Issue Four: Friendship and Fury
Walking down the moonlit streets of London wasn’t an act practiced often by Professor Cobbleton. In fact, he loathed it. His mind raced with images of cutthroats, brigands and thugs all waiting to beat him senseless for his wallet. Little did he know that his fears would be realized in due time.
Clutching his leather briefcase to his chest, he jogged on, looking over his shoulder every now and again. The streets were empty, and a low fog had begun to spill out over the path. He kept true, never slowing down as he made his way to the safehouse. Once there, he and his work would be safe.
The contents of the briefcase were more important than anything in Professor Cobbleton’s life thus far, and that included his wife. Fifteen years of research and nearly fourteen million pounds went towards the research that he now held to his chest. It would be a breakthrough in the scientific community, and would pave a new era for the world of man. Years ago it was but a dream, but the Professor had proven those dreams a reality with his breakthrough in synthetic intelligence.
A light flickered behind the scientist, causing him to turn around with a shrieking gasp.
“Nothing!” he wheezed after ensuring the area was vacant.
He continued on, moving slightly faster than before. His footsteps echoed loudly in the dark streets, drowning out any background noise. Including the extra pair of footsteps behind him.
Synthetic intelligence. The two words beamed in his mind as he made his way down the street. Nothing had ever come close to being such an amazing breakthrough as this had; not even Tony Stark’s arc reactor technology. Manual labor could be done faster, cheaper, and more effective than human production. There would no longer be the need for-
Another light snapped off behind him. This time he knew it wasn’t faulty British wiring. Not even taking the time to turn around, Cobbleton sprinted down the street as fast as his withered legs could take him. Muscles burned in his legs and his breath was ice cold in his lungs, but he continued. The safehouse was in sight, just a few blocks away, when a heavy hand fell on his shoulder.
Violently, the professor was plunged to the ground, spilling his briefcase and a few loose papers. Though the fog was thick, the professor could clearly make out two large, metallic boots resting in front of his face. From the man’s waist hung a thick steel sword, stained with splotches of dried blood. His face was hidden by a menacing medieval helmet, painted black to match the night sky.
A chill ran through the professor’s spine as he heard the sound of scraping metal, brought on by the attacker withdrawing his sword. He merely held it in his hand, letting it hang above the ground non-threateningly.
“Art thou Professor Cobbleton of London?” the figure asked from behind his helmet, his baritone voice echoing in its confinement.
“Y-yes!” he squeaked, unsure of what to do.
“Most excellent!” the armored man continued, “Then thou shall be rewarded for thine efforts in our undertaking.”
The professor darted his eyes towards the briefcase. “My efforts? Are you talking about my work?” he asked, hoping that he might be spared his life if he complied.
“Aye. Mine leader hath a brighter idea of thine future. One that can only be made real through the work of thou. I have come to seize it.”
“Th-the work isn’t for you! I-I have a contract with-”
The man raised his sword above the professor’s body. “That is why I hath said ‘seize’. Do not fret, Master Cobbleton, for thine efforts shall not go unrewarded.”
“Unrewarded?” he asked, barely audible.
“Aye. I shall spare thee of the torment of the future. Mine leader’s ideals are... violent.”
Cobbleton didn’t even have time to scream before his life was cut short, and his work stolen from his lifeless corpse.
*****
After three straight hours of chasing, Tony Stark was no closer to catching Rainbow Dash. It was like chasing a carrot on a stick, and no matter how fast he went she still outpaced him. Not that Tony had any experience with carrots on sticks, drunk or otherwise. It was just something that he would think about at times.
More to the point however, Rainbow Dash was showing significant endurance, the likes of which Stark had never seen before. Her agility was unparalleled, as she was able to turn on a dime without losing speed in the slightest. Tony almost lost her a few times when his Iron Man suit wasn’t able to match her acrobatic flight skills. However, it’s never too hard to find a chromatic flying horse; especially when it left a bright trail of rainbows in its wake.
As noon rolled past, and the chase was beginning to dull, Rainbow’s mind had begun to wander, thinking of more interesting things to do. Sure, flying away from a metal-man at breakneck speeds through tight alleys was fun, but the excitement waned after a while. She could call it off and give-
NO! Her thoughts roared, I am not letting him win this!
As she rocketed off, pulling together newfound strength from the corners of her body, Tony Stark had questions of his own. The most prominent being; What the Hell is a flippin’ pony doing flying around New York City? Second; Why would she be running if she didn’t do anything wrong? Third; What the Hell is a flippin’ pony doing-
His repetitive train of thought was derailed by the dignified, metallic voice of his computer-butler-servant, Jarvis.
“Sir, I’ve finished running diagnostics on the species and classification of your target.”
“Good, lemme hear ‘em.”
“There is none.”
Stark was dumbfounded; Jarvis was loaded with almost limitless knowledge with the most in-depth of information in the world. And he didn’t know what it was. It raised further questions, but not ones that Stark could attend to at the moment.
“Jarvis, what do you mean there is none?”
“By my records, what you’re chasing shouldn’t exist.”
“Well, I’m looking at it right in front of me, Jarvis. Unless you’re saying I’m going crazy.”
“No, sir, your vitals appear to be quite stable, if not a little agitated.”
“Duely noted.” Stark retorted as he struggled to turn a corner in pursuit of Rainbow Dash. “Any calls from Fury?”
“I’m screening them as we speak, sir. He seems quite angry at you.”
“Yeah, well, it’s in his character...”
All Tony wanted at this point was to ask some questions. It wasn’t about racing, or proving who was faster, he just wanted answers.
*****
All Rainbow Dash wanted at this point was to win. It wasn’t about an interrogation, or proving she wasn’t dangerous, she just wanted victory. And it seemed to be an easier task than previously anticipated. She had never flown this fast for this long in her entire life. She was practically going at full speed, non-stop, for three hours straight, and she didn’t have the faintest feeling of strain in her wings.
In fact, she seemed pretty normal, as if she had just woken up from a nice nap. Her body seemed fresh; new almost. Despite strenuous work, which would normally leave her sore for hours, she felt great.
Maybe this has something to do with how I can’t-
Her careless thinking had distracted her, and she had listed behind, almost to the point where the metal-man could reach out and touch her. With a devilish grin, and a quick burst of speed, Dash left the pursuer in a metaphorical cloud of dust.
Geez, Dash, you’d think you’d remember by now; Don’t think and fly.
Still, she couldn’t help it; the race was getting boring. If she could get the race over and done with, then maybe she could get on with the rest of her day. Naps and snacks wait for no pony. There were only two solutions; either give up the race, or find a way to shake the metal-man off her tail.
She brought her wings in, hugging her body with her feathers. She felt the slight loss of speed before turning her body around so that she was gliding backwards. She now faced the metal-man head-on, staring into his gleaming, merciless eyes. In an instant, she shot her wings out again, pumping as hard as she could. Her breackneck change in direction was sure to lose him, she was positive of it.
Yet there he was, no further behind her than he was thirty seconds ago. He waved at her, seeming to beckon her to him.
Letting out a hearty chuckle, she dove straight for the concrete ground below, weaving through pedestrians and traffic with deft ease. The metal man stayed overhead, not risking any danger by flying what was basically a homemade rocket through crowded intersections of innocent civilians. Rainbow Dash didn’t find it all too entertaining either, after realizing that massive crowds of new-world-people smell rather awful. Gasping for air, she surfaced nearly a block away from Tony.
Rainbow remained motionless, staring at the encroaching metal-man. He seemed tired. Bored, almost. He waved a hand towards himself, beckoning her over. Begrudgingly, she complied, but remained poised to dash off in an instant. She insisted on getting the first word in the matter,
“What do you want?”
Stark slowed down, rocked by the mere fact that a technicolor pony was speaking to him. He awkwardly maintained his flight and replied, “Well, I did want to talk, but I suppose you’re too good for that.”
“Uh... Sure.”
“I like your humility.” Tony deadpanned, “Well, uh, I’m... Geez, where do you start when talking to a flying horse?”
“I’m a pony.”
Stark shook his head, “Same difference. Listen, I don’t really care one way or another anymore; I just want to know what you’re doing.”
Rainbow scoffed, “Beating you of course! But I gotta admit, you’re not bad at racing, I guess.”
“You offend me... I’m more than ‘not bad’.”
“Ha! Sure didn’t seem that way.” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk.
“Okay, I give up, you win, woohoo.” Stark replied without the slightest hint of excitement. “It’s not like a cared about racing anyway.”
“Pshaw,” she spat, “I can tell when someone’s lying!”
“Believe it or not, I’ve got better things to do than to be smartmouthed by a h-” he caught himself, “A pony.”
“Like what? Losing?” Rainbow Dash said with another giggle.
“Okay, we’re done here.”
Tony Stark’s repulsors roared to life in a blazing inferno, sending him accelerating towards the sky away from the alien intruder. In the meantime, Rainbow Dash was having the time of her life cracking up over the metal-man. All previous fears and worries about him had vanished in an instant.
“Wait up!” she shouted, flying at his heels.
Rainbow could hear the metal-man groan as he turned around, facing her with his emotionless faceplate.
“What a surprise... Do you have anything constructive to say?” he mumbled.
“How do you fly with that anyway?” Rainbow asked, puzzled at the lack of wings.
Tony cleared his throat, “Simple. I used a combination of repulsors in my boots, coupled with flight stabilizers built into my gauntlets. The entire system is powered by a miniature Arc reactor I have built into my chest, interlocking with the entire suit, which provides more sustainable energy than five nuclear factories, allowing a controlled flight lasting upwards of seven hours.”
Rainbow nodded, pretending she understood what he was saying, just as she did with Twilight on a regular basis, “Yeah, sure, but how do you fly? Where’s your wings?”
Tony strained every cell in his body to resist facepalming.
“Don’t you have anywhere better to be? You know, away from me?” he asked.
“Nah.” She responded plainly, not wanting to explain how she didn’t know a single soul in her strange new world. “Besides, you’re fun! My name’s Rainbow Dash, what’s yours?” she asked, holding her hoof out to shake.
Tony stared at it, shaking his head slowly. “You know, after all this, I really shouldn’t be surprised at your name, but... I can’t help it.” He gently took the stubby hoof and shook it gingerly, “My name’s Tony Stark.”
Rainbow smiled. It was a start. At least she knew the name of one person in the future.
“Listen,” Tony continued, “I’ve got some things that need doing. And if I don’t get ‘em done fast, Fury’ll turn this suit into a toaster. If you wanna talk, just come and find me; I’ve got a lot of questions for you.”
Rainbow nodded. For once, answering questions didn’t seem like a bad thing to do. Normally just the thought of a test would send shivers down her spine. But she had nothing better to do, and naps would get tiring after a while.
“Well, if you want, I can come with you now. I mean, I don’t really care, but the faster I get it done, the faster it gets out of the way, you know?” she said, hovering alongside Tony.
“That’s not a bad idea. If Fury gets a good look at you, he’ll probably forget what he wanted me to do... This could work.” his repulsors churned, preparing for another sustained flight, “Alright, Dash, stay on my heels. If you can.”
*****
The dimly lit deck of the SHIELD Helicarrier was immediately flooded by harsh, flashing red lights, coupled with an ear-splitting alarm. Deckhands scattered to and fro, stationing themselves at their computers in preparation of whatever emergency was at hand. Standing at the head of the bridge, shouting out commands mixed with expletives, stood the dreaded Commander Fury. His single eye glared at the incompetence of the newest crew of the Helicarrier.
“Sir!” shouted a young operative from the back of the room. Fury rushed over, his black trench coat billowing behind him.
“The Hell is going on, private?” he asked furiously. Get it?
“Sir, radar is picking up two unmarked objects closing in on the carrier. They appear to be flying in a battle formation, and we’re trying to-” the private stammered.
Fury left him in mid sentence, strolling down the center of the bridge, pointing to individuals along the way.
“Call deck support now! Tell them to get some guns up!”
Fury pointed again, causing everyone under his cyclopean gaze to cower in fear,
“Who do we have on board?” he asked in a rather demanding way.
“C-Captian Rogers and...” the miniscule deckhand concentrated, trying to resist fainting at the sheer authority of Commander Fury, “Agent Barton!” he finally shouted.
“Tell ‘em to get their asses on deck, now!”
Fury turned without saying another word and headed for the elevator, all the while trying to reach Tony Stark for the twelfth time. There were more problems in using a billionaire playboy in your team of super-soldiers than Fury had originally thought. The most annoying of which was that he never answered his phone.
“What’s the point of spending four-hundred dollars on a phone if you leave it off all the time...” Fury grumbled to himself as the elevator came to a screeching halt. The doors swooshed open, bathing Fury in the bright light of the mid-afternoon sun, nearly blinding his one good eye.
All across the deck, SHIELD soldiers lined up, rifles at the ready. Jets were warming up, and stationary turrets were being loaded. Fury took no time to marvel at how quickly the deck was secured; it was in their training to do so. Instead, he took up his own position at the head of the line, withdrawing his pistol and aiming it to the sky.
Despite the three dozen soldiers on deck, there was nothing but silence. Soldiers dared not move, as if making a single sound would doom them all. Heads turned to the port-side of the Helicarrier as a strange sound surfaced. Through the clouds, nothing could be seen, but it could be heard. A strange sound... it reminded Fury of-
AC/DC?
Fury grimaced as he holstered his gun and walked to the edge of the carrier. Sure enough, the chords of Highway to Hell assaulted his ears moments before the annoyingly familiar Tony Stark flew overhead, built-in speaker systems blaring. Unlike their Commander, several soldiers on deck cheered and hollered Tony on, prompting him to make an unnecessarily showy landing.
“Dammit, Stark! Where the Hell have you been? I’ve been calling your ass all day! Do you know how-”
At this point, Stark tuned Fury out, as usual. It wasn’t that he was being inconsiderate, it was just that the first five minutes of any of Fury’s conversations consists with chewing the other out. It wasn’t until that was all over that he actually said anything important. Besides, listening to most of the chewing out part made Stark feel sick on the inside.
He decided to pop back in, and see if Fury was done yet.
“-you like that? Would do? Because really, I’m this damn close to shutting you out of this, Stark! Don’t think that-”
Nope, still not done. Patiently, he waited. He scanned the skies, trying his hardest not to move his head too noticeably. Rainbow was somewhere there, hiding in the clouds. Only a matter of time until-
“-Stark?! Dammit, have you even been listening?” Fury finished, rage practically dripping from his eyes.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, of course.”
“What the Hell took you so long getting here?” he asked.
“I met a friend!” Tony retorted, throwing his arms out to the sides for emphasis, and as a signal for Rainbow Dash. Seeing the command, Rainbow bolted from her hiding spot in the clouds, aiming straight for Tony’s feet. She moved in a blur, too fast for the soldiers to react to, and landed in a cloud of rainbow-colored dust at the ground in front of Tony’s feet. She felt extremely awkward sitting in front of so many new-world-folk, each staring at each her with prying eyes. Still, despite their soul-piercing gazes, Rainbow struck a heroic pose in front of her new friend.
“Marvelous entrance.” Tony remarked in a whisper.
Rainbow was at a loss of words, not for the first time today. All she could do was look around at the dozens of new-world-folk. The dark one with the eyepatch in particular fascinated her; she’d never seen one like him before. His voice, too, heightened her curiosity. It reminded her of a tornado, how it was filled with grace and beauty, but also contained hints of destructive vigor and relentless anger. The angelic sounds that were his voice graced Rainbow’s ears yet again,
“Shit...”
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Hey, congratulations on making feature! You really earned it.
Nice to see an update after all this time.
However, while your writing is clear and to the point, until we get a bit further into the story I can't say too much as to what I think of the plot so far as there isn't quite enough to go on.
Still, I eagerly await the next installment.
Another epic chapter!
1214234 Thank you. When I saw, I screamed like a little girl mixed with a caffeine-induced squirrel. Feels were had.
1214239 Yeah, I sorta just wanted to get this one out of the way. The beginning offers a tiny glimpse of plot, but the next chapter is where it starts to get a bit more concise. ...I think that's the right word. Or maybe not, I'm too lazy to check.
1214245 divebuddy.com/images/commentpics/tank_you.jpg
Nice job /)
1214318 Well, let's say they're loosely based off of the most recent film, with only slight tweaks. You'll see what I mean when I pull the villains out. Though 616 did pique my interest... Vision was always a badass.
I can see why you'd go with Movieverse. All the other versions of the Avengers are so experienced and jaded at this point that a talking rainbow pegasus wouldn't even warrant a blink. The rookie team allows for more comedy. Plus in 616 Reed Richards or Doctor Strange could probably figure out how to send Rainbow home in under five minutes.
I assume the evil SCA reject is a movieverse variant on Nathaniel Garret the Black Knight silver age Iron Man villain. If this version's given in fully to the Ebony Blade and accepted its full power he'd be a decent full team level threat. Though doing that tends to make the wielder too psychotic and megalomaniacal to serve anyone as a henchman.
1215536 ... I think I love you.
Yes, you got the Black Knight/Nathaniel Garret part right, but from what I recall Garrett was never able to wield the Ebony Blade, unless I'm mistaken. Nevertheless, I've worked it into the story (through the means of another big-name villain, who shall leave his big name... nameless, for the moment), as well as Elendil, which is something Rainbow Dash probably won't be too fond of.
1215850
IIRC Garret knew what the Ebony Blade could do to its wielder and refused to touch it shirking his duty as the Black Knight for supervillainy instead.
Another amazi- I mean MARVELOUS chapter.
Nice how you added the Black Knight. He was always one of my dad's favorite villains. Though I can't say I know too mutch about him. My problem, as a nerd, is that I keep my interests a little too spread out. I could probably tell you a little about a lot of nerdy topics, whereas most nerds could probably tell you a lot about several. So depending on what else you decide to referance in this story, I could either follow it completely or become very lost. I'm still waiting for a brawl between Thor and Rainbow.....
f-e-a-r-forums.2310788.n4.nabble.com/file/n4145293/terrorist_fail.jpg
1217864 Jamal is the least threatening of terrorist names. Jus' Saiyan.
1217932
A Saiyan is going to show up in this? Be prepared for a lot of downvotes double-crossovers get a lot of hate
1218643 Saiyans : Why wait for the fanbase to make Mary Sues when you can do it yourself!
1221053
lol
So I just got done reading this and from what I read so far its pretty damn awesome. The actions of the characters so far (for me anyways) feel real and believable which make this much more interesting for me. Being a non-knowledgeable fan of most things Superheros is also a plus.
I will watch this with great zeal. Carry on...
1479277 Neat! I think it's a nice coincidence that, RIGHT as I get off my hiatus, someone comments on my story saying 'continue and stuff'. I'll try to get the next chapter out by the end of the week.
Also, glad you like it! I was a little worried about the characterization of some of their actions, but I'm glad to know that someone finds it believable!
1484273
This pleases me.
1492348 Oh, well just for that, I think I'm gonna wait a bit before uploading it
1494310
But my body was ready...
1494882 I wish I could have said the same when I searched 'Iron Man 3 Trailer'. If that's not incentive to write, I don't know what is.
Tony: I told you I found a rainbow pony