Answers to reviewers questions or statements:
keyblade master cole: The armor is the one that Diana wore in the New 52 when she finally acknowledged that she was the new god of war. Type in New 52 Wonder Woman and look for the one where she has two golden wrist blades coming out of bracers for a better idea on what it looks like, it looks awesome in my opinion
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used in this story
Year one…
To say things in the hideout were tense would be an understatement. Peter along with Huntress and Catwoman were one of the first to arrive at the new meeting spot after the reveal of Batman's identity to the world as Bruce Wayne by the Justice League.
Batgirl and Red Hood were already there with Batman while Tarantula, Anti-Venom and Black Cat didn't arrive until Black Lightning and Captain Atom got there. Lightning, Huntress, and Atom were less than pleased by Batman's actions in regards to Hawkgirl while Catwoman seemed to be unsurprised
'She likely knew from the start' Peter thought as he reclined in his chair and idly stared at the container in the corner that housed Venom 'Wonder if he's sleeping in there or plotting on how to take control of the world'
Peter for the most part was tunning out the arguments that were starting to break out while Tarantula, Black Cat and Anti-Venom approached him
"Where's Scarlet?" Tarantula asked
"He's with her" Peter replied with a shrug "Once he knows she's safe and the kids are here he'll be back"
"You tried to talk him out of coming and forced you into a compromise, didn't he?" Black Cat smirked
"What makes you say that?" Peter chuckled
"It's you and he's an exact copy of you" Anti-Venom deadpanned
"Still shocked that Superman would just reveal Batman's identity to the world like that" Tarantula said with a shake of his head "Talk about dick move"
"Considering Batman kidnapped one of their friends and sent the Martian Manhunter to impersonate her I'm surprised he didn't do worse" Black Cat stated
"How'd you it was J'onn?" Peter questioned
"We've kept in touch over the years and he's the only telepath slash shape shifter I know that Batman would trust" Black Cat responded as she looked around "Now, where is he? I have a few Oreos to give him for the birthday gift he sent me"
Peter made a humming sound before he noticed Green Arrow and Black Canary had finally arrived "Well everyone's here. Let's get on with the meeting"
The remnants of the Spider clan took a seat at the table as Black Lightning continued to grill Batman over the action of replacing Hawkgirl without even telling them let alone that she was still being held captive
Black Lightning slammed his hands down on the table causing bits of electricity to shoot out "I thought we were stopping Hawkgirl from kidnapping a democratically elected official! Had I known taking Hawkgirl and imprisoning her, I would have never agreed to be part of it!"
"Black Lightning makes a good point Batman" Black Canary said as she took her seat
"I've had Spider-man, Red Hood and Batgirl here release her. I wouldn't have held her indefinitely" Batman said in defense of his actions "I just needed to put someone on the watchtower that might talk some sense into Superman's people"
"Which you should have told us you were doing" Huntress growled out in annoyance
Captain Atom nodded "You should have told us about the Martian Bruce. Aside from me he's the only one in the world that's not on Superman's side that could actually take him in a fight"
"Hell J'onn doesn't even have to fight Superman, he can just shut his mind down and render him a vegetable" Peter chimed in
Batman was quiet for a moment before speaking in a grave tone "Martian Manhunter is dead. Superman burned him alive"
Peter along with the rest of the team were taken back by that
"How the hell is that even possible? I mean yeah the green guy's weakness is fire but I sincerely doubt Manhunter just stood there and took it" Tarantula said in disbelief
Batman looked nervous for a moment and Peter saw the caped crusader eye him for a moment before revealing what he saw "Martian Manhunter tried to kill Wonder Woman…"
The already tense atmosphere skyrocketed as Peter's fingers dug into the table and created several cracks from the pressure he was using "What…?"
"What do you mean he tried kill Wonder Woman?" Anti-venom asked as he kept Peter in his line of vision
"Manhunter used his shapeshifting abilities and forced his way inside Wonder Woman's body before, by my guess, tried to cut off blood flow to her brain and try to strangle her from the inside" Batman said carefully
"…Did you order him to do it?" Peter hissed out as he stood and stared down Batman with a narrowed gaze
Catwoman got in between the two and placed a hand on Peter's chest
"No Peter, Manhunter at that point was acting on his own. You have my word, had we known he was going to try something like that we would've stopped him" Selina said in a calm soothing tone
Black Cat than spoke up "Spider, J'onn is one of those heroes that has no problem permanently ending threats, you know this. Are you really that surprised he would try to take out Wonder Woman?"
Peter gave her a brief look "To be honest, yeah I kinda am…"
The room was quite for a moment before Batman cleared his throat "Last night I received in encrypted message. I believe that Manhunter got through to someone in Superman's camp"
Catwoman turned to face Batman and gave him a skeptical look "What was the message?"
Batman took a deep breath before continuing "Superman and Luthor have finished creating their superhuman technology. It works and the results…terrifying"
"This just gets better and better" Black Lightning groaned as he rubbed a hand over his face
"Where's it being made, the watchtower or one of Luthor's labs?" Tarantula asked
"The message said that the tech is being manufactured in… Superman's Fortress of Solitude" Batman revealed grimly
"Great, the most dangerous tech on earth is being made in the most dangerous environment on earth in Superman's own alien house no less" Black Cat drawled with an eye roll
"And this mystery person… is implying that we should break into Superman's impenetrable fortress and steal his tech?!" Green arrow said in disbelief
"Key word there is impenetrable" Peter said sarcastically
Batman looked down at the table and sighed "Look, we need to realize that Clark… Superman has changed"
Peter saw the man look at him for a moment before he continued "At the rate he's continuing down this path, this may be our only way to restore balance. Getting our hands on that technology may be Earth's only hope in the future"
The room was quite as they pondered over what Batman has said. They all looked uneasy and Peter couldn't blame them, hell he felt like a nervous wreck now before he turned to Batman and addressed him in a serious tone
"When do we leave?"
Suddenly a beeping sound came from Batman's belt and he pulled out a device as he stood up "This is it"
"What is it?" Black Lightning asked
"U.S. warships have turned towards the Korean Peninsula" Batman said as he began to make his way to the teleporter
"Wait what?" Green Arrow said in shock
"A distraction they can't miss. Spider-man, Black Canary, Catwoman, Captain Atom you're with me. The teleporter will take us just south of-" Batman began only to be interrupted by Green Arrow
"Don't think for a second that your leaving me behind Bruce!" Green Arrow shouted angrily
Batman stopped and turned to address the emerald archer coolly "This is a surgical strike. I'm not taking anyone that I don't need. I have one of the two greatest thieves in the world, a man who can hold off Superman if it comes to it, a person who can sense any potential danger in Superman's fortress and a woman with a voice that may be able to shatter Kryptonian crystal"
"He means that in a good way Dinah, you have a lovely singing voice" Peter said as he and Captain atom stepped on to the teleporter
Green arrow pointed a finger in Batman's face "And you have her boyfriend who can put two arrows in your condescending ass-"
"An entire armada is buying us a small window so that we can take steps to save the world" Black Canary said with annoyance as she brushed past Batman and Green Arrow "I'm going to go do that, but feel free to keep bitching though"
"Heh burn" Peter snickered as he fists bumped Black Canary while Batman and Green Arrow eyed each other before both made their way on to the teleporter
…
Peter had to resist the urge to shiver as they appeared in the arctic cirle and made their way off the teleporter
"Thank god I insulated this thing years ago" Peter mumbled as he looked over the vast icy landscape with a critical eye
"We're half a mile from the fortress" Batman revealed before pointing to Captain Atom and Catwoman "Atom, take Catwoman ahead so she can start finding us a way inside"
"You really think we can pull this off?" Green Arrow asked as the rest of the team started to run towards Superman's lair as fast as possible baring Peter who was keeping pace with them
"Don't worry Ollie, there's no way that Superman and the League could miss the large collection of warships pointing their guns at Korea" Peter said as he vaulted over an ice block
"If you say so" Green Arrow said unsure
"Just don't quote me on that" Peter replied with a shrug
"How are you holding up?" Black Canary asked the webbed hero
"What do you mean?" Peter questioned
"The whole Manhunter trying to kill your wife" Green Arrow clarified
"Oh that…" Peter said with a slight growl in his voice "…Let's just say that if Manhunter is somehow still alive, he better have a damn good reason for doing what he did"
The rest of the trip was made in silence until they came across a large door with an equally large keyhole in it.
"Hey Bat's I know that Catwoman is good, but that's a pretty big door" Green Arrow said
"Where's the doorbell?" Peter asked as he saw Catwoman appear with a smirk on her face
"You say impenetrable fortress and I hear Christmas morning with presents to unwrap!" she said as she gestured to Atom "It's unlocked, you up Captain"
The nuclear-powered hero nodded and grabbed the metal door before he began to pry it open, allowing Batman, Spider-man, Black Canary and Catwoman to enter the fortress
And all of them stopped dead at what they found
"No…" Batman said with growing panic in his tone
Standing there were two elderly people, a man and a woman
"Bruce?" the woman said in surprise as did the man beside her
"I didn't know" Batman said taking a step back
"I think you should go son" the man said in a calm tone
"Your right, we're leaving. I'm sorry mister Kent" Batman said as he turned and gestured for everyone to follow him
Green arrow looked surprise by the sudden change "What? What about the whole fate of the world thing!"
"Ollie, that's Clarks parents right beside you. It doesn't matter what distraction Batman's made, Superman won't be thinking straight and if for even one second he thinks we're here for them-" Peter said with dread only to be interrupted by a beeping sound on Batman's belt
"Too late, Atom he's coming!" Batman said just as Superman landed before them, his eyes glowing red and holding Captain Atom by the throat
"Oh shit…" Peter said with his spider sense flaring to nearly painful levels before saying "Would you believe us if we said that your parents actually invited us over for cookies?"
Superman's eyes narrowed as Batman, Catwoman, Black Canary got into defensive poses while Peter had unsheathed his stingers unknowingly and felt his body tense. Clark's mom looked worried for what's happeneing
"Clark! Clark we're fine!"
"Let him go son" Clark's father gestured to Captain Atom who shook his head before narrowing his eyes at Superman
"Okay…" he said catching Superman's attention "I gave you the chance to do the right thing"
BOOOOOM!
Captain Atom shot a powerful beam of nuclear energy into Superman sending him flying towards the ceiling and through it, causing large chunks of ice to start falling towards the more human individuals.
Peter avoided a large chunk of ice from crushing him and shot a web line at Catwoman and pulled her towards him just as a chunk of ice fell on the spot she was just occupying. The cat themed thief gave Spider-man a thankful nod
"I'm going to go help Atom with Superman" Peter said and before she could argue he shot off into the whole made by the two titanic beings not even a few seconds ago
Years later Peter will confidently say that this choice, this decision to help Atom take on Superman was perhaps the worse one he's ever made…
…
It didn't take long for Peter to get to the fighting zone as he just saw Superman deliver a hail maker into Atom's face and send him spiraling into the ice. Peter narrowed his lenses at the distracted form of Superman and shot a web line to a descent sized piece of ice before swinging it into Superman's form
KABOOOM!
Superman was sent flying by the ice and Peter used that opportunity to go and check on Atom. The former air force pilot shoved a block of frozen water off him and gave Peter a surprised expression
"The hell you doing out here Spider-man?"
"I'm helping you take on Superman, what you thought I came out here to build a snowman?" Peter asked sarcastically
"It's too dang-" Atom started only for Peter to interrupt him
"Need I remind you that I've taken on the Juggernaut of all people and won?"
"…Fair enough" Atom conceded before seeing Superman approaching "Look leave the direct hits to me; you just try to make sure he can't overwhelm me got it?"
"Roger, roger" Peter said with a salute before he hefted a chunk of ice at Superman who easily bashed it away only to receive a powerful punch to the face courtesy of Captain Atom
The nuclear-powered hero didn't let up as he sent a series of powerful punches towards Superman before grabbing the man of steel in a head lock and began to twirl him around. Peter seeing this grabbed a relatively large chunk of ice and threw it towards the duo just as Atom released Superman right into the approaching ice projectile
KOOOOOOM!
The force of the ice hitting Superman sent him flying back into Atom's fist that was charged with nuclear energy and rammed it right into Superman's face
KRAKOOOM!
Peter felt his bones vibrate from the force of the blow and watched as Superman slammed into the ice. He quickly hoped over to see if he can help restrain him just as Atom landed on his chest with another blast of Nuclear energy at the ready. Just as he threw the punch into Superman the man of steel caught the hit and did something that neither Peter or Atom expected
He turned the blast towards Peter who was to shocked and slow to dodge the beam of approaching nuclear energy
"…Well this sucks" Peter said as the beam slammed into him and Peter was sent flying away from the fight with a burning almost melted to the bone chest
"GAAAAH!" Peter screamed in agony as he collided with several blocks and columns of ice before coming to a painful stop in a snow drift
Peter laid there, his vision blurry and pain radiating from his chest. It felt like he just took a full blast from both Electro and Molten man at the same time with neither man holding back
"Okay, this is the most painful thing I've ever felt physically" Peter groaned out in pain as he tasted blood in his mouth and quickly lifted his mask up and spat it out on to the snow-covered ice
Peter could faintly here the continue battle between Atom and Superman as forced himself up and looked down at the damage to his chest and held in a wince at what he saw
His chest was exposed and showed to be horribly burned and a few bleeding blisters along his left breast. He also saw that the flesh near his sternum was exposed and he could faintly make out the bone amongst the charred flesh
"Talk about heartburn" Peter gritted out as he rose to his feet shakily and looked around for any signs of his other teammates "Hey Bat's, you mind telling where you are?"
He waited several seconds before he heard a response over the coms "We're back at the teleporter east of you"
"I'm on my way…" Peter said as he slowly began to make his way towards his teammates which was difficult considering he could barely focus and the cold air was beginning to aggravate his chest wound
…
Diana couldn't help the growing sense of dread filling her as she sped towards the arctic circle from the Korean peninsula to help Superman fight whoever it was that seemed to have attacked his home. All she and the rest of the League could discover is that the warships were part of some ruse to distract them
As Diana was coming up on the fortress she saw two figures in the distance fighting and flashes of purple-white energy. She quickly realized that it was Superman and Captain Atom fighting which menat the ones attacking Clark's home and likely after his parents were
Batman's team.
'Hey hang on Kal' Diana though as she zoomed towards the fight and drew her sword. She saw Superman get slammed into the ground before Captain Atom next to him and pick him up by his hair and raised a glowing fist
She narrowed her eyes and swung her blade into Atom's neck completely forgetting that if she damaged his containment suit, she'd unleash all his energy within
Atom to his credit didn't flinch as he grabbed the blade that broke his skin and exposed the nuclear energy swirling within him, he looked towards her with annoyance
"Oh you stupid little…" he said before he slowly lowered her blade and glared at her
"I can't hold it in" he said calmly "Do you understand that?"
Diana looked at him in slight confusion "What do me-"
"I have more energy in me than ten nuclear bombs combined and your stupid magic sword just breached the thing that's containing it!" Atom yelled out in fury before he took a ragged breath to calm himself as the energy leaking from his neck began to brighten
"Now, I have a choice to make" he said with a bowed head "I can stand here. I can just let go and take you and the entire north pole with me… or I can what's right"
"What are you taking about Atom!" Diana demanded with a sense of dread forming in the pit of her stomach
Atom looked down at Superman with a look of disgust on his face as "Do you remember Superman? Do you remember when you've thought of anyone other than yourself?"
Atom tightened his grip on the man's neck "I have orders Superman. I was ordered to take you out if the opportunity presented itself. Guess this is my last opportunity"
Superman glared at him and grabbed his wrist before seemingly breaking it, but unable to free himself. Atom saw this and grinned
"You can't hurt me Superman, I'm already dead" Atom said as he shot a blast of energy at Diana and sent her skidding back before grabbing Superman and shooting off into he air "And I'm taking you with me!"
"KAL!" Diana shouted as he raced after them with her sword at the ready
They were starting to pull away from her and Diana gritted her teeth as she sped up with the hopes of getting to Superman before Atom ignited, she wasn't entirely sure that either of them could survive a blast like the one building in Atom
To her horror she saw the two become in gulfed in a bright purple white light so bright that Diana had to cover her eyes. Not a moment later she felt the agonizing heat of the blast and from being forced back into Earth's atmosphere at the speed of sound
Her body felt like it was on fire as she felt her armor began to melt and break apart from the intense heat and just before she impacted into the ice, only one image crossed her mind before she saw nothing but darkness. It was her husband smiling at her the day she said yes to his marriage proposal
'Peter…I'm sorry...'
THOOOOOOOOM!
…
Peter stopped in his trek towards Batman's location and looked up to see a distant ball of light slam into the ground over two miles away from his location. He frowned as he looked back up at the dissipating energy in the sky, he knew what it was, who it was
'Hopefully Atom took that bastard with him' Peter thought darkly
Peter has long since given up hope of helping Superman, the man was too far gone and it looks like that Batman was beginning to understand that as well. Now the question was what are they going to do now?
Peter than contacted Bruce "Batman looks like atom just-"
"I saw, we're waiting for Oliver. After that we're leaving" Batman said
"What about the tech?" Peter questioned before he hissed in pain at the increased throbbing in his chest. It was already starting to heal and he's covered it with a strong coat of web fluid to try and keep it covered until he can get some actual medical attention
"I'm more focused on getting us out of here alive" Batman said
"Copy that Bat's, should be there in a few" Peter said before he cut the connection
…
Five minutes later Peter came across Batman, Catwoman and Black Canary next to a pillar of ice not too far from the teleporter. Black Canary didn't seem to notice him nor did Catwoman as he made his way next to Batman and gave him a nod
Batman's eyes narrowed at Peter's chest "What happened?"
"Heh, Superman redirected a blast from atom right into me" Peter said weakly as he leaned against the ice pillar "It's not as bad as it looks"
"You're getting that checked out when we get back"" Batman ordered the arachnid themed hero
"We'll see" Peter smiled as he looked around for the emerald archer "No sign of Oliver yet?"
"No…" Batman said quietly as he looked down at his scanner for signs of Green Arrows tracker
"Dinah…" Catwoman began
"He'll come" Black Canary said looking for any signs of Oliver
"We have to go" Catwoman said as she placed a hand on Dinah's shoulder
"Wait!" Batman suddenly said and caused Peter to jump in surprise
"What is it?" Peter asked as he looked down at the screen Batman was looking at
"The locator I put on Green Arrow" Batman said as he pinted towards the direction it was signaling from
"Ollie!" Black Canary yelled as she Catwoman, Batman and Peter raced after her
They didn't have to go far before they found Green Arrow's tracker…but no Green Arrow himself. Just a single arrow embedded in the snow with his tracker on it and something else. Black Canary slowly kneeled before it and plucked it from the ice and slowly removed what looked like a small pill from the shaft and handed it to Batman
"This is it, isn't it? The tech you were after. Ollie saved the day" Black Canary said as Batman took the pill from her
"…Yes" Batman said sadly as he stared down at the small piece of meta human making pill
"All of this for a damn pill?" Peter said in slight disbelief
Batman closed his hand and looked towards Black Canary "We'll wait by the teleporter, Oliver may still-"
"No…" Black Canary said sadly as she wrapped her arms around herself and slowly began to make her way back towards the teleporter "He's not coming…"
Peter, Bruce and Selina watched her go and were about to follow when Peter suddenly lurched over and vomited out a combination of mucus and blood
"JESUS CHRIST!" Selina shouted in horror as she and Bruce quickly caught Peter before he could fall face first into the bloodied snow
"N-Not as… bad as i-it looks…" Peter said before vomiting again "Okay that's a lie this sucks beyond belief…"
The trio quickly caught up to Black Canary and entered the teleporter all the while unaware of a lone figure watching them not too far away
"Hmm…" Ares hummed to himself as he watched the four vanish in a flash of light "Mephisto may be on to something with this little spider"
He then looked towards the direction that Diana had crashed into earlier and chuckled "My, my, my Diana you will be in for a pleasant surprise when you next meet your darling husband…assuming you recognize him by than"
The God of War chuckled darkly as he vanished in a swirl of fire and smoke leaving no trace that he was ever there to begin with
And done.
Next chapter is the end of Year One and Spider-man finally faces down Superman in the long-awaited fight.