Answers to reviewers' statements or questions:
keyblade master cole: You are right in that by year five Peter will be drastically different from the go happy guy we saw at the beginning of year one. Year two and three will greatly affect his character
Aniimeziing: Yes Diana is alive but she's in a sort of coma because of Captain Atoms explosion. And Peter and Diana will have their little couples spat when she returns and it will be brutal. As for when Peter finds out about Dian, that'll be soon and he will be less than thrilled to hear it
Blackseal84: You think that was Spider-man enraged? Ohh that was the tip of the ice berg for what's coming
seem14: Mainly because he didn't have time and it never really crossed his mind and even if it did everyone would have stopped him because they are all aware of Peter's slowly declining state of mind as a result of using Venom again, but don't worry the Venom symbitoe is about to become a regular for this story
kspidey2: Yes Peter did use the pill to fight Superman and you are right in that there will be some rather serious consequences for him for doing so. As for the too much killing, hate to say it but the Injustice comics is full of heroes and villains who start dying left and right and as for Dinah not being affecting, she is and in the comics in goes more in depth but this story is more focused on Peter and Diana but I will make mentions of other characters and what they're going through. As for Diana, she's been taken out of commission by Captain Atom and won't be seen in person for a bit, least conscious. And by Clark surviving do you mean how he survived Captain Atom's explosion? The guy can take explosions on par with nuclear blasts or greater and survive. And as for why it seems like the heroes are taking death too casually eh they've seen enough by this point to not be numbed to it but enough that while unfortunate they tend to unhealthy get over it faster or just not bother with it more so than most but that won't always be the case as the deaths start to become more personal
So this here will be the first annual that details Peter and Diana's relationship before the events of the Injustice begin, both comic and game wise. Wanted to show the development of their relationship which really show how badly it deuterates as the story progresses and make it all the more tragic for the two.
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen mentioned or used in this story
Four years before Metropolis…
"PARKER ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" came the loud and unhappy voice of Jonah Jameson Jr. owner of the Daily Bugle, one of the largest News outlets in the world
Peter who was to his embarrassment on the verge of falling asleep nearly jumped in surprise as his boss's face was now right in front of his. If Peter focused enough he would be able to make out the individual hairs of Jameson's Hitler stash
Peter blinked before responding "Yes sir Mr. Jameson sir!"
"Oh really? Than what was I talking about Parker?" Jameson gave Peter a questioning glare
"You were talking about how Spider-man is a menace and how he's somehow behind the recent strings of gruesome murders in the Bronx" Peter guessed hoping that he was right
Jameson smirked at Peter as he sat back in his chair and pulled out a cigar for him to have "Heh for once Parker your wrong I wasn't talking about that wall crawling menace but not that you mention it-"
Peter was saved from another five-minute-long rant on how Spider-man was a menace by the timely intervention of Betty Brant who walked into the office with a frown on her face. She used to be Jameson's former secretary when Peter first started out here but has since become the Bugle's number one reporter. She's covered some of the biggest stories to have ever affected New York and even got her first Pulitzer a year ago with her story 'The Amazing Spider-man'
Unlike the 'Why the World Needs Superman' written by Lois Lane of the Daily Planet, Betty's story was more focused on Spider-man not saving the city from mass destruction or chaos, granted that was mentioned, but him helping the people of New York in small ways. Be it helping an old lady across the street, returning a kid's balloon after the accidently lost it, saving a kid from a bunch of bullies and even spending time with a bunch of kids and making small web swings for them to play on for a while
It also helped that she was aware of what Peter did in his spare time which made writing the story easier though Peter did voice his concerns of it being kind of unfair to which she replied "Peter do you really think that Lois Lane was able to get half the stories on Superman by being 'fair', she probably got them by sleeping with him half the time now shush and tell me where you plan to patrol tonight so I can observe you!"
"Jameson we have a problem" Betty said right of the bat
"Oh great now what?" Jameson sighed as he put the cigar in an ash tray and gave Brant his full attention
"Henry won't be able to cover the gala with me tonight" Betty said in regards to a fundraiser happening tonight being hosted by Bruce Wayne and L. Lincoln Thompson
Peter had to wonder why Wayne of all people would want to be involved with a man who on multiple occasions was accused of criminal activity.
'Than again he's from Gotham, maybe he's use to working with rich criminals' Peter thought as Jameson let out a sigh
"Greeeeeat…Well take Parker with you, he has nothing better to do" Jameson pointed to Parker "And for god's sake kid get a damn suit that doesn't look like it belongs in a antique shop"
Peter felt his eye twitch at the comment "That was one time…"
"And it better stay that way now both of you out" Jameson turned from them and waved them off "And if you don't have a good enough story afterwards don't bother coming back!"
"Yes Mr. Jameson" Betty said while taking Peter by the elbow and dragging him out of the office before he can make a comment along the lines of 'That threat lost it's luster after the fourth time you've used it'
"Betty whyyyyy!" Peter moaned at the reporter
"Unlike you, I can't afford to lose my job Petey" Betty said with an eye roll
"Please, like Jameson is going to risk losing you" Peter scoffed "If anything I'm the more expendable one"
Betty chuckled at that before she let go of him and gave Peter a look "The Gala starts at eight tonight, so I want you there by seven thirty at least"
"Why so early?" Peter questioned
"Because" Betty said in a manner as if talking to a child "I can't risk you arriving late because of your late-night activities"
"I've gotten better at not being late" Peter defended his track record of being late at times because he had to stop a crime as Spider-man
"Peter fast you may be, but the Flash you are not" Betty said before pulling out some money and handing it to him "While I know you have a nice enough suit at home I need you to get an even better one. There's a store on fifty second street that rents them out. Go there and get yourself one"
Peter sighed as he took the money "Yes mom, anything else?"
Betty's response was to cuff him upside the head with a smirk which earned a laugh out of him in return
…
"Okay Parker deep breaths" Peter said as he and Betty had just entered the Gala
"Peter relax, your fine" Betty said with a smile as the two made their way up a stair case towards the party that was already starting to fill up
Betty was decked out in a dark blue Trumpet Mermaid V-Neck with black heels and a small hand white clutch that had her recorder and lipstick. Peter on the other hand was dressed in a black tuxedo with a red vest and bow tie and his hair combed a bit but still had the cute unkempt appearance that seemed to somehow go with his suit
Betty had to hold in a smirk as she saw a few women eye Peter up and down with interest in their eyes
'Oh if only they knew that he's not a member of the one percent' Betty thought with some grim humor 'They wouldn't even spare him a glance'
"So how do we do this? You ask questions while I take pictures or something?" Peter asked Betty as they entered the main room where the party was being hosted
"Yes, also try to keep to ask some of the other guests here something if you can and let me know what they said" Betty said as she began to scan the room for her first target
"Well what about him" Peter pointed towards one man with grey hair and a beard with a girl at least half his age on his arm in a dress that probably cost more than Peter's rent for his apartment
"Hmm maybe…" Betty nodded at the man before adjusting her dress and hair "I'll meet you over by the balcony in half an hour, try to get a few photos of Wayne and Lincoln if you see them"
"Anything else?" Peter asked as betty began to approach the man he pointed out
"Try not to get thrown out" Betty said with a grin
"Oh come on that was one time, sides the guy started it first" Peter mumbled as he began to take pictures of the party and make his way around the room, occasionally speaking to some of the people there, staff included before he found himself at the refreshments table. He was just about to take a glass of water when he heard a voice behind him
"Nice suit…"
Peter paused midway to grabbing the glass as he heard the voice of a woman speak. He slowly turned around and was greeted with a woman dressed in an almost glowing white women's white Ella cutout stretch-cady dress with a pair of silver bracelets on her wrists, her hair done up in an elegant bun and a red and gold necklace on her neck. She looked like heaven incarnate
The woman giggled as she gave him a small smile "Haven't been called that before"
Peter felt his face flush realizing he said that out loud "Sorry- I mean not sorry that I complemented you because you really deserve it but um I-I uh…I'll stop talking now…"
"I don't mind" the woman said with a grin as she approached the table and took her own glass and drank from it "I don't meet too many people here who are genuinely honest"
"Well I was raised to be honest" Peter said as he took a nervous sip from his own drink as he tried to not openly stare at the woman next to him
"Your nervous" the woman said with a smile
Peter let out a cough "What uh, what makes you say that?"
The woman stared at him with amusement "For one, your hands are shaking and I can see sweat beginning to build on that brow of yours"
Peter cradled his drink in both hands "Well maybe it's just hot in here and I'm being affected by the temperature"
"How do you explain the shaking had then?" the woman asked with a chuckle
"…Okay I'm nervous" Peter let out a sigh of defeat
"Why's that?" the woman asked with interest
"Well your…" Peter gestured to her than himself "And I'm…meh"
"You don't look that bad" the woman said as she placed her drink on the table and took a step closer towards Peter "Plus not many here can pull of the hair style you do in a suit like this"
She brushed some dust off the shoulder and gave him a grin. Peter felt like he was on fire before he saw a familiar face approaching and his mood dropped…like a rock in water. The woman saw this and turned to follow his line of sight to the man that was approaching and Peter saw her tense ever so slightly
"Ah Peter Parker, so good to see you again" Norman Osborn dressed in a dark purple almost black suit said with a 'friendly' smile on his face "I thought I recognized you slinking around the edges of this party"
"Norman" Peter responded with a blank face, he had to place his drink down or risk shattering the glass in his grip "Surprised you're here…"
"You can thank Thompson for the invite" the man said as he nodded over towards the tall albino businessman on the other side of the room before he looked around a bit "So where's the lucky girl? I doubt a man like you would show up to a party like this on your own"
"Well I did" Peter said tensely as he eyed the man before him
"Actually, he's here with me" the woman said with a narrowed gaze at Norman
Peter's eyes widened as he started at the woman in shock while Norman smirked at her "And who might you be Miss…"
The woman narrowed her eyes at the man and lifted her chin up ever so slightly "Diana Prince"
Norman's eyes narrowed slightly before he smiled in a way that made Peter want to tear his jaw off "And pray tell how a lovely woman such as yourself found your way to New York?"
"Personal" Diana said before she grabbed Peter by the arm "Now if you excuse us Mr. Osborn, Peter here owes me a dance"
Norman stepped aside "Of course, enjoy your evening…"
As Diana and Peter passed the man he made one last comment that Peter knew was directed at him even if he was talking to Diana "While your in New York Ms. Prince I recommend avoiding some of the bridges here. The whiplash you can get from them can be a real killer..."
The only thing that kept Peter from spinning around and ramming his fist into Norman's face was the surprisingly strong grip of Diana as they made their way n to the dance floor. Peter let out a sigh as he placed his hands on the woman's waist and took her other hand and began to fall in motion with the music
"Sorry you had to meet him" Peter apologized "Norman there can be a real piece of work"
"It's alright, I've met men like him before in the past" Diana said as she and Peter danced
"What's it about money that makes guys jerks? What, they can't afford to buy a descent personality?" Peter said with a shake of his head
"Either that or it's too cheap for them to want it" Diana said with a grin as the two danced in circle "I'm surprised you know Norman Osborn even if it's less than friendly"
"His son and I used to be best friends when we were in high school" Peter stated with a shrug "But after he was revealed to be the Green Goblin well…didn't seem too smart to be around a guy who thinks throwing pumpkins on a glider was smart"
"Surprised he isn't in jail for what he's done as that monster" Diana said with a frown
"Money, flawed justice system and liberals tend to make it easy in getting away with things like that" Peter said with a sigh before he saw Betty signaling for him to meet with her, based on the look on her face, she didn't want to talk about the Gala which had him worried
Diana saw her as well and gave Peter a raised brow "Girlfriend?"
"Work friend…and she's an ex" Peter said with a sheepish smile before they separated as the song came to an end "Well as much as I enjoyed this, I have to go Ms. Prince"
"Shame…" Diana said with a sigh "I was enjoying our time together"
Peter gave her a surprised look before he scratched the back of his head "Would you like to…meet up again?"
Diana gave him a watchful gaze before she smiled "I…wouldn't mind that"
"Uh great, so uh…" Peter tried to figure out a place where they meet before Betty suddenly appeared beside him
"Hi Betty Brant of the Daily Bugle, sorry to interrupt your two's little moment of cuteness but Peter here is needed" Betty gave them an apologetic smile
"For what?" Peter asked the woman
Betty turned towards him with a slightly grim expression "Electro, Sandman, Hydro man and Molten man are tearing up Hell's kitchen and Jameson wants us to head over there and cover it"
"Now?" Peter asked feeling a little disappointed that he won't be able to spend more time with Diana
"Sorry sport but there's sadly no one else at the moment he can spare" Betty said with a sympathetic look
Peter looked towards Diana nervously "So I'll call you…?"
Diana smiled as she pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to Peter. He looked at it and saw that it was a business card with what he assumed was her phone number on it
"Antiques collector…interesting field" Peter said in an honest tone
"You'd be surprised with how…exciting it can get" Diana said with a grin as she watched Peter get dragged away by Betty "I look forward to hearing from you!"
"Uh yeah! Can count on it" Peter said with a smile all the while trying to resist the urge to release himself from Betty's grip and stick with Diana
…
Ten minutes later…
Peter clad in his new red and blue suit with a large white spider symbol on the front sat Betty, who also changed before coming here, down a good half block away from where the four villains were spotted before turning to her "Please try to stay out of the fight, last thing I need is one of these guys seeing you and decide to use you as a hostage"
"That happened one time" Betty said with annoyance as she began to run towards the location
Peter smirked under his mask as he swung into the air and pulled ahead of her "Let's keep it that way!"
It didn't take Peter long to find the four men considering one looks like he's made of electricity and the other a walking volcano. Peter narrowed his eyes at Electro as he angled himself to strike him first
"Oh yodel ay e hoo!" Peter said as he landed before the lightning based villain before kicking him right into Hydro man before he could react
"GAH!" Hydro man let out a pained yelp as he was electrocuted by his teammate who felt himself begin produce steam as the cool liquid touched his electrified skin
Peter's spider-sense flared before he leaped out of the way of a fire ball and narrowly avoid a massive sand hammer courtesy of the two's teammates. Peter jumped on to the side of the building and focused his sights on the four criminals or three now since it looked like Hydro man was down for the count at the moment
"Wow, you guys look like you should be on Avatar or the Legend of Korra" Peter snickered "I mean you guys got the whole elements thing down. Now all you need is a guy who can manipulate air and doesn't mine a few blue tattoos"
"GAH shut up!" Electro's body flared as he shot a bolt of lightning at Peter followed swiftly by Sandman and Molten man
ZZZZKT!
Peter ducked under the lethal bolt of electricity while trying to avoid blasts of molten rock and sand from trying to crush him.
"Whoa easy there sparkles, I haven't insulated this suit yet" Peter said as he dodged another bolt of electricity
"Ugh stand still you damn bug!" Electro screamed in rage as he kept firing bolts of lightning at Peter
One of which almost hit Sandman in the face "Hey watch where your throwing those Max!"
"Yeah we don't want to end up like Hydro man thank you very much" Molten man gestured towards the still out water manipulator
"Well maybe if you two could actually hit him or better yet stop getting in the way than I wouldn't be almost hitting you!" Electro shouted in rage
Peter was able to use the brief pause in their onslaught to stick to the side of a building and plan out his attack. So far Electro was keeping him from getting close and thanks to the recent rain last night, there were a lot of puddles around the street, forcing Sandman to mind his footing along with Molten man
'Good thing I took out water boy first' Peter thought as he launched himself at Molten man 'He'd be the most difficult one to fight in these conditions'
Peter landed in a crouch before Molten man and sent a series of quick jabs at the man's chest before pulling him into a head butt than sent the man flying into a nearby puddle. Peter shot several globs of webbing at the man while simultaneously dodging another lightning bolt from Electro before he felt a large fist made of sand slam into him
KOOM!
"GAH!" Peter let out a shriek of pain as he was sent flying into a parked car with enough force to completely total it's side and slide into the wall "Owww…"
Peter felt his back ack from the impact and looked to see Electro grin darkly at him before he started to build up the energy in his arms. Peter felt his spider-sense tingle and was about to move when suddenly the water around him restrained him to the parked car
"You ain't getting out of this now web head" a recovered Hydro man said with a sneer
"Now fry!" Electro yelled as he sent a wave of electricity at Peter who gaped at the at the sight
"Aw man this is gonna hurt soooo much!" Peter said as he braced himself for the hit
Until suddenly a figure landed before the blast and deflected it with ease with what looked like metal bracelets on their arms. Peter gaped at the sight as did the three still conscious criminals while the figure lowered their arms and glared at them
"Holy shit…" Sandman said while taking a step back as did Hydro man
"Oh come on!" Electro groaned out as he saw who it was that deflected his attack
Standing before them was Wonder Woman who looked less than pleased to see them
"I accept your surrender" she said in a confident tone and a hand on her hip
'Wish I was confident enough to say that to a bad guy' Peter thought with a wince as he pulled himself from the destroyed car "Best do what the lady says fellas, especially when she can bench press an aircraft carrier"
"What just because you can lift some boat means I'm going to just roll over and call it quits?" Electro asked in outrage
"Yes" Wonder Woman said as if it was the simplest thing in the world
"I surrender" Sandman said with his hands in the air, he may be made of sand but even he knows when not to pick a fight with a woman that's taken on freak'n gods!
"Me too" Hydro man said thinking along the same line as his teammate before pointing his thumb overt to a still out Molten Man "Him too"
"Smart" Wonder Woman said with a smirk on her face before she leaned out of the way of an approaching bolt of electricity fired from Electro
"Well I ain't surrendering bitch!" Electro growled out
Wonder Woman shook her head "Suit yourself"
Before anyone could blink Wonder Woman had blitzed Electro and delivered a powerful uppercut that sent the poor villain flying into the air before she zoomed up next to him and grabbed him by the head and glared at him
"Surrender now?"
Electro responded by trying to zap her again but the Amazon merely released Electro before delivering a heeled kick to the man's head that sent him flying into the ground
KRAKOOM!
Peter winced at the impact as he restrained Sandman and Hydro man next to Molten man who was still out.
"Should have surrendered Max!" Peter said as he approached the crater that contained the now beaten and unconscious form of Electro "For a guy whose made of and can control electricity, you're not very bright"
"Men like him rarely are" Wonder Woman said as she landed beside Peter
The two could faintly here police sirens approaching as Peter webbed up Electro in a special webbing fluid to keep him restrained. After he was secured he dragged the man over towards the other three and dropped him next to Sandman
"Now what have we learned here today?" Peter gave them all an expectant look
"Wonder Woman is more intimidating than you" Hydro man said with a sneer
Peter felt his brow twitch under his mask "Annnnd?"
"Max is an idiot?" Sandman guessed
"No, well yes but no! We've learned that crime doesn't pay" Peter said as he folded his arms
"Neither does being a hero" Molten man choked out as he shook his head "Damn that hurt"
"Be lucky it was him and not her" Hydro man nodded towards Wonder Woman
"Who are you tal- HOLY SHIT! It's Wonder Woman" the pyro based man said in shock at the Amazon's appearance who responded by giving him a quirked brow
"Yep" Peter said before he turned to leave "And boys do be so kind as to say hi to Vulture and Shocker for me"
It was than that Peter saw Betty approaching "Late to the party miss Brant"
Betty gave Peter a smirk "I'll let this one go considering you got help" she than turned towards Wonder Woman with a questioning look on her face "Long way from Metropolis, would you be willing to do an interview later?"
Wonder Woman gave Betty a small grin "We'll see…"
It was then that Peter saw the police approaching in several cars and returned his gaze towards Betty "Well as much as I love our games of twenty questions Ms. Brant, the night's young and I have a quota of criminals to apprehend tonight, but let's say at the bank robbery next Tuesday?"
Betty let out a snort of amusement "See ya than web head"
Peter chuckled as launched himself into the air followed quickly By Wonder Woman as the police had finally arrived to secure the four elements based rouges while Betty pulled out her phone and began to type in some notes for her to use for her article later
…
"So not that I don't appreciate you coming in and completely upstaging me in front of my own rouges and a member of the press no less, but why are you here? I thought you operated out in Metropolis?" Peter asked the powerful woman after they came to a stop on a nearby rooftop
"I used to but I decided to branch out and New York seemed like a good as place as any" Wonder Woman shrugged as she turn her attention to the city
"Well you know what they say, if you can make it here you can make it anywhere" Peter said with a shrug before taking a look around "So can I expect Superman to pop up every once in a while, I understand that you two ar-"
"No he will not be" Wonder Woman said in a curt tone that practically screamed to drop the subject
"Oh…" Peter said as the two stood there in silence before Peter cleared his throat "So uh are you going to be in town long or was this a sort of pit stop?"
"I'll be staying for the foreseeable future, is that a problem?" Wonder Woman asked in a curious tone, most heroes didn't tend to be so welcoming of other capes operating in their city
Peter shook his head "Nope sounds good to me. Was starting to get a little lonely out here. Feels kind of nice to know that there's someone else out here helping"
Wonder smiled at him before a beeping sound was heard and she quickly raised a hand to her ear that Peter saw had a small ear piece in it "Yes?"
Peter watched her for several moments in a non-creepy way and couldn't help but feel he's met her before. Which was odd because the last woman he met as beautiful as the Amazon before him was at that party
"Why thank you" Wonder Woman chuckled as she slowly rose into the air
"I said that out loud didn't I?" Peter said with a blush under his mask
"You did" Wonder Woman smirked at the spider themed hero
"That's the second time tonight I've done that. First the girl at that party now here, not that I don't mind giving you compliments it's just I don't want to come off weird or creepy and I'm going to stop talking now" Peter said as he held his head in his hands
Wonder Woman gave him a grin that nearly caused his heart to stop in awe before she spoke with a sort of knowing tone "It's alright, I don't mind. But I do look forward to hearing from you again…Peter Parker…"
Peter felt his eyes nearly bug out and through his lenses as Wonder Woman shot off into the sky like a rocket with a chuckle
"How did she…" Peter said in disbelief before the woman from the party flashed through his mind "…Diana Prince?"
Peter watched the woman disappear into the night sky with a slowly growing grin "Heh, Ben is going to freak when he here's this!"
And done.
So yeah Diana figuring Peter was Spider-man out may see a bit quick but the woman has the Wisdom of Athena, meaning she's smart. Maybe not Peter smart but she can put two and two together and get four. Plus, Peter had unintentionally revealed saying something similar to a woman at a party he was just at and Diana correctly deduced that Peter and Spider-man were the same with the information she was given. Plus, seeing Betty there and the banter between the two may have also clued her in too
So next chapter begins Year Two with the Green Lanterns getting involved…in the second half of this arc. The first half will deal with Peter and the Ultimates reuniting along with a few newcomers for a special mission. Year two had a seven-month long time skip in it, this mission will take place during the time skip. Also, we see the final woman that Peter had a thing with before he hooked up with Diana