Rainbow Dash: Aerial Avenger

by The Bricklayer

Mare-Vel Adventures #10: Flying High

“Now do you see the futility?” the Mandarin asked as the massive serpent slithered down from the sky, another ear-splitting roar cutting through the air. “This world never belonged to you.”

“Boy, you’ve sure taken a ride on the crazy train haven’t you?” Soarin’ said, still held in place by heavy gravity. “Oh give a man power and he turns into a megalomaniac. So when did this become less about showing the world how flawed America is and more about how massive your own ego is?”

“You misinterpret,” the Mandarin said. “I only do what I must. I saw a world that was broken, and I aim to fix it. The weak, the incompetant, they must be cleansed in fire and whatever’s left will rise from the ashes.”

With a roar, he charged forwards before being blasted across the street by pure light.

“Now stay down, maybe third time’s the charm here huh?” Rainbow asked as she floated down, wearing a brand new suit. Unlike the last one, this one looked less like something from a costume shop and more like a proper suit built for battle. “Sorry I’m late, but the hero always has to make a big entrance! Love the new threads, compliments to S.H.I.E.L.D. Now, how’s about we break it in by ripping those rings off your fingers?”

“You couldn’t defeat me before, and that was before I had the Ten Rings,” the Mandarin said, launching disintegration beam after disintegration beam at her. “What makes you think you can beat me now?”

Rainbow chuckled, slamming her fists into the street sending up rubble to take the blasts. She leaped over the final beam and slammed her fist into the villain shattering his helmet.

“Because this time I’m not going to stop until you’re a greasy smear beneath my fist. Yeah, you’ve had your fun but now your time is done. Hey, that rhymes,” Rainbow said, blocking a punch from the villain. “Good grief, I don’t care what excuse you have for being the way you are. You’re still completely insane. Boo hoo, give me your sad backstory and see how much I care.”

Another punch made the Mandarin stagger before one of his rings glowed and a hand of pure concrete wrapped itself around Rainbow and it began to squeeze. A burst of energy shattered the hand before two more burst from neighboring buildings.

Rainbow threw her arms out, and held back both hands only to be hit with one of the largest blasts of lightning in the history of lightning. The clouds above began to boil and crackle, before jagged bolts of energy burst forth sending her rolling along the ground.

Many hands snaked forth from the streets and Rainbow continued punching and punching and punching. Like the heads of a Hydra, each hand she destroyed was replaced by two more.

“You’ve come a long way in just a short period of time,” the Mandarin continued to monologue. “You’re ready to stand on your own as a superheroine, and if you were faced with anyone else you might have just defeated them. But I am beyond you. I have the powers of all ten rings! I am a god!”

“Yeah? Then why do you need help to defeat me?” Rainbow asked, shattering the last of the fists with an energy burst before rising up above the rubble. “You’re looking pretty puny from up here.”

“RRRRRRRAAAAGH!” the Mandarin yelled, tossing a bolt of lightning like a spear. Rainbow dodged that. He leaped off a stone ramp before encasing his fist in fire.

“Yeah yeah, yell and scream all you want. Pretend you’re in a martial arts film or something, I don’t know,” Rainbow said to the Mandarin, before grabbing him mid-leap and throwing him aside. “If you excuse me, I gotta go rock the dragon.”

She rocketed forwards, leaving behind a comet trail of light as the great dragon let out a hiss with fins shaking. Rainbow flew under it, firing blasts into a scaled belly.

A tail whipped out and smacked her away, before the creature’s throat began to glow blue. Pure cosmic energy erupted from the beast’s mouth tearing into Rainbow’s suit before a scream began to rise up from her throat.

And then, a blast of energy, not from the dragon itself, slammed into its belly. A certain Captain stood on top of a roof, holding a shoulder-mounted cannon.

And Rainbow was falling to earth, denting the roof of a car.

“Rainbow!” Soarin’ shouted, having climbed out of his suit and running towards her. “Come on come on, please don’t be dead…”

He could see Mar-Vehl holding the dragon off, but for how long he wasn’t sure. Gently smacking Rainbow’s face, he hoped and prayed for her safety. “Please, wake up…”

“Oh… Hey, Soar,” Rainbow whispered, blinking slowly and moaning in pain. “Sorry, I know I said I was the hero of the piece but right now I’m not looking very impressive am I? I’m… I’m not sure I can stop him. The Mandarin’s right, I’m just not powerful enough.”

“Bull,” Soarin’ said, helping her to her feet. “Sure, you took some hits but it’s not like you to give up. You always get back up, it’s part of who you are. I… admire that about you.”

“Doesn’t mean a thing if I can’t stop him. But… you’re right. I’ve got to see this through. I’m done being lectured about what I can and can’t do. I’ve been through hell to be where I am now and… Oh, okay yeah I suppose I should stop talking and just start backing up my boasts huh? Words are just that, words. A real hero puts her money where her mouth is,” Rainbow said. “And right now, I’m just pissed off enough to make sure nothing gets in my way anymore. Especially not rambling nutcases with gaudy jewelry.”

“That’s my girl,” Soarin’ said. “People said you were just that, just a girl. I don’t think you’re just a girl anymore. Honestly, if Captain America could see you now…”

“Hah, please, he’d be wishing he was me,” Rainbow said, floating a few feet above Soarin’, with a gentle hand caressing his face. “Stay right here, I’ll be back in a minute.”

With that, she took a chance and gently kissed him.

“Now… if you excuse me, someone needs a good old-fashioned-reality check. And I intend to deliver it. Mandarin, special delivery for you. PAIN. The Captain had America’s Ass. Me, I have her abs.”

With that, she flew off back to battle. Soarin’ laughed to himself. What a woman!

---

Rainbow didn’t let anything stand in her way, blasting through Extremis agents with bursts from her palm, and when a certain dragon flew back towards her all she did was roll to the left a little.

Flying above the massive green serpent, she directed blasts of energy into its back. With a cocky grin, she got in close, and wrapped her arms around its neck. Pulling it upwards, she flipped the entire dragon and threw it.

Hissing and spitting, the beast snaked back towards her with blue flashes of light racing up its throat. The creature let her have it, cosmic light bursting free.

Rainbow was generating energy of her own, a gold stream of starlight erupting from both of her hands and cutting through the dragonbreath. She closed in and punched it square in the face with a powerful left hook and then a jagged uppercut.

The beast rose up above her, fangs bared and back spines bristled with fins shaking in rage. More flames erupted from its throat with Rainbow holding them back with her own energies.

She stamped her foot, the ground buckling and caving in beneath the dragon’s feet.

It sunk down into the concrete, another burst of energy from Rainbow sending part of a building collapsing down on top of it.

And then, a flaming whip wrapped around her.

“Oh right, almost forgot about you,” she said to herself, before being pulled into a building and then swung around and smacked into another.

Wrenching herself free of the fire, Rainbow rocketed towards the Mandarin pushing herself off a building as it fell and collapsed behind her into rubble.

She flew up and around summoned lightning bolts, the villain fighting desperately against the superpowered woman. And then, she felt it. Something reaching into her mind, trying desperately to get in.

“Get out… get out of my head!” Rainbow screamed, feeling the Mandarin poking and prodding at her mind. “I said… GET OUT!”

And then all went white, and she found herself in a great massive expanse. It was featureless, devoid of anything noteworthy. Rainbow stepped forwards, the ground feeling like water and rippling outwards.

And then, music.

“Cause I'm just a girl, oh, little old me
Well, don't let me out of your sight
Oh, I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite
So don't let me have any rights…”

“Good song,” the Mandarin said. “Sums up the problem society has with females really. You’re not meant to be doing anything other than looking pretty. It must have been hard for you, enrolling in the military.”

“Oh great, here we go, more of your lectures,” Rainbow said, throwing a punch as the world rippled. “I said I was about done with your mouth.”

“I’m here to teach. Go on, just pull up a seat.”

Rainbow just tossed the chair at him, and the world rippled again.

“Didn’t you just hear me?” Rainbow asked. “I said I’m not really interested in your lectures.”

In the real world, the Mandarin staggered.

“You’re just a rambling nutcase, changing his preachings to whatever bullshit happens to suit you in that particular moment,” Rainbow said, striding forwards, leaving ripples in her wake. “And really, Fin Fang Foom. Really? You had to summon the dragon with the most racist name on the planet? I thought you were supposed to be progressive!”

The Mandarin was stepping backwards, realizing he may have made a mistake.

“You don’t get it, do you? Despite everything life throws at me, I keep getting back up. To fight again. Sure it’s never been easy for me, but nothing worth doing ever is. And… you know, honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. No challenge, no satisfaction. I was always a competitive little brat,” Rainbow said, closing her eyes. “But thanks, for showing me who I needed to be. For helping me to fly higher than ever before. Higher, further, faster. And you know, this gets me thinking…”

Rainbow’s whole body began to glow gold, her veins shining with light. And when she opened her eyes again, they were glowing white-hot like that of a star.

“I've been fighting with one arm tied behind my back. But what happens... when I'm finally set free?”

---

Coulson saw her suit’s readings going through the roof back at the base. “Rainbow, what are you doing?” he shouted into the comms. “Your readings are spiking!”

In Washington DC, the woman finally set free of her cage strode forwards glowing with all of the light of the galaxies. Street lamps burst, cars sparked as the heroine’s hair stood on end glowing gold with cosmic energy.

Her fist slammed into her palm, unleashing a burst of energy far more powerful than ever before.

“I’ve finally grown into my own,” Rainbow replied. “I didn’t see it before, just how much power I had and how much I was holding myself back. I’m not afraid. I’m embracing it, actually. I glow, and I burn.”

She rocketed upwards just as Fin Fang Foom took flight, freeing himself from his pit and both flew higher and higher until space embraced them.

The stars were their backdrop, a little blue orb below as all you could see of them became green and gold trails of light. They traded powerful blows, each striking the other again and again.

Rainbow kicked the beast in the chest before flipping away and blasting it with cosmic power. The dragon roared and slammed her into the moon itself before getting a face full of energy. Rainbow ran, leaving a gold trail of light behind her.

Then, she was behind the beast, having run around the entire moon in only a few seconds. It didn’t have time to react, and was slammed into the lunar surface and lay there defeated.

Rainbow chuckled, her hair still standing on end and her eyes still glowing. Now for the Mandarin.

Flying back to Earth, she allowed herself a smile and a laugh. Finally, the power was hers, and the world was hers to protect.

Comments

[badninja]

Let’s see how this battle goes, I get the feeling that we haven’t see all of his tricks yet.