//------------------------------// // Strength in Numbers // Story: Legends of Equestria // by MetalJrock //------------------------------// A white light was seen flashing in the center of the field where the team was fighting Kronos. Appearing from the fading light were six ponies and a dragon. They opened their eyes to see the Legends, looking at them as though they weren't expected to show. Rip put a hand to his head as he ducked, "I told you to stay behind! This is too dangerous for all of you!" "Looks like they're not takin' orders from you, Rip." Captain Cold chuckled, shooting at Kronos, who tanked the ice beam. Snart gritted his teeth at the sight, annoyed by the bounty hunter's stubbornness. "Yeah. We can do things thank you very much!" Rainbow muttered sarcastically. The pony Kronos raised his blaster and shot at the ponies. It was then, Twilight used her magic to create a forcefield around her friends and herself, but it didn't prove strong enough and the seven were launched back from the force of the beam. They tumbled on the grass for a moment, no visible injuries. "Ow..." groaned Twilight, her and the others getting to their feet. "...This world is ours to protect, Captain Hunter." she declared, "And this Kronos is a pony, so clearly something is off here." "Unexpected assistance from Equestrians. Must eliminate." Kronos said in a robotic tone. "Looks like ya pissed him off." Heatwave commented, hitting the armored pony with the barrel of his gun, bringing it to his head. "Ah. That felt really good." he grunted in slight glee. White Canary kneed Kronos, making him stumble back. Rainbow Dash decided to step into the battle and use her speed to make the bounty hunter trip on his hooves, bringing him on his back. "Ha! That'll teach ya, creep!" the pegasus boasted, seeing Kronos reach for his large blaster once more. Sara pushed Rainbow aside, the two of them rolling on the floor, narrowly avoiding the blast. "You shouldn't have come out here!" she growled st the cyan mare. "And miss out on fighting a time-travelling bounty hunter? No thanks!" Rainbow hissed, hovering above the white-clad assassin, who glared at Rainbow. Firestorm tossed a fireball in the direction of Kronos, forcing him to hop back before getting hit by the projectile, "Now's not the time for boasting. Kronos is serious business!" he warned, making an arch in his flight path next to the pegasus. "I dunno guys. That is kind of a cool claim. It's kinda why I'm here," the Atom admitted, shooting a repulsor blast at the bounty hunter. He dove down and brought both of his fists to the pony's stomach. "And that's why you're not leader!" Captain Cold quipped, kneeling behind the ship for cover. Pinkie hopped, dodging each shot from Kronos, "You are different from my other targets." he commented. "Of course I am! Oh, and look out... In front of you!" Pinkie said, hopping on Kronos' shoulder, distracting him long enough to get decked by Sara and Applejack, with two strong kicks from the two of them. Rip spun slightly, shooting at Kronos with his laser pistol, each shot missing Kronos except for one, which landed on his padded chest, only creating a very small scorch mark on the armor. "You're just as persistent as the original I'll give you that." he growled, holding his weapon in both hands as he inhaled. Rarity used her magic to lift Kronos up, catching him off guard. This gave the Atom and Hawkgirl to strike down, the latter using her mace to hit the temporal bounty hunter in the stomach, launching him back with a powerful blow. "Tactical advantage... Must strike back..." Kronos panted, grabbing into his arsenal, he tossed a cylinder of sorts into the air, then it bounced on the ground. Smoke suddenly appeared out of it, blinding most of the heroes there. Ray attempted to find Kronos on his own with aid of his ATOM suit, and even saw Kronos for a second. The Atom lunged himself forward, "Get back here, Kronos!" he yelled, but instead of catching the bounty hunter, he took a blaster shot to the chest, making him fall back on the ground. Ray tried to get up, but his suit refused to budge. "Crap... EMP blast. Didn't think he had one of those." he grunted. "Um, guys? I can't get out of this!" Rip groaned, "Miss Fluttershy." he called out, getting the meek pegasus' attention, "I need you and Rarity to get Ray back to the Waverider so he can adjust his suit properly. We'll cover for you two to make your retreat." he declared. "Okay, Captain Hunter. Are you going to be fine?" Fluttershy quietly replied and Rarity nodded with Rip doing the same in response. The white unicorn using her magic to levitate the armored man back to the timeship with them. Rainbow Dash decided to chase him next, but Kronos turned invisible, unable for her to see. "Uh... Where did he go?" she asked, turning her head as the smoke cleared. Then, she suddenly felt something collide with her stomach, making her flinch in pain and she buckled down on her knees. "Yep. Found him." said Captain Cold, aiming his Cold Gun in front of Rainbow, who's eyes widened. He pulled the trigger, with the cyan pegasus believing to get herself frozen, but the beam didn't hit her. Instead she found Kronos partially covered in ice. Spike hopped up, "Hey, you look a little cold there! How about I warm ya up?!" he shouted, inhaling before exhaling a burst of green flames from his mouth, catching the bounty hunter off guard. Heatwave smirked, "I like the kid's style." Hawkgirl revealed her wings again and kneed Kronos once Spike ran off, then White Canary added a right hook, making the bounty hunter roll in pain. Heatwave shot a beam of flames at the armored pony, making him stagger back. As Kronos attempted to block, his free hoof reached into the strap on his armor and threw another cylinder down: a flash grenade. It created a blinding light for everyone and everypony, but it gave Kronos enough time to reach into his ship. The timeship took off once the light vanished, "Wha-huh?" Firestorm asked. "Where's Kronos?" "Up there." Rip pointed out. In the sky was Kronos' timeship, which vanished without a trace. With the imminent threat gone, Rip looked at the ponies with a glare. "Why did you show yourself? You all could've seriously hurt!" Twilight decided to speak first, "If I may, Captain Hunter. This is our world, and that was a pony that you seemed to recognize. This isn't the first threat we've faced in Equestria. We have as much of a right to help in this as much as you do." "Ouch. Out with the diplomacy, huh?" Snart chuckled. Kendra looked at the Captain, "She has a point, Rip." "I understand, but this looks to be something beyond the usual even by this world's standards." Rip stated. "I saved an entire kingdom from a dark king bent on enslaving it." Spike boasted, "I think we'll be fine." "You sure that happened kid?" Leonard asked. "Yeah. Twilight and the others can vouch for me." Spike huffed. Firestorm landed, separating back to Jax and Stein. "This new Kronos is quite the enigma. If he was sent here, then it seems our presence is already known." the older scientist pointed out. "Yeah, but how could he know we were here?" Kendra asked. Sara crossed her arms, "He's a pony. So clearly they did some travelling of their own like before. As of now, the only people we know in this world are all of you." "He's from the future..." Rip realized. Rainbow shook her head, "This isn't making sense... You mean to tell me that a nutcase we never met showed up in the past to kill us? That's messed up!" "Yeah... But now we need to figure out who this is." Applejack said. The Time Master put his hands on his hips, "We can discuss this back on the Waverider. We need to check on Mister Palmer and the status of the ship." Mick scowled, bad memories flashing in his mind. The ponies were better off not knowing what he went through in that armor.