Ultimate Spiders and Magic: Episode VII "Sting of the Scorpion"

Chapter Four “Tainted Legacy”

Along the outskirts of the park, Twilight sat in front of the spider slayer with a furrowed brow. She propped its hatch open, cross referencing many of its wires, and with a soldering pen in hand, began welding some of its broken pieces back together. Pinkie stood with a cupcake, retrieving a handful of sprinkles from her pocket before dropping the topping onto the icing over her treat. The girl scarfed the treat down in several bites, all while Applejack stood with her arms crossed.

However, Rarity watched Twilight with a wary gaze and fidgeted in place, rubbing at the goosebumps forming over her arms. “I just don’t understand how you could fiddle with such a thing, Twilight. Doesn’t it bother you?” she questioned, frowning before the spider suddenly whirred to life. The girl shrieked, dashing behind Applejack, and she whined, shaking her head profusely. “How disgusting! I’ll never understand it!”

Before anyone could respond, a powerful gust rushed into the vicinity. Most of the girls braced themselves, raising their arms instinctively as their long hair blew back respectively. They peeked up, finding Sunset standing in the middle of their gathering with a bewildered expression on her face. She alternated her widened gaze about, as if attempting to find something.

However, the phenomenon repeated itself, as Fluttershy suddenly appeared next to the redhead. Blinking, the pink-haired girl's stiff figure shook itself free, before she turned to the side. Everyone shared a glance, unable to figure what had transpired, but a blur sped to a halt mere inches away, causing yet another gust of wind to rush through the area. A familiar flow of rainbow-patterned hair fell, revealing Dash as she bounced in place with a grin.

Dash brushed the dust from her hands, nodding. “Everyone’s here! So, what’s next?”

Shaking the cobwebs from her head, Sunset inhaled deeply, before sighing. “Can you give us a little warning next time, Rainbow? Please don’t make that a habit.” Her tone was soft, yet firm. Once her friend gestured a wave, Sunset rolled her eyes and shifted her focus to the side. “So, what’s going on, Twilight? Why’d you have us come to the park?”

Twilight wiped the sweat from her brow with a forearm, managing a smile once the spider stood upright. “I followed the spectrometer to the junkyard while tracking Spider-Man’s unique electromagnetic signature and found this beautiful piece of machinery there!” she declared, kneeling down before rearranging many of its internal wiring, “It was mangled, but I managed to repair it enough for it to function once again.”

Rarity’s face twisted with disgust, while her white complexion paled even further. “Why would you do such a thing? Please explain why you would mingle with something so disgusting?”

Raising a hand, Applejack murmured under her breath while alternating her line of sight between the robot and Twilight. “What makes you so sure that it even belongs to Spider-Man?”

“Come on, Applejack! It’s a spider! It’s kind of his thing!” Rainbow blurted out, elbowing the blonde girl’s forearm. Both girls shared a glance, both exasperated, but the girl scoffed, holding her hand out to the side. “Okay. It’s a little on the nose, but you have to admit that it’s very convenient.”

Furrowing her brow, Twilight never lifted her gaze from the collection of wiring and circuitry as she continued to sort through it all. “I know it belongs to Spider-Man, because of the tracking mechanism built within the main motherboard,” she coldly stated, finally shutting the main hatch. Twilight retrieved her spectrometer, sliding a microchip into its side slot, and the device glowed as a light illuminated from its center. “It seems it is specifically designed to track arachnid DNA, and it has two large signatures stored in its data banks. It matches the signature Spider-Man exudes on my spectrometer.”

Fluttershy blinked, holding a hand over her mouth. “Um, that doesn’t seem right,” she whispered as her gaze fell downward. “Why would Spider-Man want to track himself?”

“All the more reason why we should find Spider-Man,” Sunset politely intervened, placing a hand over Fluttershy’s shoulder, before glaring at Rainbow from the corner of her eye. “And talk to him first. I’m sure there’s an explanation for whatever is happening.”

Applejack stepped forth, lifting a finger. “We will be careful. The police did say that he’s dangerous. We’ll only subdue Spider-Man if he’s uncooperative.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Rainbow Dash scoffed, before giving a small nod. “Sure thing. If he’s got nothing to hide, there won’t be a problem.” She crossed her arms, turning her back to the group while tapping a foot impatiently against the grass. “Just don’t color me surprised if he turns out to be as sketchy as ever.”

Pinkie Pie emerged between the pair, smiling obliviously while holding one of her sweets. “It’ll be fine! I made him cupcakes! Who doesn’t like a good cupcake?”

Twilight mumbled under her breath, shifting her attention to the spider momentarily, but her glasses slipped from her face, landing on the ground. Exasperated, the girl lowered to a kneeling position with her hand extended. She paused briefly, lifting her blurred vision. Long in the distance, a silhouette stood behind a tree.

Their image was unclear, yet the flow of gold and crimson seemed recognizable. Blinking, Twilight eased her glasses on before lifting her gaze. However, she returned her line of sight to its previous position, only to find nothing in its place. With a furrowed brow, Twilight sorted through the puzzling thoughts coursing through her mind, but she dismissed everything upon sharing a glance with Sunset Shimmer, pursing her lips.

Sunset arched a brow, alternating her gaze between her friend and the direction she was previously looking toward. “Is everything okay, Twilight?”

Nodding, Twilight hummed, but she paused as a lingering idea loomed. “Yes. It’s just that I thought…” she whispered, trailing off before the light on her spectrometer ignited to life. Suddenly, the spider released a metallic screech and turned to the side. It crawled off in a dash, forcing Twilight to grab hold of her spectrometer and clumsily pursue, while struggling to maintain some form of balance. “Come on! It's picked up a strong signature!”

“Finally!” Rainbow cheered, racing off in a blur instantly.

Rarity groaned, shaking her head defiantly, but Rainbow swiftly returned, grabbing her forearm, before vanishing once more. Pinkie grinned and simply followed with a skip in her step. Applejack removed her hat, running a hand through her long blonde hair, before letting out a low sigh. She glanced to the side as Fluttershy watched the ground with a softened gaze. Placing a hand over her shoulder, the blonde seemingly freed the girl from her self-induced trance, and with a nod, the pair slowly followed their compatriots. Sunset did the same, clutching at the collar of her jacket. However, just as she left the vicinity, a shadow watched from a distance with an arched brow. They soon pursued, while holding a finger over their temple.

Deep within the halls of Oscorp, a man with short brown hair sat underneath a large computer screen with a stern glare. The entirety of his lower half lay concealed within a large mechanized wheelchair. With his hands placed together, his eyes scrolled through the collection of walls of text and numbers on the screen that accompanied each photo of every individual Spider-Slayer.

However, all carried a grey tone with the term ‘deactivated’ heavily placed over their frame. An exasperated growl escaped from the man’s mouth as the process repeated, with dozens of the creations having met the same fate. He slammed his fist onto the chair’s panel after a duration, before glancing to the side, but his demeanor loosened once the door behind his position slid open. A woman steadily approached with her arms crossed, a stoic expression ever present on her face.

Once she reached his side, the woman glanced at the screen, but after straightening her glasses, a low sigh escaped from her mouth. “Progress report, Alistair. I would have expected some results by now. Norman is growing increasingly… anxious,” she declared, frowning while shifting her attention to the clipboard in her grasp. “We are still tracking Scorpion remotely, but his signal’s grown weak over the past few hours. I was hoping you possess some intel as to his whereabouts.”

“I’m really growing tired of Osborn’s obsession with the Oz formula. It was all he and my father talked about,” Smythe whispered, tapping a finger impatiently against the metal of his motorized chair, “He died chasing some ludicrous aspect of longevity, and now, you’re wasting my resources chasing yet another failed version of that prospect.”

Frowning, Abacus placed a hand over her hip and stared intently at the man. “Spencer saw the potential of programming, and I know you share his vision. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be continuing his legacy with the Spider-Slayer Initiative. You are far too intelligent to think small,” Her stoic expression faltered momentarily, before she brushed a strand of her violet hair back behind her ear, “Now, what is your status? Have you found the location of either target?”

Growling under his breath, Smythe used his free hand to peck away at the electronic panel installed over his arm rest. “Unfortunately, no. It seems both subjects were able to destroy all thirty-six of my precious Spider-Slayers thoroughly,” he groaned, shaking his head while continuing to sort through the list. Smythe arched a brow and glanced at the woman from the corner of his eye. “I had intended to only incapacitate the targets and extract their DNA, but…”

Cinch huffed, never averting her gaze from her clipboard. “How predictable. Fortunately, Norman feels the same way and has freed all protocols. Feel free to use lethal means. Just assure that we are able to extract a sufficient amount of DNA from the primary target.”

As if satisfied with her response, the corner of Smythe’s lips curled into a smile. However, before he could say anything, the screen overhead brightened. Both individuals turned at the sight, their eyes widening as one of the ‘deactivated’ signals vanished from sight. Smythe’s pecking intensified, before a map appeared at the center of the screen, revealing a crimson dot racing through a path. He shifted, humming once a blue circle materialized into existence, and both seemed to be on a trajectory, nearing each other by the second.

Smythe’s brow lowered, as he stared intently at the screen. “Unit number fourteen has come back online, and it seems to be following Gargan’s signature. How is this possible?” He stopped, blinking while a second window of text appeared on screen, and his frown deepened, before he eventually eased back into his seat. “Ah. Someone reprogrammed the unit’s tracking mechanism but failed to reset the security override.”

Abacus narrowed her gaze. “What do you intend to do? Surely, you wouldn’t allow Oscorp technology to be used without our jurisdiction.”

“Of course not! However, this works in our favor,” Smythe exclaimed, chuckling under his breath, as an idea crept into the forefront of his mind. The man closed the window on the screen and pecked away feverishly at his keyboard. “Instead of taking back control immediately, we allow this third party to track Scorpion, and with a little influence from your end, we have him destroy the witnesses and finish off Spider-Man. I’ll send the remaining fifteen Spider-Slayers to dispose of what remains.”

Slow to respond, Cinch’s stoic expression remained intact for what seemed like an eternity, but she eventually nodded, reaching into her lab coat’s pocket. “Very well. See to it that you don’t fail, Alistair.” Before long, the woman managed to retrieve a small remote device from her clothing and pressed its main button. The corner of her lips curled into a small grin. “We’ve activated Scorpion’s secondary objective. He should be on his way to rid ourselves of that buffoon, Jameson. Just ensure that your Spider-Slayers are thorough in expunging all evidence that would compromise Oscorp Industries.”

Without uttering a verbal response, both individuals shared a nod. Suddenly, the sound of metallic tapping echoed across the halls, and tremors began to course through the vicinity. Mechanical doors soon spread open from the ground, allowing several of the Spider-Slayers to march freely from behind Smythe. Each respectively dove into an opening, releasing a high-pitched screech, while their forms disappeared into the surrounding darkness.

Peter flipped high into the sky, soaring for several seconds, before effortlessly landing at the top of a streetlight. His masked lenses narrowed, honing in on a tiny crimson object flying forward, several meters away. The world slowed momentarily, revealing the Spider-Tracer to Peter’s viewpoint, and the device descended into the park, vanishing into the path of shrubbery. His cranium hummed, prompting a soft set of beeps to echo from within his mask.

“It looks like the tracer has found something,” he murmured, dropping from his perched stance before gripping the streetlight. The boy spun around, throwing his momentum forward, and he pulled his legs into his chest, flipping until the ground steadfastly neared. Spider-Man rolled into the grass, remaining lowered in a defensive stance. However, he snapped to his feet once a Spider-Slayer burst from the confines of a bush. “Wait? Another one? Where did it even–?”

The Spider-Slayer stopped in its tracks, shifting its cold gaze towards Peter, as if it had just noticed his presence. It twitched, releasing a metallic groan in protest, before its crimson lens glowed maliciously. Screeching, the robot lunged towards its acquired target, but Spider-Man reached out, snatching it by the head in a whipping motion. Its body whirred to a halt, falling motionless as the steel caved under Peter’s grip, and the boy relinquished his hold, dropping the creation in a mangled heap of nuts, bolts, and broken steel.

Spider-Man tilted his head to the side at the sight, scratching the back of his head once the smaller Spider-Tracer levitated back onto the scene. “That was weird. Who’s the straggler?” he questioned, pecking away at the hidden buttons placed over the armored portion on his forearm. The Spider-Tracer lowered, crawling into the cracked opening where the Slayer’s head was previously, and a scan of numbers scrolled across his lens, continuing until a second window queued on screen. Kneeling, Spider-Man rubbed at his chin. “Someone McGoober-ed this thing! It looks like whoever did is also tracking the Scorpion. It’d explain why our frequencies got crossed, but who else wants to find him besides–?”

“Hey!” a voice called out, causing Spider-Man to turn to the side. A familiar violet sight raced onto the scene, stumbling free from the surrounding shrubbery, and a girl straightened her glasses, while her eyes narrowed into a glare. “There you are, Spider-Man! I’ve finally found you!”

Spider-Man’s masked eyes furrowed, resembling disappointment. “Oh, no. Not you,” he whispered, turning as if to make his exit, but a blur raced into the scene, skidding to a halt a few feet away. The image cleared, revealing an all too familiar flow of rainbow-patterned locks and a coy smirk. Spider-man stopped in his tracks, cursing under his breath further. “Aw, applesauce.”

“Going somewhere?” Rainbow Dash questioned, her legs and hands twitching with anticipation respectively.

Pointing a thumb behind his shoulder, Spider-Man alternated his gaze about. “Sure. I’ve got a pie in the oven, and the last thing I want to happen is for the crust to overheat. It’s not any good when it’s all brittle and crusty.” Just as he readied himself to depart, evident by his lowered stance, the rest of the Rainbooms arrived by Twilight’s position. Each held a concerned expression, as an awkward silence filled the vicinity. Left to his own growing erratic thoughts, Spider-Man forced out the lump in his throat with a cough. “So, the gang’s all here? Can’t say that I’m prepared for a meet and greet. Did anyone bring bingo cards? I hear those are good ice breakers.”

Applejack slowly raised her hands defensively. “Relax, friend. We just wanna talk.”

“Talk or interrogate?” Spider-Man asked as one of his masked eyes arched. His cranium buzzed, slowing the world to a crawl from the boy’s perspective, “You aren’t really giving the best vibes.”

“I guess it depends on how you respond. You seem pretty twitchy,” Rainbow Dash huffed, raising her fists while bouncing in place.

The air in the vicinity grew thick, making the simple act of breathing difficult for some. No one else responded, while half of the group seemingly stood on edge. Clear sparkling energy enveloped Rarity’s hands, all while her muscles trembled involuntarily. However, Twilight had not moved an inch, only holding a steadfast glare at the vigilante. One hand clutched at the spectrometer, keeping its end fixed in the boy’s direction, and the other gripped the geode around her neck just as soundly, prompting energy to emit a light under her grasp.

Yet, Applejack straightened her posture and stood upright. Pinkie obliviously stood in place, stealing glances at the surroundings of the park. Soon, Spider-Man shared a glance with Fluttershy. While no words were spoken, the girl’s eyes softened, while she weakly nodded. Even momentarily, all tension seemed to have dissipated. However, Peter’s head snapped up once Sunset Shimmer steadily walked towards him with her hand extended.

As if out of instinct, Spider-Man raised a hand and aimed it at the girl, prompting her to stop.
“That’s far enough! I don’t know what you girls have planned! Not unless we’re going to a food crawl? Oh! How about the Cheesecake Factory? That’d be a great spot to mingle! I know it’s not the fanciest spot, but–”

“Enough! You’re just babbling!” Twilight growled, lowering her eyes until it landed on the mangled piece of machinery by the boy’s feet. She sharply pointed a finger, alternating her gaze between all of her compatriots. “Look! It’s the spider! I told you that it was one of his creations!”

“Hey! I resemble– I mean, resent– that remark!” Spider-Man hastily shouted faster than his mind could have hoped to prevent.

Scoffing, Twilight’s frown deepened. “You’re really milking the spider theme. You’re such a narcissist.”

“You grape-flavored little twerp! Why, I outta–!” he yelled, throwing a hand over his mouth afterward, much too late to his own chagrin.

Rarity’s mouth fell agape, as Twilight blinked at the comment. “How rude!”

Rainbow snarled, comically pointing a finger at the boy. “See? I told you this guy was a jerk!”

“Oh, you suck!” Spider-Man exclaimed, his accent devolving into its New York origin momentarily. This caused the girls to collectively gasp and gather, all talking while shooting a glare in his direction. Pushing back the nagging urge festering in the back of his head to insult the violet-skinned lass further, Peter paused to recollect and kick himself inwardly. “Wait. You’re the one who reprogrammed it? Of course you are,” Spider-Man blurted out, the latter barely above the hint of a disgruntled whisper. Unfortunately, his mind screamed in protest after having realized the self-incriminating statement its motor-mouth had muttered. Slack-jawed, Spider-Man shook his head madly and waved his hands defensively. “Whoa! Hey! Hold on! I didn’t create this thing! I was actually tracking it by accident! I didn’t program it to–”

Suddenly, a tiny metallic creak whined, as a piece of the broken upper hull of the Spider-Slayer dropped to the side. Everyone stopped, as a tiny crimson robotic spider nonchalantly crawled from the larger arachnid’s torso, like an offspring freeing itself from a mother’s womb. Rarity’s complexion paled, matching a freezing tone of blue, once the spider levitated into the air and perched onto the boy’s wrist. Before long, it crawled into a hidden compartment within the white armor on his forearm, and a long silence filled the air, leaving the girls to openly stare at the costumed individual with slack-jawed expressions.

Spider-Man cleared his throat, dumbly pointing the tips of his fingers together. “Okay. I can explain that one.”

Unfortunately, as if the very fates were rooting against him (more than usual), Spider-Man’s cranium erupted with a blaring alarm. A rumbling sound approached from a distance, while tremors coursed through the earth. With each passing second, its volume increased, and clanking metal could be heard, before a nearby tree snapped at the root. The sapling groaned in protest as it fell, tumbling under gravity’s watch. The girls grouped together as dust spread from the point of impact, and Spider-Man raised his forearm, shielding his face from wayward debris. Suddenly, a large silhouette stood within the cloud of dust and stomped forward, until its image cleared.

“You have got to be freaking kidding me,” Peter muttered, his tone filled with a tone brimming with bewilderment and bemusement.

Scorpion twitched madly, clutching at the rumbling sensation seering through his cranium. “D-Danger! The buzzing! It won’t s-stop!” he exclaimed, shifting his widened gaze around madly. However, he snapped to a halt upon seeing Spider-Man, more so the prone metallic creation placed at his feet. Scorpion screamed at the top of his lungs, lunging back defensively while his tail whipped with enough force to tear the earth under its weight. “M-More spiders?! BUHAHAHA! You won’t take me this time! I’ll destroy you, your corporate masters, and.. him for putting me in this suit!”

“Him? Who’s ’him’?” Spider-Man questioned, tilting his head to the side. However, he trailed off upon feeling the piercing gazes of the surrounding audience, and a realization rushed into mind, once their puzzled expressions steadily shifted to apprehension. Spider-Man raised a hand once the buzzing in his own cranium began to intensify, growing from a hum to a falsetto. “No…”

Rainbow Dash’s feet dug into the earth, while she took a running stance. “I don’t know what’s going on, but this guy is clearly up to no good! We have to stop him!”

“No, no, no…!” Spider-Man repeated, the tingling morphing to practical screaming.

“Ah hate to say it, but you might be right!” Applejack declared, straightening her hat before cracking her knuckles. The blonde swiftly grabbed the hilt of the lasso hanging from her hip, before spinning the rope overhead. “Just give up, partner! We don’t wanna hurt you!”

Twilight glared at the boy, continuing to clutch at her geode and spectrometer. “Now, you’re performing vile experiments?! You should be ashamed! I swear that we’ll put a stop to your abusive scientific practices!”

Slow to respond, Sunset hesitantly stood in place with an uncertain expression, but her brow lowered, before she took a defensive stance. “Okay! We’ll take him down! Just remember the plan!”

The world seemingly fell into a spiral of chaos within the span of a second. Rainbow Dash vanished in a blur, sprinting into the fray, and Scorpion matched her pace, lunging with his claws extended towards Spider-Man. Pinkie, somehow having pulled a cannon from nowhere, placed it down, before loading its holster with sprinkles. Fluttershy watched on in horror, scooping up Spike into her arms, before diving into the safety of the nearest bush. Sparkling energy emitted from Rarity’s hand, crackling before a slew of large diamonds materialized into existence and levitated around her position.

As time began to resume at its normal rate, Spider-Man let out a desolate groan, while his masked eyes furrowed. “I really wish that I just stayed in bed this morning.”

To be continued…