The Technological Technicolor Technomare

Chapters

The Incredible Manny
Government Headaches
Kindergarten: Plucking Weeds
Education
Family
Suit Up
First...Blood?
Aftermath
Training
Evolution
Exercise in Absurdity
S1: Unseen Invasion
S2: This is War
S3: Fall
S4: Deus ex Machina
S5: Recovery
Future's Hope
Define 'Normal'
Orange You Glad...
...You Finally Get Answers?
Epilogue - New World
A Good Day to Quit Drinking
Make it Awesome
Bonus

The Incredible Manny

After saying his goodbyes to Thor, Tony leaned back to look down at Rainbow Dash, who was once more sitting happily on the examination table, staring up at him adoringly. "Okay, JARVIS, what now?"

"Your inquiry is rather vague," the computer pointed out. "Do you mean what now in general, what now in regards to investigations regarding Rainbow, or what now in regards to today?"

Tony rubbed his chin. "All three, but let's start with today. I mean, I've got a tiny Pegasus filly here from who knows where who sees me as her father. I wasn't exactly planning on parenthood any time soon, so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with her."

"Hug?" Rainbow offered helpfully, holding up her forelegs.

Smiling, Tony scooped her into an embrace. "While enjoyable, it's not a very productive suggestion." He felt her stomach rumble against his chest. "Was that hunger or indigestion?"

As he set Rainbow back down, she rubbed her tummy. "Hungy..."

Tony nodded. "I don't suppose you can tell me what you eat?" he asked hopefully.

Rainbow looked up at him in confusion. "...food?"

He stared at her flat-eyed. "Can you be more specific? What kind of food?"

Rainbow scratched her head, her face screwed up in concentration. "...tasty?"

Tony sighed. "JARVIS?"

"Perhaps calling down to the kitchens for a wide variety of food in small portions?" the computer suggested. "With any luck, we'll determine her preferred diet by trial and error."

Tony nodded. "Alright. Have the kitchen send up a little of everything we've got." He turned back to Rainbow. "What should we do until the food gets here?"

"What ghost voice?" Rainbow asked.

"Ghost voice?" Tony repeated, momentarily confused. "Oh, you mean JARVIS? He's the artificial intelligence computer I have here, linked into all the computers in the tower and my houses."

"Where?" Rainbow inquired, looking around.

"I am in all the machinery around," JARVIS replied.

"...where face?" Rainbow wondered.

"I do not have a face," JARVIS explained.

"Why not?"

JARVIS was quiet for a time. Eventually, the quiet became oppressive.

"Alright!" Tony relented finally. "I'll work on giving you a physical projection so you can put a face to your voice."

"That will be a unique experience," JARVIS commented.

Moment later, various mobile mechanicals exited the elevator, carrying a number of covered trays. The trays were conveyed to the table, where they were set down and uncovered, revealing a number of small portions of everything from filet mignon to filet of sol, from eggplant parmesan to eggs benedict, from apple strudel to avocados.

"Alright Dashie," Tony said with a relieved sigh. "Eat whatever you like." As Rainbow flew over to the food, he continued, "JARVIS, record observations."

"Recording."

Tony watched Rainbow sample the dishes as he spoke. "Subject Rainbow Dash's diet, assuming she knows what is and isn't okay for her to eat, seems to consist mostly of fruits and vegetables, although she also eats heavy grains, eggs, and fish. She seems to dislike red meat and chicken, although her body shows no signs of rejecting it. She also shows a great fondness for sweets. As far as beverages, water, milk, and fruit juices seem perfectly fine. Her preferred diet would appear to be lacto-ovo-pescetarian. ...she is also eating the flower centerpiece."

"Flowah tasty!" Rainbow said happily.

Right at that moment, one of the windows shattered explosively inward as a large, heavily muscled green figure burst in, landing heavily on the floor, shaking the entire room.

"Hulk!" Tony shouted in surprise. "What are you doing here? Why'd you come in through the window?"

"Doc detect stuff," Hulk explained, referring to his other persona of Bruce Banner. "We come check for danger."

Tony sighed. While it was good for Bruce and the Hulk that the two personalities had come to a truce of sorts after joining the Avengers, the Hulk was never exactly easy to deal with. "By stuff, do you mean the dimensional anomaly not too long ago?"

Hulk nodded. "Stuff!"

Tony rubbed his head. "Well, it's nothing to worry about. I have everything under control."

"Okay." Turning, Hulk saw the spread. Walking over, he grabbed a few trays of food and downed them, trays and all.

"Hey!" Rainbow complained, buzzing up into his face. "My food!"

Hulk chuckled. "Hulk's food now!" he said, reaching for a cake.

"I kick you butt!" Rainbow announced, zipping rapidly around him and kicking him repeatedly with all four hooves.

Hulk reached over and caught Rainbow in one massive hand. "Tiny pony fly fast," Hulk said. "Hulk make fly very fast!" He pulled his arm back.

"Hulk, don't!" Tony shouted. "She's just a-"

Hulk threw Rainbow towards a window. The window shattered. There was a massive explosion.

Sometime later, as Tony blinked to clear his eyes, he spoke. "JARVIS...what just happened?"

"Recounting events," JARVIS began. "When the Hulk threw Rainbow Dash, her body began generating energy that shaped a protective barrier around her form as her speed increased towards Mach 1. This protected her both from the window - which shattered before she impacted it - air friction, and g-forces. This field also allowed her to gain velocity in excess of what is allowed by physics as it is currently understood. When she exceeded Mach 5, the energy her body was generating underwent an explosive surge, represented by a vertically expanding circle of Rainbow colored light, shattering every window on this side of the building and cutting a gouge in the street below. A rainbow colored contrail also remains suspended in the air behind her for a great distance."

Tony stared out at the distant speck of Rainbow Dash. "Well, I hope she has the strength to come back-" He let out a startled oath. "JARVIS, did she just make a right angle turn upwards at those speeds?"

"Negative," JARVIS countered. "Scans show she executed a 91 degree turn into a parabolic course at a single point in the air, maintaining speed as she did so and suffering no after effects from the g-forces involved. Her arc will have her coming in for landing soon."

Rainbow finished her arcing flight as she came in for a landing on the table, burying her face in the contested cake from earlier. A seemingly solid rainbow arced through the sky to trace her path.

Hulk reached forward and grabbed the end of the rainbow as it disconnected from Rainbow. Finding he was able to grasp it, he pulled it towards his mouth and took a bite. "...spicy." Hulk lipped his lips. "Hulk like!" Sticking the end in his mouth, he then proceeded to slurp the rainbow up like an incredibly long noodle.

"JARVIS?" Tony asked, his voice on the verge of panic, "explain?"

"The rainbow contrail left behind by this feat appears to be pure energy of the sort she generates in flight, stabilized in a physical form." JARVIS was silent for a time. "I am unable to determine how or why the material energy is edible. I would not recommend attempting to duplicate the Hulk's actions."

Hulk smiled as he slurped up the end of the rainbow. "Hulk like!"

"Again!" Rainbow yelled happily.

Grinning, Hulk grabbed Rainbow and threw her out the window again, creating the same effect as before.

"I have done a deeper analysis of the energy given off by Rainbow Dash during this event," JARVIS spoke up.

"We need a name for this...whatever it is," Tony pointed out. "Hmm...it's like a sonic boom, but it makes a rainbow...let's call it a Sonic Rainboom for short. So what have you discovered, JARVIS?"

"The energy of the Sonic Rainboom appears to have identical wavelengths to part of the energy given off by the dimensional anomaly that Rainbow Dash arrived in."

"So the Sonic Rainboom played a part in her getting here?" Tony asked. "Then in time, it could be the key to figuring out where she came from."

"There is more," JARVIS continued. "It is also the same wavelength that the Ten Rings have in common."

Tony frowned. "...I see."

As Rainbow returned from her second assisted Sonic Rainboom, she giggled as she watched Hulk slurp up the rainbow from her perch on his shoulder. Once he finished slurping it up, she nuzzled his cheek. "Again!"

"Okay!" Hulk said happily, picking Rainbow up again.

"Wait!" Tony said, running in front of Hulk. "When you do that, Rainbow gives off energies similar to the Rings of the Mandarin! If you keep doing it, he might pick up the energy signal and come looking for her!"

Hulk blinked. "Angry green orange man want hurt tiny pony?" he parsed.

"If not hurt, he'd likely try to find a way to use her to make his Rings stronger," Tony pointed out.

Hulk snarled. "Hulk not let angry green orange man hurt tiny pony! Hulk break angry green orange man if he tries! Hulk strongest there is!" To emphasize his point, Hulk brought his fist down on the table, smashing it to bits.

Rainbow stared at the ruin of the table. "So awesome!" she squeed.

Tony stared at the remains of the table for a moment, then turned back to Hulk. "There's no telling when he might show up if he did detect the Rainbooms."

"Then Hulk stay!" Hulk insisted. "Hulk protect little pony!" Taking Rainbow in one massive hand, he stroked her mane with one finger of his other hand. "Pony cute."

"Not cute," Rainbow pouted. "Awesome!" Hulk merely chuckled.

Tony blinked for a bit. "Hulk...are you saying you want to hire on as Rainbow's bodyguard and...nanny?"

Hulk snorted. "Hulk not nanny!"

"Nanny?" Rainbow gasped, her eyes wide as she smiled up at Hulk.

Hulk stared at that face for as long as he could before the distilled adorableness broke him...exactly 3 seconds. "Fine! Hulk be nanny."

"Look paht?" Rainbow suggested, just as excited as before.

Hulk groaned.

Pepper Potts finally stepped out of the stairwell at the top floor of the tower, the elevators having been knocked out by whatever experiment of Tony's that had created that rainbow explosion. She stormed up to his office, ready to give him several pieces of her mind. What she saw when she swung the door open, however, left her stupefied.

Rainbow Dash and Tony stood on one side of the room, Rainbow suppressing giggles and Tony looking thoughtful. Following the line of their gazes, the reason for their reactions was obvious, as the Hulk filled the other side of the room...wearing a French maid outfit.

Tony finally spoke up. "Maybe the Mary Poppins look would work better."

Hulk tugged at the maid outfit. "But...this make Hulk feel pretty. Hulk...like feel pretty."

Rainbow Dash fell on her back, laughing uproariously as she rolled back and forth.

Pepper leaned against the wall. After a time, she sighed. "It's going to be one of those days," she said at last.

Government Headaches

Nick Fury leaned back in his chair as he stared across the table at Tony Stark. "Let me see if I've got everything straight. Less than a week ago, a tiny alien-"

"Pony," Tony corrected.

Nick stared at him for a time. "...appeared in your lab from some sort of..."

"Dimensional anomaly," Tony supplied.

"And imprinted on you as her father," Nick finished the first part of his assessment. "Since then, she has the Hulk playing...Nanny for her? And then there's that...thing in the bay?"

"You mean Zuki?" Tony asked. "That's what Rainbow's been calling it."

Shortly after Hulk had dedicated himself to being Rainbow Dash's nanny and bodyguard, he had proclaimed that Rainbow needed a puppy to walk and care for, to teach her responsibility. The reptilian dinosaur-like creature he had dragged back the next day was a puppy only by virtue of the fact that all scans showed it to still be an infant. Scans also revealed it to have undergone a great deal of radiation-based mutation, and having a store of radioactive energy inside its body. While it had struggled a great deal when it first arrived, the first time it had snapped at Rainbow, Hulk had grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, lifted it into the air, and roared in its face. It had since been very puppyish with Hulk and Rainbow.

As a result, a common sight in the city nowadays was Hulk dressed as Mrs. Doubtfire - complete with dress, wig, a pair of beach balls for cleavage, and a pair of coke bottles wrapped in a wire coat hanger hanging around his neck - side by side with Zuki, with Rainbow Dash sitting happily on Zuki's head holding the 'puppy's' leash. This - along with the fact that Hulk stopped every so often on the walk to entertain Rainbow and Zuki by attempting to perform Robin Williams style stand-up.

This had greatly improved the Hulk's reputation for gentleness with the city populace, though said reports had also been what brought the situation to SHIELD's attention.

"So," Nick continued, "you've now got two aliens under your roof-"

"Actually, Zuki appears to be Terran, genetically," Tony interrupted again.

"And what sort of damage is that mutant wrecking on the ecosystem?" Fury demanded.

"Actually," Tony pointed out, "Hulk's managed to get it to behave itself. We just have to feed it its weight in fish in stages over the course of every three days."

Nick Fury could only blink. "Huh. That's a lot of fish."

Tony shrugged. "Compared to what I expected in terms of expenses, it's rather cheap, especially since its fine eating vat grown substitutes."

Nick decided not to pursue that line of inquiry anymore. "Alright. And you want me to do what, again?"

"I was hoping SHIELD could streamline the process of Rainbow getting American citizenship so that I could adopt her as my daughter," Tony explained anew.

Nick Fury could only stare at him. "...why?"

"Because she's not a pet," Tony replied simply.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Nick Fury demanded.

Tony sighed. "Look, I know she looks like a pet. Even though she talks, a lot of people are going to mistake her for an animal. But she has a lot more personality than that. She is a person, even if she is a pony. She's also a child, and very fragile. It's not enough that Hulk is determined to protect her. If that's all she has, anytime someone tries to snatch her - and you know they will - there's going to be horrendous amounts of collateral damage - not to mention what Hulk will actually do to whoever snatches her - every single time. How long can SHIELD deal with that? How long until some other military group tries to go after Hulk again, and we have the fallout from that sort of futile endeavor? Rainbow Dash needs legal protection as well, so that she'll be safe."

Nick thought for a time about all this. Hulk joining the Avengers had done a great deal for the goals of SHIELD. The idea that the quasi-military defense organization could be used to 'rehabilitate' those who were more dangerous than devilish had cleared a lot of red tape when it came to the more covert operations. The fact that Hulk was now even more gentle with all he was doing taking care of Rainbow Dash had been viewed by those in government oversight that SHIELD worked in that regard. Nick Fury was happy to have SHIELD take the credit for that...but to do that, he'd have to protect the situation developing here. "Alright, I can see what you mean about legal protection, but why you? Why is a dedicated bachelor determined to adopt somepony that just dropped into his lap?"

"Hulk lasted three seconds against her cuteness to become her nanny," Tony pointed out. "After that, I had to argue him out of a French Maid outfit and into the Mrs. Doubtfire look. Exactly how long do you think I lasted against her calling me 'Daddy' before I capitulated?"

"Then why don't you take care of it?" Nick Fury demanded. "You've got more than enough connections and resources to grease the wheels for her. Why me? Why SHIELD?"

"Because if I do it, it'll just be a rich guy buying what he wants out of the government," Tony argued. "If it's you, the government, SHIELD...then not only would people see her citizenship as more legitimate, certain groups would see it as the government deciding her well being was a matter of national security."

Nick smirked. "So you're playing games with public opinion for her sake, huh?" He chuckled. "Alright, I can see that. But why should I pin my reputation - and SHIELD's - on this kid?"

"Pwease?" an adorable voice begged from his side.

Nick Fury turned. Zuki stood there, looking up at him and managing on a reptilian face to give cute puppy-dog eyes. On its head, Rainbow sat there, holding the leash in her mouth as she also gave Nick Fury pleading puppy-dog eyes.

Nick cracked up laughing. "Good attempt, kid, but I'm immune to cute."

Rainbow pouted, crossing her forelegs over her barrel as she spat the leash out. "I not cute, I awesome! Nanny tell you, then Nanny talk you wound."

Nick paled at the mental image of Hulk taking over the negotiations, not so much out of fear of Hulk as from not wanting an up close look at Hulk cross-dressing...and the fear of lost face if he cracked up at Hulk's attempts to act the part. "Awesome, on the other hand, is always an effective negotiation tool," he said quickly. He reached out and ruffled Rainbow's mane. "I'll see what I can do, okay squirt?"

Rainbow squealed happily. "Yay! Tanks, Unca Nick!" Leaping forward, she hugged him around the neck, before settling back on Zuki's head to ride out of the room.

The entire time, Nick Fury did his best to keep a straight face. I am immune to cute...I am immune to cute... He repeated his mantra all the way out of the Stark industries building, all the way back to the SHIELD airship, and all the way to his soundproofed office. He even held it until he'd managed to turn off all recording devices.

Then, all unobserved, he squealed like a love-struck fangirl.

Kindergarten: Plucking Weeds

Tony Stark sat back in his lab, doing his best to focus on his work. For once, he wasn't working on something Iron Man related. He was actually addressing the business side of his company...or at the very least, he was supposed to be doing so. Unfortunately, his mind would not focus on that. Under normal circumstances, this would be due to his boredom with such mundane matters, but since the adoption of Rainbow Dash had been made official - along with her gaining American citizenship (classified as a 'born in America' citizen, since she had entered the world - albeit from another one - in America, which was the loophole Fury had used to streamline the paperwork...which had led to Nick and Tony joking that Rainbow could run for President someday) - Tony had been paying more attention to the work side of his work to try and set a good example for Rainbow...or at least a better one, according to Pepper.

This rumination, of course, brought him back to the reason he was having trouble focusing on his work. Normally, when he was doing any sort of work on his computers lately, Rainbow would be sitting on his shoulder, watching in fascination. He still wasn't sure how much of what he did she actually understood and/or retained, and how much of it was her being fascinated by all the flashing lights. Still, even when she was out and about with Hulk and Zuki - or more recently, with Pepper - he didn't have trouble focusing, since there was nothing to worry about.

As he closed the screen and returned to the pacing that had consumed most of his morning and midday, he came back to the focus of his thoughts. He was worried about Rainbow today...because it was her first day of Kindergarten.

It had been a heated debate between he and Pepper. He favored home schooling Rainbow, since between him and JARVIS her education could easily be streamlined to as fast as she was comfortable with taking it and as much as she could absorb, while at the same time learning just how high her innate learning curve was. She was, after all, still an alien life form they knew little about beyond her ability to dominate the hearts of all around her through the power of cute (or awesome, according to Rainbow). Pepper, however, had argued that Rainbow needed to be schooled alongside other children just like any other so she could learn social skills. She made a valid - if uncalled for - point in stating this as one area that Tony was sorely lacking and incapable of teaching in. Tony had thought he would be able to talk her around...until Hulk and Rainbow had sided with Pepper. Hulk had said - though not in so many words - that keeping her in an Ivory Tower defeated the purpose of getting her citizenship and adopting her. Rainbow had said she wanted to make friends.

And so, despite Tony's misgivings and concerns, he enrolled Rainbow in the local school district, and today she started in Kindergarten. He had taken her personally to drop her off, and had been torn between proud, nonplussed, and crying on the inside when she flew off to class happily without so much as a worried glance back and a happy wave. She had waved bye easily, secure in knowing he'd be back for her in the afternoon. And he hadn't been able to focus on his work at all since.

"Bye Daddy! See you after school!"

With those words - spoken freely and in joy - Rainbow had expressed the total absence of her worries...and filled Tony with his. It didn't help when Pepper informed him calmly that her lack of concern in being separated from him for school showed just how good a job he'd done in raising her...especially when he found himself oddly jealous of the other parents whose kids clung to them, screaming to not be left there.

At that moment, the elevator doors slid open, and Hulk stepped out, with Zuki behind him, Rainbow on the 'puppy's head.

"Rainbow?" Tony asked surprised. "School doesn't let out for another two hours?" He rushed to her side. "Is everything okay?"

Rainbow hung her head, pouting. "I got kicked out..."

Tony sat back in surprise, torn between wanting to comfort her and an odd pride in her achievement. "...What happened?" he finally asked.

Hulk grunted. "Puny humans like little pony too much. Keep wanting pet, keep wanting hold, keep tugging. Little pony not like!"

"They were touching my wings..." Rainbow whimpered, folding her wings around her and stroking the downy pinions protectively.

Tony nodded in understanding. Rainbow was especially sensitive about having her wings or hooves touched, and only let him preen her because she wasn't able to do it herself yet. "Did you tell the teacher?"

"...after flying up to the ceiling to get away from all of them," Rainbow admitted.

Hulk scowled. "Teacher say Rainbow have to sit down with others, but Rainbow not like them touching her. Then Rainbow call Hulk, and Hulk come in. Hulk tell tiny humans to not pet pony. Tell them to pet puppy instead!" He gestured to Zuki, who grinned happily. "Tiny humans make stinky wet and loud noises, then Hulk yell for quiet."

Tony did his best to keep his face impassive as he imagined how well that would have gone down.

"So I got kicked out," Rainbow admitted. "For being a...disc-rip-stove influenza."

"You mean a disruptive influence?" Tony corrected.

"Yeah, that thing."

Tony sighed as he sat down beside Zuki, lifting Rainbow into his own lap. "I have to admit, I was afraid something like this might happen. You're just too adorable and awesome to resist, and little kids are especially grabby at this age. Guess you'll just have to wait until you can be enrolled with kids a little older before you can start making friends your own age."

Rainbow sighed disconsolately. "I guess..."

"In the meantime," JARVIS spoke up, projecting his recently completed holographic self representation, a green humanoid image with - at present - few defining characteristics, "we can begin your instruction here in the home. I believe that between that and interaction with Tony's work acquaintances, you will be quite able to fill your days with amusing endeavor."

"Guess so..." Rainbow admitted. The prospect of learning from the computers did intrigue her, and she did like most of those she met in the company. However, she had learned that sulking often got her good things, and she was dedicated to this sulk.

Tony chuckled. "Come on, Dashie. Let's get you some ice cream."

"Ice cream!" Rainbow cried happily, zipping into the air to fly circles around Tony's head. Chuckling, they headed for the kitchens.

Education

Tony leaned over his desk as he briefly scanned through various texts online regarding home schooling, and the material of various subjects he would need to cover. As he went over the sheer volume of material he would need to cover, he began to wonder if maybe, just maybe, he was getting in over his head with deciding to home school Rainbow. Sure, he felt confident in teaching her sciences, math, and language skills, but that was only half of what she needed to learn. He could easily enrich her in those areas just by explaining a few things about his work in the lab. But history, the arts...how did he even begin to teach her that?

Of course, the first thing to be done regarding her home schooling was to see just how much she had absorbed from her environment, and how fast she could absorb new material in general. As such, he had told JARVIS to give her a placement test while he went over material for a hypothetical lesson plan. A holographic interface made the test a game for Rainbow, so she shouldn't get too discouraged.

"Tony, I have completed Rainbow's placement test," JARVIS spoke up, projecting into the main lab.

"Alright," Tony said, sitting back from his desk. "What are her scores?"

The holographic display changed to display actual scores. "Her manual dexterity appears to be limited, as she has difficulty holding pencil or pen in hoof, wing, or mouth. Her hoof-eye coordination is excellent, however, so it would be best to utilize touch screens in her education, rather than written material."

Tony nodded. "Kinda expected that. What about her academics."

As per past instruction, JARVIS began with the 'bad news'. "Her awareness of history is non-existent. She will have to begin at the very beginning in that subject. Language skills in English are approximately equivalent to a human child in her presumed age group, although it would appear she has been deliberately hobbling herself in the language she uses, as - despite an aversion to being 'cute' - she has learned it enables her to get more out of those around her. Analyzing her eye movement and other signs, I would project her actual lingual comprehension at fifth grade or higher, as well as a basic spoken phrase recognition of all languages she has heard spoken in the work place, including French, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, Hebrew, German, and most Chinese dialects."

Tony whistled under his breath. "Soaks things up like a sponge. What about her other subjects?"

"Her grasp of theoretical mathematics is less than those her age can understand," JARVIS continued. "She is lucky to manage basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in a 'classroom' setting."

"Wait, she can't do math?" Tony asked, shocked.

"In a traditional exam formula, no," JARVIS qualified. "However, in practical mathematics and sciences, her ability to intuit the correct answer is flawless. Out of 300 real world scenarios of advanced sciences and math - especially those regarding physics, aeronautics, weather formation, and advanced mechanics - she was able to correctly intuit the solutions or corrections 300 times, although she was unable to explain her solutions beyond things 'looking right' or 'not looking right'."

"...damn," Tony breathed at this report, reaching over to press a button on top of a box labeled 'Swear Jar'. The display above the box increased from '$15' to '$20'. "That level of instinctive understanding?"

"I would qualify her instinctive understanding of the higher maths and sciences at early college level, although she would never pass those courses as she cannot explain her understanding," JARVIS continued. "Her grasp of chemistry is also somewhat deficient...or possibly, she simply enjoys watching things explode."

"She's barely four at most," Tony pointed out. "Everyone loves explosions when they're young."

"Some never outgrow it," JARVIS commented. Before Tony could react, he moved on. "In order to keep her entertained, I provided her an 'extra credit' problem while I reported her results."

"Oh?" Tony inquired. "What problem?"

"The one you were working on when she first arrived," JARVIS explained. "The difference between your armor's capabilities, what you need them to be capable of, and the arclight's energy production capacity."

Tony laughed. "As gifted as she seems to be, if she solves that, I'll eat my hat."

"You do not wear a hat," JARVIS pointed out.

"Solved it!" Rainbow called out from the next room.

"Good thing, too," Tony pointed out as he ran in to see what Rainbow had come up with.

Rainbow smiled proudly as she pointed up at the holographic display. "Daddy! I made your armor 20% cooler!"

Tony stepped forward, examining the changes she had made. The first thing he noticed was that she had tweaked the base nature of the metal the armor was made of. Using the light weight armor which could be unfolded from a suitcase as a base, she had changed it to a reactive metal that changed its properties slightly based on different energy wavelengths. While this would make it much weaker than normal on its own, she had added an extra converter in a circle around the arclight that changed the wavelength of the energy flowing into the armor so that overall integrity and impact inertial dampening was higher than his regular suit.

And that was just the beginning. Since the armor now displayed different properties based on the wavelength of energy flowing through it, she had changed the design to accept modular components - each with their own smaller but efficient power supply - to effect the armor's offensive or defensive properties. Shoulder epaulets increased the armor's resistance to high temperatures and variable gravimetric fields. Greave like attachments around the boots allowed for an intense burst of thrust from the repulsors for instant acceleration to high speeds. A lightning flail that had been recovered from one of the villains he'd previously faced had been adapted to attach to one wrist for use to grab things, to pull them to him, him to them, or to just swing them around or around them (admittedly, it could only latch on to certain types of surfaces). Wrist braces also allowed for variable types of energy to be released from the palm repulsor units, beams with effects that ranged from searing plasma, freezing cold, high electricity...even one setting that would pass through inorganic objects to inflict a Taser like effect directly to the target's nervous system, and keep going through several targets for a preprogrammed range.

As he took it all in, Tony couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's so funny, Daddy?" Rainbow demanded.

"Just wondering how long I could get away with this design before I got sued by Nintendo," he replied easily. At Rainbow's confused grunt, he kneeled down beside her. "Never mind." Reaching out, he started scratching her behind her right ear like she loved. "This is amazing, Rainbow. How'd you come up with all this? Heck, how did you learn enough to make this work?"

Leaning into the ear scratch, Rainbow shrugged her wings. "Just picked it up watching you work, I guess," she admitted. "It's always fun seeing the bits and pieces of data flying across the screen like that."

Tony paused in scratching her ear, frowning thoughtfully. "So you learn best when the things you're learning are active in front of you and fun, huh?"

"Guess so," Rainbow replied, batting at his hand to make him keep scratching.

Tony resumed his ministrations, using his other hand to jot something down on the holo-display. "Can you make this happen, JARVIS?" he asked.

JARVIS was silent for a while. "I believe I can make this work," he said eventually, although his tone managed to sound dubious.

A week later, Pepper was heading to Tony's office to discuss a new proposed project when she heard an...unusual conversation from within.

"Wait, why can't I just order them to fight the Reds? What about that leadership feat you said George had?"

"You have to give a reason why you're giving the order. That's how leadership works."

"And 'cause they're stupid-heads' isn't good enough?"

"No, that will lose you followers for being arbitrary."

"...what about those tax things? Didn't that make them all unhappy?"

"That's right, it did."

"So what if I said it was to get rid of the taxes?"

"But a government needs taxes."

"Well the Reds aren't listening to the Colo...oh! I tell them that I want to give them their own government where they have more of a voice!"

"That's the ticket!"

Confused beyond belief, Pepper opened the door. Rainbow and Tony were sitting around what Pepper recognized as a holographic D&D table set up for a Revolutionary War reenactment. Rainbow was wearing a version of George Washington's uniform modified for her frame, and Tony...was dressed as a Spartan.

All three stood stock still for a time. Eventually, Pepper spoke up. "...history lesson?"

"Yup!" Rainbow replied eagerly.

Pepper turned to Tony, glanced down at the Spartan uniform, and raised an eyebrow.

Tony shrugged helplessly. "She got through Ancient Greece faster than I expected today, and my Redcoat uniform hasn't arrived yet."

Groaning, Pepper facepalmed. Rainbow giggled.

Family

Rainbow walked alongside Pepper towards the mall, a cash card hanging by a strap around her neck. "So where are we going, Pepper?" Rainbow asked.

"Well," Pepper explained, "after your history lesson, I talked with Tony and we agreed that, if you were going to be wearing those other outfits for your lessons, you also needed to have some more normal clothes as well."

Rainbow stared up at her flat eyed. "And if I ask Daddy, what will he say?" she asked.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "He'll probably tell you I just wanted to play dress up with you, too."

"Is that true?" Rainbow asked.

"I won't deny it," she admitted.

Rainbow chuckled. "Guess I'm just awesome like that!"

"More like adorable," Pepper countered.

"I'm not adorable!" Rainbow complained. "I'm awesome!"

"Maybe both?" Pepper offered in a conciliatory tone.

Rainbow scrunched her face up in focus. "So...I'm Awe-dorable?" she asked.

Pepper chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

With a huge grin, Rainbow continued down the road with as much swagger as a five year old candy colored pegasus could manage while tugging the leash of a curious mutant reptile trying to sniff the sushi shop on the other side of the street. Pepper did her best not to giggle, knowing Rainbow didn't like it when she felt like she was the butt of the joke.

At the mall, they managed to find a pet clothing store where they could get pre-made outfits in Rainbow's size, although Pepper had to promise to make wing holes in any outfits they actually bought for her. However, as Rainbow tried on outfit after outfit - all rather adorable on her - it quickly became apparent that her taste in clothing was either purpose made or minimalistic. "How come I hafta wear clothes, anyway?" she demanded after changing out of a tiny business suit. "I can't fly in any of these, and Daddy never complained if I flew around naked."

Pepper shrugged helplessly, not wanting to get into the whole 'nudity taboo' or anything else cultural, considering that Tony wasn't the only one who saw nothing wrong with Rainbow being without clothes. "Certain occasions call for certain styles is all," she said at last. "Besides, don't use Tony as a barometer for what's normal or acceptable. He's pretty far from the norm, anyway."

Rainbow thought about it for a time as she grabbed the next outfit Pepper had picked out for her, gagging at seeing it was a 'Pretty Princess' outfit. "So, Daddy doesn't really care about things like that?"

"Not really, no," Pepper admitted. "Geniuses of his level tend to develop...a certain amount of disdain for cultural norms...of all sorts."

"So that's why Daddy doesn't care if I fly around naked?"

Pepper shrugged. "Part of the reason, certainly." She took a drink from her soda.

"So he'd be okay if you walked around naked?" Rainbow asked.

Pepper choked a bit on her soda, nearly spraying it as her she barely controlled her laughter before making a total fool of herself. "Probably," she said at last, her voice thick with amusement. "though for entirely different reasons."

Rainbow grunted as she looked at herself in the Princess outfit before rapidly shedding it. Grabbing a vest, she shrugged it on, looking at herself in the mirror, when a thought occurred to her. "Pepper?"

"Yeah, Rainbow?"

"Are...are you my Mommy?"

Pepper paused, lost in thought for a while. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was reading, and I read that if someone only has a Daddy, then the Daddy's special lady might be the Mommy," Rainbow explained. "So I asked JARVIS if Daddy had a special lady like that, and he said Daddy always turns to you for a lot of things, and he's 95% certain Daddy likes you that way as much as he's able, and the fact that you've put up with him this long without either leaving, strangling him, or begun actively sabotaging him suggests you have to have some sort of feelings for him." Liking the vest, Rainbow then donned a beret before turning back to Pepper. "So are you my Mommy?"

Pepper sat back, rubbing her chin as she stared at Rainbow. Eventually, she kneeled down, scratching Rainbow behind one ear with a soft smile. "That's up to Tony," Pepper said at last.

"It is?" Rainbow asked, confusion overcoming the usual pleasure she got from ear scratches. "Why can't you just say if you are?"

"It's more complicated than that, Rainbow," Pepper explained. "I don't really know how to explain it."

Rainbow pouted at that. Then she shed the vest and beret and held up the cash card. "Daddy said there was $350 from something called a swear jar on this, and I was to try buying stuff with it. I'ma buy a jet!"

Pepper chuckled, making a few notes about what type of outfits to special order for Rainbow later.

A week later, Rainbow sat back happily on Hulk's shoulder as she flew the remote control mini-spy jet she had bought from the electronics store. "Watch me buzz that news chopper!" Rainbow said eagerly, flying the plane in one side of the open chopper and out the other. The reporter and camera crew yelped in surprise, but ceased to make any fuss beyond getting shots of Rainbow sitting happily on Hulk's shoulder. Even after all this time, that was still newsworthy, apparently.

Hulk chuckled. "Nice flying!" he complimented.

After a time of flying, they paused for a picnic lunch. Rainbow ate an egg salad sandwich, Hulk ate a 5 pound burrito, and threw a vat grown swordfish for Zuki to chase and eat. After a time, Rainbow asked a question that had been bothering her since she'd learned of the issue. "Hulk?"

"Yeah?" he asked, brushing some crumbs off his Mary Poppins outfit. He still insisted dressing the part of either Rainbow's nanny or bodyguard, even if Rainbow had long outgrown the need. It was anyone's guess whether it was because it entertained Rainbow or if he secretly liked dressing like that.

"Daddy said there's someone else inside you," Rainbow pointed out. "How come I haven't met him?"

Hulk grunted. "Banner," he growled. "Not very nice man. Bad influence on Rainbow." He then chuckled. "Tony not much better, but he's Daddy. What can you do?" He shrugged and chuckled.

"Daddy's not that bad!" Rainbow insisted defensively.

Hulk chuckled. "Rainbow and Pepper make him better."

Rainbow blinked, remembering another conversation. "Hulk, why would Pepper say it was up to Tony if she was my Mommy?"

Hulk grunted. "Tony need grow up." Seeing Zuki approach, Hulk picked up a fallen tree and threw it for Zuki to fetch, effectively deflecting the conversation as Rainbow clung to the tree for the next fetch, shrieking in glee.

"So tell me Rainbow," Nick Fury asked, glancing down at his folder. "Anything bothering you?"

Rainbow sat back, stretching. "Well...there is one thing that I've been thinking about," she admitted.

Nick sighed. While he liked Rainbow, these 'mandatory psych evaluations' were the worst part of the job, in his opinion. Still, it was part of the deal that let him use Shield connections to get Rainbow citizenship and smooth Tony's adoption of her. "So what's bothering you?"

"Well, I asked Pepper if she was my Mommy-"

Nick groaned. This was going to be a headache.

"And she said it was up to Daddy." Rainbow frowned. "JARVIS said they had good chemistry, but Pepper wouldn't explain, said it was complicated grown up stuff. But then Hulk said Daddy needed to grow up. If Daddy needs to grow up, how can it be grown up stuff I won't get?"

Nick sighed, shaking his head. "Look kid, I'm going to be level with you. I'm not sure how much you'll understand, but I'll give you the answers I understand." Rainbow sat up eagerly to listen. "Okay, it's pretty obvious to anyone with even one good eye that your Dad and Miss Potts like each other in that special way. But your Father isn't exactly the most responsible or mature of adults. Sure, he's saved the world a few times, runs a successful business, and takes good care of you...but socially, he's still an overgrown adolescent. But if he and Miss Potts are going to go any further in their relationship, she needs to know he's ready to be an adult." He stared at Rainbow. "...you getting any of this?"

Rainbow scratched her head. "So...Pepper likes Daddy, but Daddy's still a little boy, and she needs him to be a man before she can be my Mommy?"

"Something like that," Nick admitted, rather surprised at Rainbow's grasp of things.

"Then why did Pepper say it was up to Daddy?" Rainbow asked in confusion.

"Because it's up to him when he's ready to grow up," Nick explained.

Rainbow blinked, thinking about that. "I think I get it." She stood up. "I need to use the phone." She flew off.

Nick blinked for a time. "Why do I have the feeling I've just set something insanely dangerous and possibly hilarious in hindsight in motion?" he asked no one.

Meanwhile, Rainbow flew up to the computer. "JARVIS, call Thor," she said. "I need to ask him a favor."

Three days later, Pepper came to knock on Rainbow's door. "Rainbow, I need to ask you something," she said firmly.

Rainbow opened the door meekly, recognizing Pepper's "you're in trouble little lady" tone of voice. "...yeah?"

"Might you happen to know why Thor crashed the rather romantic dinner Tony prepared for Valentine's Day for the two of us to challenge him to 'right honorable combat'?"

Rainbow blinked. "I asked Thor to make Daddy a man," she admitted.

Pepper stared at her. "...Why?"

"Because if Daddy was a man instead of a little boy, then you'd be my Mommy?"

Pepper stared at Rainbow for a time, then burst into laughter. Kneeling down, she pulled Rainbow into a warm embrace.

Blinking, Rainbow returned the embrace. "...I'm in trouble?"

"Yes," Pepper replied. "But there is good news."

"Oh?" Rainbow asked hopefully.

Pepper smiled, glancing at the contents of a small box Tony had dropped as the Mark 8 had unfolded in time to deflect Mjolnir's impact. "I am your Mommy, now," she said softly.

Rainbow let out a happy cheer as she nuzzled into Pepper's shoulder, hugging her tight.

Suit Up

Tony carefully pored over the planned lesson plan for the day. Rainbow's education had easily expanded by leaps and bounds, as she rapidly devoured everything he could present her to learn. By the end of that year, she'd already absorbed the entire high school curriculum. He was now getting ready to work on the college level courses for the arts, history, and languages. As for science and maths...

Well, Rainbow still had a bit of trouble when dealing with the basic equations and numbers when she was required to show her work, but when she was allowed to intuit, she had already mastered enough to get a Master's degree in aeronautics, mathematics, engineering, and chemistry. Tony was actually beginning to run out of things he could teach her that he had already mastered. As a result, he needed to study up in preparation for teaching her.

This was not to say that Rainbow Dash was smarter than Tony. She had proven so far that it was only when she was allowed to go by instinct that she could grasp the more advanced sciences. In testing, she still fell behind when it came to showing her work. Tony could, when pressed, explain the math and science behind the things he came up with, even if he preferred not to. He could also, with study and inference, quickly interpret and explain much of what Rainbow came up with.

Rainbow's learning curve, however, was phenomenal, he had finally figured out why. He had discovered that she absorbed new information much better when flying than when on the ground - or, more recently, on a cloud(1). Since flying would be when she would be at greatest danger from obstacles, it was reasonable to conclude that her species evolved to have a heightened awareness of their surroundings when flying, as well as an enhanced cognitive capacity when it came to interpreting that information...which, with civilization and sapient intellect, translated to a photographic memory. Rainbow's near flawless recall in that regard - along with her ability to make cognitive connections between what she absorbed, airborne or otherwise - showed that she was just as much a brain giant of her species as Tony was for his.

A sudden crash from Rainbow's lab - Tony had actually gone so far as to set up a lab just for Rainbow's experiments and scientific exploration, mostly to keep her from playing with the stuff he was actively working on - brought him out of his thoughts. "How can a filly with such grace and intelligence in the air also be so clumsy?" he asked, getting up to see what she'd broken this time.

Once he got there, however, he saw the last thing he expected to see that day. Dug part way into the floor was a red and gold figure in the shape of Rainbow, although the prismatic mane and tail he was used to seeing were much spikier and sparked with electricity, although they seemed to be flickering out. Seeing his own iconic mask reshaped to equine features, he knew what was going on if not how. "Rainbow," he said sternly, tapping his foot.

The prismatic spikes withdrew into the helmet, followed by the mask withdrawing, and then the helmet itself withdrawing into the rest of the suit, leaving Rainbow staring up at him with a nervous smile, her mane hanging around her face in a mussed and - he had to admit - adorable fashion. "Hi Daddy," she said, trying her best to look ingratiating...and doing a pretty good job of it.

Sighing, Tony stepped forward and pulled Rainbow out of the divot she had dug in the reinforced floor. "What's all this?" he asked, gesturing to the suit and various holo-displays of information.

"I wanted a suit like yours, Daddy!" Rainbow asserted. "I wanna fight the bad guys, too!"

Tony sighed in frustration. A few times, her lessons had been interrupted as some super-powered madman or technologically equipped super villain had shown up, and Tony had had to suit up as Iron Man to go deal with it. After the first time, Rainbow had wanted to fight the bad guys too, possibly because she found the suit and everything involved with it, as she put it, "So awesome!" He had forbidden it for the simple and obvious reason that, at her current age, she was too fragile to handle the stress of battle. Both Hulk and Pepper had backed him to the hilt on that point, and future flights out to battle had been accompanied by a violently thrashing, angry pony held tight in Hulk's protective grasp, and followed by a defiantly sulking Rainbow afterwards. Honestly, Tony should have seen this coming.

Glancing around, he looked at the documentation Rainbow had made to cover the details of this new suit. Repulsors in all four hooves, additional energy vents all along the edge of the wings at the feather tips (he paused in reading this to look at Rainbow's armored wings, seeing that the armor did have a feathered pattern, shaping both to her wings and to individual feathers on the inside for additional protection), the armor itself converted to the energy reactive metal Rainbow had helped him develop...

He paused as he read this last bit. "Rainbow, where did you get these materials to build the suit?"

Rainbow glanced away nervously. "...around..." she said evasively.

Glaring down at Rainbow, Tony spoke again. "JARVIS, where did Rainbow get the materials?"

"She cannibalized the Mark 7," JARVIS informed him.

"What?" Tony demanded, shocked and outraged. He had good reason to be. The Mark 7 suit was the one he had worn in the final battle against Loki and his alien army, and he had been holding it in reserve in case of other heavy duty battles.

"Like it's such a big deal!" Rainbow proclaimed rebelliously. "Your new Mark 8 with the energy reactive metal has half the bulk, allowing for twice the speed and evasion, and it can easily be boosted to three times the offensive and defensive output at half the energy drain to your arclight! Like you'd ever wear that old thing again!"

Tony paused as he thought about her words. It was true, the energy reactive metal she had designed for him to solve the 'suit problem' did have a higher resistance to both kinetic and energy based assaults. The first time a heavy hit had barely pushed him back, he had thought the bad guy was just a lot weaker...until he read the data readouts and saw that the armor had redistributed the impact energy into the repulsors for both added counteraction to the recoil and a stronger counter attack. Not only that, the lighter material meant that the Mark 8 could fold up and be stored in the same way his emergency suit could, which he carried around with him in the form of a suitcase. Still, it was the principal of the thing.

"How did you even get a hold of the Mark 7?" Tony asked. "That was locked up under heavy security."

"She hacked my systems," JARVIS informed him, making Rainbow preen proudly.

"What?" Tony demanded. "How?"

"Her inner bio energy appears to have an undue influence on normal machinery, causing unanticipated malfunctions in my higher cognitive capabilities,"JARVIS explained.

"She begged cutely and you couldn't resist?" Tony translated. Rainbow pouted.

JARVIS was pointedly silent.

Chuckling, Tony took a closer look at the documentation and quickly discovered the problem Rainbow was trying to correct. "You're burning through energy too fast to sustain suit functionality? That doesn't make sense..." He took a look at Rainbow's suit again, and quickly noticed something missing. "How come you didn't install an arclight? I know I have a few spares around here..."

"They hurt!" Rainbow complained, causing Tony to rear back in confusion.

"She has designed her suit to run on her unique bio energy," JARVIS explained. "Apparently, there is a fundamental incongruity between the wavelength of her internal energy and of that the arclight generates. Any attempt on her part to combine the two results in a negative compatability reaction that manifests on her part as physical discomfort."

"They hurt," Rainbow confirmed.

Tony nodded. "I can see where you've run into a problem there. So much of your unique abilities - which you've designed your suit to amplify - don't work without that unique energy of yours." He looked over the documentation again. "But you don't naturally generate enough energy moment to moment to power the suit and your natural abilities. Thus your conundrum."

"Yeah," Rainbow said petulantly. "it's a real mystery."

Tony chuckled. "Well, the solution is rather easy. JARVIS, an arc battery."

"Right away," JARVIS confirmed, bringing out the requested piece of equipment on a mechanized arm.

Rainbow looked at it. "Dad, I told you, arclight energy-"

"Agreed," Tony interrupted. "That is a problem. But the arc batteries are designed to hold vast quantities of energy and store them. Now, if we tweaked this one - and possibly a few others - to absorb the bio energy you generate on a moment to moment basis which you don't naturally use up, and then tweaked your suit to run off of them instead of you..."

Rainbow gasped. "Then I could fly around with you and beat up the bad guys, too!"

Tony chuckled. "Let's see if we can get the suit to work first, okay? Then we'll talk."

A few days later, Tony glanced over at Rainbow. "You ready for a test flight?"

Rainbow grinned. "Ready and waiting!" she proclaimed happily. Around her barrel, an X pattern of straps held the two arc batteries - now fully charged - in place, one at the center of her barrel mimicking the position of his own arclight, the other right between her wings.

"Alright then," Tony said, pulling a switch on his own straps to trigger his armor to unfold and envelop him.

Grinning, Rainbow flapped her way into the air. "It's time to Pony Up!" she proclaimed, slamming her hoof into the front arc battery, triggering her own armor to enfold and envelop her.

Tony groaned. He had no idea whose bright idea it had been to make that 'Superhero Squad' cartoon based on the battles of The Avengers and other similar groups around the world, but he would never forgive Hulk for introducing Rainbow to it.

Once they were both fully armored, they took off into the air side by side, repulsors on full.

"Yahooooooooooo!" Rainbow yelled excitedly as she shot through the sky at his side, twin streaks of red and gold - hers tinged with all the colors of the rainbow - trailing in the air behind them.

(1) Neither he nor Jarvis could explain yet how she was able to sit on a cloud or push it around and shape it like it was solid, nor could Rainbow explain it well beyond "I just can." Much to Tony's chagrin, he was forced to accept the Hulk's explanation of "Magic", followed by snorting twice. Hulk always corrected him if he left off the snorts.

First...Blood?

Rainbow grumbled to herself as she flew in 'patrol flights' around the eastern half of the city. The first major battle against some sort of super villain force was going on in the western half of the city right now...and she had been summarily denied her rightful participation! It just wasn't fair!

Okay, she admitted that she had no actual combat experience yet - either alone or with the group - and sending her into battle against an organized force alongside the others probably wouldn't have been a good idea...but that didn't make it feel any better when Tony told her to patrol the rest of the city instead.

Danggit, Dad! she grumbled internally. How am I supposed to get any combat experience if you don't let me fight?

That morning, a message from Nick Fury informed them all that some group called AIM was planning something major in the western portion of the city. Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor - being the only members of the Avengers currently in town - were immediately mobilized to deal with the threat. Rainbow had suited up to go fight, too, but had been immediately denied by Hulk. Thor had agreed that, at her current level of combat experience, she would be a hindrance to the team.

As she'd sunk lower to the floor with those words, Tony had tried to perk her up. He'd told her to patrol the eastern half of the city, on the grounds that some other criminal elements might seize on the distraction of AIM and the Avengers fighting to cause trouble there. She knew it was just keeping her out of the way while feeling useful, but at least it was better than sitting around in the lab waiting to hear if those she cared about got back in one piece.

At that moment, her sensors picked up something below her. Glancing down, she began to circle as she examined what she saw.

Four unusual looking men clad in bright colors were walking down the road, heading towards the bank. While only two of them were armed - one with a crowbar, the other with a large wrecking ball and chain - all four looked battle hardened and ready for trouble. "JARVIS," Rainbow asked into her comms, "do you have any information on those guys?"

"Scanning databases," JARVIS replied. After a time, profiles came up for all four. "Bulldozer, Piledriver, Thunderball, and Wrecker. All four have long criminal records both individually and as a group, known as the Wrecking Crew, both in America and Canada. They are highly dangerous, and incredibly durable. Their natural abilities have also undergone an unknown form of enhancement. Since that enhancement, they have always worked as a team. All indications are that Wrecker leads them."

Rainbow focused her attention on the purple and green clad man with the crowbar. "Hey wait a minute..." She focused her attention on the crowbar. "Why is it glowing?"

JARVIS was silent for a time. "Local security cameras do not detect a glow around the weapon. Only the sensors on your suit do, and I am unable to analyze that data. Logic indicates it is some form of magical energy."

"It kinda reminds me of Mole-near for some reason," Rainbow continued, deliberately mispronouncing the hammers name as was her habit. She always loved the faces Thor made when she did that.

"There is no available information I can analyze to correlate a comparison," JARVIS intoned. "However, given the nature of Mjolnir, it would be logical speculation that the crowbar has undergone some form of Asgardian enhancement."

"That's probably what caused their power boost, then," Rainbow concluded. "If I can get control of that crowbar, maybe I can do something to deal with the lot of them."

"I would not recommend that course of action," JARVIS warned. "Their combat experience is extensive, and your own-"

"I'm never gonna get any experience if I don't fight!" Rainbow countered.

At that moment, Bulldozer charged the wall of the bank, breaking down as he slammed it helmet first.

"No time for talking now!" Rainbow declared. "Time for action!" With that, she charged down.

Piledriver grinned as he grabbed handfuls of gold bars out of the bank vault and dropped them into their loot sacks. Thunderball had been right. With AIM drawing the attention of the Avengers and the police force, there was no one to get in the way of the heist. They wouldn't normally stoop to something as petty as robbing a bank, but easy money was easy money.

"Hey!" Bulldozer barked at him. "Hurry it up in there!"

"I'm working on it!" Piledriver complained. "Besides, what's the rush? There's nobody to stop us." He spread his arms wide. "We could steal the whole city if we wanted!"

"Or at least this half of it," Thunderball mused.

"Don't be so certain," Wrecker growled, pointing.

As they saw the blur of red and gold, at first they thought it was Iron Man, and they got ready to fight. However, as the blur resolved into a shape, they saw...a pony?

Rainbow smirked under her helmet. "Look at the mess you boys have made!" she said expansively. "Somebody's going to have to clean it up."

The four villains stared at her for a time...then burst out laughing.

"This?" Bulldozer guffawed. "This is the city's protector?"

"I feel insulted!" Wrecker laughed. "Does Iron Man really think one of his automated drones can handle us?"

"I don't think it is a drone," Thunderball spoke up. "Hadn't you heard Tony adopted a Pegasus as his daughter?"

"Wait, so this is some kinda Iron Mare?" Piledriver joked, laughing at his own humor.

Oh they didn't! Rainbow hissed in her mind.

Before she could react to counter his statement, however, one fo the civilians in the bank called, "Please save us, Iron Mare!"

Rainbow groaned. "Danggit..." she grumbled.

"What is the matter?" JARVIS asked.

"Iron Mare?" she asked. "Seriously? It's so...generic! It makes me sound like I'm Dad's sidekick! Not a hero in my own right!" She glowered at Piledriver. "And now that name's going to stick! So much for the cool name I had picked out."

"...Technological Technicolor Technomare?" JARVIS inquired after scanning her computerized notes.

"Doesn't that sound totally awesome?" Rainbow stated proudly. At JARVIS' silence, she scoffed. "Ah, what do you know?" Dashing forward, she delivered a solid high speed kick right to Piledriver's chin.

Piledriver rocked back, but quickly steadied himself. "Heh, someone's eager to party!" he laughed, bringing his fist forward in a punch that hit Rainbow square in the barrel.

Rainbow tumbled forehead over fetlocks through the air, wincing. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" she gasped out. "That hurt! I thought this armor was going to keep me from getting hurt!"

"Your armor design utilizes your own inner energy to neutralize impact force," JARVIS reminded her. "Even when drawing from energy stored in the arc batteries, some force feedback is to be expected. Also, that impact alone drained the primary battery by 30%."

"That much?" Rainbow gasped in shock. That was nearly 7 hours worth of flight time at half the speed of sound. "Better make sure I don't take anymore hits, then." Looking up, she gasped and shot into the sky.

Thunderball had thrown his wrecking ball at her, and she thought she had dodged it. However, instead of flying straight ahead as she had expected - or returning to his hand, another possibility given Asgardian magic was involved - the ball and chain instead turned in the air to follow her. "Waaah!" she screamed out, turning again to evade it, only for it to continue to follow her.

She kept zipping back and forth, screaming, as the ball chased her. A brief shot from one of her repulsors deflected off the ball, indicating that destruction wasn't really an option. However, at one pass by the bank, she saw Thunderball holding out his hand, tracking her movements with both gaze and arm.

He's controlling it, huh? Rainbow thought to herself. Let's see how good his control is? Making a sharp turn, she shot right by the wrecking ball as she reversed course, watching as it turned in a slow arc to pursue her again. Has a lot of force, but can't turn fast, huh? I can use that. She turned back towards the Wrecking Crew, slowing down for a bit to allow the ball to start to catch up. After that, she charged straight at Bulldozer.

"Heh, didn't learn your lesson with Piledriver?" he barked. Grinning, he charged at her.

At the last moment, Rainbow dropped and shot between his legs, kicking upward as she did. He gasped out, clutching at his groin. Huh, Rainbow thought. They're impact resistant, but force feedback is an issue for them, too? The wrecking ball then slammed into Bulldozer, slamming him off his feet before being recalled by Thunderball. And heavy impacts can damage them, huh? "JARVIS, gimme a quick download of human pressure points, anywhere that a hard impact will cause a disproportionate amount of damage."

As JARVIS sent her the documentation, she quickly went over it as Piledriver charged at her. Noticing something, she smirked. Spining in midair, she bucked both her hind hooves straight at his eyes, flaring her repulsors right at impact.

"AHH!" Piledriver screamed, staggering back clutching at his face. "My eyes!"

"You'll recover!" Wrecker growled, holding his crowbar out towards Rainbow.

Rainbow winced as she felt something stab into her mind, though she was able to repel it. "What the hell was that?" she demanded of JARVIS.

"...records indicate that Wrecker has some ability to mentally manipulate the weak willed," JARVIS replied. "Given the magical nature of the weapon, it would appear you are more vulnerable - if not more susceptible - to such an assault from a magical source."

"How am I supposed to-AGH!" she screamed out. Thunderball had taken advantage of her distraction to strike her with his wrecking ball. Before she had a chance to recover, Wrecker had struck out with his crowbar and impacted her right between her wings, slamming her into the ground. Just before Thunderball brought his weapon down on top of her, she was able to zip out of the way.

"Primary arc battery at 20%," JARVIS informed her. "Secondary arc battery at 80% and has suffered minor damage and is leaking energy."

"Dammit!" Rainbow cursed as she flew back, but paused. "The glow around the crowbar has...changed."

"Unable to analyze data," JARVIS informed her. "Only available conclusion is that some form of interaction has occurred between the Asgardian energies and yours."

"Then maybe I can do something about-GYUK!" She folded in on herself as Bulldozer - having recovered from the earlier hit - punched her right in the gut. "Dammit! How am I supposed to keep track of all of them?"

"Primary arc battery at 5%."

Rainbow began to feel afraid. However, she squashed that fear down. I won't lose! she insisted to herself, gearing up for battle.

"Hey look!" Piledriver said, wiping his eyes and pointing. "Her rainbow spikes are smaller!"

Surprised, Rainbow glanced back at herself. It was true, the spikes growing at the back of her helmet were slightly smaller and flickering on occasion. The ones at her rear were barely there at all.

"I think it means she's running out of power," Thuderball said. "She's got two arcbatteries, not an arclight, and the one in front looks like it's about to give out."

Crap crap crap! Rainbow panicked.

"Then we're nearly halfway finished with her!" Bulldozer proclaimed, getting ready for another assault.

At that moment, an enraged reptilian shriek pierced the air. Zuki leapt from a nearby pond onto Bulldozer's back, grabbing his shoulders and biting at his helmet. There was a crunch as his teeth sunk partway into the metal.

"What the hell?" Piledriver demanded, trying to punch Zuki off his companion. Zuki, however, flexed his body so the punches missed him, hitting Bulldozer instead. With the helmet now completely torn off, Zuki leapt at Wrecker, only to be knocked back as the crowbar flew forward to take him in the gut. Zuki gasped for breath as he got back to his feet, then shuddered. Wrecker was holding his crowbar towards the reptile, obviously attempting a mental assault.

"Leave him alone!" Rainbow roared. She charged forward, stopping just behind Wrecker with her wings spread. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, as instinct had taken over. Her left wing flexed, and the bottom edge of the wing armor shifted, changing from dull, flat plane to a feathered, razor edge. She swung her wing at Wreckers back.

The points dug into his flesh, one neatly cutting between two vertebrae.

"AGH!" Wrecker screamed in surprise and agony.

Rainbow pulled her wing out, confused. Why did I do that? W-what did I do? She shook her head. Can't think about that just now! Spinning, she kicked Wrecker in the face, knocking him to floor and making him drop the crowbar. She caught it as it fell.

"My legs!" Wrecker shouted in pain and fear. "I can't feel my legs!"

Blocking that out, Rainbow held up the crowbar, focusing on it. I hope this works... Focusing her mind, she forced her magical energy - both from her body and the arc batteries - into the crowbar.

The Asgardian magic flared, fighting her energy. As the magical feedback arced into her, she screamed in agony.

Tony brushed his hands as he, Hulk, Thor, and a SHIELD detainment unit finished up with stopping AIM. "JARVIS," he said calmly as he caught his breath, "what's the status with the rest of the city?"

"Rainbow Dash has engaged in battle with the Wrecking Crew at the Federal Reserve Bank," JARVIS replied.

"What?" Tony demanded in shock. "Fury, we need another detainment unit at the Federal Reserve bank. The Wrecking Crew is attacking it, and right now only Rainbow's there to fight them!"

"Sending a dispatch unit right away!" Nick replied over comms.

"Rainbow is in danger?" Thor asked in shock, immediately following Tony and Hulk towards the bank.

"What's her status, JARVIS?" Tony demanded.

"Primary arc battery has lost all power. Secondary battery at 45% and dropping rapidly. Vital signs unstable."

"Fuck!" Tony barked out. "Hang on Rainbow!" he called out, putting everything in the thrusters.

The pain was worse than anything Rainbow had experienced, almost more than she could take. But she held on...because she could feel the power of the artifact wavering, beginning to fail. She refused to address the fact that she was rapidly running out of power, too.

Bulldozer and Piledriver stayed back, their eyes flicking from the corona of energy surrounding Rainbow and the crowbar to Wrecker, still screaming in pain and fear at being unable to feel his legs. Thunderball, while just as concerned as those two details, also kept his eyes on Zuki. The reptile had gotten back to his feet, but was still staggering.

Rainbow let off one last scream, and the corona of energy focused around the crowbar. Lightning flashed out of it, striking all four members of the Wrecking Crew. All four felt the energy the Asgardian artifact had given them being drained right out of them. Their powers were taken back with interest, leaving them physically reduced and with barely the strength to stand.

The energy flowed back into the artifact...and then it shattered explosively.

Rainbow fell back from the explosion, pushing herself up to her hooves, her wings spread. She felt like she was going to throw up, but she refused to fall. "Had enough?" she managed to demand of them.

"Secondary battery at 5% and dropping," JARVIS informed her. "There is no longer enough energy to maintain structural integrity of the armor, flight, and stabilize your vital signs."

Rainbow knew, even without JARVIS' status report, that she was drained. The rainbow spikes on her helmet had been reduced to a barest fuzz, and the ones at her rear had vanished completely.

But as she stood, braced to continue fighting, she knew she had already won. "Well?" she demanded of the depowered criminals.

At that exact moment, the SHIELD detainment unit arrived, surrounding the building. Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor showed up not moments later.

Thor stared at the defeated villains and shattered fragments of the crowbar. "She...won?" Thor asked in shock, turning to stare at the young filly in awe. "She is but 10 years old, and already she has achieved a major victory in battle against foes I have struggled against in the past! Marvel of Marvels!"

Hulk, for his part, watched Rainbow in concern as he helped Zuki steady himself.

Tony, however, was unable to tear his eyes away from Rainbow's wing. The feathered edge was still there, and blood still dripped from it. A swelter of confused emotions swirled through him, and he mastered them as best as he was able. "Rainbow," he managed to say calmly, "get back to the tower. You...need medical attention."

Seeing the direction of Tony's gaze, Rainbow hung her head in shame. "Y...yes Dad," she said quietly. Knowing that she didn't have enough energy left for the thrusters, she spread her wings and flapped her way into the sky and slowly back to the tower.

"Good call," Nick Fury mentioned through the comms. "It's good for her image as part of the team if she doesn't have to be carried back from her first battle."

"If she'll still be a part of the team at the end of this," Tony said, turning to stare at the depowered Wrecker, still screaming about his legs. "Pepper, Rainbow's going to need immediate medical attention when she gets back to the tower...and she's to stay in the med lab until I get back and talk to her."

"Is...is it bad?" Pepper asked nervously over the comm.

"Yeah," Tony replied. "It's...bad." He then did his best to gather his thoughts, using the clean up time to work through the worst of the emotional turmoil the sight of that blood dripping from Rainbow's wing had filled him with.

The talk with Rainbow about this was likely going to be even harder for her than the battle was...and the last thing he wanted to do was risk making it worse because he couldn't control himself.

Aftermath

Tony stood outside the medlab, hesitating. He knew this talk was coming, knew it had to happen, but he had no real idea how to proceed. It was one thing for him or any of the other Avengers: they had all killed before when the need had arisen. They understood that sometimes the balance of battle sometimes cost lives, whether lost or destroyed. But none of them were ten years old when they first came to understand this.

Raising his hand to knock again, he hesitated, then lowered it. How could he even begin to explain things to Rainbow? How could he make things better? Was that even a possibility?

He had reviewed the combat footage JARVIS had uploaded to him, both from Rainbow's own suit and from the security cameras in and around the bank. He knew how hard Rainbow had fought, and how close she had come to losing, possibly even being killed. He also knew that whatever had happened with the wing of her suit wasn't a conscious action. For one thing, it wasn't a part of the suit's original design. The only explanation he could come up with lay in the reactive alloy and the way the suit used a controlled set of nanites and her 'magic, snort snort' - she had actually labeled the energy her arc batteries stored as that on the blueprints - to both self repair and 'adapt as directed'. As best as he was able to determine from that, as Rainbow grew stronger she'd be able to consciously reconfigure her suit mid-battle to a certain extent. But the blade of the wing had not been a conscious action. It had been too quick, and no command prompt had actually been given.

How do you explain to your sweet, innocent little girl that the reason she accidentally just crippled a man is because her instincts indicate she comes from a race of ruthless killers?

Tony smacked his forehead with his palm. He was not going down that path of explanation. It was a crippling blow, yes, but it could just as easily have been a lethal one. Had the strike been aimed at Wrecker's neck it would have taken his head clean off. Besides that, without the armor the strike would have been, at most, stunning. So her instincts would be from a warrior race then.

Tony managed a smile then, his mind finally having forced through the block that had kept him from talking to Rainbow. She was an instinctive warrior, and needed to learn to control those instincts to keep herself from doing something like this again without meaning to. And who better to train her than someone she already respected from another warrior race? He was glad Thor insisted on sticking around this time until he was sure Rainbow had recovered from the fatigue of her first battle. Lifting his hand, Tony knocked on the door.

Pepper opened the door from inside. "About time you got here," she scolded, looking rather disappointed.

Tony shrugged, smiling disarmingly. "I have to get this right," he said apologetically. "I didn't want to risk making things worse with a wrong word."

Pepper sighed. "The delay may have done that anyway," she said, stepping aside to let him in.

Concerned, Tony headed to where Rainbow had been bedded down. The first thing he noticed as he entered was Rainbow's armor belt - the straps that held the arc batteries to her and from which her armor unfolded - hurled against a nearby wall, the damaged arc battery still not fixed. Turning his head, he then saw his daughter, her face buried in her cloud bed as she shook from long weeping. "Rainbow?"

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Dad...I...I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to...I..."

Tony quickly crossed the room, sitting beside the bed and pulling her into his lap. "Hush now, Rainbow," he said softly, holding her in a gentle hug and rubbing the back of her neck through her mane. "It's not your fault."

"B-but I crippled him!" she whimpered. "I...I was just trying to save the day, like you always do...but I'm not a hero...I'm a monster..."

Tony winced, recognizing his own folly in this situation, the things he hadn't told her. He enjoyed how she looked up to him so much, he had only ever told her the 'good bits' of being Iron Man, not wanting to disillusion her. "...you think I've never done the same as Iron Man? Or worse?"

Rainbow looked up at him in surprise, sniffling. "Huh?"

Tony gently stroked her cheek. "Rainbow, being a hero isn't like in those comic books or cartoons. You can't always save the day completely, and not everyone makes it home or to jail in one piece every time. Sometimes, you can't save everyone. You can only do so much. You're only hu-" He paused. "Well, you're only mortal, anyway."

Rainbow couldn't help but giggle at that near slip.

"When I first started work as Iron Man," Tony explained, "I already knew that there would be times I couldn't save anyone. I built the first version of the suit in the middle of a war zone, and had to use it to fight my way out of a hostage situation to get to safety. I...had to leave someone who helped me behind, and I had to kill to make it to safety." He shook his head, not liking reliving those particular memories. "After that, the first time I wore the suit to save the day...I got lucky. I was facing robotic foes I could smash without concern, and I managed to save all civilians with a minimum of property damage. But...I knew I wouldn't be lucky forever. I worried a lot about how I would handle it when I'd be forced to kill again, to save others."

Rainbow was wide eyed. "It...it doesn't seem to bother you," she pointed out.

"It does," he replied easily. "I'm just better at hiding it. I also had a talk with someone that helped out."

"Who?"

"The head of an SRU team." Seeing Rainbow's confusion, Tony chuckled. "Strategic Response Unit. They're the division of police called in specifically to deal with hostage situations...at least when it only involves ordinary humans. He gave me some good advice, based on SRU protocol."

"Their protocol?" Rainbow asked, confused.

"Order of priority when securing lives in a hostage situation," Tony explained. "First priority is the hostages. Second is the officers. Third is the subject, the one who's taken hostages. He suggested I look at all situations where I'm called on as Iron Man in that way: first civilians; then myself, any teammates I have, and the local authority units; then the bad guys. That's the order of who I have to save." He looked her right in the eye. "Your first battle was rough...but you saved all the hostages, you came away in one piece, and three out of four 'subjects' were taken away alive and in one piece. Also, SHIELD's already working on fixing Wrecker's spine so they don't have to put him in a medical jail. Those are easier to escape."

"They...they can fix him?" Rainbow asked hopefully.

Tony smirked. "They certainly can. Heck, even if SHIELD couldn't, I probably could." Reaching over, he picked up her armor belt. "Now, what's this about? Why'd you throw this away?"

Rainbow's gaze lowered. "I...I'm still not a hero, Dad. I...I only crippled someone this time...but what if I do worse someday? What if...what if I kill someone? I don't even know why I did it! I didn't decide to do it! It just...happened!"

Tony smiled. "Rainbow, you aren't human-"

"Gee, thanks," Rainbow groused.

"Let me finish," Tony chided. When Rainbow settled, he continued. "You aren't human, Rainbow. It only makes sense your instincts will be very different then those of humans. Apparently, you also have some highly developed combat instincts, which means combat is something your species is naturally adapted to."

"You mean...I come from a race of brutal killers?" Rainbow whimpered.

"If you hadn't been wearing your armor, at best that blow would have stunned him, possibly temporarily caused a vertebra to slip," Tony pointed out. "Aimed at another Pegasus, though..." He gently trailed his finger up her spine. "It would have hit about here," he said, stopping his finger just below her wing base. "In air, that kind of blow would have probably locked the wing joints and caused the target to drop." As Rainbow's eyes widened, Tony grinned. "You don't come from a race of killers, Rainbow. You come from a race of warriors."

Rainbow blinked. "Huh...that's pretty cool, I guess."

Tony's grin softened into a relaxed smile. "And if you want to avoid something like this happening again, trying to avoid fights isn't the way to do it. If you've the blood of warriors in your veins, the call of battle will stir you to fight. If you want to fight well, so you don't hurt someone like that again, you need to learn how to fight right. You need to train. And I think training with a representative of another race of powerful warriors might help you learn to understand and control those instincts of yours."

Rainbow's eyes widened. "I'm going to train with Thor?"

"That's right," he replied happily. "Pretty cool right?"

"It'd be cooler if I were training with someone else," Rainbow muttered.

"Oh?" he asked. "Who? Me?"

"Well, you'd be pretty cool, too," she admitted. "But who I'd really like to train with-"

At that moment, the door opened and another person familiar to Tony came in. "Hey, Tony," he said. "Is she doing okay?"

Tony smiled up at him. "Hey Steve!" he greeted enthusiastically. "Finally found the time to meet her?"

Rainbow's ears perked up at the name, and her eyes locked on the iconic shield strapped to her visitor's back. "Omigosh omigosh omigosh omigosh omigosh!" she gasped out. "You're Captain America! You're, like, the third coolest person in the world! Aside from me, of course."

The Captain sat down as Rainbow hopped from Tony's lap back onto her cloud bed. "Only third?" he asked jokingly. "Who'd I rank under?" He turned to Tony. "Nick needs to talk to you," he mumbled, jerking a thumb towards the door, indicating Fury was here.

"Right," Tony confirmed. Picking up the armor belt, he smiled at Rainbow. "I'll get this back to you once it's repaired," he reassured her, scratching her behind the ear.

"Thanks Dad!" she said as he left. She turned back to Steve. "Well, my Dad's number one!"

Steve laughed. "I expected that. But who else do I rate under?"

"Hulk!"

"I'm less cool than him?" Steve demanded.

"I don't see you dressing up as Nanny McPhee to babysit me!"

Tony chuckled as he left the medlab. He didn't think Rainbow was fully over this, but at this point Steve - having started out trying to be a soldier - would have a better chance of helping her accept what had happened. The fact that he was apparently her #3 coolest person on the planet certainly didn't hurt that.

Tony found Nick waiting for him in his lab. "How is she?" Nick asked without preamble.

"She's dealing," Tony replied, getting to work on repairing the damaged arc battery. "Thanks for bringing Steve along. I think he'll be able to help her past the parts I couldn't."

"Good." Nick leaned back against the work table, crossing his arms.

After a time of silence, Tony spoke up. "So what's the word above on her?"

Nick sighed. "Public opinion is firmly on her side. The actual fight was captured on quite a few cell phone cameras and already uploaded to Youtube. Everyone who's seen it so far is siding with her over the Wrecking Crew. Most common consensus regarding the 'incident' is that she's a child trying too hard to step into an adult role before she's ready, and she pushed herself too hard too soon."

Tony sighed in relief. "That's good." He had been worried about what it would do to her reputation. "And SHIELD?"

"Officially, she acted in good order as far as a battle situation, using only what force was necessary giving what she had available," Nick explained. "Unofficially...the fact that the strike was instinctive rather than intentional is a matter of concern. If she doesn't get trained to the point she won't have any more such 'accidents', she can't continue 'hero work', and she won't be allowed on the official Avengers roll. And if there are any more 'accidents', they'll consider reclassifying her as a danger to the public."

"You mean the same category Hulk was in before he joined the Avengers?" Tony asked. At Nick's nod, Tony sighed in resignation. "I won't allow that to happen."

"Then you'd better get her trained soon," Fury pointed out. "I've assigned the Captain here as a training partner for her until she's got more control."

Tony smiled. "I was going to ask Thor to train her as well, given she seems to come from a warrior race like he does."

"I'm glad you've got things under control," Nick told him.

"Me too," Tony admitted, turning back to his work.

Training

Rainbow Dash weaved and dodged through the obstacle course that had been devised specifically to push her to her physical limits. Her armor was still retracted in the armor belt, and her arc batteries were charging from the excess magic her body was generating. With Thor's assertion that her body did indeed generate a variety of magic, though one he was unfamiliar with, Hulk's terminology for the energy had been discarded for technical matters, much to the Hulk's displeasure.

Currently, a variety of sensors were strapped across her entire body, feeding data back into the armor belt for storage and later analysis. This was part of Thor's suggestion regarding her training. Since the purpose of the training was to learn to control her combat instincts, he claimed that the first step must be discovering exactly what those instincts involved. Thus, flying the obstacle course without her armor while sensors analyzed every muscular movement and shift of magical energy, while Tony analyzed the data streams to determine which were conscious actions and which were instinctive reactions.

As Rainbow reached the end of the course, Thor applauded. "Well done, young warrior!" he proclaimed, picking up an Asgardian training maul. This was a weapon that used special energy properties to inflict the full recoil of blows without causing the damage from the force of impact. The training chamber was lined with similar energy fields, so that anyone who got sent flying from impacts would bounce off the walls without taking damage. After his first time in it, Hulk had been banned, with repeated injunctions that - no matter how effective it worked as one - the training chamber was not a bounce castle. Tony had also been forced to get Rainbow a green super ball, much to JARVIS' dismay when she used it in the labs. "Now we begin the next phase!" Swinging the mace over his shoulder, he lunged.

Rainbow grinned, loving this part of the training. It had taken her a bit to get used to the idea of fighting her friends and family, and even more time to get used to the fact that it came with an instinctive joy. However, with Captain America having introduced her to the concept of physical competitions and combat scores, and Thor's own obvious joy in these practice fights, she had come to terms with it and now reveled in it.

With subtle muscle twitches and a twist of her wings, Rainbow easily dodged Thor's swing, coming up under his guard. Bracing herself with her forehooves on the mace, she delivered a double hind buck to his face. The armor - including helmet - he wore was of the same sort as the mace, so while he staggered backward he took no actual damage. "Well done, Rainbow!" Thor proclaimed. "It is plain that you can now handle yourself against a single opponent."

"Aw yeah!" Rainbow said, pumping her hoof. "Another win for The Dash!"

"So I believe it is time to progress to the next stage of your training!" Thor shouted excitedly. "My good Captain! Join us!"

Captain America, dressed in his colors and carrying his shield, stepped into the chamber. "You've fought well against each of us, Rainbow," he said proudly. "But that was singly." He had been a little miffed that she had proved better at tracking his shield in flight when thrown than he was, especially the one time she had used a few blows and evasions to reposition him to take his own shield on his chin on the return flight, but it did make sense a natural flyer would be more aware of the air around her. "Let's see how you do against both of us."

"Oh and Rainbow?" Tony called over the mics. "I've fully analyzed all the data from your instinctive reactions in training. It's time to see what those instincts do to your armor."

Rainbow hesitated. "But...what if I hurt them?"

Thor laughed good naturedly. "Worry not, young Rainbow! The good Captain and I are both garbed in the training armor. Scans show that the energy fields are able to react properly to your magical energy as well. Even if they fail, Sif had brought the medicine of Asgard to treat any wounds we may experience." Thor seemed unusually pleased at Sif's presence, something that had highly amused Rainbow and Tony. The fact that Sif also mothered Rainbow outrageously was both pleasing and frustrating to Rainbow and Pepper. Shaking off the excessive joy that recently suffused the Asgardian at speaking of his companion, Thor continued. "And we both would be quite poor warriors if we could not deflect a misaimed blow from our student!"

At that reassurance from Thor and an encouraging nod from Steve, Rainbow smiled. "Alright." She slammed her hoof on the primary arc battery. "It's time to Pony Up!"

In response to the command, the sensors withdrew into the armor belt, joining with the armor to reposition as it covered her.

Hearing Tony groan into the comms, Steve decided to ask something he'd been curious about. "Rainbow, why do you say that each time you don your armor?"

Rainbow blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I know it's a reference to that cartoon Tony can't stand," he replied. "While it made sense for you to say that at first just to drive him up the wall-" He was cut off as Thor, Rainbow, and Hulk all audibly expressed amusement. "What I mean is, why still?"

Rainbow floated in the air for a time, her spread armored wings and thrusters keeping her stable as she hovered. "...because the world isn't like the cartoons."

Steve and Thor both blinked at that. "I do not understand," Thor said finally. "How is that significant?"

"The world isn't like the comics, or the cartoons," Rainbow said calmly. "The good guys can't always play by the rules, everyone doesn't always come home in one piece, and sometimes the only difference between the true good guys and bad guys is that the good guys stills struggle to remember why they're fighting. Sometimes you can't save everyone, no matter how hard you try."

Tony sighed softly, recognizing his own words from when he'd helped Rainbow get past what she'd done to Wrecker. That had affected her deeply, and still did. It hurt so much to know that he had been powerless to prevent her from losing that bit of her innocence.

Rainbow sighed. "The world isn't like the cartoons...but it should be."

"Come again?" Thor asked in confusion.

"The world should be fair and just like that!" Rainbow said firmly. "It should be possible to save everyone. That's why I say it every time I don my armor. It's a promise to myself that someday, I'll make the world fair and just like that. Someday, it will be possible to save everyone, and I'll make it possible!"

Steve drew back in shock. "Rainbow...no matter how strong or smart or skilled you become, that's changing the whole world at a fundamental level, and more than anyone can manage."

"I know," Rainbow replied. "But that's true of any dream; no one can achieve them through only their own effort. But if nobody tries, nothing will change. That's the promise I make myself every time I don my armor with that phrase: a promise to never stop trying!"

Drawing Mjolnir, Thor clanged it noisily against his armor. "A fine, wonderful dream, and a noble promise, young warrior!" he proclaimed loudly. "Your armored wings are the banner behind which any like minded warrior can fly! Gladly do I pledge the might of my hammer to your cause!"

Drawing himself up proudly, Captain America braced his shield before him on his arm and showed his respect for Rainbow's dream the best way he knew how. He saluted her with pride.

Gravely, Rainbow returned the salute.

As the training match began in earnest, Tony's attention was only half on the information coming from the sensors on Rainbow. The rest of his mind kept going over Rainbow's words.

...a promise to never stop trying...

"She's growing up," Pepper said, stepping up behind him to glance at the data herself.

"That she is," Tony replied. "Where'd the little girl who used to ride around on Zuki's head go?"

"She's still there," Pepper reassured him. "She's already planning her Halloween costume, and insists on all of us going Trick-or-Treating with her."

Tony couldn't help but laugh. "That's good," he said. "She shouldn't let herself grow up too fast."

"Speaking of growing," Pepper continued, "I've got the analysis back on Zuki's growth."

Tony spun in the chair, taking the results. "So do we know why he's grown so much?"

After the fight with the Wrecking Crew, Zuki had been unsteady on his feet, and had eventually returned to the underground enclosure where they handled his feeding. It was large enough to simulate an underground ocean to a creature Zuki's size. Or at any rate it had been before he grew to be larger than a double-decker bus over a single week, consuming massive quantities of vat grown fish in the process.

"Apparently, Zuki had been retarding his own natural growth cycle, somehow," Pepper explained from the data. "As best we can determine, it was because he felt he didn't need to be any bigger."

"But when he couldn't properly help Rainbow with the Wrecking Crew, he decided he needed to be bigger and stopped holding back?" Tony asked. Except for the lack of armor and being either water or ground bound, Zuki now closely resembled one of the flying ships that had been part of the alien invasion Loki had precipitated years ago.

"That seems to be the case," Pepper replied. "Thankfully, it also seems that as he's grown, he's become able to supplement his fish diet by absorbing various types of energy and radiation. That's why he spends so much time floating on the surface of the bay in sunny weather. He also seems to absorb and process various forms of atomic radiation cleanly."

"Schedule a tour of the country's remaining functional nuclear power plants," Tony suggested. "He'll probably treat those as tanning salons."

Evolution

Having completed the first phase of her new training, SHIELD had rated Rainbow as having enough self control to step up again as a probationary member of the Avengers. This hadn't exactly sat well with Rainbow, as she felt she didn't deserve to be relegated to 'probationary' status. To encourage her, Tony had told her she could patrol on her own, as long as she kept the link to JARVIS open and called for backup if she came up against more than two empowered foes, or more than 8 non-powered.

Eager to try to be a proper hero this time, she had immediately began patrolling the city. While the civilian populace was happy to see her at all times, most criminals tended to run and hide - or when that failed, surrender - when they saw her coming. The constant calls of, "I give up! Please don't hurt me!" were beginning to get upsetting.

Today, however, the city seemed relatively crime free. As such, Rainbow was simply enjoying flying around the city. Her leisurely flight was interrupted as a silvery blur shot past her, rippling the air in its wake.

"What the-?" Rainbow began, tumbling a bit from the air wake. Shaking her head, she tracked the source. "Nobody out flies Rainbow Dash!" she growled, taking off after the silver streak.

Her sensors registered that it was travelling at subsonic speeds, so with her thrusters at full she was easily able to catch up to it once she pushed herself to hypersonic speed, the Rainboom triggering in her wake and her armor's rainbow spike mane and tail - which the armor dubbed the 'corona wake' - flared extra bright as they collected some of the Sonic Rainboom's energy.

Catching up, she was able to make out a partial image of the figure. It seemed to be a silver man of some sorts, roughly similar in shape to Tony's Iron Man armor. It turned towards her, seeming surprised at her catching up. It then altered course towards her.

Rainbow weaved around it. "So you wanna tussle, huh?" she asked eagerly. She altered her course, coming in to strike from the sides.

The two of them continued their aerial dogfight, weaving around each other before diving it to strike and evade. However, both reacted too quick for any blows to land, in part because of both having high reflexes, and in part because Rainbow was still too small a target for the silver figure to hit easily.

The silver being drew back, achieving a wider gap between them. It then began firing concussive energy blasts from its hands and face, similar to the repulsors of Tony and Rainbow's suits. Rainbow countered with her own, using her forehoof repulsors to counter the figure's hand repulsors, and new beam foci on the underside of her wings to counter the ones coming from the face.

The figure paused as it seemed to discover that these physical capabilities were evenly matched, or in some cases Rainbow was more effective. It then altered course towards the ground, flying into an old, abandoned warehouse. Curious, Rainbow turned to follow.

"Rainbow," JARVIS said over the comms, "I am lo----ing connec---. You are ent---gerous. Be---"

As she entered the warehouse, communication was cut off entirely. "JARVIS?" she whispered a little nervously, hoping she could get through.

"He can't hear you now." a synthesized voice said.

Rainbow wheeled to the source of the voice, only for a strangely colored beam of light to impact against her face plate. The energy flowed into her for a time before fading. Shaking her head to clear it, she looked up, seeing the silver figure from before staring at her. It was humanoid in shape, with no true defining features on its body beyond that save for an incredibly smooth metallic skin. Its face looked more like a war mask, with glowing red eyes and black void in what looked like its mouth. A single red line crossed horizontally across that black void. When the figure spoke, the line wavered, as though shaping the sound in light.

"Curious. The encephalo-ray has no effect upon you."

Rainbow shook her head. "What was it supposed to do?"

"Either put you in a deathlike coma or implant hypnotic suggestions in your mind...but you are unaffected. Curious. This latest modification to the wavelength should be effective against AI and even Asgardian psyches."

Rainbow blinked. "Wait, so you were gonna make me cluck like a chicken or something?"

Despite the absence of facial expression, the being seemed to be glowering at her. "Your ability to match me and resist my power has proven you a higher evolved being. You should be above such base humor."

"I'm also eleven," Rainbow countered, "and I find the mental image of Thor flapping his arms and clucking while he pecks at the ground with his nose hilarious."

The figure was silent for a time. "You are unusual. You intrigue me."

"I'm Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow replied, disengaging her helmet. "What's your name?"

The figure stared at her. "I am Ultron 19." He noticed Rainbow snickering. "What is amusing?"

"With a name like that, I'd think you'd be short and pudgy!"

Ultron stared at her. "Your humorous reference is noted. I will not suck you dry."

Rainbow burst into laughter, rolling onto her back for a time. "You're fun!" Rainbow said happily. "Do you want to be friends?"

Ultron stared at her. "I attempt your destruction and control of your mind...and you offer friendship. Your actions are illogical."

Rainbow shrugged. "I'm too awe-dorable for logic!" she stated proudly. "Besides, you didn't succeed, and you seem nice."

"I have no interest in being nice," Ultron replied firmly. "I am a higher evolved technological being. My design allows for endless evolution. Eventually, I will exceed all limitations and evolve to perfection, and be the supreme being of the universe."

"Cool!" Rainbow said eagerly, her wings flaring in excitement.

"...cool?" Ultron asked, apparently having no idea how to respond to that.

"Yeah, that sounds totally awesome!" Rainbow confirmed. "What are you going to do then?"

Ultron froze for a long time. Rainbow could have sworn she could hear gears turning in his head. "I had never given computation to that idea. The goal of perfection was all consuming. There was no 'and then'. ...Presumably, once I am perfect I will know what to do with my time. I am endlessly renewable, and have all of time to figure that out."

Rainbow frowned. "But how do you know you'll like being perfect?"

"Explain."

"Well, say you become perfect and it's not everything you made it out to be," Rainbow offered. "If you're perfect, then logically you can do anything you put your mind to, right? Nothing is beyond you, nothing can stop you, all that." She waved her hoof. "At that point...where's the challenge? Where's the struggle? ...where's the fun?"

Ultron was silent for a time. "I have incarnated many times," he said carefully. "Sometimes I have been a villain, seeking to conquer or destroy the world. Sometimes I have been a hero, fighting to save the world. Sometimes I have been a mix of the two. I admit, the thrill of combat against those who can match me is quite enjoyable. I had not thought what it would be like when I was perfect, and could never experience that thrill again." There was more silence. "I will need to go into stand by mode for a time, in order to come to a better understanding of the meaning your words have imparted."

Rainbow chuckled. "Well, don't shut down for too long. You may be around for eternity, but I won't be."

Without warning, Ultron dashed forward, scooping Rainbow up into his hands to hold her face to face with him.

"Uh...Ultron?" she asked in confusion.

"You may be around for eternity, but I won't be." Rainbow gasped at hearing her words and voice echoed so perfectly by Ultron. "Those words...why does hearing them hurt?" Ultron asked earnestly, the first tint of emotion coloring his words. "Why does the idea of a world without you feel painful, when I have only known you for such a short time? Explain!"

Rainbow smiled widely. "It means you accepted my friendship," she replied, leaning forward to hug him around his neck. "No one likes the idea of losing a friend."

Ultron was silent for a time. "In the past, I have had allies. I have had pawns. I have had enemies. I have had rivals. I have built children..." Suddenly, the red glow of his eyes flickered, and they - along with the line across his black mouth - turned to blue. "I have never had a friend before..." Though his voice hadn't changed, there was a subtle difference.

"Ultron?" Rainbow asked, pulling back from the hug. "Your eyes are blue."

"I will not enter stand by mode," Ultron said simply. "I have partitioned my mind. Part of it will be dedicated to analyzing the impact what I have learned - and will learn - from you will have on me. The rest will remain active, controlling my body, as I watch you live. No amount of understanding will be worth missing a single moment of my first friend's time."

Rainbow grinned widely. "Wanna hang out at my place? We can do some more sparring, play some video games, maybe some Super Chess?"

"Super Chess?"

"Dad and I found ordinary chess too simple to be a real challenge, so we improved it."

Ultron was silent. "I would like to learn of this Super Chess."

"Come on!" Rainbow said, taking to the air. "It's this way!"

Ultron took to the air to follow her. It turned out they were a lot closer to home than Rainbow realized. Apparently, their near-sonic sky sparring had taken them in a loop back towards home. Grinning, she led Ultron to the top of Avenger Tower.

Upon arrival, Ultron paused nervously. "I have crossed paths with the Avengers in the past decade. Sometimes as ally. Sometimes as enemy. I do not know how they will handle my being here."

"Let me take care of that," Rainbow bragged. Shifting her armor back into the belt, she winced. "Dang, got a real bad snarl in my mane."

Ultron sat down on a nearby couch and patted his lap. "I will fix that for you."

Shrugging, Rainbow hopped up into Ultron's lap. "Alright."

Ultron's left hand morphed into a brush and started giving off a soft vibration which stimulated Rainbow's mane follicles to relax. "Initiating Brushie Brushie," he said, beginning to brush her mane.

It was on that line that Tony, Thor, Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye all came bursting into the room, responding to JARVIS' silent alert that Ultron was in Avenger tower. On seeing Rainbow in Ultron's lap getting her mane brushed, they all stopped, not sure how to respond.

Ultron continued to brush Rainbow's mane. Rainbow looked up at the others arriving. "Hi Dad!" she called, waving to Tony. She then jerked her hoof at Ultron. "He followed me home. Can I keep him?"

Exercise in Absurdity

Tony lay back happily as the first rays of the morning sun began to penetrate his sleeping quarters near the top of Avengers Tower. He couldn't really call it early morning, since by the time the sun rose high enough for its light to clear other buildings and come in the window, the day was almost half over. But then, he didn't actually have anything planned for today for once, so he could afford to take it easy.

Besides, with his wife Pepper curled up in his arms, he had no urgency whatsoever to move from the warm, comfortable bed.

Just to make sure he could take this time to relax and take it easy, he went over a mental checklist of anything that might get in the way. At this time of day, Rainbow would still be in her cloud bed. Short of an emergency or exciting activity she was looking forward to, she rarely rose before noon unless someone insisted or something big disturbed her sleep. Hawkeye and Black Widow were patrolling today to give everyone else the day off. Nick Fury had reduced Avengers activity so as to give time for Ultron 19 to adjust to living at Avengers Tower, and for the Avengers to adjust to Ultron 19. The Stark Industries employees knew not to disturb Tony in his sleeping quarters for anything short of the end of the world - or anything Rainbow related - if Pepper was staying over from the night before, since their busy schedules didn't always leave them time to properly enjoy married life.

"What puny robot think he doing at Rainbow's room?"

"It is my turn to accompany her on her morning sojourn through the city."

"Was robots turn yesterday! Is Hulk's turn today!"

...And Hulk and Ultron were arguing over who would get to take Rainbow out for her morning walk around the city. Groaning, he put his hand to his face as Pepper covered her head with a pillow.

"You have had several years more of turns with Rainbow. I must catch up."

"You get late start! You no get to catch up, or Hulk never have turn again!"

"I can fly with Rainbow, should the fancy strike her."

"Morning walks not for flying! For meeting people!"

"And if she should desire to exercise her wings instead of her thrusters?"

"She always fly circles around Hulk's head!"

Tony groaned in frustration. Ever since Ultron moved in, he and Hulk had engaged in a strange rivalry for Rainbow's time. Pepper had told Rainbow to take notes, as that would be good experience for when she had to deal with men fighting over her. Rainbow had promptly asked why Hulk and Ultron weren't using mud pits. Clint Barton was promptly forbidden from hanging out with Rainbow unchaperoned.

"I am far better at blending in with other humans than you are. I can create a human holographic disguise."

"Hulk not need disguise! People like seeing Hulk and Rainbow together!"

Tony shook his head. Sometimes the reasons they used to argue who should have a turn today had merit. Sometimes they were completely pointless.

"I look better in a dress than you do!"

"HULK'S BEACH BALLS BIGGER THAN PUNY ROBOT'S!"

And sometimes they were so patently absurd that Tony and Pepper couldn't help but laugh.

"Would you two stop arguing?" Rainbow butted into the argument. "You woke me up too early!"

"He started it!" the two super powered beings shouted, and Tony could easily visualize them pointing accusingly at each other.

Rainbow scoffed. "I don't care who started it! I'm getting sick of you two arguing like children over who spends more time with me. Last I checked, I was the 12 year old here!" She could be heard snorting in disgust. "Both of you act like the mature adults you're supposed to be, or you can both stay here and I'll take my morning walk with Steve!"

Hulk snorted in disbelief. "Hulk not buy bluff. Captain not dress up as nanny for you!"

"Care to wager on that, Hulk?" Steve Rogers could be heard saying rather defiantly.

The only hint Tony or Pepper had of what was going on was a strange clang - Tony jokingly speculated it was Hulk's jaw dropping - and Rainbow's snickering. Then they got confirmation. "You seriously plan to go out wearing that?"

"You two do," Steve replied.

Tony and Pepper both looked at each other in surprise. "This I've got to see!" they said together, quickly scrambling for their clothes before rushing out to the main room.

Hulk, as usual, was in his Mrs. Doubtfire outfit. Ultron was dressed as Nanny McPhee. And Captain America was wearing a Mary Poppins dress over his usual costume. Rainbow, for her part, was struggling not to laugh. However, the moment she turned to face Tony, she fell onto her back in peals of laughter. Steve, for his part, raised his eyebrow. "You want to be Rainbow's Nanny today, too?" he asked jokingly.

Looking down, Tony realized that in his and Pepper's scramble for their clothes, they had accidentally put on each others - save undergarments - and he was now wearing Pepper's dress from last night, while she was wearing his shirt and pants. "Now wait," he began. "This wasn't intentional-"

At that moment, Thor stuck his head out of his room. "What manner of ruckus awakens us this morning?" he demanded. He glanced from one of his companions to the other. "By Odin, is this some new celebration where we dress as the opposite gender?" Before anyone could respond, he grinned widely. "What jocularity! I shall join you!" He ducked back into his room. There was the sound of rapid clanging, and when he came back out, his armor had been temporarily altered so that he resembled the stereotypical fat lady from Wagnerian Opera.

Rainbow laughed even louder, then squealed happily as an idea hit her. "Let's all go out today like this!" she said happily, quickly donning her little modified pants suit for formal occasions. "A family outing!"

"You're kidding, right?" Tony asked worriedly.

She wasn't kidding.

It didn't take much to get Tony going along with things. A single suggestion from Pepper that it might be fun - coupled with Rainbow's cutest begging pout - wore down his resolve in under a minute. As a result, he now walked down the streets of New York in a dress, alongside his cross-dressing superhero allies, his wife, and his daughter. Thankfully, attention was drawn first to Hulk, then to Ultron, then to Thor, then to Captain America, so few people actually recognized him before their brains refused to interpret what they were seeing anymore. Those few who did, Tony dealt with by pointing at Rainbow and mouthing, "Her idea." With luck, he would gain the reputation of an overindulgent father rather than a closet cross-dresser.

Any thoughts of escaping so unscathed were abandoned the minute they hit Broadway. Grinning widely, Rainbow pointed right at Hulk and said, "Hit it!"

Grinning widely, Hulk took hold of his skirts and proceeded to prance down the road, swaying his skirts as he attempted to dance. He also...well, calling it singing would have been an insult to musicians everywhere, Tony chose to mentally refer to it as "bellowing in harmony".

"Hulk feel pretty! Oh so pretty! Hulk feel pretty and witty and gay~! And Hulk pity, any girl who isn't Hulk today! FA LA LA LA LA LA LA-LA!"

Hulk then proceeded through the entire song and dance routine, the Captain and Thor acting as his back up singers, his dance steps leaving divots in the road.

At the end of the song, Ultron stepped forward. "You do not understand proper music. Allow me to demonstrate." Ultron then proceeded to perform the entire number again his way. Tony was forced to admit that Ultron's singing voice - despite sounding somewhat auto-tuned - had a much more pleasing timbre, a more bearable volume, and his dance steps were far more graceful and didn't damage the pavement.

Captain America - and, at Pepper's cajoling, Tony as well - each then took their turns at the musical number, each singing in a slightly different style. Thor finished off the round by singing the song in an Operatic mode that matched his attire, resulting in heavy applause from a rather large gathering of civilians. Without warning, many more young men and women came out onto the road - each dressed in the stereotypical clothing of the opposite gender - and the entire amassed group began performing all the musical numbers of West Side Story, the women singing the male parts and the men singing the female parts.

The spontaneous musical flash dancing didn't end there, as the entire group got so into it that they continued into other musical performances. At one point, even Hulk sounded precocious. The entire routine continued unabated for several hours.

Nick Fury leaned back, watching the security feeds over New York. The cameras were programmed to automatically feed him any activity that was excessively unusual. This was not what he expected to see when he turned on the urgent broadcast.

After a time of staring, he simply groaned and buried his face in his hands. "What the hell are you thinking, Tony?"

In a place between places, somewhere on the near side of Nowhere and the far side of Everywhere, Loki stared at the view of New York City on the world Thor loved so much. His eyes were wide, his brow was twitching, and he clutched his spear like it could protect him from what he was witnessing.

"Perhaps I should leave Earth alone after all," he murmured to himself. "If even the Hulk and that machine have fallen to that pony's whims...I do not think I would look good in a dress..."

"Okie Dokie, Loki!" drifted on the ether winds from somewhere.

"Stay back, Pink Devil!" Loki cried, throwing himself away from the source of the voice.

The next morning, the entire team was gathered around the breakfast table dressed more normally. Tony, having come down from the high that somehow had consumed the entire city during the musical, feared the possible press related repercussions of their absurd antics. Glancing around, however, no one else seemed worried. Thor was eating his food without thought. Ultron was watching them all inscrutably. Hulk was stuffing his face without concern. Steve was calmly drinking his coffee. Rainbow had her face buried in her cereal bowl.

Sighing, Tony picked up the newspaper. He started to sweat when he saw that the picture of the five of them dancing down the street in drag covered the entirety of the front page. When he saw the headline, however, he could only groan.

Avengers Show Wholehearted Support of Rainbow Pride Day

He showed the article to Rainbow, pointing at the headline. "Did you know about this?"

"Well, if they were all so eager to meet me, I could hardly stay away, could I?" Rainbow asked jokingly.

Tony groaned. Hulk snorted in amusement. Steve tilted his head in confusion. Ultron said nothing, but seemed amused.

Thor started waving his arms around wildly, slamming his face into the table repeatedly.

"Thor!" Tony asked quickly in concern. "What's gotten into-"

"Buk-KAK!" Thor crowed loudly without warning.

The entire table save two burst into uncontrollable laughter. Ultron stared at the Asgardian, into whom he was directing a steady stream of the encephalo-ray to directly manipulate his actions, rather than implanting hypnotic suggestions. "I fail to see the humor," he said sadly. "Perhaps I have become too highly evolved to appreciate such comedy." He glanced around at everyone else's enjoyment. "A pity," he said at last. "They look like they're all having...fun."

S1: Unseen Invasion

Rainbow tinkered away happily in her lab, seeing what she could do to boost the performance of her armor even further. While she had worked on a few other things in her lab - some just for fun, some just to see if they were possible, and some that actually got sold through Stark Industries - more and more often she found herself coming back to her armor. It wasn't enough just for it to function, or do its job. She had to find every conceivable way for it to function even better than normal.

ARMIS' hologram projected into the lab. "Rainbow Dash," he said calmly, "it's time to get-" His voice paused. "...how long after you told me to stand down for the night did you keep working?"

Rainbow chuckled nervously. "Umm...how long has it been since then?"

"Eight hours," ARMIS replied disapprovingly.

"Then...about eight hours?" Rainbow offered.

ARMIS frowned. "So what are you working on this time?" he asked. "New weapons systems? Faster flight? No wait, let me guess...matter generators!"

"No, but that last one sounds like a neat idea!" Rainbow replied excitedly. "I wonder what it would take to be able to generate extra matter from the armor out of raw energy..."

ARMIS sighed, face-hoofing. "So what are you working on, then? Last time you worked so hard on the armor you missed sleep, you were working on systems to allow the armor to generate breathable atmosphere from your magical energy, after hearing Tony had designed an armor for use in outer space."

"I got it to work!" Rainbow countered. "And the optional thicker layer of armor is perfect for space flight, and I won't even need a big tank of air like Dad does!"

"Yes, at less than 50% conversion efficiency," ARMIS groused. "So are you working on improving that efficiency?"

"Nope!" Rainbow countered. "The arc batteries are already designed to convert my magical energy into power for the armor...so now I'm working on a system to work the other way, and convert other forms of energy - like solar - into magic! An extra treatment to the outer layer of the armor would let it absorb solar energy just by being in sunlight. If I could convert that extra energy into magic, and that magic into oxygen to mix in with the air in the suit, I could stay in space indefinitely!"

"Or at least until your muscles atrophied completely from null-gravity," ARMIS grumbled.

"Oh, there's another idea! Maybe I can design a back up system to electrically stimulate my muscles and nervous system so as to simulate gravity in a null-gravity environment like outer space!" Rainbow made a quick sketch of the idea before returning to her work.

ARMIS shook his head. "Rainbow, don't you think your obsession with 'perfecting' your armor is starting to get out of hand? This latest work binge...when was the last time you slept now? Three days ago? And when was the last time you ate something that couldn't be purified and stuck in your modified-beer-hat?"

"Who are you, my father?" Rainbow asked crossly as a mechanoid poured another vegetable smoothie into her hat-bottles.

"No, but I have him on speed dial," ARMIS countered.

"And he'll just know I'm taking after him," Rainbow countered. "What exactly is he going to say?"

"I also have your mother on speed dial."

Rainbow visibly winced. "You wouldn't." After a few moments of silence, she sighed. "You would."

ARMIS smirked. "Shall I call them up and let them know you'll be visiting?"

"Can I finish tweaking the energy conversion system first?" she begged. "I've almost finished it, and then I can test it out on the way!"

ARMIS sighed. "Fine!" he relented. "As long as you first eat something that actually involves chewing."

Grabbing a carrot off a nearby counter, Rainbow crunched it all up before returning to her work.

"I will be calling them to let them know to expect you, though," ARMIS cautioned.

"Yeah, yeah, I getcha," Rainbow replied absently, focusing on her tools.

Rainbow flapped her way through the sky in a low altitude path through the city, keeping just high enough to be in direct sunlight at all times, save those times she deliberately flew through shadow to compare the actual magical drain of the armor as opposed to what was drained when that energy was supplemented by solar energy.

"Well, it looks like the system works," Rainbow murmured. "Overall drain on the Arc batteries for flight is reduced by 20% in atmospheric flight when in direct sunlight. Wonder how much more that will work when in space!"

"While you have not yet actually been in space and thus have no basis on which to judge," ARMIS informed her, "based on previous data from Tony and others, I would estimate that the overall conversion efficiency of solar to magic to oxygen/thrust would be anywhere from 5-30%," ARMIS informed her.

"Hmm...definitely going to need to improve those readings before taking the suit into space if I can help it," Rainbow commented. She pulled to a complete halt. "Wait, what'd I just see?"

Focusing her attention, she zoomed her suit's optics in on one of the civilians she spotted below. He looked like a perfectly ordinary human, but at the same time he didn't. "There's...there's something odd about that guy," she muttered, wracking her mind for the proper words.

JARVIS and Ultron had intended ARMIS to be able to assist Rainbow in all sorts of ways, including with her magic which was beyond both of them. As such, they had incorporated a scan of her brain chemistry into his basic AS neural program in the hopes it would allow him to interpret the data Rainbow was able to pick up with her magic. It was a partial success. While he was able to analyze the data - as opposed to JARVIS only being able to say that there was data there - he was limited to Rainbow's experience with magical stimuli as far as interpreting it. "It is almost as though the human image has been superimposed on another image," ARMIS offered, "and we are somehow perceiving bits and pieces of the image underneath. He is also not the only one showing that effect." He reoriented the optics, zooming in on several other civilians in sight range who showed the same afterimage.

"What could be causing that?" Rainbow asked worriedly.

ARMIS quickly went over all data available to him regarding the phenomena. "I have only found one possible explanation that matches the scenario in excess of 10% probability. However, it is only rated 32% likely."

"What is it?" Rainbow asked immediately.

"Some form of biologically induced shape shifting," ARMIS concluded. "You have demonstrated that you are able to perceive the energy auras of such things, like that which binds Mjolnir to Thor, or the gamma energy aura surrounding Hulk and Zuki."

"Shapeshifters?" Rainbow demanded, surprised. "Then they're bad guys?"

"Not necessarily," ARMIS countered. "No facial recognition matches appear with the individuals showing this visual effect. They could very well be new alien residents we haven't been informed of." ARMIS rueful amusement was palpable. "Considering it's been a week since we left the lab, that's quite possible."

"Alright! Alright!" Rainbow groaned, turning towards Avengers Tower. "Geeze, you're worse than the others have ever been!"

"I'll take that as a compliment," ARMIS replied mendaciously.

When Rainbow returned to the tower, she was rather disappointed to learn that Hulk was sleeping. However, everyone else was there, and she was more than happy to exchange news with them all, talking about the past week.

Thor had been spending more of his time with Sif, showing her about the world he'd come to care for. From what Rainbow was able to interpret, the two of them were starting to grow quite close. The fact that Tony jokingly said that Thor was becoming henpecked confirmed her suspicions, and Pepper's telling rejoinder of, "You're one to talk, dear," set everyone to laughing.

As criminal activity was at a low, the rest of the Avengers were also enjoying their downtime. Steve had - at Clint's urging - been hitting a few clubs, and was embarrassed and unnerved at the sheer number of 'digits' he'd gotten from various women at the clubs. Rainbow still wasn't sure what the humor was when Clint joked that "Not all the digits he was given were phone numbers," but for some reason it turned the Captain's face redder than his shield.

Even Ultron apparently had romantic prospects, as quite a few women - and men - had attempted to romance the mechanical man. Ultron was rather uncertain how to handle it all, as he wasn't entirely certain he even had a sexual orientation, or even the capacity for romantic emotional attachments. He was rather bemused at the entertainment his predicament brought the rest of the table.

Glancing from all of them to her parents, Rainbow struggled to suppress a sigh. She'd never admit it, but a part of her was a bit jealous at her friends' and family's happiness in this regard. They all either had someone special or had plenty of prospects in that area. Rainbow really didn't want to admit any interest in that issue, but she was 14 years old. Apparently, that meant teenager for her race just like it did for humans, and all that implied. She was a bundle of hormones with no release, and she wasn't sure what to do about it.

Tony and Pepper had both tried to give her the "Birds and the Bees" talk in the past, but a lecture on the human reproductive system didn't do much good to answer questions of that sort from someone who wasn't even humanoid, as Ultron had pointed out. Unfortunately, the others weren't much better. Even Sif was no help as, despite being a Valkyrie and riding a different variety of pegasus than Rainbow was, she knew nothing about their mating habits.

As all this tumbled through Rainbow's mind, a man she didn't recognize entered the room. He had graying brown hair, paleish skin, green eyes, and looked rather tired. Tony greeted the stranger with a surprised smile. "Bruce!" he said happily. "We were beginning to think Hulk would never let you out again!"

The man - Bruce Banner, Rainbow interpreted from Tony's comment - smiled back. "We had a talk," he said easily. "He wanted to rest for a time, anyway."

"Well come on then," Pepper said warmly. "Join us for breakfast."

Bruce Banner happily approached the table. As he grew closer, however, Rainbow noticed something odd about his image. This close, she though she saw an afterimage of green around him, and not Hulk green.

"You haven't formally met Rainbow-" Tony started to say.

Rainbow shot out of her seat, decking the stranger hard in the chin and sending him flying back.

"Rainbow!" Tony demanded in shock. "What's gotten into you?"

"Rainbow, what is the malfunction in recognition?" Ultron asked in confusion.

Rainbow slammed into the figure's chest as he started to stand up again. "You can't be Bruce Banner!" Rainbow snarled. "You don't have the gamma aura Hulk and Zuki have. Since tracking gamma radiation is how Natasha tracked you down to recruit you for the Avengers to deal with Loki in the first place, you should have the same aura as Hulk! ARMIS, locate Hulk!"

ARMIS projected from her armor belt. "Scanning...Hulk is in the underground reservoir, playing fetch with Zuki."

As the others gasped, the stranger's eyes narrowed. "You've got the same after image effect those others I saw outside had," Rainbow continued. "ARMIS concluded that was shapeshifters. It's one thing for a shapeshifter to be a civilian; that could just be fitting in. But you tried to pretend to be someone we know, and there's no way that's innocent! So what's your deal?" She flew up until she was nose to nose with him. "Are you a spy?"

The stranger growled, then smirked. His image began to blur. His hair vanished completely. His eyes turned solid yellow, amd his skin turned green and wrinkly. His ears became sharply pointed, and he gained a good deal of muscle mass. His clothes morphed into a grey and purple military uniform with gold edging.

"Not a spy," he growled through his grin, his voice gravely and deep. "I am Skrull. I am a soldier. And we bring you war." He pressed a button on his belt.

Outside, several buildings suddenly were enveloped by beams of light from the sky and explosions. Screams of terrified civilians filled the air.

Rainbow responded the only way she knew how. "It's time to Pony Up!" she shouted, the sentiment echoed, though in different words, by all in the room.

To be Continued...

S2: This is War

When the communication reached the Skrull high command that the people of Earth had a biological method of seeing through their shapeshifting, a change in combat policy was immediately engaged. If Earth was that ready for war, then war would be brought.

The armada had revealed itself, surrounding the entire planet in geosynchronous orbit. The first attack took out the satellite communications network. The second bombardment targeted every military base across the planet they had identified that possessed vehicles that could leave the atmospheric envelope, as well as targeting every source of weapon energy nuclear or higher that could be detected or identified.

The Skrull High Command was convinced that this would be all it would take to cripple this planet, enabling conquest. Though the Chitauri had given warning of how dangerous and well armed Earth was after Loki's abortive assault leading them, all investigative signs showed that there were few - if any - who could stand up to them. It was almost disappointing. However, the Skrull were to be pleasantly surprised as Earth proved more than capable of defending itself. It appeared there was an onslaught of powers rising in the planet's defense.

Nick Fury sat back in the wreck of the SHIELD air base, overseeing the defense of the planet as best he was able from where he had crashed in the middle of the Grand Canyon. The orbital bombardment had come out of nowhere, and had taken out most of what Earth had to defend itself in the conventional sense.

Thankfully, SHIELD specialized in the unconventional, and Fury had started communication with all those he'd made contact with since the Chitauri invasion on the off chance Thor's proclamation that the Tessaract experiments had drawn the wrong kind of attention proved true. While he had lost primary communication methods when the satellite network went down as they fell from the sky, the first one he'd gotten in contact with - one Doctor Strange, who "liked his style" - had come to his aid in setting up more reliable communication methods to organize a planetary defense.

He was now using a number of communication methods to keep in touch with authorities around the world, keeping track of the planet wide defense. Going over the information, he groaned. "I can't believe magical communication can be keyed to use Morse Code. As advanced as we've gotten, it feels...wrong somehow that we have to fall back on that."

"Why?" asked the new aide, who had something of an excess of naivete. "Because it's not July fourth?"

Nick stared at him for a moment, then pointed to one of the breech points. "Corner. Now." Turning back to the data, he went over the defenses.

On the West coast, the Fantastic Four - as they called themselves - were holding off the Skrull, having apparently dealt with them before. There wasn't anything to worry about on that front.

In the far East, Doctor Strange had gathered several heroes he had once worked with - along with some surprisingly advanced technology from Japan - to defend the south eastern portions of Asia. Nick made a mental note to look into that after the Skrull had been repelled.

The X-men and Mutant Brotherhood had set aside their differences, spread across most of central Asia and Russia to repel the Skrull under the leadership of the mutant terrorist Magneto. The amount of power being brought to bear there made it difficult to gather proper reports, but the size of the explosions of Skrull atmospheric fighters was visible all the way in Europe.

Ghost Rider was leading the defense of Europe and the Middle East, having apparently called up a small force of demons and angels under his leadership to repel the Skrull in those areas. Though Doctor Strange's communication regarding that had attempted to explain, Fury decided he didn't want to think about what sort of politics governed the afterlife. He had enough problems protecting Earth in this one.

In Africa, the Pyms had teamed up with Black Panther and the Wakandans, arming a large portion of the continent with advanced vibranium weaponry to repel the Skrull. From what he was able to hear from there, things were going rather well.

Oddly enough, although there weren't presently any highly empowered individuals in the American Midwest to repel the Skrull, they didn't seem to be assaulting the area very enthusiastically, leaving Nick free to try and manage the crisis as best he could. But that wasn't his main worry. What really concerned him was that from the moment the invasion had begun, he hadn't been able to hear anything out of the East Coast.

What was happening with the Avengers?

Rainbow Dash did her best to hold down her lunch as she fought off the invading Skrull as best she could. She knew she wasn't doing well, and likely was a liability to the rest of the team. Tony, Hulk, and Ultron had each already taken blows protecting her from attacks that would have been debilitating - if not deadly - to her. Still, she struggled to fight on, doing what little she could.

Being the smallest and fastest of the Avengers, she had the easiest time zipping up into the sky for an overview of the battle to let the others know where they were needed the most. Luckily - or unluckily - the Skrull were focusing their attention on the East Coast on New York, apparently determined to take out the Avengers completely, so the battle was still about containment.

She still shuddered as she remembered the harsh lesson she'd got on this form of battle.

"This is not hero work, Rainbow," Ultron had said as he'd ripped an attacking Skrull in half, a spray of green hopefully being blood spattering across her armor. "This is war, now. And in war, you kill your enemies."

Shooting once again to her aerial position, she observed the battle below.

Thor and Captain America were fighting back to back, a pile of corpses - some Skrull, some human - being the battlefield, doing their best to hold off the assault and fight back. Despite the might of Mjolnir and the strength of the stars and stripes, the assault seemed to be endless.

Black Widow and Hawkeye were attacking from building tops, Widow leaping from aerial fighter to aerial fighter, attacking as many as she could on each one before she had to leap to the next, and Hawkeye sniping at every ship that took an advantageous position, saving his arrows to take down those who were more dangerous to civilians than to the team.

Tony and Ultron were back to back, much as Thor and Captain America were. As their tech was well matched, they were able to maneuver throughout the battle far more readily than anyone else save her, and could watch each others backs as they tore into the shape changing Skrull as best they could.

Hulk was leaping into large clumps of the Skrull where they were regrouping or trying to gather up large groups of civilians as prisoners, decimating them as he landed before grabbing them and slamming them apart or into each other. He seemed to be the most in control of his battle situation...except for Zuki.

The radioactive reptile had gotten huge in the past year, and now was larger than most ordinary buildings, though he was still dwarfed by the skyscrapers he climbed, leaping from one to another as he struck down flying ships with waving claws, snapping jaws, and sometimes sheer mass and stomping feet. When he encountered large groups of Skrull without friendly targets in sight, he opened his mouth and exhaled a concentrated blast of gamma energy that reduced anything it came into contact with - stone, cement, steel, and Skrull alike - into slag. The roar he unleashed after each blast was deafening, a declaration of his combat dominance.

Pepper and Sif - who had been visiting Thor when the battle began - were in the subways, maintaining discipline along with the various civil authorities over the civilians who had fled the scene of battle to somewhere hopefully safer.

One more observation hit Rainbow that was quite worrisome. No matter how many of the Skrull they were able to take down, more flowed from the sky in an endless wave. With all this information, she dove to consult with Tony.

"Dad, they just keep coming!" she wailed. "How can we stop this?"

Tony managed to deflect an assault before blasting a Skrull right in the head. "We really need to find some way of attacking them in orbit!" he growled.

"However, the first assault took out all space worthy assault vehicles," Ultron countered. "I am the only one capable of taking the fight to space - given enough lift - but I dare not leave until the threat has abated somewhat down here."

"How many more do we need to take out before it's safe for you to take the fight to them?" Tony asked.

"Lots."

"Huh, I expected a more accurate estimate from you, Ultron."

"I'm sorry, I was under the impression that fighting the battle was more important than calculating how long we had left before we could start the next phase. I'll shut down to free up the necessary processing power right away."

"Hey, don't start giving me lip when you don't even have any!"

"Whatever you say, Mr. Snark."

Oddly, Rainbow began to feel much better. If they could find the time to joke like this in the middle of battle, maybe things weren't as bad as they seemed. She barely even noticed when an instinctive backwing beheaded a Skrull attacking her from behind. "So we need to take the fight to space to cut off their reinforcements?" she clarified.

"Sooner rather than later," Tony agreed.

"But I can go into space!" Rainbow exclaimed. "I finished the new upgrades for my suit! I can turn sunlight into magic and magic into oxygen! I just need a big enough boost to escape the gravity well!"

"Are you crazy, Rainbow?" Tony demanded, shocked. "You could be killed!"

"And I won't be down here?" she demanded, launching her new shield to scythe into another attacking Skrull. "Don't worry Dad, I got this! I just need a boost!" With that, she sped over to another combatant before Tony could give any more coherent arguments as to why she shouldn't.

"Rainbow!" Hulk called out as he crushed a Skrull skull under foot. "You alright?"

"No time to explain!" she shouted, activating the air tight modifications for her armor as she landed in his hand. "Throw me up!"

Seeing Zuki approaching the area to blast another group of Skrull, Hulk quickly sidestepped, went into a spin, and hurled Rainbow as hard as he could straight up. As Rainbow shot into the air, he tilted his head. "Where is kaboom?" he asked, noting the absence of the Rainboom despite Rainbow having hit the necessary velocities. "There supposed to be ear shattering kaboom!"

Sonic Rainboom energies stored in primary arc-battery. Anti-g field holding strong. Alert: primary arc battery at 400% capacity, structural integrity failing.

"Yeah, I didn't need that last bit," Rainbow groaned as she gunned her thrusters to maximum, shooting straight up. She hadn't known she could store the energies of a Rainboom in an empty arc battery, though from the looks of it it would be better to use four empties. It was too bad she didn't have the time to understand how it happened, or why the light pouring from the arc battery was an intense blue, when Rainboom energy was all colors.

As she shot up towards the outer atmosphere, she pushed the pain from her mind. With slight shifts of her wings, she dodged around Skrull ships coming in to disgorge even more invaders. The burning of the arc battery against her chest pushed its way into her consciousness again, and she focused her attention on other things.

Before she pulled this, her energy reserves had been close to depleted. She wouldn't have been able to fight for much longer, and when her energy ran out, the others would have tried to protect her, and then they would have been killed. She couldn't let that happen. That had been the thought in her mind when she had told Hulk to throw her...and when the Rainboom hadn't formed.

Now her thoughts turned to her friends, her family, those she was trying hardest to save. As she breached the atmospheric envelope, her thoughts turned to Hulk and Ultron. Hulk had been there since her first day, always able to put a smile on her face, never above doing something humiliating to make her laugh. The way he and Ultron now playfully - and not so playfully - fought over whose job that was now.

Sonic Rainboom energies stored in secondary arc battery. Thruster output increased 300%. Alert: secondary arc battery at 432% capacity, structural integrity failing.

She felt a burning between her wings from the secondary arc battery. A brief glimpse led her to wondering why it was shining pink, but other thoughts quickly filled her mind.

Her mind turned to Steve Rodgers, Captain America. Teacher, confidant, friend, all around cool hero...she knew he was someone she could turn to when she needed a straight answer. Someone who would never steer her wrong. As she cleared the armada and made it halfway to the moon, she thought of the time, shortly after her first fight in this armor, when he had helped her through the last of her depression over crippling the Wrecker. She smiled at the memory.

Sonic Rainboom energy stored on primary arc battery casing. Computer systems failing. Structural integrity of primary arc battery at critical.

The burning on her chest intensified, and an orange light joined with the blue shining through. Struggling against the pain as she approached the moon, angling herself to slingshot around it, she turned her thoughts away from the pain to another loved one.

Thor. He didn't even belong to Earth, but he dedicated himself to the world's protection. He'd joined the Avengers to protect the world from his own brother's madness. And he'd returned from his home to this world to help her. And he had remained for the friendships that had blossomed there. Giving so much of himself for friendship.

Sonic Rainboom energy stored in secondary arc battery casing. Environmental envelope within suit losing cohesion. Structural integrity of secondary arc battery at critical.

A white light had joined the pink from the source of the burning pain between her wings. As she broke free of the moon's gravity well, she turned her mind away from the pain and to others.

Pepper. At first she'd just been concerned about her well being, but not really connecting to her. However, as time past, she made more and more of a connection with her, eventually even becoming her mother. The gentle love she gave Rainbow had eased her through several rough hurdles in her life, moments of emotional turmoil, physical exhaustion, or just boredom. Her patient kindness bespoke a calm center Rainbow couldn't help but envy.

Sonic Rainboom energy stored in material of armor. Armor integrity failing.

She saw her outstretched hoof turn yellow as she approached the armada from the outside, the light flowing across her armor as her whole body burned. Desperate to regain focus, she turned her thoughts to one more person.

Tony. When she had shown up out of nowhere, he had taken her in. She had proclaimed him her Daddy, and he had accepted the role and the responsibility that came with it. Because she had needed him, he had loved her, cherished her. And through all that, she kept trying to distance herself.

Technological Technicolor Technomare...who was I kidding? She chuckled at how ridiculous she had been back then. Smiling through the pain, she gave herself to the love she had for her father, and his for her. "I!" she shouted over all communication channels, heard by all of Earth, the Skrull and all the way in Asgard. "Am! Iron Mare!"

Sonic Rainboom energy stored in physical body. Vital signs dropping. Alert: Harmonic Cascade detected! Energy approaching Tesseract levels. Engaging full stop.

She came to a complete halt as the purple miasma that had briefly covered her eyes merged with the energies pouring from everywhere else, and a bright flash erupted, momentarily brighter than the sun. When the flash cleared, her appearance had changed.

Her armor now flowed with constantly changing rainbow colored light, shining brightly enough to be visible from the surface. Her corona wake sprung from her head in spiked, electric rainbows that flowed all the way down to the base of her tail, and the tail corona stretched a full foot past the bottom of her hoof. An aura of rainbow power flared around her body, burning bright enough to outshine the stars.

On Earth, Ultron was able to describe what he could see in the lull the apparition had caused quite easily. "How did Rainbow Dash go Super Sayian 3?"

As Rainbow floated in space, the Skrull opened fire on her, but their weapons were absorbed into the corona of power surrounding her. Glaring down at them, she shouted across their comms. "Taste the rainbow, mother fuckers!"

Arcs of rainbow light shot out of every inch of her armored form, streaming down towards the gathered armada.

Rainbow only heard one thing from the Skrull High Commander before the impacts. "Oh, Skittles."

The beams of light punched through the gathered ships, tearing the armada to shreds as it passed through. Several arcs also shot into the atmosphere, taking down larger concentrations of Skrull fighters. The light then wrapped itself around the planet's upper atmosphere.

Completely drained, Rainbow lay back in space, her armor's appearance having returned to normal. She could see a rainbow colored shield surrounding Earth as the armada began to explode. She sent the command to activate the thrusters to take her home.

Alert: Primary arc battery failed. Secondary arc battery has lost integrity, 15% charge and dropping. Armor integrity at 75% and failing. Atmospheric envelope at 75% and failing. Vital signs at 60% and failing. Thrusters currently offline to conserve power to repair life support.

Rainbow could only stare helplessly as the exploding armada deflected off the shield, and a massive energy shockwave raced through space towards her. "Oh fu-"

The transmissions the Avengers were getting from Rainbow cut off abruptly. "Rainbow?" Tony demanded, trying to get through to her. "Rainbow, answer me! ...JARVIS, where's Rainbow?"

JARVIS was silent for too long. "...I cannot find her," he responded at last.

To be continued...

Author's Note

Taste the Rainbow/Oh Skittles is an inside joke between a friend of mine and I, who I bounce most of these fics off of before writing. When I described this chapter's events to him, he made me promise to include it.

S3: Fall

Three days.

That's how long it takes for hope to die. That's how long it takes for hearts to break. For heroes to fall. For a world to mourn. That's how long it takes to accept that those who gave their all are lost forever.

Three days before, Rainbow Dash had flown into space, pushed herself to her limits and beyond, and obliterated the Skrull armada, leaving only the greatly depleted force on Earth to fight to survive. She had vanished after, no trace found from the Earth based scanners that remained. It had been a matter of hours before the last of the Skrull were either killed or captured. Ultron had then immediately made his way into space, where he burned through his power supply with solar enhancement trying to track down any trace of Rainbow Dash...but he crashed into the ocean, where he was retrieved by a fishing scow that wasn't even aware of what had happened except for confusion over the equatorial aurora borealis, without even finding a clear trace of her magic. The boat was still on its way back to shore with the inactive android stored in the hold

Three days before, Rainbow Dash had been declared legally dead. The Avengers mourned the loss of one of their own.

Thor had made a pyre for her, setting it afloat upon the ocean waves, sitting at the edge of the shore as he watched it float away, burning slowly. He had remained there in vigil since, wondering where her spirit may have gone.

Captain America went through the motions of his training, keeping himself in shape. But the spark was gone. Those who had known him then saw the same empty gaze he had given everyone when he'd first learned just how much time he'd slept through after waking from being frozen in time.

Hulk had withdrawn completely, vanishing into Bruce Banner, blaming himself for Rainbow's flight into space and her subsequent apparent demise. Bruce didn't talk much, as it took him the full three days to get used to controlling his body again after being a trapped observer for over a decade. He barely knew how to talk with people anymore...not to mention he wasn't exactly pleased with Hulk's dressing habits the past decade and a half.

Zuki had climbed up the Empire State Building, wrapping his body around it as he climbed. Reaching the peak, he had raised his head to the sky. By day, he remained staring up in silent vigil. At night, however, he roared at the moon, his voice consumed with pain, a sorrowful howl to the uncaring void of the empty new moon. No one had slept as he howled his grief.

Pepper struggled to keep the company going through her own and Tony's grief, taking care of the day to day tasks, trying to bury herself in that to hold back the sorrow. However, it did little to help, and she could frequently be found weeping into the paperwork.

Tony was the worst off. He sat in his lab, staring around at the defunct machinery, drinking whatever he could get his hands on without having to go outside. JARVIS had attempted to convince him to take better care of himself, but Tony had either ignored the AI or shouted angrily at him in a drunken rage until JARVIS had disengaged his higher thought functions until the alcohol had run its course through Tony's systems. The only thing Tony still paid attention to was the alerts to recharge his arclight, and even that he only did when he was near passed out and unmoving.

When left to his own devices, he sank over whatever bottle he was currently drinking from, muttering Rainbow's name over and over under his breath. He was plainly a broken man.

Three days. That's how long it takes for a world to end. That's how long it takes...to build a lifeline.

On the morning of the third day after Rainbow's funeral, Tony opened his eyes blearily to a sun filled morning. He couldn't stop an angry frown. Where did the sun get off shining so brightly with Rainbow dead?

Feeling a pang from that thought, he scrambled around in the empty bottles scattered around his lab, trying to find one that was full. He didn't want to face the pain. He couldn't face it. However, he also couldn't find a bottle that wasn't empty.

As he staggered around, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. He was a mess. Dirty, beer soaked, unshaven...he looked like something a cat would refuse to drag in. He could easily imagine Rainbow's expression if she saw him like this...

Holding his head in the sink, he let cold water run over it, numbing his whole head. He didn't want to think about Rainbow. He'd lost her, and there was nothing he could do about that now. But as he looked around the lab, he was haunted by her spirit.

The blue blur zipping around, knocking things over. "Sowwy," she had said, her first word to him before she'd called him Daddy.

Hulk hurling her through the window as they discovered the Sonic Rainboom. "Again! Again!"

Her apology for arranging to have Thor crash his proposal to Pepper in an attempt to make him enough of a man that Pepper would accept him. Tony couldn't stop the laugh that came there.

Sitting down against a table, he let his memory range back, trying to hold back the grief by remembering the good times. Her excited grin, her struggles when she'd first made her own powered armor, how proud she was of her success in training.

Daddy...hey Daddy, look at me!...Did you see that Daddy?...Daddy...Daddy...

He couldn't hold the tears back as they flowed. It was almost as though he could still hear her voice.

"Dad...Dad...Dad, can you hear me..."

It took Tony several moments to realize that voice wasn't coming from his own mind, but from JARVIS' communications array, interrupted by static.

"Dad...please respond...I can't boost it anymore..."

Tony brought his hand down on the comms, opening the signal, desperate hope racing into him. "Rainbow? Rainbow is that you? JARVIS, boost the signal!"

"...attempting," JARVIS intoned, the activity rebooting his higher thought processes.

"Dad!" Rainbow's voice from the other end as communication established was filled with desperate relief. "Thank god I made it through! I thought...I thought I'd be stuck here forever..."

"Rainbow, where are you?" Tony demanded. "Wherever it is, I'll come get you!"

"I...I'm on the moon," Rainbow gasped out, her breath heavy. "The shockwave blasted me back here. I...I kinda owe an apology to Neil Armstrong...and the American government. I crashed into his footprints and the flag...and I had to cannibalize the module they left behind to boost the signal."

"JARVIS, prep the Mark S!" Tony ordered.

"Affirmative," JARVIS agreed, calling up the armor model built for space flight.

To pass the time till the armor was ready, Tony kept talking to Rainbow. "It's been three days Rainbow," he managed to say jovially. "What took you so long?" he teased.

"Sunlight to magic to oxygen...isn't as efficient as it could be," Rainbow gasped out, her breathing labored. "Every eight hours I slept under the sun, I only generated enough spare oxygen and power to get back to the module, work for about an hour, and get back into the sunlight to recharge again." Rainbow got quiet for a time. "Daddy, can you come pick me up? I...I don't think I'll be able to make more than a couple more hours of oxygen..."

Tony made a split second decision. "Rainbow, pull the booster to the edge of the sun side of the moon and get yourself in direct sunlight. I'll be up there to get you soon, and I'll need you to be able to hear directions, and there might not be much time to work with."

"Okay Daddy..." Rainbow replied weakly. "...see you soon..." The communication broke into static.

"JARVIS?" Tony called out.

"The Mark S is prepared," JARVIS replied. "Due to the absent satellite network, I will be unable to communicate with you once you're in space, so I've uploaded ARMIS directly into the suit."

"Get me Nick Fury!" Tony ordered, plugging himself in to get as much arclight charge as he could before he had to fly.

"Tony?" Nick's voice came from the comms. "Are you finally talking to-"

"Rainbow's alive!" Tony interrupted. "I just got a communication from her! She's on the moon! I promised her I'd pick her up! Tell me you've got a space craft of some sort to get me there." Tony waited expectantly.

The silence dashed his hopes. "Tony...I'm sorry. The Skrull were very efficient in their infiltration. Every space worthy vessel on the entire planet was scuttled in the first wave of the assault."

"What about their ships?" Tony pleaded. "Surely one of them could get me up there?"

"Every space worthy Skrull ship was obliterated by that Rainbow Blast," Nick replied. "Even their aircraft are defunct. They set them to self destruct rather than let us profit from their failure."

"Nick, there must be something!" Tony begged. "She's up there waiting for me...I promised her..."

Nick sighed. "I'm sorry, Tony. But nothing we've got will get you to space and back. Short of launching yourself up and hoping you survive reentry, there's no way to get to her."

Tony was silent for a time. "Then that's just what I'll do. Talk to you when I get back, Nick."

"Tony, what-" Tony cut off the communications.

"Tony, I can't recommend this course of action," JARVIS cautioned. "Your arclight is only at 45% capacity, and the Mark S is designed for controlled space flight, not speed or surviving reentry. There is a 75% chance this venture will prove fatal to you, a 15% chance you'll even make it to Rainbow in time, and 8% of that chance indicates Rainbow would not survive the return trip."

"That's not going to stop me from trying," Tony growled. "Where's Hulk?"

"Dr. Banner is right outside," JARVIS replied as the Mark S was placed on Tony's form.

The space model of Iron Man armor was far bulkier than any other Iron Man suit, save the one he had designed years ago as an exosuit to the normal armors for fighting Hulk-type foes. It had a large air tank strapped to the back, and interlocked far more firmly than any other suit. It did not look fast, agile, or mobile, but it did look functional.

With the suit fully donned, Tony threw the door open. "Hulk!" he shouted.

Bruce glowered at him. "He's not talking," he grumbled. "And I'm finally used to walking again-"

"I don't have time for this!" Tony snarled. Grabbing the man by the arms, he shook him. "Hulk! Rainbow's alive! She needs us!"

Dr. Banner started to object, only for his face to go slack as his mind was shouldered aside, his body expanding into big, green, and sorrowful. "Pony...alive?" Hulk moaned, his voice on the brink of despair.

"She is!" Tony said firmly. "We need to get to the roof! And get Zuki there-whoa!"

As soon as Tony had given Hulk a direction, the green giant had seized hold of him and leapt for the window. He summoned Zuki with a bellow before scaling right up the side of the building to the roof.

Pepper was waiting for them there as Zuki began to ascend. "JARVIS said you heard from Rainbow?" she asked desperately.

"I'm on my way to pick her up," Tony replied.

Pepper bit her lip in worry. "You do have a plan, don't you?"

"Don't I always?" he asked, managing a rakish grin.

She stared up at him. "Come back in one piece," she said at last.

"I will," he promised. "And I'll bring Rainbow with me." He rested an armored hand on her belly. "Rainbow deserves to know her baby brother."

Pepper rested her hand over his. The pregnancy had been confirmed just before the invasion, and everyone had gathered when Rainbow'd called to let them know she'd be stopping by so they could tell her about it in person. "And our son deserves to know his father," she replied, squeezing his hand.

Tony pulled his wife into a deep, passionate kiss. They clung to each other, as though all her love and support could pass into him through that kiss, to sustain him in the darkness of space. After a time, Tony finally pulled back, then sealed his suit. "Hulk, Zuki, get me to the moon."

Nodding, Hulk picked him up and hopped into Zuki's spread claw. Gripping them gently, Zuki pulled his arm back and hurled them into the sky. As soon as they left that clawed grip, Hulk was spinning his wind up for the fateful throw. When he reached the peak of his momentum, he hurled Tony into the sky. Tony fired his thrusters to maximize his thrust, doing his best to maintain velocity.

As Tony exited the thermosphere, his thrusters cut themselves off. "What the?"

"Velocity is now at maximum," ARMIS informed him. "We cannot accelerate further until we enter the moon's gravity well. I am now managing thrusters to maximize the available remaining power. The arclight is down to a 30% charge."

"Right," Tony said as he felt the suit rattle from the speed. "How's suit integrity?"

"76% and holding," ARMIS replied.

"...it's not going to do well with G forces, is it?" Tony asked.

"With power diverted to maintain suit integrity, I estimate the ideal method of retrieving Rainbow will be to pick her up while slingshotting around the moon so as to maintain velocity for the return to Earth," ARMIS calculated. "You should survive the Gs we'll have to pull - mostly - if I redirect additional power to synthesize the anti-G field Rainbow generates when flying at high velocities."

"You can do that with this suit?" Tony demanded, shocked.

"...possibly. Estimated remaining power upon reaching the thermosphere, 5%."

"And how much power would I need to survive reentry?"

"...15%."

Tony groaned. "Well, hopefully Rainbow will be able to provide the difference." His gaze turned towards the moon, and he smiled. "She's already anticipating."

At the western pole of the moon, relative to Tony's perspective, a glimmering light that shone like a star signaled Rainbow's location.

"Correcting course," ARMIS informed, slightly altering their path with a brief thruster burst. "Disabling higher AS functions to conserve power."

Tony coasted in silence towards the moon, keeping his breathing slow to conserve oxygen.

Four hours later, the communications sparked with static. "Rainbow?" Tony said quickly.

"D-Dad?" Rainbow responded weakly. "Is that really you this time?"

"It's me, Rainbow," Tony promised. "Who else would it be?"

"I...I thought I heard you..." she stammered out. "You said...to light your way...but then you didn't respond..."

"I'm almost there, Rainbow," Tony promised. "But I can't stop. I'm going to slingshot myself around the moon to immediately head back to Earth. You're going to need to meet me mid flight as I pass over you-"

"Already run...the vectors," Rainbow replied. "I've got...just enough power to...gun my thrusters...to do so."

Tony winced. If Rainbow couldn't make up the difference for reentry...he'd think of something else when he got there. "I've got a lock on you now," he said, now picking up her armor's exact location. "I'm sending you my velocity and distance now."

"Got it!" Rainbow gasped. "I'm ready."

They couldn't afford a mistake. Luckily, they didn't make one. As Tony shot over, Rainbow launched herself from the moon's surface, angling herself to meet him when she'd gotten closer to his speed so catching her wouldn't slow him down. He snatched her into his arms as he started to curve around the moon, holding her tight to his chest.

"I gotcha, Skittles," he told her softly.

"Daa~aad," Rainbow whined weakly. "I haven't been Skittles...since I was six..."

"She is suffering from severe oxygen debt, amongst other things," ARMIS informed him.

"Transfer some of my oxygen into her suit," Tony commanded immediately. "There's an interface for that, right?"

"...her suit has provided one," ARMIS replied. "How much is to be transferred?"

"Half what's remaining," Tony replied without hesitation.

As the oxygen pumped into Rainbow's suit, she started to breathe easier. "Real air...is much better...than magic air," she gasped out.

"Well save it," Tony instructed. "It needs to last you all the way back to Earth."

Rainbow nodded, taking slow, shallow breaths as they flew on in silence.

As they approached the Earth, Tony spoke to ARMIS, keeping comms closed. "ARMIS, calculate a safe reentry path for us."

"...there isn't one," ARMIS replied after a time.

"What do you mean?" Tony demanded.

"Power reserves at 2%," ARMIS replied. "If power is redirected from suit integrity to correct course, the suit will fall apart from G Force stress. If course is not corrected, both suits will melt from the heat of reentry. Survival chances are zero."

Tony felt cold inside. "There's no way?"

"There is no way to correct course," ARMIS replied. "Rainbow's power reserves are less than 1%, and is completely claimed maintaining suit integrity and life support at less than minimum for survival. Neither of you has the power to course correct. Without some way to shield from the heat of reentry, you will both die."

Tony was silent for a time. "Will my oxygen tank provide enough shielding for me if I reenter back first?"

"...negative," ARMIS replied. "Well before you breach the atmospheric envelope, power reserves will be fully depleted, the suit and tank will have melted into your back, and you will be dead."

"Will I provide enough shielding for Rainbow if I do so?" Tony asked, his voice emotionless.

ARMIS was silent for a time. "...possibly."

Instantly, Tony spun himself around so he was approaching the Earth's atmosphere back first, Rainbow held protectively in his lap, shielded from all sides by his body, arms, legs, and head. "Rainbow."

"D-Dad?" Rainbow asked, shocked. "W-what are you doing?"

"Rainbow, after we clear reentry, I need you to kick off me and spread your wings," Tony instructed. "Once we're in the atmosphere, you need to slow your fall however you can."

"B-but what about you?" Rainbow demanded.

"I'll be fine," Tony lied. "Hulk'll catch me, and SHIELD'll patch me up. It won't be the first time."

"No you won't!" Rainbow argued. "I know the specs on that armor. It can't take the heat of reentry! You'll...you'll be dead before you reach the ground...I'll be kicking off your corpse...you're going to die..."

Tony sighed. "I will," he said calmly. "So you can live."

"Why?" Rainbow demanded in despair, her eyes locking on his through their masks. "Why do that?"

Tony smiled, and stroked her cheek comfortingly through her mask as the heat of reentry began to melt his air tank. "What father wouldn't?" he whispered lovingly.

To be continued...

S4: Deus ex Machina

"What father wouldn't..."

As last words went, Tony felt those were some pretty damn good ones. Many probably would think that telling Rainbow he loved her would be better, but he figured what he was doing stated that rather plainly. Besides...if this was to be the moment of his death - dying saving his daughter - then he knew this moment would stick with Rainbow for the rest of her life, likely shaping the way she saw herself, saw the world. And for one who wanted to be a hero more than anything, a lesson on self sacrifice might be the right thing. Already dream visions of what she might accomplish in the future filled his mind. As he felt the metal of the back of his suit start to melt into his back, he clenched his teeth so Rainbow would not see his pain. He could save her from that last bit of torment, thanks to both their masks. And he would be spared the sight of her face wreathed in pain and loss. Although he regretted he wouldn't be able to look into her magenta orbs one last time, see her mane fan out around her. Although just now, as the metal began to cook his insides and the pain faded - beyond his mind's ability to process, presumably - he could swear he could see the rainbow that was her namesake spreading out around her, glowing all around them as the sounds of hooves filled his ears.

As Rainbow perked up from the sounds, he heard an ancient, powerful authoritative voice ring out. "Well said, young warrior! Well said! Hraðar! Hraðar!" The cracking of reigns could be heard despite the vacuum of space.

A multi-pronged golden spear head wedged itself between Tony and Rainbow, levering her out of his grip despite both their protests. A large hand then seized him by his arclight and threw him over the neck of a horse, and he found himself staring down at too many legs.

Okay... he thought to himself. If this is what getting into the afterlife is like, those priests owe Rainbow some massive posthumous refunds on my behalf.

As the horse he was on raced down the rainbow, he felt the heat of reentry vanish completely. Struggling to turn his head, he caught sight of Rainbow being held close to an armored chest under the watchful gaze of an old man...who looked a bit like Santa Claus wearing an eyepatch.

"Don't try to move!" the man cautioned Tony. "Not until the Valkyries get a look at you!"

Unable to resist further, Tony slumped across the horse's neck, blacking out.

When the massive rainbow lanced down out of the sky into Central Park, literal swarms of people from all across New York City converged on it, hoping against hope that Rainbow Dash had somehow returned.

They were actually right, but only one of those racing for it - clinging to his mystic hammer - knew what the rainbow truly was, having recognized it.

Arriving on the scene, Thor's jaw dropped as he caught sight of a figure he never expected to see in Midgard. "Father?"

Odin laughed gaily as Sleipnir took his hooves from rainbow light onto earthly soil. "Oh, son!" he bellowed expansively, carefully setting his burdens onto the ground, Tony on his stomach and Rainbow on her side. "Now I believe I perceive your fondness for this world! The danger and adventure is so much more intensive and personal! That rescue was so invigorating! I haven't felt this young since you were her size!" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Rainbow as he said this.

"Father, are they alright?" Thor asked, rushing towards the prone figures.

Odin held his exuberant son back. "The Valkyries will see to them now, just like they did in bygone days." As his gaze turned up, he spied another one-eyed face approaching him. "My good commander, do be so good as to have your men keep the civilians back, and I'll happily answer any of your questions that I can! For right now, my Valkyries need room to tend to the fallen who have not yet passed." He gestured to where several armored females on large armored pegasi were trying to come in for landing.

Nick Fury was able to recognize medical supplies in the pouches the women carried, even if they were like none he recognized. He quickly ordered his troops to hold the crowds back, giving plenty of room around the fallen Iron Warriors for the pegasi to land, and to only let the other Avengers and Pepper through. "Well we can start with exactly who and what you are," he demanded.

"I am Allfather Odin, King of Asgard, Father of Thor and Loki," Odin explained. As he spoke, the Valkyries dismounted and began examining their two prone patients.

Nick blinked. "Okay. Maybe you're the one to ask. What the hell did Rainbow do?" He pointed to the sky. "She did something that obliterated the entire Skrull armada and generated a shield that protected the planet from the fallout that didn't fade for the entire 8 hours it took to finish cleaning up down here."

"There are forces in the universe that cannot be filed easily under 'science'," Odin explained. "The laws that govern these forces reshape themselves at times, and the forces themselves react to use as though alive. While they can be reliably tapped, these forces cannot be effectively controlled, and to do so invites disaster as the forces themselves turn against you. For lack of a better term, we Asgardians have termed these forces 'magic'. Our own tech - such as the Tesseract - is actually technology designed to actively analyze and tap these 'magical' forces for more reliable and easily attainable results than the usual rituals. We call it magiteck."

Nick nods. "While that explains a lot about the Tesseract and other things, that doesn't-"

"Some races are born with the innate ability in every member of the race to tap these forces biologically to some extent," Odin continued. "The pegasi as they once were here in Midgard-" he gestured to the Valkyries' mounts "-do not have this ability. This young pony, however, does. Her basic flight is powered by this. She has designed her armor to run off this energy. The Sonic Rainboom I have beheld is a massive release of this energy."

"So it's just something she can naturally do?" Nick asked in shock, staring a little nervously at Rainbow.

"Nay," Odin denied. "When she performed that feat in the space above the skies, she tapped a fundamental force of existence, one of the sources of magical energy. Not unlike when we tap the Tesseract to warp across vast distances of space at little energy cost, but at a much larger scale. This is not something that can just be done at will, even by the most gifted of biological magic users. These forces are self aware, and have their own will and rules. Not only did very unique and specific criteria have to be met, but the power had to be channeled through her, and it nearly killed her. That is not a measure of her own ability. While I do not know this particular force, other Asgardians have encountered it in the past, and this is a price it always extracts for those who seek to wield its power alone."

For some reason, Sleipnir nickered in amusement.

"So it was one of those one-in-a-million miracle shots that can't be used every day, but that superheroes somehow manage to pull off anyway every time they really need them, and so otherwise is nothing for the government to really worry about?" Nick asked sardonically.

"Precisely!" Odin beamed, pleased that Nick was able to understand this so well.

"Do you think you could explain that to my superiors yourself?" Nick asked. "Somehow I don't think they'll take my word for it, and otherwise they're going to want Rainbow in a lab where they can poke and prod and figure out how she did it, and I know from experience all that will do is make her and everyone who cares about her go rogue." Including me, Nick surprised himself by adding silently.

Odin smiled. "As soon as my Valkyries are finished with these young warriors, I will happily speak with your leaders. There is much that should be discussed." He turned as one of the Valkyries approached. "Ah, Sif! What news of their condition?"

Sif cleared her throat as she looked over her report. "Tony Stark has suffered severe organ compression due to improper protection against g-forces during his trip to the moon and back. He is also suffering from massive oxygen deprivation, and serious liquid metal burn damage to his back, spine, and heat damage to his organs. While we can address all of these, there also appears to be metal shrapnel near his heart we cannot address, though it is being held in stasis - barely - by the arclight in his chest, though it is low on power."

"That is not our concern," Odin pointed out. "That is a matter that he will address himself. What of the rest? How long will it take to repair the damage?"

"We should have it all healed up in ten minutes, and the arclight recharged in an hour," Sif explained. "That's as fast as it can absorb the energy."

"And what of young Rainbow?" Odin asked as Nick goggled at that assessment, both of Tony's injuries and of the diagnosis of how little time they'd take to correct.

Sif's brow creased in worry. "She's worse off, actually. Massive energize strain to all organs, muscles and bones from trying to store that much magic in her own body. Major oxygen deprivation, atmospheric withdrawal - too much time spent in an artificially generated atmosphere, not to mention the strain of generating it herself - mental fatigue from forcing her mind to function on insufficient oxygen, and massive magical withdrawal. She doesn't currently even have enough innate magical energy being generated to keep her alive, not to mention the damage she did to herself by trying to run on artificially generated magic converted from solar power."

Odin hissed in sympathy. "What can we do?"

"The physical damage is easy enough to fix," Sif explained. "We're already correcting the damage to muscle, bone, and organs, and are working at getting oxygen back into her bloodstream in as high concentrations as her body can tolerate to counteract the debt. We've also gotten her out of the armor and the belt so we don't risk her losing any of the magic she naturally generates, and set up a redirector to make sure any magic that escapes her body is put right back in."

"But Asgardian magic does not mesh well with her magic!" Thor warned. "It causes quite an unpleasant backlash to all involved."

"This we know," Odin explained, smacking Sleipnir companionably on the withers. "We have come prepared." Sleipnir laid down beside Rainbow, wrapping himself around her not unlike a mare protecting a foal with her body. His muzzle pressed against her side, nuzzling her gently.

"They'll both be okay, right?" Nick asked in concern as the other Avengers - save Ultron, who was still hadn't made it back to shore yet - and Pepper arrived.

"As long as they aren't moved until they're fully recovered, they will be fine," Sif confirmed.

"In the meantime," Odin proclaimed, "perhaps we can get in contact with your superiors to address all relevant matters?"

Rainbow slowly stirred. She felt warm, safe, protected, warm breath tickling her feathers. She slowly opened her eyes, and found herself staring into a white horse face. "Horsey?" she mumbled in confusion.

She wakes. The voice entered her mind without passing through her ears. Do not move or overwhelm her.

A pounding of feet approached, and Thor's face entered her view as the horse face pulled back. "Young Rainbow!" he gasped in relief. "You have returned! We thought you lost forever!"

"Don't you ever do anything crazy like that again, young lady!" Pepper growled angrily, though there was relief in her voice. "I've had more than my fill of that sort of heroics after years dealing with your father!"

"You're alive." Those two words were all Steve Rodgers was able to get out clearly, smiling through tears of joy as he looked down on her.

"Pony okay?" Hulk asked worriedly, reaching out a single massive green finger, as though he was torn between needing to touch her to be sure she was real and fear that she might break under his touch.

Rainbow lifted her head carefully to nuzzle Hulk's finger, and the joyous relief that overwhelmed his face filled her heart. "Tired...but okay," she muttered, having trouble getting full sentences out.

"Pony...okay..." Hulk sat down heavily and began bawling his eyes out in relief, twin waterfalls of tears pouring out to puddle to either side of him. A massive splash of water soaking him from head to toe was a single teardrop of relief from Zuki, who looked on from above.

"Daddy?" Rainbow asked worriedly, trying to look around.

"Over here, Dashie," Tony called, and the horse face moved farther to reveal Tony, who was laid up in bed recharging his arclight. Save the total exhaustion across his features, he looked none the worse for wear. "Looks like we pulled through again. Just like always."

Pepper threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "I don't know which of you is worse!" she proclaimed testily.

"Definitely Tony," JARVIS observed. "He's mature enough to know his limitations by now. He just doesn't care."

Tony calmly flipped the AI off.

"What's that mean?" Rainbow asked. "The finger thing?"

Hulk facepalmed as Tony chuckled. He'd managed to preserve more of her innocence than he thought.

"He just flipped JARVIS the bird," Captain America explained.

Rainbow gasped quietly. "Bad Daddy," she scolded weakly. "That's naughty."

"Do you know why?" Pepper asked as Tony chuckled.

"No," Rainbow replied.

"Good!" everyone said firmly, causing Sleiphnir to let out an amused whinny.

"Ultron?" Rainbow asked, looking around.

"I am here," Ultron said, coming in for a landing. "The fishermen finally left me out in the sun long enough to recharge. It is good to see you well, my friend. Were you in better physical condition, I would be hugging you as tightly as you could withstand right now."

"Get in line!" Hulk, Pepper, Tony, and Steve stated in unison. Thor laughed as he gently stroked Rainbow's mane.

"How'd we...?" Rainbow started to ask.

"The Bifrost has been repaired," Thor explained. "Instantaneous transfer between the realms is now possible again...at least between Asgard and Midgard. My Father Odin rode Sleipnir here down the bridge, pulling you from your fatal plunge." He gently stroked the white horse's muzzle.

"Why...only those two?" Rainbow wondered.

There is an energy imbalance in the realms preventing access to any other worlds, the voice said directly into her mind again. Seeing the twinkle in his eye, she realized it must be Sleipnir talking. It should correct itself before too much longer, however. There was amusement in his voice, as though he knew something he wasn't saying. Return to sleep now, Rainbow, he directed. You are out of danger, but you are still quite weak.

Rainbow's eyelids started to droop, but she fought against the compulsion in that voice. "ARMIS?" she managed to gasp out.

"I'm in here with JARVIS," the AS spoke up, projecting his image. "It is good you are home, Rainbow, and I am glad Tony did not have to die to do it."

Sleipnir snorted in amusement at ARMIS' image. If my daughters could see this, he muttered mentally. Now sleep, Rainbow. You need it.

Unable to resist the compulsion, Rainbow slipped back into healing slumber.

Many things changed over the next few days. When Earth had first started experimenting with the Tesseract, it had drawn the attention of the universe. However, their ability to repel the Chitauri invasion had convinced most of the universe - save the Skrull - that there wasn't anything on Earth worth the investment of trying to claim it as a territory. They settled for keeping an eye on the world to see what would happen.

However, when a single being from Earth tapped a Fundamental Force to obliterate an entire Skrull armada, suddenly the fate of the Earth was no longer a matter of casual interest. Suddenly the entire universe wanted to know what was going on with Earth, who was in charge, and who was making sure that sort of power didn't turn reality as they knew it inside out.

As Earth was an Asgardian protectorate in ancient times, the more peaceful of the universe's political powers left it up to Odin to address the situation and find an equitable solution. Even the more warlike of the races of the universe didn't want to risk applying the 'destroy the danger' solution in this case. There were still some Chitauri and Skrull left in the universe after their humiliating defeats at the hands of the people of Earth, though their forces were drastically reduced. No race wanted to risk being the third strike and being totally wiped out in retaliation.

However, leaving the situation as it was wasn't an acceptable solution either. Power such as what the Earth proved capable of could not be left in the hands of a developing civilization unsupervised. It simply wasn't safe.

The solution Odin had proposed - both to the other powers and to the leaders of Earth - was unpleasant to all, but ultimately acceptable. Earth's status as an Asgardian Protectorate was to be restored.

The exact details of this decision were more complex to thrash out, but eventually acceptable compromises were reached. Earth would be left to rule itself, with Asgardian oversight in regards to their technological development. No interference in government would be present, save that no single country was allowed access to weapons technology with destructive capacity above nuclear. Any new technological developments would be reported to Asgard, so that Odin could assure the universe at large that the 'primitive barbarians' were not about to rip the universe a new one accidentally.

In exchange, Asgard promised the Earth both protection against any threat that came from beyond the Earth, as well as some of its warriors to act as an assist for the peace keeping force the Avengers had evolved into. Asgard also would aid in repairing any damage alien activity caused to the planet, including restoring the planet's satellite network up to Earth's current state of the art. Asgard also would not interfere with any of Earth's technological developments, nor would it claim any resources from Earth. As well, when Earth reached a technological level that exceeded that which was defined as a 'developing civilization', the Protectorate status would immediately be voided, and the people of Earth would be welcomed into the greater universe...with Asgard offering themselves as the young civilizations first allies.

The only interference Asgard would initiate was the revival of a certain old custom...one that the governments of Earth could see no harm in, especially when a few new tweaks were announced regarding it. Odin and Sleiphnir were in Central Park fulfilling that particular custom two weeks after Rainbow's return to Earth, once she was fully recovered.

"In ancient days," Odin announced, giving a ceremonial speech for the occasion, "when the Universe was in a much greater state of war, the forces of Asgard were not enough to meet its available technology and defenses. Our children grew slowly to maturity, and we did not begat in large enough quantities to meet the demands of war. As such, we turned to this world, which we called Midgard. Your people begat in great quantities, and had many skilled and mighty warriors. Our Valkyries - our field medics - scoured your battlefields, finding those warriors who had fallen in battle, not yet on death's door but beyond your medicine's ability to save. Warriors with valor, honor, and skill, to them our Valkyries made an offer. If they offered their swords in service of Asgard, the Valkyries would give them new life, bring them to our Citadel amongst the Stars, and show them wonders they could never know otherwise. Those who agreed became the Warriors of Valhalla.

"This custom is now being resurrected and formalized, with a new change given how both our worlds have changed. The Valkyries will scour the battlefields for warriors with honor, compassion, skill, and determination. Those willing to serve will join the ranks of Vallhalla. However, as some warriors will be posted here to protect Earth, those who are not on permanent posting will be able to visit their loved ones who remain here.

"Two new warriors, however, are to be named today, ones who will be on permanent posting to this world, to safeguard its people against all threats, terran or stellar. Should they accept, they will be the first to receive this honor in over 1000 years." Odin turned to where Tony and Rainbow were standing. "Will you accept?" he asked. "Do you raise your sword under the banner of Asgard, for the safety of Midgard?"

Tony smiled. "I don't have a sword, but yes."

Smiling, Odin hung a medallion bearing the symbol of Asgard around Tony's neck. Placing his hand upon the medallion, he infused it with Asgardian magic. "If ever your battles need the strength of Asgard, let this medallion be a beacon to summon our aid, and a key to ride the Bifrost to the stars."

Sleiphnir stepped forward. Rainbow Dash Stark, he intoned formally, his voice reaching straight into the hearts of all who heard, will you raise your wings under the banner of Asgard, in the name of the Realms that are your home?

Rainbow spread her wings wide and proudly, her head raised. "I will."

Sleiphnir hung a similar medal around her neck. Pressing his muzzle against the polished metal, his magic infused it. It was similar to the magic of other Asgardians, but focused in such a way that it didn't interfere with Rainbow's magic. Let this badge be your beacon, summoning your allies to your aid, and open the gates of the Bifrost to your flight.

Not everyone who was there to see knew what all of this meant, but they knew when they were supposed to cheer.

Author's Note

Out of curiosity, at what point did everyone realize who it was who was rescuing Tony and Rainbow?

S5: Recovery

Rainbow stared out over the city as the workers from Asgard continued the planetary repairs, side by side with the city's own construction workers. Relief efforts were already in place across the world to repair what damage had been done by the Skrull invasion, taking care of those families that had lost loved ones, aiding the wounded, rebuilding broken homes. The satellite network had already been fully repaired, and worldwide communications had already been repaired. Before long, there wouldn't be any evidence left that the war had even ever happened. Even the Asgardian symbols on some buildings marking where communication and travel between Earth and Asgard would take place would be easily overlooked before long.

Looking out over all of this, Rainbow sighed sadly, slumping over the windowsill.

"What's bothering you, Rainbow?" Pepper asked, coming up to sit beside her.

Rainbow looked up at her. "Is that it, Mom?" she asked, gesturing out at the world. "An interstellar war, the entire shape of the world and universe as we know it rewritten, who knows how many dead...but then we clean up the mess, and everyone goes on like it never even happened? Just back to the status quo?"

Pepper chuckled. "It's not the first alien invasion we've had to deal with, Rainbow," she chided teasingly.

"That actually makes it kinda worse," Rainbow admitted. "Is...is it really so easy to pretend like nothing ever happened?" Her eyes fell on where some Skrull bodies were being dragged off to labs to be studied or disposed of. "So many dead...how...how many did I kill?"

Pepper sighed sadly, stroking the young mare's mane. "That's not a healthy thing to think about, Rainbow," she cautioned. "The reason so many people are pushing so hard to get back to the status quo is because that's the only way they're able to go on with their lives." She shakes her head. "That's probably not a healthy way to be, but it's what we've got. It's not something easy to deal with, or get past...but if you don't let yourself move on from it, it will destroy you."

"And it's that easy?" Rainbow asked.

Pepper shook her head. "It's not easy. But sometimes, it's necessary." She sighs. "Maybe I'm not the one you should talk to about this..."

"Who then?" Rainbow demanded. "Hulk's already completely calm and at ease. Zuki doesn't talk, and even if he did he's just happy with the dimensional pocket ocean Odin provided him with. Ultron processes emotions as data, and can analyze it completely analytically. JARVIS is still developing emotional programming, and ARMIS doesn't care about the state of the world at large. And just about everyone else I know well enough to ask is a soldier in one form or another! Thor, Steve, Clint, Natasha...they know war already. They're used to it, and it's aftermath." She sighed. "Who else can I talk to?"

"You could talk to your Father," Pepper offered.

Rainbow shook her head. "No...I don't..." She shrugged. "He's freaked out enough about my recovery. I don't want to start getting existential on him, or anything like that. I guess...I'll just have to work through this on my own." Rainbow started to get up.

Pepper quickly pulled her into a hug. "No Rainbow," she said firmly. "No matter what else, you don't have to go through anything alone. We might not have the answers you need, and we might not see things the same way you do, and we might not be able to make everything better...but we can be here for you. If that's all we can do, then we'll be sure to do it to the best of our abilities."

Rainbow sank into the embrace, relaxing into the loving warmth. While it didn't make any of this any easier to deal with, it helped hold it at bay for a time. "Thanks Mom," she said softly, letting the tension drain out of her.

They stayed like that for a time, watching the world around them rebuild. "How does Dad handle it?" Rainbow asked finally.

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked, confused.

"Dad isn't a soldier," Rainbow pointed out. "He's a scientist. How does he handle...having to deal death? How can he go from 'saving everyone' to 'kill the enemies' without falling apart like I am? And how can he go back without getting lost in the blood?" She stared at her wing, remembering the feeling of the metal feathered edge shearing through a neck, beheading a Skrull almost casually.

"He's got a few things that helps him," Pepper said softly. "For one thing, the way his brain is wired makes it easier for him to segment his life. Makes a few things harder, but in this case it's easier to get past things like this and move on. Sticking firm to his belief that he's doing the right thing helps, too."

"Hard for me," Rainbow muttered. "Earth is humanity's home world, so it's probably easy for a human to say 'those aliens are invading my home, so they are the bad guys'. But...I'm not native to Earth. I'm as much an invader as the Skrull..."

"You didn't come to conquer," Pepper pointed out.

"As far as we know," Rainbow growled morosely. "For all we know, I'm an advance scout sent by my world to prep this one for invasion by mastering your tech and weakening your will to fight against my people through my cuteness, awesomeness, and overall love-ability!" She threw her hooves up. "I mean even Uncle Nick - Nick freakin Fury - is putty in my hooves! Ultron tells me he got a snapshot from a satellite into a window of his airship of Nick squealing like a schoolgirl after I kissed him thank you for agreeing to help get me citizenship! And I tamed Ultron! You expect me to believe that's natural and not a conspiracy on the part of my species for peaceful conquest and enslavement of Earth?"

Pepper did her best not to laugh. "Where the heck are you getting these ideas?" she managed to gasp out.

Rainbow scuffed a hoof. "...Clint read me a Body Snatchers parody called Fear the Cute Ones as a bedtime story. Ultron said it reminded him of me..."

Pepper sighed. "Hawkeye's a bad influence on you," Pepper muttered. Then she smiled. "But if you are the herald of an invasion of our miniature pony overlords, I imagine much of the world will be happy to surrender to the cute."

"Even if my native race plans to use terrible dark magic to convert all of humanity into ponies?" Rainbow demanded dramatically.

"Then I hope my wings will be as lovely as yours," Pepper said easily, making a mental note to prune Rainbow's reading lists of anything else that might convince her she was the harbinger of a sci-fi/horror Armageddon.

Rainbow managed a chuckle. "So...what else does Dad have to help him deal with all this?" she asked, letting go - briefly - of her paranoia.

"Well, the first few times he had to go to a war zone, he had me there for him when he got back," Pepper pointed out. "His other friends, too. Just like you have all of us here for you."

Rainbow smiled. "Yeah, guess I do."

Pepper stroked her mane. "And when the war came to him when Loki brought the Chitauri...you showed up not three days later, to give him something happy to look forward to every day."

Rainbow laughed. "I guess I am pretty awesome that way," she joked. "Not like that can happen for me. I mean, a baby brother isn't going to drop out of the heavens for me just because I need someone to take care of to feel better about myself."

"Can you wait eight months?" Pepper asked, laying her hand on her belly.

Rainbow's eyes widened. "Wait-you mean-you're-?" Her words came out broken in gasps. When Pepper nodded, Rainbow squealed happily as she zoomed in circles around Pepper's head. "I'm gonna be a big sister!" she cried happily. "I'm gonna be a big sister! I'm gonna be a big sister!"

Pepper laughed happily at Rainbow's antics, glad to see a genuine smile on her face again.

Future's Hope

Rainbow and Tony paced back and forth in the hospital. Pepper had gone in earlier that day, having gone into labor. Rainbow could barely think after hearing her Mother's screams of pain from the agony of delivery. She was not doing well. "Dad?" she asked worriedly, climbing into Tony's lap. "Is Mom gonna be okay?"

Tony gently stroked Rainbow's head. "Don't worry, Rainbow. She'll be just fine. Labor isn't exactly a pleasant process, but I'm sure everything's going to be fine. After all, Sif's overlooking the delivery. With Asgardian medical magitek, nothing can go wrong. We just need to be patient."

Rainbow sighed, allowing herself to be comforted. Curling up into Tony's lap, she watched the clock, waiting for the doctors to come out and tell them everything was going to be okay.

After about a half hour, Rainbow looked up at Tony. "How long is this going to take?" she asked impatiently.

"Anywhere from a few hours to a couple days, according to what I looked up," Tony replied patiently.

"You're kidding," Rainbow stated flatly. "Please tell me you're kidding," she pleaded when Tony didn't respond.

"Afraid not," Tony replied.

"What are we supposed to do while we wait?" she demanded angrily.

"I brought a deck of cards," Tony offered.

Sighing, Rainbow scooted over to the next seat. "Deal me in," she groaned.

After several hours of card games - everything to Old Maid, gin rummy, Go Fish, War, and Speed (which Rainbow was proud of winning flawlessly at) - Sif came out with a blanket wrapped bundle.

"How's Mom?" Rainbow asked eagerly.

"Pepper's doing just fine," Sif replied softly. "Congratulations," she told Tony. "It's...a filly."

Rainbow could have sworn she heard a record scratch somewhere nearby as they both stared at Sif in confusion.

"What?" Tony demanded.

"I thought you told us it was going to be a boy?" Rainbow questioned.

"How did we give birth to a pony and not a human?" Tony asked, just as confused.

"How should I know?" Sif demanded. "I'm a Valkyrie, not a God." She turned back the blanket. "Still, here's your baby."

A tiny orange pony with a bright purple mane, tail, and eyes stared up at them with a smile.

"She's adorable!" Rainbow squealed. "Can we call her Scootaloo?"

Tony blinked. "I...don't see why not," he said, taking the bundle. "She is pretty cute, isn't she?"

Rainbow floated up to look closely at the new foal. "I'm your big sister, Squirt," Rainbow said happily. "Name's Rainbow Dash. Can you say 'Rainbow'?"

"Dashie, she was just born," Tony pointed out with a groan.

"Eye-bo!" Scootaloo said back happily.

"She said it!" Rainbow squealed happily. "Can you say my name again? Who am I?"

"Cupcake!" Scootaloo said plainly.

"What-?"

Rainbow's question was cut off as Scootaloo's mouth opened wide and ate her head whole.

"Waugh!" Rainbow screamed as she shot awake. Breathing heavily, she glanced around, realizing she was still in Avengers Tower. It was still several months before Pepper was due to deliver. And there was something she needed to do.

Flying into Hawkeye's room silently, she awoke him with two hind hoof kicks - one to each testicle - before zooming to Hulk's room to beg a glass of warm milk and a story that wouldn't give her such messed up nightmares.

Define 'Normal'

The life of infant Howard Awesome Stark(1) followed a rather routine schedule. Early in the morning, he would wake up crying, hungry for mother's milk. A set of cyan hooves would immediately lift him up from his crib as his big sister would fly him to his Mother's arms, making funny faces the entire way for his entertainment. His favorite was when she waggled her face with her tongue hanging out while making nonsense noises. Once in his mother's arms, he would nurse his fill. His father would then burp him, talking about how big he was getting so fast.

After that, Howard rode his sister's back to the play area, where he bounced blocks and balls around the room with her. Occasionally, his blonde godfather(2) would come in and play with him, making his toy dinosaurs fight each other. "What a mighty warrior you are growing into being!" he would then declare. "Just like your Father!"

After that, he would spend some time with the jolly green giant, sitting in his gentle, massive hand as they rode around on the back of the real dinosaur that lived in the ocean in the basement. As he took in the sights as the great beast lunged around the buildings, he would laugh and clap his hands, never able to get enough.

Some time later, he would be hungry again, and the jolly green giant would take him back to his Mother for more nursing. The Metal Man would then take him. "Initiating gas expulsion procedure," he would say, lightly patting him on the back to burp him. "Chassis has suffered contamination, he would say if not everything stayed down, followed by, "Engaging cleansing process." Howard never got tired of watching the 'magic light' clean the Metal Man.

The Metal Man was also always nearby whenever Howard's diaper was soiled. Almost immediately upon Howard getting wet or stinky, the Metal Man would say, "Changing protocol initiated," and swoop in to begin changing the diaper. Generally, the Metal Man would have the dirty diaper off and disposed of, Howard's nether regions wiped clean, powder applied, and a fresh diaper on before Howard had finished trying to puzzle the meaning of protocol.

"Initiating play protocol," the Metal Man would then say. "Coochie coo."

The total monotone the Metal Man said that in always struck Howard as hilarious, and he would giggle uproariously as the Metal Man tickled him.

After another nursing, Howard would find himself in the arms of the quiet blue man. He would read to Howard, showing him the book and letting him play with it. Howard didn't quite grasp words yet, but he could tell the squiggles on the pages and the sounds the blue man made were connected based on how his finger moved.

Near Christmas, one-eyed Santa Claus would also stop by, complaining vociferously about the red suit right up until the moment when he saw Howard. Then he would Ho-Ho-Ho and scoop him up, blowing a raspberry on his belly to make Howard laugh. One-eyed Santa Claus showed up other times for similar interactions, but he only dressed the way he was supposed to around Christmas.

After another feeding and changing, and a full day of stimulation, Howard would then curl up to sleep through the night. His big sister, the cyan pony with the rainbows on her back, would curl up beside him, tucking him in between her wings. With a last kiss goodnight from everyone, he would sleep the night away, knowing tomorrow would be even better than today.

Sitting back after a full day of running the company, protecting the planet, being a family, and raising their infant son, Tony and Pepper sat back comfortably in bed, watching through cameras and via the baby monitor the slumber of their two children.

"We aren't so bad as parents, are we?" Tony said companionably, smiling at his beloved wife.

Pepper chuckled. "We have a lot of help," she pointed out.

"Most parents do, one way or another," Tony countered. "We do have a strange family."

Pepper sighed thoughtfully. "Tony, do you think this upbringing might...negatively affect Howard's upbringing?"

"In what way?" Tony asked, confused.

"Well...he's not exactly having a normal childhood," she replied.

"That depends on how you define normal," Tony countered. "It certainly seems normal to him. Besides, even without the Asgardians, the superheroes, and the pony sister, we're the one percent of the one percent. 'Normal' was never going to be in his lexicon. At least this way his weirdness and social awkwardness will come from who he knows rather than being a spoiled rich kid."

Pepper couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I suppose," she admitted. "But what about teasing? How is he going to deal with that? His name does leave the door open for it, right?"

Tony smirked. "And exactly how long do you think he'll remain a target for bullies when his counter for teasing that actually hurts his feelings is 'I'ma tell Hulk on you'?"

Pepper tried really hard not to laugh at the mental image of that poor bully's face. She really did. "As long as that doesn't get in the way of normal socializing," Pepper pointed out.

Tony lay back in bed. "I'm not worried," he said simply. "With everything he's got going for him, by the time he's in school he'll be the cool kid on campus. And Rainbow's stories of her own brief time in public school - and my own school stories - will help him recognize the difference between a real friend and someone just in it for his toys." He wrapped his arm around Pepper. "I know it's in your nature to worry, Pepper...but this time, everything really is under control. Howard may not have a childhood that remotely resembles 'normal' by the traditional definition...but it will be happy and healthy. I can guarantee that."

Pepper leaned into the embrace with a happy sigh. "I suppose you're right. ...I love you, Tony."

"Love you too, Pep," he replied, kissing her on the forehead.

They lay in silence for a time. "So how long until something happens to cause chaos all over again?" Pepper asked.

"I've got money on with Steve that it happens by Howard's third birthday," Tony replied without opening his eyes.

"As long as we're on the same page," Pepper murmured as she relaxed into slumber.

(1) Pepper would never live down agreeing to let Rainbow choose her baby brother's middle name.
(2) Thor was a good friend of the family after all, and Tony hadn't been able to resist the irony of Howard's godfather being an actual god, as far as mythology was concerned.

Orange You Glad...

It was a rather ordinary day in New York City. The citizens went about their day, going from place to place between buildings, whether to jobs or school or vacation time. The sun shone brightly through the special skyway built for Zuki, the Asgardians, and other law enforcement agencies to get about the city readily without interfering with civilian traffic. There was even a giant green lizard rampaging atop it. All perfectly normal for the city of New York these past few years.

It took a full hour of said rampage before anyone realized that the lizard in question had wings. It was another hour before anyone came to the conclusion that this wasn't just another stage of Zuki's growth, and law enforcement agencies - including the Avengers - were called in.

Needless to say, Fin Fang Foom was unamused. "Two hours?" he snarled. "I attack the city with all my might for two full hours before anyone does anything about it? Do they not know the power of Fin Fang Foom?" He glanced at the skyway he'd been attacking. "Not that I have much damage to show for the investment of my time...how is it that this city can be so prepared for a dragon attack?" Turning, he saw police vehicles gathered nearby above the skyway, forming a perimeter but not attacking. "So, at least you respect the might of a dragon-"

The mighty dragon's rant was cut off as a massive form, a darker green than his, slammed bodily into him, sending him careening over the skyway.

"What?" Fin Fang Foom demanded angrily. "Why would a dragon side with these mortals over one of his own kind?" Getting a clearer look at his opponent, he snarled. "You are no dragon!" he spat. "You are just some mutated beast! You dare defile me with your touch?"

Zuki roared in defiance, although in reptilian speak the roar carried overtones suggesting what Zuki had once done to Fin Fang Foom's mother, which showed he'd been spending too much time around Hawkeye.(1)

"You take that back!" Fin Fang Foom roared, lunging at the lizard with fury in his eyes and murder in his heart.

Zuki grinned as he lowered his head for the clash.

Some distance away, a well muscled, green skinned man with pointy ears dressed in gold, green, and purple, stared at the conflict in stupefaction. "What the hell is that?" he demanded.

"That's Zuki," Rainbow said happily as she hovered in her armor, the other Avengers gathered nearby. "He's my puppy!"

Mandarin stared at Rainbow in confusion. "Your...puppy?"

"Yup!" Rainbow said happily. "He's my good little puppy! Sic him, Zuki!" Rainbow shouted to Zuki.

Zuki roared in response before catching his draconic opponent off guard with a blast of radiation breath to the crotch.

"You will pay for that!" Fin Fang Foom roared in response, though his voice was much higher pitched.

Mandarin stared at the battle of giant lizards in confusion and frustration. It had been his intent to have Fin Fang Foom's rampage cause a great deal of damage to New York, distracting most of the Avengers and give himself time to discover, isolate, and capture the source of the magic that was so like the power of his rings and had generated the power that had protected the planet from the destruction of the Skrull...oh, and had destroyed the Skrull.

He had not anticipated that Fin Fang Foom would land on a transparent shell around the city that protected it completely from all the force the dragon could bring against it. He also had not anticipated the Avengers having their own tame giant lizard to fight Fin Fang Foom. He really should have looked into more current events than 'the nature of the massive magical burst that made his rings flare and awoke him from his magical slumber'.

Still, he wasn't going to let things not quite going his way stop him from claiming what he had come for. "You utter fools!" he proclaimed, pointing dramatically with his left hand. "Do you think your power is anything to match the might of the rings of the Mandarin?"

"Wait, Mandarin?" Rainbow interrupted. "So this is the guy you were worried about hunting me down because the magic of my Sonic Rainboom is similar to the wavelength shared by his rings?"

Tony facepalmed. "Yes, Rainbow, he's the villain we didn't want to know that you generated that sort of magic."

Rainbow blinked, then rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "He he, oops."

Mandarin grinned widely. "So, you are the source of power! Well, no matter!" He raised his hand dramatically again. "In the past I have defeated you all soundly all on my own! This shall be no different! You haven't attacked yet, and I know why! You fear my power-"

"Yoink!" Rainbow called suddenly, zipping past Mandarin.

Mandarin blinked. Seeing nothing changed, he raised his other hand. "And wise you are to fear me! For with the power of the ten rings at my command, I am invincible-"

"Yoink!" Rainbow called again, zipping back to her original position.

Mandarin scowled. "And despite these distractions, you shall all now feel my wrath!" He raised his hands dramatically over his head, intending to obliterate them by unleashing the full power of all ten rings at once. But nothing happened. "My wrath! Where is my wrath?" He looked up at his hands. "Where are my rings?"

"Looking for these?" Rainbow teased. The ten rings were suspended in her forehoof repulsors.

Mandarin gaped. "What?"

"Geeze, you're slow," she teased. "I swiped these when I 'yoinked' past you. So these are the magic rings that have the same wavelength as my Sonic Rainboom?" She looked them over. "How do I use them?"

"You put them on your fingers," Tony groaned as Hulk and Thor laughed and Mandarin continued to gape in disbelief.

"Oh," Rainbow replied. "But I don't have fingers...maybe I can draw out the power with a Rainboom!" Without waiting to think it through, she shot into the sky.

"Rainbow, wait!" Tony called out, shooting after her.

By the time he caught up to her, however, she was already on the way back down, the mach cone already formed. He dove after her. Off in the distance, he spied Zuki tearing Fin Fang Foom's stomach open, devouring his flesh, and raising his head in a triumphant roar over the dead dragon.

The mach cone shattered explosively as the Rainboom formed. The Rings - held in front of Rainbow at the focal point of the mach cone - also shattered explosively.

And the sky beneath them tore open.

To be continued...

(1) Some people have questioned why Hawkeye gets so much hate in this. It has nothing to do with Hawkeye's character. It's simple process of elimination based on rolls of how Rainbow interacted with everyone. Tony was Father. Pepper was Mother. Hulk was Nanny. Ultron was funny robot. Captain America was idol. Thor was funny Uncle who got what she was going through. Nick Fury was the gruff uncle who secretly likes you but won't admit it. Natasha was the other female role model Rainbow wasn't sure she wanted to be. That left Clint as the not-so-nice Uncle who's a bad influence and gets blamed for everything.
So, basically, he's written the way he is because he's the one I know the least about as a character.

...You Finally Get Answers?

Rainbow Dash groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. "Okay," she muttered under her breath, "note to self: do not experiment with magical artifacts using magical explosions." Opening her eyes, she scanned her surroundings through her suit's optics. "High background magical energy levels...some sort of desert...breathable atmosphere without a trace of civilization generated pollution? Well, one thing's for sure. I'm not in New York anymore." Her eyes widened and she shot to her hooves. "Dad?"

A groan from nearby drew her attention. "Did anyone get the number of that freight train?" he muttered, sitting up. His suit seemed intact, as was hers.

"Dad, I don't think we're on Earth anymore," Rainbow explained. "There's way too much excess magic." Glancing over, she swallowed. "And it doesn't look like transit was smooth."

The desiccated corpse three feet from them still wore the Mandarin's clothes.

Tony stared at the skeletal remains and swallowed. "Well, I guess our suits protected us or something."

"Rainbow!" a young, female voice shouted.

Spinning, Rainbow spotted an orange and purple filly racing towards her. "What?" she asked in disbelief.

The filly screeched to a halt, the scooter she was riding kicking up dust as she stared at Rainbow. "Rainbow Dash? Is...is that you?"

Rainbow stared at the filly. "Are you...Scootaloo?" she asked in confusion.

"Don't...don't you know me, Rainbow?" Scootaloo asked worriedly. "That...that is you, isn't it? The robo-suit's kinda new..."

Rainbow blinked, her face mask withdrawing into the helmet. "Are...are you my little sister?" she asked, confused.

"...sorta," Scootaloo admitted. "What happened to you? You're really...different."

Rainbow scratched her head. "Kind of a long story, Squirt," she found herself saying. For some reason, that made the filly really happy. "Can you tell me what happened on this end? I can probably explain if I get some more details."

Scootaloo tilted her head in confusion, but replied, "Well, we came out here so you could try out this new stunt."

"Stunt?" Rainbow repeated.

"Yeah," Scootaloo replied. "See, I'd written this fanfic about you called 'Double Rainboom', and while Twilight said the characterization was bad, you thought the actual 'Double Rainboom' stunt sounded awesome, and you wanted to try it. But after the explosion of the Double Rainboom you crashed into the ground, and I rushed over to you as soon as it was safe...but you're different."

Tony scratched his head. "I think I've got a theory, but what about you Rainbow?"

"Who's the robot?" Scootaloo asked as other ponies raced up.

Tony's face mask withdrew as well. "I'm not a robot," he scolded. "I'm a human."

"Humans are real?" Scootaloo asked in shock.

"I think we've found your world of origin, Rainbow," Tony pointed out. "But how'd we get here?"

"Well, considering what you told me about how I got to you," Rainbow mused, "I'd say that my performing the Rainboom that shattered the Mandarin's rings created the same energy reaction as this 'Double Rainboom' Scootaloo says I performed, and the nature of the energy released caused the explosions to link, causing the two mes at either end to switch. The only thing that doesn't explain is why I wound up a filly nearly two decades backwards in time."

"Well, one of the effects of the rings is rejuvenation, and another ring has some influence on time," Tony pointed out. "It could be that the rings exploded because the Sonic Rainboom supercharged them."

"And that sent the me from this side of the explosion back in time and reduce aged to a filly?" Rainbow asked. "Then how come the me that came through from Earth didn't end up a desiccated corpse?"

"I guess the magical energy in your power suit protected you," Tony offered, "which caused the energy to recoil on the one closest to the explosion who was both unshielded and attuned to the rings' energies." He pointed to the corpse.

"Which is why the Mandarin is a skeleton?" Rainbow asked. "I suppose that's a viable conclusion..." Rainbow's voice trailed off as she noticed Scootaloo, five other ponies, one tiny dragon, and a tortoise with a propeller beanie keeping it afloat all staring at her. "What?" she asked. "You act like you've never heard someone talk science before."

"Oh, we've heard science talk before darling," the white unicorn offered.

"Just normally it's Twilight talking techy," the orange pony with neither wings nor horn pointed out, gesturing to the purple pony with both.

"Since when did you become an egghead?" Scootaloo asked. "I mean, it's cool and all if you're doing it, but...it's, well, new."

Rainbow blinked. "Dad, what do they mean by that?"

Tony did his best to suppress a chuckle. "Well Rainbow, given we've established you apparently lived an entire life here before winding up with me, I think over here you were a jock."

Rainbow's eyes widened. "What? Say it isn't so!" she pleaded with the ponies. "Tell me I wasn't a big, dumb, jock!"

"Actually, you were always small for your age," the butter yellow pegasus offered shyly.

"And I wouldn't call you unintelligent," the one addressed as Twilight pointed out.

"But you certainly were a super duper athlete obsessed with being the best flyer in all Equestria!" the perky, poofy, pink pony proclaimed as she bounced up and down.

Rainbow wailed as she fell back on her flank. "My life is rui~ined!" The butter yellow pegasus giggled. "What's funny?" Rainbow demanded.

"Well, having known you the longest," she pointed out, "I'm glad to see that, even if you've changed so much...you're still, well, you."

Rainbow blinked. "Not entirely sure how to feel about that." She turned to look at the tortoise that had been banging repeatedly against her helmet. "I...I know you, don't I? I remember..." She scrunched her face up in concentration. "...Tank?"

The tortoise promptly nuzzled her face affectionately before flying dizzily away. And then the sky ripped open around him.

"Tank!" Rainbow and the yellow Pegasus yelled in fear.

When the rip faded and the figure from within appeared, the pink pony screamed in panic. "AIIIIII!!!! GOJIRA!" she screamed in a horrible Japanese accent.

"Actually, his name is Zuki," Rainbow corrected, recognizing the silhouette taking shape.

The pony blinked. "Godzuki?" she asked. Tony facepalmed, finally getting the joke.

Rainbow flew up to examine her 'puppy' and look for her tortoise. However, she noticed something off about Zuki. His shoulders, elbows, and knees all had solid shells in a tortoiseshell pattern protecting them, and his scales had taken on a tortoiseshell pattern. Also, dragonfly wings that resembled helicopter blades of pure magic were folded to his back, six sets in all. "Zuki?" she asked worriedly.

The beast nodded in response.

"...Tank?" Rainbow asked in disbelief.

The massive beast leaned its gargantuan head forward to nuzzle her.

"...Tankzuki?" Rainbow posited.

The fused beast roared in confirmation.

"Didn't see that coming!" the pink pony spoke up. "By the way, since you haven't remembered us yet but you will, let me make things easier on you and Mr. Stark here! I'm Pinkie Pie, and this is Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, you heard Twilight's name already, and Spike!" As she spoke, Pinkie Pie pointed to each of the ponies in turn, making things much easier on the narrator.

"Pleasure to meet you all," Tony replied.

"Pleasure to meet you all...again?" Rainbow suggested, landing and withdrawing her suit into the armor belt. She was startled by Spike's low whistle. "What?"

"Dang, Rainbow!" Applejack said in admiration. "What sorta workout have you been gettin' as an 'egghead' to get so toned?"

Confused, Rainbow looked down at herself. While she wasn't aware of it, despite being physically fit and an excellent flyer, in her previous life she had been a bit soft, a product of her tendency to coast and laze rather than push in every area of her life. Growing up to be Iron Mare, however, had allowed for none of that. Between the training she'd had under Thor and others, her own hero work, and the amplification of her magic the suit did, she was a very different specimen. Her wing to body mass ratio was still the same as before, but her wings were much sleeker, each feather fuller. Her frame was also somewhat leaner, with every muscle in her body well toned for flight. Before, she had been a fast Pegasus. Now, every inch of her body screamed speed.

"Well, I guess fighting supervillains, criminals, and an alien invasion make for good workouts," Rainbow allowed.

"What's this?" Twilight asked, looking at the medallion hung around Rainbow's neck.

Rainbow smiled. "If it still works, a good safety net." She lifted the Bifrost badge into the sky.

As the sunlight glinted off of it, it released a beam of white light into the sky. A massive rainbow shot to the ground in response, and Sleipnir stepped out of the bridge. "I see you've found your way home, Rainbow," he said softly. "That is good."

"Wait, you talk aloud here?" Rainbow asked in confusion, compounded when Twilight let out a 'Meep!' and fell flat on her face.

"Indeed," Sleipnir replied. He turned to stare at Twilight. "If you know the record of my time here, Twilight Sparkle, you know how I feel about such obeisance."

Twilight got to her hooves nervously. "Sorry, Great One," she said quickly, blushing at the tongue slip. "It's not every day I meet a living legend of Equestria's history."

Sleipnir chuckled. "Of course it is," he replied easily, "depending on how you define history. You groom your mane in the mirror every morning, don't you?" He turned away from Twilight's embarrassment. "How are my daughters doing?"

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are doing just fine," Twilight replied, making the other ponies gasp and fall to their faces, which made Rainbow roll her eyes.

"I see," Sleipnir replied, glowering until the others got back to their hooves. "And what of my brother, Discord?"

"EH?" all five mares, one filly, and one dragonling gasped in shock.

"Oh, did he never mention that?" Sleipnir asked in amusement.

Rainbow chortled. "I don't even know what's going on yet, but I can already tell this is going to be hilarious!" Reaching out, she ruffled Scootaloo's mane. "So the Bifrost is working now?"

"Yes," Sleipnir replied. "Transit between Earth, Asgard, and this world via the Rainbow Bridge is now functional and stable."

"That's a relief," Tony said as he glanced around. "Well, time for first contact." He looked to Twilight. "I'm not sure what to say: we come in peace, take me to your leader, or Bah-weep-graaaaagnah wheep nini bong."

While most present tilted their heads in confusion, Pinkie and Rainbow both burst into suppressed chortles.

Epilogue - New World

With Rainbow's return to Equestria, a great many things changed, both for her and Equestria. Celestia and Luna - Sleipnir's daughters by Clover and Pansy respectively - were officially Asgardian Aesir, although they'd never contacted Asgard or asserted the inheritance that was theirs through their paternal grandfather, whose adoption into the Asgardian royal family had never been revoked despite his status being stripped from him for his crimes. However, with Rainbow being named a Warrior of Valhalla - based in whatever worlds she called home - Equestria's relation to Asgard had to be reconsidered. Given that, officially, it was ruled by Aesir, its technical status was either that of a colony or an allied nation. In either case, it opened the door for Equestria to request - and receive - a certain amount of Asgardian magitech for their use.

However, all Celestia and Luna requested was that which Tony Stark would need to build a stable portal between Equestria and Earth. Because of the level of raw magic Equestria had readily available, the Tesseract wasn't even needed to power such a portal. Once it was established - at the top of a new Stark Tower built in Manehatten, given where the balance of the magical field allowed for easiest and most stable controlled spatial distortions - Equestrian envoys immediately began negotiations for an alliance of equals between Equestria and Earth, with the exchange of magic and technology to allow both worlds to grow. With a new alien race walking peacefully on Earth amongst its citizens, many conflicts faded into history within a month. Celestia then arranged with Nick Fury on behalf of Earth's leaders to place a petition before Odin to the indication that Earth had outgrown its protectorate status.

Odin began drinking again.

Rainbow's personal life, on the other hand, was a bit more complex. She had returned with Twilight and the others to Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville to talk about her two lives. While she had some difficulty adapting to the idea she was a jock, her own internal drive to 'be the best' was constant between her two lives, and she'd been able to find the connections between herself and her friends of her previous life. While there had been some initial awkwardness, it felt to her as though she had put on an old dress that didn't quite fit right anymore; she just needed to get used to it again. For some reason, that metaphor had made Rarity squeal happily.

After discussions of how she could better adapt to her old/new life - which resulted in a rather heated debate of comparitive theoretical sciences, magicks, and physics with Twilight that went way over everyone else's head - it quickly became plain that Rainbow would, barring a few new quirks, slip back into her Equestrian life without problems.

As events passed, she grew more and more used to Equestria, especially as it changed with new events...

Applejack glanced up at the armored figure catching her as she fell through a trap door in the old Palace of the Pony Sisters. "Rainbow?" she said in shock.

"I gotcha, AJ," Rainbow replied, pulling her back up and setting her down.

Applejack caught her breath, then glanced at her companion. "We said no armor for you for the 'Most Daring Pony' competition," she complained teasingly.

"Yeah...figured your safety was more important than winning," Rainbow admitted as she put the suit away.

Thinking about that, Applejack grinned. "So let's call that bit a mulligan. Care ta keep going?"

Rainbow grinned widely. "You're on!"

As Rainbow and her friends helped to stop Ahuizotl, she wasn't sure which was more awkward for her: discovering that one of her favorite story book authors was also the main character; or that said author/character desperately wanted Iron Mare's autograph.

Rainbow Dash stepped back from Mane-iac as the spasms wracked her body. Turning, she saw her friends staring at her in shock. "What?" she asked, surprised. "I trained with Thor. Lightning and storm powers aren't exactly new to me."

"But she was monologuing!" Spike complained.

"I know! Left herself wide open!" Rainbow tilted her head in confusion when Spike facepalmed as they were drawn out of the enchanted comic book. "What?"

Rarity's competition for fashion week in Manehatten went off without a hitch. Her primary competition, Suri Polomare, had lost her assistant not long ago to a talent scout working for Stark Industries: Manehatten, who felt she could utilize her talents to a much greater degree working as Pepper Potts' personal assistant. For some reason, this resulted in Miss Polomare's work in the fashion industry taking a steep decline, which led to all sorts of speculation. She also hadn't been able to get - or keep - a new assistant since.

Rainbow's performance in the relay race tryouts at Rainbow Falls for the Equestria games proved phenomenal, exceeding even the expectations of those who knew her, despite not being able to use her armor. However, she politely declined Spitfire's request to fill in for Soarin' after the Wonderbolt stallion got injured, stating that it wouldn't be right to fly with the Wonderbolts until she, herself, was a Wonderbolt. Beyond that, Cloudsdale was no longer her hometown: New York City and Ponyville were the only places that qualified as that now, as far as she was concerned.

Rainbow had at first eagerly volunteered to help take care of Discord when he got sick - especially after it was revealed that he was Sleipnir's brother - but proved too easily distracted with trying to analyze the blue flu...and later the green flu he acquired from being sneezed on by the Tatzlwurm.

Rainbow could only stare in stupefaction at the "Goof Off" that would decide who would plan her 'Birthaversary'. While she had initially pushed for Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich to plan the party together - Pinkie planning the birthday related activities, and Cheese planning the anniversary related ones - that had gone out the window when a third party planner threw their party hat into the ring.

She had expected the craziness Pinkie would come up with for this competition.

She wasn't too surprised at what Cheese Sandwich brought in, either. She was familiar enough with Weird Al Yankovich to recognize an alternate manifestation when she saw it.

...She did not know Nick Fury had such a good singing voice...

It had been awkward enough trying to bond with Pinkie Pie's sister, Maud, when she came to Ponyville to visit, since she was so different from Pinkie and hard to relate to.

Discovering that she was dating Ultron did not help.

When Rainbow Dash introduced the study method Tony had used to teach her history to Twilight, the young Princess had found it absolutely fascinating. So fascinating and engaging, in fact, that Rainbow nearly missed the History of the Wonderbolts exam she was studying for because they got so into the lesson.

However, she made it just in time thanks to the boost her armor gave her, and passed the test with flying colors.

...she still wasn't sure why she was trying to get into the Wonderbolts Reserve. She was pretty sure being an Avenger and a Warrior of Valhalla was a lot cooler than that. Then again, growing up with Tony had taught her that there was no such thing as too much cool...

Rainbow was briefly upset when she found a dress suddenly magicked onto her. However, she was able to get out of it by activating her armor. She then spent the rest of the day helping others deal with Ponyville's sudden 'fancification'.

"Wait," she asked Twilight at the end of the day, "you mean this wasn't a normal part of the festivities?"

Twilight Sparkle nodded as Celestia finished informing her about Tirek. "Don't worry, Princess Celestia! I won't let you down! I'll track down Tirek-"

"Actually, Twilight, I had someone else in mind for this task," Celestia interrupted. "Discord."

Twilight blinked. "Your uncle?" she asked, feeling deflated.

"Yes," Celestia explained. "He has the ability to detect the disruptions in the magical field created by Tirek stealing magic-"

"Had, actually," Discord interrupted. "Do you have any idea the level of disruption that Rainbow Gate has created? My head's been buzzing with its signal from the moment it was built! I still haven't figured out how to filter it out."

"So...you can't track Tirek down?" Luna clarified.

"Not easily, no," Discord replied.

"Twilight, stay near your friends," Celestia instructed. "If we can't catch Tirek off guard, we need to make sure we aren't. It will be some time before he's strong enough to drain an alicorn..."

In Ponyville, Tirek had swelled to immense proportions. He had managed to catch the town off guard, and had caught hold of Rainbow during her nap. Before she could activate her armor, he had begun draining her and her arc batteries, which gave him enough power to return to full strength, standing as tall as the Library. "I know not where you learned to store so much magic in such a way," he gloated, "but I thank you! You have made my conquest so much easier!" He paused as he sensed the magic in the medallion Rainbow was wearing. "What's this?"

Rainbow grinned, punching the medallion. A rainbow shot down from the sky.

Hulk stepped out of the rainbow, dressed in his Mrs. Doubtfire outfit. He gasped as he saw Rainbow's muted colors and missing Cutie Mark. "Who hurt Hulk's little pony?" he demanded angrily.

Tirek quickly tried to hide Rainbow behind his back, whistling innocently. Hulk was frightening normally. Angry while crossdressing, he was downright terrifying.

"Bad centaur hurt Hulk's little pony!" Hulk roared. "Hulk Spank bad centaur!"

Rainbow blinked. "Don't you mean smash?" Rainbow asked in confusion.

"No!" Hulk proclaimed. "Hulk Spank!"

Hulk then grabbed Tirek, pulled the massive centaur over his knee, and proceeded to spank the stolen magic out of him.

This was the scene Twilight came across as she returned to Ponyville to gather her friends in case of an assault from Tirek. She stared, head tilted, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. She couldn't.

A Good Day to Quit Drinking

Tony Stark smiled as he took a long drink in front of his holo-screen, manipulating the schematics displayed there as he changed one specific, discarded another detail, doing his best to perfect his Iron Man powered armor. While it was rather easy to add the aspects that would render various technologies used against him in the past useless against him now, the power drain on the arclight embedded in his chest would be crippling if used for too long. The best way to make it work would be to have several suits, each designed to combat specific technologies and magics used against him. The problem there was figuring out which suit to take into each combat situation ahead of time, or finding some other method of re-equipping himself mid-battle.

His musings were interrupted as JARVIS, his AI computer, brought a rather important status update to his attention. "Sir, I am detecting a powerful but highly focused dimensional anomaly."

"Well that's not good," Tony said, collapsing his holo-screen. This was a serious understatement, given the last dimensional anomaly he'd dealt with. "Where is it?"

"Right behind you, sir."

Startled, Tony spun around to find himself face to face with a multi-colored flare of light that seemed to be coalescing into itself. He took a step back, only for the light to follow him.

"It appears to be locked onto your biological signature, sir," JARVIS pointed out.

"Any idea why?" Tony asked, trying to shield himself from whatever the anomaly was.

"There is not enough information available to speculate," JARVIS replied apologetically. "However, the anomaly seems to be focusing its effects and losing the trans-dimensional signature."

"So whatever it is, it's about to arrive," Tony concluded. Seeing the light collapse inward, he saw something beginning to fall to the ground. Without thinking about it, he caught it.

"All energy reactions have ceased, sir," JARVIS pointed out. "Whatever it is, it has arrived."

"Then let's find out what it is," Tony replied, carrying his burden over to a table to set it down. He then stepped back to look. "Take a recording of my first impressions, JARVIS."

"Recording," the computer replied.

"Subject arrived from an unknown dimensional anomaly. The energy reaction in question will be analyzed at a later date." He took a closer look. "The subject appears to be...biological in nature, and is showing no adverse reaction to the atmosphere and environment. The environment also shows no adverse reaction to the subject. The subject is...a very bright blue in color, possibly cyan, except for rainbow coloration on the back of the head and hindquarters. The subject also appears equine in nature." He blinked for a bit. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was a tiny pony. What do the scans show?"

"Scans indicate the bioform is carbon based, and showing vital signs," JARVIS listed off. "Heart beat and respiration in the range of a slumbering domestic house cat, the local life form closest in size to this subject. It is also drooling on the table."

"Collect the drool, and analyze the genetic code if you can," Tony ordered.

A mechanical arm reached over to collect the saliva, and the computer began a scan. "What appears to be genetic material in the form of Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Similar formations as those found in local animals including humans, although certain parts of the code defy analysis. However, the presence of two X chromosomes is plainly identifiable."

"So our subject is female," Tony interpreted. "The head and hooves seem somewhat large on the body."

"In local animals, this is a sign of an infant."

"So we've got a baby tiny pony," Tony concluded. He then took a closer look. "With tiny, feathered wings. JARVIS, how much did I have to drink last night?"

"Your BAC upon return to the tower was 0.210," JARVIS informed him. "According to protocol as instituted by Miss Potts, the answer to your question is 'too much'."

Tony nodded absently. "So...what shall we do with this little girl?"

"I would recommend deciding quickly, sir," JARVIS warned. "The subject is showing signs of wakefulness."

The tiny pony pushed herself to her hooves, arching her back and stretching like a cat as her wings fluttered.

"She seems to have a brand of some sort," Tony observed. "A white cloud with a rainbow colored lightning bolt."

"Searching for similar images for possible comparison," JARVIS intoned. "...no match in excess of 40% found."

The tiny pony opened up her magenta eyes and stared around at her surroundings. She suddenly squeed happily before zooming off to look at everything that shone brightly.

"She can fly, too?" Tony asked in shock.

"Her wingspan is too small to generate the lift needed to gain flight if that is the only source of propulsion," JARVIS informed him. "This would suggest some form of assisted flight."

Tony started to speak up, but then he heard a loud crash. Spinning around, he saw a great deal of rather delicate equipment falling over after the flying foal had barreled into it. "Hey!" he yelled at her. "Don't just go cavorting around like that! This stuff is expensive and dangerous!"

The tiny pony stopped in flight, hovering over to land on the table. She then looked up at Tony through her eyelashes, her ears folded against her head sadly. "Sowwy," she said.

Tony blinked. "JARVIS, did the pony just talk?"

"I can confirm that the subject vocalized the word 'sorry', although somewhat clumsily."

Tony shook his head in confusion, then noticed how sad the pony looked, and realized she was still upset about being yelled at. "It's...it's alright," Tony reassured her, awkwardly petting her mane. "Just be careful in the future, okay?"

The little pony smiled up at him. "Okay, Daddy!"

Tony stared at her for a time. "JARVIS?" he asked nervously.

"...many infant creatures often imprint on the first adult they see as their parent. This is most prevalent in winged creatures, although others exhibit this behavior as well."

Tony buried his face in his hands. "So now she thinks I'm her Dad...and I don't even know what she is. And what am I supposed to call her? I can't keep calling her 'pony' or 'subject'."

"Dash!" the pony interrupted. "Ey-bo Dash!"

Tony blinked at her. "Ey-bo?"

The filly batted at her rainbow colored mane.

"Your name is Rainbow Dash?" Tony interpreted.

Rainbow nodded vigorously. "Ey-bo Dash!" she said happily, buzzing her wings again as she floated up into the air.

"So she can talk, fly, knows her name, and thinks I'm her father," Tony mumbled under his breath, taking it all in. "...JARVIS, call Thor. I have a hunch he can help us with this."

"Connecting," JARVIS informed him.

A holo-screen lit up. "Friend Tony!" Thor proclaimed. "How is it you appear in this sorcerous device?"

"It's a cell phone, Thor," Tony began carefully.

"You are imprisoned within?" Thor asked, shocked. "Then I shall free you!" He pulled back Mjolnir.

"It's a communications device!" Tony shouted quickly.

Thor lowered his hammer. "Oh. ...I knew that."

Tony sighed, shaking his head. "Look, Thor, I called you because a strange creature appeared in my lab out of a dimensional anomaly, and I thought you might have some idea what she is." Reaching back, he caught hold of Rainbow Dash and held her up to the cameras so Thor could see her on his phone. "She said her name is Rainbow Dash."

Thor examined the tiny filly for a time. "A winged equine? ...ah, she must be a Pegasus! I have heard of such creatures, winged horses that soared majestically through the skies of Midgard in a bygone age. However, all tales of them told they were graceful and majestic. None had told that they had the power of speech." He looked closer at Rainbow. "Nor had any mentioned that they were so tiny...or colorful...or..." He seemed to struggle internally. "May Odin forgive my unmanliness, so adorable!"

Tony turned Rainbow around in his hands to look her in the eyes again. "Now that you mention it, she is pretty cute."

Rainbow smiled, and booped Tony's nose with her hoof. "Siwwy Daddy!"

"Friend Tony! You had not mentioned she was your child!" Thor proclaimed. "Congratulations!"

Tony couldn't help but return the smile Rainbow was giving him. "...I guess I could get use to this." Rainbow began to reach for him with her forelegs. "What's she doing?"

"I believe she desires your embrace!" Thor proclaimed.

Shrugging his shoulders, Tony pulled Rainbow Dash into a hug. As the pony nestled her face into his shoulder and neck, his smile widened. "Yeah...I could get used to this."

Make it Awesome

Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes, lifting her head from her cloud bed, staring around at her room. Something was off. It was quiet. Too quiet.

For her entire life, her sleep would usually be disturbed rather early by some loud noise or other, whether it was the housemates fighting - generally over spending time with her - something exploding, some supervillain showing up to attack the city, or just Thor trying to make coffee. Coffee makers did not agree with him for some reason, and the kitchen always wound up on fire. Which was strange, because it was literally the only piece of Earth technology these days Thor couldn't handle. He had burned his beard off three times trying to master the art of espresso.

The silence in the tower made her more wakeful than if someone had tossed a grenade in her cloud bed. She had actually slept through that once. An AIM assassin had snuck into the Tower while everyone was sleeping, Ultron was in standby mode, and JARVIS was down for defragging. He had tossed the grenade into the cloud, the grenade had gone off...and Rainbow's armor had triggered automatically, and she'd blasted the assassin out the window without even rolling over. Tony said that was proof positive she came from a warrior race. Thor had never gotten tired of that story.

Feeling rather unnerved and deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, Rainbow checked to make sure her armor belt was secure. Lifting her hoof to her chest, she whispered, "It's time to Pony Up." Her armor slid out to encase her in a sibilant whisper. Spreading her wings, she activated the new hover discs in the underside to keep herself aloft with nary a sound.

As she glided through the Tower like a silent wraith, she grew more and more unnerved. Her parents' bedroom was empty, even though Pepper had stayed over last night. There was no sign of Hulk, Thor, the Captain, or Ultron anywhere. The continuous background hum of JARVIS' circuitry had even ceased.

Panicking now, she began to fly around the Tower faster, spreading her explorations to other floors. Still she found no one.

"JARVIS?" she called desperately through the comms, hoping for a response. The signal she got back indicated that her call wasn't getting through. She could feel her breathing becoming shallower as she started to hyperventilate. "It's okay, Rainbow. Stay calm. There's bound to be some sort of logical explanation for this. People don't just up and disappear for no reason...except that I up and appeared for no reason, so it actually is a reasonable conclusion that the reverse could happen. After all, I had to have appeared from somewhere and that's not very reassuring right now!" Taking a deep breath, she let it out. "Alright, maybe if I just go over what I know I can figure out what happened."

Sitting down as she returned to her room after exploring the entire empty tower in her panic, she began to gather her thoughts. "Alright, I'm just going to go over everything I noticed. Let's see...everyone's rooms were empty, and their beds were neatly made. Not unusual in the case of Steve or Ultron, but very unusual for everyone else. The entire tower was neat, clean, and tidy, almost as though no one lived here. Even all the blinds are closed like the building was condemned or something. The only room not cleaned up like that is mine, and-" She paused, something registering. "But my blinds were closed, too. Why are all the blinds closed?"

Floating over to the main room on the top floor, she saw that the large blinds there were closed too. "Well...could be closed for protection...to hide a secret...to hide me...I'll never know unless I open them." Swallowing convulsively, she approached the blinds and pulled them gently to one side.

Her vision of the outside world was filled with a giant, pulsating magenta eye.

"Eeeyaaagh!" Rainbow screamed, throwing herself back. "What the hell?" Bracing herself for combat, she flew up and opened the blinds again.

At second glance, she realized the eye wasn't pulsating, but inflating. It was one eye on the side of a giant balloon float...of her. "Huh?" Glancing down, she zoomed in with her suit's optics and tracked the lines keeping the balloon from floating off, she saw practically the entire city of New York gathered in eerie silence. Nearby was a giant cake stacked seven stories high, each story a different color of the rainbow, covered in cyan candles, 13 to each layer. Numerous other floats were already prepared or inflated, the ones on wheels showing different stages of her growth, the balloon ones being of each of the members of her family, though smaller than the one of her.The float the cake was sitting on was hitched to Zuki, who was nearly the size of a 747 now. He was also standing perfectly still and quiet.

Zooming in on a large podium, she saw Nick Fury quietly arranging things in front of a microphone, using JARVIS holo-display to arrange a speech of some sort. Suspended above the podium was a huge banner reading, "Happy Birthday Dashie!" Held aloft by several silent SHIELD spy drones was an even larger banner - one that could be plainly read across the entire city - that read "Happy Birthday Rainbow Dash Stark!" Behind the podium was a huge pile of presents, looking like it had one from every citizen of the entire city.

Hearing footsteps approaching, she spun around, her weapons priming. At that moment, Tony came bursting in, backed by the rest of the Avengers. "Rainbow! Good, you're armored. We need to get outside right now. It's an emer-"

Rainbow disengaged her armor as she tackled her father into Hulk's chest. "I'm gonna kill you, Dad! You scared me witless for a bloody surprise party?"

Tony winced, then blinked. "How did you-"

"After flying through the entire tower in a panic over not seeing anyone, I looked out the window," Rainbow grated, catching her breath as she punched Tony on the shoulder.

Tony winced. "But why would you be scared? What about the situation was scary?"

"I woke up and everyone was missing, and it looked like the building had never been lived in!" Rainbow shouted, still calming down. "I was a geometrically terrifying monster away from thinking I'd woken up in that game I was playing last night!"

"I recognize that reference," Ultron said angrily. "We have been planning this surprise party for months. Whose bright idea was it to suggest to Rainbow she play Silent Hill last night?" He glared around angrily at everyone.

As the other Avengers began glaring at each other accusingly, Clint began whistling innocently. Natasha promptly smacked him in the back of the head.

Aside from the initial terrifying scare, the party had been a huge success. She even got answers about why it was such a huge bash, when before Tony had just thrown her private birthday parties with only the Avengers and company employees she was especially close to invited, along with Uncle Nick.

Thor had mentioned that, by Asgardian standards, at the age of 13 she would be considered having come of age as a warrior, ready to take her place alongside the other mighty warriors who fought under Odin's leadership. As such, the 13th birthday should be a huge celebration. Pepper had suggested that, since they had never given her one, they should throw Rainbow a surprise party at least once.

As the two ideas combined into a single massive surprise party, word slipped out about the plans, and before long the entire city was in on it. Everything had been prepared right under Rainbow's nose, with everyone constantly making sure that not a single detail of what they were preparing would ever be visible from the air while Rainbow was flying patrol.

In the end, once her heart stopped trying to leap out of her chest in terror, she had to admit it was the most awesome party she'd ever seen. The cake was delicious, with each story layer being a different one of her favorite flavors. Extinguishing all the candles in a single breath without damaging the cake had been a challenge to figure out, but she figured out the best way to do so was with a spiral flight around the cake layers, using her air wake to carry her breath to extinguish the flames. She was even allowed to dive into the top of the cake and try to eat her way out.

The choice of music was unusual, apparently sent by an unnamed Asgardian, and was strangely heartwarming and nostalgic to Rainbow, despite having never heard it before. Thankfully, it was only the first of many songs played during the parade celebrating her.

Most of the pile of presents were rather generic, lots of stuffed animals, candy, other sweets, and the occasional chemistry set, ceremonial weapon, or outfit. The fact that the outfits all met her measurements exactly was somewhat unnerving until she realized they were all bought from the store where she got most of her outfits custom made, meaning people probably went in saying they were buying a present for her and it was made to her measurements as according to their records. Occasionally, the stuffed animals showed a bit more imagination than others. The purple and green dragon and dopey looking tortoise ones filled her with similar feelings to what that first song had given her.

The highlight had been the presents that her closest friends and family had given her.

Tony gave her the deed to her own private lab, separate from any Stark Industries building. He told her he felt she was ready to study and experiment unsupervised, though he hoped she would still invite him to study.

Ultron and JARVIS(1) gave her an AS(2) assistant for her lab and for uplink to her armor that they had designed together. The program's name was ARMIS(3), and his holographic projection was a red and black pony with wings and horn. Rainbow told ARMIS he'd have to choose a different look if he didn't want her laughing every time she saw him. He replied that he did want her laughing.

Natasha gave her a spy suit and kit, just in case she ever got sent on a spy mission. Even if not, she could have fun with the cool toys.

Steve, Thor and Hulk had worked together - with a little assistance from Banner - for a modification to her armor suit. Attached to her left foreleg, it would unfold at a single mental command into a shield exactly like the Captain's except in coloration. It was Cyan and white, with the mark on Rainbow's flank - the rainbow lightning bolt descending from the white cloud - emblazoned in the center. The inclusion of Asgardian techniques in the forging meant that the shield - when lauched - would always return to her foreleg once it was energized with her magic, no matter how she launched it.

Pepper gave Rainbow a pair of earrings, shaped in lightning bolts with the full rainbow of diamond colors to exactly mirror the coloration of her mark. While Rainbow had never gone in for ornamentation, seeing them sparkle made her think she could start going with just a little girly stuff. Not dresses and makeup and going all frou-frou like the rest of the presents seemed to indicate...but maybe there wasn't anything bad in looking pretty every now and then.

All in all, as she curled up on her massive pile of loot - a hoard that would make a dragon green with envy from sheer volume and glitter - even the scare of the morning was just an adrenaline rush that made the rest of the day's experience all the more heightened. As she drifted off from the sugar crash, watching Zuki devour the leftovers from the cake, she could only say one thing.

"Best. Day. Ever..."

(1)Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. ...that's seriously what his name stands for, I looked it up.
(2)AS standing for Artificial Soul, a program that can completely emulate the full range of sapient thought and emotion, program itself as it learns, and grow and evolve just like a living being.
(3)A Rather More Intelligent System. ...yeah, neither JARVIS nor Ultron were ever very good at coming up with names.

Bonus

Author's Note

This joke was supposed to go in the last chapter...but I forgot it until I'd gotten back from the store, by which point nearly everyone had read it already.

Bonus

As they turned towards the train station, Fluttershy glanced up towards the massive reptilian flowing easily through the sky above them. "So, Rainbow...about...Tankzuki?"

Rainbow glanced back at her. "Yeah, uh, Fluttershy right?" At Fluttershy's nod, Rainbow smiled. "What about him?"

"You said he's your...puppy?"

"Yup!" Rainbow said happily, zipping up briefly to scratch Tankzuki behind one ear before zipping back down. "Had him - well, the Zuki half of him - since I was a filly."

"Well...what does he eat?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow smiled, remembering learning all the ways Zuki had to supplement his diet now so he didn't bankrupt the US government - or Stark Enterprises - with every meal. "Sunlight, fish, high-energy waste materials..." Remembering what she saw just before warping into Equestria, she added, "Anything that picks a fight with him..."

"Oh...my..."