//------------------------------//
// Issue #2: Enforced Plan 
// Story: Spider-Man: Web of Magic 
// by MetalJrock 
//------------------------------//

"Come on girls, i-it's nothing, I swear..." stammered Twilight, sitting around her friends. They were all in Pinkie's house, discussing their day, Spider-Man and a certain boy Twilight spoke with earlier.

Rarity chimed in, "Darling, your cheeks are turning red at the mere mention of him." she revealed, causing the bookworm to cover her face with her palms in embarrassment now. "I mean there is no shame in admitting it."

Rainbow nudged her elbow, "Yeah, at least he wasn't around to witness the Friendship Games." silence was shared among the seven and she folded her arms, "What? Too soon?"

Fluttershy raised a finger, "A little bit."

Rainbow bit her lip, "Oh... my bad, Twi." she apologized, realizing what she said.

Twilight inhaled and replied, "It's fine, Rainbow. I'm doing much better now."

Sunset smiled, "That's good though. It is a little weird that he wasn't around for that mayhem at all. He mentioned that was when he had the Stark Internship or whatever it was down in Germany after the beginning rounds."

"He landed a job with the Tony Stark, the billionaire? Iron Man? How amazing!" applauded Rarity in awe. "He must have some amazing connections, I can see why you would be infatuated with him, Twilight."

The bookworm bit her lip, "I'm not..." she signed as she tried to make another denial, "It's not about the internship. Ever since we worked in class together, I just..."

"Aha! So you do have a crush on him!" Pinkie realized, her cheeks cupping her own face. "Aw! That's so cute!"

"Can we change the subject, please!" Twilight blurred out, realizing she was speaking louder than usual. She cleared her throat as they quieted down, "Oh, um... sorry."

The fiery-haired girl raised her hands, "Alright, Twi. Anyway, I'm surprised there hasn't been any magic leaks since the Friendship Games. We're kinda lucky in that."

"We gotta keep this stuff contained in the school." Rainbow reminded the others, "It's not like the Avengers or anything can show up and know about this."

The conversation was cut short by the sound of seven phones vibrating at once. Curious at the coincidence, they each took out their devices and read the headline from the Daily Bugle news app. "Spider-Menace aids crooks in destruction of local bank..." read Sunset loudly, "That doesn't sound like something he would do."

Rainbow scoffed, "It's probably that J. Jonah Jameson guy writing this stuff again. He has it out for Spidey for some reason. Like the carjacking article earlier."

Pinkie stifled a snicker, "It was a pretty funny video though. It didn't look intentional, and that was what made it so good!" she giggled.

"It kinda was though." Rainbow admitted.

Twilight looked out the window and saw smoke in the distance as well as sirens, "I hope no one got hurt though."

"It doesn't say. The bank was probably empty at this time of day and Spider-Man just so happened to be there. Things looked to have calmed down though." Sunset assured before yawning. "Oh, sorry."

"Yer a little tired, huh?" Applejack asked before yawning herself, "Yeah. Ah think we should wrap this up."





Friday Morning came and with it came school once again. The day went pretty smoothly for Peter as he prepared for another lunch period discussing his adventures.

A tray was dropped down on the table as the same time as Ned and Trixie. Peter coughed, "So, how about that Algebra quiz?"

Trixie groaned, "Don't remind me. I bombed it horribly."

"I think I did all right." Peter shrugged off. "I could tutor you if you want?" he offered.

"No thanks, Trixie does not need your help." shrugged off the stage girl.

Ned sighed, "Any luck on that power source?"

Peter shook his head, "Not yet. It's just a glowing purple orb sitting in a drawer on my desk." he explained, tapping his spoon on the rim of his plate after taking a bite of his mashed potatoes.

"Oh..." moaned Ned in disappointment.

Peter replied, "Yeah, but I intend to figure things out whenever I run into Shocker or those Enforcers and fight them or whatever."

"Of course you are." Trixie said, "Perhaps it'd be wise if you had us on contact while you're out crimefighting. It will make things easier for us in case things go crazy."

The wallcrawler smirked, "Heh. Again, I didn't think you'd care enough to come up with this idea."

"Believe it or not, there is a part of me that wishes nothing bad to happen to you dorks." Trixie bragged.

Ned put a finger on his chin, "I got some spare headsets we can use and a laptop to track your movements with your phone."

Parker responded, "That will work then."

Changing the subject, Ned decided to bring something else up, "So, I finally got the internship at Canterlot University under Dr. Connors in his lab starting in a few weeks or so. It's gonna be awesome."

"That's great!" complimented Peter, "You should take us there on day when you're able to. I heard he was one of the best biologists in the city!"

Trixie sipped her juice, "I'll stay home on that day thank you very much. Perhaps one day Trixie will join the magician Quentin Beck as his assistant. That sounds much better."

Peter scoffed, "That washed out actor? He has about as much class as that Iron Will motivator guy on TV. Dude's as buff as a bull."

Trixie pointed an accusing finger at the boy, "Bite your tongue. He is an inspiration for Trixie."

"...Alright then." Ned replied. "If you say so. But yeah, I can hook us up one Saturday once I actually start."

"What are you guys talking about?" came a fourth voice suddenly in the discussion. It was a tan-skinned boy wearing a jacket and had blue spiky hair, "Oh, sorry, for uh, intruding on you guys like that."

Peter shrugged, "Oh, hey Sentry. The cool kids come to wreak havok on the nerds again?"

Flash Sentry pointed at himself, "Me? No, I don't do that. Randy and I try to tell Thompson to lay off you guys, but you know him." he assured with a sheepish grin.

"So what brings a high class student such as yourself to our table?" Trixie muttered the question.

"I wouldn't call myself high-class, but I was throwing out my trash when I overheard you mentioning Dr. Connors. Sounds like a nice gig." Sentry complimented, leaning on a chair.

Ned said proudly, "Why thank you."

"Oh, by the way, I heard about what happened yesterday with all the superhero stuff. You guys doing alright?" Sentry added, getting some nods. A smile came on his face, "That's good. This Spider-Man guy is awesome for doing what the other heroes aren't."

"Why can't the popular kids be this cool more often?" Peter asked in disbelief.

Flash pointed to the other table, "Sunset Shimmer and her friends are pretty welcoming. I think I can put in a good word for you three if you want company."

"N-No, that... that won't be necessary actually." stammered Parker, shrinking into his chair as his voice squeaked, looking at Twilight at her table, who was obvlious to his staring, "W-We're good here. Maybe another time?"

Sentry looked to Ned and Trixie, who pretended to not know his issue and he shrugged, "Alright then. I am friends with them, they are pretty friendly."

"Hey, Sentry!" came the voice of Flash Thompson, "Stop hanging with those dweebs and get over here!"

Flash Sentry rolled his eyes, "I better head back before Eugene comes over here." he patted Parker on the shoulder before walking away and he exhaled.

Trixie groaned, "Parker, this crush of yours is preventing you from being social. More than usual. For God's sakes you can hold a conversation with both Flashes before even saying a word to Sparkle."

"I-I can't help it!" studdered Peter with a arm gesture. "My brain goes all stupid!"

"I thought that was normal of you." Trixie commented with a smirk, earning a deadpan stare from Parker.

Ned Leeds looked around, "Okay we can focus on that later. Can we talk about our little Team Spider-Man thing before lunch ends?" he wondered.

"Right. Get your stuff and stay in my room." Peter insisted.





Night time fell again and Spider-Man was out patrolling, 'Okay. Hopefully, something happens tonight. I need to know who's the behind all this weapon trading and why they're giving it to common criminals.' he thought.

Unknown to Peter, however, was a helicopter trailing him from a good enough distance. Piloting it were the Enforcers, with Montana controlling the plane. "There it is, boys. The Spider-Man." he said, turning to face his men.

"The Big Man and Toomes got somethin' against him for gettin' in the way before." Fancy Dan said. "Just give us the signal and we'll kick his ass for insulting us."

"We have to wait for Schultz." Montana reminded him, aiming a reticle on Spider-Man while he was swinging.

Back with Peter, he spoke through his headset, "Anything yet, guys?"

'Nope. Man, being mission control is so awesome!'

'Trixie has no idea what is what on this screen.'

'It's a satellite view of New York, Trixie.'

'Oh.'

Spider-Man replied, "Good enough. I'll let you know when anything--"

BOOM!

"Okay. Something happened." he corrected himself, noticing a purple aura on a rooftop helipad, 'Three or four guesses as to who this is.'

Of course, Shocker stepped out of the smoke, noticing Spider-Man and he chuckled, "Heh. All according to plan. Do it now, you three!"

Montana chuckled, "Say your prayers, Spider." and with that he pressed a button.

Spidey turned his head around as he landed on the roof, a sensation running on his head, "Spider-Sense-- AGH!" he said, having a net cover his entire body as he hit the roof. "What sport is this supposed to be? Catch the spider? Cause I do not like this." he struggled in the net.

The helicopter hovered over the pad as Fancy Dan and Ox jumped down, the former using a metal staff. "Crap. The edgy boy band from last night was following me. At least they don't have those weapons except for Shocker. Oh crap."

"Looks like the spider got caught in our web." Shocker quipped, knocking Spider-Man back with a vibration blast from his gauntlets after dropping the bag that was in his possession.

Peter finally yanked the net from his body as he staggered to his feet, "You gotta... work on your material, Shocky!" he groaned loudly, seeing Fancy Dan running towards him as fast as possible.

Spidey flipped in the air, and kicked Fancy Dan as he spun his staff around, with Peter kicking himself off of it and shooting two lines of webbing on the ground, "Coming right up!" he shouted, driving his feet directly into Fancy Dan, the Enforcer pushing him back with a precise jab, causing Peter to avert his strike.

'Peter? Are you alright?' asked Ned from his spot.

Spider-Man sighed, "Yeah, I am." he muttered, "The Enforcers and Shocker have joined forces against me." he revealed.

Shocker reared an arm back and blasted a beam of energy forward from his gauntlet, "Don't you dare ignore us, bug!" the blast came towards Peter and he zipped upwards, avoiding the blast's crossfire as fast as he could.

"Watch where you aim that thing, Shocker!" scolded Peter while in midair. He clung to the wall of the entrance he entered and flipped, kicking the yellow-clad villain onto his back as hard as he could. 

While still crouching, he stretched an arm in front of him and shot some web balls at Fancy Dan, "Oh don't think I forgot about you." he said as the sticky projectiles were shot out of his shooters.

"Feeling's mutual." the Enforcer said, dodging and deflecting each projectile with agility that surprised even Peter, judging by his widened lenses. Fancy Dan poked Spidey's chest with the staff and pushed him back slightly. The wallcrawler flipped backwards once Fancy Dan stuck the staff onto the ground and attempted to use it to kick his enemy back.

But Peter shot some webbing onto his hand, keeping him still as he held the staff, "Nice toy. Mind if I play with it?"

'Now you're messing around?' Trixie asked.

"It's what I do." muttered Spider-Man. He then shot more webbing onto it and spun Fancy Dan around, making it nearly hit Montana from the pilot's seat, causing him to fly higher up as a result. He then released the staff, throwing Fancy Dan onto the wall.

While he was distracted, Spider-Man only had a moment's notice as Shocker blasted him as hard as he could, this time knocking him off the building. "I seriously wish gravity worked like in the cartoons!" he shouted as he descended. Before he could shoot webbing, however, Ox jumped down and pinned his arms.

"You ain't goin' anywhere." Ox declared.

Spider-Man struggled in the large Enforcer's grip, "Oh, so you're the strong quiet one. Glad to see we have the archetypes figured out now." he joked.

So instead of fighting, he flipped sideways and dragged his foot onto the glass surface of the wall, causing Ox to fall due to gravity. Luckily there was a flag pole, where Peter webbed Ox's hands and body tightly, leaving it hanging on the pole. Spider-Man crouched on the pole, his lenses narrowing as he did.

"You could break out of that... but I wouldn't recommend it." Spider-Man advised, plucking the substance before jumping back to the roof, where Shocker was the last man standing.

'One on one. Let's end it.' Ned insisted.

Trixie could be heard sighing, 'Finally.'

Spider-Man cracked his knuckles, "So, Shocker. Mano a mano, huh? How about you just turn yourself in and we'll call it even?" he offered. "You must be shaking in that mattress you call a costume."

Shocker folded his arms, "I'm not afraid. Bring it!"

Chuckling, Spidey leaped, "If you insist!"

However, Peter felt his Spider-Sense go off as he jumped. Suddenly, he felt something sharp grip on his shoulders and he was taken higher into the sky, "Huh? What the?!" he practically screamed, hearing a screeching sound blare in his ears.

The sharp objects looked to be metal talons. Raising his head, Peter saw a man in green armor wearing a black pilot helmet covering his face. On his back were wings fueled by jet propulsion and on his arms was another enhanced gun. Spider-Man's lenses widened, having never seen the flying figure before.

The city looked to have shrunk by the time Peter looked down, his body trembling, "Holy crap!" he screamed, not heard due to the jet sounds made from the stranger's wings.

'Spidey?! What's happening?' Ned asked worriedly.

'What is all that noise on your end, Parker?' Trixie blurted out, concern heard in her voice. 'Where are you? We can't track your stupid phone!'

Spider-Man noticed the masked man's green visor pupils. "I-I..." he gulped, "I have no idea!"