//------------------------------// // Assisting the Future Part III // Story: Spiders and Magic: Avengers Assemble // by Masterob //------------------------------// The group arrived in the center of the city not too long later, watching as the ponies ran from the Changelings. One family in particular tried escaping but their young daughter could barely keep up. The parents went back for her but that just allowed the Changelings to get closer. Before anything could happen to them, Sweetie Belle had rushed in and kicked the lot of them away. The family noticed Sweetie Belle and thanked her for her assistance. "Just hurry to someplace safe, me and my team can handle them," Sweetie Belle said as the families ran off to safety. The Changelings then surrounded Sweetie Belle, ready to attack. Sweetie Belle didn't back down though, she glared at the whole group, ready to take action. As one went to attack, she sidestepped and delivered a strong kick to it's head. Another went to attack but she flipped backwards to evade and rushed in with a punch to it's face. One went to grab her but she elbowed it's gut and turned around with a strong punch to the jaw and a kick to it's back as it stumbled away. One Changeling managed to get close to Sweetie Belle, but that's when Pinkie Pie arrived to kick it away. The two mares stood back to back as more came. Sweetie charged up her magic while Pinkie got her sword out. As the Changelings went to attack, Sweetie Belle blasted each one away with a magic zap while Pinkie attacked with her sword, taking down every Changeling in her way. A whole swarm came at them but Sweetie Belle pulled out the Twilight Arms and blasted the group away. "I'm so glad Peter gave me these." More Changelings came, but this time Logan rushed in with his claws out and swiped at each of them, taking down each Changeling that came at him. One swiped at his face, leaving a small cut, but much to the Changeling's surprise, it instantly healed as if the cut never appeared. "Sorry bub, my injuries heal," Logan said and attacked the Changeling with a strong swipe. "Can't say yers will though." In another part of the city, Chun Li was fighting a few away with her quick strikes. She kicked one Changeling away and did a double punch to another and a strong knee to one’s face. One tried attacking from behind, but she somehow sensed it coming and sidestepped to kick it away. "Spinning Bird Kick!" Chun Li shouted as she did her trademark attack, taking out all the Changelings in her path. More came at her, but she had the best solution for that. "Kikosho!" Chun Li shouted, sending a powerful chi blast that caught them and knocked them all back. That attack was able to take out a good bunch of them, but more were ready. "Stubborn bunch of bugs aren't they?" Chun Li lamented, ready to continue fighting. Mega Man fire shots from his Mega Buster Cannon, taking down each Changeling that approached him. He punched back a few that got too close, but he maintained his little blasts at the Changelings, though more continued to come to attck him. "Leaf Shield!" Mega Man said, generating a shield of leaves around him to keep the Changelings away. They tried to overpower the shield, but Mega Man had sent it to knock them back. More came but he was prepared. "Spark Shot!" Mega Man said, his hands turning into needles as he generated electricity, zapping the Changelings that attacked him. "Hard Knuckle!" Mega Man shot his fist at the Changelings, punching them from a distance and jumped back as his fist returned. Several came from both sides, but he had one other trick for them. "Flame Blast!" Mega Man slammed both his hands into the ground and fire erupted out, taking out a whole group of Changelings at once, though more remained, ready to fight. Mega Man huffed a bit, "Wow, these Changelings are harder than I thought, those mares must be tough to handle so many of them." He readied for more fighting. Nearby some Changelings went after some retreating ponies. Luckily before they got to close, a flash grenade went off in front of their eyes. While they were stunned, Leon arrived and punched them all away. "Not so tough," Leon said, then noticed more coming. "Bring it on." He fought off each Changeling that arrived, punching and kicking them away. Soon a lot of them started to come so Leon jumped back to pull out a submachine gun began to shoot at them. "Take this!" Leon fired at the Changelings, keeping them back, not relenting. It proved to be effective as a lot of Changelings were being overpowered, some retreating away. Leon then grabbed a fire grenade and tossed it, several Changelings caught in the blast, the fire spreading and keeping several Changelings away. One final Changeling came at Leon from behind, but before he could react, Sweetie Belle had arrived to kick it away. "You alright?" Sweetie asked. Another Changeling came at Sweetie Belle from behind, but Leon moved her out the way to punch it back. "I'm fine, thanks for asking," Leon said. Sweetie grinned at Leon, then the two noticed one final Changeling. The two then held a hoof out, allowing the Changeling to collide into both of them, knocking it out. "This is actually kinda fun," Leon said. "Think this is fun? This is only the easy part, it's actually a lot more difficult than this sometimes," Sweetie Belle said. "I should hope so, I expected a challenge after all," Leon said. Soon the coast was clear, all the Changelings had been the defeated, many of them even retreated away. "Damn that was rough," Logan said. "Yeah, you girls are pretty strong to handle them as much as you do," Mega Man said. "Thanks, the fact that it's this small is good, it shows they're getting fewer in numbers, but once in a while they still do larger attacks, which is where Pinkie and I really need to be weary. It's not just how many there are of them, but how many ponies we have to save," Sweetie Belle said. “I am curious if they’re attacking randomly or if they have one of them giving out orders.” Logan wiped his head, "You’ll figure that out soon enough, I'm just glad the ponies are safe, you girls good from here?" "Yeah, we're good," Sweetie Belle said and turned to Leon. "You still wanna stay here and help?" Leon groaned, "For the last time, yes. Damn you keep asking me like you're expecting a different answer, I don't back down from things. If I feel like I can make a difference somewhere then I'm taking that chance. I don't want a repeat of Raccoon City, I'll do what I can to help." "Technically it is a repeat since the world is in ruins," Mega Man said, then got a glare from his teammates. "Right, not the best thing to say, I'm really sorry." Sweetie Belle shook her head in annoyance as she turned to her new partner, "Alright, thanks Leon, I really appreciate this." Mega Man scanned the area, "Looks like all the ponies are safe, I guess it's ok to head back now." "Follow me, I'll take you to the time machine," Sweetie Belle said. Soon the group was back in the castle, Sweetie Belle setting up the machine. "Alright, within seconds you'll be sent back 25 years into the past," Sweetie Belle said. Logan nodded, "You girls be safe, if you need us, just let us know." "We will thanks Logan," Sweetie Belle said. Chun Li turned to Leon, "That goes for you as well, radio me should you be ready to return." "Will do boss, see ya," Leon said. "Oh think you can let Hunnigan know, I don't want her to worry." "I will, be safe, all of you," Chun Li said. Soon Logan, Chun Li and Mega Man had returned to the past as Leon just sighed and turned to the two mares. "So now what?" Sweetie Belle shrugged, "Give me some time, I'll make some new plans." "I'll go check on the foal," Pinkie said and went to their room. Leon crossed his arms, "I have that goal at least, make this world a better place for that kid to grow up in, sound good right?" Leon turned to Sweetie Belle, but he just got a strange stare from her, "Are you ok?" Before he could react, Sweetie Belle pulled him into a hug, "Thank you so much for this, I promise I'll make this up to you. I hope I can help you feel at home here." Leon hesitantly returned the hug, but once he did he felt a weird calming feeling. "It's no trouble, I'm happy to help." Sweetie Belle nodded, "I'll go have some food prepared, if you'd like you can go help Pinkie Pie with the baby." "Tell me, the baby's father, what was he like, what was his name?" Leon asked. Sweetie Belle looked unsure, "It's a long story, I don't wanna go into details but let's just say that things just happened, I didn't expect to have that baby, but I don't regret it either." Leon looked confused by that, though he figured it wasn't an easy topic for her. He won't press it any further. "You can tell me when you're ready, but I promise I'll be understanding of whatever you're feeling." "I'm sure you will, thanks," Sweetie said and kissed his cheek before leaving. "Food will be ready soon." Leon nodded and sat back, thinking over everything. "This has got to be one of the weirdest jobs that I've accepted." In the present, Logan and company arrived back in the castle, feeling a bit woozy from the time travel. "Man time travel's a pain," Logan said, shaking the dizziness off. "You get used to it, without it I never would have met my fellow Mega Men," Mega Man said. "I can't believe this beautiful world could end up like that, I really hope Peter has a good plan," Chun Li said. "He does, he hopes to make peace with them, end the problem before it starts," Logan said. "Does he really think that will work?" Chun Li asked. "Yeah, they don't look like ones to listen to reason," Mega Man said. "We'll see soon enough," Logan said. Not too long later, Celestia, Luna and Sunset Shimmer had arrived in the room with Twilight, Ryu, Cadance and Shining Armor. "Good, you're still here," Twilight said. "Actually we just got back," Mega Man said. "Back? Back from where?" Twilight asked. "We came back from 25 years into the future," Logan said. "25 years...where Equestria had to deal with the Changelings?" Twilight asked. "Yeah, fought a few of them before returning too," Logan said. "Why were you battling Changelings? Why were you in that future?" Luna asked. "Long story, sit back and we'll explain it to you," Logan said. Meanwhile back in Ponyville, Mayday was still tutoring the Cake Twins on some basic science, however neither of them paid too much attention to the lesson. Pumpkin was just sitting back, really annoyed that she had to be tutored by a filly that's younger than her, even if it's by a year. Besides she hardly understands what Mayday is trying to say, she just gets into this stuff really easily. Pound Cake found himself focused on Mayday, but not because of the lesson, just how pretty she looked, between the nice color scheme of her hair, her beautiful brown eyes, how intelligent she sounded, even though he had no idea what she was saying, even the flowers in her mane, it really brought out her elegance. He could close his eyes and hear her lovely voice call to him. “Pound Cake..." He just wanted to get close to her, really close, closer than he's ever been. He leaned in to get close. "Pound Cake..." He felt her near him, all of a sudden he could see an aura of light, the mare of his dreams materializing before him. "Pound Cake..." He leaned in close, really close, she did the same. Both their brown eyes matched, getting closer, lips puckered out, Pound Cake knew what he wanted. He went in closer, and closer, getting really close to the filly until... "Pound Cake!" Suddenly he snapped out of it and looked around. He was back in the bakery, to his left his twin sister seemed to be laughing at him. He looked forward and noticed Mayday, who looked very annoyed. "Pound Cake, I'm trying to tutor you, can you please pay attention!" Mayday instructed. Pound Cake gulped and nodded, "Yes, sorry." Mayday groaned and went back to the lesson at hoof, "Anyway as I was saying, the basic formula for this experiment is..." Suddenly Pinkie Pie called out, "Mayday! Your dad's here! And he brought somepony for you to meet!" Mayday groaned, "I hate interruptions. Wait here I'll be back." Pumpkin huffed, “Got nothing else to do.” Mayday went downstairs and saw her dad in the bakery, talking with Pinkie. "Dad, what is it? I'm still tutoring the Cakes," Mayday said. "Sorry honey, but there's somepony who wants to see you," Peter said and revealed Flurry. "Cousin Mayday!" Flurry shouted and rushed to hug her older cousin. "It's great to see you!" Mayday groaned, "Hi Flurry." Mayday loves her cousin, but the times he's known her, she can be a little...too princessy for her liking. Flurry broke the hug, "Wow Mayday, you've gotten much bigger." "So have you," Mayday said. "So is there any reason you're here, I'm in the middle of some tutoring." "Mayday, be nice," Peter scolded. "Your cousin came all the way from the Crystal Empire to see you, be a little more appreciative." Mayday shook her head in annoyance, "Yes daddy." Mayday turned to Flurry, "Sorry, you know I love you, I was just a little surprised to see you here." "It's fine, I know you take studying stuff seriously, it's one of the reasons I admire you so much, you're really smart!" Flurry said. Mayday blushed a bit as she rubbed her head, "I just like studying, that's all." Peter and Pinkie giggled a bit, loving the interaction between Mayday and her cousin Flurry. From upstairs, the Cake Twins noticed Flurry standing near Peter. "Hey, it's the little Princess from The Crystal Empire," Pumpkin said. "Wonder what she's doing here?" Pound asked. "Well she is Mayday's cousin, maybe she just wanted to see her," Pumpkin said. "Oh right, sometimes I forget that Mayday's related to the Prince and Princess of The Crystal Empire," Pound said. "Mayday is technically Royalty, her mom is a Princess too, and her dad's a Prince," Pumpkin said. "Prince, I thought he was a superhero? Can you really be both?" Pound asked. "Well duh, a superhero can also be a Prince, Auntie Pinkie says that one of the Avengers is Prince of a place called Asgard," Pumpkin said. Peter noticed the Cake Twins, "Hey Pound Cake! Pumpkin! Come down and greet Flurry!" Flurry noticed the twins, she wasn't sure how to feel about them, they seemed nice but one was kinda grumpy and the other was a bit immature. She knew of his crush on Mayday, but she didn't deem him worthy of her cousin. The twins came downstairs to greet Flurry. “Hello Flurry,” Pumpkin said. “Hi Flurry,” Pound said with a friendly wave. "Hi...so I hear that you're both being tutored by my cousin, is that true?" Flurry asked. "Yeah, thanks to her mom being friends with Auntie Pinkie Pie," Pumpkin said. "And her dad being friends with Uncle Wade," Pound said. "If you use the term 'friend' loosely," Peter said. "Don't pretend you don't like me Parker, you know you and I are the best of friends, practically brothers!" Deadpool shouted from the kitchen. "In your dreams dude!" Peter shouted. He then turned to the kids. "I'm glad Mayday's tutoring you though, smart little filly isn't she?" "She's VERY smart, helps that her parents are geniuses too," Flurry boasted. Peter blushed a bit, "Come on, genius? I'm just a nerd that likes science." "Wow, he is modest, just like that karate guy said," Flurry said. "Karate? Oh you mean Ryu? Hey where is he?" Mayday asked. "He went with your mother to go see Chun Li," Peter said. "Chun Li? Who's that? I feel like I heard that name before," Flurry said. "A very strong girl, she kicks really hard," Peter said. "Oooh, I'd love to meet her," Flurry said excitedly. "Wait is she a Princess too?" "No, I don't think she is," Peter said. "Imagine if she was, a Princess of Martial Arts!" Pinkie said. "That would be something, maybe we should call her that just to see her reaction," Mayday said. "Yeah, that would be funny, anyway I should get going, maybe you can stay here with Mayday, she can tutor you too, then you can become a genius," Peter said. "Oh, I'd love that!" Flurry said, much to Mayday's annoyance. "Um, can I get a say in-" Mayday's suggestion was ignored when Peter turned to Pinkie, "You think Mr. and Mrs. Cake would mind?" "No, as long as they behave, which I'm sure they will, they do like having Mayday around, so I'm sure they don't mind Flurry being here too," Pinkie said. Peter nodded, "Right, anyway I'm off, bye May." With that, Peter left, leaving Mayday with another pony to tutor. "Alright, back upstairs," Mayday said. "Yes Mayday," The foal said and quickly went up as Mayday groaned. "It's such a pain being a tutor," Mayday said. “I guess being a Scholar separates me from my incredibly strong dad, I wonder if others go through what I do? Then again how many others are half-breed children of strong people from other worlds?” Somewhere in a different world, a young man with spikey hair and thick glasses looked around, as if he felt a common connection with someone. He shrugged it off and continued on his day. Back in Canterlot, Logan had explained everything about the future. "So you sent a warrior from Capcom, that Leon Kennedy guy, to Future Equestria so he can fight the Changelings?" Twilight asked. "Yeah, pretty much," Logan said. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sunset asked. "Yeah, Leon has always handled himself well when it comes to survival, but these Changelings sound pretty tough, much tougher than any B.O.W." Ryu said. "I trust that Leon can handle it, besides he really wanted it," Chun Li said. "That's how Leon is after all," Mega Man said. "He may not look it, but he's a very friendly guy and he loves helping others." "Plus he's used to an environment like the one in the future, so he's prepared both physically and mentally," Chun Li said. Luna looked unsure, "Wouldn't it have been easier to ask Peter to return to the future? Surely he can handle such a task a lot easier." Chun Li rolled her eyes, "First off Peter shouldn't have to do everything, isn't that the point of opening the portals to his world and ours? Isn't that the reason The Avengers live in this world? Second Peter's been through enough in that world, from what I understand it was a lot for him to bare, not physically but mentally. Peter's strong yes, strong in muscles, but his mental state is very fragile and he's not always emotionally capable of certain things. Leon may not have superpowers but he can handle himself much better in an environment like that." Logan nodded, "Fluttershy herself said that Peter shouldn't go back to that world, and I agree. Leon can handle it, he's pretty tough." Luna shrugged, "If you say so, I still believe Peter could have handled it much faster." Chun Li glared at the Night Princess, "Listen, it's nice that you believe in Peter, but my guys can handle things just as well, I'm sure you don't want Peter to return to an environment like that." "Yeah, Leon will be fine, he can help the Sweetie Belle and Pinkie Pie of that world, make it a better place, especially for the sake of Sweetie Belle's baby," Mega Man said. Twilight's interest peaked, "Baby? What baby?" Before Mega Man could say anything else, Logan rushed over to him, "Never mind what he said, point is everything's under control in that world, so let's just end it with that. Leon's more than capable of handling it, Parker can stay here and do what he does best, and that's help this world be safe." Twilight still looked curious at what Mega Man said, but respected what Logan wanted, "Alright then." She turned to the others, "I guess that's settled, I'll just let Sunset Shimmer explain the portals, hopefully we can link to the other worlds." "Your daughter expressed interest in seeing a girl from Namco, Rita Mordio I believe her name is, me and my world can help with that," Ryu said. "Rita Mordio? I'd love to see her again, such a talented girl, high intelligence and talented at magic," Twilight said. "Namco has quite a few talented magicians I hear," Mega Man said. "True, especially the elves, I heard of one that helped a hero save two worlds," Chun Li said. "Yeah, what were the called again? Heroes of Symphonia or something?" Mega Man asked "I don't remember, we'll have to ask about it soon," Chun Li said. "Oh, even more interesting, alright, next up, the world of Namco," Twilight said, everypony agreeing on that. As they went about their own business, Logan gathered Mega Man and Chun Li close, "Listen, please don't mention anything about Sweetie Belle's baby to anyone here alright?" "Huh? Why not though? Is it a secret?" Mega Man asked. "It's a long story, but please do NOT tell anyone here, that's her secret to tell, not ours," Logan said. Chun Li and Mega Man glanced at each other unsurely, but decided to respect Logan's request. "Fine, no problem Logan," Chun Li said, harboring some curiosity of her own. "Alright then, I won't say anything," Mega Man said. Logan nodded, "Good." Logan made his way out the room, leaving Mega Man and Chun Li to themselves. "Didn't expect to hear of a world where the future is an alternate timeline," Mega Man said. "But I guess that is possible." "Lots of worlds have that I think, Logan told me about his, makes me wonder what other world has that alternate dystopian future," Chun Li said. "That's another thing to find out I guess, we have a lot of worlds to check it seems," Mega Man said. "By the way, how goes the search for that other world, the one with the high Power Levels?" "It's taking some time," Chun Li said. "Somehow it seems like there's a lot in that particular dimension, enough to fill multiple Universes or something." "Multiple Universes?" Mega Man asked. "That's odd." "That just makes me more curious, what could be on the other side of that portal?" Chun Li wondered. The two continued to wonder about the possibilities, feeling more curious and excited about it. But for now the heroes of those three words should be a little more concerned with what challenges still await them.