//------------------------------// // The New Guys // Story: Spiders and Magic: Dimensional Crisis // by MetalJrock //------------------------------// 'Batman...' A strange voice echoed across the Treebrary, gaining the attention of all the heroes. "Um, please tell me I'm not the only one who heard that." pleaded Rainbow Dash. "W-What was that?" Fluttershy muttered. Batman looked at the ceiling as he recognized the voice, "Doctor Fate?"  "That's Fate? Then that means..." Ben paused. 'Hm. It seems it's more crowded in that dimension than I initially anticipated.' Fate observed. "Alright, Fate was it? Batman and Logan mentioned you earlier... Do you have some good news for us?" Eddie wondered. The voice of Doctor Fate paused for a second, 'Of course. Doctor Strange has finished opening the portal and has sent a few allies your way, although you may not like who decided to barge in, judging by what Stephen explained to me.' "Who is it?" Kaine asked. 'A man going by the name of Frank Castle.' Fate revealed. At the sound of the name, Peter's eyes shrunk to the size of pinpricks, and he froze in place. Miguel paused, trying to figure out where he had heard that name before. Batman merely grunted at the mere mention of the man while Logan had no reaction. 'But now I must bid farewell, I will give you any necessary updates from our ends.' Twilight and Spike tried shaking Peter out of his trance, "Honey?" Are you okay?" asked the alicorn. "Yeah, dude. What's wrong?" Spike shook Peter again. The stallion clenched his head, "WHY!?" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Of all the people from my world to come to Equestria, of course it had to be the damn Punisher!" he slammed his hooves on the ground in slight rage. "The shocking Punisher? As in the original?" Miguel questioned. "You have a Punisher in your timeline?" Kaine asked. The future stallion nodded, "Yeah. If he's anything like the one from my time, then I hope you have strong stomachs." "That doesn't sound pleasant." Rarity gulped. "Why?" Fluttershy inquired timidly. "I had an ugly run-in with him before. What makes us better than the villains are our morals and restraint. We don't kill our enemies unless it is the absolute last resort." Batman explained. "He has no such restraint, he will kill any criminal in his path." the ponies gasped at the explanation the vigilante gave. "At least he is only after criminals. He's still on our side." Wolverine admitted. "Yeah, we're talking about the same guy who constantly points a sniper on my head nearly everytime we cross paths. There's a reason Daredevil and I don't like the guy." Peter reminded the mutant. "You may not like the guy, but just be damn glad that yer not one he wishes to punish." Wolverine grunted. "Logan... Is everything they're saying true?" Trixie quietly said to the X-Man. Wolverine sighed, finally giving a proper explanation, "Yes. Frank can be a little... rough. The reason why I'm not arguin' is because I'm not much better." he revealed his three claws for them to see again.  "Not much better? What do you mean?" Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. Logan looked at the ground, "I've done many things... Unspeakable things in my past. I've wanted to better myself... That's why I joined the X-Men and Avengers... But sometimes old habits die hard... And people fall with me." The ponies clasped their mouths, seeing their ally in a new light. Kaine was the one to break the silence, "Look. I can appreciate someone who can get the job done, even if it means getting their hands dirty. But even I get sick thinking about what I've done." "Bro!" Ben shouted. "Yeah, Kaine! We didn't need to be reminded of that!" Applejack said to the clone. Eddie looked at the ground, "What about you, Brock?" Trixie poked the symbiote host. "I used to be like Punisher... And a part of me still treats criminals with no remorse..." he whispered. "But I want to be better." While the Spiders argued, Batman remained silent on the topic, feeling some regret for starting the controversy. But he decided to see how the scene will play out in the meantime. Peter closed his eyes, "At least you have some amount of emotions. Frank has very little, if he even has a heart. I can do what's right without murdering criminals. What does that say about you, Logan?" he asked in a surprisingly cold tone. "Oh shock..." muttered Miguel. Logan unsheathed his claws, what Peter had said triggering his rage, "Damn it, kid!" he bent down and readied himself to lunge at the stallion, Peter ducking underneath the attack in time as he jumped. "I'm doin' my damn best to keep myself in check for their sakes, and of course you had to run that mouth of yours!" he snarled, Peter remaining silent as he spoke. Before Peter could even lay a hoof on Logan, they were surrounded in auras of purple and yellow. "Peter! Logan! Stop this right now!" she ordered. "Yeah, Pete. That was a low blow even for you!" Sunset scolded. With a sigh of defeat, Peter groaned, "You're right..." the alicorn and unicorn gently placed them on the ground, anger still shown on Logan's face. "Listen, Wolvie... I'm sorry... It's just that Castle really pushes my buttons even when he's not here when it comes to his methods. Possibly even more than Wade, and that's saying a heck of a lot." he apologized, extending a hoof. Logan took a glance at the stallion, before mirroring his action. "I ain't gonna take it personally, kid. It's somethin' I'm still workin' on. Just watch what ya say before it gets ya killed. Be glad I was holdin' back." he warned. "Oh, and Parker..." added the mutant. Wolverine gave Peter a serious look, somehow tightening his hoof, "Don't call me Wolvie." "Are we done now?" Batman asked. At Peter and Logan's nod, Pinkie jumped up, confetti in hoof. "Yay! Peter and Logan realize friendship's more important!" the pink mare shouted, confetti shooting above the two heroes. "Glad we got that covered..." Sunset sighed in relief. Rarity nodded, "You're telling me." "Just be sure to not let this happen again. We have enough enemies. The last darn thing we need is be against one another." Applejack told the group. "Agreed, AJ." Twilight said. "Now, all that's left is to find the heroes Strange summoned." Near Ponyville... Three ponies hopped out of a portal, their bodies changing instantly upon making contact in the new world. The gray aged earth pony looked at his new form. "Son of a bitch." Frank muttered, seeing that he was no longer human. "I'm a freaking horse." "You're not the only one, pal." said the masked beige unicorn wearing the red suit. "Let's see if the particles still work." he saw a button on his hoof and he pressed it, shrinking down and growing back instantly. Ant-Man smiled under his mask, "Awesome. Pym really knows how to make a suit work." The third brown pony looked at himself, feeling a horn on his head through his silver mane. "Hm. Let me try something." he zipped away in a blur of silver, instantly reappearing with a branch in his hoof. "Yep. I still got it." "Can you stop showing off?" Punisher growled, "We need to find Lex and Bushwacker." "Lighten up, dude." Ant-Man tried to ease the ruthless vigilante. "First we gotta find Spider-Man and the others." he saw Castle roll his eyes upon the mention of Spidey. "Yo, Maximoff, can you check around this place? See if we're nearby a town or something? There's bound to be a horse village or something." Quicksilver nodded, vanishing as he ran on all fours. "I wish I has that power..." moaned Ant-Man in disappointment. "Well you don't, so suck it up." Punisher snarled. Ant-Man put a hoof to his face, "Well, aren't you mister sunshine?" Punisher pointed a gun in Lang's direction, "Now you're starting to piss me off." "Woah, easy dude!" Ant-Man shouted, raising his hooves in defense. Frank smirked, lowering his weapon, "I'm not actually gonna shoot you, dumbass. Believe it or not, I can't do this alone... Bushwacker allied himself with the Legion, and I wanna get even with him before he causes more trouble than what's already happened." he explained. Suddenly, without warning, Quicksilver reappeared in between the two heroes. "I found a town nearby, they might know where Spider-Man is at." he took a bite out of a cupcake he found along the way. "Man, these are good. I wanna meet the pony who made these." he complimented the small treats. "Huh. Didn't know ponies were capable of making food. Then again, that's not the most bizarre thing I've seen." Ant-Man admitted, recalling some of his past adventures, whether solo or team-based. "You think you can get us there, Peter?" Quicksilver smirked, placing a hoof on Frank and Scott's necks. "Hang on." he warned. The three zoomed off, heading into the direction the speedster went to earlier. "Where do you think we should stop?" he asked, his hindlegs doing the running for him. Ant-Man looked around for a second, "How about that random tree? I think it has a door. Wait... Why would anyone live in a tree? That's like the biggest firehazard ever. What if it exploded?" "Do you ever shut up?" Punisher shouted. "That's what happens when you decide to join in on a battle unrelated to you." taunted Maximoff. Quicksilver stopped right in front of the door, letting go of Lang and Castle as he got back on all fours. "Made it. Now let's see if anyone actually lives in this thing." said the fast mutant. He knocked on the door, wondering if it actually was occupied. A purple creature opened the door, surprising the three, even Punisher. After clearing his throat after a moment of silence, Lang decided to break the ice with a wave, "Um, hi there. We come in peace." he said in a slow robotic tone. Spike gave Ant-Man a deadpan look, "Peter. I think those allies found us instead of the other way around." Peter and Logan were the first to meet the heroes. "Scott? Maximoff?" asked the wall-crawler with a small smile, which diminished once he saw Castle, "Frank..." "Kid." Ant-Man gave Peter a hoof shake, "What's up, fellow bug guy? I didn't think we'd meet again. Wow, how are we shaking these thumbless limbs?" "Nothing much, Lang. I'm just as surprised as you are. And don't question how these pony bodies work." Peter chuckled. He faced Quicksilver next, "Sup, Peter?" Quicksilver shrugged, "Can't complain. Got summoned here by Strange. Beats sitting in my apartment playing Pong, watching TV, and being an X-Man." he teased, looking over the wrapper from the cupcake he ate. "Well, it's good ya made it." Logan admitted. "We have pressing matters right now." "We heard." Lang replied. Parker gestured behind him, "How about I introduce you to the others? It's becoming a lot more crowded around here." "Sure thing." shrugged Maximoff. Ant-Man removed his helmet, his eyes going wide at the sight of the group sitting down. "D-Did you set up your own superhero team here, Parker?" "Seems like it, right?" Peter laughed. He gave off the names to the others, but Frank was distracted. He saw a familiar Dark Knight, one who was the cause of his problems. Punisher walked to Batman, and confronted him with a scowl. "What do you want?" Batman spat. Trixie eyed the scene worriedly, "Uh oh..." "What is it?" Ben asked, silencing himself when he saw Batman and Punisher staring each other down. Before anyone could react, Punisher punched Batman in the face, the Dark Knight staggering in his spot. Batman tackled Frank in rage, the teo of them tumbling across the living room. "You got lucky..." Batman warned. He gave Frank a right hook, "I knew you were gonna be trouble when I found out you were coming!" "You've done nothing but cause trouble!" Punisher hissed, kicking Batman off his chest. "Because of your damn incompetence, that clown you call your nemesis made a detour in my city! He slaughtered an entire restaurant and ruined my only lead in finding Kingpin and Bushwacker!" "Why are they fighting?" Fluttershy asked. "We're supposed to be on the same side." "Yeah! We just did that!" Pinkie chimed in. "Let them handle it, Flutters." Peter said in a stern tone. "It'd be better if we got rid of the tension now." Frank gritted his teeth, blocking Batman's punch with his hoof. He countered by ducking and hitting the Dark Knight's barrel. "I do what I think is right!" hissed Baman. "It's not up to me to decide to cross the line in taking one's life!" "That's your mistake! You're too weak! You hit them and they get back up, I hit them and they stay down!" Right as Frank pulled out a small blade, that's when the two suddenly found themselves covered in webbing thanks to O'Hara and Kaine. "That's two incidents today." Kaine grunted. "How about we settle this now?" he crossed his hooves at the two. "Now, are we done?" Rainbow questioned, annoyed by the heroes' constant fighting. "Last thing we need is another Civil War." Ant-Man said. Batman gave Punisher a glare, "You think I don't wonder what would happen if Joker was finally rid of? I do every night... But it's not my choice to take the life of another, like what happened to me all those years ago." he whispered. "Well, news flash. I lost my family too by crime. Crime has to be punished for what they've done to me and everyone else they've wronged!" Frank yelled. "Y-You lost your families? That's... terrible!" Pinkie yelled with a large frown, a tear rolling down her eye, feeling sympathy for the two. She could never imagine losing her own family. "I had no idea..." muttered Rarity. "Least you don't know what happened to mine." Logan added, "They can't say they had a hand in it." Applejack paused, her own guilt building up inside her. A mistake of her past she swore to forget. She walked out of the room for some time to think. "What's wrong with her?" asked Ben. "I-I'm not sure... She hasn't been like that in years." Rainbow Dash admitted. Ben nodded, deciding to follow Applejack. "I'll go speak to her." "No. They have to be afraid and doubt their actions. Not lying in a morgue!" Batman shouted back. Frank struggled in the gossamer, "Sure, I should take the advice of a billionaire that dresses up as a bat with fancy toys!" he shouted sarcastically. "Alright! That's enough!" Twilight and Logan yelled. Logan used his claws to rip the webbing apart. "Just shut up, the both of ya! Fer God's sake! Parker and I went over this earlier..." he faced Castle. "I understand where you're comin' from, Frank. Believe me, I cross the line sometimes, but we can't this time. The people of this world are countin' on us to be their heroes." Batman sighed, "Listen, Castle. We don't have time for agruing anymore. Right now we have to find the Legion of Doom. How did you even know about this?" Punisher stood up, "Heard from a source that Bushwacker was in cahoots with this Legion thanks to the Joker. That's why I'm after the clown. That and I wanted to pay you back for that ass-kicking you gave me when we first met. I went to Strange, pretty damn simple." "Well, that's one way to get things done I suppose." Miguel turned his head. "Did anyone see where Ben and Applejack went off too?" "No..." Fluttershy answered. Peter shook his head, remembering something, "Oh crap. I think I know." he said. "Ben went to go see what was wrong." Rarity revealed. "They should be a moment, I hope." "Oh, I wonder why she would leave like that..." Fluttershy said. "It's not like her." "Hey." Ben gently placed a hoof on Applejack's shoulder, the farmpony twitching in her little spot. The two of them found themselves in the Treebrary's guest room. Applejack sniffed, "Yeah? Why'd ya follow me?" Ben sat down on the bed, "I'm not one to leave a friend when I can tell something's wrong." Applejack gave the clone a soft smile, "Yer just like Pete. Always worryin' about others." "It's in the genes." Ben responded with a light chuckle. "So... Are you willing to talk about your... sudden exit? I'm not forcing you to say anything if you don't want to." he wrapped a hoof around the mare's shoulder. "N-No, it's fine. I thought I could move on, but what Batman and Punisher were talkin' about earlier... Brought back memories. I've lived as honest as I could, but I'll never forget what changed me to be that way..." she wiped a lone tear from her eye. "What happened?" Ben questioned in a sincere tone. "Back when ah was a filly, I was a spoiled brat without a care in the world, and not takin' mah work seriously." Applejack revealed. The clone shook his head, "Really? You?" he said in disbelief. Applejack slowly nodded, "Ah was tasked with buckin' the trees one day, but then I has the idea to hide out in the Everfree Forest, hopin' that somepony would do the work... Mah parents went lookin' for me." "Your parents? You've never mentioned them before." Ben realized. The orange mare turned away from the clone, "It's not somethin' I bring up... Anyway, by that point, I was bein' chased by these strange vines after having been lost. Mah pa pushed me outta the way, and was..." she cut herself off, the trauma of the memory hitting her again. "He was pulled away wasn't he?" Ben sighed. Applejack slowly nodded, her teeth gritting, "Y-Yes... Mah ma went to go find 'em, hidin' me in a tree stump. She gave me her hat, and said 'I love you...'." she paused again, tilting her beloved hat. "Oh man... I-I had no idea..." Ben closed his eyes once he put two and two together. "It's not yer fault, Ben. Peter and I had this discussion... Ah thought I could finally move past this, but some things ya just can't forget." "Applejack..." Ben began to say, the clone at a loss for words, "I wish... I wish I can say I fully understand, but I can't... The closest thing I can say is I share Peter's memories. Memories of Uncle Ben. He, Kaine and I share that burden, but I can't fully figure it out. All I know is that we don't want anyone sharing his fate. I'm sorry if I'm not helping you..." "Ben..." the farmpony began to say, "The fact that you cared to listen is enough..." she wrapped the stallion in a hug, surprising the clone. Ben reciprocated the action. "I didn't know you suffered through that. Did what the three of them said really hurt that much?" Ben asked, not letting go. "Yeah. Especially what Logan said. I could tell he felt guilty..." she responded. "Hm." said Ben, unwrapping his hooves around the mare, "How about we get back to the others?" he offered, extending a hoof. Applejack grinned and took it. "Hey, AJ! Where'd you go?" Rainbow asked. "I had somethin' to think about." Applejack responded simply. "You sure?" Peter questioned quietly. "Yeah... I'm fine," she said in a sure tone, changing the topic at last. Quicksilver zipped around the room, grabbing a plate of pancakes, which angered Trixie. "My pancakes!" she shouted. The speedster looked at the blue unicorn for a moment. "I spent an hour making those! They were made by the best!" Miguel tried using his Accelerated Vision to see how fast he was going, but it didn't work. 'I thought my enhanced reflexes were fast! This guy's on a whole different shocking level!' The mutant took a bite and smirked, "I can see that." he was cut off by Trixie using her magic to lift the plate back in her possession. Quicksilver decided to leave it alone, and faced Rainbow Dash, who gave him a look of interest. "So, you're fast too, huh?" Rainbow pondered. The speedster ran off grabbing a book, he flipped through it as he answered, "Yeah. Guess you can say that. They call me Quicksilver." he boasted. Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves, "Oh yeah? Name's Rainbow Dash. Fastest Flyer in all of Equestria! Finally somepony who can keep up with me!" Quicksilver smirked, "Maybe. You may not be on my level." Miguel and Kaine groaned, "Jam it. Can we not have battle of the egos right now?" asked the future stallion, "Seriously. God forbid someone takes the title of fastest. It's not like he can fly." Kaine noted. "I know." Rainbow replied, "I just felt like keeping my spot." Meanwhile, Rarity took a look at Ant-Man's suit, "How did you manage to keep this on? I thought the clothes don't change when you do." she realized. "Like Peter when he first arrived before we enhanced his costume." Scott shrugged, "I dunno... Strange magic? Pym particles? It could be either or I suppose. Yo, Pete." he called out, getting the wall-crawler's attention. "Yeah, Lang?" Ant-Man looked around, "How does this world work? Why did we turn to ponies? Pym, Reed and Stark will have a field day once they see this." "Magic!" Pinkie exclaimed, hopping behind the hero. "Uh, yeah. That." Peter blurted out. Quicksilver ran behind Peter, "Hey, as long as we have our powers, I think I'm good." "That's all that matters for right now." agreed Peter. Meanwhile, Eddie stared down Punisher. "Weren't you Venom?" asked Frank. "Was Venom." corrected Brock. Castle hummed, "That's right. You're Anti-Venom correct? Let's hope you don't go off the deep end..." "Hey! It's not nice to threaten him!" Fluttershy quietly scolded. "Pony. Listen, in my world, no one can be trusted. I'm just looking out on all fronts." Frank said. Logan put a hoof on Frank's shoulder, "Ease up fer now, Castle. If Parker trusts 'em, then I think I can give him the benefit of a doubt." he made up his mind at that moment. "Fine." Batman and Twilight watched Quicksilver read through the library in a matter of minutes, the Dark Knight greeting the speedster. "You must be who Logan was talking about." "Probably. He said something about another speedster under mind control. I can handle him." the mutant said, lying on the couch, his hooves behind his head. "You're awfully confident." Twilight noted. Quicksilver sat up instantly, "I can be. I'm just enjoying myself before the fun begins." he admitted with a smirk. "Sounds familiar, all right." Sunset overheard. While the adults were distracted, they failed to realize that a young filly had woken up from her nap. She wiped her eyes, seeing more ponies than she did earlier. "What the heck?" she asked. Peter paused at the sound of the voice. "Mayday? I thought you were napping." he said. "I had to wake up at some point, Daddy." she replied. "Daddy?!" Quicksilver and Ant-Man shouted at the same time, not believing what they just heard. "How many friends do you have?" asked the young pegasus. Peter looked back at the newcomers, and smiled sheepishly, "A lot. Meet Scott Lang, Peter Maximoff, and I can't believe I'm doing this, but this is Frank Castle." for a moment, Peter swore he saw Castle loosen himself up, the stern eternal scowl gone from his features. "Aw, you're so adorable!" Ant-Man cooed playfully, earning a giggle from Mayday.  "Nice to meet you, kid." Quicksilver greeted. Punisher remained silent all the while, and walked away with Batman. "Alright..." murmured Peter. "Hey, Spike!" "Yeah, bro?" the dragon responded. "Can you take Mayday to meet up with the CMC to babysit at Sweet Apple Acres? I'm sure they wouldn't mind her company." he auggested. "Sure thing, dude." he saluted, and Spike picked her up before walking out. "Hey, Pete." Scott started to say something, "Speaking as a father... Don't make the same mistakes I did." "I hear you, Lang. You redeemed yourself anyway, so I'm not calling you out or anything. You're your daughter's hero." assured Peter. "And I promise I'll be the same to mine." "Kid." Punisher broke his silence. The others immediately looked at the vigilante, "Don't take this for granted," he gave a soft smile, "You got something good here. Something I missed it seems. I know we'll be here a while, but I think you should hear it from me." The Spiders were speechless, especially Peter. "Wow. Um, Frank. Thanks. I promise I won't. For your sake at least." Quicksilver smirked, "I didn't think we'd all get sentimental about it." he grabbed a cup of milk and drank it. Batman watched the scene, "We have our moments. But I think it's about time we got down to business."