Disclaimer: I don't own any of the things mentioned in the disclaimers of previous chapters.
Tater Tot Ninja: Thanks for reading so far, and enjoy the new addition. Sorry for the very long downtime, but it's here. Plus, thanks for reviewing
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SSB:Beta – New Power
The forty-nine individuals stood in the arena obstacle course. The course snaked its way all-around the arena, spiralling in to a tower at the centre. The smashers assumed they needed to reach the tower, so at once they all dashed forward. The first section was a tunnel. As they ran towards it, a metallic barrier closed over the entrance. A large monitor hanging from the ceiling (much like a jumbotron) came to life as a familiar face was displayed across its screen.
"Welcome, all of you, to the test course, "boomed Dr. Valence over the amplifiers, "its challenges are designed to increase your personal and group abilities. Before you is a metal barrier. You must focus in your new abilities to destroy it in order to proceed. Good Luck."
The smashers started to beat at it with their fists. Mew, however, stood back. Having previously been a physicist, he observed the structure to figure out a strategy. All structures must have a weak point, he thought, so he glanced over the barrier to find any anomalies or weak points. At the bottom, he noticed a lock mechanism, which presumably kept the barrier from falling back underneath the floor from where it had risen. As Mew puzzled over the barrier, strange sensation came over him. He focused his mind on the device to solve the problem, when the lock started to vibrate. Mew snapped back into reality. It stopped, but he was very certain he had "felt" it moving, though he was standing far back. He focused on it once again, and as it shook, he concentrated harder. A pink glow overcame his eyes, and the lock blew apart. Shrapnel flew back at him, and as he put his arm up to cover his face, a pink bubble surrounded him and warded off the shrapnel. He gasped, and the shield dissipated. The barrier slipped through a hole with a crash. The other forty-eight smashers stared at him wide-eyed.
"Mew?"
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They all shook it off and ran into the tunnel. The tunnel was fairly dark, so they all kept going straightforward towards a light at the end. Halfway through the tunnel, Link heard a click as he stepped on a floor panel. Fluorescent lights lit up, showering the tunnel with bright light. The smashers stood in awe. All around them the walls were weapon and tool displays. Swords, Knives, Guns, Explosives, Shields, Ropes, and even child playthings lined the walls. A wall-mounted monitor flicked on. Text gave instructions to the smashers to take whatever they needed. They stood as a group, unsure of what to choose. Diddy broke the calm by dashing over to wooden-looking pistols. A small label mounted below them said, "Peanut Popguns". He plucked them from the wall, and turned, only to discover the most wonderful and slightly odd contraption. Two barrels stuck together, with fins and rocket heads. Diddy realized they had to be rocket boosters or a jetpack or something equally cool. Being the child that he was, he scrambled over and reached for the barrel jets. He was a meter short of his goal. A grin crossed his face and he slowly started climbing the wall. His new form was useful. With his tail he gripped the barrel jets and climbed back down. DK (Donkey Kong will be referred to as DK) applauded his son, regardless of their changes.
Everyone smiled at this sight. Then without further ado, they pounced on all the items. Many smashers didn't find anything suitable, and decided to try and rely on their new abilities. Others felt they could augment their abilities with weapons and tools. Peach picked a pink parasol, which matched her pink dress. To her dismay, she also wanted a frying pan, a golf club, and a tennis racquet. She turned to the monitor. The text was different, this time saying that some items had resizing controls, for storage and transportation. Some weapons had it, some did not. So Peach took all of her desired equipment and shrunk it. It disappeared completely, but the monitor also stated that the resizable items could be shrunk and re-grown via brain waves. She thought about her parasol and it sprung fully-sized into her hand. Peach liked this technology.
Jigglypuff found a small microphone. It contained a speaker, and self-charging battery, so she could use it to project her voice in any situation. She enjoyed singing, and this certainly beat the cord mikes often used. Or changing batteries, she thought. Meanwhile, Ness had found himself a nifty yo-yo and a baseball bat. Marth found a long sword called "Falchion". He had felt no feeling of power within himself, but with the blade in his hand he could feel energy moving through him. He concentrated and the blade glowed blue. He placed his hand on a wall and focused. The spot around his hand also glowed blue. Interesting, he thought, he could apparently charge objects with energy by contacting them. Ike also found a large, two-handed sword. It was called "Ragnell". These beta guys sure came up with odd names for stuff. He looked over at Marth, but he himself didn't feel anything special, so he sheathed the sword onto his back.
Fox, Falco, and Wolf found themselves looking over the same section of equipment. It looked very advanced. They all grabbed the same things. A laser pistol, a reflector shield, and a physical booster, which on thought command could augment a body movement (via power, speed, or even fire). Wario was straddling a yellow motorcycle. This would suit him fine, so he strapped on the helmet, and keyed the ignition. It roared to life and he revved it a few times to make sure it was running smoothly. Without looking back, he zipped out of the tunnel. Some smashers shook their heads at this.
Samus, having been encased in this cybernetically-enhanced armour, was browsing thorugh various attachments. She wound up picking an arm cannon, which could be switched to fire different ammo and had a grapple feature. A computer with a download terminal stood beside her. She uplinked the suit, and found some useful upgrade programs. A ball form, a screw attack program, and some new visor settings were installed onto her suit. Sheik stood on the opposite side as Samus. She glanced over a selection of assassin weapons. In the end she chose a chain whip and throwing needles. Popo and Nana found themselves matching mallets. Olimar found a spray dispenser, which he thought could come in handy. He also took some canisters of ultra-bitter spray and ultra-spicy spray.
Kirby waddled around here and there. Every so often he saw something he wanted. Each time, to his surprise, he would involuntarily open his mouth extremely wide and inhale the object. He found he could then absorb the object or spit it out with powerful force. He learned to control it and decided to absorb things which would give him a wide variety of abilities. Dedede discovered a large hammer, which also had an internal booster. Metaknight picked up a sword called "Galaxia". He also donned a silver mask which would enable him to see in the dark, and a cape could hide and teleport him. Snake found an assortment of explosives and guns. He also found a cardboard box, which surprisingly had a large interior compared to its small size. A mobile heli-lifter also seemed useful, so he took that too. Pit found a bow which could separate into two short swords and shot arrows of light energy. Geno had equipped his puppet-like body with guns and various fighting mechanisms. Lyn found a long sword. Krystal took a staff with psychic amplifiers. She had seen it and felt connected to it. Maybe she was psychic like Mew. She also felt that same connection to him. Ty seemed to be content with customizable boomerangs. They could be equipped with different effects and he also enjoyed boomerangs as a young kid. Isaac wielded a sword called the "Sol Blade". It shone with golden light.
Finally, they all were happy with their decisions and set off. Unfortunately, Link was still looking. He had taken the "Master Sword", which was described as a very powerful sword. He had picked up a two hook shots and a bow. He was currently looking at the different arrows he could use. He grabbed a few and turned to the others, who were now long gone. He quickly ran off in the direction they went.
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The smashers (excluding Link and Wario) made their way through the course. They came to a large arena-like clearing, the center of which was dominated by a colossal mechanical tyrannosaurus rex. The robot was running...away from them. The saw past its metallic legs and saw a panicking Wario accelerating his motorcycle. The robot was chasing him. A laser shot from a gun emplacement on its torso. The laser hit the floor slightly ahead of Wario, but in an attempt to brake he flew off the bike. He would've run to a bit further to the other side, but the robot needed to be defeated before the way would be open. The others were stunned at the sight, but Pikachu jumped into action. He darted across the arena quickly, belying the nature of his short limbs. The robot was locking on to Wario as its sensors picked up a small vibration. It turned and inspect the small yellow creature, which was busy rubbing its head. The robot opened up its mouth, to reveal a large flame cannon.
As it ignited, Pikachu felt sad. He hadn't had a very long life, and hadn't always stood up for himself. Today he would change things. Sparks crackled at his cheeks. Startled by this energy, he pushed outward with his frustration and emotion. An electrifying shockwave spread out from his body and a thunderbolt launched from Pikachu into the Mecha Rex (as I shall now call it) and it threw its head upwards from the impact. Its chest plating was searing hot, and a large puncture, with sparks flying out. It had just been firing the flame cannon when it had been hit, so the movement of its head though the projectile off target. The other smashers looked horrified as a giant fireball soared towards their huddled formation. Mew leaped to the front and threw up his arms. A pink bubble formed around him and with strong mental determination, he jumped at the fireball. Some gasped as they made contact. The fireball dissipated in a fiery boom, but a small pink bubble shot onwards. Mew had found he could keep himself buoyant and propel himself with his psychic ability. He raced over to help Pikachu and Wario. Wario put his motorcycle away and grabbed a metal chunk. He chucked it at the Mecha Rex in a fit of rage. It put a small dent in its toe, but grabbed its attention. As it turned the speeding pink bubble slammed into its jaw hinge. A small explosion tore its mouth off. The flame cannon had been eliminated.
The others were encouraged by this and charged into battle, regardless of not knowing their abilities. Unfortunately, the Mecha Rex had strong defences and weapon systems. Pikachu had been tired by his outburst, and was laying half-conscious on the floor. The smashers were already in poor condition after a few minutes. Ike was struggling to stay standing, and leaned on his sword. A shout echoed from the entrance, and there stood Link, with a bomb arrow on his bowstring. He released the shaft and it flew very high. Too high, in fact. It arced and fell back down, right in front of Ike. It struck the floor and exploded. Ike threw his arms forward in a futile attempt to block the flame. He had acted on adrenaline, fear, and emotion. He felt a powerful feeling as the fire sprang up in front of him. He pushed out, and the fire concentrated and burst in the opposite direction. It streaked towards the Mecha Rex. The fiery burst tore off the Mecha Rex's arm. It let out a metallic roar and started toward Ike. Ike failed to notice as he focused his gaze on his hands. He could control fire, but he only felt power when fire was readily available. He shifted his focus back onto Mecha Rex, and grinned. He had a new plan. He swung Ragnell through a flame left from the bomb arrow impact, and with a surge of power, Ragnell was alight with flame. He ran at the Mecha Rex, and in a motion he swung the blade with both hands. His grim determination and fiery power pushed the blade cleanly through the large metal leg. Mecha Rex fell with a crash, and the light from its sensors faded into nothingness. He grinned, as his tired legs gave out and he collapsed.
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Hooray, after a bunch of months it's done. I hope you enjoyed.