Fightin' Spirit

by Iolaus


Working Hero

High above the Canterlot district of City D on the roof of a skyscraper, stood a man in a black trenchcoat silently watching the streets below. He observed as the civilians fled from the small horde of monster rabbits that had just finished plowing through a building. He grinned excitedly as the small form of James burst out of the nearby sports store and position himself in the middle of the street.

“Wonderful,” the man said to himself, the actions of the young hero below pleasing him greatly.

“Enjoying your chosen hero, Terrance?” a voice spoke up behind the man.

Terrance rolled his eyes and turned his head to look at the lab coat wearing, blonde haired man behind him, “As much as I’m sure you are, Phillip.”

Phillip walked up next to Terrance and stood at the edge of the building to stare down at the fight about to brew. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his coat, “Neither of them are ready yet. We need to give it three more years before we can proceed.”

Terrance returned his gaze to James just in time to see his first attack strike at the crossed arms of the rabbit leader, a shockwave of power erupting from the hit. “I agree. James is not old enough and your chosen one needs to actually get strong first,” he chuckled to himself, “Though I fear yours might be a bit overkill.”

Phillip smiled as he pulled a hand out of a coat pocket and scratched his chest, “Perhaps… on a different note, how do you think James here will handle the multiverse and all of the others like him out there?”

Terrance rubbed his chin in thought, “Who knows?” He grinned playfully, “Let’s find out. I’ll give the other…. What do they call themselves again? Displaced?” At Phillip’s nod, he continued, “I’ll give the other Displaced a means to summon him. The first time will be quite a surprise for James here, I’m sure.”

With that said Terrance lifted an arm up in front of him, palm up, and the air over his hand shimmered and bent until a metal bat was formed. Quickly catching the piece of sporting equipment he experimentally spun it around in his hand. “Just like Metal Bat’s bat, nice and indestructible,” he said to himself.

Terrance waved a hand over the bat and a dark glow of spellwork emanated from it as Terrance began the process of making a token. Once the initial spellwork was finished he placed a fist over his mouth, clearing his throat, and imitated James’ voice, “Name’s James, I’mma hero. Call me if ya need some skulls bashed in.”

With that finished Terrance simply flung the bat into a small portal that opened up in front of him, the dark energies of the void staring back as it swallowed the bat. Once finished he looked over to his partner, “You going to do one for yours when he’s ready?”

Phillip shrugged, “Probably. I don’t know what I’ll use, but I suppose I have three years to come up with something. Ready to go?” At his friend’s nod, Phillip pulled out a small remote in his pocket, pressed a button, and in a flash of light the two men disappeared from the rooftop.


James’ bat slammed into the crossed guard of the monster rabbit leader, a shockwave of power erupting from the point of impact. The large rabbit slid back with its arms still in guarding position, gouging two deep trails of concrete with its large feet in the process. James landed where the leader used to be and swung his bat at the nearest smaller rabbit, smashing its ribs to pieces and sending it flying into a building.

In that instant, the rest of the horde of monster mammals descended on the young hero, who was forced to dodge around swiping claws, bites, and bodies. He occasionally managed to get his own counter strikes in during the frenzy of the battle, while using any brief reprieve time to smash any rabbit that got close. Batting away a claw that tried to get too close for comfort, James jumped out of the furry crowd and landed a good couple of yards away.

“There sure are a lot of these fuckers, but the small fry ain't all that. It’s the big one that seems kinda tough,” James thought to himself as he idly bounced his bat on his shoulder while he took his time to scan the assembled monsters before him. He glanced at the two dozen fallen bodies of the smaller rabbits, “Got a good couple of ‘em though. Only got a dozen an’ a half left. Plus that big one. Now… what ta do?”

The rabbits themselves looked at the hero warily, other than a torn shirt from a few close calls with their claws, he did not have a scratch on him. The large leader made a few growling noises at his smaller companions and signaled with its head at James.

James slipped into a ready stance, “Ya plannin’ somethin’ thumper?”

At an unspoken command, the smaller monsters sprung forward, but not at James like he was expecting. Using their leg strength alone the smaller rabbits sprung around the street, kicking off the ground and buildings like furry pinballs, becoming blurs in the air.

“So this is yer game then, huh?” James said before taking a swing at the nearest rabbit as it drifted too close. Before his bat got close enough to do damage he felt padded feet slam home into his back. Grunting in discomfort, James pitched forward before reversing his strike onto the surprise attacker.

His bat swung through the air, doing nothing but shave a few hairs from the rabbit behind him. James tsked in annoyance as he realized the rabbit had already dodged as soon as it finished attacking his back. He might have been faster, but he was still caught off guard.

“Damn bastard, that smarts and my ribs are still sore.”

James spat off to the side, ignoring the increasingly loud sound of a helicopter in the distance. “Well now, maybe you guys ain’t so bad after all,” he growled when he returned his gaze to the leader of the pack. James gripped his bat harder, “Still not gonna win this, though, but I’ll be sure not ta take this easy on ya now.”

Keeping his eyes on the leader as it slowly marched forward, James made sure to note the blurs bouncing around the street. Suddenly movement flashed in his peripheral, James swiftly leaned back as a furry foot sailed past his nose. Not wasting a chance, James grabbed the leg and spun around dragging an unwilling monster with him, the rabbit attacking his back instead struck its friend. James let go of the rabbit and the two attackers fell to the ground, all momentum killed in their surprise.

Without thinking about it James smashed his bat down on the prone monsters, sending up dust and debris as the ground broke. A blur shot at him from his side after his attack, James reacted by putting his weapon between them and diverting the force of the rabbit’s kick with his bat, sending the monster into a building. That act was met with retaliation, the monster’s friends leaping at the hero in irregular patterns. James repeated his defensive technique, spinning in place as he redirected or outright blocked the attacks. The attacks ceased and James came to a halt as he stopped his spinning, grinning triumphantly at his opponents.

“Heh, ya assholes ain’t gettin’ m-.”

He was cut off and his victory short lived as larger and far more powerful legs slammed home into the side of his head. James flew from his spot, bouncing hard off a parked car and tumbled head over heels down the street until he came to a stop flat on his back. The large monster landed feet first and regarded James’ prone body carefully.

Not seeing any movement the leader of the monsters turned and growled at its underlings. The smaller monster rabbits stopped their bouncing and landed next to their leader, surrounding it in a protective circle. Turning away from James’ body the monsters began walking down the street to find other people to kill.

A feeling of dread made the leader stop in its tracks.

“Did ya think I’d be so easily killed?” a dark voice growled behind the monsters.

The large monster widened its eyes, slowly turning back around to face the human it thought it defeated. Just as its eyes faced the direction James was its vision was filled with metal in an instant. The bat of the hero slammed into the face of the monstrous rabbit, caving its face in and sending it flying down the street.

The lesser rabbits stood stunned when James suddenly appeared in their midst, James glaring up at them through a few misplaced bangs that separated themselves from his pompadour.

James’ grip on his bat tightened, “Killin’ Move: Fightin’ Spirit…”

The monsters took a step back in preparation.

“Herd Smashin’!”

The circle of monsters was crushed under his swift and punishing onslaught. Every time James appeared above a rabbit he slammed his bat down over the head of the monster. A few were able to react quick enough to throw their arms up in a quick guarding position over their head, but they were simply overcome by the raw strength of the hero.

James finally slammed his bat down on the last monster, sending it to oblivion like the rest of its kin. He pulled his bat out of the remains of the fallen monster and examined it for damage. The bat itself had scratches along its length thanks to the claws of the rabbits, but only had a tiny dent on its tip.

James grinned to himself as he held the bat up in front of him, “Heh, this thing ain’t so bad.”

A trashcan was suddenly upturned from a figure swiftly shooting out of the nearby alleyway. A hero emerged, clad head to toe with what looked like bandages, hands held in front of him in a battle ready stance. A pharaoh’s headdress on his head and a large black and gold scepter holstered on his back.

“Monsters prepare yourself! B-Class, rank twenty, Mysterious Mummy has come to send you to hell...” the new arrival drawled the end of his sentence as he slowly took in the state of the street before him.

James rested his bat on his shoulder, “Yer a bit late buddy. Already took care of it myself.”

Mysterious Mummy lowered his hands, “Eh? But wasn’t it Demon level?”

“No clue,” James replied. He gestured to the bodies of the monsters, “Mind takin’ care of this for me? Gotta hurry home, promised my sis I’d be home before dinner ta help her set the table.”

“Eh? But-” Mysterious Mummy started to say before he was interrupted.

James clapped a hand on his shoulder as he walked past him, “Thanks.”


“Big brother!” a girlish voice shouted as soon as James closed the door to his home. James grinned as he saw his little sister walk around the entrance to the living room.

“Maiya! I’m ho-!” James stopped short as he quickly realized that his sister was not happily walking to her favorite big brother, she was stomping her way over with a glare.

“What were you thinking! You joined the Heroes Association?! Are you trying to get killed?!” Maiya grabbed James by his ear and yanked him down to more her level.

“Ow! Maiya! That hurts!” James complained.

“Well?!” She yanked harder before letting go, sending James careening back before he caught himself.

“No, no! I’m doing this ta protect you and mom!” James started rubbing his tender ear as soon as his sister let go of it. “I’m strong now and this place has monsters in it so I gotta do my part right?”

Maiya glared at him as she silently scrutinized his state of being. James noticed her gaze lingered on his torn shirt, “Ah, don’t worry ‘bout this. One of them monster rabbits tried ta claw me and missed, but got caught on my shirt. I ain’t really hurt.”

She glared at him harder before she turned around in a huff and marched back into the living room. “You better not die on me or I’ll never forgive you! Now help me set the table, mom is coming home soon with dinner!” was her only reply. James propped his bat on the wall near the door and quickly dashed into the house to help his sister.