Marvel Mares

by neorenamon

Time Turner Richards sighed. He had to let go of most of his tech support because he was running out of money. It was only a matter of time before he had to shut down everything. He had to get into space and prove the feasibility of space travel before that happened. He looked about to see which of his most loyal friends were left because they weren't in it for the bits. The whole thing continued because of his ability to be flexible when approaching any problem.

There was Fluttershy Storm. An able minded assistant who truly believed in his goals. She was a shy and awkward wallflower, and one might completely miss her as if she were invisible most of the time. It wasn't like she wasn't trying to overcome her social awkwardness or her tendencies to raise barriers around herself to protect her heart from harm.

Then there was Lightning Dust Storm. Sister to Fluttershy and truly her opposite in many ways. She was brash, forward, hot headed, hot blooded and pretty darn reckless. It was all but impossible not to notice when Lightning was in the room because she wouldn't allow you the luxury of ignoring her. She had a deep seated need to be the center of attention.

Last but not least, there was his rock steady friend Big Mac'Grimm. He had no problem getting his hooves dirty when something had to be done. With his size and strength, he was invaluable. But Time Turner could see that there was more to him than just a wall of muscles. He also had a lot of common sense. With he patience, he could often see the long term issues beyond the short term problems.

"Well," he said at last, "We're about as ready to blast off as we're going to be."

"Shouldn't we have... somepony... on the ground to... you know... monitor things?" asked Fluttershy.

"There's nothing that can be done from down here even if something did go wrong," he replied, "but because I couldn't automate the ship as much as I would have liked, it will take all four of us to operate the stations on the ship."

"You just worry way too much, Flutters," said Lightning in her teasing sort of tone.

"Maybe you should worry more," interrupted Big Mac'Grimm.

"What? So I can wind up as ugly as you?"

"Oh hardy har har," he replied, "That was so funny I forgot to laugh."

"You forget a lot of things, don't you?"

"Now now," interjected Time, "I need you both in top shape for the upcoming flight. Save your brawl for when we come back."

"Thanks for giving me something to look forward to," said Big as he cracked his fetlock joints when he pressed his hooves together.

"Like somepony as slow as you could catch me," giggled Lightning.

"Now as soon as I make sure all the sensors are ready to record this flight," he said, "we can all get suited up and get ourselves situated in the experimental rocket-plane."

"Tell me again why we even need to go to the moon, Big Brain?" asked Big.

"I theorize that the moon holds ancient secrets about how the world formed," he replied, "plus there may well be valuable resources locked in the moon rock that we could well use back here in Equestria. The mere fact we've advanced Science so far while building this rocket-plane makes the trip worth the cost."

"Uh-huh," he replied, "and why the rush?"

"I'm a good century ahead of the rest of the world," he replied, "If I don't do this while I can do it now, it may well never happen for the next two generations. I can't let a lack of funding stop this from happening."

"You're so dedicated," sighed Fluttershy.

"More like obsessive," commented Lightning.

"Well... that's... uh... not a nice... thing to say."

"Come on," said Big as she started walking to the prep room, "Let's leave the Big Brain to his work."

...

Some time later...

...

"Okay," said Time, "We've done the entire launch check list and everything is green lights. So I want to quickly go over what all of you are doing on this flight.

"Lightning: You're the pilot because you have the best reflexes among us. You have to keep us on the flight path at all times. Even a deviation of about 1 percent can spell the difference between a good flight and a bad crash."

"No pressure," replied Lightning.

"You live for pressure," interrupted Big.

"Ah guilty as charged."

"Fluttershy: Your job is to monitor all the external sensors. When we reenter the atmosphere, it will be critical to monitor temperature, speed and angle to assure the best possible reentry."

"Okay," she replied.

"Big: Your job is to monitor the internal systems. I'm counting on you to manage the fuel supply and keep an eye on the oxygenation systems. We won't make it if either of those fail or run out before they're supposed to."

"I won't let you down."

"Did you make the buttons extra large for his giant hooves?" asked Lightning as she poked Big with her foreleg knee.

"Keep up up funny-filly!"

"So what are you going to do?" she asked as she looked at Time.

"I am the flight commander," he replied, "I supervise, coordinate and if any of you are incapacitated, I have to step in and take over your stations. Sincerely, I hope that that won't be needed on this flight."

"Supervise?" she asked, "In other words, you don't have to do anything useful."

Time just sighed as he started operating the controls before him. "I'm setting the launch time to ten minutes. The countdown starts on my mark...  Mark!"

"Can't we just cut to the chase?!" asked Lightning, "I hate having to stay still for so long!"

"I'm sure there's a good reason to wait," replied Fluttershy.

"Yes," he replied, "We can't launch until we're in the flight window. The ideal flight path is a narrow one and getting it exactly right gives us the best possible chance of getting back to the ground safely." He glanced over and noticed Lightning was doodling on her clipboard. "What are you doing with your checklist?"

"I'm bored," she replied, "So I'm making a sketch for my Daring Do fan novel."

He sighed.

"Well at least she has a goal," said Fluttershy.

"If I thought she was serious about it."

"Who says I'm not serious?!" asked Lightning.

"You have the attention span of a pithed hamster."

"At least I don't have to see your ugly mug in the mirror in the morning."

Time sighed heavily and loudly. Minutes ticked by as everyone but Lightning continued to monitor their stations.

"Wake up Lightning. We're ready to blast off."

"Fine," she muttered as she put her clipboard down, "Let's do this thing!"

Time began the 20 second countdown. Time pressed the button to release all of their connections to the launch tower. As the count came down to five, the engines ignited. The ship began so shake at the countdown got down to one. Glancing out the windows, the could tell they were lifting into the sky. The roar from the engines was all but deafening even inside the reasonably well shielded pilot's compartment.

The moved slowly at first, but gained speed more quickly with every second since the launch began. A minute later and they were passing though the lower cloud layer. They were well on their way to orbit. Their flight path was leading them to the east by south-east direction.

"Big!" called Time, "Drop the solid fuel boosters! We don't need them now!"

"Got it!"

"Is the flight path still solid?!" he called to Lightning.

"Like there's any doubt!" she shouted back.

They passed through the upper cloud layer as the ship tilted lower. Even as they drew closer to orbit, they were gaining altitude more slowly as they moved further and further from the launch site.

"Woo-hoo!" shouted Lightning, "This is awesome!"

"Don't get cocky," said Time, "We're past the easy part of this mission. Now the real work begins."

"Boooriiing!"

"I'll take boring over reckless and dangerous."

"We should be weightless soon," interrupted Time, "Once there, we can unstrap and move about the cabin freely."

"Great," muttered Lightning, "I've been living for the day when I can finally see Big light on his hooves."

"And I've been waiting for the day when you finally become smart."

"Well at least one of our dreams came true, and it hasn't been mine yet."

"Uhm..." said Fluttershy softly, "Mister Richards?"

"I said smart, not smart-mouthed."

"It's just part of my charm," she replied.

"Uh... There might be a problem..."

"About as charming as hoof-rot."

"At least I don't smell like hoof-rot," replied Lightning.

"Richards..."

"Sorry," replied Time as he looked over to Flutters, "I was just triple checking my reentry calculations. Is there something wrong?"

"The cosmic radiation levels... seem a little higher... than we expected."

"We should be able to handle it with the radiation shielding I installed all over the craft."

"I'd feel better if the back-up shielding was added."

"Even if we had the budget for back-up shielding, we would have lost too much performance for adding the extra weight," he replied, "We're still far below the safe levels."

"Time to unbuckle and do some floating!" said Lightning.

"I'm going back to the cargo section and check on the first satellite payload."

"Good idea," he replied, "This satellite will advance the Science of Meteorology by decades."

"Not to mention our ability to see new mineral deposits without having to do so much digging."

"But that's what you're good at," commented Lightning.

"There's days when I want to bury you!" he replied as he made his way back through the rear hatch of the main cabin.

"I wish the sensors could say which direction the cosmic radiation was coming from."

"That's one of the great mysteries that Science will one day solve!" said Time Turner confidently.

"I don't see why you're so hot to keep all magic out of your project," muttered Lightning.

"Because magic is not reliable," he replied, "Only Science will be truly dependable in the end."

"That's not what she said."

"What?!" he asked in surprise.

"Oh nothing," replied Lightning.

"Oh... my..."

"The payload is ready to go, Big Brain!" came the call from the back.

"Before we depressurize the cargo area," said Time, "We need to make sure our suits are sealed properly and have a full load of air in case something does go wrong."

So they all checked their suits. Time Turner and Lightning moved back into the cargo bay with Big. They all switched to the suit's radios as sound was known to not travel in a vacuum. Each one said their suit was fully operational. They then moved most of the air out of the cargo bay and back to the ship's air tanks. Then the cargo doors began to open as Big operated the main switch from inside the cargo bay.

"Oh no..." said Flutters, "The cosmic radiation... it's off the charts..."

"It must be a cosmic radiation storm!" called Time Turner.

"What does cosmic radiation do to a pony's body?!"

"No pony knows for sure! It could be harmless or it could be deadly!"

"Oh, my head... Can't hardly think straight..."

"We can finally agree on something..." muttered Lightning.

"Close the hatches Big!" called Time, "Abort the mission! Activate the emergency reentry procedures!"

"The what?!"

"I built in a back-up automatic pilot in case there was no one qualified to fly the ship back to the landing strip! I also made safety straps so you can be in any part of the ship during landing!"

Big closed the hatches, and then they strapped themselves down in the cargo bay. But their heads hurt so much that they were all but incapacitated. In spite of the pain, Flutters managed to activate the emergency landing program. She passed out shortly thereafter.

...

Fluttershy awoke to find that they had landed, but it was more akin to a crash landing than a controlled one. She could see trees outside the windows and the angle the ship was resting at the time showed it wasn't level. She unstrapped herself and made her way back to the cargo bay. It was also a way out of the ship in case of an emergency. But she moved slowly because her body was tingling all over to the point of distraction. Her head was also feeling foggy.

"Mister Richards?!" she called back.

She opened the doorway to the cargo bay as she looked about.

"Anyone?!" she asked again.

On some instinct she didn't quite understand, she opened the main hatches to the cargo bay before she released the others. The air made an audible sound as it rushed it. Then she removed the helmet from her suit and breathed in deeply.

"We gotta get out," said Big, "There's enough fuel left to blow this ship sky high."

"Oh... my..."

"I'm in favor of not getting blown up," agreed Lightning as she unstrapped herself.

Soon they were all outside looking at the smoldering wreckage of their shuttle. They could see the path the ship left in terms of broken trees and torn up ground stretching back a good half mile. By then, they had all removed their helmets and breathed in the fresh woodland air around them.

"Where are we?!"

"Unless I'm completely wrong," said Time, "We've crashed in the Everfree Forest."

"Ah, then we didn't break anything that matters," replied Lightning.

"But the life in the Everfree Forest matters too..."

"We should get to a hospital. I... don't feel so good..."

"I'm not well either," replied Lightning, "I feel so hot... like I'm burning up..."

"The emergency flares are located in the main cabin," replied Time.

"My suit! It's shrinking!"

"No BIg. You're getting larger."

His suit was swelling until it began bursting at the seams.

"Hey!!" shouted Lightning, "I'm burning up!! I'm on fire!!" She was quite literally covered in flames as her suit burned away.

"Ugh..." said Time, "Gotta get the flares..." To his surprised, his hoof began stretching towards the wreck. His leg just grew longer and longer like a massive rubber band. No matter how long or thin it became, he had full control over it. Soon his hoof came back holding onto the case with the flares even though he only found the case by remembering where he last saw it.

"Hey! Where'd Fluttershy go?!"

"But I'm still right here..."

"Well I can't see you... it's like you're see through..."

"I think you mean invisible," replied Time.

"Don't bother him with big words," muttered Lightning, "Hey! These flames! They aren't hurting me! I feel like I can just..." Then she shot into the air leaving a fire trail behind. "FLY!!"

"Big deal. You're a pegasus."

"But now I fly like hot stuff!" she called as she flew circles around the wreck at incredible speeds, "I could never fly this fast before!"

"I have to get us back to the lab to find out exactly how the cosmic rays affected us!" called Time.

...

One week later...

...

"I've got the results from all of our tests," said Time, "It's not as bad as it could be. I've detected no signs of tumors or other cellular abnormalities. But we all seemed to have been changed on a genetic level."

"So what does that mean in plain pony talk?!" asked Lightning.

"That we have some kind of super powers now."

"Awesome!"

"Now Big, you have super strength and stamina. The density of your flesh is more like rock than muscle. I think you're incredibly resistant to almost any form of damage. The side effect is you quite literally weight a ton now."

"You mean I'll always look like this?!"

"Yes," he replied slowly, "I'm so sorry..."

"I don't blame you Big Brain. No way you could see this one coming."

"You're like... the Big Thing now!" laughed Lightning.

"Hey... that's kind of catchy."

"Now Lightning," said Time, "You're now a living inferno. You can ignite yourself at will and can apparently project flames almost without limits. By controlling those flames, you can propel yourself through the air with great ease..."

"I always knew I was hot stuff," she replied.

"While you can survive in super heated air, you can't function with a complete lack of oxygen... just like a flame. But you can turn those flames on and off at will. I suspect that you can even control what parts of your body are burning and which ones aren't."

"Sweet!" she said, "I'm going to call myself Really Really Hotchick!"

"Seriously?"

"Okay! Just spitballing here!" she said as she thought, "I'll call me self the Flying Inferno!!"

"That sounds like the name of a bad disaster film."

"I got it! The Equine Flare!"

"Don't those burn out in a few minutes?"

"WILL YOU STOP HARSHING MY BUZZ?!"

"How about the Hot-headed Matchstick?"

"Don't make me hurt you."

"I doubt you could if you wanted to."

"I'm going to sear you like an equine blaze!" she replied before she paused, "Hey! The Equine Blaze!"

"That's about as good as you're going to get."

"Now Fluttershy," he said as he ignored Big and Lightning's dispute, "It's hard to put into words exactly, but your body now generates... an invisible force."

"Invisible force?"

"Yes," he replied, "You can make things invisible by surrounding them with this force. And you can create shields, walls and other barriers from this same force."

"Force fields?"

"Basically," he replied, "There's no way to test the limits of this force as of this time, but I'm sure your force field is extremely resistant to both physical and energy based attacks."

"So you're like... the Invisible Mare!" offered Lightning.

"What about you, Big Brain?"

"My body is now extremely elastic, " he replied, "I can quite literally increase my length to about 1,500 feet before I reach my limits. My body is also extremely resilient, so I can almost take as much punishment as the Big Thing. But I resist force by yielding to it rather than trying to just have it bounce off your body, Big." He paused before he added, "And my brain seems to be more energetic."

"So you're even smarter than before?"

"That seems to be the ultimate side effect of that."

"So what happens to us now?"

"Princess Celestia has seen the benefits of my research," he said with a grin, "She plans to build a special building for me just outside of Canterlot so I can continue my research for the betterment of Equestria."

"It's probably far enough out of town so you won't blow it up by mistake."

He ignored the comment as he added, "No matter how many more assistants Celestia gives me, I wouldn't feel right if you all weren't here by my side as well."

"Can you make me look like I used to?"

"I don't know, but I swear I'll find a way to make that happen... someday."

"Then count me in."

"Count me in too."

"This sounds like a lot of fun," said Lightning, "I'm sticking around for sure."

"So what are you going to call yourself stretch-o?"

"Do I need one of these... silly nicknames?"

"Well d'uh," said Lightning, "Like a name like Time Turner Richards is going to sell comics..."

"Comics?!"

"How else are you going to fund this lab until you get some doohickey you can market?!"

"I guess so..."