//------------------------------// // Magical Aftermath // Story: Spiders and Magic: Avengers Assemble // by Masterob //------------------------------// Another villain had came and went, a problem resolved within moments. Of course, it once again troubled Celestia to know that evil had threatened her world yet again, this time with a Sorcerer more powerful than most Unicorns in this world. She had nearly forgotten that magic exists on Earth, though just much more rarer than in Equestria. She needed to find the cause of this however, this is the fourth Invasion in such a short amount of time, if she doesn't figure this out soon, things could get worse. Each time things have gotten bad, and this time it nearly destroyed an Empire. While Celestia is very thankful that The Avengers were quick to action, she once again wonders how and why this happened in the first place. She dreads the day The Avengers won't be as quick and untold damage would occur. "There has to be a way to prevent trouble, one that doesn't involve sealing off the other world," Celestia said to herself. Easy as that solution would be, she doesn't have the heart to go through with it, knowing that several heroes would have to say good-bye to their old home, including any relatives they might have. Even if she has a slight fear of what either of the Earths, be it Marvel or Capcom could do, she still believed that she had to find any way possible to avoid that outcome, though if she couldn't, she would have no choice but to do so. "Perhaps if I send more guards around both Earths, mostly Peter's since that's where all the trouble is coming from lately," Celestia theorized. "Or maybe if I had somepo-er, someone look into what's causing trouble, there's no way these attacks just happened, I have the feeling that someone is pulling the strings, though I don't know which world they come from." "Celestia?" Cap said, walking into the room. "Oh Steve, perfect timing, I could really use your assistance right now," Celestia said. "Please tell me this, how many Avengers still reside on your Earth?" Cap took a moment to think about the answer, making sure to calculate everything, "Well Tony still technically lives there, as does Bruce. Clint also lives there with his family, and Natasha as well" Cap thought some more. "Come to think of it, a lot of them still mostly live on Earth, the only exception I can think of is Ant Man. Why do you ask?" "These attacks lately, they all came from your world, and they happened in such quick succession that I'm starting to wonder if it's mere coincidence or if it's being carefully planned," Celestia said. "At the moment, I am leaning more toward the latter." "Yes, this is too strange to not be part of someone's master plan, no way this just happened for no reason," Cap said. "So you want me to have some heroes look into it?" "If you don't mind, I have guards checking all over Equestria but I do need somepony to keep an eye out on Earth," Celestia said. "Leave that to me then, I can get some assistance to keep a lookout on the Earth of my dimension," Cap said. "It might take a while though, and I may need to stretch The Avengers thin unfortunately." "What about the other heroes of Earth?" Celestia asked. "Wouldn't they be able to assist?" "I'll see what I can do, my only other concern is that this may not just be an Earth thing, it could be anywhere in the galaxy," Cap said. "The Galaxy? Far beyond in the reaches of space?" Celestia asked, almost in disbelief. "I'm quite amazed at all you have to encounter in your world. "There are many things I hope never steps foot in Equestria, with all due respect to your ponies..." Cap cringed a bit, thinking about the dangers. "What's out there in my world, I don't think any creature here would stand a chance against." Celestia's eyes widened in worry, admittingly she thought the Green Goblin was probably the worse that could come from Earth, then came these other villains. While Doom never stepped foot in Equestria, the fact that a man more powerful than the Green Goblin existed worried her, not to mention this recent invasion of Mordo. That's of course not to mention the villains from the Capcom world, though even they weren't quite as strong, they were still cunning enough to exploit the weaknesses of this world. "I see..." Celestia was very much speechless at Cap's revelation, causing him to worry a bit. "I'm sorry if that startled you Princess," Cap said. "Perhaps I should not have spoken at all about it." "No, it's fine," Celestia said. "If you can just tell me more about it, then maybe I can prepare much better." "Well Star-Lord and his group are still out in space, along with the entire Nova Force," Cap said. "If anything happens they will alert us well ahead of time, that's if they don't stop the trouble themselves, and they're usually capable enough to." "I'm amazed by how grand your resources are in your own dimension," Celestia said. "Even I'm surprised at times," Cap said. "Well then it's settled, I shall search my world, and you can send your ponies to search this one, plus I'm quite certain that Sunset Shimmer would be more than willing to lead this mission." "Of course she would," Celestia said. "Good thing too, she would be one of the best ponies for the job, and I have the perfect one for her." "Very well, I'll be off," Cap said, then radioed Hawkeye. "Hey Clint, I have a task for you." "What's up?" Clint asked from his location, that being circling over the skies of Canterlot. "I'm gonna need you to go to Earth, our Earth and round up a bunch of heroes," Cap said. "Celestia needs us to look into what's causing these invasions, needless to say, there might be a good chance it's happening from our end." "Our end huh?" Clint responded. "Yeah something tells me that Celestia ain't too happy about that." "She's more concerned if anything," Cap said. "Though if we want to maintain our contact to this world we have to work more to make sure it's safe, for the sake of our friends." "Looks who's embracing the Magic of Friendship," Clint joked. "Must be those special tea parties you have with the Princesses." "Be serious Clint," Cap said, somewhat annoyed. "Oh lighten up old man," Clint responded. "Don't worry, I like Equestria too, the ponies are nice, so of course I'll do what I can to help. Besides there's a lot of powerful magic here that can do damage to this world and ours, so all the more reason, I have a family to keep safe after all, don't want them to end up like that home of ponies from the Crystal Empire." "What home?" Cap asked. "Oh no one told you?" Clint asked. "One of the guards said that a house was destroyed when Mordo took over, no survivors found." Cap hadn't heard that piece of detail, now he was even more concerned, "Does Celestia know about this?" "Not that I know of, though she'll be pretty mad if she finds out, so we really need to get on this 'Protect Equestria' mindset," Clint said. "Yeah...we do," Cap said, now feeling a dread of concern. "Radio me when you're ready, Cap out." Meanwhile Celestia had her own contact to make. Using her magic, she contacted one of her top students via telepathy, "Sunset Shimmer, do you hear me?" "Princess Celestia?" Sunset replied, having just been down the castle, placing the finishing touches on her next portal. "Listen closely, I need you to do me a favor, it's of high importance," Celestia said. "What type?" Sunset asked. "Does this have to do with the recent invasions?" "It does actually," Celestia said. "I need you to go to the Capcom world and ask around for any information you can, I believe they can assist us." "I'll get right on it Princess," Sunset stated, placing her work on hold and approaching the Capcom portal. "Here I come Ryu!" Sunset Shimmer did as told, making her way through the Capcom portal, Celestia hoping this would be what they needed to keep her world safe. Back at the Parker-Sparkle home, Twilight was looking through her cabinets, hoping to prepare a meal for Wanda. The poor woman had not yet woken up after her encounter with Mordo and it was starting to worry The Princess a bit. "All that power has been lying dormant in her all this time..." Twilight stated. "I can see why some of the others were worried about Wanda. But years ago when she was assisting Wesker and his allies, why didn't he utilize her more?" "Even he might not have known," Peter said, making his way into the kitchen. "That or he feared not being able to control it." "What about Doctor Doom though?" Twilight asked. "Think he knew?" "Probably, I wouldn't be surprised if he hoped to use that as an advantage if he wanted to betray Wesker," Peter said. "A power struggle among powerful villains really isn't what our worlds need really," Twilight said. "I can only imagine the amount of innocent lives caught in that crossfire." "Well it worked out in the end, Doom's been offed and Wesker was taken down," Peter said. "I mean yeah he escaped custody but Chun-Li's working on tracking him down, shouldn't take too long hopefully." "It's been years though, that really has me worried," Twilight said. "Honestly, Wesker isn't even the one I'm worried about the most. I'm way more concerned about Dante's brother." "Vergil huh?" Peter asked, remembering the snobbish half demon. "Thinking about it, he really should be the one everyone's worried about the most, Wesker might be a genius but Vergil's got crazy strong demon magic." "Why is he working for Wesker? Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Twilight asked. "You'd be surprised how many guys are stronger than their leaders," Peter said. "I don't know how Wesker managed to get Vergil on his side, truthfully I don't know much about either guy, they just seem to not like me for some reason and I end up coming to blows with them. Maybe Chris or Dante could shed some light on them and how Wesker got someone like Vergil under his command." "That's...a good point to bring up," Twilight said. "We really don't know much about those two, or any of the villains from Capcom. I did all my best to learn about the likes of King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis, and I know you learned all you could about The Green Goblin and all your other villains." "Some I knew before they became villains, some I inadvertently caused to become villains," Peter said. "I still feel a bit guilty about Eddie becoming Venom." "That was his choice, you didn't make him do anything," Twilight said. "We're getting off track, my point is that we should make time to speak with Chris and Dante about these villains. Actually we should talk to as many as we can, there's still that other girl with the robots." "I barely know much about her myself honestly, I think she's one of Mega Man's villains, but there's a bunch of different Mega Men apparently," Peter said. "That also reminds me, since the Capcom warriors are our friends, we should take the time to get to know them better!" Twilight said. "Weird how I haven't thought of that until now, I mean the dimensions are open, they don't dislike you any longer, and they're actually pretty nice when they're not overly competitive." "I thought you'd be used to that, we're friends with Rainbow Dash," Peter said. "Well even Rainbow Dash doesn't put competition over friendship...not anymore at least," Twilight said. "But back on topic, we need to bring them together for a nice get together." "You mean like a party?" Peter asked. "Party!?" Pinkie Pie said, startling the two after appearing out of the fridge in a burst of confetti. "Oh good God!" Peter shouted, holding his hoof over his chest. "Pinkie! Don't do that! Where did you even come from!?" "You really gotta ask that Parker?" Deadpool asked, surprising Peter again. "Dude!" Peter shouted. "Why are you here!?" "Well Boomie was worried about Wanda so we figured we'd come here to let her check on her friend," Pinkie Pie said. "Of course where she goes, I have to go since that's the rule." "And I don't trust Boom so I came to shoot her if she does anything stupid," Deadpool said. "Wade..." Pinkie Pie warned. "Hey it's only because I care about ya babe, gotta protect the seed of mine growing in your belly," Deadpool said. "Seed!?" Peter and Twilight asked, causing Pinkie to glare at her husband. "Wade! We were gonna wait til everypony was together!" Pinkie scolded, causing Deadpool to flinch. "Crap, ran my mouth a bit much there," Deadpool said. "Finally realizing that Wade?" Peter jokingly asked. "Oh you're one to talk," Deadpool said. "At least I don't give my wife migraines." He turned to Pinkie, "I don't right?" "Not yet," Pinkie said. "See, not..." Deadpool turned to his wife. "What do you mean 'not yet'?" "Talk later, party plan now," Pinkie said. "Oh and don't tell anypony else that I'm pregnant yet, I want it to be a surprise." "I won't," Twilight said. "And congratulations." "Yeah, congrats," Peter said. "And don't worry, I know how to keep my mouth shut." "Bullshit!" Deadpool shouted. "Wade!" Pinkie scolded. "Well it is!" Deadpool insisted. "I'll keep an eye on Peter just to make sure," Twilight said. "Now about that party." "Actually, before we consider this party, there's the issue with Wanda," Peter said. "She's gonna need some serious consoling after that run in with Mordo." "Speaking of Wanda, you said that Boom came to see her right?" Peter asked. "Yeah, she should be upstairs," Pinkie said. "Who's with them?" Peter asked. "Don't worry Petey, Trixie and Ant Boy are keeping an eye on them," Deadpool said. "Are you forming some unusual friendship with him or something?" "He's more Trixie's friend," Peter said. "He also comes by to assist with the Friendship Lessons." "It's my subtle way to make Scott feel welcomed in Equestria since his daughter still lives on Earth," Twilight said. "Plus maybe things will spark between him and Trixie," Peter said. "I mean let's be honest, Trixie could really use a guy, might help her attitude, in only a way a guy can." "You mean her getting laid?" Deadpool asked. "Ok we're done talking about this," Twilight interrupted. "I'm going to check on Wanda now, feel free to accompany me, without any witty remarks." "Yeah, I should go check on Boomie," Pinkie said. "It really is nice that she wanted to check on Wanda, shows true Friendship." "Weird that only one of The Brotherhood are here, shouldn't her other teammates be worried about her?" Peter asked. "Especially since one of them is her brother?" A few minutes later. "That answer your question?" Deadpool asked, gesturing to the other Brotherhood who were present, along with their Element guardians and their hero husbands. "Hey Spidey, what happened to Wanda?" Avalanche asked. "I heard she took down Baron Mordo," Pyro said. "Is Boom with her?" Toad asked. It was a swarm of non-stop questions, all aimed at whether or not Wanda was alright. Peter took a stand by leaping to the top of the highest bookshelf and calling out to everyone. "Everyone chill! I get you're all worried but try to dial it down a notch!" "What happened to my sister Spider-Man!?" Pietro asked. "She got overwhelmed fighting Baron Mordo, she's upstairs resting, if you want to see her then feel free, just don't go too nuts and start swarming the room," Peter said. "She's a little exhausted right now, she used up a lot of power." "Hey does Magneto know about this?" Avalanche asked. "Well, considering we reported this to Princess Celestia, there's a very good chance she told Magneto," Peter said. "He hasn't said anything yet to my knowledge." "Here's hoping he won't be ticked off or anything," Deadpool bluntly stated, though Peter wanted to be annoyed, he did realize Deadpool might have a point. Wanda was technically in danger, Magneto may not be happy that she was in that situation. "If Magneto is unhappy, I will personally settle that," Twilight said. "In the mean time, I'm going to check on Wanda, then all of you may have a chance to see her, with proper organization." "We'll help keep them in line Twi," Applejack said. "Fer now it is best to make sure that gal's alright." "Yeah, Pietro's been pretty worried," Rainbow Dash said. "Never said I was," Pietro insisted. "You didn't have to," Rainbow Dash teased, much to Pietro's annoyance. "Ha, she's got you read like a book," Avalanche joked. "Oh shove off," Pietro said. "Keep in mind that if something did happen to my sister, my dad will lay waste to everything, do you really want that?" "If that includes the Apple Farm, sure why not?" Pietro said, much to the annoyance of Applejack and Remy. "Keep that mouth running and it ain't Magneto you're gonna have to worry about," Remy warned. "Come on, no threats of violence," Twilight said. "And, Avalanche was it? Be grateful my friend Applejack is giving you a chance to live on her barn, it's a high honor to have hospitality from The Apple Family." "Don't waste your breath, he's hopeless," Pietro said. "Hey you have something to say to me, daddy's boy?" Avalanche asked, getting a glare from Pietro. "You wanna take this outside!?" Pietro threatened. "Hey! No threats of violence I said, this town's still rebuilding from what Mysterio and Annihilus did, I don't want anymore trouble," Twilight said. "Applejack, please round the others and keep everypony in line." "You got it Twi," Applejack said. Twilight and Peter had gone upstairs, making their way into the room Wanda was staying in, Boom by her side with Trixie and Scott keeping an eye on the two. Wanda was still asleep, though her face made it seem like she was very troubled at the moment. "How's she holding up?" Peter asked. "She's still asleep at least," Boom said. "How much power did she use?" "A lot, she completely obliterated Mordo," Peter said. "She's got a lot of power." "Has she shown a huge demonstration of magic before?" Twilight asked. "She's had her moments," Boom said. "Her old man tries to keep it under control, sometimes even he worries about what she can do. That's probably why he was so happy to set her up with you Sparkle Princess." "With me?" Twilight asked, not really minding the nickname. "He heard about your powerful magic some time ago, I think it was way back when The Green Goblin tried taking over New York, then later when the Capcom guys showed up," Boom said. "I heard Magneto was involved, but we didn't see him at all then," Peter said. "Yeah, he joined up at first but he didn't like Wesker's God attitude, nor his idea of using that virus thing to turn people into mutated beings, my dad thinks it's unnatural," Boom said. "Plus Magneto still held a grudge over Bison for trying to kill him and steal us away, even though the boss tried doing the same thing." "That I remember hearing about," Peter said. "Point is that Magneto didn't trust the Capcom guys, and he also didn't trust Doom, so he backed out before the invasion really came to a head," Boom said. "Wanda stayed behind for some reason, mainly because they played to her ego." "How so?" Twilight asked. "Someone told her you dressed like her and stole her name to mock her," Boom replied, much to Twilight's annoyance. "I did not intentionally do such a thing, I just used the outfit Stephen gave me, he even helped me pick out the name," Twilight said. "Could be possible that he had Wanda on his mind when he did that," Boom pointed out. "That's...actually a good point," Twilight admitted. "I'm gonna have to question Stephen later about that." "So she stayed behind to help Doom and the Capcom guys, Pietro stuck with her to make sure she was alright," Boom said. "He may act like he doesn't care but deep down he has a soft spot for his sister." "Well any good brother would worry about their sister," Twilight said. "That's a really great redeeming quality for them." "Yeah well I know Magneto wasn't too happy at first, but thankfully he didn't really press it," Boom said. "What I really want to know is why he was so interested in sending us here, I mean it's a nice place but it just came out of nowhere, he didn't even seem ready to retire from his so-called mission of Mutant Supremacy." "Mutant Supremacy?" Twilight asked. "I've heard of it, but what was his goal? I mean clearly it wasn't to make new mutants, since he hated the idea of Wesker's virus." "Well, the answer may not be pretty," Boom said. "Surprised you never told her this stuff Spidey." "Well I never really talk about Magneto's Brotherhood, not in full detail," Peter said. "It's like this Sparkle Princess, Magneto wanted a world where all mutants could live in peace and harmony, kind of like this one," Boom said. "Oh, well that's actually not bad," Twilight said. "It sounds like a really nice goal." "Yeah well here's the kick, to do that, he planned to kill all non-mutants, it's a goal he's been working on forever," Boom said. "Kill all non-mutants?" Twilight asked. "That's terrible, can't he figure out another way? Like living in Harmony?" "That's Professor X's goal, Magneto isn't much like that," Boom said. "I mean he said he came here to start a new life, maybe he's trying to enact that goal without exterminating the human race, maybe Professor X finally got through to him that a goal like that shouldn't be obtained that way." "What do you think of his goal?" Twilight asked. "Well truthfully, I really couldn't care less who lives and who dies, as long as I'm alright," Boom said, much to Twilight's disproval." "That's a terrible mindset, I hope for Magneto's sake that he truly is here for peace," Twilight said. "And that he's not scheming something like that." "I doubt it, he has no ill will toward ponies, he figured this world didn't have any type of discrimination," Boom said. "Sorry but that couldn't be further from the truth," Trixie interjected. "Not all creatures live harmoniously in Equestria." "Unfortunately that's true," Twilight said. "Ponies, Dragons, Changelings, we don't all get along. There was even a time where Unicorns, Pegasai and Earth Ponies did not get along very well." "Huh, bummer," Boom said. "So what you're saying is, this world may not take to kindly to us for whatever reason either?" "I can't promise that," Twilight said. "I mean, even Peter was misjudged once they found out he was human. You might run into that problem here, though hopefully Peter's positive impression has calmed those worries." "Though the way most ponies are, if they have a problem with you, they won't say anything," Trixie said. "They'll just silently judge you." "Trixie!" Twilight scolded. "What? The other day I said that to Wanda you agreed it was a good idea to warn her," Trixie said. "Even in Equestria you're not guaranteed happiness." "You really need to work on how you word things," Twilight said, then turned to Boom. "We're not perfect, this world is flawed, but it's all about making the most of it. I think you can all be really happy here if you gave it a fair chance." "Even if you run into some jerks, just don't worry about it," Scott said. "There's way more good than bad here." "Hey, I have nothing against any of the ponies here," Boom said. "To be honest, I kind of like Pinkie Pie, she's really fun to be around, her whole family is, and I know her family gonna get a lot more fun soon." "If you think her family's fun, I don't think you've met her sisters yet," Peter said. "Peter!" Twilight scolded. "Hey I have nothing against them but you gotta admit, one's more shy than Fluttershy, one's got a temper that's as bad if not worse than Logan's and the third one is...just there," Peter said. "Pinkie's already told me about her sisters," Boom said. "They already sound fun honestly, because of how different they are. Plus tomorrow Pinkie wanted to take me to see Maud." "Maud's nice, just a little...weird to me," Peter said. "Don't call ponies weird Mr. Human Spider," Scott said. "What's that supposed to mean, Human Ant?" Peter asked. "Hey, it's the suit, I'm a normal human without it," Scott reminded. "Define normal," Peter sassed. Scott pointed to the window, "Wanna take this outside?" "Stop fighting!" Trixie shouted. "Now isn't the time for the two of you to stroke your egos." "Not the only thing they wanna stroke," Boom interjected, getting an awkward blush from everypony in the room. "Well, they are stallions, so it's possible they wanna prove their male dominance," Trixie said. "Sexist!" Peter and Scott shouted. "Ignoring the 'male dominance' stuff, what Scott said does have me wondering," Twilight began. "Peter, do you classify as a mutant?" "No, I don't have the X-Gene, plus I wasn't born with my powers, so I'm no different than what Wesker had planned with his virus," Peter replied. "He's what we back home call a 'Mutate', a human who gained their powers through outside means," Scott said. "So Peter, The Fantastic Four, Hulk, they're examples of mutates," Scott said. "Interesting, I really should look up more on human biology," Twilight said, then noticed Wanda stirring. "She's waking up!" Wanda groaned a bit, slowly opening her eyes, "Where am I?" She looked aside to notice three ponies, "Boom? Ant Man? Trixie?" She sat up and noticed the last two, "Twilight? Spider-Man?" "Wanda, I'm so happy you're alright," Twilight said. "How are you feeling?" "Massive headache for starters," Wanda said. "How did I get here, weren't we at The Crystal Empire?" Wanda had a realization. "Where's Mordo!?" "He's been stopped, don't worry about him," Peter said. "What matters is you're safe now." "Just try to relax, you've been through a lot," Twilight said. "Also, thanks for saving my niece, I really owe you for that." "Your niece?" Wanda said, then remembered the filly who was trying to fight off Mordo. "Oh right, I'm glad she's ok." Scott walked over to Peter, speaking in hushed tone, "You're gonna have to tell her that she was the one who destroyed Mordo, with a lot of magic on top of that." "Now's not the time, plus does it really matter?" Peter asked. "It might," Scott said. "She's gonna start asking, plus Magneto may find out too, if he's really up to something bad, he might try to manipulate her." "We'll keep an eye out Scott, don't worry about it," Peter reassured, for the moment just relieved that Wanda will be alright. In the Capcom world, Chun-Li is hard at work at her desk, still looking for any sign of Wesker and his team, trying to think of all the worlds he could have gone too. She's attempted to make contact with these worlds, but no luck. "Chun-Li?" Carlos said, approaching the fighter. "What is it Carlos? Unless you have any leads I can't really talk now," Chun-Li said, not taking her eyes off her work. "Well I don't, but this seems important," Carlos said, then gestured over to Sunset Shimmer. "We have a guest." "Sunset Shimmer?" Chun-Li said. "Please, come on over." Sunset had approached Chun-Li, giving a slight bow of respect. "It's great to see you Chun-Li." "Feeling's mutual, what brings you here," Chun-Li asked. "Princess Celestia sent me," Sunset Shimmer said. "We've been having trouble in our world as of late, several villains from the Marvel world had attacked." "Is everyone alright?" Chun-Li asked. "We're fine, Peter and his friends kept us all safe," Sunset Shimmer said. "But Princess Celestia is worried because these things happened at such a frequent rate, she believes a master mind is behind it all. She sent me here to see if whoever is doing this might have come from this world." "That might be Wesker," Carlos said. "He's probably out for revenge. It was only a matter of time before he turned up again." "I won't disagree with that notion," Chun-Li said. "Sunset, if you can, tell me all the information you know." "Gladly," Sunset said. "Though, shouldn't the others be here? Like your friends and teammates?" "I don't see the need to pester them, they're all quite busy with their own tasks," Chun-Li said. "I can pass the information to them later." "Uh, yeah, that makes sense," Sunset said, lightly kicking her feet. "I mean, they have their own tasks to get to after all, like the demons, and the B.O.W.s, and the Street Fights..." "I know you want to see Ryu, unfortunately that's easier said than done," Chun-Li said. "He travels a lot, mostly on foot, and he doesn't really carry around a cell phone." "Can't even send the guy a letter," Carlos said. "He's always on the move, looking for a way to prove himself." "What is he trying to prove?" Sunset asked. "I mean, he's very powerful isn't he?" "He just likes self improvement," Chun-Li explained. "It's what drives him to be his best, a very admirable trait if I may say so myself." "Helps him self-reflect too," Carlos said. "Clear his mind of his troubles, which he really needed after our world invaded yours." "I think everoyne needed to clear their heads, three worlds clashing like that overwhelm anyone," Sunset said. "It's beyond just that, it's about his rivalry with Peter," Chun-Li said. "We all remember he wasn't the nicest person at the time, which is really unusual for him." "Why is he so bothered by it?" Sunset asked. "He made a mistake, Peter already forgave him, he just got a little prideful, everyone did." "Chris being too prideful, makes sense, he's a bit nuts from all the zombies he had to fight," Chun-Li said. "It can drive a person mad seeing all that destruction," Carlos admitted. "Dante being too prideful makes sense too, he's all about being strong and can be a smart-mouth, though I'm convinced he makes his jokes to hide his pain," Chun-Li said. "Huh, just like Peter," Sunset said. "From what both of them have told me about their lives, neither of them are that different from each other." "Dante is more similar to Peter than he seems to realize, Chris almost is as well, maybe that's why they couldn't really get along," Chun-Li said. "Dante especially, he hates anyone who talks more than he does," Carlos added. "Now Ryu being too prideful is just too unlike him, he always shows respect to others, at least if they're good at heart, like Peter is," Chun-Li said. "He's worried about the Satsui No Hadou." "Satsui No Hadou?" Sunset asked. "He's mentioned it before, I think he compared it to Nightmare Moon." "They're nearly one in the same," Chun-Li said. "Ryu struggles to keep it contained within him, he's worried that one day it'll fully consume him, ridding Ryu of his humanity." "That does sound scary, turning into a monster like that," Sunset then remembered when she too had turned into a demonic entity, not the most pleasant experience. "He's seen it happen to another, a warrior named Akuma," Chun-Li said. "He too learned the art of the Hadou, and let the Satsui No Hadou completely consume him. His thirst for power transformed him into a monster, to which afterward he killed his sensei. Years later Akuma went after the life of his own brother." "Master Gouken," Carlos explained. "The man that trained Ryu and Ken." "Akuma's ultimate goal, at least from what Ryu gathers, is for Ryu to also be consumed by the Satsui No Hadou, so that Akuma may get the worthy battle he desires," Chun-Li explained. "He basically wants a fight to the death with Ryu at both their strongest," Carlos said. "And in Akuma's mind, Ryu can only be at his strongest if consumed by the Satsui No Hadou." "That's terrible," Sunset said. "What good can come from giving up who you are?" "That's why Ryu's worried," Chun-Li said. "He told me he felt so driven to take down and defeat Peter, to prove himself superior, he almost lost a sense of who he was and let his jealousy cloud his judgement." "He doesn't want to be that person again, so he's taking measures," Carlos added. "Isn't there a way to extinguish the darkness in him?" Sunset asked. "Even Luna was able to expel Nightmare Moon." "We're not sure," Chun-Li answered. "I wish I could tell you more but I myself don't fully understand what he's going through, and he really isn't want to talk about his troubles." "Yeah we only know this stuff mostly from his best friend Ken Masters, and whatever Chris and Dante could squeeze out of him," Carlos said. "Hm, where does Ken live if I may ask?" Chun-Li asked. "He lives somewhere in the west coast of America I believe," Chun-Li answered. "You've been to America correct?" "In the Marvel world, yes," Sunset answered. "Mostly New York City." "Our world isn't too different than Marvel's aside from certain cities and countries," Chun-Li said. "But if you've only been to New York then you're still gonna have trouble navigating. If you ever want to see Ken I can have that arranged. He travels too but he never stays away too long since he has a son at home that needs him, so he's easier to get in contact with." "Are you gonna ask him about Ryu?" Carlos asked. "I'm amazed at how concerned you are, I mean we all like him but you seem extra attentive to him. What's the reason for that?" "It's nothing, really," Sunset said, hiding a faint blush, which did not go undetected by Carlos or Chun-Li. "Alright, we'll leave you to your reasoning," Chun-Li said. "I'll be more than happy to assist you with whatever you may need, but first how about that recap?" "Right, sure thing," Sunset said, taking a seat besides Chun-Li, ready to explain everything. Elsewhere in the Capcom world, Ibuki is throwing her shuriken at a target that resembled Logan, getting perfect strikes each time. "Just you wait Wolverine," Ibuki said. "Soon I'm gonna defeat you and prove my worth as a martial artist." She wasn't the only one, Makoto was striking hard at a punching bag that had a picture of Peter, relentlessly attacking it. "Once I defeat Spider-Man, I can bring the highest honor to my Dojo," Makoto said, striking it more. "It'll be a matter of time before Rindo-Kan Karate is the top martial artist dojo in the world! Even Ryu and his fancy Dragon Fist technique willl look like an ant compared to a tiger!" Both girls had continued their training, both ready to test themselves against two powerful warriors. Soon Strider would reward their efforts, but only after he sees a bit more improvement from them. Truthfully, he doesn't expect them to win their fights, but it's not about winning. This is about them testing their abilities and reaching their next level in power. Meanwhile back in Tartarus, Discord was back on the job, looking for the next batch of chaos he could spring on Equestria. Of course as per the usual, he kept a close eye on everyone, gauging his plans to be perfect without going too overboard. He doesn't want the fun to end just yet, and he's gonna stretch this out as much as he can. "Let's see now, so many to pick from, but who can I get as an appetizer rather than an entrée?" Discord wondered. "After Mysterio, Annihilus and Mordo, our friends could use a little reprieve and some lighter work." "Why can't we just destroy them now?" Shocker asked, getting Discord's attention. Discord turned to see him and Sonata, unsure if this is intentional or more coincidence. "Because that would be no fun," Discord said. "Plus my goal really isn't to destroy them, just create chaos. It is my nature after all, I do my best to remain neutral." "Didn't you try to take over Equestria though?" Sonata asked. "Well it seemed fun, plus it was the only way to truly let Chaos reign supreme," Discord said. "With Spider-Man around, and his world having much more access, I can still have my chaos without doing all the work myself." "Well those guys are getting impatient, as am I," Shocker said. "I still don't see why we have to wait like 2-3 more years." "Because you think too small Herman," Discord said. "That's why you're a hired thug rather than a genius mastermind." "Hey, I can run my own group if I wanted to, I got the smarts!" Shocker said, showing off his gauntlets. "Who else can do the damage I can with these things!" "Wow, great point, your little air compressors," Discord said, not even trying to hide the sarcasm. Shocker shook his head in annoyance, "What does a guy have to do to get a little respect around here?" "Don't worry Hermie, I still like you," Sonata said. "Oh buzz off," Shocker said, turning around to leave, Sonata confused by his reaction. "He's always so grumpy," Sonata turned to Discord. "Maybe we should act sooner, Adagio's been getting impatient as well." "Tell her it will be worth the wait," Discord said. "After all, we have Spider-Man, The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Elements of Harmony, The Princesses, The Wonderbolts and the Capcom Warriors to consider here, I want to get as many on our side as we can get, and I'm not just stopping at the Marvel World, because I have plans from The Capcom World and The Dragon World as well, plus with Sunset and Chun-Li working on their portals, I may have more worlds to pull from." "Wait, if more portals open...wouldn't that also mean more heroes?" Sonata asked. "You might be making things harder, so I don't really see the sense of letting them have that advantage." "Huh, that was very insightful of you," Discord said, somewhat surprised. Looks like this girl does have a somewhat functioning brain, "You are correct, I am running a risk, I mean the Marvel Heroes and Capcom Fighters might be stronger than I anticipated, the Elements might have a surprise or two, the Saiyans might betray me, and I can't account much for any other heroes, but there's one thing that I always consider when trying to make sense of things." "Really? What's that?" Sonata asked. "There's just no fun when things make sense," Discord answered. "The unpredictability is what makes it great!" Sonata wasn't too satisfied with that answer, it seemed like a cop out from Discord, "Well just be careful, it's me and my friends that are gonna risk our lives out there after all." "Don't worry, if anything happens I can pull you to safety, see I've grown fond of you and our friend Herman, and any friend of yours or his is a friend of mine," Discord reassured. "I promise nothing bad will happen to anyone you deem a friend." "Hmm, well, I guess I can trust you, after all you did save me and my friends from banishment," Sonata said. "I just wish we could do something about our boredom." "Give me time, maybe I'll send you all on a glorious adventure soon," Discord said. "This way you can bond as a team and get stronger!" "That does sound fun," Sonata said. "Alright, I'm in!" "Good..." Discord said. "Now run along dear, and tell all your friends the fun bit of news I just gave you." "Okay," Sonata said, trotting off to find her friends, as Discord went back to his Crystal Ball. "She's too pure sometimes, weird to say about a Siren," Discord said, searching around until he found his next guy. "Oooh, this one looks perfect for a, Task, I had in mind." Discord giggled at his own pun as he went to work.