” Dracula began to walk down the roof towards their level as both Batman and Sunset backed up. “We’re one and the same, are we not?”

“I don’t hurt people,” Batman countered.

“Really?” the vampire gave a small chuckle. “Then what about those that have ended up imprisoned because of you? Did you not hurt them? Did you not break their bodies?” Sunset knew that he was trying to play a mind game and get under Bruce’s skin.

“Besides, you have no idea the amount of pain that I am capable of. However, I hate to simply just waste a life when it would be better spent in serving me.”

“I’d beg to differ when you say life, it's more like living death,” Sunset finally spoke.

“To become a vampire is to heighten all of one’s senses,” the bloodthirsty man replied. “One gains speed, strength, immortality; all of these are a gift I’m more than happy to share.”

“More like a curse at the cost of one’s immortal soul,” Sunset said.

Dracula’s eyes narrowed at Sunset; the chill in her spine growing. “Hmm… I sense… considerable power from you. I wasn’t aware that Gotham had a witch amongst it.”

“I’m not a witch,” Sunset said. “I practice and use magic, but that doesn’t make me a witch.”

“Then those witches should’ve made that clear before I had them all impaled.”

Batman was done with talking as he pulled out two Batarangs and charged forward towards Dracula. He did a leaping strike but Dracula backed up several feet without even moving his legs and at a speed much faster than any normal person could do. Batman kept up his attack and took a few swings, one of them brushing right by the count’s nose.

The count sniffed the familiar smell that the Batarangs had. “Hmm, garlic.” Dracula threw his hand out and sent Batman flying back until he smashed up against a brick wall. “It seems at least you were prepared for me.”

Sunset took a step back before she started to make some fireballs in her hands. If there was one thing she seemed to have a knack for, it was fire; but she hadn’t seen a need to use them until now.

She sent several out of them but the vampire easily dodged them at with such lightning-quick movements. Batman recovered from impact and tossed out several Batarangs in conjunction with Sunset’s fireballs but the count managed to avoid every one of them.

After a few more dodges, Sunset ran forward. The count smirked as he clearly underestimated her and just before she was in front of him, she pulled out a holy water-soaked cross and shoved it against his chest.

“UGH!” The vampire cried out in pain as he slapped Sunset to the ground. Despite the sudden pain that she was in, Sunset was mentally checking off weaknesses that the vampire had; trying to sort out fact and fiction, anything that would be able to help combat the monstrous man, provided Sunset and Batman survive the night.

Dracula jumped over the two heroes and landed on the other end of the roof before he turned around and started to jump across the Gotham skyline; daring the two heroes to follow him. Batman went right after him while Sunset slowly got back on her feet and trailed behind.

She moved as fast as she could to make the jumps but she ended up mistiming one and started to fall. Thankfully, she grabbed the edge of a roof and conjured an ethereal platform for her feet and pulled herself up.

Sunset kept moving, knowing that letting Batman take on the infamous vampire alone wasn’t good. It turns out she was right as she jumped on another roof and saw Dracula slamming Batman face-first into the ground.

“Try as you might, you can’t remotely compare to my power,” the count taunted as she ran close to the fight.

“Hey!” Sunset got the vampire’s attention as she pulled out the large vial of holy water she had. “You thirsty? Quench it on this!” she held her hand out and the water flowed out until it snapped midair and swung forward towards Dracula.

The count dodged the water as he could clearly tell it was holy water but it doubled back and followed him before going back to Sunset. She cracked the water forward again like it was an aquatic whip that kept Dracula at bay as Batman slowly got back up.

The vampire then surprised her by going right on the attack, ducking under Sunset’s whip and charging right into her before slamming his palm into her chest and blowing her back with the force of a cannonball as she ended up falling off the roof.

Sunset crashed into a fire escape before she fell further down onto the street. Thankfully, she managed to catch a clothesline which slowed her down but eventually she landed into the alleyway.

Sunset’s body was wracked with pain as she slowly tried to sit up. She was at least thankful for the enchantments her clothes had or she probably would’ve broken several bones with her impacts.

She then looked back up and watched in horror as she saw Batman’s grappling line get cut and he ended up crashing through several signs and landed right next to her, looking much worse for wear than she ever saw.

“Batman,” she groaned as she shuffled towards him. She looked up once more and saw Dracula slowly walking down the side of the wall, clearly looking very pleased to see that he was victorious. Sunset made no doubt in her mind that Batman and she were very much at the vampire’s mercy.

“I must say, I’m very impressed with the both of you.” Dracula slowly clapped his hands. “It has been so long since I had anyone give me a fight like that, if not albeit a fairly short one. You both have earned my respect,”

“That is why I’ve decided to allow you to share my gift. Join me, you two, join my legion of the undead.”

Sunset slowly pulled herself up against the alley wall. “Do we really have a choice in the matter?” she grunted as her injuries were screaming at her to stay down. “Besides, we’re not interested.”

“Look around, young witch, you can’t even hope to fight me now, so why delay the inevitable?” Sunset knew he was right, but she realized there was one last trick she could pull that might just save her and the Dark Knight from becoming vampires.

Sunset reached down and grabbed one of Batman’s Batarangs before she pulled off her glove on her left hand and slit her palm with the blade. Dracula was surprised by her actions but then quickly realized what she was doing as Sunset used her bleeding palm to make a cross on the wall.

She then slumped back down to the ground and stared at the vampire as he stayed back and just watched his prey. It was like this for an hour as Sunset tried to stay awake with the count not taking a single step forward. The only other good news was that Batman woke back up but was too injured at the moment to do much.

Finally, the respite came when the sun slowly began to rise and Dracula began to move back. Sunset could see the sun shining on him but he didn’t burn; which meant that lore of the sun immolating vampires was merely a myth.

“The sun may have only delayed your fate, but you have spurred my offer with your resistance. The next time we meet, it will only end when maggots feed upon both your corpses!” Dracula growled before he disappeared into the shadows.

Sunset’s eyes grew heavy as she fell over from her loss of blood. The last thing she heard was Batman calling her superheroine name.

Sunset groaned as she slowly began to regain consciousness. She realized that she wasn’t in the alley of a street but rather in a soft bed. She opened her eyes and found that she was in a fairly large bedroom before she glanced over to see the dark thunderstorm outside.

“Ah, good evening, Miss Lucciola.” Sunset looked up to see Alfred holding a tray with some food and a glass of orange juice. “I would like to point out that you’ve been asleep for almost the whole day already.”

“Great.” Sunset rubbed her head. “Now I’m going to have to think of an excuse for why I missed school today.” She soon noticed the large bandages on her hand.

“I’m afraid that was all that I could be able to patch up, any other injuries I would’ve rather you be awake so I could at least-”

“Yeah, I know Alfred, I appreciate that.” Her body wasn’t feeling as much pain as it was before she fell unconscious but she knew that she was probably bruised somewhere underneath her outfit.

“At least your injuries weren’t as bad as Master Bruce’s, somehow he managed to get himself and you back to the Batcave before he collapsed.” Alfred placed the tray in front of Sunset. “Little orange juice should help you get some blood back.”

“Thanks.” She picked up the glass and took a drink of it. “So, where is Bruce now?”

“Despite my requests, he refuses to slow down. As of right now, he’s on his way to one of Gotham’s blood banks, apparently, there’s a break in there.”

“And it could only have something to do with a vampire.” Sunset then sighed as she started to eat her food. “I should be out there with him right now.”

“Yes, I would feel a bit more comfortable if you were with him at the moment, but Master Bruce has always had a bit of a stubborn side to him. Then there’s also all the training he had through the years that’s helped his body recover from injuries like he has faster than most people.”

“Still, I feel like despite letting me in, I’m still a burden or something to him.”

Alfred gave her a pat on her leg. “Balderdash, you’re nothing of the sort, young lady. Master Bruce just has difficulty letting people in, and I suppose it does come off in a way that would make you think that.”

“But?” she raised an eyebrow.

“He probably won’t admit this anytime soon but deep down I know he appreciates your help.”

Sunset gave a small smile. “Well, at the very least, I know I’ve got your support, Alfred.”

“Personally, if I must be frank, I’d rather neither of you do this sort of thing, but, I don’t think Gotham has a choice,” Alfred said as he looked out the window.

“If it wasn’t for Bruce, who knows what would happen if madmen like the Joker or Penguin would be allowed to run free reign; I know for a fact if it wasn’t for us, Killer Croc would have half this city permanently underwater,” Sunset reminded him.

Alfred gave a small, reluctantly nod before a buzzing noise could be heard on Sunset’s communicator.

“Hello?” Sunset answered.

“Ah, Sunset, good to hear you’re awake,” Bruce said. “Is Alfred with you?”

“Right here, Master Bruce.”

“Good, just wanted to give you some news, your garlic bombs did the trick. We have our test subject.”

“That’s excellent to hear, any idea which one of the Lost Ones they are?” There was a pause. “Sir?”

“Well, I might have been premature in believing that Joker was dead,” A chill practically went over Alfred and Sunset as they knew immediately what he meant.

Chapter 19: Sanctify

Letting Bruce handle Joker was perfectly fine with Sunset. She wanted to keep her distance as best as she could from the psycho. Especially now that he was a vampire himself. She was just glad that she didn’t need to go over to that part of the cave.

“I know we needed the test subject, but I wish that it could’ve been someone else,” Sunset told Alfred.

“I understand what you mean, Miss Lucciola. Just having that dreadful man in the cave is most unnerving.”

Their conversation stopped when Bruce slid up one of the fire poles. “Well, sir?”

“Joker refuses to talk. He won’t give any information that would even remotely help us in finding Dracula’s lair,” Bruce explained.

“So long as he’s one of them, he’s not going to say a word to us,” Sunset said.

“BATSY!!” The trio heard Joker cry out at the top of his lungs.

“I hate to admit it, but I feel that Joker has suffered a fate worse than death,” Alfred said.

“I intend to try to bring him back to the living; maybe then he’ll be a bit more cooperative.” Bruce held up a vial of blood. “If we can just find a cure with Joker’s blood, then the rest of the Lost Ones can be saved as well.”

“Few issues though,” Sunset spoke up. “First of all, we’re a bit short on time so if we don’t find a cure quickly then all of Gotham will be vampires. Second, if we do cure Joker, there’s a chance he still might not tell us. He’s crazy after all and I bet he would love to drive you wild by not revealing anything.”

“You’re probably right, Sunset, but we don’t have much of a choice. We just have to hope we find a cure and then hope Joker will talk.”

“By the way, regarding Joker,” Sunset crossed her arms. “Don’t you think this whole situation is odd?”

“Whatever do you mean, ma’am?” Alfred asked.

“Well, let’s think about this for a moment; out of all the vampires we’ve been fighting, Joker is honestly the odd one out. If tonight was any indication, he was acting much differently than any of the Lost Ones.”

“That’s right, considering all of our encounters with Dracula’s victims; the Lost Ones are more like ravenous monsters with no semblance of their former personalities.” Alfred nodded.

“Exactly, then come tonight, Joker doesn’t go for victims but rather a blood bank and is like his normal self; well, minus the abilities and insatiable lust for blood as a result of his vampirism.”

“So, is it possible in a way that perhaps Joker may have gone rogue? That maybe he’s not fully subservient to Dracula?” Alfred theorized.

“His insanity might not be able to be fully controlled, even for someone like Dracula. But it’s clear he still serves him or else we would already know where Dracula is,” Bruce said.

“Perhaps we were correct about Gotham Cemetery last night? Considering the guard and all, I say that would be the most logical choice,” Sunset guessed.

“Maybe, but I’d rather be sure and have a cure ready before we go into his lair. We would have to probably deal with every one of his victims. Besides, last night showed Dracula didn’t like crosses and Gotham Cemetery has quite a number. If he is there, then he must have found a way around.”

“There’s only one way to find out then, sir,” Alfred said. “And that’s for us to find a cure as soon as possible before we are overrun with vampires.”

After a quick call to Barbara in terms of explaining her absence from school as well as her excuse for not going to attend the fencing club the next morning, Sunset spent the rest of the night getting some more rest. It was certainly necessary since she lost a fair amount of blood in her attempt to hold back Dracula in the early hours of the morning.

Sunset woke up to the light of the morning sun engulfing the guest room she was sleeping in the next morning. She leaned up before glancing out the window. While the skyline of Gotham looked calm, Sunset knew the truth. Despite capturing Joker, Dracula and his victims were still able to add more to their ranks unchecked for the night.

She then caught the smell of something nice in the air before she looked over to the nightstand next to her bed to find a serving tray of bacon, eggs, toast, and some juice. On it was a note from Alfred telling her that he and Bruce were already in the Batcave.

After finishing her breakfast, Sunset walked into the study room before she opened the statue bust there, pressing the button, and revealing the hidden elevator to the cave.

“Almost done down here, sir!” Sunset heard Alfred shout as she walked in and saw some piping going up to a higher level. She grabbed the fire pole and was brought up to the level where she saw Bruce working on some machine.

“Morning,” he said to her as he was under the machine and tightening some bolts.

“Hey, I’m guessing you didn’t get that much sleep last night, huh?”

“I got enough,” he told her before Joker’s screams echoed through the cave.

“Hope it wasn’t down here, I doubt he would let you get any sleep.” She sat down on the floor near Bruce. “I’m guessing this has something to do with finding a cure? What exactly is it?”

“The Wayne Industries’ SL5,” he informed. “It’s the most efficient technology to date for collecting solar energy, and storing it as true sunlight.”

“Hmm, sounds like you’ve said this before. Did you have to repeat this a lot during the gala the other night?” Sunset asked to which the young billionaire responded with a nod. “So, how exactly is a solar collector going to help cure vampires?”

“Well, the previous morning proved something; yes, the idea of vampires being immolated by the sun was a myth.”

“But?”

“It’s clear that Dracula didn’t like it. I guess that vampires are at the very least greatly weakened by the sun.”

“And that helps us how exactly?”

“Simple, if we expose Joker’s infected blood to direct sunlight, then maybe we can get some results.”

Sunset gave a small nod. “I’m guessing that there’s some other stuff to go with it, but the collector should play a role in a cure.”

“Batsy! I can smell you and your precious blood pumping through your veins!” Joker’s voice cried out. “And I can smell a young girl’s blood too, you taking a certain heroine under your wing?” Joker then began to laugh.

“Sooner we get a cure, the sooner we can send him back to Arkham,” Sunset said.

“Agreed,” Bruce went right back to work on the solar collector. “Sunset, I’ve been curious about something, why exactly did you want to do all this? The crime-fighting, I mean. Zatanna mentioned that you wanted to do this, but didn’t explain much else.”

“It’s a bit complicated, but I guess the main reason why is that I have powers that I feel like I could use to help others, similar to all your charities. Besides, I think a part of me is trying to make up for mistakes I made in the past.”

“Mistakes?” Bruce finished working on the underside of the machine and stood up.

“Well, I haven’t always been this kind of person for all my life. Some time ago, I was, well, let’s say I was pretty much a real jerk. I was greedy, selfish, prideful-”

“Pride always does come before the fall,” Alfred said as he walked over to Bruce and Sunset before he placed down some drinks some drinks.

“Yeah, I certainly learned that first hand, but if it wasn’t for it, I wouldn’t be the woman that I am today.”

“I see.” Bruce nodded as he walked over to the Batcave’s main computer. “So, would you mind answering that question I had the other day about your past?”

“It’s not like I’m going to be much help for you with the cure at the moment so I might as well. For starters, when you’re trying to help a friend who’s lost control of her powers, there’s a chance you can end up jumping dimensions.”

“Good lord,” Alfred spoke up. “You mean to tell me you’re not from this world? Well, that would certainly explain why Master Bruce thought you appeared out of thin air.”

“It’s not even my first time jumping a dimension; the truth is I’m not even human, I’m a unicon.” Both Alfred and Bruce slowly turned their heads around gave her very peculiar looks. “Don’t go throwing me into Arkham just yet, I can explain.”

As Bruce began to work on a cure, Sunset explained to them about the world of Equestria and her own story, though she made sure to omit her dark path to them. If she wasn’t going to tell Zatanna, then Bruce and Alfred didn’t need to know either.

“I have to say, that’s almost hard to believe, but with the sheer amount of details that you’ve given us; it honestly might be true,” Alfred said as Sunset finished. “Still, a pony that can move the sun and the stars certainly takes everything I’ve learned about Astronomy in primary school and throws it out the window.”

“Not exactly, Alfred, considering it’s a different dimension, the laws of physics and nature can be quite different,” Bruce told him.

“Something you picked up on your journeys sir?”

“HUNGRY! SO HUNGRY!” Joker interrupted the conversation as his screams echoed through the cave.

“How much blood did Joker have back at the blood bank, Bruce?” Sunset asked.

“Quite a bit, hmm, it appears since he’s slightly different from other Lost Ones, his bloodlust is almost unquenchable. Alfred, get me something that can help me regain some blood.”

Sunset could tell from the look on Alfred’s face that he knew what Bruce’s plan was. “At once, sir.” The loyal butler walked towards the elevator back into the mansion.

“What are you planning?” Sunset asked as Bruce got up and grabbed some IV tubes and a blood bag which quickly answered Sunset’s question.

“I think we might have a way of getting Joker to tell us what we want. You’re familiar with the expression of attracting flies with honey?” Bruce said as he sat back down in his chair.

Sunset gave a small nod. “Yes, but isn’t this a bit much?”

“Joker is going to starve soon if we don’t give him anything and we’ll lose our only test subject and be right back to the start.” Bruce then stuck the IV into his veins and started to draw his blood.

“I suppose it’s our only option at this point.” Sunset watched as Bruce filled up the bag before he removed the tubes and sealed the blood bag.

“Now then, let’s see if this will entice him.” Bruce stood up and pulled down his cowl. Sunset followed him to the deep part of the cave before she stood back out of sight of the cells and well out of Joker’s view.

“Why do you torment me, Batsy? I thought you cared?” Sunset heard Joker’s weak voice.

“Trust me, Joker; I’m trying to help you right now,” Batman told him.

“Then feed me!” There was a sudden pause before it sounded like Joker was clawing at the cage bars. “Gimme, gimme, gimme!” He begged, obviously Batman was showing him the blood bag.

“Not yet. You’re going to tell me where Dracula is hiding out, then you can have it.”

“Don’t you see, Batsy? I don’t have a choice in the matter of whether or not I can tell you.” Joker whimpered. “I am his vessel.” Sunset felt a chill down her spine as she heard Dracula’s voice. A moment later, Sunset heard the sounds of Joker feeding which meant that Batman decided to give him the blood.

“Well, there goes that idea,” Batman said as he walked past Sunset.

“Okay, let’s see if this works,” Bruce said as he started up a machine that he hoped would help provide the cure. Sunset saw that it was connected to the solar collector. The machine began to power up as Sunset and Alfred averted their eyes while Bruce pulled down some goggles.

The cave lit up in a large flash before it finally calmed down. Sunset looked over and saw a few drops of blood on a petri dish before it suddenly evaporated.

“Darn it, Joker’s blood didn’t withstand the sunlight.” Bruce gave a frustrated growl. He went back to the microscope and continued to try to figure out a cure. He had been focused on it all day and it was now starting to get late.

Everyone’s attention was suddenly drawn to an alert on the computer which indicated that someone was at the door. A camera showed that it was Vicki Vale.

“What exactly is she doing here?” Sunset asked.

“The dinner!” Alfred quickly stood up. “I completely forgot about it with all this vampire business.”

Bruce sighed before he looked back into a microscope he had on a nearby desk. “Tell her I’m going to be running late.”

Alfred nodded and headed back up to deal with Vicki leaving Bruce and Sunset alone in the Batcave. Sunset kept staring at the monitor that was showing non-vampire blood and vampire blood.

“I know we’re close to finding the answer, but there’s still something missing from this,” Bruce said as he kept looking into his microscope. Sunset stared at the screen a bit more before she finally noticed something.

“Hey, Bruce,” she tapped him on the shoulder. “Does that look part of the DNA chain look off to you?”

He saw what Sunset was pointing at but said nothing as he walked over to another part of the desk and looked through several different chemicals. He soon found a vial of green liquid and soon got everything set up for another test.

“Let’s see if some doxylamine succinate does the trick.” Bruce pulled down his goggles as he started the machine up and began the test. The solar lights went up before they died down once more.

Sunset walked over next to Bruce and looked closely at the blood sample on the dish for several moments but nothing happened. Her eyes widened as she realized what had just happened.

“Did we just… I mean, is it actually-” Sunset muttered.

“Stable,” Bruce said as he looked into the microscope. “I think we just found our cure.” Their attention was soon turned towards Alfred coming out of the elevator once more. “Vicki?”

“Amazing, she still holds you in high regard, Master Bruce,” Alfred informed as Bruce began mixing a vial of what Sunset guessed was the cure. “Am I to guess we’ve reached a breakthrough?”

“Believe so,” Bruce shook the vial before he sat down and started to draw some more blood into a blood bag. “Though, we need to give this to Joker to make sure it works.”

“So why are you giving blood again?” Sunset asked.

“I doubt Joker is simply going to take the cure, so I’m going to have to trick him into taking it.” Bruce finished giving blood before he made sure to pour the cure into the bag. “Let’s just hope this works.”

Sunset once again followed Bruce towards the cells before he pulled down his cowl and Sunset stayed back out of sight.

“You’re late, Batsy! I thought you were going to make me starve again!” Joker growled before Sunset could hear him feeding on the contents of the bag. “Hey, this tastes a bit off, are you sure this is fre- AHHH!” Joker suddenly cried out in pain for a few moments before everything went quiet.

“Okay, Joker,” Sunset heard Batman say. “Enough games, where’s Dracula?”

“I’m looking at him,” Joker replied, sounding much better than he had before. “Where’s Penguin?”

“Penguin?”

“Where’s Gotham Cemetery? A-Am I dreaming this?”

“No, you’re just insane, which is why you’re going back to Arkham.” Sunset heard Batman deliver a punch before the sound of someone collapsing on the cell floor.

While Bruce left to leave Joker for the police and Alfred was synthesizing more of the cure that they would need for the final fight, Sunset took the opportunity to make her own preparations. She wanted to be absolutely ready for Dracula and knew that Fate and Zatanna would be perfect to help give her any edge she needed.

“A cure has been found,” Fate said as he put away a book on one of the tower’s many shelves. “I’m sure there would’ve been many that would have wanted it so many years ago.”

“Well, we have it now so we can finally put an end to Dracula and his vampire menace once and for all,” Sunset countered.

“So, was there another reason you came here besides telling us that?” Zatanna asked.

Sunset nodded before she handed her mentor several vials of the cure. “I wanted to give you this, it’s just in case things don’t-” she paused. “-go right.”

Zatanna nodded back as she took the vials. “I understand. Anything else?”

“Yeah, I need some serious protection tonight. I want my outfit to have as many enchantments I need. Especially my mask.” Sunset handed her mentor her mask. “I read that Dracula has powerful mind-controlling powers and likes to hypnotize his victims. I want to make sure that I don’t end up being yet another one of them.”

“That’s quite intelligent, and I’m sure that Dracula would not suspect that.” Fate walked up to the two of them. “Miss Zatanna, allow me to take care of that.” Zatanna handed over Sunset’s mask and left the two of them alone.

“I think you’re slowly starting to win him over,” Zatanna said to her young protégé as she was putting up magic wards for Sunset.

“I’m not so sure, I think he’s only like this because he’s well aware of the threat that Dracula possesses. I’m sure once this is all over, he’ll be back to being silent with me.” Sunset said.

“Maybe.” Zatanna sighed. “Sunset, are you sure that you don’t want me to at least give you and Bruce a hand?”

Sunset shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Now that we have a cure and know how to deal with the bloodsucker, I think we’ve got a good chance to win.”

“Be careful,” the magician warned. “The last thing that you need is overconfidence; just because you have the cure doesn’t mean he or any of his vampires are any less dangerous.”

“I know, I’ll be careful,” Sunset assured her as Fate walked back to the girls.

“Here you go,” Fate handed Sunset her mask. “I’ve never actually encountered Dracula so I’m not sure how powerful his mental abilities are, but this should be strong enough to counter him.”

“Thank you both; I honestly don’t know how far I could’ve gotten without your help.”

Zatanna placed a hand on her young charge’s shoulder. “You’re most welcome, Sunset.”

Sunset took a deep breath before she grabbed her stuff and slowly began to open a portal, this time to the Batcave rather than her apartment.

“Good luck,” Zatanna said.

Sunset nodded. “Thanks, I’m going to need it.” She then stepped through the portal and ended up back in the caverns of Gotham.

“Welcome back, Miss Lucciola,” Alfred greeted.

“Hey, Alfred, is Bruce back already?” she asked.

“He should be returning just around—” The sound of the Batmobile’s engine soon echoed before it stopped. “—now.”

Bruce soon came back up to the level of the cave where Alfred and Sunset waited.

“So, Joker all taken care of?” Sunset wondered.

Bruce nodded. “He’s being locked back in Arkham as we speak. We don’t need him running around again tonight. How’s the cure going, Alfred?”

“We’re making quite a considerable number, more than enough for all the victims with several extras, just in case.”

“Good,” Bruce walked over to one of the machines that were cranking out the cure in small vials. “I’ve discovered quite an interesting side effect with the cure. It appears when it cures someone with vampirism, they lose all memories of ever being a vampire.”

“Probably for the best,” Sunset said. “The traumatic experience of it all would certainly make Gotham’s psychiatrists swamped.”

“Indeed, so what is your course of action, sir?” Alfred asked.

“Dracula is holed up in Gotham Cemetery, that’s where we’re going to put an end to this,” Bruce said.

“Whoa, hold on for a second,” Sunset spoke up. “Now, what does that mean exactly? Look, we have a cure for vampires, but I would like to know what our plan is if we try this on Dracula and it doesn’t work. I mean, if it does, great, we’ll throw Dracula into Arkham and he’ll never harm a soul again, but if it doesn’t?”

“If it doesn’t, then we have no choice. Dracula is only going to be stopped one way if this doesn’t work. We’ll have to put him in the grave, permanently.”

“Sir, I know we’d all very much like to put an end to this nightmare once and for all, but wouldn’t it be more prudent to wait until morning?”

“I doubt it’s going to make much difference, Alfred,” Bruce looked over a few of the vials. “Wherever Dracula is in that cemetery, it’s going to be dark and the sunlight isn’t going to make a difference. He and his victims will be at full strength no matter the time.”

“But, if you can’t guarantee victory, then—”

“Gotham loses, I know.” Bruce sighed before the computer showed he was getting a call from Vicki. “Sorry, Vicki, but I’ve got a date with Dracula tonight.” He started to lock the vials of the cure in some sort of EpiPen capsule.

“Hey, Bruce,” Vicki’s voice came on the computer as she left a message. “It’s Vicki. You’re not going to believe who I just ran into. Tall, dark and weird Dr. Stoker, anyways, I was just calling to see if you would at least be willing to give me a lift home since I missed my train; that is if you’re still not busy at the mo—” Bruce cut the recording off.

“You thinking what I’m thinking, Sunset?” Bruce asked.

“Dracula is out looking for a bride?” she responded. Bruce nodded and the two of them started to load up, ready for the final confrontation with the bloodsucker and his army. They loaded the vials in bandoleers that they wrapped around their bodies.

“Sir, maybe you should wait until it’s nearly morning, at least give yourself a chance to escape and live another day,” Alfred suggested.

“Vicki’s waited long enough. Let’s go, Sunset.” Sunset nodded and the two of them headed out.

The Batmobile pulled up to the cemetery before driving away as its two occupants got out. Both of them kept a wary eye for any sign of trouble. The last thing they needed was for the GCPD to drive them away once more.

“So, where exactly would a vampire hideout in this place?” Sunset muttered as they moved deeper into the cemetery.

“There.” Batman pointed to the ground. “There are several pairs of tracks, and they lead straight to that crypt.” Sunset followed him before they stopped right outside the crypt door. “Listen, last chance, if you want to hold back and let me deal with this—”

“No,” Sunset interrupted him. “We’re finishing this together. Besides, you should have someone watching your back down there.”

Batman nodded before opening the door. The two of them quietly went down into the crypt before they came across the main chamber where the coffin would be.

“Well, this sure looks inviting,” Sunset said as Batman moved towards a large hole in the wall. Sunset followed behind him before she looked into the hole and saw a vast cave.

“I think we found out how Dracula managed to bypass the crosses. I once tapped into these forgotten catacombs.”

“Hence the Batcave, right?”

Bruce gave a small nod to Sunset. They soon walked into the caverns as they attempted to find the lair. Both of them kept their eyes and ears open before both of them stopped.

They heard all around them the faint sounds of growls and moans which only meant one thing: the Lost Ones had them surrounded. Sure enough, several vampires began crawling out of the shadows and into the heroes' view. Both of them stood back to back.

“At least we know we’re on the right track,” Sunset told Batman.

“Yeah, just remember: keep your distance, make sure you inject them and don’t let yourself get overwhelmed,” Batman advised before he threw open his cape and pulled two vials off his bandoleer. Sunset did the same and clutched them tightly.

“Got it, try not to get bit, alright?” Sunset smirked at Batman but he said nothing more to her. One of the Lost Ones made their move and jumped on him. Sunset turned and found a SWAT officer charging forward.

Sunset quickly responded by ducking down and letting the vampire overshoot her in his charge before she delivered a roundhouse kick to the back of his head. It temporarily threw off the vampire but it was all Sunset needed before she jabbed one of the vials into the man’s neck. Sunset backed up as the man writhed on the ground for a few moments before life returned to him and was cured.

After that, everything went to complete chaos. The Lost Ones began a massed attack, trying to deal with the intruders but they weren’t like any of their previous victims. Sunset and Batman kept close to each other as they fought off and injected every one of the vampires that came their way.

Sunset backflipped out of the way of a swipe before she landed right on the back of a Lost One that was trying to move on Batman. She jabbed the vampire in the arm and got off to deal with her next target.

She dealt with several more vampires before noticing that Batman was being held down. She was just about to reach out to help him before three Lost Ones grabbed her as well. Sunset tried to hold them back but their strength was quickly overwhelming her.

Sunset resorted to throwing up a small ring of magical fire around her to get the Lost Ones to back off. It was risky, especially if they didn’t have much of a survival instinct and wouldn’t mind being burned if they could get their prey. Thankfully, her gambit worked as they backed off.

At the same time, Batman threw down a garlic bomb that filled the cavern and crippled the vampires. The advantage went right to the heroes as the garlic didn’t affect them in both their breath and eyesight. Many of the Lost Ones were quickly dispatched in the garlic cloud before it finally dissipated.

Another minute of fighting, there was only one more Lost One: the thief that Sunset had stopped a few days ago. She stood back as Batman easily dealt with him by jabbing the vampire in the head. Everything went quiet once that last vampire went down.

“I’m out,” Sunset said as she dropped her empty vials.

“I’m down to two,” Batman informed her.

Sunset looked around amongst the unconscious bodies. “I don’t see Vicki anywhere.”

“Then she must still be up ahead. We need to hurry.” Batman pulled out a sort of projectile gun and latched on one of his vials. He pulled out a second one and handed it to Sunset with the other vial on it. “Just in case we need it for Vicki.”

Sunset nodded her head and ran behind Batman as they went deeper into the caverns. They soon ended up in a large opening of the cavern where they found multiple candles spread around a coffin while lit in a supernatural flame. And right by the coffin was the one man Sunset shouldn’t have been surprised to see.

“Penguin!” she yelled out. The short man turned only to find himself suddenly wrapped up in Batman’s grappling hook before he was dragged towards the pair. “Why am I not surprised you had something do with all this?!” Sunset growled before she kicked the incapacitated thief in the head and knocked him out.

“Thank you; we didn’t need him distracting us,” Batman told her before the coffin slid open and Dracula rose right out of his coffin. His eyes locked onto his intruders but Sunset held her nerve. His army was gone and they had a cure; he certainly wasn’t going to get the drop on them again.

“I’m surprised. I didn’t think you two would be coming back, more importantly, attacking my lair.” The dark count growled.

“It’s over, Dracula; your army is gone now and you’re next,” Batman said as he held up the gun and aimed for the vampire.

“Is that so? Fool, you may have cured my army, but I can always start again, and this time with you out of the way!” Dracula’s eyes began to glow red. Sunset glanced over and saw Batman beginning to shake. She quickly realized Dracula was trying to hypnotize them. While she was protected from it, Batman had no sort of defense against it.

“You cannot win, no human can resist my will.” Batman continued to struggle before he collapsed to his knees and fired off the cure into the ground. “Good boy.” Sunset responded to Dracula's trick by pulling out her gun and aiming the cure at the bloodsucker.

Dracula was greatly surprised by her actions. “Impossible! How is it that you haven’t bent to my will as well?”

Sunset smirked. “I’ve got a few surprises of my own, Fang Face. Where’s Vicki?”

Dracula gave her an unsettling smile. “Oh, she’s right here.” He motioned over to the coffin.

“RAHHHH!!!” Vicki screamed out as she shot up straight in the coffin and roared at Sunset; the reporter had become Dracula’s latest victim. The sheer shock of Vicki’s scream took Sunset aback and caused her to drop her gun.

“Do you like my new bride? I think I’ll let her feed upon you as a wedding gift.” Dracula chuckled as he helped Vicki out of his coffin. Sunset felt very worried all of a sudden. Now she found the tables turned with her alone having to face Dracula and Vicki.

However, Sunset saw a small projectile shoot past her and detonate a garlic cloud in front of the demonic couple. Sunset glanced back and saw Batman back on his feet; somehow able to shake off Dracula’s mind trick. He then charged into the cloud.

“Deal with the girl, my love! I’ll exterminate the imposter!” Sunset heard Dracula shout from the cloud before it vanished along with all three combatants. She stood still for a moment before she ducked down and caused Vicki to leap over her. The vampire landed several feet in front of Sunset and got ready for another attack.

“You’re a fool, Alicorn. You should’ve taken my master’s offer when you had the chance,” Vicki taunted.

“Miss Vale, please, you’ve got to try and fight this control Dracula has over you. This isn’t you!”

“Is it? I’ve never felt like myself ever before. Of course, there is one problem.” The older woman licked her lips. “I’m so thirsty!” Vicki charged once more.

Sunset quickly responded by trying to avoid every attack that Vicki sent her way. The only issue was that Vicki certainly was nearly on the same level as a powerful opponent that Dracula was. The young heroine was being pushed back and her defenses were weakening by the second as she tried to avoid making a fatal mistake.

Sunset ducked under a swing Vicki delivered and tried to counter with a kick; only for Vicki to respond faster than she expected and grabbed her leg before swinging her around and throwing her onto the ground.

She tried to get back up but the vampire quickly jumped on her and pinned her down. Sunset shoved her arm into Vicki’s throat while one of the older woman’s hands wrapped around Sunset’s throat and began to strangle the life out of her.

“I always wondered who Batman was underneath his mask; though, I’m certain finding out who you are will be interesting too, after I’ve drunk your blood of course.” Vicki slowly began to get her fangs closer to Sunset’s neck as things slowly started to darken for her.

In her peripheral vision, Sunset could see her projectile gun just within arm’s reach. In a last desperate move, Sunset reached out with her right hand as best as she could to try to get it. Sunset’s world nearly went dark before she felt her fingers reach the gun and wrap around them before she turned it and fired.

“AHHH!!!” Vicki screamed out as Sunset felt air return to her as Vicki got off of her. Sunset had managed to shoot the cure right into her neck and caused the vampire to fall to the ground. The former unicorn stood up as Vicki slowly returned to normal.

“Hey, Miss Vale? Miss Vale, are you alright?” Sunset kneeled next to the woman to check on her. Vicki groaned as she slowly began to recover from her disease before opening her eyes to see the young heroine hovering over her.

“A-Alicorn?” Vicki asked as Sunset slowly helped her up. “What-where are we?”

“It’s a long story, but let’s just get you out of here.” The two of them began walking back towards the cavern exit. Sunset looked back and saw no sign of Bruce but hoped that he was okay. However, her relief was short-lived as Penguin got back up and growled at the two women. “Run!” Sunset held Vicki’s hand and started to drag her out of the caverns with Penguin on their tail.

“Come back you two! Master’s not through with you yet!” Penguin shouted as they all made it back to the surface in the cemetery. Sunset pulled Vicki around a corner and pointed to a crypt.

“Quick! Hide in there! I’ll deal with Cobblepot.” Sunset ordered. The reporter nodded and ran into the crypt while Sunset poked her head around the corner and saw no sign of Penguin.

“Here’s Ozzie!” Sunset’s eyes widen as she heard Penguin right behind her before she turned to see his boot coming for her face. Sunset took the strike and fell to the ground but quickly rolled back before the diminutive man could impale her with his umbrella blade.

She got back on her feet only for Penguin to kick her in the chest and caused her to crash into the crypt door.

“Alicorn!” Vicki cried as Sunset slowly pulled herself up as Cobblepot walked into the crypt.

“Nowhere to go, my dears,” Penguin sinisterly grinned before he lunged his blade right for Sunset’s torso. However, Sunset recovered in time and moved aside causing Penguin to stab the stone coffin and get his umbrella stuck. Sunset threw a punch right into the man’s face before she pulled out Penguin’s umbrella.

“I have had my fill of creeps—” Sunset swatted Penguin upside his head with his umbrella. “—of claws—” she swung again “—of bloodsuckers—” Sunset took another swing “—and most certainly enough of you!” Sunset slammed the umbrella handle in Penguin’s face, cracking his monocle and causing him to crash into the coffin.

The now unconscious Cobblepot fell to the floor as the coffin’s contents spilled out on him; dollar bills, gold coins, and valuable jewels.

“Huh, guess we found that treasure he was looking for.” Sunset took a few deep breaths to recover as Vicki looked over the short man.

“Is he okay?” Vicki asked to which Sunset nodded.

“Yeah, he’s just going to have one of the worst headaches in his life when he comes to. I think you should probably tie him up and leave him for the police.” Sunset dusted off her hands.

“The police?”

“Yeah, I think their probably outside the cemetery. Which means that I should probably take off.” Sunset turned and began to run out of the crypt.

“Wait, Alicorn!” Vicki cried out and caused Sunset to stop. She turned around to see the redhead giving her a small smile. “Thank you.”

Sunset responded by flashing her a victory sign with her fingers before she ran out of the crypt. She made her way back towards Dracula’s crypt as she wanted to find Batman before she felt her communicator buzzing.

“Hello, Alicorn? Are you there?” Sunset heard Alfred’s voice go off on the communicator.

“Yeah, I’m here, what’s going on?” she asked.

“Thank goodness, your signal shows you’re by the cemetery edge. Listen, you need to jump over and get into the Batmobile. Return to the Batcave, Master Bruce is using the caverns to head back.”

“And lead Dracula right into a trap. I’m on the way.” Sunset put the communicator away and climbed over the stone wall. As soon as she dropped down, the Batmobile pulled right up in front of her and opened. She then climbed in and the car’s autopilot took her right back to the cave.

As the car came to a stop, Sunset hopped out and went up the fire pole to Alfred’s level. “Is he okay?”

“Master Bruce? Well, his signal does show he is approaching the cave, so at the very least he’s still alive.” He paused. “I think. What happened to you?”

“We cured on the Lost Ones, Dracula’s the last one, but we ran out of cures,” she explained. Both of them heard a beeping noise coming from the computer and seeing a red dot getting closer to the cave before the signal went out.

A second later, the place rocked as a large hole was knocked into the walls of the cave right near the platform the Batmobile was parked. Sunset and Alfred watched as smoke filled out the hole before Batman slowly appeared in the smoke… with Dracula’s hand wrapped around his neck.

“My word,” Alfred muttered before Dracula threw Batman onto the floor. He slowly pulled himself up as the vampire walked up to the car and threw it right off the platform like it weighed less than a feather.

“I will drain you dry—” Dracula grabbed Batman’s chest “—and use your cape for a dinner napkin!”

“Alfred, get another cure,” Sunset whispered. The butler nodded and moved while Sunset slid down the pole to help Batman. “Back off!” She shouted as she tossed several fireballs towards the Count. Dracula dodged them before quickly dashing towards Sunset and clutched her by the throat.

“So, you survived and cure my bride, yes? No matter, she will join me once more after I slaughter the two of you!” He slammed her against the ground. Sunset felt the air leave her lungs as she felt her body scream out in pain.

“Hmm.” Dracula looked up as he walked over to Batman. “Impressive dwellings, it shall be your tomb.” Sunset rolled her head over and saw the elevator open to reveal Alfred with a crossbow in hand and the cure loaded in it.

“Bite on this!” He fired the crossbow and it struck Dracula right in his neck. The vampire hissed and growled as the cure entered his system before he stopped and began to maniacally laugh. He then ran towards Alfred and slammed him against the elevator door, knocking the faithful manservant unconscious.

“You may have discovered a cure for my victims but no earthly medicine can cure a supernatural affliction,” Dracula informed before he pulled the vial out of his neck. Both Sunset and Batman pulled themselves up and shambled to the fire pole.

They grabbed on and were dragged up to the highest level of the cave, just right next to the solar collector. Batman gave her a small nod before handing her a Batarang. Sunset knew immediately what the plan was. They moved as fast as their injured bodies could take them and got ready for the trap.

“Go on! Run!” Dracula yelled out. “I am beyond human, Batman! I am evil incarnate!” His voice echoed which sounded like he was floating up to their level. “I am the Prince of—” The vampire had a confused look as the collector charged up. “—darkness?”

“Rise and shine,” Batman said as he pressed down on a button and activated the collector. The cave filled up with bright light with Batman and Sunset having their backs to it. For Dracula, he was completely blinded by it and fell onto the platform on the other side of the hole.

With Dracula both distracted and weakened by the sunlight, Batman and Sunset took their chance. Sunset clutched the Batarang tight and knew what she had to do. She ran around the platform until she ran up to Dracula who was holding his hands up to block out the sun before she swung her arm.

Dracula gasped out before throwing his hands up to his throat because Sunset slashed him deep there. Batman then grappled up to the roof of the cave before diving down towards Dracula before stabbing his Batarang right into the vampire’s chest.

Dracula looked up into Batman’s face as he fell to his knees. “You are... Bruce Wayne?”

“I’m the Batman,” The Dark Knight simply said before twisting the Batarang. Sunset watched as the undead life left the vampire’s eyes before he dropped over onto the platform as the collector shut down. The menace was finally over.

The heroes took a deep breath as they finally could relax after the horror they had dealt with for a week. The elevator opened up next to them as Alfred walked up clutching his shoulder before looking down at the corpse.

“I shall deal with that posthaste, sir,” Alfred informed them.

“I think that perhaps you should deal with it in a more medieval fashion, wouldn’t you agree, Alfred?” Sunset smirked.

“Yes, I think you may be right.”

While Alfred took extra care with finally destroying Dracula once and for all and making sure he wouldn’t come back, Batman and Sunset returned to the area near the cemetery as they sat on a nearby building overlooking a large amount of police who were collecting the former Lost Ones.

“Tonight, Gotham breathes a sigh of relief. The Lost Ones have been found. It seems Oswald Cobblepot was behind the bizarre plot to use hostages in an attempt to recover a missing mob treasure,” a Gotham reporter on the scene said to the camera.

“Details remain sketchy due to the amnesia that all the Lost Ones have been affected with, apparently due to some sort of hypnosis. The good news is that they all are safe and sound and being checked out before returning to their families,”

“Also, it appears that the Batman was prematurely accused of Cobblepot’s crimes. So, it’s safe to assume that while Gotham Police will continue to pursue him; we can at least be sure it’s for vigilantism and not kidnapping.”

“It was vampires I tell you, vampires!” Sunset heard Penguin shout out as they were dragging him into the back of a police truck. “With big honking fangs!”

“Well, I guess we’ll see what the judge will say about that defense. Now, in a strange twist, rather than reporting the news, our own Vicki Vale has become it. See any vampires, Vicki?” Sunset could see in the distance that Vicki was looking towards their direction.

“No, just some bats,” the woman then gave a small smirk. “And an angel.”

Sunset gave a small smirk as she heard that before Batman tapped her on the shoulder. “Come on; let the police handle the rest.”

“I wonder, if Penguin keeps shouting about vampires, how likely is it that he will be sent to Arkham?” Sunset chuckled as they walked out of view on the roof.

“Who knows, but at least I do know that Gotham’s safe from Dracula now.”

“Hey,” Sunset stopped walking. “What exactly happens now?”

Batman turned around. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, things are different between us now, since I know everything about you, I’m not really in the dark anymore.”

“No, no you’re not,”

“So what do we do?”

Batman gave her a small smirk. “Well, I could certainly use a partner to watch my back.”

“You’re serious about that? Sure you don’t still want to go it alone?”

He shook his head. “No, I think you’ve truly proven that you can handle whatever this city can throw at you.”

“That’s huge praise coming from you.” Sunset smiled.

“Well, don’t let it get to your head. Now come on, I think we both need to take Alfred’s advice and get some sleep.”

Sunset nodded. “I wholeheartedly agree with that.”

She followed right after him as they ran along the city’s roofs, relieved that the crisis was finally over. Of course, their job was nowhere done as Gotham still needed it’s guardians to protect it.

Chapter 20: Life

The alarm blared in Pamela’s ears as she slowly started to return to the waking world. Even though she wanted to sleep for a few hours more, she knew she had to get up for school unless she wanted her mother to come in and make sure she got out of bed.

She slowly raised in her bed before she stretched her arms and turned off the clock alarm. She then yawned before she finally through the covers off her.

“Pam, you up, sweetie?” the young girl heard her mother call out from outside her bedroom door.

“Yeah, I’m up, Mom,” she told her before she stood up. It had been a week since the ‘Lost Ones’ gripped Gotham in fear. Pamela was certainly glad it was over so she wouldn’t have to her mother worrying about her every minute.

The redhead started heading for the bathroom to get ready for the coming school day. After she got cleaned up and dressed; in warmer clothes since it was late fall and winter was around the corner, she sat down and poured herself some breakfast across from her mother.

“What are you reading, Mom?” Pamela asked.

Her mother placed down the paper and smiled at her. “Oh, nothing much, just the normal local stories, the feel-good ones, I mean.”

“Yeah, with this town, I guess you’d take any happy story.”

“Well, you know the reason, Pam. Right now, I have a good-paying job that doesn’t require me working more than one job, and this place is pretty good for the price.”

“I know, Mom, it’s just I always wondered why we never really moved considering the city.”

“I grew up here, and we’re both smart enough to know how to stay out of trouble,” Mrs. Isley said before she looked slightly worried at her daughter. “Pamela, is something the matter?”

“Huh? No, Mom, nothing wrong.” Pamela quickly waved her hands.

“Are you sure? You’ve never really said anything before about wanting to move away? I always thought you liked it here. Did something happen again at school?”

“I didn’t say anything about wanting to leave, and nothing has happened at school. I mean, everything is going good, better even this year, but I already told you that.”

Her mother nodded. “That’s good to hear, for a moment, I was worried that something had happened between your friends.”

“Nope,” Pamela smiled. “Everything has been going great with Barbara and Sunset. I wanted to ask, but is it okay if they could come over again? Maybe even spend the night?”

Her mother gave a small chuckle. “That depends, are they staying the night because you three will be so tired from studying, or is this more of a girl’s sleepover?”

“Mom!” Pamela groaned as she rolled her eyes.

“I’m just teasing, sweetie. I was your age once too, and I did the same thing with my friends as well,” her smile dropped as soon as she saw her watch. “Shoot, it looks like I need to get moving if I don’t want to be late. Make sure you get to school on time, Pam.”

Pamela watched as her mother quickly grabbed her stuff and headed for the door. “I will Mom, see you later.”

“Bye, love you!” Mrs. Isley waved as she shut the door.

Pamela gave a small sigh before she went back to eating. Her eye soon caught the attention of the newspaper that her mother left on the table. She picked it up and looked at the main article that was on the front of it.

“Well, well, looks like our old friend is making some noise,” Pamela smiled as she finished eating.

“Hey! Sorry, I’m late!” Pamela waved to Sunset and Barbara who were waiting outside school for her. Due to their classes, there was no time during the day for the three of them to hang out, so instead, they agreed to meet a bit before school would start.

Pamela could see her two friends dressed like her: hoodies, or small jackets with long leg pants. Typical outfits for Gotham’s population during November.

“You know you don’t have to rush. We understand if you’re just going to show up before class rather than meet up with us.” Barbara said. “It’s what you and I do when Sunny is late.”

“Hey, I’m not that bad,” Sunset gave her a look.

“No, but out of the three of us, you’ve missed our meetups the most.”

“Yeah, she’s got a point,” Pamela agreed. “Seriously, Sunny, what is it that you do that causes you to miss us?”

“I’ve just got a lot of studying to do. I want to make sure I’m ahead of everything.” Sunset told them. "Besides, I still need to practice in case I'm called in for a show."

“Do you read all your textbooks every night?” Barbara chuckled. “You need to get out more and live a more normal life like us.”

“I know, I know, it’s just the whole growing up always on the move and being homeschooled, I’ve just been focused on myself for much of my life.”

“Well, no one is going to hold that against you Sunny, especially not us,” Pamela assured her as she placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Oh, I just remembered,” the glasses-wearing girl started to dig through her backpack. “Anyone catch a glimpse of the Gotham Times today?”

Both girls shook their heads before Pamela pulled out the newspaper and showed it to them. The two of them went wide-eyed the moment they read the headline: ‘Gotham’s Guardian Angel?’ The picture below showed a faint picture of Alicorn who a photographer got a lucky shot off.

“Seems our old friend is getting some fans.” Pamela smiled.

“May I take a look at that?” Sunset asked. Pamela nodded and handed her the paper. “Pam, did you read this article?”

Pamela nodded once more. “Yeah, I read it after my mom had left it behind on the table when I was eating. I was just as surprised to see it like you two.”

“Well, of course, we’re surprised! Still, I think aside from the Batman, we’ve been the closest to her that didn’t involve being a criminal.” Barbara reminded.

“Uh, Red, you do remember what we were going to do when we met her, right?”

Barbara slowly moved her hand to her face as she remembered the events. “Oh, yeah, we were planning on doing something potentially illegal.”

“And I was nowhere near you girls because I got lost trying to meet up with you. You were the ones who met Alicorn, not me.” Sunset reminded.

Pamela felt slightly guilty after that. It was her fault they were in that predicament in the first place. “Yeah, I’m still sorry we had that I dragged you two into my foolish mistakes.”

Barbara shrugged. “Eh, forgive and forget. It’s all water under the bridge now,” she then turned to Sunset. “So, what exactly does it say?”

“It seems that public opinion is slowly turning Alicorn’s way. The person behind the article talked with a few people that she helped, like a woman that got her purse taken during the ‘Lost Ones’ scare a few weeks ago,” Sunset explained.

“Well, public opinion is one thing, but what about the police; Red, has your dad said anything about this?” Pamela asked.

“Dad does say some things at dinner, he hasn’t said much about Alicorn, only that the police are wanting to charge her with vigilantism, just like Batman, but I get the feeling that he’s under the impression that Chief Rojas is more obsessed with capturing Batman than her,” Barbara told her friends.

“Still, a guardian angel, that’s certainly one way of describing her.”

“Isn’t that what Vicki Vale said when she was found with the ‘Lost Ones’ or vampires if any of you believe what Penguin said when they took him away.” Sunset chuckled before her friends joined in.

“I think he’s probably been seeing too many bats!” Barbara added to the laughter.

Pamela looked down at her flip phone and saw what time it was on it. “Hey, you two, it’s getting close to starting time, we should probably head inside.” Both girls nodded at Pamela’s suggestion and followed her into the school. “So, I was thinking we could do something after class.”

“Oh yeah, what? Is this related to Green Club again?” Sunset asked.

Pamela nodded. “In a way, yeah, if you two don’t have something to do, we could spend the rest of the day after school in a nice, warm location.”

“A spa?” Barbara smirked as she had already guessed what Pamela was suggesting.

“Well, kind of, though it’s more of a spa for plants actually,”

“Ah, the Gotham Botanical Gardens.”

“Look, that’s only if you girls want to go, I mean, we can go to a spa if you want to.” Pamela nervously blushed. After her meltdowns and her little vandalism streak, she was trying hard to be a better friend to Sunset and Barbara who had every reason of simply leaving her alone.

“No, it’s fine, we’ll be more than happy to come with you after school,” Sunset assured her. “I’ve been interested in going since you keep mentioning every once in a while.”

Pamela’s spirits perked up upon hearing that. “Great! Oh, and I was also wondering if you girls would mind spending the night at my place tonight?”

Sunset nodded immediately while Barbara wasn’t as sure. “Well, I will need to check with my folks about it, but I don’t see it being much of an issue, besides, it’s a good way to spend a long Friday after school.”

Their conversation was soon interrupted by the early bell ringing indication that the students should start heading to their classes.

“Okay, then, I’ll see you girls after class!” Pamela smiled as she readjusted her backpack and ran to her homeroom.

“Come in,” James Gordon said as he heard a knock on his office door but didn’t look up from the paperwork that was currently crowding his desk. One thing he always truly hated about being an officer was the loads of paperwork that needed to be filled out. Still, if it kept him safe in his office, then he was fine with it; certainly kept his wife April happy.

The door opened and in walked the heavy-set Commissioner Patterson. James stood up immediately as soon as he realized his guest. “Commissioner.”

Patterson held his hand up. “At ease, Jim,” the man sat down in the chair opposite of James’ desk and removed his hat to reveal his bald head with gray hair on the sides. “Swamped with paperwork, I see.”

“Yeah, now I’m on the normal stuff since I had to deal with all that ‘Lost Ones’ business for the past few days.”

“Cursed Cobblepot, he worked us all to the limit for this. I had to deal with the city council complaining to me every morning about the rapid abductions,” the older man pulled out a bottle of antacids. “Pretty sure I’ve got a few ulcers now.”

“At least it’s over,” James pointed out. “And there’s at least the good news with the mob stash that was found when we arrested him; it’s being returned to either it’s proper ‘legal’ owners or donated to charity.”

“At the cost of my health and probably what’s left of my sanity,” Patterson sighed. “I swear, it used to be so much easier years ago, I mean, don’t get me wrong Jim, Gotham had it’s problems before: homicide, arson, robbery, that was nothing new.”

“But the recent strain of insane super-criminals and metahumans?” James interrupted.

Patterson nodded. “Policing has changed in this town, and I feel like quite the relic that just can’t handle it anymore. That’s why I’ve decided to resign at the end of this year.”

James gave his boss a puzzled look. “Sir?”

“Sometime in the last week of the year, I’m going to retire. Take the wife somewhere small and quiet where we can spend the rest of our days. In the meantime, while Grange and the city council elect a new commissioner, you’ll be acting in post with a strong consideration for the job.”

James couldn’t believe his ears, he was going to be Gotham’s Police Commissioner, for a short time anyway, with the possible chance of having the job permanently.

“Sir, I don’t know what to say,”

“You don’t need to say much, you should just try and make the council see you’re the right man for the job.”

James rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not sure, there are a few things that might keep the council hesitant to appoint me. Things that I would be sure to do if I secured the job.”

“Regarding the Bat?” Patterson raised an eyebrow.

James hesitated for a second before he nodded and looked out the window. “Yes, sir.”

“I know I’ve sided with Angel about him, but I’ve been seeing this thing from both angles. Your idea of calling off the manhunt and just allowing him to do what he does is,” Patterson paused. “controversial, but it might be the right thing.”

“I’m aware we have the laws, but if it wasn’t for the Dark Knight, this city would probably in ruins,” James made his case. “The same goes for the girl as well.”

“We might be forced to twist our arm on the girl at the rate things are going; I trust you saw this morning's paper?” James nodded at the question. “Still, that’s not something for us to worry about right now.”

“No, of course not, I’m just surprised to hear about your plans, sir.”

Patterson stood up. “Well, I’m not wanting this job to kill me, Jim, I’m an old man. Just keep in mind with what I said,” the Commissioner said as he opened the door.

“I will sir.” James sat back down once the door closed as he took a moment to process the conversation to himself. Commissioner Gordon. He liked the sound of that.

“Good grief, you weren’t kidding about it being warm!” Barbara shouted as the girls walked through the entrance of the botanical gardens after they paid at the front. The three of them removed their winter coats due to the warmer climate in the building.

“Well, of course, they’d keep the building warm, Red, the plants won’t survive in a cold climate,” Pamela told her.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “This coming from the girl who I first met was trying to have the school build a garden around it.”

Pamela blushed for a moment. “For the warmer months. The only problem with this city and all of the Midwest is that it’s freezing and gloomy for almost half the year!”

“And we have to attend school during almost all of that time, maybe instead of trying to plant gardens, we should’ve tried to change the school schedule,” Barbara said. Sunset began to laugh before Pamela joined in a moment later.

“Please! We’d be the most hated students in school!” Sunset said through the laughter. Barbara joined into the laughter as well before they all calmed down. “Anyways, since you’ve been here before, would you like to be our guide, Pam?”

Pamela smiled before nodding. “With pleasure, come with me you two.” The two girls followed close behind before the arrived in one of the first rooms. The room was filled with many exotic bonsai trees.

“What’s that smell?” Sunset asked as she looked around. “It smells nice.”

“That would be the bonsai garden, it’s one of the biggest in the world outside of Japan. The trees give off different aromas during certain times of the day,” Pamela explained.

“I have to say, it’s very pleasant to look at too,” Barbara said.

“Yeah, I would’ve liked to show you two the Japanese garden, but that’s outside and I don’t think we’d want to get back into the cold again for a bit, especially since most of the plants have been moved or in hibernation.”

“Always did find that somewhat peculiar that plants could do something similar to animals.” Barbara said.

In the next few hours, Pamela continued to take the girls around the gardens before she finally led them to a large room full of exotic plants and fauna. “And here we are, my favorite room in the building.” Both girls were in awe at the vast collection that had been arranged in the chamber.

“Unbelievable,” Sunset muttered. “It’s completely breathtaking.”

“It almost feels like we’re in the Amazon or something,” Barbara added.

“Well, a good amount of the plants here are actually from the Amazon rain-forest, as well as some from the jungles of Africa,” Pamela said.

“Hey, Pam, what’s this one?” Barbara pointed to a large flower near the floor. “It smells horrible like something is rotting.”

“That’s because it’s supposed to smell like that. That’s rafflesia arnoldii or better known as the corpse flower. It’s the largest individual flower in the world. The reason for the smell is so it can attract flies and other insects to pollinate it. Of course, this species of plant is slowly starting to shrink due to deforestation.” Pamela felt a bit depressed upon saying that last part.

“Sounds like you had information memorized, Pam.” Barbara crossed her arms.

“Well, I actually heard about this from Dr. Jason Woodrue when he was on the radio a few years ago; he’s a Green Activist with a doctorate in botany.” Pamela explained.

“So, I’m guessing he’s a role model you look up to, what with your advocacy efforts.”

Pamela gave a small blush. “Yeah, if you put it that way, you’d be right.”

“You know, I think I finally understood your fascination with plant life today,” Barbara said.

The glasses wearing redhead gave her a confused look. “I’m sorry?”

Barbara shook her head. “What I mean is that I always knew you loved plants, but it wasn’t until today that I realized why. That’s what I’m saying.”

Sunset walked over to the two of them and patted Pamela on the back. “Sometimes Pam, I think you’d be happier as a plant living in this place,” she joked.

Pamela chuckled at the comment. “Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?”

“Excuse me, girls,” A security guard walked up to them. “The gardens will be closing soon, so if you wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course, come on you two, shall we head over to your house, Pam?” Barbara asked.

“Uh, give me a moment would you two?” Pamela responded. The two girls nodded and started walking for the door leaving Pamela alone in the room. She took a deep breath as she went into thought.

A smile crept along her face as she felt happy for hearing those words Barbara said before, about truly understanding her admiration of flora. She was lucky that she had friends like that, ones that stuck with her even when she nearly got them in trouble.

With her head held up high, Pamela walked out of the garden to rejoin her friends outside.

Chapter 21: Frost

If there was one good thing Sunset could say about the severe cold front that was slamming Gotham it was the numerous chances for her to practice her heating spells.

The cold temperatures had certainly been a surprise for her, as winters at Canterlot High were nowhere near this extreme. Not even when she lived with Celestia in Canterlot did it reach this low, and the city was up in the mountains!

The weather certainly wasn’t stopping Bruce in the slightest as the two of them were in the Batmobile and speeding towards Axus Technologies, where the Batwave had picked up an emergency.

The car parked in a quiet alley away from wandering eyes before the two heroes made their way up the side of the building. A large, gaping hole in the facade halted their progress. Batman held his hand up to silently tell Sunset not to move as they stood on the edge of the building.

“The guard is in stable condition, just needs to heat up a bit and get checked for a concussion, but aside from that, no other injuries.” Sunset heard a voice inside the building, more than likely belonging to an officer.

“I see,” Sunset quickly picked up Detective Yin’s voice. “And any idea if anything was stolen or was this just a smash job?”

“Not until we get someone from the company to get here and take inventory. As for the forensics team, they’re being held up by the weather, but they should be here soon.”

Yin sighed. “Doesn’t take a forensics team to know that this has Lynns’ fingerprints all over it: the hole, the building, few others fit the M.O.”

“If you say so, ma’am.”

“Well, head back downstairs, Quinn, and wait for the forensics team. I’ll join you shortly.” Sunset heard a pair of footsteps walking out of the room. “You two can come in now.”

As if on cue, Batman moved into the room through the hole with Sunset following suit. Sunset’s eyes widened at the mess she witnessed. The entire room was strung with wrecked machines and scattered papers; someone had been looking for something and wasn’t caring at all of being subtle about it.

“Sheesh, somebody certainly had fun breaking things,” Sunset said.

“Looks like Firefly was busy,” Batman observed as he kneeled and picked up a small piece of the wreckage. He inspected the piece for a moment and then dropped it to the floor.

“I don’t think it could be anyone else, everything about this fits him perfectly,” Yin told them before she walked over to the hole and ran her finger along the edge. “This hole was cut by extreme heat that had to have been focused into a beam; it can’t be anyone else.”

“Hold on, who exactly are we talking about?” Sunset interrupted.

“Garfield Lynns, calls himself Firefly. He’s a mercenary who uses a heat-proof armored suit and high powered heat beams to assist him in his sabotage or robberies, depending on what his employers want him to do. I stopped him last time when he was working for GothCorp.” Batman explained.

“He’s supposed to be in Blackgate right now, but I’m guessing he probably broke out sometime during the night. How he not only got out, but also got his high tech equipment back is still a mystery.” Yin said.

“Perhaps his new employers pulled some strings or helped him escape, seeing how he’s a thief for hire?” Sunset guessed.

“More than likely, the issue is trying to figure out exactly who his employer is,” Batman said as he looked over some more of the wrecked machinery. “Once that connection is made, it’s easier to figure out his pattern and be able to stop him.”

“Come in, Detective Yin,” Yin’s radio crackled to life.

“Go ahead,” she answered, raising her finger up to her lips. Batman and Sunset nodded quietly.

“Patrol unit just spotted a bright yellow streak of light blazing through the sky in the direction of Wayne Industries.” As soon as the officer on the radio said that, Batman turned around and started to head right back outside the building.

“Copy that, I’ll get over there as soon as possible,” Yin took her finger off the radio button and looked at Sunset. “And I’m guessing he’s already on the move.”

“Looks like it,” Sunset said before walking over to the hole as well. “Be careful, Detective, and try to stay warm.”

Yin gave a small smile. “You too, and try not to get burned, especially by Firefly.”

Sunset gave a silent nod before she stepped back outside, got back down to the alley and hopped into the Batmobile. The car tore its way through the empty cold streets of the city at a fast pace to Wayne Industries.

“So, what exactly do you think Firefly wants with your stuff?” Sunset asked. She could just make out the large building in the distance.

“I don’t know, there’s plenty of things the company has been working on that he could want to destroy or steal,” Batman said as the car quickly came to a halt before the roof opened. “But we’re going to find out soon enough.”

Sunset and Batman quietly made their way up towards the higher levels of the building, where they heard sounds of a room being trashed. The two of them soon reached the glass roof on one of the higher levels to see down into a large chamber.

The young heroine’s eyes locked onto the lone figure that was in the chamber. A black and yellow armored man with a large jetpack like device on his back stood in the middle of the wreckage that he made before moving towards a large liquid storing tank.A black motorcycle helmet concealed his face beneath the black visor.

“On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me! Seven deadly canisters!” the armored thief sang.

“I wouldn’t be in such a jolly mood if I knew I was heading right back to Blackgate,” Batman interrupted as he landed on the ground floor several yards behind Firefly.

“Ah, Batman, didn’t think you’d find me this quickly,” Firefly said with a hint of a growl in his tone. Sunset soon dropped down next to the Dark Knight before Firefly turned his attention towards her. “And I see you’ve brought the sidekick with ya. Tell me, sweetheart, how much does working for the flying rodent pay?” he snickered.

“Big talk coming from an insect that I can easily swat,” Sunset smirked.

“Yeah? Swat this!” Firefly held up his hands before the top of his wrists glowed a bright yellow. Both Sunset and Batman rolled away to avoid the beams that Firefly shot out. The beams made contact with the wall behind where they once were and caused a small explosion.

Batman quickly went on the offensive as he tossed out a smoke bomb towards Firefly. He was unable to be able to see which gave Batman his window to charge forward and punched the mercenary in the face.

Firefly stumbled back as Batman threw a few more punches before he held up his fist and a trail of fire shot out from underneath his wrist. Batman jumped back and kneeled to cover himself in his cape as the fire surrounded him. Thankfully for him, the cape was fire resistant.

“Had enough time to throw on a few new toys for you, Batman. Your little cape won’t protect you forever.” However, Firefly’s taunting and attention being solely focused on Batman left him wide open for Sunset to attack him.

Sunset ran towards the armored man and tossed several energy blasts towards him. Firefly was completely taken off guard when he was hit several times and knocked to the floor. Batman quickly threw off the flames and got right back on his feet

“Wait, that magic stuff was real? I thought that was just people being crazy!” Firefly grunted as he got back up.

“I’ve got plenty more for you unless you give up,” Sunset said, charging up another volley.

“Sorry, but I’m on the clock right now, so I’m gonna have to cut and run.” He charged up his pack and quickly propelled himself back to where he was before leaving a yellow streak of light following him.

Firefly picked up a large cylindrical container and locked it onto his suit as he looked upward towards the glass roof. However, just as he was taking off, Sunset projected an energy whip and wrapped it around one of his legs.

“Oh, no you don’t! You’re staying grounded!” Sunset grunted as she tried to drag him back down.

“Oh, so you want to go for a ride then? Well, hang on!” Firefly kicked his pack into high gear and Sunset was soon being dragged along in the air. Firefly laughed as he spun her around a few times before he caused her to slam into a support beam.

Sunset grunted in pain as she collapsed on the ground, unable to get up. Her incapacitation was something that Firefly was quick to try and take advantage of as he landed and aimed his wrist at her.

“Gotcha!” Firefly shouted, charging up his beam, only to find a batarang slice through the fuel line on his arm. The sudden force of pressure and fluids shooting out of the severed tube caused Firefly to drop to his knees and attempt to patch up his damage.

Sunset glanced up to see Firefly carving a hole in the roof, trying to bring it down on top of her. Batman quickly turned towards Sunset and got her out of the way, giving Firefly his chance to take off. His rush to escape however caused him to drop a silver tube from the container as he flew away.

Batman dusted himself off as he helped Sunset onto her feet as she caught her wind. “You okay?”

Sunset groaned as she felt pain shooting through several parts of her body. “Not sure, I think something might have broke,” she sighed, sitting back down on the ground. “I’m sorry, I should have considered that he might try to drag me.”

“Happens to the best of us. Firefly took me for a ride too last time I fought him.”

Sunset nodded, feeling a bit better knowing that, though that wasn’t stopping the pain her body felt. She then glanced around the room and saw the mess that was left. “He certainly knows how to trash a place, that’s for sure.”

Batman said nothing as he stepped away from Sunset to check out the tube that Firefly dropped on the ground. The metal cylinder was laying on its side before he rolled it over to show off some wording in bold letters.

LN2.

When they returned to the Batcave, Bruce had Alfred take a look at Sunset and just as they suspected, she had cracked a few ribs from the impact. Sunset was down for the count for the time being.

“Something on your mind, Master Bruce?” Alfred asked, handing a cup of warm tea to Sunset.

“Something about this doesn’t make sense. What exactly could Firefly want with several canisters of liquid nitrogen? There’s also the problem of still not knowing what he stole from Axus earlier.” Bruce said as he paced the room.

“I doubt Firefly would want the liquid nitrogen for himself, that sounds more like something his employer would want,” Sunset said before she took a sip of tea. “This is very nice, Alfred. Thank you.”

“You’re most welcome, Miss Lucciola,” Alfred gave a slight bow before walking over to Bruce. “Sir, you should probably calm down. Pacing across the room will not help you solve this mystery.”

Bruce nodded before he sat down and took a deep breath. “You’re right, Alfred, but I’m just worried about whatever Firefly and his bosses have planned.”

“I’m sure we’ll find out, Bruce. Firefly strikes me as the type of guy who is bound to make a mistake sooner or later,” As soon as she said that, the computer went off. “Slip up?”

“Looks like a kidnapping at the Gotham Cryogenics Lab, and judging from that ice, it looks like Mr. Freeze is the culprit,” Bruce said.

“Mr. Freeze?” Sunset questioned. When she asked that, a picture came up on the computer of a man wearing a strange suit of armor that covers most of his body. His head, however, was exposed, but completely encased in ice with the silhouette of a head and two glowing red eyes practically piercing through the ice.

“Victor Fries was a small-time jewel thief that I was chasing before he ended up having an accident in the Cryogenics Lab,” Bruce explained. “I did try to save him, but he cared more about getting his jewels rather than his own life. Now, the accident has turned him into a walking blizzard.”

“I see.” Sunset then suddenly gasped. “Wait, liquid nitrogen, you don’t think—”

“That Firefly is working for Freeze? My thoughts too,” Bruce said. “In the meantime, you should focus on getting some rest and recovering from your injuries.”

“No!” Sunset quickly stood up before wincing in pain as she sat back down. “You can’t take both of them on by yourself!” she tried to argue.

“Look at yourself, Sunset, you need to heal and going out there is only going to make things worse for you. It’s best you don’t take risks for the next few weeks.”

Sunset was about to continue her argument, but sighed in defeat. She knew he was right, and there was no changing it. She gave a small nod before Bruce pulled over his cowl and headed down to the Batmobile, leaving her alone with Alfred.

“Okay, I’ll just go back home and rest, maybe use the time to keep practicing spells or try and find Equestria,” she explained.

“Or perhaps spend some time with your friends?” the faithful butler suggested.

Sunset nodded. “Actually, that might be an even better idea. I’m starting to get the feeling they might actually be starting to suspect something.”

“Then it’s probably best that you dispel their suspicion. Come on, I’ll take you back to your apartment.”

“So, you mind telling us how you hurt yourself?” Pamela asked Sunset as she and Barbara sat on the floor in Pamela’s room. She had invited her friends over shortly before she was going to leave with her mother to visit relatives in Ohio for Christmas.

“Well, I basically wasn’t looking where I was walking, tripped over the leg of my couch and ended up landing on my chest. Ended up bruising it bad, but nothing truly serious, that’s all,” Sunset explained.

Pamela and Barbara noticed Sunset wincing in pain which led to them knowing that she got hurt.

“My mom says you should put something cold, or something warm on it to help heal it, that’s what she used whenever I had a bruise.” Barbara said.

“That’s what I read when I looked it up, I already iced it earlier so I’m feeling better, at least more so that when I did soon after it happened. It’s a good thing gymnastics training is on pause at the moment, I think I would’ve had to miss some practices,” Sunset said.

“What about fencing, how have you been doing with that? I know you’ve had to miss several practices already there,” Pamela pointed out.

Sunset rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah, Mr. Winters certainly has been very lenient with my absences, so I’m certainly lucky about that. Honestly, I think he might be one of the best teachers we have.”

“Aside from Ms. Vann.” Barbara smirked.

Sunset chuckled. “Right, of course Ms. Vann.”

“Hey,” the girls turned around to see Pamela’s mother poking her head into the room. “You girls all right in here?”

“Yeah, we’re all good at the moment, Mom,” Pamela smiled at her. “Hey, is it okay if you could make us something to drink?”

“Sure, you girls want some hot chocolate?”

“Yes, please!” All three girls said in unison before Pamela’s mother closed the door and left them alone.

“So, hey, while you guys are here, I thought maybe I should give you your Christmas gifts,” Pamela got off her bed and pulled out some bags that were hidden underneath them.

“Wait a second, Pam, you didn’t need to do that for us,” Barbara tried to tell her. “We’re all just friends here, we don’t have to give each other Christmas gifts.”

“I agree with Barb on this one. Just hanging out with each other is perfectly fine,” Sunset added.

Pamela sighed. “Look, you two might not want to give gifts, but it’s different for me.”

“How so?” Sunset raised an eyebrow.

“Look, these past couple of months has been a real change to my life, and you two—” she paused “—I honestly don’t deserve your friendship sometimes.”

“Pam, what are you talking about?” Barbara asked.

“I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll do it again. Before I met you two, I was in a dark place. Always a bit of a loner throughout much of my life at school, nothing to truly comfort me except for my love of plants.” She paused to gather her thoughts. “Then there was high school and the times where I thought I honestly found someone that truly shared my interests, that I could actually be friends with, only to be a complete fool and made to feel terrible for my passion.”

“No one is going to blame you or hold that against you, Pam, especially for what that jerk Veronica did to you last year,” Barbara told her.

“I’m somewhat glad I wasn’t here last year. Veronica sounded like a total queen bee,” Sunset said.

“Yeah, thank goodness she graduated. Still, picking on an underclassman, talk about low.”

Pamela chuckled. “Thank goodness I met you two, but I still risked our friendship because of my stupidity.”

“Pam, stop right there,” Sunset interrupted. “If you’re going to bring up the whole graffiti and vandalism streak you went on, don’t. Look, you had some aggression you wanted to get out, and we understand, but we just wanted to help you because you’re our friend, you know?”

Pamela sighed. “I know, but I feel like I don’t deserve it because of that. I dragged you two into it, and that should’ve been it. I shudder to think where I would be if wasn’t for you girls.”

“Hey, Pam, let’s not focus on the what if’s alright? Let’s focus on now. We’re all friends and we’ll stick together, okay?” Barbara said.

Pamela smiled as she gave a nod. “Thanks, you two. I just needed to hear that. Now then, come on, open your bags!”

Both girls nodded and pulled out two small bonsai trees that were in the bags.

“I thought you two would like them, good indoor plants that can help spice up a room,” Pamela said.

“Gee, thanks, Pam, this thing looks great,” Barbara gently placed her hand against one of the small bushes to get a feel for it. “I think I know a perfect place in my room this could actually go.”

“I know I could place this on my table in my living room back at the apartment,” Sunset said as she looked over hers. “That table just looks somewhat boring with nothing on it.”

“Glad you two like them, it was the least I could do,” Pamela said. “Seriously though, Merry Christmas you two.”

As soon as she said that, the three of them saw some flashes coming from downtown before the lights flickered in the room. After a few moments, it calmed down.

“Huh, that was weird,” Sunset said.

“Was that the Bat?” Pamela asked.

“Maybe, think Alicorn might be with him too?” Barbara asked.

“Who knows, but whatever happened, it clearly was big,” Sunset said.

“Certainly hope that everyone’s okay,” Pamela muttered.

Sunset gave her a pat on the back. “Don’t worry, Pam, knowing those two, they probably are.”

Sunset took a deep breath as she returned to her apartment with her bonsai tree back in her bag. She placed it on the table before sitting down and relaxing on her couch.

She made a quick call to Bruce over the communicator to try and figure out what that light show was. Apparently, Freeze was planning to permanently set Gotham in an ice age thanks to modifications he had built into this suit. Firefly was to keep Batman and the police distracted until it was too late, but as usual, the plan failed. Gotham could enjoy the holidays without being frozen to death by a crazed meta-human.

A strange sound suddenly came from her room. Sunset jumped up off the couch. Worry crossed her mind as she feared someone broke in. She slowly made her way to her bedroom. She stood right outside of it before she gently pushed open the door.

To her relief, she didn’t find an intruder, but rather a large wrapped present on her bed. She walked up to it and looked at the card that was attached to it.

‘Dear Sunset,’ the card read as she opened it. ‘Considering that it’s the season for giving and that you’ve been taking fencing lessons, I thought maybe you would appreciate the gift I’ve left you.’

Sunset put the card down and quickly tore open the paper to reveal a brown cardboard box which she opened to reveal the gift. Inside was a long silver rapier inside a black sheath with a black handle grip and impressive detailing on the silver handle guard. Sunset then looked back at the card.

‘Now, while the sword looks normal, there’s some considerable magic within it that should be able to come in handy when you do your thing. Hope it works out well for you, and I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas, your proud mentor and friend, Zatanna Zatara.’

Sunset smiled as she picked up the sword, removed it from its sheath and held it tight in her hand as she made some small motions with it. She could almost feel a wave of energy flowing through the sword.

“Merry Christmas, Zatanna,” she said as she sheathed the sword.

Chapter 22: Discovery

For Sunset, much of January had been a time for her to rest since she was letting her ribs heal after her encounter with Firefly. The downtime allowed her to focus almost entirely on practicing magic.

One thing that Sunset, with the tutelage of Dr. Fate, was finally able to do was use her magic to reach out into the multiverse and try to find either Canterlot High or Equestria. She had been putting it off for some time due to her schoolwork and crime fighting, but that wasn’t the case now, thanks to the injury and the holidays.

Sunset knew that trying to find her original home in the multiverse was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack, but it was even harder than that. The only way that Sunset was able to tell what comprised of the universe she was sensing was short glimpses of images that flashed in her mind.

She seemed to have been witnessing multiverses that were much more similar to the one that she was in, which ranged from the shocking to the strange. Several examples were one where Bruce was gunned down the same night as his parents, Joker being a gangster who was responsible for orphaning Bruce, or one where Cobblepot was abandoned by his parents and raised by sewer penguins.

After many hours of attempts throughout the month, Sunset decided to put the search on hold for the time being. Maybe she still wasn’t strong with this universe’s magic, which was why she was still only finding worlds similar to this one, rather than one closer to home.

Life went back to normal for Sunset towards the end of the month with school back in full swing and her body mostly healed. Of course, Sunset wanted to get some training in just to get her back in shape to fight again since she hadn’t been doing much strenuous activities.

That’s why she was back in Star City doing some practicing with Dinah and Zatanna. Sunset thought it would be best to get back into the crime-fighting with a friendly spar with her teachers. It would also give her a chance to use the magic with her rapier; using it like a normal one wasn’t needed since she had fencing club to teach her how to use it.

Sunset took a deep breath and charged towards Dinah with her rapier once more as the older crimefighter got ready to defend once more with a long, lead pipe she was holding as a sort of makeshift sword. The sword clashed against the pipe and echoed through the studio apartment.

Both combatants backed away as they panted, trying to get some air back in the lungs. They had been fighting for almost ten minutes. Sunset finally relented and sheathed her rapier. Dinah did the same.

“You’ve certainly come a long way, Sunset. I’m very much impressed.” Dinah complimented.

Sunset gave a small smile. “Well, I’ve had some great teachers.”

“I think this past hour has showed that you’re certainly ready to get back to crime fighting,” Zatanna observed.

“You’re probably right, but I think I’ll be better off with a few more days of training at least before I’m ready to go again.” Sunset pulled out the rapier again. “Besides, I haven’t gotten much training using magic with this.”

“That’s something you’re going to have to do with her, Zatanna. Magic isn’t my thing.” Dinah said as she went to take a seat.

“No problem. Now then,” Zatanna stood up and walked to where Dinah was standing before, turning to face her apprentice. “Are you ready, Sunset?”

Sunset shook her head. “Just a moment. Let me at least finish catching my breath.”

Zatanna nodded as she waited. “Well, I better at least tell you what you’re capable with that rapier. The magic embedded in it, it acts more like a focusing rod for certain abilities. Plus, it’s good to use for sword or staff wielding foes.”

Sunset twisted the blade around in her hand to inspect it. “It would certainly come in handy against Cobblepot if he uses his umbrella sword again. Also, what do you mean by ‘focusing rod’?”

“Well, for instance, you can channel your powers through the rapier, like a stream of fire, if you wanted.”

“I see, so it’s another surprise I can use on someone.”

Zatanna nodded her head. “Right. Though, for the most part, it’s for stunning and channeling your powers. Like, if you stabbed someone in the shoulder with it, their whole arm would go numb for a bit.”

“Would a simple jab work well there? Say I just jabbed someone with it in the arm, barely making any penetration with the tip, that would still do the stunning job?”

“Precisely, a little magic can go a long way,” Zatanna said.

Sunset smiled before she stood in fencing position. “I understand, and if it’s all the same for you, Zatanna, I’m ready now.”

“Alright then, let’s see how far your training has come then,” Zatanna said to begin the spar between the two magic users.

“I swear, is there any need for some of this stuff once we leave school?” Barbara grumbled as she finished figuring out another difficult math question for her homework. The winter break was much too short for her liking as school went right back to normal once classes started again. The subjects felt like they suddenly got harder when she got back.

Despite the supposed difficulty, Barbara knew that she had to persevere. For one, it wouldn’t look good on an Olympic hopeful to not have good grades. The other reason was that she would certainly catch some heat from her parents as well.

Barbara began work on the next problem before she heard the lock on the door beginning to jiggle as someone was trying to open it. Most of the time, Barbara would just ignore it, but ever since her father had been made acting Commissioner at the start of the month, a nagging feeling was at the back of her mind.

Her slight nerves calmed down as the lock clicked and the door opened to reveal her father walking inside.

“Hey, Dad,” she said as she looked back down to her homework.

“Hey, sweetheart, how was school?” he asked as he put his suitcase down and hung up his trench coat before glancing around. “Mom working late?”

“About the usual. Nothing too exciting to note, at least with school. As for Mom, she called and said she was having a long shift again.”

“Hang out with the girls after school?”

Barbara shook her head. “No, not really, we all just headed home to get some homework out of the way. It was one of those days.”

James chuckled. “Working you hard I see. Well, at least it’s nice to know that school hasn’t been lax on teaching.”

“More like worked to the bone,” she scoffed. “Speaking of worked to the bone, has the city been doing the same to you since you’ve been acting Commissioner?”

He smirked. “The council tries, and the city certainly gives me nothing short of work, but I’m handling it well enough. It’s nothing too much different from my previous role as Deputy Commissioner.”

“Just more paperwork as usual?”

James nodded. “That’s always something that drives anyone that has been an officer crazy when watching a police film or show. It’s the severe lack of anyone doing paperwork.”

Barbara rolled her eyes. She had heard that complaint all before. She glanced as she saw her father walk into the kitchen, humming to himself as he started to get dinner ready for the two of them, with some leftovers for her absent mother.

“You’re in a bit of a joyful mood today,” Barbara observed. “Something happen at work?”

James stopped what he was doing to look at her. “You haven’t been watching the news?”

Barbara shook her head. “No, sorry. I was busy with my homework that I thought having the TV on would be a distraction.”

“I see,” James walked into the living room and picked up the remote to turn on the TV. A second later, he flipped the channel over to the news.

“-snow in the coming days is almost certain with the way this large storm pattern is being predicted by the weather service. As you can see from the model-”

“Might have been at the top of the hour with the story,” James admitted as Barbara raised an eyebrow. “Still, nice to see we’ll be getting snow again. You could have a day off from school if it comes down hard enough.”

“Come on, Dad. It’s Gotham. They’d only cancel school due to the weather if the city was suffering an ice age… and even then, they would wait to the last minute to say anything.”

“Oh, wait, wait, wait! Here it is!” James waved his hand to get her to quiet down.

“And now for our top story of the night, Gotham’s Police Commissioner search is now over. Gotham City Council voted in favor earlier this morning in appointing acting Commissioner James Gordon as the permanent Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department.”

Barbara’s eyes widened upon hearing that before looking over to see her father smirking. “You mean?”

“That’s right. Council thought it was best to just move forward as soon as possible in terms of a search and just give me the job,” James said. “Maybe, but I think I might have won them over early on. Besides, I think it was probably popular to the voters. Considering the elections are next month, it was better to appoint someone from Gotham into the position, rather than someone who’s practically never been here.”

“Well, congratulations on getting the job, Dad,” Barbara then had her own smirk. “So, can I be with you on the day you deputize Alicorn and the Batman?”

Her father raised his eyebrow, knowing full well that she knew one of his recruiting ideas for what he could do as Commissioner.

“Well, despite what I’ve said, that’s easier said then done, sweetie,” James took a seat on the couch. “Right now, things have been somewhat calm, and the police have had things under control. If I wanted to even bring up the idea to the public, I would need a crisis to happen.”

“With some of these villains like Joker running around, you might get your crisis soon enough.”

“Yeah, I know,” James mood darkened. “I promise you, I will do whatever it takes to keep you and your mother safe from those monsters, okay?”

Barbara felt those nerves coming again as soon as he said that. Her father’s new position suddenly made him a target to the psychos that terrorized the city occasionally. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight.

“Dad, try not to get yourself killed, alright?” she said as she buried her face in his shoulder.

“I’ll be careful, I swear.”

Barbara pulled back and gave him a smile. “You always do. Now, can we get some dinner?”

“Right away.” James smiled back as he headed back to the kitchen.

Sunset was glancing out the window as her mind was replaying her recent training spar with Zatanna and Dinah, going over what mistakes she made and how she could correct when out on her next patrol.

“Hey, Sunset? Are you listening?” Sunset came back to reality after being off in her own little world before Pamela’s voice broke through. The trio was sitting around a table in a restaurant as the sun started to go down.

“Huh? Oh, sorry. My mind was somewhere else at the moment,” she apologized.

“No problem. Now as I was saying,” Pamela continued, “you two don’t have to help with me on this, but I would appreciate it if you would join me on this protest I’ve got planned.”

“What exactly are we protesting and how?” Barbara asked.

“Our old ‘friends’,” Pamela quoted with her fingers. “Chlorogene.”

“I see. So, how exactly are you planning on protesting them then?”

“Well, there’s a few things I should mention. For one, I thought of this because just recently, the FDA and the EPA approved a new fertilizer that one of their subservient companies, Chloromulch, has just begun to sell.” Pamela dug into her backpack and placed papers and pictures on the table.

“What exactly are we looking at here, Pam?” Sunset asked.

“The papers are several EPA studies in terms of the making of Chloromulch. The stuff actually causes harm to the environment, and look at these plants,” Pamela pointed to several of the photos. “Plants are horribly mutated by this fertilizer.”

“And this was approved?” Sunset asked once more, curious to know why something this damaging would even be allowed to be sold.

Pamela rolled her eyes. “Companies like Chlorogene will almost always find a way to get their products through, despite the damaging impact they could make. Still, this did cause some trouble for them; several employees resigned over this and released this information to the press. I managed to find all this online.”

“For a moment there, I thought you may have gotten it another way,” Barbara said, which Sunset noticed as a subtle reminder to Pamela’s short vandalistic streak.

Pamela shook her head. “No, that will never happen again. I promised you both.”

“We know that for a fact,” Sunset gave a small smile as she took a sip of her drink. “So, we know why we’re protesting, but you do you have a plan for that?”

Pamela nodded. “Yes. More or less, we just stand outside Chlorogene’s offices, holding signs and yelling through a bullhorn.”

“Oh,” Barbara nodded. “I’m actually going to run that through my dad, just to make sure if there’s any laws we might break doing that.”

“Disturbing the peace would be on the only thing they could have on us, and the odds are we wouldn’t be charged with anything since it would just be the three of us.” Pamela explained.

“If that,” Sunset muttered. “If it’s just the three of us, they might not even bother calling the police. They’ll just ignore us.”

“Even if they do that, at least we’ll show them that not everyone turns a blind eye to their actions. That’s what I want to do.”

Barbara patted her on the shoulder. “Well, we’ll be right beside you. Right, Sunset?”

Sunset nodded. “Oh, yeah. Speaking of the environment, I thought you might want to see this.” Sunset went into her backpack and handed Pamela a flyer. The girl’s eyes widened upon seeing it.

“No way, Dr. Woodrue… he’s coming to Gotham next month!?”

Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, I found that out the other day. I’m actually surprised you didn’t know that.”

“I was so busy being focused on Chlorogene that I didn’t notice,” Pamela chuckled as she kept looking at the flyer.

“Well, here’s hoping you enjoy his speech when he has it.”

“Oh, this is perfect, we could do the protest while he’s in town!” Pamela quickly stood up. “Sorry to cut things short, but I’m going to head home and start thinking of what signs we can use!” The two girls watched their friend head out the door before running towards her house a few blocks away.

“When did you say that presentation was again?” Barbara asked.

“Next month,” Sunset smirked. A moment later, she felt her communicator buzzing in her back pocket. “Well, I think I need to get going too. I’ll see you around, okay?”

Barbara nodded to her. “Yeah, see you around.”

Sunset got up and headed out before walking down towards an alley. She glanced around to make sure no one was around before she pulled out her communicator.

“Hey, I’m here. What’s going on?” Sunset said.

“We’ve got some trouble this time. Joker, Penguin and Riddler are all in a fight for dominance over the city,” Batman told her over the communicator.

“What else is new?”

“The three of them appearing to have a competition on who can defeat me, and while they’re sabotaging each other, there’s another problem as well.”

“Rojas is on the warpath now,” Sunset now heard Detective Yin’s voice.

“Detective Yin?” Sunset asked.

“Just Ellen now, my career in law enforcement is now over. Rojas found out I was in contact with you two,” the former officer explained.

Sunset was surprised to hear this turn of events. Yin was their best chance of knowing what the police were doing and keeping ahead of them. Now with her on the run, the two crime fighters would be in the dark once more.

“I’ve got Yin with me and we’re currently in a high speed chase with Joker and Penguin tailing behind. Meanwhile, most of the inner city’s power is down. Riddler is in the grid, so I’m heading his way,” Batman said.

“Alright. I’ll meet you there,” Sunset said.

“No, I need you to stay put,” Batman interrupted her before she could ask where exactly to meet.

Sunset was shocked to hear that. “Listen, I’m okay now. I’ve healed up.”

“It’s not that. Things might end up going bad this time, so it’s best for Gotham that you stay put for the time being. If I fail, you’re the only one I trust to be able to get help and stop those three madmen,” Batman told her. “And with Rojas closing in as well, your identity will stay safe.”

Sunset was surprised to hear what was being said. To her, it almost sounded like Bruce was very much expecting to lose somehow. Maybe stop the trio of villains, but while saving the city, he would be unable to save himself from Rojas.

“I know that you know what you’re doing most of the time, but this time I’m having doubts.” Sunset admitted.

“Yeah, I’m still trying to figure this one out too, but no matter what, I want you to stay put. Okay?”

Sunset sighed. “I understand. Be careful, both of you.”

“You too, Alicorn,” Yin said before the communicator turned off. Sunset sighed before she headed back to her apartment.

However, she stopped for a moment to glance back around as she could’ve sworn she heard something nearby. She then dismissed it and went back on her way.

Barbara’s eyes were wider than they had ever been in a long time. She was pressing herself hard against the corner of the alleyway that Sunset had gone down before she heard everything.

She had wanted to catch up with Sunset beforehand because she had accidently left the restaurant without her backpack. A simple slip of the mind had just led to the discovery of something she might have suspected, but never could have imagined.

Sunset Lucciola, her best friend, was the crime fighter, Alicorn.

However, with the discovery, suddenly things began to make a lot of sense to her. Like why Sunset seemed to be so preoccupied, or missing out on meet ups with her and Pamela. It was because she was out keeping Gotham safe.

It also explained why Sunset missed helping her in setting Pamela straight. It was because she was there the whole time, just under her superhero guise to really make an impact.

Barbara was filled with a swell of confusing emotions. Should she be upset that her friend was living this double life and keeping it hidden from her two best friends? Should she be excited that her friend was her hero?

One thing was certain for Barbara, she had some things that she needed to do at home. She readjusted both backpacks on her shoulders, and walked home.

As soon as she got there, Barbara went straight for her room. She placed the bags down, before she left her room and headed out into the garage. She glanced around the cluttered room, the only thing that wasn’t a mess was the large open gap where her mom’s car was usually parked. After scanning the mess, she finally found what she was looking for, a small sheet of steel.

Once she had what she wanted, she took it as well as a few hand tools and went right back to her room. For the next hour, she quietly worked on the sheet of metal before she finally stopped as soon as she heard the front door open.

“Barbara, I’m home!” her mother called out before sounding like she was going to the kitchen.

“Okay, I’m in my room!” Barbara cried back before looking at her finished work. “Well, Sunset, if you think you’re the only girl who can play hero, then you’ve got another thing coming.”

Barbara walked to the closet before hiding away her project: A metal hook shaped like a bat.