//------------------------------// // Smash! // Story: MLPU: The Incredible Flutterage // by TheInvincibleIronBrony //------------------------------// Heavyweight stood outside of Stern’s home, watching in disappointment as Fluttershy and her friends were loaded into the back of an armed transport vehicle. It had only been a few minutes ago they had stormed Stern’s front door and tagged the white mare and Boot Strap, which had been a disappointingly short fight. “What a waste,” he told himself as he turned towards one of the troop transports and bumped into Stern. “Watch it,” Heavyweight growled, startling the smaller stallion. “Apologies. Just need to get a blood sample before you ship that mare off to wherever you’re going to keep her,” Stern said as he picked his way through the crowd towards the truck Fluttershy had just been wheeled into on a gurney. Heavyweight watched from a distance as the scientist drew blood from Fluttershy, a new plan forming in his mind. “Sergeant,” Hurricane called from nearby, startling Heavyweight. “We’re ready to move Fluttershy. I want you in the same transport as her,” Hurricane ordered. Heavyweight racked his brain for an excuse. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea sir,” he started, stalling for more time. Hurricane narrowed his eyes at Heavyweight, but remained silent. “I’ve… been feeling strange around her sir,” Heavyweight said, not really lying. “The more I’m around her the more frustrated I get,” Heavyweight admitted. “I was wondering if I could stay with Stern’s protective detail for the night. Get myself sorted.” Hurricane gave the stallion in front of him a once over. “That’s fine soldier. However I think you might be overdue for a psyche eval, when you get back to base. For now, I agree. You need to get some distance between you and Fluttershy,” Hurricane said, turning towards the vehicles preparing to leave. “I expect you back in the morning soldier.” “Yes sir,” Heavyweight replied, not even bothering to salute the retreating general. Heavyweight walked back in the house as the last soldier exited and made his way upstairs to the lab. “Let’s see what you’ve got for me doc,” he said as he started rummaging through Stern’s files. //////////////////// “Get them in a truck. We’re moving in five,” Rarity heard a voice say as she came to. Whatever they had hit her with wasn’t as strong as the anesthetic Stern had given Fluttershy, not that it mattered. Rarity felt a pair of cuffs on her wrists and a weight on her horn that she guessed was a magic suppressor. She blinked her eyes a few times, letting them adjust to the light. She found herself in the back of a military vehicle between a pair of soldiers, her wrists cuffed behind her back and her feet cuffed to a bar on the bottom of the seat, and quickly spotted Boot on the other side of the vehicle with another pair of soldiers and in similar restraints. There was a three foot gap between the benches they sat on and not much else. “I don’t suppose one of you boys has a key for me,” Rarity asked sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes at the soldiers. The stallions glanced at each other as the door opened again. “Get her in here,” Hurricane said as Fluttershy was brought in on a gurney, still unconscious from being drugged. Hurricane looked at Rarity and smiled. “Good you’re awake. I have a few questions for you before we arrive back at base,” Hurricane told her as Boot began to stir on the other side of the vehicle. “If it’s about your uniforms, I’d be more than happy to help you design something more flattering than those old rags,” Rarity quipped, indicating the uniform Hurricane wore, earning a less than pleased look from the general. “What happened?” Boot asked groggily as he started looking around the room. He struggled briefly when he realized where he was, but the soldiers on either side of him held him until he calmed down. “No use struggling son. The fights over,” Hurricane stated, turning back to Rarity while Boot glared at Hurricane’s back. “Now, as I was saying, I have a few questions and let’s be clear,” he said, leaning in close to Rarity. “I’m not in the mood for cute answers,” he growled. Rarity shared a worried glance with Boot, hoping an escape route would make itself available. //////////////////// Heavyweight stared blankly at a set of notes he’d found in Stern’s lab. None of it made any sense to him of course. It may as well have been written in some alien language. Heavyweight heard the door of the lab open and turned to see Stern returning with a small cooler. Stern looked shocked to see Heavyweight in his lab. “I’m sorry, is there something I can help you with?” Stern asked, quirking an eyebrow at Heavyweight. Heavyweight set the notes on the desk he found them and eyed the cooler Stern was holding. “That the blood sample?” he asked, feeling drawn to the contents of the case. Stern glanced at the cooler, before returning his gaze to Heavyweight. “It is and I really need to get started studying it, so if you’ll excuse me,” Stern said, setting the cooler on a table near the door and leaving it to prepare some of his lab equipment for a few tests. Heavyweight watched the doctor work for a moment before making his way to the cooler. “So what exactly are you going to do with her blood?” he asked, keeping an eye on the distracted doctor. “I need to find out what it is in her blood that allows her to regulate the radiation poisoning,” Stern replied, flipping a switch on a machine, turning on several lights as the machine emitted a low humming noise. Heavyweight flipped open the lid of the cooler and saw three glass phials of Fluttershy’s blood. “This all you got?” Heavyweight asked, wondering if it would be enough. “What?” Stern asked turning to the stallion. “Leave those alone!” Stern shouted dashing across the lab. “If one of those breaks-” he started only to be interrupted by Heavyweight shoving a pistol in his face. “Listen doc, I don’t much care for your experiments. All I want is to show that mare who the strongest is,” Heavyweight explained. “Now I need your help. I don’t really understand any of the science to this, but you’re going to inject that blood into me,” he finished, staring calmly at Stern. Stern stared at Heavyweight in shocked silence. “You can’t be serious,” Stern replied, only to have Heavyweight press the gun to his forehead. “Okay, you are,” Stern said, trying to placate the soldier. “Look, I’m not sure how you think this works, but injecting her blood into you could go badly for you in a thousand different ways. There is no reason to think that this will make you stronger,” Stern explained. Heavyweight glared at Stern. “And?” he asked, earning a blank look from Stern. “I don’t care about the risks!” Heavyweight shouted, startling the scientist. “You are going to get a syringe and put her blood in me in the next thirty seconds or I am going to blow your head off,” Heavyweight said, making himself as clear as possible. Stern nodded in agreement, sweating bullets as the deranged stallion gave him one of the phials. Stern retrieved a syringe from a cabinet and stuck the point into the phial, filling the syringe halfway. “All of it,” Heavyweight stated, still pointing the gun at Stern. Stern emptied the phial and approached Heavyweight. “It would be best to inject it into your right arm,” he said, his voice shaking as he indicated the arm that had the gun. Heavyweight returned the gun to Stern’s forehead. “Is this a good angle for you?” he asked without a hint of emotion. Stern gulped, but nodded and raised the syringe to the blood vessel just below the stallion’s elbow. Stern steadied his shaking hand and carefully slid the needle into Heavyweight’s arm and pushed down on the plunger, emptying the contents into the stallion. Stern then removed the syringe and stepped back, still fearful Heavyweight might shoot him. Heavyweight took a deep breath, wondering how much stronger he’d be with both Fluttershy’s blood and the Bluecorp serum. “This really doesn’t feel very different,” he commented after a moment of nothing happening. Heavyweight turned to Stern to ask a question, but fell to the ground when a searing pain shot up his spine, wiping all thought from his mind. The sound of the door slamming open telling him someone else had arrived to see what he had become. //////////////////// Hurricane stood in front of the white mare, agitated that she was being so uncooperative even now that there wasn’t anything for her to fight for. They’d been on the road for about five minutes and the mare hadn’t even spoken a word since the engine started. That was all the time Hurricane needed to know he wasn’t going to get anything out of her without torturing her. “Fine, you don’t wanna talk. How about we ask Boot what he knows?” Hurricane suggested, staring into the white mare’s defiant eyes. “I’m not telling you anything,” Boot said, earning Hurricane’s attention. “Well that’s fine, but consider this,” Hurricane started, stepping over to Fluttershy on the gurney. “The more you tell me about her, the more pleasant Fluttershy’s life is going to be in captivity,” Hurricane told them. Boot looked at Fluttershy for a moment and Hurricane knew he’d pressed just the right button. “He’s lying,” Rarity said, catching Boot’s attention. “They will do anything to figure out how to make her a weapon, regardless of what you tell them now,” she said, her eyes staring straight Boot. Boot looked back at her for only a second before his gaze drifted back to Fluttershy. Boot started to open his mouth to reply. “Sir, Winchester is on the radio,” the driver interrupted. Hurricane rolled his eyes as he left his captives to address whatever problem had come up. “We’ll continue in a moment,” Hurricane told Boot as he put on a pair of headphones connected to the radio. “This is Hurricane. Go,” he ordered, hoping to take care of this issue quickly. “Something came out of Stern’s lab and it’s headed your way! Something big!” Winchester shouted over the radio. Hurricane tried to process what he was being told. “Slow down. What came out of the lab?” He asked, wondering what could have possibly gone wrong in the short time since they had left the lab. “I can’t be sure sir, but… I think it was Heavyweight. He’s the only here unaccounted for and we found Stern unconscious in his lab. One of the samples he took from Fluttershy was missing as well,” Winchester informed. Hurricane was shocked to say the least. “Keep looking for Heavyweight and gather any information on the enemy that you can,” Hurricane ordered. “Yes sir,” Winchester responded as Hurricane removed the headset. “Get on the radio with the closest military base. I want a gunship enroute now,” he told the soldier sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle, turning to the driver next. “Forget speed limits son. Step on it.” “General may I inquire as to what’s happening?” The white mare in the back of the vehicle asked, her eyes following the General’s movements. “It’s none of your concern,” Hurricane told the mare. Boot looked at Hurricane, eyes narrowed. “What did you do now?” he asked through clenched teeth. Hurricane ignored his captives. There wasn’t any reason he had to explain anything to them. //////////////////// Rarity looked from Hurricane to Boot. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?” she asked, figuring Boot knew Hurricane well enough to tell when the General was hiding something. Boot tore his eyes from the General’s back. “The last time I saw him this agitated, Fluttershy had escaped one his most heavily guarded prisons,” he explained. “How did she manage to that?” Rarity asked, hoping their captors were distracted by the conversation enough not to watch her hands. Rarity wrapped her right hand around the left, clenching her teeth for the next step. “She may have had some help,” Boot answered sheepishly. “I’d been around the facility enough to know how to get her out,” he admitted. “Is that a confession,” Hurricane asked, still looking out of the back of the vehicle. Boot glared at Hurricane. “Doesn’t really matter. You’ve got enough on me just from the last few days to put me away for life,” Boot pointed out “Don’t fret over it darling,” Rarity said as she squeezed down on her left thumb, quickly dislocating it, the pain shooting up her arm, but she’d done this enough times to mostly ignore it. “We’ll be out by the end of the night,” she assured him as she removed her left hand from her restraints and hit the guard to her left in the throat, headbutting the one on her right. The guards next to Boot and Hurricane reached for their weapons. Rarity grabbed the gasping soldier to her left and used him as cover from Hurricane and the soldier on Boot’s right. The guard on Boot’s left raised his side arm only for Rarity to grab the barrel and yank it down as the guard shot, the bullet snapping the chain that held Rarity’s feet in place. Now fully free Rarity launched herself at the two remaining guards shoving the gasping soldier at Hurricane and body slamming one of Boot’s guards into the vehicle’s wall and kicking the other in the shin. The soldier Rarity headbutted started to recover, just in time for Rarity to grab the guard she’d kicked by his collar and throw him at the recovering soldier, slamming their heads together and knocking them out. Hurricane and the other two soldiers started to recover as the vehicle began to slow. Rarity guessed the driver was concerned about the fight. “Do not stop!” Hurricane shouted, drawing his own side arm. Rarity leaped to the side as Hurricane shot and sprung forward, elbowing the guard next to Boot as she went and rolling into the feet of the last soldier as she landed. Hurricane brought the gun back around, but Rarity was close enough to grab his wrist and twist the gun from his grip. Rarity kneed the disarmed general in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and bringing him to his knees. “Now I hope we can have a more civil discussion General,” Rarity said as she took the keys from one of the unconscious guards and tossed them to Boot. “See to Fluttershy. I’ll get Hurricane to talk,” Rarity said, earning a nod from Boot as he unshackled himself. Before either had taken a step the sounds of car horns and a distant thumping noise alerted them something was happening on the road behind them. “Too late to be talking,” Hurricane wheezed, glaring at Rarity. Rarity gulped as she looked out the back of the vehicle, shocked to see an enormous figure several blocks behind them, lifting a car above it’s head. “Wake her now!” Rarity said urgently as she stepped past Boot and approached the driver and the fearful stallion on the radio. “I believe your General told you to floor it earlier,” she said, placing a hand on the soldier’s shoulder. “Unless you’d like to die at the hands of the monster coming after us, I suggest you take that in the most literal sense you can,” she said, her tone growing serious. The stallion gulped and nodded, slamming the gas pedal and causing the vehicle to lurch forward as the driver started dodging through traffic. //////////////////// Fluttershy heard muffled voices, her eyes opening to a bright and blurry room. “Fluttershy, wake up,” a familiar voice said, her senses starting to clear up. She felt the bed she was on lurch to the side, almost sending her to the floor, only to be caught by a pair of hands. She looked up to see Boot standing by her side. “Where am I?” Fluttershy muttered, bringing a hand to her head, trying to remember what had happened. “Hurricane caught us. We’re in one of his transports,” Boot explained. Fluttershy sat bolt upright, her eyes darting about the back of the transport, finding General Hurricane and four soldiers cuffed in the back near the door. “What happened?” Fluttershy asked, looking at Hurricane. “Rarity happened. She put her super spy training to good use,” Boot said, pointing to the front end of the transport, where Rarity was going through the equipment on board. “As I’ve been doing the last few days,” Rarity replied as she finished with another storage container before joining them. “Now, we need to prepare,” Rarity stated looking Fluttershy in the eye. “Prepare for what?” Fluttershy asked. “Something attacked the soldiers Hurricane left with Stern. Now it’s coming for us and it’s gaining quickly,” Rarity explained looking at the back window. Fluttershy followed her gaze and was shocked to see an almost amphibious looking creature, standing several feet tall, charging through the streets of Manehattan only a few car lengths behind them. “What do we do?” Fluttershy asked, taking a deep breath to keep herself calm, still looking out of the window. Rarity sighed. “We have plenty of weapons here and Hurricane called in air support that should be arriving any moment now,” she said, lacking her usual confidence. “Our plan for now is to stay ahead of it until help arrives and then make our escape.” Fluttershy heard Hurricane laugh and turned her gaze to him. “Does he know what it is?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the General. “He knows something he isn’t telling us,” Boot replied glaring at Hurricane. Fluttershy stood up, steadying herself as she approached Hurricane. “What is it?” she asked, her angry tone surprising Boot and Rarity. “I don’t have anything to say to you,” Hurricane replied. Fluttershy looked the General in the eyes. “Ponies may die if you don’t tell us what that is,” Fluttershy said through gritted teeth. Hurricane ignored her. “If you don’t start talking, I’ll get angry,” Fluttershy said, catching Hurricane’s attention. “You don’t like it when I’m angry.” Boot and Rarity watched the exchange with bated breath. Fluttershy was not happy and wasn’t trying to hide it. She and Hurricane stared at eachother for a moment. “I believe he’s one of my men,” Hurricane said. “He was given an experimental serum made by Bluecorp and from what Winchester told me, he may have added your blood to the mix,” Hurricane admitted, looking away from Fluttershy. Fluttershy fought to keep her rising temper in check. “You’ll never learn will you?” she asked. “You’re going to keep making the same mistake over and over and somepony else is going to pay for it every time,” she told him. Hurricane didn’t reply, likely too ashamed to argue. Fluttershy turned back to her companions. “Whatever weapons we have or are on the way won’t be enough,” she told them. Rarity stared at her for a moment. “That may be but we don’t have any other options,” she said, meeting Fluttershy’s determined gaze. “I can stop him,” Fluttershy said, looking Rarity in the eye. “No,” Boot said, trying to end the discussion. “That is not a plan. That could just make things worse,” he told them. “Nothing else will be enough,” Fluttershy said, now staring at Rarity to avoid looking at Boot. She needed to stay adamant. “We need Flutterage,” she told them. “Well, you have the most experience with this. How do we bring her out?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy thought for a moment. “I need to be stressed. I need an adrenaline rush or something,” Fluttershy said, looking around the transport. “Do we have any medkits?” “Behind the driver,” Rarity said, pointing to a white box bolted to the wall behind the driver. “This is insane,” Boot said as Fluttershy grabbed the box and opened it. “I know it is,” Fluttershy said staring at the space the syringes full of adrenaline sat in. “But every time Hurricane finds me I have to run. I leave all my work, all my research behind and start from scratch. Nothing is getting better for me and I’m tired of running,” Fluttershy explained, gripping the needle in it’s plastic packaging. “Can you get in touch with S.H.I.E.L.D.?” she asked Rarity. Rarity nodded. “Once you’re done, I’ll arrange for you to be taken somewhere safe,” Rarity assured Fluttershy. Fluttershy gave her a nod of thanks as she took a deep breath and walked to the back end of the transport. It was a short distance, but it felt like miles to Fluttershy. She ripped open the packaging to the syringe and held the needle in her hand. Boot stood behind her. “Are you sure about this? A lot of people are going to see this. You won’t be able to hide anymore,” he pointed out. Fluttershy hadn’t thought about that. “I’m sure S.H.I.E.L.D. will have someplace out of the way in mind for me,” she replied as she lifted her sleeve and readied the needle. “Can you open the door for me when I start to change?” she asked, earning a nod from Boot as he stood by the door, hand on the door handle. Fluttershy took one last breath before shoving the needle into her arm and pushing the plunger. It didn’t take long for her to feel the effects. Fluttershy’s vision turned green and her muscles screamed in pain. She dropped to the floor as Boot opened the door. Fluttershy felt her consciousness slipping as Flutterage took over. Using the last of her willpower she threw herself from the back of the vehicle. //////////////////// Flutterage hit the asphalt of the street hard, cracking the ground with the force. She quickly picked herself up, agitated to find herself in the middle of a busy street. She heard passersby screaming in fear and thought they were going to attack her. Most of them seemed to be running from something further down the street. Flutterage found the true source of the civilians fear charging at her from almost a block away. Flutterage roared at the larger figure, offended something would have the gall to be bigger than her. She ran forward crushing cars beneath her feet as the distance closed between her and her enemy. They both collided, creating a small shockwave of air that shattered windows on the nearby buildings. Flutterage recovered from the blow first and grabbed her enemy by the head, slamming him into the street repeatedly. When he stopped moving Fluttershy roared at her victim, aiming a kick at him, only for her foot to be caught. The abomination at her feet looked up at her and smiled as it squeezed her leg. “I hope that’s not your best. I was looking forward to a good fight,” he said as he jumped up, still holding Flutterage’s leg, and slammed her into the side of a building. Flutterage wound up in the living room of an apartment several floors above the ground. Before she could recover the abomination was climbing through the hole he’d used her to make, a big grin on his face. “I don’t know how you can stand being cooped up in that smaller body all the time. This is so much more exhilarating. So much power and all in my hands, whenever I need it,” he said grabbing Flutterage by the neck. Flutterage tried to fight back, throwing punches at her enemy with no effect. The lack of air wasn’t really bothering her yet, but she’d need to get free eventually. The sound of propellers hit their ears and both turned to the hole in the wall as a helicopter loaded with missiles and guns came into view. Before either could react bullets started spraying from the gatling guns on the helicopter, annoying both combatants. “Stay out of this!” the abomination yelled as he dropped Flutterage and ran at the helicopter. Save them! A voice shouted in Flutterage’s head. Flutterage charged forward, tackling her opponent just as he jumped from the building. His hands missed grabbing the helicopter by a few inches and then they were both plummeting back to the street below. They landed on a car parked on the side of the street and picked themselves up at the same time. The helicopter turned towards them and fired several missiles, all of them exploding around the abomination, destroying a few vehicles and creating craters in the road. Flutterage roared her disapproval at the helicopter for interrupting her fight. A deep and cruel laugh came from the wreckage in the street as the abomination picked himself up. He seemed unharmed by the barrage of missiles. Flutterage was annoyed that her opponent seemed to be as resilient as her. Only she should be that strong. Flutterage charged forward as the helicopter switched back to the gatling guns. The abomination ignored the bullets and grabbed what was left of a car, swinging it into Flutterage as she neared. The impact knocked Flutterage off her feet, further annoying her. With Flutterage on the ground the abomination turned back to the helicopter, picking up and throwing another car, hoping to be done with it. Stop the car, the voice called to Flutterage. Flutterage jumped and spread her wings, flying over her opponent, but a hand grabbed her leg and pulled her down as the car tore through the helicopter’s propellers, causing it to spin out. Flutterage growled in anger at the voice that kept telling her what to do and at the abomination that kept attacking her. With all the strength she had, Flutterage whipped around and punched the abomination square in the jaw, sending him flying backwards and through the front of a store. With him out of the way she flew up and caught the helicopter just before it flew into the side of an apartment building. Flutterage landed back on the street, dropping the downed helicopter and watching as the pilots pulled themselves from the wreck and run away. Flutterage turned back around as the abomination stood up. “What’s the point in saving them? They’d kill you if they ever got the chance,” he asked. Flutterage didn’t know why she kept trying to protect the pilots. That voice kept shouting at her. The voice of her other half. She hated that voice. Flutterage ignored her enemies question and charged at her opponent, tackling him all the way through to the ally in the back. She raised her fist to hit him again, but he kicked her in the stomach, sending Flutterage back through the building and into the kitchen of a restaurant on the other side of the street. Before she could recover the abomination was on top of her punching her in the face over and over. Flutterage could barely make out the sound of a low hissing noise. You hit the gas line. Light a fire, Fluttershy’s voice said, angering Flutterage. She didn’t need to be told what to do. Flutterage caught the abomination’s next punch and headbutted him into the ceiling, rolling out from under him before he came back down. Flutterage saw the downed chopper outside, several missiles still attached to it. She ran out to it as the abomination recovered and ripped a missile from its launcher, throwing the projectile like a football. It hit the abomination in the chest and detonated, igniting the gas in the kitchen and sending the entire building up in flames. Flutterage roared in victory as the abomination crawled out of the fire. She stepped up to him and grabbed him by the neck, attempting to choke the life out of him. Stop! He’s beaten, The voice shouted. Flutterage looked into the eyes of her enemy, slowly loosening her grip. “Fluttershy!” a voice shouted from down the street. Flutterage looked up as the stallion from the train station came into view. He spotted her and the abomination she was standing over. He seemed hesitant to approach. “We need to leave. The military is coming in force,” he told her. “If we stay much longer- Look out!” he shouted pointing at the abomination. Flutterage felt her feet leave the ground as her enemy swept her legs out from under her, his other foot connecting with her head seconds after and sending her soaring over Boot’s head. The abomination grabbed Boot before he could move out of the way and held him. “Maybe I can’t beat you, but I can take something away from you,” the abomination said, smiling. “Any last words before I crush his bones?” he asked. Flutterage glared at the Abomination, her hatred growing with each second. Flutterage caught movement out of the corner of her eye and spotted the agent mare sneaking up behind the Abomination, a grenade in hand. The mare pulled the pin and threw the grenade behind the Abomination, the sound catching his attention and the following blast holding enough force to make him drop Boot. Flutterage charged forward as Abomination turned to grab Boot again, putting all her strength into one hit. “Flutterage Smash!” she shouted as her fist connected with the Abomination, driving him several feet into the ground and knocking him out. Flutterage roared at her fallen foe as the agent mare approached her. “The military should be able to handle his containment until we can have him moved to a more secure location,” the mare said. “So now would be the best time for us to make our escape,” she finished. Go north, Fluttershy told her. Flutterage didn’t know who to trust, but settled for both. She grabbed the agent and Boot and opened her wings, taking off before they could argue. The sounds of sirens fading behind them.