If anyone had told me a year ago that I was going to break into a prison in the ocean, break out five of the six people who caused me to move out to my mother from said prison, and currently be escorting said people to the run-down, filthy warehouse that I call a lab via a stolen prison bus...
I would’ve called you crazy.
Yet, there I was, doing exactly that... and enjoying it.
“How’s the ride, girls? Bumpy, I hope.” I said as I let out a laugh.
The other five were sitting in their seats, with two of my arms acting as rails, boxing them in their seats, while one was on the pedal, and another was turning the wheel.
“Oh, yeah... just lovely.” Sunset commented as I noticed that her skin was partially flaking off...
“Gah! Keep your flakes over there, Sunny.” Fluttershy said, swatting flakes off of her bare arms.
Sunset simply cackled while I kept my eyes on the road, cautious of any less intelligent plebs who don’t think about avoiding the big, blue bus with prison credentials on the sides of it...
“Hey... who even is this chick? And why does she look like that other one from the whole... ‘crown fight’ last year?” Applejack asked.
I looked in the mirrors, glancing at the girl’s rather short hair, a result of the doctors removing her hair in order to install the plates into her skull.
“You really forgot about me, didn’t you? I’m actually hurt... but you’ll remember, soon....” I said to her.
After a few more minutes of listening to the group bicker with each other, we had arrived—my warehouse was possibly the closest thing I had to a safe house, but it’s done well, keeping me hidden for the last year...
“Hey... those arms, I remember hearing about them a while ago. Some kind of accident at Oscorp with the CEO and her... daughter...” Fluttershy started putting the pieces together and her face said when she discovered the truth—her eyes growing as wide as saucers and her mouth starting to drop.
I let out a smile and used my arms to walk over to her, lowering myself to the ground.
“So, you do remember me... great! Less time for exposition, now follow—we don’t have much time.” I said to the others as I took off my glasses and leaned to the door, allowing my retina scanners to do their task and open the doors.
The others seemed uncertain about following me, so I decided to make my case clear.
“How long do you think you’ll last out there before you’re snatched up again? Besides— I think you’re all going to want to hear what I have to offer...” I said, turning my back to them and “walking” inside.
The others followed and the door automatically closed as they did. The warehouse interior was dark and rather cluttered—mainly my fault, thanks to my extensive research on the five and their conditions.
“So... what's this extermination you talked to me about?” Sunset asked, scratching the back of her head.
I smiled, somewhat happy that she remembered our conversation, and turned to the group, holding the remote that I wired the entire lab to.
“First off... you all need to understand that I am in charge here... not any of you.” I said, using my arms to raise up above the others, a faint smile starting to form on my face.
I could see that not everyone was on-board for that—especially Sunset.
“Next, Pipsqueak is Spider-Man... just in case any of you didn’t know.” I threw at them, seeing some shock on Pinkamena’s face, but mostly everyone stayed agitated.
“I can see that there’s a disagreement with me being in charge...” I said, hoping that one of them would do something.
Sure enough, Sunset stepped forward, cracking her knuckles.
“I may be powerless, but don’t think that I don’t remember a thing or two about this world’s Twilight Sparkle.” She said, trying to sound tough, like she did before.
It was cute but futile as I simply rested one of my top two arms on her shoulder.
“What was that, little Goblin? Say it again, with your big girl voice...” I smiled.
That got her mad... she let out a shout as she swatted the arm away and lunged at me...
Only for my other arm to swat her to the side.
That act of violence encouraged the others to charge, with Pinkamena, her red symbiote enveloping her as she transformed into Carnage. She then extended her arms, forming two sharp blades.
“Oh, I’ve been waiting for some action!” She smiled through large, yellow teeth.
One thing I’ve noted was that Pinkamena’s symbiote doesn’t seem to have consciousness—it's rather an extension of her mind, some form of puppet...
But was this “Carnage” the puppet, or was she?
It was time to find out as I aimed my arms at her, and activating sonic cannons that I had installed just for this occasion, the waves of sound starting to overwhelm the crazed girl, causing her red, slimy friend to start to instinctively separate from her.
“No!” Pinkamena cried out, grabbing handfuls of symbiote in her hands.
I could’ve stopped there, give her a taste of what I could do...
But that’d make me look soft. I increased the power and watched as Pinkamena was almost spat out of the symbiote.
“Symbiotes can’t live in oxygen-rich environments, Pinkamena! Biologically speaking, that’s why they need a host. Your red little friend has at least 2 minutes before it’s just a pathetic... shriveled-up... corpse.” I said, moving closer to Pinkamena for every word I empathized.
Sunset got up again and started charging at me, but I responded by slamming her into the wall with one arm.
“Stop! Please... please.” She begged.
I couldn’t help myself at that point-- a psychopathic killer who brutally yet silently disposed of her entire family in one night, and made at least one student a year disappear... begging at my feet.
I was cackling like a maniac out of joy.
“I could... but how do I know that you won’t use those blades of yours just to try again? Hmm?” I asked her, using one of my bottom arms to hold her into the ground...
“I won’t... I won’t! I promise you... I won’t betray you!” She cried out, watching Carnage’s color start to fade.
I swiftly deactivated the cannons, allowing Pinkamena to crawl over to her little friend and hold... it tight as it bonded back to her.
I turned to see the others, none of them daring to move over what I had just done...
“Jesus...” Applejack whispered.
I flashed them a wide smile as I rotated myself towards Pinkamena, who by this point was enveloped into Carnage again. Before I could get up, I used my claw to hold her in place again, shifting the arms so I was a few feet away from her.
“Say it again...” I whispered.
She seemed confused at first, but I didn’t care—I applied more pressure to her, sicker parts of my mind enjoying her pain-filled screams.
“Say it... again. Just so I can hear.” I smiled again.
Pinkamena seemed to get the message as she took a pained breath.
“I... won’t betray you.” She whispered.
I finally let my smile fade and removed my arm from her back, setting it back into the ground as she cowardly walked back towards the others.
“Now... anyone else have anything they’d like to add?” I asked the group.
None of them responded, so I took it as them declining.
“Great! Now... for the part where you all get upgrades.” I smiled as I pressed another button on the remote, revealing all of the work I had accomplished in the last year...
The group was somewhat surprised as they saw the gear and armor I had created for them.
“Whoa... is... that mine?” Rainbow asked, seeing the glider.
“No, actually—that one is for the Goblin. So is this... form of an antidote I managed to concoct for your little... flaking problem, as Fluttershy put it.” I told her.
She seemed confused, somewhat stunned, so I decided to fill her in.
“This antidote should prevent your skin cells from dying, replace the hair follicles... but in the end, your skin will still be green...” I told her as I handed the antidote to her.
She didn’t even hesitate as she popped the lid and started drinking.
“The glider was tricky... but not impossible. I know how much you missed flight, so I did the best I could to return it...” I said as I moved my arms closer to her.
“Go on.... give it a ride.” I said to her.
She was acting like a little girl as she jumped on the glider and it activated for her, lifting her into the air at least a few feet. The awestruck and grateful look on her face didn’t really matter to me...
But the idea that the arms gave me was now starting to manifest.
“Hey, how about the rest of us?! I don’t see no cool-ass shit for me!” Applejack cried out in envy.
I sighed and lowered myself to the ground, limping towards her, much to the others’ surprise.
“Applejack... granddaughter of the Granny Smith—notorious mobster during the Great Depression... while the rest of the country suffered, your family lived in luxury, prospering off of the need for food and produce that your farm delivered... but your family’s farm was raided by another gang... your only source of security and income... gone. To top it all off, they killed your grandfather, right in front of your grandmother... so instead of backing down, she ordered a massacre on them... all of them.” I retold the story to her... she no doubt heard it from the woman herself many times throughout her childhood.
Applejack seemed confused... perhaps the result of her brain damage from Sunset crushing her skull...
“Your familial power alone tops anything I can possibly give you. Now, mix that with an indestructible skull and immense strength once you get your Geode back...” I implied to her.
She was now only more confused but understood what I was going for.
“As for you, Rainbow Dash... you have all of that electricity, but no clue on how to use it... until now.” I said as I used my hand to walk her towards the suit I designed for her, capable of harnessing her electricity and shooting it out as arcs.
“You founded the Rainbooms because you all wanted power... your paths just happened to cross, and you decided to all work together. Think of all of this as a redesign of that intention.” I told her.
Rainbow simply smirked, walking over and starting to put the suit on.
“Now, for Fluttershy...”
She seemed so... eager. I despised it...
“Tell me, where do you get off? First off, you join the Rainbooms and hook up with Rainbow Dash to secure your place of power, and when Sunset starts taking command, you leave her... for this.” I said, pointing to Sunset, who was now flying around carelessly.
I then turned towards the four mechanical legs that I had designed.
“But, since the others got something, then you have too, as well, I suppose. The legs will help you scale any surface, and should enable more possibilities for combat, something that I also know that you are a fan of...” I mumbled towards the end.
Fluttershy then walked over and used her tail to climb into the harness, securing herself as the legs soon came to life, using an upgraded version of my neural link.
“Well, as soon as everyone is ready... let’s talk about how to get rid of our little spider-problem...” I smiled once more, ready to finally show the world just how special we all are...
How special I am.