Issue #23: The Hunt Begins
A few days ago...
A helicopter landed at a helipad outside Canterlot City at the earliest hours of the morning. A man wearing a lion-print vest stepped onto the floor. He sniffed the air and took in its exotic scent, “The urban jungle. Quite a phenomenon.” he said to himself. The city was quite new to him, after all, he spent most of his life in the jungle. Hunting, surviving. It was thrilling for him, and so even he couldn’t refuse an offer like this.
He was greeted by Hammerhead, who cracked his knuckles, “Sergei Kravinoff. I believe you got our little offer?”
Sergei nodded, “I did. What is this about a new prey?”
“He’s a man with the properties of an arachnid: The Spider-Man as he’s referred to.” Hammerhead explained, “I believe he would suffice as an interesting challenge for you?”
“But why come to me?” Sergei asked.
Hammerhead replied, “You have a knack for catchin’ prey. In exchange for getting rid of our little bugman problem, we’ll make it worth your while.” he showed Sergei a briefcase and opened it, revealing a large stack of money inside. Sergei waved a hand to dismiss it.
“I will not accept monetary rewards. The thrill of the hunt will be my reward.” Sergei assured, “But I will catch this Spider-Man, Kraven the Hunter will be sure of it.”
Now...
Peter, Ned and Trixie were walking out of school another day wrapped up. The three of them conversing over what was coming up for them as usual.
”Trixie has great news to be shared with all!” Trixie boasted.
Peter rolled his eyes and smiled, “And what is this wonderful news, Trix?”
“I‘m going to Quentin Beck’s next show.” the girl answered.
Ned said, “Nice, when is it?”
“Friday night.”
Peter scratched his head, “Beck... everytime you mention the name it sounds familiar. Wait, I remember now. He was one of the acts at the studio I worked in during the Spider-Man show days. Yeah... I wasn’t too impressed.”
“That is because you do not have an appreciation of art, Parker. Beck’s tricks and illusions are acts I have been inspiring to me since childhood.” Trixie said.
“Yeah, Pete. Show some respect for true culture. And she makes fun of us for liking Star Wars. His lack of talent is probably why is acting career never took off.” Ned joked with a smirk.
Catching Ned’s comment, Trixie gasped as though she was offended, “The film industry couldn’t see his genius and vision. This is weird to hear coming from the same people who shilled the Avengers at every moment.”
“Yeah, you have a point.” Ned admitted.
“Fair.” Peter said as well. “By the way, how is Dr. Connors, Ned?”
Ned smiled, “He’s doing way better. They’re still rebuilding what the giant robot tore down, and Eddie’s been appearing less often so he can focus on the Daily Bugle to help pay for the repairs.”
“Oh yeah, I had a run-in with him yesterday. He didn’t look to happy. Jameson is a huge jerk though.” Peter admitted.
Ned chuckled, “You should’ve seen the articles. He pinned all those random supervillain attacks on you.”
Peter rolled his eyes, “Of course he did. And now he has a new target for his rants: The Solar Eclipse.”
Trixie said, “Sunset Shimmer, I presume? I imagine you’re gonna have a little chat about her little hero phase.”
“We are.” Peter assured.
“I don’t see the problem. It’ll be cool having a partner. I just wish I had the tech or whatever to do it.” Ned admitted, “I could be like the Spider-Lad and Trixie could be... Something Sorceress.”
Trixie crossed her arms, “Trixie would leave the heroing to Parker.”
“Thanks, Ned. I’ll mentor to you in the slim chance you get the same exact spider-powers as me.” Peter said, “I think Canterlot can barely handle one Spider though.”
Ned sighed, “I guess. So what’s the plan when you meet the Solar Eclipse?”
Peter replied, “Try to talk her out of this.”
“What were you thinking?!”
Earlier that day, Peter had told Sunset to meet him on the roof of Sugarcube Corner in costume so they could talk. Sunset had told him about her brief encounter with Mysterio, and how he used tech to hold a bank up. But Peter wasn’t hearing it right now, which was surprising for the girl, “You randomly decide to play vigilante, stick your nose into business where it doesn’t belong, and nearly get yourself hurt. You forced me to reveal my secret identity to you and now here you are dressed up and putting your life at risk. Heck, what was I thinking? Even I encouraged it for a bit. This whole thing is a mistake.”
Sunset crossed her arms and spat, “What was I supposed to do? Let those people get killed by Mysterio? If you recall, I told you he wasn’t in a waiting mood and was getting ready to off them one by one before I stepped in.”
“Then let the police handle it! You’re not ready for this.” Spider-Man replied, pointing an accusing finger at the Solar Eclipse.
“His tech would’ve overwhelmed them and killed them. And since when can you decide when I’m ready to do this?” Sunset asked.
Peter hissed, “Since you left me no choice but to reveal my secret to you. What is your sudden fascination with playing hero all of a sudden anyway? You weren’t this nosy when I left with the Avengers, but now suddenly you want to be the newest crimefighter and want me to help you for some reason.”
“The Friendship Games.”
Raising a brow, Spider-Man asked, “What about it? What was so bad about it that you decided ‘hey, I wanna go out and put an end to crime’?”
“...It reminded me of how much I screwed up this world...” Sunset admitted.
Spider-Man reminded her, “All those incidents remained in the school. You can remain as Canterlot High’s protector or something. There’s no reason to put so much pressure on yourself.”
Sunset continued, “Reality almost collapsed, Peter. Because of the Equestrian magic I brought to this world, this dimension was nearly wiped from existence. I saw my homeworld and actual Equestrians through the cracks when that should never be the case. I grew paranoid after that, the Sirens suddenly regained their magic, who was to say some other banished Equestrian threat didn’t show up like that as well? Who’s to say there isn’t someone out there with the power to wipe out reality like on what happened during the Friendship Games? I want to be prepared for when that day comes.”
“Then let the Avengers handle it or the X-Men take care of it. You shouldn’t have to do this to yourself.” Peter told her.
“Then why are you out there, Peter?”
Peter huffed, “I told you: To protect the little guy and to make sure no one loses a loved one like I did Uncle Ben. My ego grew and he paid the price for it. If someone dies under my watch, then it’ll be on me.”
“My ego got big too. I wanted to prove to Princess Celestia that I was cut out to be princess, but...”
“Princess Celestia?” Peter muttered under his breath, but Sunset didn’t hear it.
Sunset continued explaining, “But I ran away like the angry child I was and came here. I became a terrifying she-demon and nearly conquered the school. I wanted to expand to the world at the some point. But I saw the error of my ways, I was given a second chance. And I want to make the best of it.”
Spider-Man replied, “Okay, I kinda understand. You want to make up for what you did. I know about that more than you think. But why choose crime-fighting?”
“After the Friendship Games, I noticed that I felt odder than usual. Stronger? I accidentally pushed my alarm clock with magic one morning and realized what happened. Whatever happened that day, I must have regained my unicorn magic from Equestria somehow. I wanted to prepare myself for any future threats to this school. Then I realized how crazy the world was outside of Canterlot High. Superheroes and supervillains are showing up more than ever. I wanted to make a difference, but I already told you this.” Sunset added.
Scratching his head, Peter wondered, “So you just want to do good? But why start now of all times?” he paused, ‘I should’ve just left you alone once I met with Daredevil and Punisher. I probably encouraged her. Bad move on my part.’
Sunset sighed, “When Gargan attacked Sugarcube Corner to challenge you, I didn’t know what to do. But I wanted to do something. It was a reminder that my friends could be put in the crossfire of a non-Equestrian threat. Then the Green Goblin attacked. After that, I better honed my powers to where I’m at now to prepare for events like that happening. I’m sorry, Peter. For everything... For being a nuisance to you and for making you reveal your identity... I just... I guess the idea of doing good got to my head. You have every right to be upset.”
Peter rubbed his head, “Look, Sunset. Despite the whole identity thing, I can tell you only want to do the right thing. I’m upset because I feel like I encouraged you to do this when you didn’t have to, and if something were to happen to you, then that would fall on me.” he sat down, “...But I had thought about your offer for a while. If we’re going to be partners and I become your ‘mentor’, then you have to follow my lead at all times.”
Sunset smiled and asked, “Wait, really?”
“I tend to give second chances. Just don’t make me regret doing this, please.” Peter pleaded.
“You have my word, Spider-Man.”
Spider-Man added, “Oh yeah, I feel like I should mention that the Daily Bugle wants pictures of you and me for their articles and I really need that paycheck.”
Sunset shrugged, “Alright then.”
Sergei stared into the nightsky of Canterlot City, awaiting his prey. He pulled out his binoculars and saw a figure in red and blue swinging from roof to roof. What also caught his attention was the hooded girl flying right behind him, a small blur of red following her flight path. A new ally, the Solar Eclipse he recalled, but she would not hinder his plan in the slightest.
“There you are, Spider. Very soon you will be Kraven’s next and greatest trophy.”
He watched him, analyzed his style and prepared himself. Today was the day of the hunt. The day he captured his best prey. He grabbed a blowdart and aimed his primitive weapon at the billboard Spider-Man. He exhaled and the dart shot out. Spider-Man leaned back from the dart and looked in the direction where it came from, seeing no one. The Solar Eclipse asked, “What the heck was that?”
“No clue.” Peter said, “Just keep your guard up. Someone’s already after us. Ugh. Just when I wanted a break.”
His Spider-Sense went off again, prompting Peter to act on instinct and backflip away from more darts being shot at him. He groaned, “Okay, seriously? Who’s doing this?” he faced Sunset, “Stay here.”
Before she could even respond, Peter jumped a building over and was greeted by a man wielding two blades, who immediately lashed out at him, forcing Peter to dodge, “Okay, who are you supposed to be? A Blade wannabe? Gotta say, you have the sword wielding down, but not the look. He wouldn’t want you as a sidekick.”
“I am Kraven the Hunter. Your greatest trial.” Kraven declared, slashing downwards, cutting Spider-Man’s suit when he moved back.
Peter yelped, “Yikes! If I had a dime everytime I heard that claim I’ll be richer than Tony Stark. What have I done to you anyway?”
Kraven smirked and said, “You will be a challenge. That is all I seek.”
“Yeah, alright.” Peter sighed, “Listen, Kraven. I’m not in the mood for games today. So I’ll just—“
As Peter spoke, Kraven threw a sphere at the wall-crawler, the object exploding and entrapping the hero in a net while he flipped to avoid it. Spider-Man fell to the floor and landed on his side, struggling in the net. “I have planned this encounter, but I must admit I did not anticipate your tendency to talk. You lack finesse, almost like a child.” he raised one of his blades and watched Spider-Man squirm in his trap, “Like the net, no? I have made it from the finest material known to hunters. Strong enough to hold back an elephant.”
Pressing his fingers down, Spider-Man managed to web up Kraven’s blade and pull his hand forward, making him drop it. “Heh. Luckily, I’m not an elephant.” he said.
Kraven said, “Ah. You are more formidable than I thought. You will make a fine trophy.”
Spider-Man gagged in response and tore apart the netting, “Uh, no. I’m not some prize.” he told the hunter. Peter flipped to his feet and slid on the roof. Kraven held out a boomerang and threw it, the web-slinger ducking underneath it. He turned around and caught it once it came close enough. His Spider-Sense tingled and suddenly he found himself caught by yet another trap, delivered by Kraven from behind. The hero was unable to move once more. “What the-?”
“You like? I am well aware of your... unusual senses.” Kraven revealed, kneeling down at the spider.
Sunset watched the fight from the billboard and realized that Peter could use her help. She rubbed her head, “But I also told him that I’d listen...” she muttered, gazing back to Peter, who managed to kick Kraven and used his agility to push himself back onto his feet. She noticed that the hunter had another blade ready, and Spidey was putting himself at risk while still trapped. With a flick of her wrist, she trapped the weapon in a red aura and flung it to the other side of the roof away from Kraven’s grasp. Peter backflipped and drove his leg to the hunter’s chin and broke free, web-zipping away from Kraven towards Sunset.
“What are you doing?” Spider-Man asked.
The Solar Eclipse answered, “Helping you. You looked like you were struggling out there.”
“I had it covered. Trust me, I’d rather you not get put into this guy’s crossfire.” Peter said.
Crossing her arms, Sunset wondered, “You said we can be partners. As partners, I think that involves watching each other’s backs.”
Spider-Man added, “But as your mentor, it’s my job to keep you safe. I was hoping you can start small and work your way up to encountering my ever-growing rogues gallery.”
“So you think you’re babysitting me? I can fend for myself, Spidey.” Solar Eclipse chided.
“I know you can— Look, we don’t have time for bickering. Kraven’s over there coming up with ways to take me down. I told you, while we’re partners, I’m responsible for anything that happens to you.” Peter felt his Spider-Sense go off again, but Sunset created a barrier around them, shielding them from a lone arrow. “...Oh yeah. Thanks for that.”
“Told you.” Solar Eclipse bragged.
Peter said, “Alright now.” he webbed up Sunset’s feet, “Just let me handle this nutcase and then we can talk about our teamups.” he assured, leaping back to deal with Kraven. The girl fumed, annoyed at Peter’s stubbornness at working alone.
“I wonder why he agreed to mentor me in the first place...” Sunset whispered.
As Spider-Man leapt, Kraven jumped and tackled him, pinning Peter back to the building where he came from. “Okay, did you take steroids, Kraven?” Spidey asked before elbowing him.
“No, I am merely one with the jungle.” Kraven bragged, holding up Spider-Man and throwing him. Peter grunted as he smacked the billboard and fell on his face. Kraven leaped and stepped on his back before rolling over.
“My everything...” Peter muttered.
Sunset was busy removing the webbing. With her magic, she managed to remove the substance and threw it onto Kraven’s face, blinding him for a moment. She helped up her friend, “Now will you let me help?”
Spider-Man said, “...Yeah... Sure... ow...” he grunted while standing up. He shook the cobwebs out of his head, “Fine. Looks like we’ll be skipping a few lessons and jump right into Supervillain Beating 101.”
Yanking the substance off his face, Kraven said, “Having a partner will not keep you from being hunted, Spider.”
Sunset asked, “Think we can work together, Spider-Man?”
Peter crouched down, “If you’re willing to, Solar Eclipse.”
Kraven lunged after the heroes. Spider-Man zipped to the billboard and allowed Solar Eclipse to smack the hunter’s face with a magic sphere. The hunter ducked down and grabbed his fallen arrow and threw it at Peter. The wall-crawler jumped down, but not before the projectile ripped a part of his costume, revealing underwear with horses on them. Sunset blinked in confusion at Peter, “Okay. The pony underwear was half-price and does not reflect my macho status.”
“Sure it doesn’t.” Sunset laughed.
Focusing back on the fight, Peter and Sunset leaped from the roof of the building into an alleyway where Kraven followed with precise jumps off the walls. “This guy must be part animal or something. Was he bitten by a radioactive hunter?” Spider-Man asked.
Solar Eclipse threw a sphere of magic at Kraven, which knocked him back to a wall. The hunter got his bearings and tackled Peter, slamming him onto a parked car, denting its hood. Sunset yanked him away and made him fall on his back. Peter grunted and noticed the crowd watching the fight. Kraven lashed out and tried to punch Peter and Sunset. The two of them dodged and blocked his attacks with ease.
Kraven tried to kick Spider-Man, but the wall-crawler deflected it with his own leg. He tried to swipe Solar Eclipse, but she shielded herself from him. Peter grabbed Kraven’s fist and said, “You don’t get it, do ya Kraven?”
The hunter tried to go after Peter, but Sunset used a barrier to shield him from another punch. Spider-Man broke through the barrier and decked Kraven in the face. Kraven then threw a boomerang at Sunset, but Peter caught it with his webbing and threw it to Kraven’s chest, knocking the wind out of him. “What do I not get, Spider?” Kraven wheezed.
“That at the whole hunting thing, you might be the best...” Spider-Man admitted, webbing Kraven’s arms together as Solar Eclipse held him still, “But when it comes to the urban jungle?” he leaped forward and uppercutted the hunter before adding on with Sunset throwing him aside, knocking him unconscious. “You were way out of your league.” Spider-Man webbed Kraven’s unconscious body to a lightpole.
The heroes went to the rooftops to wait for the police. As they were waiting, Spider-Man raised a hand to high-five Solar Eclipse. “Score one for Spider-Man and the Solar Eclipse.”
“So now you want to be partners and not pretend to be a glorified babysitter?” Sunset asked.
Peter shrugged, “Yeah, I admit, I was a little stingy. I’m not exactly used to working with anyone else, but you proved yourself out there. It’s nice having someone watch my back on the frontlines. From now on, I won’t bench you unless things get really dangerous. Now come on, don’t leave me hanging here.”
“Fine.” Sunset replied with a smile, and returned the high-five. “So how are we handling this?”
“If you’re up for it, we can meet up afterschool. I’ll have to link you up with comms so you can speak to Ned and Trixie, they’re my mission control and when it comes to solving mysteries, I can always trust those two to pick up the clues. So... I officially welcome you to Team Spider-Man, Sunset.”
“It’s a pleasure, Peter.” Sunset replied.
Peter asked, “So... ready to get a few snapshots for the Daily Bugle?”
Sunset nodded, “I’ll be right behind you.”
“Awesome!”
‘Jameson is a jerk.’ Peter thought, climbing back into this apartment. ‘Luckily he kept his word and doubled the check he was originally going to give me. May can use the financial help.’
Taking off his costume and putting on some spare clothes, Peter walked into the dining room, where his aunt greeted him, “Peter? You took longer than usual tonight. I was ready to call you.”
“I’m fine, May.” he reached into his pocket and grabbed the check from the Daily Bugle, “This is for you.”
May looked at the paper with monetary value, “Peter... How did you get this?”
Scratching his head, Peter replied, “Taking photos for the Daily Bugle. I know that using my powers to make money is cheating, but you needed help and I had to do something. They have a smear campaign against Spider-Man anyway, so I’m definitely not doing it for fame.”
“Peter... I can’t ask this of you.” May said.
“I want to, May. Trust me, I know a thing or two about others helping when you don’t want it. Just... please. It’s the least I can do after putting you through so much stress.” Peter sighed. “I was so focused on a superhero that I almost forgot my biggest responsibilities, and for that, I’m sorry.”
May hugged her nephew, “I know being Spider-Man is a burden you put on yourself. I just didn’t want to put anymore on you.”
With a smile, Peter returned the hug, “Aunt May... I don’t mind lending a hand around here. Honest.”
“Thank you, Peter.” the two ended their embrace and May turned around to the table, “I left you dinner. We can talk while you eat. Then you should rest up before school.”
Peter nodded, “Alright, May.”
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I would wager that the Spiders' rouges gallery is the largest in comics, even larger than Wolverine's or Batman's. My reasoning for this lies in what I call the "Spider-verse Effect". Take a single villain from Peter Parker's gallery, such as Vulture for example, and then look at any other Spider in the multiverse, even other Peter Parkers. Odds are, that Spider has faced a variation of Vulture, a variation that could have different powers, appearances, and other traits that make them almost a different villain. The Vulture in this story, based on the MCU, uses a flight harness and alien tech, but then you look at the Vulture from the Ultimate Spider-Man TV show, who is just a teenager that was mutated to have wings for arms and sonic screeches, and then you bring up the grittiest Vulture, the one from the Noir Spidey's world. That Vulture is a man with really long and sharp nails for weapons, and a taste for warm flesh, human or not. Fun Fact: Noir Uncle Ben was eaten alive by Noir Vulture.
Speaking of the Disney XD show... Will we be keeping the Classic Goblin, or going the more "Looks like he could punch out the Hulk" route?
So I guess that Sunset will have a bit similar situation that Peter did when Tony mentor him in Homecoming? And I can’t image how Tony would react seeing Peter became a mentor to Sunset.
All right! A teammate for Spidey!
9112570
Spectacular Spiderman had the best incarnation of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin ever; he was like Lex Luthor and the Joker being best pals´ while sharing the same body.
I feel twi will get really jealous of sunset suddenly spending more time with Peter, and knowing stuff, wow, this will get complicated.
9112486
Why?
I say Kraven's first attempt was a failure.... Unfortunately for Peter, he's gonna come back super pissed!
Pony underwear? I love it.
Honestly, Peter x Sunset >>>> Peter x Twilight at this point.
Also, jeez Kraven? Aren't you supposed to be prepared for this stuff? Cause this was a quick knockout
And sweeeeeet, The Goblin's coming back! Been waiting!
Oh as a thought since the new spiderman show is doing a superior spider man arc
Would you do it too?
9116641
I know what you mean, it’s kind of like how people thought in Batman Beyond Terry’s girlfriend should of been Max instead of Dana, and become the new Batgirl as his partner.
9112570 Classic Goblin like Spectacular. Whether he becomes like Ultimate for an upgrade is still up in the air.
9112646 At the very least, Peter’s going to be teaching her the ropes of heroing in person.
9112657 He’s classic Goblin adapted perfectly.
9112660 All Twilight knows is that Sunset is hanging out with Spider-Man. She doesn’t know it’s Peter.
9113609 He’ll be back.
9114459 It’s a Spectacular Spider-Man reference.
9116641
9116685 Max as Batgirl would’ve been cool. And I’m making sure Twilight stays likable at the very least.
9116675 I’m saving Superior for when Peter’s an adult.
9118510
Sunset will be hanging with Peter as well as spider-man like for example, when danger arrives sunset will say, ill go with Peter, I'll accompany Peter, or I went with Peter to this place or that place, it would be impossible twilight or anybody notices they are spending more time together like before, something change one way or another, Peter will talk more with sunset like if they were closer, even if twilight never realize Peter is Spider-man, there should be a noticeable change in behaviors between both of them, unless sunset never organize reunions with Peter or hangouts with to peter with practice or anything, and only talk together behind masks, and never together or close enough when danger arrives.
Peter showed and talked about the concerns I had for Sunset, This was a great chapter but it will only get hard for the duo in the future.
9118510
Twilight is likable but what I mean is that, to me personally at least, Peter and Sunset have a better chemistry or potential to be a more interesting couple later down the line. One part for me because I feel I’ve seen enough of other stories using Twilight as the love interest and I want to read something completely new, but also how in a story like this I like the idea of a hero couple. I’ve always thought a hero and another hero in a relationship is better and more enjoyable than a hero and a regular civilian. I could see Peter and Twilight being a couple for a while but eventually breaking things off and Sunset is who Peter ends up with for good down the line.
It’s your story and as long as it’s written as well as it has been so far I’m fine with whatever you decide.
Maybe Spidey could meet princess twilight incase sci twi loses her patience?
Also did you know the new Spiderman game came out
Oh maybe Sci Twi could inspire the white spider mark for his costume?
9173082
Thank you, I think I have seen at least half of them now, need to watch Dr. Strange but I have to see where I can watch it.
I mean as far as Trailer and everything go, the movie.....how do i say it,...felt somewhat empty.
With all the mystic stuff it looked as if they where fighting the air, at least as far as I understood all the trailer stuff and whatever else I was able to see or remember right now.
9173200
You're welcome. Glad to help a fellow Marvel Fan.
Hi so I like your Story So far keep up the good work o and I was wondering movie The Next Chapter