Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used in this story
Year two…
It was an almost week after Peter was made temporary head of the Insurgency by Bruce that he was given one of the biggest shocks of his life. Peter had returned to New York and headed for his and Diana's apartment and proceeded to get a few things that he may need for what he has planned that were still there when he realized that he was bleeding from his nose and his vision briefly
That and his spider sense was starting to flare ever so subtly that Peter almost missed it…almost
So, he thought it best to stop by Clair Temple, the city's resident vigilante nurse operating out in Hell's kitchen and have her give him a quick check up before he heads off to meet Barbara so they can begin to coordinate on brining Superman down, with some creative input from Bruce who had no qualms with advising the two while he was recovering
Safe to say he was not prepared for the bomb she dropped in his lap
"Did you just say that I have…cancer?" Peter gave her an incredulous expression "Because I'm pretty sure that's what you said!"
"Yes I did and well… it's bad" Clair said with a sigh as she placed his X-rays up for him to see "I mean we're talking bone marrow, lungs, prostate, breast, and even a few tumors starting to already grow in your brain"
Peter eyed the scans with a critical eye, and had to admit Clair was right, it looked bad, like he won't last a year with how extensive it is. He then looked towards Clair with a frown "Estimations?"
"Taking your healing factor into account I'd say maybe and this is a big maybe…two years if you're lucky" Clair said with a saddened gaze "Not so lucky… a year tops"
"Surprised that it's that bad" Peter commented as he returned his attention to his X-rays
Clair rubbed her eyes in exhaustion "Peter while you've always had radiation in your blood stream on the account of the spider bite all those years ago, it was low enough that your healing factor was able to handle it but…"
"But taking the equivalent of a nuclear bomb's worth of radiation like I did from Atom's blast the other day proved too much…and considering that his energy isn't exactly regular radiation it's a miracle I'm not dead yet" Peter said already expecting for some time now
He wasn't dumb enough to think that he'd wouldn't suffer any consequences from taking a blast from Captain Atom's energy beams…he just didn't think it'd be this bad is all. A tumor maybe and very likely some sort of cancer but not this much
Clair nodded at his statement before she continued "And it's not just that Peter, the pill you took that can make you as strong as Superman. I ran some tests based off what you've told me and what Oracle sent me in exchange for offering my services and I've discovered that it accelerates the effects of your cancer, meaning every time you take it-"
"I get worse and kills me all the quicker…any suggestions?" Peter asked the woman as he began to redress in his suit
"Professional or not?" Clair gave him a look that said she was more inclined to the latter and follow it with a smack upside the head
"Both" Peter said with a smirk as he slid on his top, his chest was now sporting a large scar that Peter knew will never heal completely. Diana was going to freak when she sees it 'Hmm maybe if I mention it was superman that caused this she'll be less inclined to help him…'
"Professionally I'd say start to get your affairs in order… not so professional…whatever you have planned please promise me you'll really think on it before actually doing it" Clair said quietly
"What do you mean?" Peter asked with a puzzled frown
"Peter I've known you since you were a fifteen-year-old lanky punk trying to make a difference in this city that was well on its way to becoming the love child of Gotham and Metropolis and the personal kingdom of the Anti-Christ. And I know that this-" Clair pointed to the X-rays "-Won't stop you. You'll figure something out and when you do… I just hope that whatever it is, you don't end up coming to regret it later on…"
Peter slid on his mask and gave Clair an honest expression that he knew she would be able to see regardless of the fabric "Honestly Clair…I already have"
…
Two days later… Gotham City…
…
"Where is he?" Jim Gordon stood across from his daughter with a stern expression
"Who?" Barbara said with confusion
"Batman" Jim said with growing annoyance at his daughter's denial
"I don't know what you're-" Barbara began only to be interrupted by her father's yell
"STOP IT!"
Barbara seemed slightly startled by his outburst but quickly schooled her features as he continued
"I've spent years playing my part. Letting you and Bruce Wayne do what you felt you needed to do" Jim said before taking a deep breath "But I'm done pretending. I know about Batgirl. I always knew who Bruce was"
Barbara watched him for a long time before she spoke quietly "How long have you known?"
"I've known since the first night you put on that costume and snuck out of your bedroom window with Dick Grayson" Jim said with a sigh of annoyance
"How?" Barbara said shocked at hearing her father knew from the start
"HOW? I'M A DETECTIVE!" Jim said in outrage as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, he wouldn't be able to call himself a good parent if he wasn't aware of his own child's nightly activities at least some of the time
Jim than started to pace the room "Now where's Batman?"
"He's... well, it's hard to explain and it won't help you to know" Barbara said awkwardly
"How about you let me be the judge of that for once" Jim said with a snort as he scanned the shadows for Batman
"His spine was snapped like a tooth pick and he's currently in a tower floating outside of time and space protected by my ex-girlfriend and a guy who can wear a cape and helmet as good as Darth Vader can" Spider-man said as he emerged from the shadows dressed in his black suit, much to Barbara's concern
Jim stared at the wall crawler for a moment before he sighed "Okay she was right, that doesn't help at all"
"Should listen to her more often than" Spider-man chuckled as he turned towards Oracle "By the way you owe me twenty bucks on him always knowing"
Barbara gave him a glare of annoyance as she crossed her arms "Yeah see me after this who thing is over and we'll talk"
"Assuming me live long enough" Peter chuckled as he looked at Jim and frowned under his mask as he noticed something…off about the man. It didn't take long for Peter to realize what it was thanks to Venom whispering what it was
Peter than looked towards Barbara than back towards Jim before he coughed awkwardly "I'll uh… I'll give you two some privacy"
"What why?" Barbara asked in confusion while her father steeped forward with a saddened expression on his face
"Barbara…" Jim said hesitantly as he crouched down to his daughter's level who looked concerned
Peter tuned out what the man was telling his daughter as he made his way towards the wall that hid Barbara's control center, he could already sense that the Birds of Prey were inside. He leaned against it and watched the two remaining members of the Gordon family talk with a sympathetic expression
'Shame he doesn't have me…' Venom hissed darkly in Peter's mind
'Not now Venom…' Peter thought with narrowed eyes, already seeing the faintest traces of that inky substance at the corners of his vision
'With me, you don't have to worry about those unfortunate deformities killing you or spreading any further than they already have. I am curious though, when are you going to tell the rest? What are you going to tell your poor Diana 'if' she wakes up?' Venom asked with a dark chuckle. The symbiote couldn't have hoped for a better outcome. Now it's host has to keep it around or risk dying and Venom knows that deep down…Peter doesn't want to die, at least not anytime soon…
'I intend to tell Bruce after this meeting. As for the rest…when it becomes relevant. We have bigger things to worry about than me having cancer' Peter said before he shut Venom out of his mind and sighed as he saw Barbara activate the door mechanism
He pushed off the wall and watched as Jim gaped at the sight of Batwoman, Batgirl, Catwoman, Black Canary, Black Cat, and Huntress standing behind him at the ready.
"Yeah I know, we look awesome" Peter shrugged while Batgirl chuckled
"Nice suit Spider-man" Black Cat said with a certain tone that said she was less than pleased to see on him
Peter sighed "I'll explain later…" he then clapped his hands together "Now, whose ready to overthrow a crazed alien dictator and his army of mindless idiots and hopefully live long enough to laugh about it over a beer several years from now?"
And done.
Another short chapter yes and the next few may be like that but don't worry they'll get longer soon as Spider-man and the Ultimates begin their mission. Also, we now see the results of Peter taking a blast from Captain Atom and now ironically has to rely on the thing that may end up turning him into a monster to keep him alive until he finds a way to cure his less than stellar health… yeah things are not looking so good for Spidey and they'll only going to get worse
So, next chapter deals with the Insurgency growing more and Peter, Barbara and Bruce devising a plan to take down Superman and his regime while they soon discover that Superman's forces are growing as well…we also get a peek of what Diana is dreaming about in her coma. The fate of the Teen Titans will also finally come to light