//------------------------------// // Hits and Rebounds // Story: Legacy // by NFire //------------------------------// “Twilight! What did you do!?” Athena stood aghast, seeing the scorched book and looking up at her closest friend in this world, “What have you done?” She repeated once more, unable to comprehend that even with advice against it the Alicorn had still tried. “I..I just tried to end the spell.. If I could trigger it the right way, they would have come back.” She was eyeing the comic in dismay. Athena blinked, trying to think of anything she knew about magic, looking for anything in her data about what might have possibly happened, coming up with nothing, “Twilight, think! What could it have done? Are they okay?” “I don’t know.” ----- Wyatt, Fleur, Tropic, and even Sky just stared at the odd pony. The helmet was slightly crooked on the squarish head, mane still standing straight up underneath it. “You’re kidding, right?” The old soldier was standing behind the shield still kept up by Tropic and Fleur, “Pokey, really?” Tropic couldn’t help it, she started giggling, seeing the look on Wyatt’s face that said he was not even slightly impressed with the idiotic figure standing there. Sky nudged the skin-tight costume wearing mare, “Stop..just..ohmygosh..” She joined in, unable to help herself. “You..you can’t..” The ‘god’ Pokey stuttered, “You..don’t laugh at me!” “Why not?” The human soldier stood tall, “You’ve got a stupid helmet on, going with the rest of your looks.” This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. He was supposed to be feared! Cowered from! The magic in the gem was supposed to be powerful enough to enable him to rule the world. “You can’t speak to me like that!” He was definitely in a rut, pronouncing things that were just patently stupid. “I just did.” Wyatt took a step forward to the edge of the shield, “You look like an idiot, speak like one, so what next? Tap dancing?” A spell slammed against the magical bulwark in a flaring of reddish gold colors, the flamestrike was deflected away, “Stop..stop talking to me like that! You’ll learn to fear me!” Wyatt whispered to Fleur out the side of his mouth, “Just let me through when I move.” He saw her nodding, sweat pouring down her slim body from maintaining the powerful spell. He leapt forward, the shield blinking out then back on as he passed the line where it stood. Once again he clenched a fist, heading right for the comical looking pony, his feet pounding against the solid floor and crushing debris under them into even more splinters. Long muscles in his thighs bunched and stretched, propelling him forward like a rifle shot. He was heading straight for the pony in the helmet, fists tight enough to squeeze carbon into diamonds. He was going to knock the head off this idiot for threatening him and his companions. And seriously...Pokey?! The armor he was wearing increased his own strength, his raw power. Anything he threw into a punch was magnified by whatever powered it, whatever kind of odd technology they’d come up with in the comic to explain it away. He wasn’t familiar with the story at all, but he did know that he was going to try and put an end to this runaround. Solid boots dug into the stone floor, leaving divots that flew backwards from the force of his running. He wasn’t going to leap this time, that had been a mistake. He was a juggernaut now, heading in a zig zag line as if he were dodging Melconian fire on the battlefield. His wiles and knowledge came to the fore, the old battlefield tricks in his mind as he planned second by second, getting closer to the raised platform, dodging blasts from the pony who stood there, horn lit up to power more possible beams of destruction. Something didn’t feel right though. That little jerk in the atmosphere earlier had him worried. Some part of this adventure had changed. He had no clue what it was, but he was wary, anything could have been affected. He zipped right, avoiding a ravening beam of purple light that scorched and melted a track through the stone floor. Zagging left, a piece of roof beam turned to crystal from another spell that would have frozen him into immobility. But he was faster, the delay between horn brightening and the spell being cast gave him the precious time he needed to move. The maniacal face was very close now, his fists clenching in anticipation of stapling a nose to the back of a skull. The horn sticking from the forehead lit up again, a wall of force springing up in front of him, stopping his forward rush dead. He slammed into the invisible obstruction, brain rattling around in his skull from the shock of coming to a halt so fast when he was just picking up speed. He bounced off it and careened into a pile of warehouse fragments that had somehow survived the recent explosion. One hand flung outward along the track, fingers digging into stone to halt his progress, leaving him lying on the remains of roof beams and walls, trying to keep his eyes from rolling around as he struggling to his feet. A slashing golden arc of power erupted from the pony one more, Wyatts’ side feeling like fire had sprung up inside the armor as he went tumbling backwards, lying silently in the pile of odds and ends. Fleur and Tropic gasped, seeing Wyatt tossed aside like a gnat, then hit with a powerful spell that actually dented the armor he was wearing. It threw him into wreckage and left them speechless as they watched 'Pokey’ rise up into the air, laughing while he made his goodbyes, leaving them in the demolished warehouse The wannabe god flew up and out, off into the warehouse district and out of sight. Sky was the first to rush over to the supine figure. “Wyatt? Wyatt?” She looked at Fleur and Tropic, “Do something!” Tropic flipped through her bracelets, finding a simple healing spell she immediately used on the silent figure. A golden glow enveloped him for a long half-minute, then faded away. “Wyatt?” A groan, then one arm moved slightly, his voice ragged and sounding very tired, “This is going to be a bit tougher than I thought.” The one arm moved up, opening the helmet to show a nose that looked as if it had smashed into the inside of the faceplate at high speed, the swelling going down from the spell Tropic had used, “I think I broke a rib or two.” His eyes looked at Fleur questioningly, “I thought we couldn’t be hurt?” ----- “I can’t believe..no..wait, I can.” Athena was sounded exasperated, “Crusader doesn’t give advice or warnings lightly, Twilight. He has a reason!” The alicorn was biting her lip, still looking at the comics which had been moved to a table with great care in case anymore damage was done. “Is that going to hinder them coming back?” The Pegasus pointed at the frayed and carbonized page edges. “I..I don’t know..” “We need to talk to Dice Cup immediately.” Twilight could only nod, eyeing the book still as Athena pulled her out of the room, locking the door behind them. They needed to talk to the originator of the spell, to find out if it could still be running or if they were trapped in the otherworld. ----- Wyatt groaned as he stepped out of the damaged suit, looking at the dent along the side matching the black and bruised section of his own body. Fleur and Tropic had immediately transported them to lair, wasting no time as the criminal pony had left the area. They had to assess damage and put a plan together to get that gem. Hitting the workrooms, Wyatt had immediately peeled off the suit, lifting his shirt, sort of like a Concordiat SkinSuit, and looked at the injury, hissing a breath between his teeth seeing the black area that was slowly growing from the impact. He gently pressed fingers along the edge, field medical coming to mind as he took a deeper breath, feeling icepicks in his side that told him ribs were definitely cracked if not fully separated. He need to tape it up immediately, hoping the nanites inside him were still working. Crusader knew about magic, hardening things against it, and he hoped beyond hope that was true for the nanites. Looking through Sky’s supplies, they found an injury kit, the Crystal mare delicately putting turns of the cloth around his chest, tightening it up to make healing easier, but not movement. He was sitting shirt-less on a low chair, drinking something sweet from the cold box in the work area and plowing his way through a plate of food, they all were, building strength up. “He tracked us somehow. That gem is giving him powers beyond what I’ve ever seen,” Fleur was looking nervous, flipping through a spellbook while munching on a bowl of salad. “If I had a decent weapon, we could have gotten him from a few hundred yards and all this would have been over.” Wyatt smiled crookedly, “Not the way they expected, but over.” Tropic was slowly powering up a huge amount of jewelry, she wanted a selection that would allow her to protect her friends from anything. “Even with me and Fleur holding that shield, we were close to losing it, he’s more powerful than the Princesses almost!” Sky was re-equipping her bandoleers and belts, choosing items that were protected against magic, not many, and so could be used in the face of it. They were what, in the comics, were called ‘magic-null’ a rare item unable to be swayed or affected by spells. “So, on to other things,” Tropic had hit him with another translate spell earlier on, boosting the effects of the previous, “How can we get close to this idiot and put his lights out?” He was eyeing a contraption that Sky was looking at, sort of a grappling hook launcher that looked a little like the ones they’d used in the military, of course they could also be used as silent killers when you added...wait a second.. Leaning over with a wince, he motioned to Sky, “Could I see that for a moment?” “Oh, sure!” She gave him the piece of equipment, watching as practiced hands and eyes looked it over before detaching a few pieces. “What are you doing?” ‘I am going to assume something, that this can be converted into the weapon I need.” He raised a finger, “And could that jerk have tracked you by your use of magic, or just being magical yourselves?” “Yes!” Fleur sounded triumphant, “Here it is!” She pointed to a page in the tome she’d been looking through, “The Eye of Argon can detect magic use, and or magical beings within a certain radius!” Tropic leaned over, “Does it say about spells, how he was able to do those?” She was referring to the hideously powerful spellcraft that ‘Pokey’ was using to batter at them. “It increases a magic user’s ability a hundredfold.” Fleur looked dismayed, “Said to have been created by a delver into dark magics, legends say it contained everything Argon knew about magic, which was a huge amount of knowledge.” “Nice,” Everyone looked at Sky who had been silent up until now, “So the comic book writers made an all powerful gem that we have to get back. Great. Lazy writing.” “Hey!” Tropic was changing outfits, slipping on a bright purple pair of hotpants that even made Wyatt look twice, “We’re the Ulti-Mares, we take on the tough stuff!” Fleur winked at Sky, “Do you have anything other than those outfits?” Watching her friend put on a half-shirt that Wyatt figured would have been seriously scandalous for a human lady. “Nope! You ought to see the closet!” She was in front of the mirror, fluffing her mane up and pinning it in place, “Gotta look right for the fight!” “That’s your catch phrase, really?” Wyatt was trying not to snort in humor at the nudging going on between Sky and Fleur. His hands kept working on the device, tearing it down to see how it worked, a simple thing that used compressed gas to fire a grappling hook hundreds of hooflengths into the air. It was definitely powerful enough for what he needed. Taking a length of finely made tubing, he started working on a weapon he had seen used a few times on a low-tech planet when insurgents had been taking his troops out from ambush. Ingenious, and very quiet, it had taken them a while to figure it out. The rebels had been quick and skilled, but his boys and girls had adapted fast enough to capture a few and figure out a way to turn the tide. Now, he was going to attempt to build another. He was going to take that stupid pony out with extreme prejudice and not a little anger. These broken ribs hurt! But..not that much anymore. He peeked under the bandage, seeing the bruising receding. It seemed his little medical nannies had come with him. Bless you, Crusader. Also, he wasn’t magical in any way. Ponies practically exuded it out their pores. He was a bare bones human, nothing but his wits and what skills he had. If he was tracking them by magic, perhaps he couldn’t pick him up, although if he was a dead spot, then the shadow he cast would be evidence of something. Let’s hope old Pokey wasn’t that smart. ----- “What may I do for you, Princess?” Twilight and Athena had rushed down to the store, asking for Dice Cup and immediately being shown into the back workshop areas. He had been peering at a new gameboard, pieces that looked like the Princesses were set to one side as it looked to be quite a large game, many other items scattered around told of adventures to be had very soon. Covering it up, without a sense of hiding anything, he just loved not showing anything until it was ready, he had warmly greeted the two ponies. “We need to talk to you about that spell.” Twilight had lost her apprehension about what had happened, explaining what she had tried to do, Dice Cup following along avidly as well as Athena. He was all caught up on the particulars, and even the theories that Twilight had come up with he had understood. The big bushy eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead as he pondered everything he had been told. “Oh my. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.” He was pacing the floor now, stopping and getting a chalkboard out, writing magical theorem on it while Twilight looked on before joining in herself. They had scribbled formulae for a few minutes before Twilight stepped back with an indrawn breath. “Oh, no.” “Oh yes, young princess. That’s the result.” Dice cup was now looking very concerned. Athena had recorded everything, but the nuances escaped her, “What’s wrong?” Twilight immediately answered, “Dice Cup’s spell protected anypony inside the comic, they could not get hurt badly, or killed while inside. A few very minor bruises notwithstanding. So they’d have fun.” “And....?” “My spell stripped that away, they’re unprotected inside there. They can be injured badly, or..or even killed.” Athena could only gape at her friend. ----- “What are you making?” Crystal had been watching Wyatt alternately stuffing his face and working on the grappling launcher he had taken from her. “A weapon. If I do it right, this thing will shoot a sharpened spike approximately two hundred yards, dead on, like a bullet.” He used a tool made for hooves awkwardly, bending a small piece of flat metal, “It’ll hold about five shots.” The Crystal Mares’ eyes widened, “You..you’re going to kill him?” “Sky, he tried to kill us. If it wasn’t for Fleur and Tropic, we’d be ashes in that warehouse. Even the armor didn’t protect me against that last one, it could have been a lot worse.” Sky felt herself reaching out, touching the strong foreleg of the human she had come to, well, love in her own way. “Does it have to be that way?” Steady hands set down the pieces he currently held, gently, softly, “Sky, I have to get us out of here. It’s my...job. My duty.” “But it’s not! Why is it your job? Because you used to be a soldier? Because long ago you fought and fought and never rested? Is that it?” Her eyes were warm, so caring and looking into his, “You can’t take all the responsibility, we can help. Fleur is so powerful here along with Tropic. Can’t you just..I mean..can’t.. I don’t want to lose you!” Tear rolled down her cheeks, “You’re..leaving anyways, there’s nothing to do, you told me yourself. But..there’s time, a little of it. You can’t think that everything is up to you. Couldn’t you spend some time being..being..” Sky turned away, looking at something on the floor. “Spend time with you?” He wasn’t harsh, nor were his words, “Live a normal life you mean?” Sky nodded silently. He dropped to one knee, lifting her pretty face upwards to make sure she was listening, “You know, I have a love of my own. I’ve told you. But you still want to be around me for some reason. Some old soldier out of time, who doesn’t belong in this world. You could do so much better than someone like me.” His thumb wiped away a diamond teardrop, flicking it aside as he brushed her cheek, “Definitely much better. Your art, your life. We aren’t even the same species you know, be kinda tough explaining that to the kids.” She couldn’t help it, he was so snarky even when serious talk was in progress, Sky laughed out loud, “You are such a twit!” A hoof slapped his shoulder. “See? Just wouldn’t work if I found a way to stay around. The kids would look pretty funny, we’d have to build a house where I could stand up properly. You ponies are kinda lacking in the height department.” He gave her a ‘what can you do’ look. Sky sniffed, her eyes wet as she tried so hard not to laugh at Wyatt’s stupid jokes, “I..Celestia’s name, Wyatt! You make it so hard to be angry!” Trails of dark lined her face though, still worried, “You are so..so..frustrating!” The soldier nodded, “I am. On purpose. I don’t want you to be sad, or worried. I do what I do because it’s my life pretty lady. It’s what I chose. If I seem to be single-minded, it’s because I focus. I don’t want you hurt.” “You’re so darn stubborn!” The mare stamped a hoof, looking up at him with determination. “I am. I always will be. Could you just trust me? I promise, I really don’t want to be hurt, or killed. It seriously sucks to be killed.” He grinned, trying to play it off, just not quite making a convincing enough argument. “While I understand,” Sky began, a hoof shooting up to point at him, “I’m still peeved at you!” Fleur watched the two talking, wishing she had someone as close as that, who cared so very much. Tropic was beside her thinking the same thing, despite her flirting and trying to look at things with a light heart, the burnished gold mare yearned for something like she was seeing. Wyatt held Sky’s head between his hands, “I know. You can be as angry as you want. I still promise to try not to get hurt, it’s all I can do.” He leaned down, kissing her soft lips as lightly as he could, feeling legs wrap around his neck and increase the pressure for a long minute. Breaking apart, their eyes locked, understanding passed between them with a sigh of breath. Sky whispered against his lips, “If you get killed, I’ll never forgive you.” Wyatt smiled, “You’re learning.” “Hey! Don’t I get one too!” Tropic was standing near, looking quite good in her purple skin tight outfit, giving Wyatt a flirty smile. He glanced to the side, seeing Sky give him a wink. “Well...” “Oh, I get it, it’s okay. One mare stallion, I understand.” She nodded almost to herself, a somewhat wistful look crossing her lovely features.. She almost yelped as hands grabbed her shoulders, pulling her close and kissing those golden lips like nopony had ever kissed her before. It was warm, exciting, sending a thrill through her body like nothing else. Their mouths met with a passion she had never thought possible. Tropical Sun melted against the muscular form, feeling his hands along her cheeks and wrapping her hooves around his neck, pulling herself lengthwise against his body. Closing her eyes, it was almost as if she was taken to another place where it was just her and him, the lips she was feeling against hers were gentle and kind, giving her a moment where she could just be, herself. Not the model mare everypony knew. It was broken all too soon. Tropic felt his lips leave hers with a sweet breath, inhaling air herself as she kept her trim body pressed tightly to his. She rubbed her cheek along his jaw, feeling him stroking along her neck. Slowly she was let down to stand upon wobbly hooves once more, her face turning a crimson that practically glowed in the soft light. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt in her mind, that he had put everything into that one touch just for her. “Are you okay?” His voice was like a whisper in her ears. She lifted herself up, grabbing him around the neck once more, “No. No, I’ll never be all right.” Her voice was like a symphony just for him, “I know what it is to be loved now, you showed me just then what it was like. I’ll never forget it, never.” Her muzzle tilted near his ear, she kept talking in a voice that couldn’t be overheard, “I’m not what ponies think I am. I’ve never even been kissed.” She bussed his cheek once and let herself slowly fall away, dragging her hooves lightly across his chest on the way downward, giving him a look with enough fire in it to burn down a city block. He kept kneeling as she turned her eyes away, slowly, letting him know what she felt. Tropic turned to Sky who was smiling at her with no hint of jealousy on her face. She leaned across, brushing cheeks and whispering to the Crystal mare. Wyatt didn’t catch it, but saw the blush rising high on her face as Tropic smiled back at him again before going to finish spelling her jewelry. “Now you know,” Sky had come close, leaning against his side, “Something in you does that.” A hoof rubbed along his arm with a slow movement, “I guess you have something special about you. I felt it that night I kissed you in Canterlot.” “I promise to only use my powers for good, not evil.” He was joking, but his voice held a tone she found comforting. “Might be a good idea, or you’ll have problems.” She chuckled, giving him a solid smooch on the cheek. He didn’t ask what was said between her and Tropic, none of his business. But he was comforted by Sky’s warm form leaning against him in the underground facility, wondering if he was doing right making something meant only to kill. --- “What was that all about?” Fleur had been observing between spellbooks, seeing her friend and knowing something within the burnished golden mare had changed, for the better. She was smiling more warmly, her steps more sure. “Oh, a kiss between friends.” Tropic swished her tail, giving Fleur a wink. “Looked like more than that to me.” The model mare had always been honest with her closest friend, she wasn’t about to stop now. “It..” She sat on a cushion looking at Fleur, “If he wasn’t taken, I’d try. Fleur, he would love you so hard that you’d never want anypony else.” She turned her head, gazing back to where Wyatt was making Sky laugh about something. Fleur saw the look Tropic was giving the tall human, wondering if she would be all right. “I’ll be fine.” The mare’s voice was low and almost wistful, turning back to see the worried look, “But I’ll always know.” ----- “We’ve got to find a way to repair the spell, if they go up against this bad pony they’re going to get hurt.” Athena was reading the comic, flashing the pages past and getting the storyline without triggering the spell. Dice Cup had nulled the magic so they could read it. “The Eye of Argon, huh. A gem with,” Here she raised her forehooves, making quotes, “Powers beyond the ken of mortal ponies.” She peered at the last few pages, “They leave the story open-ended so when the spell is used, you can finish it yourself. Interesting.” Twilight was pondering the spell and its effects, Dice Cup going over theorem with her to try and repair it. “I wonder what they’re doing in there right now?” Athena chuckled, “Knowing Wyatt, he’s causing mayhem and destruction against that stupid..what was his name? Pokey.... Pokey the Mischief Maker. Yeah, he’s not one to sit around for all the soft side stuff.” Twilight couldn’t help but agree, knowing the soldier, “Yep. Bet he’s doing all kinds of things in there. Ought to be some good stories after this is all over.” Athena chuckled, her smile bright, “He’s at home busting things up, and if he transformed into one of these characters.., he’s probably having the time of his life blowing bad guys away. Right now, probably creating a riot somewhere.” Dice Cup laughed heartily along with the two mares. Truly, their friend was definitely somepony he wanted to meet. ----- In a secret lair underneath a suburban house, a workshop existed where the Ulti-Mares, those super-powered ponies, came to arm themselves for fighting the worlds ills and problems. A place usually filled with voices and spells flying, the sounds of hammer and tongs, working to create something to help them win the day. Nothing like that was occurring, forges were cold, tools were put away, spellbooks shut, all was at peace. Wyatt sat quietly on a cushion, relaxing up against a bunk bed and taking time while one arm was wrapped loosely over Sky’s neck. She lying next to him and leaning up against the muscular form. Tropic sat on his other side, a welcome companion as they shared snacks and a few jokes. Fleur was happily brought into the little group when she was done with her spellwork, popcorn being passed around as well as bad puns. In the cool air and glow of lights, laughter dotted the somewhat serious conversation, a welcome solace after the day they had. Plans were discussed in whispers, thrown away, discussed again, coming together in a whole as the four crime fighters figured out their next move. Quiet was nice. To be continued.....