Ultimate Spiders and Magic: Episode III "Genetic Conscription"

by Maximus_Reborn


Ch. 1: In the Zone

Chapter One “In the Zone”

Peter sat at a lone table in the school courtyard with a furrowed brow, stealing a glance at every student within his vicinity. However, he could only tap a foot against the ground impatiently, after what seemed like an eternity. Exasperated, Peter let out a groan before falling back into his seat.

“I’m not getting anywhere at this rate,” he groaned, alternating his gaze about. Frowning, he exhaled. “I’m not in danger, so I can’t follow my tingle. Plus, Fury really didn’t give me much to go on. I don’t even know if I’m looking for a boy or a girl. I may as well be blindfolded.”

Aria soon took a seat next to Peter, freeing him from his inner monologue. “Oh, great. You're talking to yourself. This can’t be good.” Folding her arms, the girl rolled her eyes. “What’s going on? You said you wanted to ask everyone something?”

“I’ll wait for the others to show up. Saves me the trouble of having to ask the same thing multiple times,” Peter replied, pausing as some students passed by while chuckling at Aria. The girl ignored the looks with a scoff. Once out of hearing range, Peter arched a brow at his friend. “I wasn’t expecting you to be first. I figured you’d want to avoid the attention.”

Slow to respond, Aria sighed inwardly. “I just had to get out. Ever since your aunt found out that we’re friends, she’s been pestering me nonstop, like a mother hen looking for its chick.”

Peter shrugged, chuckling lightly. “That’s just May being May. She’s just being friendly. I think she just wants to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It’s just… different from what I’m used to,” Aria huffed, glancing to the side. “I’ve always been an outcast. Your aunt doesn’t even seem to care that I’m not from this world to begin with. It’s actually kind of refreshing.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Peter reaffirmed, earning a dismissive scoff from the girl. Once another group of students passed by while snickering, the young man stole a glance at Aria. “What’s that about? Why’s everyone laughing at you? I didn’t really stick around for the aftermath of the concert.”

Grumbling under her breath, Aria frowned. “Everyone may not know we were controlling them, but we still looked pretty bad after you stopped us. Without our gems, we lost our ability to sing. It was pretty embarrassing. All the more reason Adagio hates your guts right now.”

“So, what are you three doing? I get that you and Adagio aren’t on speaking terms,” Peter questioned, tilting his head to the side.

Aria huffed. “Sonata’s practically forgotten about the whole thing. She just applied for a job to be your aunt’s assistant. As for Adagio, we haven’t spoken to each other since the incident, but Sonata told me that she’s hanging at the school with your friend, Flash Thompson.” She shrugged before shaking her head. “Apparently, he’s really good at shielding her from embarrassment. Plus, she gets her rocks off seeing him smack you around. It’s as close to any form of revenge she can get.”

“That’s unbelievably petty,” Peter muttered, scratching the back of his head. With a dumb shrug, the young man chuckled lightly. “It just shows you girls aren't really evil. Just misguided. Hopefully, we can be friends one day.”

Aria snorted involuntarily before shaking her head. “The moment Adagio changes her ways is the day I eat my hat. I can say the same for that Flash guy.”

“Eugene’s not the worst. He actually used to be a cool guy before…” Peter stated, pausing once Sunset and Trixie approached the pair. As everyone exchanged pleasantries briefly, Ditzy stumbled into the scene and nearly collided into the table. However, Peter nonchalantly held out an arm and caught the girl before she could reach the ground. “You’ve got to work on your entrance there, Ditz.”

Ditzy giggled sheepishly, feeling the temperature in her face rise. “Sorry! I would have been here sooner, but I wanted to make sure these were done!” Upon taking a seat at the table, Ditzy retrieved her lunchbox from the confines of her backpack before opening it, bubbles decorated across its slick surface. A fresh batch of blueberry muffins were revealed, their fresh scent entering everyone’s senses. Ditzy extended the box to Peter, smiling warmly. “I made extras just for you. I hope you like them.”

Peter inhaled deeply, taking in the treats’ sweet scent before a wide smile formed on his face. “All’s forgiven,” he muttered, quickly tossing a pair of muffins into his mouth. He chewed intensively, devouring the treats within seconds. “Those are so good.”

Trixie’s face twisted with disgust as she groaned. “You’re such a glutton. You practically inhaled those! I can’t for the life of me figure out where it all goes.”

Oblivious, Peter shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a growing boy.”

Sunset chuckled. “I wish you’d share that metabolism. I gain weight so easily if I’m not careful.”

Inhaling before scoffing, Aria rolled her eyes. “This is great and all, but is there a reason you asked us all to be here? You made it sound so urgent.” She glanced to the side, holding a bemused expression towards Sunset. “What are you looking at?”

Sunset paused, blinking at Aria. “...I still have to get used to you being here. Not that I can say anything.”

Just as Aria scowled and opened her mouth, ready to respond, Peter stepped between both girls with his hands raised defensively. “Remember, the first rule of Loser Brigade protocol is to embrace your cohorts.”

Ditzy nodded feverishly while her mouth was stuffed with a muffin. “Yeah! Be nice!”

“I agree! You all make Trixie look bad when there is no cohesin,” Trixie chortled, throwing a hand over her mouth in a faint attempt to stifle her laughter. “Although I must admit, I am not used to seeing Bumpkins show any urgency. He’s so aloof, it’s like he lives in his own little world most of the time.”

Peter stared blankly at Trixie with a bemused glare. “Maybe I go there to get away from you? There’s a thought.”

Trixie waved a hand dismissively, smirking. “Hardly. We know how irresistible Trixie is.”

“More like detestable,” Aria mumbled, folding her arms.

Peter huffed, scratching the back of his head momentarily. “Anyway. There’s some weird things going on in the school.” He paused, pursing his lips as a realization came to mind. “Well, weirder than usual.”

Sunset furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

“Apparently, a lot of the accidents in the school lately weren’t natural. The fire alarm going off, and some pipes bursting in the gym. I’m told a student is behind it,” Peter declared, folding his arms.

Arching a brow, Trixie huffed. “A student? That seems like a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?”

Peter blinked, staring at the girl with a bemused glare. “Seriously? Most of the school was mesmerized by a band of teenage sirens just a few days ago.” He paused before waving his hand apologetically towards Aria. “No offense.”

Aria snorted, shrugging. “None taken.”

“You just saw Sunset and her friends blast them away with the power of music and a rainbow horse– which I still have questions about!” Peter raved, raising a finger as Sunset sheepishly shrugged. “Plus, she turned into a magical demon once! Not to mention, Aria was a magical, singing seahorse.”

Aria scoffed as her face scrunched into one of disgust. “It sounds so lame when you say it out loud.”

Eventually, the young man could only shake his head and groan. “The point is that someone is causing trouble, and I wanted to know if any of you noticed anything odd lately. Besides, weird things happen at this school all the time. I’ve only been here for two weeks, and I can see that. Why is this suddenly a stretch for you?”

Frowning, Trixie narrowed her gaze. “You are comparing freak accidents to the supernatural. If anything, it makes you seem paranoid. You are new here, so I can forgive your aloofness. Just don’t become a conspiracy theorist. People already think you’re crazy.”

Peter stared blankly at the girl. “I bet you can’t even spell conspiracy.”

“Even if I were to humor you, why do you even care? It doesn’t have anything to do with you,” Trixie huffed, tapping a finger impatiently against her forearm.

Peter stammered before straightening his posture. “If it is a student, maybe we can talk to them? I don’t know if they’re doing this on purpose or if they can’t control what’s going on. We’ll never know if we don’t ask.”

Sunset smiled, placing a hand over Peter’s shoulder. “That’s very considerate of you. If it is a person, I’m all for helping them.”

Aria rolled her eyes, groaning. “You’re just looking for an excuse to add to our hopeless bunch of losers.”

Flash walked by the group, pausing to point a finger before bursting into guffaws. “Hey, look! It’s the Loser Brigade!”

Slack-jawed, Aria’s brow twitched involuntarily. “Wait. We’re really called that?! Why the fu–?!” she glanced to the side as Ditzy obliviously waved in her direction, prompting Aria to slam a hand over her forehead. “This is the absolute worst…”

Trixie snorted harshly before standing from her seat. “I still personally believe you are reaching. As far as I’m concerned, the school is faulty and falling apart.” She walked off, waving a hand dismissively. “Call Trixie when it is important, bumpkins.”

Ditzy slowly stood as well, brushing wrinkles from her skirt. “I have to head to class, too, but if I see anything odd, I’ll let you know!”

The pair shared a wave as the blonde departed before Peter turned his attention towards Aria, furrowing his brow. “What about you? Can you, like, sense them or something?”

Aria rolled her eyes and scoffed. “My powers don’t work like that, dipstick.”

Peter blinked, exhaling. “I know. You sense emotions. I want to believe that this is new for whoever might be the cause. There’s no telling what they’re feeling. Maybe when their powers activate, you can feel something out.” Crossing his arms, Peter pursed his lips. “It’s a long shot, but it’s all I’ve got for now.”

Slow to respond, Aria tilted her head to the side before huffing lightly. “That’s actually not a terrible idea.” Standing from her seat, Aria shrugged before slowly departing. “I’ve got nothing better to do. If something feels off, I’ll find you.”

“How?” Peter questioned, furrowing his brow.

Aria waved a hand dismissively, never turning to face the young man as she continued to walk away. “You’re still a complete sad-sack compared to everyone else. It’ll be easy.”

Bemused, Peter sat with a blank stare for what seemed like an eternity and raised a finger, as if ready to retort. However, he could only let out a defeated groan. “Wow. Maybe I do need therapy.”

Sunset closed the gap between herself and Peter, clearing her throat. “Speaking of which, we need to talk.”

“Is something wrong?” Peter whispered, his voice softening. The corner of his lips curled into a smile, and his eyes brightened, as if a thought came to mind. “Oh! There was this really old movie called ‘Aliens’ that I thought we should watch!”

Sunset inhaled deeply before letting out a low sigh. “Sorry. I would like that, but I think we should slow down a little. It’s not you. It’s me. There’s still a lot of things I need to figure out.”

Frowning, Peter was slow to respond, before nodding inwardly. “Sure. Of course. Take your time.” Shrugging, Peter cleared his throat and slowly departed while his demeanor shrank. “Maybe you and your friends can help spot whoever is causing the issues. Let me know what you find.”

Taken aback, Sunset inhaled sharply before placing a hand over her chest. “Oh! Um, okay. I… uh… will talk to you later. Maybe after a while, we can try it again. Just give me some time to figure things out.” Shaking her head, Sunset sank before sobering, and she made her exit, never freeing her gaze from the ground. “Sorry. I’ll see what I can find.”

Peter watched as the girl hurried off, his expression faltering once she was out of sight. “Try again? We didn’t even get started.” He folded his arms, shifting his gaze skyward. “That was weird. I wonder if it was something I did? She was really vague about it. Maybe she’ll let me know what’s going on. Probably not. I should have known it was too good to be true. What are the odds of me getting with a redhead?” Blinking, Peter finally exhaled, before rolling his eyes. He walked off as his brow began to twitch madly. “This day just got started, and it’s already stupid!”


“Okay, class,” Spitfire duly stated, alternating her gaze about through the class before pointing a finger at the lone rope hanging from the ceiling. “Today, we are rope climbing. It is an excellent conditioning exercise. It enables you to develop endurance, as well as the ability to master your weight. Wrestlers, martial artists, and gymnasts,” she stated, pausing to smirk, “we have all made rope climbing a stable part of our workout.”

Rainbow Dash smiled, clenching her fists eagerly. “Back when you were a Wonderbolt, was it part of your routine, Coach?”

“It was back then, and it’s part of my rehabilitation now. It’s all about building your core strength,” Spitfire retorted before retrieving her clipboard and rolling next to the rope. “Okay. When I call your name, come forward. This is a test to see how well you perform. Don’t compare your results to others. Bon-Bon, you’re up.”

As a girl walked up for her attempt, Eris stood near the back of the group and stared at her hands intently. “Come on. Calm down,” she whispered, straining as traces of white and black energy sparkled from her palms briefly before dissipating. She peeked up, letting out a relieved sigh upon realizing nobody had noticed her dilemma. The girl closed her eyes and exhaled. “It’s just a stupid rope. I can do this without causing a scene.”

Meanwhile, Rainbow stretched in place, pulling an arm across her chest before alternating. “Oh, hey. I’m going to crush it today!” She glanced to the side, furrowing her brow as Sunset stood with a saddened gaze. The girl exhaled, rolling her eyes. “What’s wrong? You look like someone stole your dog.”

Sunset’s eyes widened at the comment. “Oh! Sorry! I was just thinking.” She shook her head and pursed her lips. “Twilight came back and fixed everything. Then, Spider-Man shows up. I don’t feel like I really contributed. If not for them, we probably would have…”

“Still smoked the bad guys! It was my song that saved the day!” Rainbow Dash interjected, flexing her arm. “Twilight came up with the plan, and you helped, too! Way more than that Spider-Guy.” As if uncertain, Sunset’s gaze fell to the ground, and Rainbow furrowed her brow, leaning closer to the girl. “You sure that’s all that’s on your mind?”

Slow to respond, Sunset rubbed her forearm and glanced to the side. “No. There’s more. I’m still trying to find my place, and I can’t help but feel I don’t belong yet. I know you and the girls have gone out of your way to make me feel welcomed, in spite of what I’ve done.” Biting down on her lip, Sunset exhaled harshly. “I’m homesick. I feel useless, and I even broke it off with Peter. To make matters worse, I couldn’t tell him why.”

Rainbow Dash smirked, huffing before placing a hand over Sunset’s shoulder. “You’re overthinking it. You two weren’t even a thing, and thank God for that. It’ll just take time for everyone to see you’re a good person now. I’m just glad you broke it off with the dweeb before any real damage was done. We both know there’s just something off about him, and I’m never wrong when it comes to this sort of thing. So, how’d he take it?”

“That’s the problem. I don’t know! He looked more disappointed than upset,” Sunset murmured, readying herself for a response. “I really feel like I should have handled it better. I–”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “If he can’t take the hint, that’s on him, not you. Don’t let that guy get under your skin. You can do way better anyway.”

“Eris! You’re up!” Spitfire exclaimed, eyeing her clipboard as she checked another name from the list. Inching forth, Eris stepped onto the mat with a look of concern and alternated her gaze between the rope and her coach. Spitfire blinked, staring intently at the girl before clearing her throat. “Lose the fake teeth. I don’t need you accidentally swallowing anything doing this.”

Eris tilted her head to the side and chuckled nervously. “W-Whatever do you mean?” Suddenly, her bright crimson eyes widened at a realization as she threw a hand over her mouth. “Oh, crap!” she blurted out, turning to the side sharply. She pursed her lips over her lone upper fang in a futile attempt to hide it before clutching at the rope. “Okay. Okay, okay. I’m ready.”

Spitfire continued to stare at the girl, calmly motioning her hands. “Just relax, kid. Try your best and see how you do.”

“Okay. Sure! No problem,” Eris muttered, slamming her eyes shut as thoughts raced through her mind. Her breathing grew erratic, and as she reached for the rope, a hissing sound could be heard. “Stop thinking. Stop thinking. The hissing almost sounds like a snake,” she whispered, opening her eyes once the students around her began to exclaim. Eris looked toward the rope, only to find a large snake hanging in its place. Eris’s complexion grew pale as she staggered back, falling onto her bottom. “Snake?!”

“Holy crap!” Spitfire yelled while the snake dropped from the ceiling, its length stretching across the entire gymnasium. All of the students, in a panic, scattered for the exits. Spitfire quickly reached for her cell, pecking away at its screen. “Gym. Now!” it read before the snake sharply turned its attention in her direction. Spitfire managed to thrust her body to the side, narrowly managing to avoid the serpent’s bite as it lunged at her, but the woman fell to the ground, only able to crawl afterward. Spitfire’s eyes grew wide while she raised a hand helplessly. “Oh, God. Please.”

Eris shook her head frantically, mouth agape as she held out her glowing hands. “Stop! Please stop!”

Just as the snake opened its mouth, Rainbow rushed forward with a chair raised overhead. However, before she could attack the snake, part of its long body wrapped around her waist. Sunset pulled at the coil, only to slip into its grasp as well. Eris watched helplessly, with her hands pulling at her hair. Suddenly, the doors to the gymnasium burst open, while a gruff man ran towards the serpent before skidding to a halt.

He clenched his fists, prompting a trio of metallic claws to protrude from his knuckles. “Hey, bub. Mind if I cut in?”

The man rushed forth, taking a wild swipe at the snake’s head, and the creature swayed back, inching away from Spitfire as it relinquished its hold on Sunset and Rainbow Dash. The girls quickly recovered, taking the moment to help their coach to her feet. Meanwhile, the gruff man snarled as he held his ground and never averted his glare from the serpent. He lunged towards the snake in a flash, howling as he sliced his claws through the animal.

Eris watched with her mouth agape as the creature was torn to shreds before she ran out of the gymnasium. Once out of the vicinity, the snake slowly dissipated from existence, with the destroyed rope lying in its place, and the man ceased his attack, blinking as he alternated his gaze about. Sniffing the air, he paused before glancing in the direction Eris ran towards before following. Once he left through the door, Spider-Man walked through the doors on the other side of the room and leapt near where Spitfire stood.

“Is everyone okay? What happened?” he questioned, earning a bewildered gaze from Sunset and a sharp glare from Rainbow Dash, as they allowed Spitfire to lean on them for support.

Spitfire shared a glance with the man before nodding. “It was weird. We were just doing rope climbing exercises, and suddenly, the rope turned into a giant snake!” She was eased back into her wheelchair before shaking her head. “It happened so fast. Before I knew it, some guy with metal claws burst in and sliced it to ribbons. He just walked out.”

Spider-Man nodded. “Okay. He couldn’t have gotten far. I’m going after him. What’d he look like?”

“About your height but a lot of muscle. Rough and hairy. That’s all I got,” Spitfire responded, pointing at the door with her thumb. “You better hurry. I’ve got to make sure all my students are accounted for.”


Elsewhere, a man sat in the middle of a room while levitating from the ground. His head shot up from his self-induced trance before he glanced to the side. “That doesn’t feel good,” he muttered, narrowing his gaze before standing to his feet. Raising a hand, a cape whipped from across the room before resting over his shoulders. “There’s a surge in chaotic magic. If it’s what, or who, I think it is, I need to take care of this immediately.”

“Are you sure, Stephen?” another man questioned, frowning. “This can be dangerous. This was once the Ancient One’s arch rival.”

“All the more reason I take care of this now, Wong,” he replied, brushing his hands together while magical patterns materialized over his palms. “I can’t be the Sorcerer Supreme if I fail to handle our old master’s baggage.”

To be continued…