So I finally got to watching the DC's Titans show after literally watching just about every other DC movie and or show on HBO Max, still upset that Batman and Mister Freeze: Subzero wasn't on there but meh, what can you do?
So after binge watching the show over the course of a day and a half I must say... it's not as bad as I thought it'd be. Am I fan of some of the characters characterizations in the show and the route they've taken a few storylines? Not really no, but it's not as terrible as I thought it'd be when they first started releasing those promo images for the show. Starfire stops looking like a literal cheap ass prostitute and begins to look pretty classy and Beast Boy not being green is... somewhat acceptable though I'd still prefer him to be totally green. Though I did find it odd the way they had what seemed to be the season one finale for Titans be the first episode of season two and Trigon's appearance was much to be desired.
There's also a few other things that I found odd that weren't touched up on or fully addressed but other than that, not a bad show all in all. Curious to see where they go with season three, maybe an introduction of the Church of Blood as a way to bring back Trigon? Maybe see some other big DC heroes aside from Batman showing up? Kid Flash? Roy Harper in the flesh?
Any who, this starts off roughly a few weeks before the events of Titans season one and will be a bit different from my usual stories. Yes there's going to be fighting, smut, and drama, so much drama, but I'm hoping to stylize this baby as a sort of mystery thriller with plenty of horror elements instead off some epic action packed story.
So bear with me pwease.
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used.
Being a nearly famous photographer for a major news corporation like the Daily Bugle wasn't as easy as one would think.
Photographers were a dime a dozen and could be as easily replaced as a pair of socks in most cases regardless of how long they've been with the company. So if one, like Peter, were to get a very good gig, they'd have to really stand out and provide some good quality images that some random joe fresh off the streets wouldn't be able to top. Than they'd have to make sure that they stay in the Editor in Chief's 'good graces' so that they won't be passed over for another photographer, be it one that's already with the Bugle or an independent. And for a while, Peter was able to do just that thanks to his photos of Spider-man, and his battles with some of the worse criminals to have ever plagued New York, and on a few rare occasions, the world.
But once the craze for superheroes more or less died down, Peter quickly realized that he needed to branch out and add more to his portfolio if he wanted to stay at the Bugle. Much as Jameson hated Peter Parker's alter ego Spider-man, the man knew he couldn't have his paper run off that alone, not for long at any rate. So over the years Peter began to venture into other areas of photographic opportunities outside of Spider-man. Celebrities', epic natural events, social gatherings, historical milestones, Peter's caught them all-
"Crap... double crap... triple crap... crap times four... Gotham crap..."
...And their still not good enough in Jameson's eyes.
"Jesus Parker, what the hell is this a picture of?" Jameson said as he grabbed one photo and held it up for Peter to see.
It was a picture of Wonder Woman, dressed in a classy and rather tasteful business suit, hair done up in a elegant topknot and a heart stopping smile, as she stood beside New York's Mayor in front of a row of vases from Themyscria itself.
Peter eyed the picture briefly before responding with a confused look on his face "It's the grand opening of the Themyscrian Art Exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art that you wanted me and betty to cover yesterday... remember? Wonder Woman was going to be in attendance..."
Jameson hummed as he put the photo aside, right on the edge of his desk and risk it falling to the floor only for the Bugle's city editor Joseph 'Robbie' Robertson to snatch it up and give it an admiring glance before it did.
"This is some good work Pete..." Robbie aid with a nod towards the younger man.
"Eh, I try" Peter said with a grin as he pocketed his hands in his old, faded ESU hoodie.
The only one not to be stolen by his... roommates.
"I'll give you nine hundred for all of them" Jameson said as he placed the last photo in back in the folder Peter handed him and slid it towards Robbie to take.
"Two thousand" Peter replied with a straight face 'Come on baby, Peter needs a new pair of shoes'
Well not really, but tonight was a very special, one in a lifetime kind of thing and Peter needed the cash to make sure it went perfect.
"A thousand" Jameson said with a scowl while Robbie opened the folder he was handed and began to personally go through the images.
"Three thousand" Peter said.
"Kid your going in the complete opposite direction" Jameson growled at the brunette before him with narrowed eyes "Sixteen is as high as I'll go-"
"Deal" Peter shot his hand out for Jameson to take, causing the salt and pepper haired man to grumble and growl as he took Peter's hand and gave it a very firm shake before he glanced at a amused Robbie and frown "This is your fault"
"All I did was help the kid improve his haggling skills a bit" Robbie said with his hands held up before he shot Peter a brief smirk "Though I think he still needs some improvement. You could've gotten another two hundred out of him if you kept going or threatened to walk Peter"
"That's the end all be all Robbie, saving that for a rainy day" Peter joked.
Jameson continued to grumble as he scribbled out the details of Peter's check before handing it to Peter with a scowl. Peter gave the man a grin as he took the check and gave the two men an exaggerated bow before backing towards the door.
"Thank you gentlemen, if you require any more world class photos shot by yours truly, I'm here from eight to four on weekdays and-" Peter began before Jameson's patience finally snapped as the man's face turned redder than the Flash's suit.
"PARKER IF I HEARE ANOTHER GODDAMN WORD FROM YOUR MOUTH, YOUR FIRED!" Jameson shot up from his chair and slammed his palms on the desk as he glared at Peter, a vein on his head throbbing "WHEN I'M DONE WIPING MY ASS AND HANDS CLEAN OF YOU, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO GET A JOB TAKING PICTURES FOR A DAMN TABLOI-"
Jameson's rant was mercifully cut off by Peter exiting the office and closing the door, leaving Robbie to once again sooth Jameson's rage before he had another stress induced heart attack.
"Set Jonah off again Pete?"
Peter turned to see Jameson's former secretary turned star reporter Betty Brant leaning against the wall with an amused smirk on her face. She was dressed in a gray skirt and red blazer over a black shirt with a rather suspiciously deep neckline. Peter gave the woman a helpless shrug and guilty smile as he held up his check and waved it around.
"Gotta get the cash somehow Betty"
"And you just happen to set him in a mood just before I have to go in and talk to him" Betty said with a dry look on her face.
"Sorry" Peter chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.
Betty hummed as she pushed herself off the wall and approached the door, stopping only for a moment to bump her hip into Peter's and give him a playful scowl "Next time you need me to cover for you, find someone else to do it"
"I was thinking of asking Norah" Peter said as he cupped his chin in deep thought "I mean, it shouldn't be too hard. Pretty sure she thinks she has a twin every time she sees a reflection of herself"
"Don't be mean" Betty laughed as she grabbed the handle to Jameson's office door and took a deep breath through her nose before exhaling it the same way and stepped into the office.
"-THAT WALL CRAWLING MEANCE CAN GO TAKE A-" Jameson's voice echoed through the rest of the office before it was cut off by Betty quickly closing the door behind her.
"I swear that man had a microphone implanted in him at some point" Peter shook his head in amusement as he turned and headed for the office's elevator.
He had a date to prepare for.
...
"Welcome back Mister Parker" were the first words that Peter heard when he entered the main lobby of the building that Peter lived in for the past nine months.
At first glance, a blind man could tell that this building was catered to the highest high of wealthy individuals. Marble floors that seemed to almost shine, ridiculously detailed carvings on various Greek and Roman inspired columns, large wall to wall paintings of epic mythological and historical events that looked like they were painted by one of those Renaissance artists, exotic plants and massive chandeliers that looked like they were, and are, made of some kind of valuable crystal found at depths only the likes of an Atlantean could survive.
Peter wouldn't be able to afford to live in the building's bathrooms for a single night if he worked for a decade straight and was paid ten grand for each and every photo he took.
'Thank god I don't have to worry about rent... for now' Peter thought with a mental sigh of relief as he passed a few of the building's security agents, all female, all terrifyingly beautiful and all who looked to be one comment away from either snapping your neck or offering a unbelievably nice shoulder rub.
Though it was more the former than the latter.
"Hi Alexa, nice to be back... Afternoon Nubia, love the whole John Wick vibe your going for... Hey Mala, love the braided hair look, really brings out your tattoos" Peter nodded and waved at every security guard and worker he passed on his way to the elevator.
Alexa nodded at Peter as her gaze remained on the book in her hands as she sat behind a security desk, Nubia simply nodded as she stood guard, her gaze on the building's entrance and her hand never far from her side arm or any of the other sharp and deadly weapons she had concealed on her person. Mala gave Peter a flirtatious smile that caused the woman beside her to give her a sharp elbow to her side and resume sporting a blank expression, though her eyes followed Peter like a lion's a gazelle's. Peter greeted a a few more women as he neared the elevator before he selected his floor, the top, and waited patiently for the cart to arrive.
It wasn't long until the building's head of security appeared at Peter's side, a very displeased look on her face.
"Peter Benjamin Parker"
'Full name... crap' Peter paled slightly as he slowly turned towards the red headed beauty next to him and gave them a nervous smile "H-Hey Artemis, how are you to-"
"Do I look like I'm in a good mood Parker?" the red head said with a frosty expression on her face.
"Well... you look very lively today" Peter said with growing unease as he tried to discreetly hit the call button for the elevator.
"Do you want to know what some of my girls found roaming the air vents this morning?" Artemis said as she reached into her pocket.
"Uhhh, hopefully noting because you Amazons are super anal about keeping things really, really, really clean?" Peter said with a mixture of confusion and fear as he waited to see what it was the red head found.
Artemis pulled her hand out of her pocket and opened her palm and allowed the wall crawler to see what was lying in it. The man's eyes widened with shock as he stared at one of his many little red robotic spider drones.
"How-" Peter began before he stopped as he realized something.
He was testing out some of the drones new mapping and navigational software and he must've forgot to switch them off before he left last night for patrol. Which meant that after the drones spent their morning mapping out Peter's home, they moved on to the rest of the building and some of the cleaning crews noticed them. Part of him was proud with the thoroughness of his drones' programming while the rest was cursing it for allowing his drones to begin roaming about where anyone could see them. If the wrong person saw one of the drones, they'd start to wonder why one of Spider-man's drones was scurrying around and if they decided to dig a little deeper...
"If I find out that you have more of these little things running around, I'm gonna take what's left of them and shove them so far up your ass that they'll be able to record the back of your teeth, are we clear?" Artemis said as she stepped right into Peter's personal space, forcing him to back up against the elevator doors as they opened, causing him to stumble into the cart and hit the wall.
"Yes ma'am!" Peter said with a shaking salute aimed at the woman.
Artemis stared at Peter with an unreadable expression on her face before she nodded and suddenly dropped the drone on to the ground, causing it to chirp in surprise. Before Peter could reach for it, or the drone even move, it was suddenly crushed under Artemis's boot, reducing it to a pile of scrapped metal, wiring and some motor fluids. Peter gaped at the drone's destruction while Artemis made a point of dragging the bottom of her boot across the ground, further damaging the destroyed drone's body before flashing Peter a warm smile.
"Have a nice day Mister Parker" Artemis said sweetly as she reached in and selected Peter's floor before she stepped back and allowed the elevator doors to snap shut.
Peter stood there in shock for a moment before he groaned "Awww man!"
It took him an entire day to make just one of those little drones and upload all of it's software. Now he's going to have to make several new ones to replace the ones that Artemis and her security teams destroyed, which was god knows how many until he can recall them all!
"Whelp... I know where half of this paycheck is now going" Peter said with a dejected sigh as he pulled out the check and stared at it with a depressed expression.
Well... maybe not half, he still needed a lot of it for tonight's date, and for the chemicals he uses to make his web fluid. And he still needed to pay Harry back for covering his tab last Friday when they went out to that club he owns and-
"You know what? I'll wait for the next check" Peter said with a shake of his head as the elevator came to a stop and it opened to his floor... which was also the building's penthouse suite.
It wasn't his, hell he's pretty sure Harry wouldn't be able to afford a month in this place, it was actually the place of residence of Diana Prince and Donna Troy... Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl.
Err, formerly Wonder Girl.
In fact the entire building was owned by Diana and managed by her and Donna's personal Royal Guard, led by Artemis. They used to live in the Themyscrian Embassy when Diana first appeared in 'Man's World' but as the years went by, the Amazon Princess moved her place of residence to the penthouse that Peter was now in. Not that Peter minded, he's been to the Embassy and he has to say, the penthouse felt a lot more homely and safe than the embassy ever did.
'Speaking of home... where are the ones that make it that' Peter thought as he silently stepped into the suite and looked around for the goddesses that were Diana and Donna.
It might not have been very accurate given that while Diana was blessed by the Gods of Olympus, she wasn't an actual deity and Donna just happened to be the child of a man and woman that the Amazons took in when she was a child and was slowly altered by the magics that powered and embodied them into a woman that rivaled her foster mother in beauty. Peter eventually found Donna, though still no sign of Diana, asleep in their bed tucked into a literal cocoon of blankets and pillows.
"Heh, blanket hog" Peter said quietly to himself as he stared at... his girlfriend, lover, partner and occasional rival all rolled into one and than some.
The Wall Crawler and Princesses of Themyscira's relationship was very... complicated.
Ignoring the fact that Diana is centuries older than the country Peter and Donna found themselves born in, and Donna's foster mother to boot, their odd little arrangement was fairly beneficial in a number of ways that didn't relate to sexual intercourse, though that was definitely a nice bonus as far as any of them were concerned. For one, Peter has a better standing in the 'Hero Community' thanks to Diana's word and even earned reserve status with the Justice League. Another was that Donna was able to utilize some of the contacts that Peter's made over the years as a photographer for the Daily Bugle to help the Amazon hybrid start up her own little investigative firm. And Diana's benefit for this odd little three's relationship they had going on was...
'You know, I still haven't figured out what Diana gets out of this' Peter thought as he stared at Donna's sleeping form for a few more moments before he silently slipped away from the door and headed back to the kitchen to do some work on his tech.
He knows for damn sure it wasn't financial gain.
Peter questioned Donna about it once when Diana was out on League business, and she seemed just as in the dark about what Diana gained from this arrangement as Peter was.
'I'm sure it'll come to us eventually... and be pretty freaking obvious since the beginning' Peter thought as he slid his bag off and dropped it on the table and began to unzip it and remove it's contents on to the table's surface.
His Spider-man mask, it's lenses still cracked from a recent fight with Shocker, prototypes for new web shooters with modified components to allow greater web varieties and delivery systems. His trusty spider-drones, now modified to emit signals similar to that of his spider-tracers, and a piece of Dock Ock's neural interface with his mechanized arms of nope fuel.
"Wonder if I should give myself some extra arms..." Peter hummed to himself as he finished emptying his bag on to the table before heading for the fridge to retrieve a energy drink.
Half an hour later Peter was metaphorically neck deep in his repairs to his suit's mask when he heard someone enter the kitchen just moments before a pair of arms slithered under Peter's arms and wrapped themselves around his chest.
"Good afternoon..." Donna mumbled as she buried her face into Peter's neck and tightened her hold on him briefly.
"Morning sleeping beauty" Peter teased as he paused briefly to turn his head and capture Donna's lips with his own "When'd you wake up?"
"Just now" Donna said before she yawned and rested her chin on Peter's shoulder and watched him attach the new and improved lenses to his Spider-man mask "When'd you get home?"
"What time is it?" Peter said as he glanced at the microwave and saw the time and quickly racked his brain to see if he could remember what time he roughly got home "Eh, 'bout an hour maybe?"
"Why didn't you wake me?" Donna pouted as she planted a peck on Peter's cheek.
"I thought the volume of your snoring would do the job for me" Peter joked, causing Donna to scoff and lightly slap his shoulder as she rose from her hug and slowly made her way around the kitchen island, allowing Peter to see that she was now dressed in a pair of tight black spandex shorts and a black tank top that showed a bit of her midriff.
Donna seemed to sense where Peter's eyes were looking and made sure to put a extra sway in her hips as she walked, arched her back ever so slightly so it caused the top she had on to be pulled even tighter against her breasts.
"So, aside from Jameson's usual crap when you gave him the photos, how as work?" Donna said as she took a seat across from Peter and watched as he went back to fiddling with some of his gadgets.
It always astounded her what her lover could make when he put his mind to it. She's seen him take junk that she and Diana saw lying in a dumpster and somehow use his clever little mind to turn it into something that could be used to hep save the day from that week's supervillain asshole of the year. Diana theorized that Peter may be a descendant of Hephaestus on his father and uncle's side, perhaps a great-great-great grandson given the level of ingenuity and craftsmanship he's displayed over the years. True Lex Luthor, Batman, and Mister Terrific could create similar things, but they had access to high end educational institutes and state of the art technology where's Peter...
Well Donna was pretty sure Empire State University wasn't exactly in the top fifty schools in America, let alone the world.
"Slow" Peter said with a shrug as he began to slowly pull apart one of his web bombs with a screwdriver "Where's Di at? Thought she'd be home by now"
"She called earlier before I fell asleep and said she'd be working late" Donna said with a tired eye roll "Again"
"And I thought Batman had ridiculous working hours. Starting to wonder if he picked that habit up from her" Peter said with a grim snort of amusement as he carefully extracted the web bomb's trigger mechanism and put it aside before removing the modified web capsules that housed the web bomb's webbing "Least she called ahead and gave us a heads up"
"You know she'd be here if she could" Donna said with a pointed look.
"I know, I know..." Peter said as he glanced up at Donna "Really, it's okay. I'm not mad. Not even annoyed. This kinda stuff happens. I seem to remember missing quite a few dates with you two in the past"
"Oh, so it's okay for her to not even try and make it just because you've done the same in the past?" Donna said in a tone that said she didn't believe him as she watched Peter return his attention to his web bomb.
"She's got responsibilities" Peter said with a shrug as he finished dismantling his web bomb "Founding member of the Justice League, ambassador to Themyscria, champion of the Gods-"
"I have responsibilities too, and yet I still find time for you and her" Donna pointed out with a frown.
Peter sighed as he stopped tweaking with the bomb's wiring and set it and his tools aside and stared at Donna with an blank look on his face "Do you want me to be upset she's not going to be here?"
"It's our one year anniversary Peter" Donna stated as she leaned back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest "I specifically took off work two days before and after to make sure I can make it. You and her were supposed to do the same"
"Well... I maybe sorta never did" Peter said with a cough as he did his best to avoid Donna's now questioning look "I mean if I was given an assignment today Id turn it down obviously, but-"
"-But you were hoping that you'd luck out and not be given anything today" Donna said.
"Yeaaah..." Peter said with a cough as he began to quickly gather up his things and put them back into his bag.
Donna watched him with an unreadable expression before she loudly exhaled through her nose and glanced at the clock on the microwave "So what are you planning to make for dinner?"
"Nothing, we're going out" Peter said with grin as he placed the last of his things in his bag and slung it over his shoulder.
"Oh, and where's that if I might ask?" Donna asked with a intrigued look before she smirked "Belly Burger again?"
"First of all, Belly Burger is good for almost any occasion, don't you fare bad mouth it. And secondly, no, it's somewhere a bit more classier" Peter said as he headed for his, Dian and donna's room.
"What happened to Belly Burger being good for any occasion?" Donna asked as Peter stepped around the corner and out of Donna's sight.
"I said 'almost any occasion'" Peter replied with a laugh "This is one of those where it's not"
"Can I get a hint at least?" Donna asked with a laugh.
"Fancy. Wear a dress" Peter replied from their shared room.
"With underwear?" Donna asked coyly and was met with silence from Peter.
Smirking at the fact she left the infamous chatterbox Peter Parker silent for a few moments, Donna leaned back in her seat and stared up at the ceiling before she saw something that caused her to frown in confusion "Uh, Peter...?"
"Yeah?" Peter peeked his head back into the kitchen and saw Donna looking up at something "What is it?"
"Why is there a cluster of your drones on the ceiling trying to get into the light?" Donna said as she pointed to what caught her attention.
Peter blinked at this and followed Donna's gaze before he saw at least six of his spider drones cluttered around the ceiling light's fixture, trying to wiggle their way through the small hole one of them made previously.
"Uh-oh..." Peter paled as he realized that must've been how the other drones got out earlier... which meant-
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"PETER BENJAMIN PARKER OPEN THIS GODS BE DAMNED DOOR NOW!" Artemis's voice rang through the door, causing Peter to yelp and make a mad dash to the room before slamming the door shut.
Donna blinked at the sudden departure of her and Diana's lover before she closed her eyes and sighed as she got up and made her way to the door. It seemed that Peter pissed Artemis off again and now she had to talk the red head down from trying to kill Peter...
Again.
...
And done.
Next chapter, A wonderous and Amazing date...