Chapters The Waverider swiftly flew through the timestream, the glowing rainbow that it was made for a lucid realm of a hub in order to escape any threat in any time period. But within the confines of the ship was a team, formed for the purpose of stopping a madman. A bizarre team brought together by one man seeking redemption.
Captain Rip Hunter swiftly slammed his palms on the central computer. "Savage escaped yet again..." he groaned, disappointed in himself and his bizarre crew. He raised his hands to wipe the sweat off his forehead, and pointed at the team.
"Well, what did you expect?" asked a man wearing a blue jacket, removing the goggles from his eyes. His tone was slow, and almost condescending.
Rip inhaled, "What I expect, Mister Snart, is competency! You can't just be messing with the timeline and give Savage a chance to escape time and again!"
Ray crossed his arms, "It's a little unfair to think it was our fault. How were we supposed to know that the jewel he had was capable of creating rifts and escape us?"
On their last mission, Rip sent him and his team to the future where the tyrant Vandal Savage would begin his rise to conquer the entire planet. During their time there, the team was exposed and had to fight Savage's army. But as they were ready to end him, he raised a staff he obtained in that era and vanished in a swirling vortex of purple with his army to escape.
"That's just it, Palmer! At no point in history did he ever have such a thing! It's almost nonexistent!" Rip scolded.
"Is it?" questioned Mick Rory with a growl. He dug a hand into his pocket and tossed a fragment of a atrange glowing purple crystal onto the circular computer in front of Captain Hunter. Said Captain flinching in surprise over what he saw.
"Astounding, Mister Rory!" exclaimed Professor Stein, amazed at the jewel. "How on Earth did you obtain this artifact? I thought Savage had the only one."
Mick gritted his teeth, "Well, there were a few others in glass cases in that strange building he owned. Thought maybe they could be useful if Savage was usin' it."
"...That's actually really clever of you." admitted Sara Lance, a thin smirk seen on her face. Mick growled at the comment, his intelligence seemingly insulted yet again.
Jackson Jefferson, or Jax as he was nicknamed, grinned, "So, Grey. Any idea as to what it is?"
Stein shook his head, the older man unable to identify the strange object in his sight. "No, Jefferson. I do not. Though, perhaps, we should ask Gideon what it is?" he suggested.
Kendra Saunders spoke, "Something about it seems familiar, yet I can't remember."
"I already have anayzed it." said the female AI, Gideon. "It's a meteorite with an irritadiated energy similar to the one that gave you your powers and Vandal Savage his immortality. In that point in time, archeologists must have recovered it and discovered the innate energy, which Savage recovered for himself."
"...I see." Kendra muttered.
Stein gestured to the jewel, "So, this is what gave you, Carter and Savage your unique abilites? I would've never guessed."
"So, what does that have to do with Savage using it?" Ray asked the intelligence.
"The artifact, which is known in that point in time as a Warp Crystal, allows the beholder to travel through dimensions. It seems Savage had used it to escape so that you would leave and he could continue his rise on Earth uninterrupted."
Jax groaned, "You mean to tell me that now we have no way of tracking Savage until he pops back into Earth?"
"Not quite." Gideon revealed, "The energy of the fragment can track other pieces as well. If you were to connect it to the Time Drive, we can follow Savage to where and when he ended up."
Rip sighed, "Very well. Strap in, everyone. We are going to follow Savage and make sure that wherever he ended up doesn't become a hellish wasteland like 2166 under his thumb."
"Right..." drawled Snart. "No pressure."
The team had all gathered in the chairs, sat down and lowered the straps as Rip left and came back to the pilot's seat a moment later, crystal no longer in hand. "Hold on, tight." he said in a determined tone, "This may be a bumpy ride."
Ray chuckled, "When is it not?" he wondered, trying to lighten the mood of the moment.
The captain rolled his eyes at the comment, as did the rest of the Waverider crew. "Oh come on..." Palmer groaned.
Rip held the lever and pushed it, his eyes narrowing at the color-changing rift in front of him. The crew prepared themselves for a warp unlike anything they've ever dealt and shut their eyes at the massive amount of color nearly blinding them. Then, a flash of white and purple surrounded them, bringing them across dimensions.
EQUESTRIA
"Hi, everypony!"
Pinkie Pie waved to the other ponies and dragon, her friends. They were all sitting ona checkered-pattern blanket with two baskets sitting in the middle of it. They all sat in a circle, leaving a spot for said pink pony as she propped herself down.
"Nice of you to make it, Pinkie." Twilight greeted.
Pinkie nodded, "Of course I'd make it! How could I ever miss meeting me friends for something as fun as a picnic?" she asked the purple alicorn quickly.
"You're really makin' it sound more excitin'." Applejack chuckled, biting into a sandwich.
"Let her have the moment." Rarity added.
Spike laid on the blanket, a Power Ponies comic opened and his eyes scanning each word and picture. "What'cha reading there, Spike?" Pinkie asked.
"Don't bother, Pinkie. His eyes never left that book since he arrived." Rainbow Dash told him.
Um... I didn't think he'd read one after what we've been through." Fluttershy shuddered.
Spike's eyes narrowed and a playful grin was seen on his face, "I can hear you guys." he said while sitting up. "It's the latest Power Ponies issue. It's about them time-travelling."
"Time travel?" Twilight repeated in an almost interested tone.
The dragon nodded, "Yep. Knew that'd get your attention, Twi."
"Well, I'd imagine the egghead would like some sci-fi." Rainbow playfully teased.
"You'd be interested like her if it were about 'em searchin' in an ancient temple and solving puzzles." Applejack reminded the cyan pegasus with a light nudge to her shoulder. Rainbow huffed at that comment and shrugged.
"I don't care. Still sounds awesome, honestly. Anything that involves butt-kicking and adventure is right up my alley!" the cyan mare admitted loudly, crossing her hooves proudly.
"Anyway..." Spike trailed off, holding half-a-sandwich in hand, his mouth full. He swallowed, "They have to stop a tyrant from destroying their world in the future by the end of the story arc."
"How are they going to do that?" Twilight wondered.
Pinkie cheered, "Story time!"
"Do tell, Spike. It seems you have caught our interest." Rarity suggested.
"Of course, m'lady." the dragon said, "Anyway--"
VWOOOM!
Fluttershy let out a quiet 'eep' at the loud booming sound. The six mares and dragon turned their gazes upward to the clear sky, surprised by what they were seeing. It was a strange ship flying as fast as it could outside of a purple, closing swirling vortex behind it and it moved into the Everfree Forest and lowered into the pile of trees that made the forest. The ponies blinked and gazed at one another slowly, trying to process what they saw.
"...What the hay was that?" Rainbow questioned.
"I-I don't know..." Twilight stammered quietly, her mind trying to process what happened.
"I-It came o-out of a portal." Fluttershy whispered.
"That's not right..." Twilight muttered.
Rarity shook her head, "Should we find out what it was?"
"Duh!" Rainbow spat.
"Woo! Adventure!" Pinkie cheered again.
"Do we...?" Fluttershy gulped.
Applejack frowned, "Well, we have'ta find out if they're hostile or not."
"I guess it's a story for another time." Spike muttered in a stoic tone, standing up with his friends, as they hesitated in entering the forest to find the ship.
Inside the Waverider, Captain Hunter lowered the ship as slow and carefully as he could, making sure to leave little impact while landing. He made sure to lower the time ship in an area that would be diffiicult to track, and he found a forest within his line of sight and chose it for now. Rip took his hand off the lever and removed the strap, blonking his eyes. "Alright, everyone. Let's make sure for any side-effects. Dimension-travel is different than time-travel."
Ray gagged, lowering his head and regurgitating his lunch. Rip put his hands on his hips, "That answers that question."
Sara shook her head, "I'm a little woozy... But it's nothing I can't shake off." she assured the captain, removing the chair strap and standing up, leaning on the arm for leverage.
Mick blinked his eyes, "The hell? Everything's all black..."
"Temporary blindness, Mister Rory." Rip revealed, "Similar to whiplash in time-travel. Some of you may have side-effects. Don't worry, it's only temporary."
"What?!" Jax yelled.
Kendra looked at Jefferson, "Seems blindness is another side-effect."
Snart chuckled and got to his feet, adjusting his trademark jacket, "Well, looks like this didn't go perfectly. What's the plan now, oh Captain?" he asked sarcastically.
"First of all, I think we should clean Doctor Palmer's... Mess." Stein suggested.
"Well, I ain't doing it." Leonard crossed his arms and dismissed.
"Same here." Sara added.
"...Don't focus on that now. Once the side effects wear off, our primary objective is to find Savage." he facepalmed, stressed by the situation. "Since we're in another world, blending in is still necessary, but at least optional should the opportunity arise, and at least we don't have to worry about altering the time-stream now."
Sara nodded, "Yep. Savage is here as well. I'm sure he won't go through the effort of being disguised."
Rip pointed at Sara, "That is a very accurate prediction, Miss Lance. But that does not give us the excuse to do the same. It should be our goal to leave as little impact in this world as possible. For all we know, it could be a parallel Earth we found ourselves in."
"I was involved that business before you recruited us, actually. This could hypothetically be an Earth-2." Stein added, "My friend, Mister Allen, is in the process of preparing himself to stop an evil speedster from a parallel world."
Snart rolled his eyes, "Wonderful... So we're in an even stranger Sy-Fy film."
Ray could be heard gagging again, but he stood up. "Sorry 'bout the mess, Rip. Anyway... If Savage is here, don't you think the idea od undercover isn't effective? We need to be as fast as possible in stopping him." he reminded the former Time Master, leaning on the chair and kicking back.
"I understand, Doctor Palmer... But what if we end up in a true parallel world that directly mirrors our own? We cannot afford the risk!" Rip responded.
"I only saw lush empty fields and a forest," Snart responded, "I think we're clear."
"Okay, I only heard half of that. Can anyone fill me in?" Jax asked, his hearing back. He held the side of his head, which ached a little.
"I'll tell ya soon, kid." Mick replied, raising the strap of the chair, choosing to remain sitting. "...Hell of a mess ya made here, Haircut." he added a comment.
Ray sighed, "I'll clean it up..."
Rip grunted, "Very well. While you do that prepare to exit, I'll put the ship in camoflague. We can't be discovered no matter what, especially with the crystal in the Time Drive." he noted, pressing a button, turning the ship invisible from the outside, "Gideon... Any information you can give?"
"None whatsoever, Captain Hunter. I have very thin data on alternate dimensions." Gideon revealed. "The Time Masters can only discover so much. And inter-dimensional travel really isn't common."
Leonard huffed, "So, we're on our own in a different world to find an immortal tyrant. Very good odds we have here. So, Rip... Benching anyone this time?"
"I cannot afford to do so this time, Snart. We're all going to scout our location. And then once we learn about this world, we can focus our efforts in finding Savage." Rip discussed, "Ready yourselves. We leave in a few minutes."
EVERFREE FOREST
The door to the invisible Waverider lowered itself into a ramp that planted on the grass. The inside of the ship was exposed for the time being as the Legends began their trek outside. Rip placed his laser pistol in a holster strapped to his side, his other hand in a pocket of his long brown trench coat.
Snart inhaled, "Well, this is a nice change of pace."
Mick gritted his teeth, "It's too quiet here..."
"You gotta ruin the moment, huh?" Ray asked, double-checking his pocket for his armor.
Sara placed her batons in the sheath strapped to her back, "Hey, as a former League of Assassins member, it's pretty smart to be paranoid." she added.
Jax sighed, "That's one way to live I guess." he folded his arms, gazing at the scenery. "Why can't more points in time look like this? We got war, dictators, armies and everything our way, it's nice to be in a calm forest with nothing."
Stein agreed, "It is serene. But we should see if this dimension bares any similarities to our own. After all, running into doppelgangers can be as risky as running into yourself from a different point in time."
"Like with what happened to you?" Ray asked.
"We do not speak of that, Doctor Palmer. That was a grave error on my part. Past and present." Professor Stein scolded.
Snart smirked, "Seems you got under his skin, Boyscout."
"Can you knock it off, please?" Rip groaned the question in annoyance at his team's constant blabbering.
The professor raised his hands, "Right, my apologies."
Kendra placed her helmet over her head, taking a closer look at the scenery. "Is it me, or does everything here look less... realistic? She wondered.
"Looks like we're in a freakin' cartoon." Mick huffed.
Ray looked up, "Yeah, you're right. What the heck? What kind of world is this?"
"One way different from our own, it seems." Sara noted.
Rip's hand remained near his pistol, "Well, no matter the case, we should be careful. We do not know what lies ahead in this forest, no matter how it appears."
Raising his cold gun, Leonard spoke, "Already ahead of you, Rip." he replied.
Mick did the same with his heat gun, "Same here."
The door to the Waverider closed behind the team as they finally stepped outside. "First thing we have to do, is find out if there is civilization." Rip declared.
"Right. Once we do that, Savage would just magically reveal himself." Snart joked.
Rip exhaled, "The plan is to see if Savage has anything to conquer. He wouldn't just come to another uninhabited world..."
"Unless he seeks to create another empire here." Ray finished saying for the captain.
"Well, there's only so many people he can use for an army, Ray." Sara reminded the scientist. "I think it's just dumb luck he wound up here in the first place. He was trying to get away from us and probably took the first chance to hop off.
"We can focus on theories, later. Should we just go see if anything's even in this world?" Jefferson suggested.
Mick nodded, "Yeah. I just kinda want to get this over with."
"Very well. Let's see what awaits us." Rip ordered. The Legends followed his lead, weapons ready just in case of hostility. They were at ease, yet something felt off about this world. Time seemed to not pass for the team, and they had to admit it was a very brief trek aa they eventually found an exit.
Stein raised a hand and pointed at the sky, "Wait... Do you see that?"
"See what?" Snart asked, gazing at the sky. The Legends mirrored his actions and saw the Sun, but they noticed it lowering itself slowly down the horizon in an unusual way.
"The hell is up with the Sun?" Mick asked.
Ray paused, "I have no clue. This really is a cartoon. The Sun going down the second it is supposed to be night. Makes me wonder how time flows in this world."
"We can do that once we find a clock." Sara told him, "Now, it's gonna be harder to see what's ahead. Hopefully we didn't attract any attention with our grand entrance."
Rip faced the assassin, "Please, Miss Lance, I did my best in being discreet when we entered. With how barren this region is, it's unlikely we drew attention to ourselves."
"Hey! You hear that?" a scratchy female voice could be heard.
Snart shook his head, "You were saying?"
"Not now, Mister Snart. We should keep ourselves hidden until we know what is following us." he gestured to the trees and each one of the team members leaned behind one.
Kendra turned her head once she heard another voice, "Do you think they're with Savage?"
"Very unlikely. He and us just arrived here. There is little chance he manages to leave a big of an impact here." Rip revealed, keeping still as much as he could behind the tree. He was lucky they were near each other enough so they could whisper and understand one another easily.
"Um... It's getting dark, Twilight." a quiet voice squeaked loud enough for the team to hear.
Ray raised a brow, "What kind of name is Twilight?"
"It will be alright, Fluttershy, dearie. Just stay close to us." a more sophisticated voice responded.
"The voices are getting closer." Jax noted, unable to see anything, yet knowing that his theory was true.
"Hold on... I see a light." Mick revealed. A purple circle of light could be seen illuminating from a moving source. Upon closer inspection, Mick noticed that it was. "I haven't had enough beers before we left. Or maybe too much." he curled his hand into a fist and hit his head lightly. "Please tell me I'm dreamin'."
Stein remained silent at Mick's quiet outburst, "What are you talking about, Mister Rory?" he asked, facing in the same direction he was a moment ago. "Holy..." he gasped.
"Is that a talking horse?" Ray asked. He paused, "That's a question I never thought I'd ask myself ever."
"Looks like there's more than one." Sara observed.
Jax nodded, "And the one in middle has a glowing horn. What the hell?" he mumbled.
"Hey! Is anyone there? We saw a giant ship!" the cyan horse with wings shouted.
The orange horse hushed the pegasus, "Rainbow. We're tryin' to be quiet."
"Sorry, Applejack." Rainbow huffed, "I was just trying to draw them out."
"Like that was going to work." Snart groaned to himself.
The pony in the middle with wings and the glowing horn closed her eyes, "They couldn't have gotten far, if there anything in there." she cleared her throat. "Is anypony here? We wish to speak peacefully!"
"You hear that? They come in peace." Ray told the crew.
"Could be a trap." Leonard reminded Ray, tightening his grip on his Cold Gun.
"Doctor Palmer..." Rip started to say as he held out his laser pistol, "Activate your suit. Snart and I will cover you. If these... ponies attack you first, we will defend for you and make an escape."
"Aye aye, captain." Ray saluted, digging his hand into his pocket, and taking it out. In his hand, he held a miniaturized ATOM suit, which he held in times of emergency. He quietly walked away to put it on.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kendra asked Rip.
"That's why I told him to put on the armor. In case these ponies are bluffing, he is best defended in case they attack him and then we can hold them off. It is in my best interest we do not start trouble in this world, but it's anoter matter entirely if they start it. Our focus is to find Savage and this is a distraction." Captain Hunter explained.
"Should Grey and I fuse?" Jax asked.
Rip shook his head, "If the situation calls for it, then yes. It seems these ponies are capable of magic of their own. We must remain ready."
Sara revealed her batons, "Let's see if the ponies are true to their word."
Back with the ponies, Spike nudged Twilight's hoof, "We should just go. It's getting late." he yawned, "And clearly whatever was in that ship doesn't want to talk--"
"Hi there!"
Fluttershy hopped in place, "W-Who's there?"
Twilight's horn flared again, this time, aimed at a bipedal figure in a red-blue and black armor. He raised his hands defensively. "Woah! Easy there! We come in peace!" he chuckled, "Always wanted to say that."
The alicorn spoke, "Who are you? And why did you say we?"
"We overheard you. My name is Ray Palmer, the Atom as I'm called in this suit. We wish to keep this as civil as possible." Ray introduced and explained.
"...Go on." Twilight said.
"Yeah. Why are ya here?" Applejack asked.
The Atom replied, "Well, who are you all?"
Twilight cleared her throat, "If you're who you say you are... My name is Twilight Sparkle," she gestured to her friends, "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Spike."
"What are you? A robot?" Pinkie asked.
Ray chuckled, "Nah. This is armor. Don't worry, I'm not gonna use it on you. So long as you don't attack me or anything like that." he revealed, placing his arms to his side. "You're not gonna attack me, right?" he asked quickly.
"If you're lying then yes." Rainbow answered.
The Atom turned his head, "It's alright everyone. You can come out now."
At that moment, the rest of the Legends stepped out of the shadows: Captain Cold, Heatwave, White Canary, Hawkgirl, Professor Stein, Jefferson and Rip revealed themselves. Rip was the first to speak, "My name is Rip Hunter. Former Time Master. Your world is in grave danger."
FILLYDELPHIA
The night sky was illuminated with stars. Two Royal Guards escorted a bearded man in an empty area of the town at this time of night. "You ain't going anywhere after that little show of yours."
The bipedal man had been found standing next to the deceased body of someone he killed in order to divert attention away from himself. His mission was to be discreet, but some cases proved futile. He surrendered without a fight, which was unusual for the man in question.
The older looking man smirked, "Oh... Am I?" he asked. The guards turned around,, seeing that the cuffs they placed on him vanished off his hands.
"You think you are powerful with magic. But I am Vandal Savage. I trained the best magicians." Savage revealed, grabbing his small blades from his pockets.
"What are you?" one of the guards questioned nervously.
Vandal smirked, "This world's reckoning." he flicked his wrists and threw the blades as though they were darts. Before the guards could react, the blades imbedded themselves into their necks, causing them to choke on their blood and kill them instantly. Once their bodies collapsed, Savage picked up his blades and put them away.
"Let this be a lesson. I've been in this world long enough to know how it works." Savage boasted, walking back into the shadows. He knew what he was looking for and had a feeling that team of time-travellers would come for him and he had an idea as to how to stop them, but it will take time.
"So, let us go over your names again," Twilight started to say, looking at the team. "That way we won't mix you up."
"You're Captain Rip Hunter." Twilight said. Rip nodded.
"Kendra Saunders." Applejack continued, facing the winged woman.
Kendra added, "Hawkgirl."
Rainbow pointed to the halves of Firestorm, "Professor Stein and Jax."
"Firestorm." Stein and Jefferson said at the same time.
"Ray Palmer." Rarity said, gesturing to the armored man.
"The Atom." Ray said, moving an arm to adjust the suit.
Fluttershy looked at the white-clad assassin, "S-Sara Lance."
Sara grinned, "White Canary."
Pinkie pointed a hoof at the thieves from Central City, "Leonard Snart and Mick Rory!"
"Captain Cold." Snart corrected in a drawl.
"Heatwave." Mick declared with a low growl.
Spike blinked and looked at the group, barely seen under the night sky, "Is that everyone?"
"Seems that way, dragon kid." Snart noted. "Now, shall we go over the usual 'how we ended up in a parallel dimension' like they do in the movies?" he asked the team.
"Of course." Rip agreed. "Now, I'm sure the lot of you have tons of questions. Some of which even I cannot answer for the sake of simplicity." he said.
"I have one." Twilight said, "You called yourself a Time Master. What is a Time Master? I mean, I know a friend who claimed to us in secrecy that he was a Time Lord. Is there any connection to that?"
"...I once knew a Time Lord myself. Or, someone who called himself one. He acted himself as a leader while I followed." Captain Hunter replied, "Basically we Time Masters are guardians of time and watch over it in order to prevent any abberations as they're called to alter the flow of history."
"Do Time Masters usually work in teams?" Rainbow wondered, "Heck, are all of you Time Masters? Cause, I don't think Jacket over here can be one."
"Hardy har." Captain Cold fake-laughed. "Don't you have a wild sense of humor with nicknames."
Heatwave frowned, "You ain't seen the half of what we can do. Snart and I can give a guy with superspeed a run fer his money."
"Superspeed? Heh, he probably isn't as fast as me!" Rainbow boasted.
Snart chuckled, "Is that a challenge, pony? This Cold Gun was built to fight speedsters. So, I advise not getting on my bad side..." he added the warning.
Rainbow crossed her hooves, "As if I'm afraid of your themed toy."
"Don't try us..." Mick growled, aiming his Heat Gun outward.
"Mister Rory, that's enough." Stein scolded.
Rip rubbed his forehead, "Anyway, we're here for a specific reason. I told you this world's in danger."
"Duh! We already heard that part! I want to hear what happens next!" Pinkie said.
Applejack raised a brow, "Is it serious?"
Rip folded his hands, "Very much so. Within this world is an immortal tyrant. Vandal Savage."
"Well, that just sounds evil." Spike commented.
Continuing, Captain Hunter spoke, "In my time, he conquered the world with little resistance. In order to stop his reign, I gathered the very team you see here in order to travel through time and stop his rise to power. Miss Saunders has encountered Savage time and again."
"It's true." Kendra revealed, "I'm immortal as well in a way... I can't quite explain it. This is all new to me. But I have to be the one to end Savage before he could end me again."
"Why?" Fluttershy questioned, "Is s-she connected to him?"
"Don't be worried, Miss Shy." Stein assured, "She and Savage were exposed to the same meteor that gave them their immortality and reincarnation. Due to the curse Savage placed, only she can end him." the ponies had no idea as to how to respond to such a random reveal.
Applejack cleared her throat, "So basically, she's the only one here who can stop him?"
"For good. Yes." Rip answered.
"But why is Savage here? He has no business with us!" Rainbow groaned.
Rip shook his head, "He evaded us the last we fought him. We used an artifact and tracked him to this dimension. We think he chose the first world he could enter to escape us so he can continue his plan. We apologize deeply for that. The last thing we need is Savage to ruin another world. Now, if this world has any form of heroes and the like, I say you should go warn them of this immediately and have them aid us."
Twilight looked to her friends, "Actually, besides the princesses, we seem to protect this world more often than not."
"Really?" Jax asked.
"Yeah. Even I saved the day on my own!" Spike bragged, earning a giggle from his friends.
Snart grinned, "Sure. Let's go with that."
Ray said, "At the very least, we got here as soon as we could. So far, it doesn't look like he did anything. If you are heroes like you claim to be, this should go better than some of our past missions."
"Thank God..." whispered Jax.
"Speaking of. What world are we in anyway? Is this like... some kind of different Earth or something? Cause I've heard of a few of those." Palmer wondered.
"Not Earth... This is Equestria." Twilight revealed. The Legends all looked at one another curiously.
"...Of freaking course it's called Equestria. And I thought 'The Flash' was too on the nose." Snart mocked.
"Says the guy called Captain Cold." Spike teased.
"Are there cities? Kingdoms? So far, I don't see any bustling urban areas nearby." Stein said.
"We're near Ponyville." Fluttershy could hear Mick scream in annoyance.
"Ponyville? What kind of rainbow-wonderland fever dream did I end up in?" Heatwave spoke loudly.
The Atom shrugged, "It's probably not that bad. It beats Star City 2046, that's for sure."
"That sounds cool." Rainbow admitted, flying at breakneck speeds next to Ray and Jax, "What kind of time-travelling adventures did you go on?"
"...Did she just teleport?" Jax asked.
Rainbow smirked, "Nope! Fastest Flyer in Equestria flying right here!"
"Now's not the time fer boastin', Rainbow." Applejack scolded.
"What? I think they deserve a proper introduction!"
Captain Cold chuckled, "Another speedster, huh? Remember what I said, rainbow pony."
"On your world, were you fighting an evil speedster?" Rarity wondered.
Heatwave grinned, "Quite the opposite. Before this journey, we were the bad guys."
"B-Bad guys?" Fluttershy gulped. "Crooks...?"
Snart nodded, "Yep. But we ain't gonna hurt ya. We have standards, after all. And taking down Savage is gonna make us the biggest, baddest bitches to mess with. You can't get a better reward than being a legendary hero, after all. So I'm not messing with that chance at all."
"Uh huh." Mick agreed. "Though, that's not why I'm here..."
"W-Why?" The shy mare wondered.
"Let's... Not talk about that." Jax waved off.
Stein spoke, "Agreed. For now, I say we should learn more about this world."
"I can offer you a place to stay." Twilight offered.
"No, Twilight. We have our own refuge. And I cannot afford to leave it alone for much longer." Rip decided. "Even though you may not be able to see it, the wisest decision is to stay there."
"Can we see it?" Spike asked, "I always wanted to see a time ship!"
"Heck yeah! I can say I was a time-traveller!" Rainbow said.
Pausing, Rip finally responded, "...I'd rather not."
"Why not? It's not like we're travelling through time anytime soon." Ray reminded the captain, "There's no harm in giving them a peek, I say."
"I'd like to see for myself." Twilight muttered embarassingly. "I always wanted to know how time-travel in parallel worlds work. It's a curious subject. And I wish to know of Doctor Palmer's armor."
"It'll be like the Power Ponies!" Spike exclaimed.
Leonard crossed his arms, "Power Ponies? What are they? Some kinda comic book team?"
"How'd you know?"
Shrugging, Snart responded, "Lucky guess."
"Well, I'd like'ta see thus mahself, honestly." Applejack added, "We won't mess anything up, Rip."
"Can't believe your trusting us..." Mick said, "We just show up here and explain that there's a supervillain and you're all okay with it."
Twilight faced Heatwave with a stern look, "I think you'll come to see Equestria as a trusting place, Mick. Even of a man with your implied past. Well, woth what you've told us."
"We'll see." Mick replied in a gruff tone.
"Aw, don't be so down, Mick! Smile!" Pinkie told him.
"Um, Pinkie... He doesn't look to be in a smiling mood." Rarity whispered to her pink friend.
"Oh."
Heatwave shrugged, "So long as there's no singin', I ain't gonna hurt her."
"Um..." Twilight gulped.
"Damn it..." Mick and Snart groaned.
"Singing? Here? This world's better than I thought!" Ray exclaimed.
"Next you'll be telling me there's a supervillain that sings." Jax rolled his eyes, "So, what do you say, Rip? You wanna show these ponies the Waverider just once?"
"Ugh." Rip moaned, "Fine. But only this once. And don't touvh anything unless I give you permission!"
"Yes!" cheered Pinkie, "I can finally see how time-travelling works!"
PONYVILLE
VWOOM!
A ship zoomed out of a portal, it was smaller than the Waverider, and it only had one seat. The seat was used by someone wearing dull, thick armor. Weapons were strapped to his body and his emotionless mask made him a figure to be feared upon being seem. He pressed his limbs onto the lever and lowered the ship. He landed the ship in an empty plan near the town of Ponyville, where he hoped he wouldn't be spotted.
Smoke covered the ship and the pod opened. Stepping out of it was the armored figure. But it stood on all fours and had hooves. It was a pony. The armored pony closed the door to the ship and trotted forward, searching for his target: Targets are located nearby. Must continue search.
The strange pony walked ahead, seeing two other ponies, their jaw agape. The mare was the first to speak, "Woah! That was so cool! What kind of carriage was that?"
Compromised, the armored pony activated his time-sensor, scanning the ponies. The visor read the information he hoped for. The pony raised his gun and spoke, "Trotworth. Daisy. Both become business ponies. Irrelevant to the timeline." he aimed his gun at the two and pulled the trigger. Once the missile hit, the two disintergrated, as though they vanished from existence. "Compromise clear. All set to continue objective."
The pony strapped the gun back to his barrel, Kronos to Time-Masters. I have finally tracked former Time Master Rip Hunter's Waverider to this world. Continuing mission as spoken."
"This! Is! So! Cool!"
Rainbow put her hooves to her cheek, taking in the scenery of the futuristic appearance inside the Waverider. Captain Cold strolled past her and glanced over, "Don't get overexcited. It's a timeship after all." he joked to her.
The cyan mare shrugged, "Tell me that wasn't your reaction when you first saw this." she commanded.
"...It wasn't." Snart replied.
"Now I know you're lying." Rainbow said.
Shrugging, Snart responded, "Believe what you want."
Spike hopped on one of the chairs and gently placed his claws on the strap. "Why the heck is this here?"
"For safety." Stein answered, "Jumping through time is rather risky. Be glad you're not around when we do. There could be some... Harsh side-effects."
"Like?" Twilight asked, levitating a note-pad in front of her.
Jax leaned on a wall, "Are you seriously taking notes?"
Twilight nodded, "Yes. I've experimented once in time-travel, it led to a pointless time loop. I need to know more details should I ever have to do that again."
"You ponies have time-travel spells? That's a new one." Jefferson chuckled.
"Uh huh!" Pinkie answered, hopping from one of the chairs, "Twilight thought something bad was going to happen a week after her future self showed up all bruised! But the warning was to tell her nothing bad was going to happen and that it was a mistake, but she wouldn't listen! I was there!"
"Is this true?" Stein asked.
"...Yes." the alicorn answered, clearly embarassed.
Stein folded his hands, "I didn't think this world had time-travel spells. The only methods on my world so far are apparently through Time-Ships or the Speed-Force."
"Did somepony say Speed-Force?" Rainbow asked.
Leaning on an adjacent wall was Mick, "Yep. Have no clue how it works though."
Pinkie Pie skipped over to the round computer, "Ooh! What does this do?" she wondered.
Rip extended an arm and held Pinkie's hoof back, "I told you not to touch anything without permission. The last thing I need are alien ponies to mess up the ship."
"Aw..." sighed the pink pony.
Rip put his hands to his sides, "Though, I should at least show you this for future reference."
"Greetings!"
The ponies and dragon hopped back at the sound of the voice and hologram face appearing in the center of the round table. "What the hay is that?" Applejack wondered. "Is it some kinda projection spell or somethin'?"
"No. My name is Gideon. I am the Artificial Intelligence of Captain Rip Hunter's ship." Gideon introduced herself. "It seems you are not of Earth origins."
"You are correct in that assumption." Rarity noted.
"So... Gideon," Twilight muttered, "You're not actually a person...?"
Gideon cut the alicorn off, "Not really. Though, I am able to analyze the timeline and detect any anamolies and give information. It is my job. As a sentient computer. Now, may I be properly introduced to each of you for records?"
"Of course." Twilight agreed. She then named herself and each of her friends.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all. I take it Captain Hunter brought you here for a reason?"
Twilight nodded, "He told us about Vandal Savage and how he is wandering our world at this very moment. We wish to help in any way we can. Are you able to reveal more about him?"
"He is an immortal man that gained power, his reign reaching a climax in 2166, the very era Captain Hunter came from." Gideon elaborated, "He is a powerful assassin and knows just about everything that can grant him an advantage, physically and mentally. We have the dagger that can end him."
"I have to be one wielding it." Kendra revealed. "With it, I can put a reverse to the curse."
Snart groaned, "But he keeps getting away each and everytime we get close. It's getting rather annoying . Especially with other anamolies in time to deal with. It's like we can't focus on him."
"You have to remember that we have to find him hidden throughout history." Stein reminded the cold Rogue. "In the meantime, our responsibility to preserve time will not be put aside despite our small setbacks."
"Huh. You all seem to be busy." Rainbow hummed.
"Yep. Never a break for the weary." Snart commented, looking to the open door.
Wandering around the Waverider were Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, Pinkie, Sara and Ray. They were in the hallways near the engine and Time Drive "So, what's your world like?" the scientist questioned aloud, facing the ponies.
"I-It's nice..." Fluttershy whispered, hiding her face behind a locke of her pink mane.
Ray smiled, "What's to be nervous about? You're around friends." he comforted the nervous mare.
"It's just... All o-of this is so strange..." Fluttershy said, "I-I don't know how to react."
"But if you must know, it's rather... calm. Sometimes." Rarity butted in the conversation. "Bizarre things tend to happen around Ponyville, usually because of us."
"I know how you feel." Ray admitted, "That suit of armor? I nearly lost it in some time periods. The results could be scary, but we always managed to pull through."
"Speaking of, you really need to do something about that suit." Sara responded.
"I really can't upgrade it now." Ray said. "Maybe I will once I get a hold of more of the Dwarf Star Alloys needed."
"I do like the design of it. Was it something you came up with?" Rarity complimented.
The scientist spoke up, "Yeah. I grew tired of standing back. I wanted to leave a legacy on my world and wished to fight injustice and crime with ATOM suit. That's why I joined this team. To leave behind something should I die. A reminder of what anyone can strive to be if they put their heart to it."
"That's rather noble of you." the unicorn admitted.
The former assassin nodded, "We all have our reasons for sticking around this ship. But changing our destiny is the biggest."
"Cool." Spike said. "So, what happens when it breaks or something?"
Chuckling, Ray answered, "That happens quite often. If it's an engine problem, Jax learned how to modify the time engines with help from Gideon and Rip. Stein and I handle medical problems, such as an injury that needs treatment that requires us to monitor Gideon. And we can get attacked in the time-stream, so it can happen while there. When that happens, we have to hide in a stray point in time until we rebuild."
"It's a whole thing when that happens." Sara waved off, changing the subject.
Back near the pilot's seat. Twilight continued to write down everything she saw in great detail. "Are you seriously writing all this stuff, Twi?" Rainbow groaned, hovering next to her friend.
"Of course. This knowledge could be useful."
"Why? Last I check, you didn't need to take a test." Snart commented, folding his arms.
Twilight huffed, "I like to observe okay?"
"Eh. She's an egghead, Snart." the cyan pegasus teased playfully, nudging her alicorn pal in the shoulder.
Jax grinned, "An egghead like Grey? I should use that."
"Egghead? Really?" Stein groaned in a deadpan manner.
Applejack rolled her eyes, "So, Jax? You two called yerselves Firestorm. Why is that?"
Stein raised a finger, "Perhaps I should explain. We were struck by something called a Particle Accelerator. When that happened we gained a nuclear and psychic connection. And it was because of a project called F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. which I worked on. The two of us can fuse and become a nuclear being."
"Yep. Grey and I met right before Rip recruited us. Took a bit, but I think we hit a groove in how we work." Jax admitted.
The older man agreed, "Indeed. He and I are partners."
Clearing his throat, Mick spoke up, "Now... What the hell can you ponies do to help us? We're dealin' with an immortal assassin. We ain't gonna use friendship and rainbows, are we?"
"Nope! We can handle things the old fashioned way!" Rainbow boasted, performing some action poses while in midair as if to show off to the team.
"Oh joy. The ponies can fight." Captain Cold muttered sarcastically.
Twilight pursed her lips, "You don't sound confident in us."
Snart growled, "And who's to say I am confident? You see us?"
"All I see are crooks with elements." Rainbow mumbled.
Mick aimed his Heat Gun, "Ya wanna say that to my face?"
"Now now, Mick. Let her think she's tough." Snart said to his partner. "Just this once."
Lowering his weapon, Heatwave gritted his teeth, "Fine."
"You aren't friendly are ya?" Applejack wondered.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Cold quipped.
Rainbow grumbled, "Well, aren't you mister sunshine?"
Rip sighed in annoyance, "This may be harder than I thought."
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Jax asked.
Then, an explosion was heard, shaking the entirety of the Waverider. Legend and pony alike fell to the side as the time-traveling ship shook. "What the heck was that?" Rainbow asked loudly. Rip, Snart, and Stein were the first to get back to their feet, weapons primed and ready.
"That was a thermite grenade." Gideon revealed.
"Thermite?" Stein revealed, "But who could possibly have such weapons here?"
"Aren't we invisible? Whoever did that must have great eyesight!" Pinkie pointed out.
"Is it Savage?" Jefferson asked.
Then, Ray, Sara, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike ran back to the room. "What's going on, Rip?" Ray asked, ready to grab his ATOM suit at any moment.
"Gideon. Pull up a feed of what's outside." Rip ordered.
A holographic screen popped up, showing a camera feed of what was happening outside. There was a pony, barely visible under the night sky. He seemed to wear armor and held out a variety of weapons strapped to his being. He walked closer to the ship woth each shot. Twilight gave the screen a curious look, "A pony? With that kind of technology?" she whispered in disbelief. The Waverider shook again, this time each hero grabbed onto something.
"Is that an armored pony?" Sara asked. "That's new."
Grunting, Rip was about to speak, but Gideon did so, "If I may theorize Captain Hunter, this pony has armor similar to the appearance of the bounty hunter, Kronos."
"Kronos?" Mick quietly repeated to himself. Not believing what he was hearing.
"Uh, who's Kronos?" Spike asked.
"Temporal bounty hunter." Rip briefly explained. "Now's not the time to explain."
"Those sons of bitches can't seem to leave us alone. Even in a different world." Captain Cold pointed out, lowering his goggles and holdong his Cold Gun.
"Rip Hunter!" Kronos was heard saying.
"How is there another Kronos?" Stein asked.
"Don't know. Don't care. It's clearly a pony. So it's someone new." Cold replied.
"We have to hold him off." Rip ordered.
"We can help." Twilight insisted.
"No. This is our business. We do not need you interfering right now. Especially with someone as powerful as Kronos." Rip declared. The Legends all grabbed what was needed and walked out, closing the door of the ship behind them. The ponies all shared a glance with one another as they saw the team rush out.
Rainbow slammed a hoof on the ground. "Did he just bench us?"
"Seems that way." Spike said.
"T-That's fine with me." Fluttershy admitted.
Twilight shook her head, "No. We can't just sit here and do nothing! There's a pony underneath that armor! This is now our business too!" she faced the door and lit her horn, ready to open it.
Exiting the ship were the Legends, with Rip standing in front. The door to the Waverider closed behind the time-traveling team as they walked out one by one, standing on the grass. Rip pulled out his laser pistol and shot at the armored pony, the projectiles missing and creating smoke on the ground.
Kronos continued to shoot the ship and then aimed his gun at the Legends. "Now, Kendra!" Captain Hunter ordered.
Once she heard her name, Hawkgirl revealed her wings through her costume and hopped upwards, rearing her arm, as well as her mace, back and dove in the direction of Kronos. Kendra swung her arm, hitting Kronos with the weapon, making him fall back a little. Hawkgirl turned around and landed, seeing the pony lie on his back.
"I don't understand. How could Kronos be here? As a pony?" asked the Atom, aiming his repulsors at the temporal bounty hunter, who mere blocked each strike.
"I ain't sure." Mick hissed, aiming his Heat Gun at Kronos, pulling the trigger. "And I don't really give a crap."
Jax and Stein clasped their hands together, creating a fiery aura around them as they merged into one. The two fused to become Firestorm and even the odds. As Firestorm, Jax was seen, his head on fire and he wore a yellow suit with a device. While Jax was physically seen, Stein provided back-up as a second voice.
Firestorm pushed both of his arms down, creating a burst of fire that allowed him to fly. 'Alright, Jefferson. Judging our past experience with Kronos, there is little need to hold back.' Stein said with the two's psychic connection.
"Wasn't planning to, Grey." Jefferson said, extending a hand and shooting fire in Kronos' direction. In response, the bounty hunter shot at Firestorm, stunning him and forcing him to lose focus on flying for a moment, but he got his bearings.
As Kronos trotted forward on his hindlegs, Snart used his Cold Gun to hit him with a concussive force. "I didn't think you'd find us all the way over here, Boba Fett." he quipped, holding his gun over his shoulder with one arm.
Captain Cold dived to the side of another blast of energy shot by Kronos, which was countered by Rip with the use of his pistol, actually landing a hit to the temporal bounty hunter's chest. The beam did little damage to the pony.
But the distraction proved viable for White Canary, who kneed Kronos in the chest, making him buckle his knees. "Let's see if you can fight like the one we know." she growled, raising her fists.
Sara held out her batons and struck Kronos, the assassin using his armor to block each strike. White Canary ducked from a right hook and hit the hunter with an elbow to the mask, making him move his head back. The former assassin swerved her head, and gritted her teeth, focusing all her efforts on fighting Kronos.
As he readied a strike, Kronos was hit in the back by the Atom who was in midair and swerved downwards, shoving the bounty hunter down and throwing him on the ground. "Stay down." Ray warned in a stern tone, planting his armored feet on the ground. "Seriously. Please. We already fought one Kronos."
"At the very least, we know this is the Time Masters acting like complete morons." Captain Cold was heard saying. He shot some more ice beams in Kronos's direction, hitting him with ice. He would've been frozen, but Kronos' armor was prepared for such a thing and the ice melted off his body.
Hawkgirl ran forward and kneed Kronos in the jaw, unable to hurt him through his mask. "A pony..."
Kronos raised a hoof and jumped, landing a punch on Rip when he was about to attack. Captain Hunter groaned once his hoof collided with his face, "He's a lot more prepared than last time." he admitted, wiping his mouth and holding his cheek. "Watch yourselves."
"Already on it!" Heatwave yelled, "Burn!" his Heat Gun shot Kronos and knocked him back directly into Ray's armored fist. "That... Actually felt good." he admitted, lowering his weapon for the moment, a stern look on his face.
"I'd imagine so." Captain Cold commented.
Still in midair, Firestorm lowered himself and uppercutted the temporal bounty hunter. "Let's put a stop to this show." he saw Kronos get his bearings and land perfectly on his four hooves before standing on his hindlegs once again. That was when Hawkgirl and Atom came forward to attack, but he shot them both back, launching them across the field. Ray and Kendra could be heard groaning in pain, but Palmer gave the team a thumbs up.
Sara gritted her teeth and threw her baton in the bounty hunter's direction. Kronos merely swiped it aside and countered a kick from the former assassin, but Rip landed a shot to his side as a result of his divided attention. "Alright. Clearly you're something else. Care to explain?"
"I was ordered not to reveal myself." Kronos explained briefly.
"Ah, so they messed with yer mind too." Heatwave commented, shooting flames in his direction with assistance from Firestorm, who's hands were stretched in the direction of Kronos.
"I can see why they wanted you to be discreet. Don't want any emotions from the looks of it." Snart quipped, shooting at Kronos with his Cold Gun, a blue beam aimed his way. "But it looks like the Time Masters got to the ponies. Didn't think they'd be worth the time, honestly."
"Perhaps the Time Masters were already aware of Savage's presence here." Rip muttered.
Sitting up, Kendra spoke, "But how? Savage wasn't here for long before we arrived."
"Yeah. Those guys sound tricky." Ray commented in annoyance. He stood up, his armor making noises as he moved. He aimed a repulsor blast at Kronos, which connected and launched him across the field. Standing up, the bounty hunter threw a grenade in their direction swiftly.
"Watch out!" Rip shouted. At the sound of his voice, the Legends dove or flew as far as they could, narrowly avoiding the ensuing explosion.
Kronos watched as Sara ran forward, successfully landing a kick on him. "Alright, pal. We're gonna get answers out of you." she growled. "Let's see how you fare against an assassin?"
The White Canary swiped at Kronos with a small blade, which he countered with his armored hoof. In response, the bounty hunter kicked back the assassin slightly and she pushed herself forward, bringing her knee to his face before driving an elbow to the top of his head as hard as she could. "Stay down, damn you!" she snarled.
Right as Sara raised her leg to kick, Kronos pushed her aside with a small shot from a laser, knocking her back with a concussive force. White Canary grunted in pain as Kendra and Firestorm flew past her, with Rip helping her stand. "Thanks..." she muttered, getting to her feet.
"This Kronos is a lot stronger than I thought..." Rip muttered, "Why is there another?"
"Don't want to know right now." Snart shouted. He walked forward with Heatwave as they pointed their guns directly in front of their faces, their goggles on their faces. "You ready, Mick?"
Heatwave smirked at Captain Cold, "As ready as I'll ever be."
The two Rogues pressed the triggers, activating the beams. They made sure to not cross the beams lest they get a repeat of what happened during a previous encounter with the Flash. Kronos was pushed back by the force of the two beams, unable to do anything else but defend, but Atom and Firestorm shot him back, launching him. "Booyah!" Ray cheered, pumping a fist while descending from his spot.
Jax sighed, "Never do that again."
'Please.' Stein agreed, earning a chuckle from Jefferson.
"I'm sorry, Twilight. But Captain Hunter gave explicit orders not to get you involved." Gideon was heard saying to the alicorn princess, who tried to focus her magic.
Rainbow huffed, "Did he seriously think we should get benched? Twi's been over there with that door for a few minutes now. It must be a hard hinge or something."
"He's only looking out for us, Rainbow. Though I wish Captain Hunter was less... crude about it." Rarity responded with a light wave of her hoof.
The ponies and dragon all looked up at the sound of Gideon again, "Captain Hunter wishes to learn more about all of you before bringing you all to the battlefield. It would be for the better. Kronos is powerful and gives the crew a hard time."
"They don't know what we've dealt with." Rainbow told the AI. "We've saved this world time and again! Not to brag, but we're kinda big deal heroes in Equestria."
"Well, I don't know about you bragging." Applejack rolled her eyes.
Spike crossed his arms, "So, what's up with this? There's a pony out there! We should do something."
"I am unsure of why there is a pony attacking the Waverider, but I assure you Captain Hunter and the others can take care of it without your intervention."
"Um... I'd rather not see who's doing this..." Fluttershy said, "Not that I'd want to leave anypony alone like that, of course."
"Gideon..." Twilight started to say, hoping that it would work, "Can you open the door?"
"Rip has programmed me so only the team is granted permission for such actions."
Pinkie blinked, "Wow. He's really prepared!"
Putting a hoof to her chin, the alicorn princess hummed. "Can you let us see a feed of what's happening outside?"
"Of course."
The Equestrians all gathered around the circular computer a few rooms over to get a better view of what was happening. There, they saw Kronos battle the Legends, proving himself a powerful foe, giving them an equal match despite them having him beat in terms of numbers. This surprised the group watching, and they even saw the super-powered individuals in action, such as Hawkgirl and Firestorm, which they were only told of.
"Woah. This Kronos guy is intense." Rainbow muttered.
"He can take them all on in a fight at once." Twilight said, "That's impressive."
The friends paused, "If he can do that... T-Then what can we do?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
"This Kronos pony doesn't know about us with this team. We can take him by surprise." Twilight revealed.
Rarity looked at the alicorn, "But he's a pony! Surely he knows how we can fight."
Nodding, Twilight continued, "Yes. But whoever sent him may be unaware that we're with them now. Whoever sent them is clearly against this team. We should ask them about that later, though."
"Yeah. Who else could they be fightin' besides Vandal Savage?" Applejack wondered. "And how would they know that they're even in this world?"
"I don't know... That's something we should ask them once we get rid of Kronos." Twilight decided. The ship shook again, revealing that Kronos shot the ship again. Getting their bearings, Rainbow spoke first.
"Aw yeah! We get to kick butt!"
Spike turned his head back to the feed, "But how? Gideon won't let us out! And how are we going to handle Kronos? This dude looks like he's ready for anything, even if he doesn't expect it."
"We can use the power of teamwork!" Pinkie called out.
The princess hummed in thought, "Gideon has the door closed tight, and even my magic is having a hard time in opening its hinges. This ship is fairly advanced anyhow. I was hoping to reserve magic, but I'm going to teleport us out there. I'm not standing by while pony or human alike are in danger. Gather around, everypony."
"I would advise against going out there." Gideon warned, the AI sounding stern, "Kronos is very powerful. You all may not survive an encounter with him and imagine how Rip would react."
Rainbow waved a hoof, "No offense to Rip and the team, but we handled ourselves before! This isn't our first rodeo. We do not need to be babysat!"
"Yep. I ain't standin' by while they're out there." Applejack said.
"Like I just said, it's the right thing to do. They need our help, and if this Vandal Savage is as big of a threat as they make him to be, then we need theirs." Twilight noted.
At that, the girls and Spike stood around her. Closing her eyes, Twilight focused her energy to her horn and it lit a bright purple. A second later, they vanished in a white light from their spot, bringing them outside.
"How are you faring, Mister Palmer?" asked Rip, seeing the scientist still in his armor.
Ray struggled to move in his suit, "Rather well, I gotta say. It sucks being in this, but until the power comes back on, I guess I'm a living vegetable." he quipped.
"Gideon, is the ship's power recharging?" asked the captain.
"Yes, Captain Hunter. It'll just be a minute. Luckily, I managed to exert the energy of the Waverider after Kronos tossed the first grenade. No major damage was caused."
Snart raised an eye brow, "As if you already didn't have the brain of one?" he pondered.
"Ooh. That's cold." Pinkie chimed in.
Mick clapped his hands, "Gotta admit. That was clever." he pointed to the pink mare, who smiled sheepishly.
Snart sighed, "Word of advice, pink. Leave the puns to me." he said slowly to Pinkie. "Gotta reputation to keep."
"Okay!"
Kendra folded her arms, "So, there's a Kronos here now. And he's a pony. Do any of you know a pony that could be of such a high caliber?" she questioned.
Rip raised a hand, "You must remember, Miss Saunders. The Time Masters must've manipulated this pony to do their bidding and trained him themselves. It could literally be anyone within this world for all we know." he reminded the Hawk.
"W-Wait..." Twilight blurted out, "You said the Time Masters?! Aren't you one yourself? Why would they send somepony after you? For that matter, why would they do that?"
Rip pinched the bridge of his nose, "Actually, there is something you need to know. Yes, I was a Time Master, but I turned against the council to protect the world from the tyranny from Vandal Savage and by doing so, I had no choice but to mess with the temporal order of our world and therefore alter time."
"That ain't all, Englishman. You also lied to us about being Legends in the future." Mick added, grabbing a donut from the artifcial food creator and munching on it casually.
"So you lied about all that?" growled Rainbow. "Why?"
Rip gritted his teeth, "I had the best intentions, Dash. I told you my motives. It was to protect the world. The team you see here leave minimal impact in the timeline we left."
"But why stay? If you know what was happening, why bother?" Rarity wondered.
Sara looked to the white unicorn, "We stayed because even though Rip lied to us about us being Legends and his abandoning of being the Time Master, the threat was real." she clenched her fists, "Even though we aren't Legends now, by beating Vandal Savage and saving the world perhaps we can make a difference in our world."
"Yep." Ray commented. "That's part of the reason why I built the ATOM suit. Everyone of us here wanted to make a better change to the world and defy the destiny Rip told us of."
"Not us." Leonard corrected, "We wanted to prove ourselves to be the biggest badasses across time. Think about it, they'll build statues in our honor and crap. Paradise worthy of people such as me and Mick."
"I'm still here to pay the Time Masters back." Mick added, "Those sons of bitches did unspeakable things to me." he slammed his fist to his head, "It sucked."
"What did they do?' Spike asked.
Snart faced the dragon, "Trust me, you don't want to know. Has somethin' to do with that little armored thing you saw earlier."
Stein spoke, "Is now the time to be digging into this? Shouldn't we be looking for whoever the new Kronos is? The last thing we should do is explain Mister Rory's harsh circumstances."
"Thanks for the sympathy, doc." Mick replied sarcastically.
"You never wanted pity anyway." Jax commented. "Plus none of that would've happened if you hadn't marooned us to a bunch of time pirates."
Heatwave shrugged, "Fair point. And don't ever play the blame game with me."
Rainbow furrowed a brow, "Time pirates? That sounds awesome."
"Trust me, it was not 'awesome' as you described, Rainbow." Professor Stein responded, "We were stranded in the middle of space and our ship was about to get hijacked."
"Luckily I got the power back on." Ray elaborated.
"Not before freezing in the cold vacuum of space." Kendra replied, remembering the overwhelming events.
Rip extended his arms, "Enough." he halted the discussion at once. "We will discuss this matter another time. For now, Professor Stein is right. We must figure out who this new Kronos is before things get even more out of hand. Ugh, with Vandal Savage still here we are no doibt overwhelmed."
"Well, we'll help anyway we can, Captain'." Applejack assured.
"What can you ponies possibly do?" Snart wondered in a condescening tone, yet he was curious all the same.
"We're the protectors of Equestria." Twilight explained, "We're usually the first to learn of any threat and have to stop it. Once we wielded artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony, which embodied friendship itself: Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, Loyalty, and Magic. The six of us usually had to hold off a powerful magic threat such as Discord, Nightmare Moon and Sombra."
"Yeah, this isn't the first adventure we've been on and I'm sure it won't be the last." Rainbow added. "Plus we kicked serious flank and sent Kronos running with his tail between his hooves."
"So, in a way you're heroes too?" Sara asked, "All right then."
Mick finished chewing his donut, "Still not buying it."
"Oh fer cryin' out loud. Does anythin' impress you? Yer as bland as a plank of wood," Applejack grumbled.
"Fire." Mick quipped. "Love me a good roast." Fluttershy shuddered at Mick's choice of words, which he noticed and he smirked and let out a chuckle, "Ah, don't worry, I ain't gonna hurt any of ya. Unless you piss me off. Then, I might change my mind."
Jax sighed, "Aw man. This is gonna be stranger than I thought."
"He's not going to, i assure you." Stein eased the ponies.
Ray finally managed to sit up as the group talked, "Oh man, finally. Seems the power's turning back on. I need to have a better power source for this suit."
Rip looked to the ceiling, "We'll worry about that later, Doctor Palmer. For now, it seems we have to explore this new world we wound up in. Do you girls know a pony well-versed in time travel? Perhaps the Time Masters know of him?"
Rainbow slowly nodded, "Kinda. But he's kind of a creep."
"Rainbow..." Rarity hissed.
"What? I'm not wrong." the cyan mare countered.
Twilight cleared her throat, "What Rainbow meant is that we do know a pony that seems to know a lot about time travel. Nopony knows if he's being honest or not, but he has Derpy to vouch for him in any case. We can take you to meet him."
"Well, first we have to make sure the town doesn't think they're monsters invading," Pinkie added.
Captain Cold shook his head, "Well, that's a little harsh." he muttered in a sarcastic tone.
The White Canary nodded, "Yeah. We don't plan to stay long anyway."
"It won't be a problem. A simple explanation is all it would take. Equestria's a rather forgiving place." assured Twilight.
"A world of ponies. My studies did not prepare me for this." Stein muttered, holding his head.
"It'll be fine, Grey." Jax said. "We can handke this now problem."
"Yeah. You got us. This Vandal Savage guy should be on the lookout." Spike taunted the future tyrant.
Rip put his hands in his jacket pockets, "Very well, Miss Sparkle. We should have a little meeting with this time-traveller you know of and at least warn him of the Time Masters. If they're aware of this world, then I do fear that he has become a target. They do not take too kindly to rogue travellers."
"Then let's get this show on the road." Snart said, hearing the ship doors open from their spot.
Snart looked back to the outside, "Well... That was quite the experience." he muttered to himself, the ponies outside giving the Legends strange glances of confusion and fear. It took the convincing of Twilight and her friends to ease their worries.
As they stepped into the building, Ray pointed down in front of Mick, "Hey, Mick... There's something on your leg." he observed.
"The hell're you talking about, Haircut?" Mick asked with a somewhat confused glance.
Sara folded her arms, "He's talking about the pony that's clinging onto you like a rapid dog." she pointed out, gesturing a finger to below Mick's ankle, where he looked.
Sure enough, holding onto his leg was a mint green pony, her hooves wrapped around his leg. She gave the arsonist a sheepish smile, "Hi..." she greeted awkwardly.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Mick asked.
"Lyra. Ponyville's premiere human expert." the unicorn, Lyra, introduced herself. "Or at least, that's what I call myself, since nopony else is willing to do the research."
Snart sighed, "So, why are you hitching a ride on my partner's legs?" he asked.
Lyra looked at the former criminal and exclaimed, "Because I need to know if all of you are actually humans! I can prove that I was right to Bon Bon!"
Rip pinched his temples, "If answering you will end this, yes, we're humans. Now, can you leave us be, please? We have important matters to attend to."
Once she was requested, Lyra released her grip on Mick's leg and gave the captain a quick nod, "Yes! I was right!" she sang, skipping away and out the door.
Mick grimaced, "That was freaking weird."
"Yeah. I'm surprised you didn't threaten to roast her or anything like that." Jax commented.
"Ain't worth the time." Heatwave admitted.
Twilight walked in, with the rest of the girls behind her, "Sorry about coming late. We had to explain things to the mayor. Have you found him yet?"
"We just arrived to where you told us, Miss Sparkle." Stein replied, "And had a bit of a run-in with a bizarre unicorn."
"Let me guess... Lyra." Rainbow guessed.
"How did you know?" Sara wondered.
"Lyra has a rather... strange obsession with humans. Apparently she is taking the news of you all rather well, all things considered." Rarity explained, putting a hoof to her chin.
"So we're living conspiracies?" Ray wondered, "That's pretty cool." he put his hands in his pockets. He saw the strange glances he gained from his small comment, "What?"
Rip put his hands to his sides, "So, Miss Sparkle. Who are we supposed to meet with anyway?"
"Time Turner. He claims to be a time expert. Maybe he can shed some light on whether the Time Masters have made themselves involved in Equestria yet." Twilight elaborated.
Snart frowned and shrugged, "That's it? To see if a pony has the same experience as the Time Masters? Seems rather far-fetched if you ask me."
"If I may, Mister Snart," Stein began, "If what Twilight is saying is true, then perhaps we may have a clue on who the new Kronos is. Then we can focus our attention to Vandal Savage."
Jax nodded, "Yeah, there's no way that a pony Kronos showing up the same time as us is a coincidence."
Mick stepped forward, "Well, we're not gonna get answers just standin' here. Let's get this over with." he reached a counter and slammed his fist on the small bell, creating a small ringing sound. Pony and Legend alike awaited a response for a few moments. Alas, they heard the sound of a door opening.
A brown stallion with a chocolate mane peeked out before glancing to the ponies, then the Legends. His eyes widened, nearly hiding back in, but Twilight eased him, "Time Turner! Don't worry, they're with us! They won't hurt you." she assured.
Time Turner stepped out a minute later, glancing at the humans, his cutie mark was an hourglass. "I... See. Quite an ensemble you have brought with you Princess Twilight." he complimented in awe.
"I know right?!" Pinkie cheered.
Captain Cold smirked, "We get it. Your world hasn't seen humans. Is this a common thing?" he quipped. "Now, it's about time we got some answers about what's happening."
Sara folded her arms, "Can we ask a few questions?"
Time Turner blinked, "Uh sure... Is this about the shop?"
Adjusting his collar, Rip shook his head, "No, Mister Turner. You see, I was formerly known as a Time Master. It has come to our attention that you may know a thing or two about time travel. Do you wish to elaborate upon that?" he introduced the Legends before he replied at last.
Silently gulping, Turner took a step back. "I... I wished to forget about those times."
Curious, Kendra raise a brow, "So, you do know something?"
Rainbow groaned, "And you've been hiding this cool stuff from us? We can actually believe your novels as real now!"
Applejack took note of Time Turner's frightened look, "Everything alright, sugarcube? Ya look rather scared."
"I used to work for the Time Masters as well..." he revealed. "I realized that their methods were rather... unorthodox, and so I hid here away from their eye. No one else is supposed to know such a name. I cannot be found here, otherwise I would be killed or worse." he added with a small gulp.
"Do not worry, we're against them as well." Stein assured. "It seems we do have an answer at least."
Time Turner raised a brow, "An answer to what?"
"A bounty hunter called Kronos has revealed himself. And it's a pony." Twilight explained, "From what they're saying, whoever is under the armor. The Time Masters did that. Have you ever encountered somepony named Kronos in your travels?"
"Kronos? Here? Oh no..." whispered the stallion.
Spike frowned, "Don't worry, we ran him off. He won't be back."
Hearing those words, Time Turner raised a brow, "You fended him off? How? Kronos is supposed to be the strongest bounty hunter the Time Masters had besides the Pilgrim."
Rip pit his hands in his pockets, "My team and I had to. This wasn't the first time we encountered him. Nor was this the first one we fought. It seems the original Kronos had been replaced."
"Yeah. Any clue as to why the Time Masters would send a pony after us?" Sara asked.
Shaking his head, the stallion answered, "No. I'm afraid not. I have abandoned any jurisdiction as a Time Master when I retreated to this dimension. I wish to not learn of their affairs any more."
Snart tilted his head, "So, let me guess, you're a human like us? Quite a twist if I say so myself."
"Woah! You-You're not a pony?" Rainbow asked, "Awesome!"
Time Turner shushed them, "Indeed I am not. I had the technology to blend in within this dimension. Tis information cannot leave this building. And Derpy especially cannot know of such news. I am telling you all this for a reason. Should the Time Masters truly know of this dimension, then I too would be a target. And it appears this team has encountered such problems with them before."
Mick growled and revealed his heat gun, "You have no idea. Got a bone to pick with them."
Rarity faced Heatwave, "You make it seem rather... personal, Mister Rory."
"That's because it is." Mick answered.
Ray waved a hand, "Trust me, you don't wanna know. It pisses him off everytime it gets brought up." he then folded his arms, "But now we know another Time Master on our side. Why did you leave anyway?"
"Because... Because I saw all the tragedies in history and what would come as a result. I could not stand back and allow such events to occur by doing nothing. I wanted to change history, but Kronos had deterred me in each time I went to. With each passing failure, I realized how dire the consequences would be if I were to rebel and alter history freely. So, I left our universe and found myself here and blended in, where I've come to enjoy the land of Harmony." revealed Time Turner.
Jax nodded, "Alright. So you live here. Not a bad change then."
"Now, why did you leave Captain Hunter? And why are you here?"
Rip sighed, "In the year 2166, an immortal tyrant named Vandal Savage took over the world. His murder of my family, opened my eyes of the tragedies in the past and how he may have had a hand in such incidents. In order to stop him, I brought together the very team you see here to travel through history and end his rule before it even began. Vandal Savage has found his epway using a fragment of the meteor that made him and Kendra immortal."
"You're trying to end Vandal Savage?! And he's here? Are you crazy?! He's too powerful!"
Captain Cold shrugged, "Maybe we are. I don't give a crap. Killing him would make us rich."
"So you also know of Vandal Savage?" Twilight wondered.
Time Turner slowly nodded, "Yes I do. He is too powerful to be left alone."
"We are well aware of that." Stein corrected.
The stallion shook his head, "Now, can you please leave? If you're being tracked, I'd rather not get myself involved."
"Already kicking us out? That's a record time." Snart commented.
Rip nodded, "Of course. We will not bother you anymore. Do go on, it seems you're happy here. We will make sure the Time Masters fix their mistakes."
"See you soon again, I guess." Spike waved off.
With pony and Legend alike gone, Time Turner retreated back to his quarters, where he let out a sigh of relief. "No more. I have moved on from such a time in my life." he raised his eyes, which then widened, as he saw a pony in armor glaring at him through a metal mask, his features emotionless. "How... How did you find me?"
"The Time Masters always knew of your betrayal." Kronos revealed, loading one of his guns, "It's about time they wanted to do something about it."
Time Turner jumped from his spot, narrowly dodging a beam. Kronos came over and shot another beam, this time hitting the stallion as he jumped. Time Turner was launched back and hit his back on the wall, grunting as he collapsed. The last thing he saw was Kronos gun hitting, making everything go black in his vision.
Kronos put a hoof to his ear, "Kronos to Time Masters. I have detained the one called Time Turner. Retrieving him to the Vanishing Point now."
With that, Kronos lifted Time Turner over his back and wandered into a small portal made. It was like he would never leave.
A white light was seen flashing in the center of the field where the team was fighting Kronos. Appearing from the fading light were six ponies and a dragon. They opened their eyes to see the Legends, looking at them as though they weren't expected to show.
Rip put a hand to his head as he ducked, "I told you to stay behind! This is too dangerous for all of you!"
"Looks like they're not takin' orders from you, Rip." Captain Cold chuckled, shooting at Kronos, who tanked the ice beam. Snart gritted his teeth at the sight, annoyed by the bounty hunter's stubbornness.
"Yeah. We can do things thank you very much!" Rainbow muttered sarcastically.
The pony Kronos raised his blaster and shot at the ponies. It was then, Twilight used her magic to create a forcefield around her friends and herself, but it didn't prove strong enough and the seven were launched back from the force of the beam. They tumbled on the grass for a moment, no visible injuries.
"Ow..." groaned Twilight, her and the others getting to their feet. "...This world is ours to protect, Captain Hunter." she declared, "And this Kronos is a pony, so clearly something is off here."
"Unexpected assistance from Equestrians. Must eliminate." Kronos said in a robotic tone.
"Looks like ya pissed him off." Heatwave commented, hitting the armored pony with the barrel of his gun, bringing it to his head. "Ah. That felt really good." he grunted in slight glee.
White Canary kneed Kronos, making him stumble back. Rainbow Dash decided to step into the battle and use her speed to make the bounty hunter trip on his hooves, bringing him on his back. "Ha! That'll teach ya, creep!" the pegasus boasted, seeing Kronos reach for his large blaster once more.
Sara pushed Rainbow aside, the two of them rolling on the floor, narrowly avoiding the blast. "You shouldn't have come out here!" she growled st the cyan mare.
"And miss out on fighting a time-travelling bounty hunter? No thanks!" Rainbow hissed, hovering above the white-clad assassin, who glared at Rainbow.
Firestorm tossed a fireball in the direction of Kronos, forcing him to hop back before getting hit by the projectile, "Now's not the time for boasting. Kronos is serious business!" he warned, making an arch in his flight path next to the pegasus.
"I dunno guys. That is kind of a cool claim. It's kinda why I'm here," the Atom admitted, shooting a repulsor blast at the bounty hunter. He dove down and brought both of his fists to the pony's stomach.
"And that's why you're not leader!" Captain Cold quipped, kneeling behind the ship for cover.
Pinkie hopped, dodging each shot from Kronos, "You are different from my other targets." he commented.
"Of course I am! Oh, and look out... In front of you!" Pinkie said, hopping on Kronos' shoulder, distracting him long enough to get decked by Sara and Applejack, with two strong kicks from the two of them.
Rip spun slightly, shooting at Kronos with his laser pistol, each shot missing Kronos except for one, which landed on his padded chest, only creating a very small scorch mark on the armor. "You're just as persistent as the original I'll give you that." he growled, holding his weapon in both hands as he inhaled.
Rarity used her magic to lift Kronos up, catching him off guard. This gave the Atom and Hawkgirl to strike down, the latter using her mace to hit the temporal bounty hunter in the stomach, launching him back with a powerful blow.
"Tactical advantage... Must strike back..." Kronos panted, grabbing into his arsenal, he tossed a cylinder of sorts into the air, then it bounced on the ground. Smoke suddenly appeared out of it, blinding most of the heroes there. Ray attempted to find Kronos on his own with aid of his ATOM suit, and even saw Kronos for a second.
The Atom lunged himself forward, "Get back here, Kronos!" he yelled, but instead of catching the bounty hunter, he took a blaster shot to the chest, making him fall back on the ground. Ray tried to get up, but his suit refused to budge. "Crap... EMP blast. Didn't think he had one of those." he grunted. "Um, guys? I can't get out of this!"
Rip groaned, "Miss Fluttershy." he called out, getting the meek pegasus' attention, "I need you and Rarity to get Ray back to the Waverider so he can adjust his suit properly. We'll cover for you two to make your retreat." he declared.
"Okay, Captain Hunter. Are you going to be fine?" Fluttershy quietly replied and Rarity nodded with Rip doing the same in response. The white unicorn using her magic to levitate the armored man back to the timeship with them.
Rainbow Dash decided to chase him next, but Kronos turned invisible, unable for her to see. "Uh... Where did he go?" she asked, turning her head as the smoke cleared. Then, she suddenly felt something collide with her stomach, making her flinch in pain and she buckled down on her knees.
"Yep. Found him." said Captain Cold, aiming his Cold Gun in front of Rainbow, who's eyes widened. He pulled the trigger, with the cyan pegasus believing to get herself frozen, but the beam didn't hit her. Instead she found Kronos partially covered in ice.
Spike hopped up, "Hey, you look a little cold there! How about I warm ya up?!" he shouted, inhaling before exhaling a burst of green flames from his mouth, catching the bounty hunter off guard.
Heatwave smirked, "I like the kid's style."
Hawkgirl revealed her wings again and kneed Kronos once Spike ran off, then White Canary added a right hook, making the bounty hunter roll in pain. Heatwave shot a beam of flames at the armored pony, making him stagger back.
As Kronos attempted to block, his free hoof reached into the strap on his armor and threw another cylinder down: a flash grenade. It created a blinding light for everyone and everypony, but it gave Kronos enough time to reach into his ship. The timeship took off once the light vanished, "Wha-huh?" Firestorm asked. "Where's Kronos?"
"Up there." Rip pointed out.
In the sky was Kronos' timeship, which vanished without a trace. With the imminent threat gone, Rip looked at the ponies with a glare. "Why did you show yourself? You all could've seriously hurt!"
Twilight decided to speak first, "If I may, Captain Hunter. This is our world, and that was a pony that you seemed to recognize. This isn't the first threat we've faced in Equestria. We have as much of a right to help in this as much as you do."
"Ouch. Out with the diplomacy, huh?" Snart chuckled.
Kendra looked at the Captain, "She has a point, Rip."
"I understand, but this looks to be something beyond the usual even by this world's standards." Rip stated.
"I saved an entire kingdom from a dark king bent on enslaving it." Spike boasted, "I think we'll be fine."
"You sure that happened kid?" Leonard asked.
"Yeah. Twilight and the others can vouch for me." Spike huffed.
Firestorm landed, separating back to Jax and Stein. "This new Kronos is quite the enigma. If he was sent here, then it seems our presence is already known." the older scientist pointed out.
"Yeah, but how could he know we were here?" Kendra asked.
Sara crossed her arms, "He's a pony. So clearly they did some travelling of their own like before. As of now, the only people we know in this world are all of you."
"He's from the future..." Rip realized.
Rainbow shook her head, "This isn't making sense... You mean to tell me that a nutcase we never met showed up in the past to kill us? That's messed up!"
"Yeah... But now we need to figure out who this is." Applejack said.
The Time Master put his hands on his hips, "We can discuss this back on the Waverider. We need to check on Mister Palmer and the status of the ship."
Mick scowled, bad memories flashing in his mind. The ponies were better off not knowing what he went through in that armor.
