It was a normal business day at the First National Bank of Canterlot. People were lined up in an orderly manner and were around to make the usual transaction or withdraw from their accounts, whether it be for personal or business reasons.
Well, it was a normal day until purple smoke emerged from the vents and windows. The people coughed and got to their kness, the strange gas being too much for their lungs. They collapsed, trying to see what was going on. Nothing was seen at first until suddenly, a swarm of snakes appeared on the ground. Everyone jumped in shock and was pushed to a wall out of fear of being bitten.
The doors bursted open, and more smoke appeared in the bank. A person wearing a purple cloak stepped inside, his fishbowl helmet concealing his identity. He curled his metal gloved hand into a fist. Everybody stared in awe at the costumed stranger making their entrance.
“It appears my entrance has intimidated you all. I do not blame you.” the stranger spoke. With a flick of his wrist he brought everyone onto their knees through some unknown force.
“W-Who are you?” someone managed to ask.
“I am... Mysterio!”
A lone figure ran across a rooftop, hoping to remain unseen. They thrusted their wrists down, covering their hands in a dark red aura. The figure managed to propel themselves into the air by creating a beam of sorts from their palms and leaped, landing on the next building over. A levitation spell wouldn’t have been worth the effort, they mused as they landed on a knee.
Worn out from moving for so long, the figure pulled down the hood over their head, revealing their long yellow and red hair. Sunset Shimmer panted. She had been at this ever since she left school. So far, her use of Equestrian magic was growing ever more and she was grateful the purple and orange costume Rarity made her could disguise her perfectly, especially her hair. It certainly helped that she wore a domino mask over her eyes, concealing her identity even more.
Sunset sighed, grateful that nothing major was happening. She didn’t know if she was ready for anything beyond basic patrol, but she knew that if something was wrong, Peter would probably handle it. She told Twilight she’d lay low on actual crime-fighting until she spoke to Spider-Man. And luckily, she pieced that mystery together so reaching out to him was easier than Twilight would expect.
And as if the universe heard her thoughts of trouble, she glanced down and saw police cars gather around a bank across the street. Curious, she crouched down and watched the scene unfold. Through the window she could see a man wearing a fishbowl helmet holding a group of innocents hostage. She looked around, “Okay, Peter should be here any minute now then.” she paused, “Any minute now.”
She continued watching what was happening below for a few more minutes and heard the costumed individual speak through the opened doors, “Do not dare come in lest these people feel Mysterio’s wrath! I wish to face the hero known as Spider-Man!”
Still no sign of Spider-Man anywhere. She turned her head and muttered, “Oh boy...”
‘What should I do then? I can’t stand around while ‘Mysterio’ demands Spider-Man. And I can’t just wait for him to show up. What if he gets bored and decides to hurt everyone in there?’ Sunset thought while she stood up and sighed, ‘Looks like I have to jump into the frontlines sooner than expected.’
Using her magic, the girl used a faux levitation spell to make her way around the building, eyeing each of the officers standing around and coming up with a way to stop the crook. Sunset snuck around and found a back door. She flicked her palm and shot out a small sphere to unlock it. She stepped inside as quietly as she could and decided to formulate a plan. Protecting everyone was her biggest priority and then see needed to find a way to incapacitate this Mysterio person.
Mysterio huffed, “It appears the Spider has refused my challenge. Such a shame. I grow weary waiting with the bait. I might as well send a message.”
“A message that you look ridiculous in that helmet?”
Mysterio turned around, “Who dares insult Mysterio?”
Sunset stood behind the villain, arms crossed and a confident smirk on her face, “The Solar Eclipse.”
The crook merely laughed, “Oh, a new do-gooder. How interesting. You may not be Spider-Man, but you will have to suffice as a challenge. Perhaps destroying you will prove my thesis.”
Raising a brow, the Solar Eclipse asked, “What thesis?”
Mysterio opened his palm and shot a sphere of electrcity at Sunset, “That you heroes shall tremble before Master the Arcane Arts!”
Placing her hand out, Sunset created a red barrier in front of her, nullifying the sphere. “Funny. I know a thing or two about magic myself.” she looked at the hostages surrounded by snakes, “I’ll do something about that soon.”
Mysterio gasped, “What?!” he caught his sudden attitude shift and cleared his throat, “Very well, I see have have a greater opponent than I anticipated. But the result will be the same.”
Throwing down a pellet, the room began to cover itself in purple smoke once more and the costumed crook no longer present where he was standing. The Solar Eclipse looked around, wondering where Mysterio vanished too. Suddenly, she felt electricity course through her body and collapsed, Mysterio standing before her. She grunted in pain as Mysterio spoke, “Ah. You are quite unruly it seems. I expected more from you.”
Sunset raised an arm and shot a beam of magic from her palm, forcing Mysterio back. The girl stood up and said, “You just got lucky there.”
“Did I now?”
More smoke covered the floor and Sunset looked around, once more searching for Mysterio. She saw the fishbowl helmet appear in front of her and attempted to punch it. However, she recoiled her now aching hand back. “Ow, ow, ow...” she murmured in pain, realizing that punching was harder than it looked. Seizing the opportunity, Mysterio opened his palm and the Solar Eclipse suddenly found her body weakening and she collapsed to her knees, “W-What did you do...?” she weakly asked as she struggled to stand.
“That will remain a mystery to your grave.” Mysterio answered, revealing a blade.
As he lowered his sword, a red bubble suddenly surrounded it, rendering it useless for Mysterio. The Solar Eclipse managed a smirk as she got the strength to put it down. Even she was surprised she did that. Mysterio hummed, “Your will is stronger than I anticipated, but it matters not, for Mysterio will put you down like the pest you are.” he admitted.
Sunset mustered the will to stand once more and shot a beam from her fingers, knocking Mysterio into a wall. The Master of the Arcane Arts grunted while he levitated himself upright again. He tried to strike her with a magic sphere, but Sunset blocked it with a barrier. The new hero attempted to push it forward to strike back, but her magic didn’t pull through, fading from her fingertips momentarily. “Oops.” she whispered.
“Ah, still a rookie in the art it seems. I assume the other spells you attempted were merely flukes? Perhaps you aren’t the opponent Mysterio wanted to face.” Mysterio taunted.
The villain opened his palms and emitted more smoke to cover the room. The Solar Eclipse heard hissing, noticing the snakes getting closer to the innocents. And although she couldn’t see Mysterio, she was still able to hear his voice.
“You have a choice, Solar Eclipse. Save the hostages and let me free or risk their lives to catch me.” Mysterio said. “You better choose wisely.”
Without even thinking, Sunset used her magic to entrap the snakes in a field before they could so much as hurt the hostages. However, she accidentally threw them aside harder than she anticipated, making them crash into a wall. What the Solar Eclipse didn’t expect however, was the sound of metal clanging. Curious, she knelt down and grabbed one of the snakes, noticing sparks emitting from its body. ‘Robots?’ she questioned. ‘Why would a supposed Master magic-user like him use robots?’
She brought all the robot snakes into a barrier and smashed them all to bits, allowing them to combust in her red bubble. She raised a brow, ‘Unless he isn’t actually a magician.’ she deduced. ‘Everything he used was all smoke and mirrors...’ shaking her head, she faced the innocents, “You’re all free to leave. Is anyone hurt though?”
“Thanks to you we aren’t. Thank you so much.” one of them said.
“Great to hear.” the Solar Eclipse replied, leaving the police to clean up the mess as she went after Mysterio.
Then Sunset ran out the back hoping to catch Mysterio’s trail. The hero was unable to find anything. No clues or anything. It was almost like he was a ghost. Annoyed, she rubbed her head in disappointment, “Damn... He must’ve used cloaking tech.”
She needed some help. Maybe it’s time she met with Spider-Man at last.
‘Hopefully these are enough.’
Peter finally walked into the Daily Bugle, photos of Spider-Man fighting some muggers and swinging around on his phone ready to be shown. After explaining himself, he went in the elevator and once the door opened, he could hear the scratchy voiced ramblings of an older man from where he’s standing.
“Oh boy...” Parker muttered.
Mustering his courage, Peter walked into the office and was greeted by an old man with a flatop haircut and a thin mustache. He pointed a cigar at the boy, “You. What are you here for? And make it quick, time is money.”
“I, uh, I’m here for the ad. Mister...”
“Jameson. And yeah, I thought you sounded familiar. You called about the offering earlier. Show me what you have.” Jameson said.
Peter offered Jameson his phone and he went through the photos he had of Spider-Man, “Hm. Not bad, kid. I’m surprised you have clear photos of that masked menace.”
Peter blinked, “Menace? He’s a hero.”
Jameson gritted his teeth, “Guy like him? Wears a mask, he’s put lives in danger time and again, and has caused a boatload of nutcases to come out of the woodworks. He’s most definitely a menace. BROCK!” the sudden shift in voice tone made Peter jump in his spot.
A familar blonde man walked into the office, “Yes, Mister Jameson?”
His boss gestured for him to walk inside, “Come here, Brock. This kid has given me better photos of that wall-crawling weasel than you. Maybe you can learn a thing or two from him.”
Brock raised his head and looked at the kid, “You?”
“Oh, uh, hey Mister Brock. I forgot you worked here.” Peter apologized.
“Alright, that’s enough outta this reunion. Get back to work, Brock.” Jameson ordered, “I need an article on the Iron Fist done yesterday!” At that, Brock left the office, leaving Peter and Jameson to converse as the older man handed the teen back his phine, saying, “Nobody’s gonna want these photos today, kid. There’s a new hero in this town that needs investigation.”
“What? But you said—“
Raising a hand, Jameson said, “I know what the ad said, but Spider-Man isn’t gonna sell us papers today. People are now looking at the new masked weirdo in town.”
“Who?” Peter asked.
Jameson handed him the paper from the day before, “She apparently calls herself the Solar Eclipse. We just got word she foiled a bank robbery from some wannabe called Mysterio. Tell you what, I’ll pay you double the ad if you can get me a photo of this new menace. Prove your worth here, kid.” he offered.
Taking a closer look at the blurry photo on the paper, Peter swore she looked familiar. After connecting the dots, he thought, ‘Are you kidding me?!’