Spring Man took deep breaths as the crowd cheered. On the other side of Spring Stadium was the defeated Springtron, his robotic doppelganger. Their battle had gone down to the last hit. He waved to the crowd like he was in a good mood as he walked back to the locker room. He always felt like he couldn't afford to lose in Spring Stadium or to Springtron, so a match against Springtron in Spring Stadium had made him terrified of losing. Unfun fights like that always wore him out.
When Spring Man entered the locker room Max Brass was waiting for him with a bottle of water. "That was close, good job closing it out," Max Brass said. He and Spring Man shared a fist bump. Spring Man slipped off the Tribolt and Boomerang attachments he had used for the match and stored them in the locker. He took the water bottle. "One of the Smashers is right outside, I can give you some tips about that match when you come back from the visit," Max Brass said as Spring Man drank. Despite being the reigning champion Max Brass had always been generous with his offers to train and practice.
"Oh right, nearly forgot about that," Spring Man said. "That creepy robot always makes it hard for me to think. Why are we still letting one of Coyle's goons compete anyway?" Max Brass sighed.
"You were one of the people who fought to keep Helix in the league after that disaster in the Grand Prix finals, you should have realized that precedent would keep Springtron in too," Max Brass said.
"Well I don't have the heart to let Helix get kicked out, so I guess I'll put up with it for now. I should get going now, need to make a good impression on the Smashers. See ya," Spring Man said. He put his hand through his blue pompadour to make sure it was still in place, pushed open the door, and confidently stepped outside. One of the Smashers was waiting for Spring Man in the hallway. He was wearing a black tank top and green shorts. He had the analytical eyes of a veteran fighter.
"Hey, name's Little Mac. That was a good match back there," the Smasher said.
"Thanks," Spring Man said. "That was one of the narrowest wins I've had this year."
"You looked like you were about to fall over when you closed it out," Little Mac commented. "Don't worry I'm a boxer so I know how to look for that kind of stuff, the audience didn't notice," He added after seeing the panicked look on Spring Man's face. Neither of them knew what to say next. "Uh, anyway the car is right outside," Little Mac said. They walked towards the exit.
The moment they got out onto the city streets a horde of reporters descended on Spring Man. Cameras and microphones were aimed directly at him. He couldn't do anything to fight back. "Any comments on your recent victory?" "How do you feel about criticisms that you aren't taking the Arms League seriously?" "Are the rumors that Max Brass and Doctor Coyle used to be a couple true?" That last question made Spring Man want to throw up. Normally he would have tried to respond to a few of the more respectful questions but instead he hurried into a long limousine with Little Mac. Spring Man was quickly introduced to the driver, who was also Little Mac's coach, a man named Doc Louis.
As the car took off Spring Man closed his eyes and leaned back. In a matter of seconds he was asleep and completely missed the jump between dimensions. When they arrived at Smash Mansion Little Mac shook him awake. "Thanks. I feel so much better now," Spring Man said with a yawn as he regained consciousness. He got out of the limo and looked around.
Smash Mansion itself was large, and the area around it certainly wasn't small either. Spring Man guessed that the halls would be big enough for him to jog in on rainy days. The gardens had clear cut paths that would also make good jogging routes. There were also plenty of strange plants that he had a feeling weren't present in his world but he was confident they weren't dangerous. While he was looking around Little Mac exchanged a few words with Doc Louis before the coach drove back into the nearby town. "This is bigger than I thought it would be. Do you guys have any rooms with training equipment?" Spring Man asked.
"Yeah. And if it isn't good enough for you it will transform into something better. The Hands did something weird to make the mansion change in response to what we want. An entire boxing ring appeared out of nowhere after I showed up. The less you question the less your head will hurt," Little Mac said.
"That actually sounds pretty cool. You know I've only met Crazy Hand, is Master hand less, you know…" Spring Man tapped his foot as he tried to find the right word.
"You can actually keep up with what he's saying."
"That's a relief," Spring Man said. When Crazy Hand had scouted him the conversation they got into had been almost as exhausting as fighting Springtron. "So are you just going to show me around the place?"
"Basically," Little Mac said. "We can hit the dining hall right away if you want."
Spring Man fully extended one of his arms and grabbed a slice of pizza from a plate further up the table. He liked how much space the interior of the mansion had. A side effect of the ARMS gene was that it was easy to feel cramped in spaces where normal people wouldn't. He kept that information out of the description of the ARMS ability he gave the Smashers in the dining hall. "So some people in your world are just born with that ability?" Samus asked. She had her helmet in her lap as she ate some creamy heart soup.
"Yeah. It usually doesn't show until the teens though," Spring Man said, taking a large bite of the pizza slice. "I was a little freaked out when mine activated, but come on look at these things, they're too rad to complain about." Spring Man extended his arms to touch the ceiling and retracted them. From what he had seen having enough space to extend his arms wouldn't be an issue anywhere in the mansion.
"Well, I guess that's one way to look at it," Samus said. She looked down at her arms. Spring Man snagged another slice of pizza. "So there's a pretty big bounty on that Coyle woman's head. Where do you think she is?"
"Could ya not ask the newcomers for leads on bounties? He hasn't even signed up yet," Little Mac protested.
"He's connected to the case and I refuse to let Captain Falcon win our bet," Samus said. She pointed in the direction of someone who Spring Man assumed was Captain Falcon. Spring Man looked at Little Mac in confusion.
"They're trying to see who can get the biggest bounty from a newcomer's world. Stuff like this is pretty common whenever recruitment starts. Ace over there is already sick of it," Little Mac said, pointing out the first and so far only fifth generation Smasher. Unless Spring Man decided to accept the offer.
"If you want to track Coyle down then check ARMS Laboratory. Or anything ARMS related, she's obsessed with it," Spring Man said. He took yet another slice of pizza. Now that he thought about it he had no clue why Coyle seemed to have it out for him in particular. It was pretty obvious that Springtron hadn't been made out of admiration.
"Got it. See you later, I'm heading to the shooting range," Samus said. She got up from the table and put her helmet back on. A yellow mouse like creature leapt onto her shoulder and waved to Spring Man as she walked away. Little Mac sighed.
"Sorry about that, she can be pretty single minded whenever bounty hunting gets brought up. Anyway should you be eating that much pizza?" Little Mac asked.
"Don't worry, my arms use up a lot of energy so this fits into the diet," Spring Man said. He took a bowl of creamy meat soup and ate it quickly. After going through some more food Spring Man waited for Little Mac to finish eating. When he was done they got up and left to continue the tour.
The training room was filled with rows of neatly organized exercise equipment. They were so well maintained that they looked like they hadn't been used at all. The wall was a somewhat unsettling blank white, Spring Man figured he'd get used to it with time. There was a door on the left wall and a door on the right wall. "The left door leads to a room with a bunch of yoga mats. Right one is where we keep the boxing ring," Little Mac explained.
A woman entered the room through the door on the left, her skin was so white she looked like a mannequin. "Hello Little Mac," she said. Something was off about her voice. It didn't sound robotic but there was something in it that made Spring Man think of Byte and Springtron.
"Hey FT. Just showing the visitor around. Spring Man this is FT," Little Mac introduced.
"Nice to meet you," Spring Man said.
"Same on my side," FT responded. She stepped onto a treadmill and turned it on. "If you need any assistance with maintaining your body I can assist. I was created for that purpose," she said as she ran. Spring Man scratched his head as Little Mac sighed.
"Right I should probably explain that. FT here was made in some lab to be the perfect fitness trainer. She has the brain of a robot but her body is just like ours aside from the weird color," Little Mac said.
"My creators referred to me as 'Biological Pseudo Android Personal Fitness Trainer Model F,' I prefer the name FT. Master Hand brought me in during the fourth wave of recruitment to get some of the Smashers into shape, after my fighting ability was observed I was recruited as a Smasher," FT expositioned. She continued running on the treadmill. Little Mac winced. Spring Man suddenly had a feeling her training regimen was exactly how Master Hand saw her combat potential.
"I actually know somebody who has kind of a similar story, he was grown in a tube to compete in the ARMS League. Anyway if I end up as a Smasher I might try out some of your training," Spring Man said. Then he got an idea. "Actually if you need some more clients you could try working with Spring Gym, I can put you into contact with people there." FT turned her head to face Spring Man.
"Thank you. I have access to many resources and formulas for the creation of personalized training regimens so I should be able to assist that gym," FT said. She turned her head back forward. He still wasn't sure if being a Smasher fit with his goal of enhancing Spring Gym's reputation but at least now the attempt had gotten something for Spring Gym. Little Mac opened the door in the right wall and gestured for Spring Man to follow him.
The side room had a small boxing ring in one of its corners. A white sandbag with a pair of eyes drawn on it stood at the other side of the room. Some lights hung from the ceiling and there were a few windows on the upper part of the walls. Aside from that and a few pieces of equipment that were laid against the side of the boxing ring there was nothing else in the room. It gave the room a focused feeling that Spring Man liked. He could easily see himself spending hours there.
"Try not to knock the sandbag through the window," Little Mac said.
"Did that actually happen?" Spring Man asked.
"Uh, yeah," Little Mac awkwardly put his hands together. "Master Hand can immediately repair anything here but for some reason he still gets upset if anything does get broken."
"Well if I actually did punch that sandbag through the window it would totally be worth it," Spring Man said.
"Trust me you don't want to see Master Hand get angry," Little Mac said with a nervous laugh. "Anyway I guess this basically wraps up the tour. Unless there's something else you'd like to do."
"You said you're a boxer right? How about we have a friendly match right here?" Spring Man offered. Little Mac's face lit up.
"I'm up for it. I'm better at getting to know people through boxing than talking," Little Mac said. He ran to the lockers and grabbed two pairs of boxing gloves. He handed one of them to Spring Man before dashing to the further side of the boxing ring. Spring Man put on the gloves and jumped onto the closer side of the ring.
"Ready?"
"Yep. Let's go."
Spring Man extended his right arm to punch. Little Mac sidestepped and moved closer, then stopped and held up his arms to block a punch from Spring Man's left arm. With the size of the boxing ring the range advantage granted by the ARMS gene wasn't insurmountable but Little Mac still wasn't close enough to punch Spring Man. Spring Man threw a punch that curved to catch Little Mac's dodge and knocked him to the side.
"That was clever but I ain't gonna fall for it again," Little Mac said. Spring Man threw another punch. Little Mac blocked it and stepped forward. Spring Man also stepped forward as he threw another punch, then threw another behind it to catch any movement. Little Mac smirked. He ran towards the fists and leapt over them. Spring Man couldn't retract his arms in time to block. Little Mac's fist made contact with Spring Man's chest and sent him stumbling backwards as the boxer landed with both feet on the ground, immediately hopping back with both arms thrown up in defense.
"That move was pretty good too," Spring Man complimented. The way Little Mac moved around his punches and his leaping attack made Spring Man's superior range a non-issue. So he would have to stick with letting Little Mac stay in striking range and hope the curve of his punches were enough to catch Little Mac's dodges. He blocked a hit from Little Mac and retaliated. The counter attack was blocked and responded to with an equally futile attack. They kept the volley up for a while, attack, guard, attack, guard. Spring Man saw a chance to break the stalemate. He gathered energy for a rush attack and unleashed a rapid flurry of punches towards Little Mac. Little Mac dodged just in time and pulled out his own trump card.
"Star…" Little Mac's right fist charged towards Spring Man's chin "punch!" Little Mac landed the attack right as Spring Man struck him with the rush of punches. Spring Man went into the air while Little Mac was blown back. Little Mac kept his feet on the ground as he slid to the other end of the boxing ring while Spring Man crashed into the ring. Spring Man was able to pull himself up before Little Mac could offer to help.
"That was awesome. Guess you win," Spring Man said. He stretched his arms over to the locker and put the boxing gloves away.
"It was pretty close. Your punches are really strong," Little Mac said. He slipped his right hand out of it's glove and felt his cheek.
"Thanks. Well after that I'm ready to go back," Spring Man said.
"Got it. I'll walk you to the exit," Little Mac said. They shared a fist bump. If Spring Man did join the Smashers he knew who his rival was going to be. For now he was just focused on walking with Little Mac out of the mansion and back to his own world. He would make the decision after taking some time to think things through. Either way he didn't have any regrets about the visit.