It was the perfect plan.

Bane had gone over it many times in just that night alone. One of LexCorp's research facilities contained many experimental chemicals. Chemicals he needed to make his Venom serum. Ever since that stint at Metropolis High, he had been laying low in the so-called 'city of adventure'.

But all that squandering in the darkness after escaping from the police yet again would be worth it. The chemicals in that facility were incredibly potent. Potent enough to create his strongest batch of Venom yet. With it, he could easily crush the Dark Knight and take Gotham for himself. All he needed to do was break into the facility and make off with what he needed.

So, after a few nights of strategizing, he had the perfect plan. Step #1: Find a guard and dispose of him in a silent manner. No unnecessary killing, as to avoid drawing any attention to himself. Step #2: Use the guard's card to bypass the scanners. Three: pick off the guards one by one. And four: get the chemicals and make off.

So simple, yet so efficient. He had practically already succeeded.

Right now, Bane knelt behind some boxes. He had been there for a good few minutes, scarcely breathing. He hadn't heard any footsteps around where he was, something that confused him. Considering the door, he had expected at least one guard. But no. There was an unguarded door, practically calling his name, but still impassable, thanks to the scanner. Of all the entrances he could have chosen, he chose the one where there were no guards to exploit.

Right when he was considering moving to another point of the facility, he heard some footsteps. Peering from behind the boxes, he spotted a guard leaning against the wall next to the door. Bane smiled. Perfect. Grabbing a nearby stone, he threw it at a lamppost. As expected, the guard's attention was drawn to such a thing. He turned away to the source of the noise.

Now was his chance. Standing up, Bane quickly snuck up behind him and wrapped his hands around the guard's mouth and nose. The guard starting grunting in shock and pounding his fists against Bane's fists. Bane just applied pressure. The sooner he choked this fool out, the sooner he could get what he desired. And in just a few seconds, the guard went limp, falling to the ground in an unconscious wreck.

"Pathetic," Bane sneered. He kneeled down and grabbed the card. "I expected just a little bit more talent from people guarding such important chemicals." He smirked. "But I'm hardly complaining." He walked over to the door. He couldn't help but feel a giddy. He could almost feel the energy coursing through his veins when he made his new compound.

Watch out, Batman, Bane thought, a wide grin spreading across his fist. By tomorrow night, your spine will-

"Ahem."

Bane froze. Great, just great. He had forgotten to look out for any other guards. Clenching his fists, he sighed. No matter. He could deal with just one, with or without Venom. He turned around, rolling up his sleeve. "Don't bother calling out for help, because..."

He trailed off when he saw... nothing. There was no guard. He was totally alone. If that was the case, then what was with the voice?

He shook his head. "Forget it, Bane," he mumbled, turning back to the door. "It was just your imagination. Stay on course." He raised the card up when...

"Um, didn't you see me?"

Bane's eyes widened. Okay, he knew that wasn't his imagination. He turned around again. But like a few moments ago, there was no one there able to be connected to the voice.

"Who's there?!" Bane whisper-shouted. "Show yourself, you coward!"

Silence. Then the voice ran out again. "Well, if you insist." With that, someone dropped to the ground from a nearby lamppost. They were covered up in the shadows, meaning that Bane could only make out their basic outline. Well, that and their eyes. Their milky-white, large eyes.

Bane squinted. "Who are you? Are you... one of the guards?" He grabbed a crowbar from his back-pocket. If this guy wanted a fight, he'd get one.

The person in the shadows folded their arms. "Really? In this outfit?" Then they snapped their fingers. "Oh, that's right. Gotta step into the light for you." And so they did, exposing themselves. One thing was clear. They weren't a guard. Instead of the traditional LexCorp security attire, this... guy wore a red and blue spandex outfit. The suit had a spider-web-like pattern all over it, and a spider emblem on the chest. Looking at them, they looked... young. Not a kid, but definitely a teenager.

Bane blinked. "What? Is this a joke?" He folded his arms. "I'm not laughing."

The costumed man just shrugged. "Not a joke, Mr. Broad Shoulders. Just someone trying to help out. And - just spitballing here, considering your Luchador mask and camouflage get up - I take it you don't work here. Would I be correct?"

Bane growled. "I have no time for games, child!" He raised his crowbar up. "If you want to be a hero, here's my suggestion: leave!"

Suddenly, the man's white eyes widened. "Is that a crowbar?"

Bane tilted his head. Well, that wasn't the response he was expecting. "Um... yes?"

The man fell to his knees. "My... one weakness. A crowbar." His voice, however, didn't convey any sense of fear.

"Look, if you're just trying to distract me-"

"No, no!" The man stood up, raising his hands into the air. "It's that... I didn't know you had such a powerful weapon! Whatever am I to-"

In the blink of an eye, Bane felt himself get slammed against the wall. Something was covering his chest, he noticed once the shock wore off. Something... sticky. Looking down, he saw that there was a large spider web wrapped around his torso, which was now connected to the wall. He looked back at the man, who was staring at him.

"Oh, that's right. Webs."

Bane attempted to rip the webs off. But these weren't ordinary webs. These webs were stronger than just a normal spider's. These were tough.

"What is this stuff?" Bane yelled. "Who are you?! I demand ans-"

Suddenly, he felt his right arm get stuck to the wall. It was another web, courtesy of the masked man. Then his left arm. Then his legs. He writhed around, struggling to break the webs. Once again, it was all for naught. This masked man had foiled him.

Bane could hardly believe it. A perfect plan, ruined! Thanks to this... this... vigilante! But he wasn't going to let this slide!

"Who do you think you a-"

Something wet and sticky hit his mouth, covering it. He continued screaming, but all that came out was muffled yells. The man then walked up to him.

"Look, man," he said. "I'm sure you're a big shot when it comes to ordinary guys. Guys without powers. In fact, I'm willing to guess you prey on them because that's all you can do."

Bane ordinarily would have corrected him, but thanks to the web-gag, he couldn't. The man just leaned in, his eyes narrow and his voice low.

"But when it comes to superheroes... you're out of your league." He took out a piece of paper and stuck it to Bane's chest. "Well, gotta go!" He said, instantly casual. "I've got a curfew. See ya!" With that, he aimed his arms up and shot off into the distance, leaving a dumbstruck Bane behind.

"Can't believe he nearly got in."

Wallace just shrugged and rested against the wall. "Hey, just be thankful he didn't. Do you want Lex to be barking at us for our failure?"

Stephen had to agree. Anything was better than an overly egotistical sixteen-year-old yelling at them and calling them 'sorry excuses for guards'. "Good point." He turned around to face Bane getting loaded into a police car, grumbling something under his breath. When he had spotted him stuck to the wall, he was honestly dumbfounded. Not by the fact that Bane had tried to break in, but by him being stuck to the wall with webs. Webs that took a buzzsaw to cut through. He honestly couldn't wrap his head around that.

"What was with the webs?" He asked aloud. Wallace turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know, do I? Unless my theory that Lex was working on mutant spider creatures in this lab, I'd said I got nothing." He folded his arms. "To be fair, it could very well be spider creatures. Luthor doesn't tell us anything, the snot-nosed brat."

"Hey, quit it," Stephen hushed. "For all we know, the guy has cameras here and is observing our every move."

Wallace laughed. However, his laughter soon trailed off when he spotted something on the ground.

"What?" Stephen asked. Wallace didn't say anything, and just kneeled down and grabbed something. It was a piece of paper and he was looking at it like he was reading something on it.

"What is it?" Stephen said, this time louder.

Wallace didn't say anything. He just turned the paper over to Stephen. He leaned in. It read-

No thanks are necessary - Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man.

"'Spider-Man'? Who's that?"

Wallace just shrugged. "No idea." He crumpled it up. "But if he's the guy that dealt with Bane, maybe he's on our side."

Stephen just looked up, as if hoping to get a glimpse of this 'Spider-Man' guy. "Let's hope so. Otherwise, Metropolis might have another bad guy to deal with."

AN: Hope you enjoyed this crossover so far! I won't be updating it for a bit, though. Need to watch more Spectacular Spider-Man, but rest assured, this will continue. See you soon!