Spiders and Magic: After the Crisis

by MetalJrock

Pink Punishment

'Crime.'

A man with a skull shirt leaned down, a sniper rifle in his hands. 'That's all that ever goes on in this city whether the sun is up or not. Those superheroes like the Avengers think they can protect all of us, but they're too damn busy in their fantasy worlds fighting aliens and demons and laughing off in a world of friendship and magic.'

'Not me.'

The man closed an eye, focusing on his target parking his truck below. Even though it was night, he could still see perfectly. 'That's why I'm here. To punish the crooks that no one else can give two shits about.' he placed his index finger on the trigger, 'And while everyone else is busy having a party, I'm here to clean up the streets once again.' he thought.

The Punisher scowled, 'Ever since I took down Bushwacker, I've been getting intel that the Gnucci crime-family are planning a dealing here in the harbor.' he pulled away from the sniper and grabbed his binoculars in order to scout. 'Seems some people just can't stay away, and went to the first spot I'd look anyway.'

He pulled the trigger once he saw the gangsters walk out, shooting them in the hand. A smirk was seen on his face as he watched them pull out their own weapons in a panic, fearing for their lives. He ran down the halls of the building now as they figured out his location, grabbing his own pistols and holding them in both of his hands.

'Time to go to work.' he boasted in his head.

The Punisher pulled the guns out in his hands, seeing thr goons coming for him. As one aimed, Frank pulled the trigger, shooting them in the head, making them fall to the ground. He saw the second thug near him, a bat in his grip now. The man whacked Castle in the back of the head, making his vision blurry for a second. But Punisher got a second wind and stood up, hitting the man in the stomach with his elbow, knocking the wind out of him.

Punisher gritted his teeth, placing the bat in his own grip. He threw it down on the stunned man's head and he fell down, blood dripping from his nose and mouth after a second hit. "You want to live. I want answers." Punisher growled, holding the man by the head, kneeling down.

"G-Go to hell..." the man panted.

Now annoyed, Punisher slammed the man's head on the stone floor, making him scream in pain. "Don't tempt me..." he hissed, raising his head again.

"O-Okay..." the thug gasped, "W-What do you want to know?" he wheezed at last.

"Finally. Who the hell is your buyer?" Frank asked in a growl. "No normal man would want weapons that extreme!"

The man gasped, "I-I don't know! H-He calls himself--"

---

"Hey, Peter!" Pinkie called out. Peter was sitting down in a booth at Sugarcube Corner with Twilight, Kaine and Barry, as they wanted a quick bite to eat with nothing else to do.

The pink pony hopped to the table, "Can I ask you a quick question?"

"Uh, sir. Go right ahead, I guess." offered Peter.

"This is gonna be good." Kaine grumbled humorously.

Pinkie inhaled, "Who was that pony with the skull on his shirt again? It's been bugging me all week!"

The wall-crawler's eyes went wide, "The Punisher? Why would you ever want to know about him?"

"Because I thought he could use a friend!"

"No offense, Pinkie," Twilight began to say, "But I don't think he's one to make friends. He seemed cold. A little distant. You were there when he attacked Batman!"

Pinkie beamed a smile, "I know! He seems a little grumpy, but I can make him feel better."

Barry cleared his throat, "Pinkie Pie... Do you even know why he's so grouchy in the first place? It's not something he could just push away... Believe me I tried..." he mumbled the last sentence so nopony could hear him.

"What do you mean?"

Kaine crossed his hooves, "Did you actually forget what he said?" at the nod of the pink mare's head, he sighed, "Of course... I guess I'll be the blunt one. His family was murdered right in front of him. Gruesomely, from what I've heard."

Pinkie's smile instantly turned to a frown upon the revelation, "W-What? That's so sad!"

"As depressing as it is... That's exactly what happened. They were caught in the crossfire of a gang war. I know I shouldn't be telling you this, but being friends with the Punisher is a lost cause, he's too focused on ending crime to form any bonds with anyone. Heck, he tried to kill me the first time we met!" added Parker.

"He did?" Twilight asked.

Peter nodded, "Yep. Some guy told him I was a criminal, and thanks to my oh-so amazing reputation thanks to Jameson, he made me a major target."

"Jeez." Barry sighed, "In any case. That's why we're telling you this. I know it's hard to hear. Trust me, Peter and I feel his pain, but he's not known for being the friendly type and kind of has a reputation of a psycho criminal killer..."

Closing her eyes, Pinkie sighed before speaking again, "I want to help him now... He needs somepony to keep him happy and being a killer is not something he should do to make himself better."

"Oh no... We did not just convince her to reform the Punisher did we?" Peter hissed in self-annoyance, slamming his head on the table in deep regret over what he did.

"Looks like it." Kaine grunted.

"I'm gonna go make him a cake!" Pinkie cheered.

"Pinkie, wait!" Twilight called out, but the pink pony was already put of sight by the time the alicorn called out. The princess groaned, looking at Peter, "She's not gonna stop until she sees him. I don't want her to see what he does."

"You're telling me." Peter huffed, "At least with Deadpool, I know he wouldn't make her sad, since for some reason those two seem to have a connection. But Castle's an entirely different beast. I think Barry and I should keep an eye on her, and make sure she doesn't see anything she wasn't ready for should she actually fo through with this whole 'befriending Punisher' thing. Is that okay with you Barry?" he asked his new friend, who shrugged.

"Why not?" the speedster decided. "Hey, Kaine. You're paying the bill now."

Kaine spoke, "Yeah-- wait what?"

By the time the original clone heard what he said, Peter and Barry already zipped out, with Barry holding Peter by the neck so he could travel at his pace. "Those two..." Kaine growled. "I swear, I'm surrounded by idiots sometimes."

"It's not so bad, Kaine." Twilight assured with a small laugh.

---

A portal opened up on a rooftop, revealing Spider-Man and the Flash, both in costume and a bag strapped to Peter's back, which held something bulky. "Whoo! I'll never get used to that." Peter groaned, kneeling down for a landing.

"I do this almost every week." Barry bragged.

Spider-Man's lenses narrowed, "Yeah, laugh it up, Fastest Man Alive. You can run through time and space, all I have are stick-em powers and strength. That's not enought to open vortexes. Yet."

A third figure hopped out, already transformed and clothed thanks to Peter thinking ahead. Pinkie Pie stood up and dusted herself off, nearly losing her balance. "Woah! How do you stand with only two legs?" she asked curiously, leaning on Peter for support.

The Flash ran behind her, "Quite simple. Move one leg forward and do the same with the other one. It's like a dance I once heard." he quipped, seeing Pinkie do as he just said.

"Hey! I'm doing it!" Pinkie cheered as she figured out how to walk as a human.

Chuckling, Barry rubbed his head, "Hey, soon enough, you'll be running. Now, how about we go find Mister Castle?" as soon as he said that, he grabbed Pinkie by the neck and ran down the building. Peter could hear the excitment of the former pink pony and jumped down, shooting a line of webbing on a building.

'New York. Haven't been here in years. It actually does feel like old times now. If only I were here for better reasons.' Spider-Man thought, swinging and focusing his attention on following the yellow blur of lightning below him.

---

Punisher wandered in the dimly-lit hallway, rifles wielded in his hands. 'Got the information I needed. Brought me here to an abandoned warehouse. Typical. Now, it's time I get what I need... Whoever this guy is, he really wants powerful weapons. I'll make sure he never uses them. And never see the light of day again.'

The only sound heard was Frank's own boots stepping on the floor. The silence only made Castle more vigilant of his surroundings, his eyes turning left and right constantly, his head occasionally turning with his body in some instances. But something got his attention up ahead, making him tighten the grip he had on his weapons, 'Let's see what's here...'

It was an open door, the lights on, and a shadow seen on the wall next to him. Swiftly, he turned his body and aimed his rifle in front of him, but before he pulled the trigger, he heard a noise. The sound of something ringing as it bounced on the walls. It was a red cylinder object that passed his line of sight.

A red glove grabbed the object. Frank instantly recognized who it was, "Damn it..."

Daredevil shook his head, "I didn't think you'd be here... Oh who am I kidding? I had a hunch. I heard about the dealings and I was led over here."

Turning his head, Punisher looked out the door just in case, "I didn't need your help. Go back to that crappy apartment of yours."

The Man Without Fear crossed his arms, "I could say the same to you, Castle."

"I'm not in a good mood, Murdock..." Castle hissed. "Let's get this over with. And don't get. In. My. Way." he ordered, seeing Daredevil grunt in response.

The two walked in the hallways, finding themselves in an open room. A yellow blur of lightning and a shadow found itself coming from the ceiling. Punisher and Daredevil recognized the beings there with them. The Flash stopped, releasing Pinkie and Spider-Man hopped from the ceiling. 'Oh. Target sighed.' he thought. 'Let's see how well this goes.'

"Son of a bitch... How did you find out I was here?"

Peter pointed to Daredevil, "Got in contact with Daredevil on the way here. He said something was going down here and that you'd probably be around somewhere nearby. This is a more grounded thing. Thank God." he sighed in relief.

The Flash awkwardly waved, "I'm here to offer assistance."

"Who the hell is that?" Castle wondered.

"I'm Pinkie Pie!" the woman introduced herself.

"That's right... You're that pink pony I met when I was after Bushwacker. Why are you here?" Castle asked.

"To help you!"

That left both Daredevil and Punisher confused, "Help him?" the red-armored vigilante repeated as a question and pointed at Frank, making sure that he was hearing things right.

'What the hell does that mean? That's a new one.'

"Help me with what exactly? I prefer to work alone..." Punisher growled loudly.

"Too make you smile, silly!" Pinkie yelled.

"Are you goddamn kidding me?" Punisher growled in the question in disgust.

"Nope! I want to see if you can be better!"

Punisher gritted his teeth, "No... I don't want any of this."

"Okay, kid. You have three seconds to explain before I shoot you in the leg." threatened Castle, having shoved Pinkie aside and dragging Peter by the shoulder.

Spider-Man waved his hands defensively, "Alright. She brought you up, and I told her this was a bad idea for the record. Trust me, she would've done this whether I was here or not--"

"That's all I needed to hear. She shouldn't be here. The situation is about to get intense. I cannot afford a pedestrian like her in the crossfire." Castle whispered. "This is something she can't stomach. Get her the hell out of here."

"Easy, Castle. Flash and I are here with you. And Daredevil. In fact I think the two of them are becoming fast friends." Peter assured.

"So, you dress up like a devil? Cool!" Pinkie complimented.

Daredevil gave her a light smile, "You could say that. It's to strike fear into the criminals of Hell's Kitchen. I won't say anymore than that though. Honestly, you shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous and a little overboard in what we're dealing with."

"I can handle myself Double D." Pinkie insisted with a light salute, "And don't worry, Pun-Pun! I won't be a bother!"

The Flash shook his head, "Did she just call him Pun-Pun? Sounds like an anime character. Pun-Pun Kill-Chan... Has a nice ring to it." he stopped talking once he felt something whack him in the hip, making him falter slightly. "Ow..."

"Bad enough I have the kid and Red here. Now I have to babysit you two." Punisher snarled. "You haven't been here for five minutes and this is turning out to be a terrible night. Get the hell out before I make you." he stormed down into the basement door, seeing it finally, leaving the other heroes behind him.

"But Frank..." Pinkie called out.

Castle stopped and turned around, pointing an accusing finger at the woman. "Frank Castle is dead. I'm the Punisher. I don't need friends. Especially friends as annoying as you. Don't ever think about getting in my way again!" Pinkie was on the verge of tears after hearing this. "I do not need to learn magic of friendship or some bullshit like that! I operate on my own!"

Spider-Man crossed his arms, "That was harsh, Frank."

"Ask me if I give a shit." Castle muttered, marching back to where he was going.

"Should we follow him?" Barry asked.

Daredevil shook his head, "I say we should wait. As much as I dislike Castle, I'd rather not get into his crossfire again. He gets a little trigger-happy when angered."

"I-Is it something I did?" Pinkie whimpered, a tear falling from her eye.

Spider-Man responded, "No, Pinkie. Kaine and I told you this. Frank's not someone you can befriend. He's someone you can probably earn begrudging respect from, but that's probably it."

"Trust me, Pinkie." Barry added, "I know you want to make everypony happy, but Castle is a lost cause."

Daredevil sighed, "I gotta admit though. You must be really dead-set on making people happy if you want to become the Punisher's friend of all people. It's nothing personal, Pinkie, trust me." he comforted, putting a hand on her shoulder. "He just has too much baggage to truly move on from his mission."

"...But why is he so grumpy while you three act laidback? D-Didn't you all lose everything too?" Pinkie wondered, looking at the bag Peter gave her a moment ago.

"It's not that simple, Pinkie. Some people cope with loss differently than others. In a way, what we do is how we grieve. He just had it the hardest out of all of us." Barry replied, "He was a soldier and he finally came back home... Only to have his family taken away from him."

"That's why we wear these costumes. To Peter, it's a reminder, to me, it's a symbol, to Flash, it's an ideal." Daredevil added. "Now, how about we take you back before--"

CRASH!

Spider-Man hopped forward and made sure Pinkie was standing behind him, "Stay behind me, guys. Whoever's down there is causing some major damage."

---

A few moments ago...

The Punisher walked down the stairs with a noticable look of disgust on his face. 'God damn pony. She thinks she can act all bubbly in this type of situation. This is a battlefield, and I cannot make friends while I'm fighting. Too distracting.'

Finally, he made it to the basement, where he saw an armored person looking at a bunch of monitors. "So, you're the one who stopped the deal earlier? I admit... I was expecting Captain America, but you'll have to do for now." he stood up from his seat and turned around, revealing the details of the costume he wore.

He wore a skull mask as thick as a helmet and his vest had a white X on the chest. He had battering rams connected to his wrists and he flicked his arms, bringing them down. "I was hopin' to get them for what I had planned, but you of all people had to get in my way."

'The man the goon earlier described. He really did steal the skull look.'

The Punisher gritted his teeth, "So... you're Crossbones, I presume? Rumlow..." he lifted his rifle and held it in his hands, it aimed in front of him. "You'll be a pile of bones by the time I'm done with ya. I heard about what you've done before. Plenty of people gone because of you. I should've found you a long time ago."

Crossbones chuckled darkly, "Yes. Do it, Castle. Shoot me. See if you can end this now."

Without hesitation, Punisher pulled the trigger, but the armor-piercing round managed to barely scratch the armor. "I came prepared, Punisher. Heh, I guess you found your own worst enemy?"

Throwing his gun on the floor, Punisher held up his fists, "Bring it you son of a bitch. I'm not letting you get those weapons." he instructed, ready to fight. 'One on one. My kind of odds.' he threw the first punch, his fist colliding with Crossbone's mask, not putting a dent in it.

"Argh!" Punisher screamed, hurling his fist onto Rumlow's chest. Crossbones merely only took a step backwards upon feeling Castle's fist again.

"I knew the upgrades would work." Crossbones muttered, he swiped his arm upwards, hitting Punisher with the blunt object, making his head snap up in pain. With a weak cough, Frank lunged after Crossbones again, giving the assassin a right hook.

With a pained grunt, Castle punched Rumlow's helmet again, driving his fist into the plated material. "Stay down, damn you!" he ordered, performing a left uppercut to his stomach. Chuckling, Crossbones slammed the battering rams on his arms on Punisher's sides, hurling him across the small room.

Coughing some blood, Punisher stood up, but Crossbones punched him in the stomach, making him wheeze. Castle attempted to respond with a weak right jab, but Rumlow used his weapon to hit Frank in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He hit Punisher again. Again. His face becoming more bruised by the second. "So, Punisher? What do you have to say now?"

Instead of talking, Punisher spat on Crossbone's mask, leaving a small drop of red on the white skull. "Typical." he lifted the vigilante up by the collar of his coat. "Now... what should I do with you?"

"Hands off, Anti-Punisher!"

Spider-Man webbed up Crossbone's mask for a little bit, allowing Daredevil to whack him with his billy club. The wall-crawler hopped from the ceiling, driving his foot into the top of Rumlow's head. "Okay, seriously? A skull mask instead of a shirt? Are you merchandising again, Frank?"

"S-Shut the hell up..."

As Daredevil lunged forward again, Rumlow slammed his arms into Murdock's head, making him fall onto the floor with ease. Spider-Man's Spider-Sense went off, making him duck from Crossbones' attack, but Rumlow uppercutted him, making Peter hit his head on the ceiling painfully.

As Crossbones readied to end the three vigilantes, a yellow blur knocked him back slightly, revealing the Flash. "Okay, Reverse-Punisher or whoever you are, it's time to stop this. I can end you in pretty much a few seconds." he started to run, landing a few blows to Crossbones, making him move each time.

But somehow, Barry staggered for a split-second, giving Rumlow the opportunity to grab him and shoot him in the leg, making sure he wouldn't run. Barry yelled loudly in pain as he held his bleeding limb, hoping his regeneration would kick in soon. He then got shot in the shoulder, giving the same reaction. "Damn it..."

Luckily, for Flash, Spider-Man and Daredevil got a second wind, the former shot some web-balls to distract the villain, "Hey, hands off the heroes. They did nothing to you."

Crossbones looked down, finding Punisher's dropped gun. He picked it up and held the bloody, beaten Punisher up by the back of his leather jacket. "Make a single move, and I'll blow his freaking brains out!" he threatened, a clicking sound as he aimed the weapon down on Castle's chin.

"Easy, Rumlow. It doesn't have to be this way." Daredevil attempted to ease.

"Go to hell, Crossbones..." Frank could be heard whispering.

Spider-Man raised his hands, "Alright, dude." he pretended to surrender, his hand aimed up to the ceiling. He had a plan.

'The kid is hesitating. He's doin' somethin'. Probably got to do woth those web things he always kept.'

Then out of nowhere, something flew in and covered Crossbones mask, surprising him and made him let go of Castle, who fell onto the floor next to Barry. Now with an open shot, Daredevil grunted, "Had a feeling that would work."

"Did you ever doubt me when we worked together?" Spider-Man quipped, kicking Crossbones in the chest hard, giving Daredevil an opportunity to remove the icing covered helmet and repeatedly punch him in the face while he was dizzy, knocking him unconscious.

"Plenty of times. Now, where's Pinkie?" Daredevil asked.

"Right heeere!" the woman yelled in a sing-song tone, hopping from the top of the staircase. "Did we stop that meanie?" she gazed at his unconscious body.

"We sure did, Pinkie!" Peter cheered.

The Flash slowly stood up, leaning on Daredevil for support while he also helped up Punisher. Castle coughed, "W-What the hell did y-you do?" he asked.

"Simple. We used the cake Pinkie made in order to distract Crossbones long enough so that we could take him out. After all, when was the last time a supervillain had a cake thrown at their face like that?" Spider-Man explained.

Frank raised a brow, "C-Cake... What the hell for?"

"It was for you, Castle. She wasn't lying earlier." Daredevil elaborated. "She just wanted to make you her friend."

"Yeperoo! Now we should take you to get those bruises off of you! You look like Peter after fighting a dragon!" Pinkie gasped, a frown evident on her face.

"Trust me, he's had worse days." Barry joked.

'Well I'll be... Someone who actually gives a damn... Never thought I'd see that day.' Castle slowly turned his head to look at the remains of the cake the former pony made. 'Thought it was blackmail or somethin'. Guess I was wrong.'

The Punisher gave a light smile, "Pink... T-Thank you..." he coughed some more. Those words lightened Pinkie's mood and she gave him a pat on the shoulder. "D-Didn't think anyone would ever bother t-to do that..." he panted.

"Looks like having a soft side is killing him." Peter said humorously. "But seriously, we should get your wounds looked at or something. How about you come to Equestria so we can tend to those giant blue spots on your face?"

Punisher sneered, "You kiddin'? I'd rather--" he cut himself off once he saw Pinkie, who was giving him the puppy eyes. 'No, Castle... You won't fall for it. Not today, not ever.' he narrowed his gaze and looked away from the woman. "Fine." he answered in his usual stoic tone. "But only so I can get back to business."

Daredevil chuckled, "Sure. Fair enough."

The group walked out of the warehouse, seeing the police arrive soon, 'It may not be much... but I'll be back on the street by tomorrow night to continue my quest for justice. But for tonight... I need to rest. Pink is a strange one, that's for sure.'

Author's Note:

Hopefully I did well writing Punisher. I wanted him to be the same vigilante we know, but with a small soft side that very few can reveal and based him off the comic, Netflix and Thomas Jane versions. Pinkie can probably bring out the best of the vigilantes: Who's to say Batman isn't on her list?

And I think at this point slice-of-life for me pretty much means less action. For some reason when it comes to these worlds, it just feels appropriate to have some action involved, but I'll try tone it down.

Next Time: A certain dragon and Boy Wonder are left to fend for and prove themselves against a criminal that escaped into Equestria with only the two of them on the case.

Comments

[MetalJrock]

7858121 Always the goof he is!

7860534 Thanks. I want characters of all three worlds to get as much equal representation as I can, so we'll be seeing some strange dynamics. Next up is Spike and Robin.