Answers to reviewers' questions or statements:
keyblade master cole: some characters that died in the comics will live, won't say who though.
MCRasengan: Yeah things are about to get chaotic
cornholio: Superman will still be getting his fear Lantern ring, but he won't be the only one that'll be joining a Lantern Corps
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used
Year Two…
Peter stared at the assembled group that will aid him in his assault on Superman's fortress and hopefully free the Titans in silence. Before them was a holographic image of Superman's fortress of Solitude, the most advance and heavily fortified structure on the planet, even Batman has stated that he may not be able to infiltrate it
'Good thing we won't be infiltrating…' Peter thought with a grim chuckle before he cleared his throat and stepped forward "Alright ladies, in roughly six days, the Green Lanterns will arrive to finally apprehend Superman and help tear down his regime. While Guy and his people deal with the man of steel and his Yellow Lantern masters, we're be attacking his fortress and freeing the Titans and hopefully take any Krytponian tech Supes has stored in there"
"It all sounds so easy, doesn't it?" Kaine said with a yawn "So how do you intend for us to get in there? In case you didn't notice but Catwoman and Black Cat won't be helping us this time around, plus the guy's security has been beefed up since your last little sleep over from hell"
"That's what the First Born's for" Peter said as he had an image of the still 'imprisoned' Demigod brought up "He'll be the battering ram. Once he breaches Superman's fortress, all we have to do is follow him in, take care of what few defenses are left standing, find the Phantom Zone projector and bring the Titans out and if things go smoothly, us and them will waltz right out just in time to see Superman carted off to space jail or whatever the hell the Lanterns have in store for him"
"That's a big if their Spider-man…" Jay said as he stared at the image of the fortress with a frown "A lot can happen once things kick off that we haven't accounted for"
"Which is why getting in and out as fast as possible is crucial, the Insurgency and the Lanterns won't be able to fight both Superman's people and the Sinestro Corps on their own" Peter said
"How can the Titans help even the playing field?" Grifter asked with a frown
"Well one is Red Robin, someone that according to Red Hood is most like Batman in terms of tactical thinking, so that'll be helpful, a freakin Amazon like Wonder Woman and the other is Superboy, a human Kryptonian hybrid and then there's Starfire. All in all, they might be all we need to help turn the tide of this fight"
"And if they can't?" Grifter asked
"Well there's a lot of tech in Superman's fortress we can take and reverse engineer" Steve said as he leaned back in his chair with Katana standing next to him
"What about the Phantom zone?" Cash asked with his hook raised "Can't we just bring out some of the people in there and see if they can help?"
"We could but the Phantom Zone is housing some of the most dangerous beings in the universe, letting them out might not be such a good idea" Peter said as he rubbed the back of his head
"Well who's in there?" Rose asked with a frown
"General Zod for one… and his co-conspirators according to Batman" Peter stated
"So break into Superman's lair, free the Titans and do so without accidently freeing some super alien criminal and his followers all the while fighting off the Fortress's defenses and likely any Regime solders and Yellow Lanterns protecting it…" Kaine summed up the threats they'd be facing before shrugging "Fuck it, sounds fun"
"You have a warped sense of fun" Steve said with a raised brow
"Hey I regularly swing hundreds of feet in the air on a small web line going almost a hundred miles an hour half the time, gotta spice things up or risk getting bored" Kaine said
"What about the First Born, what's to stop him from turning on us when we do somehow pull this off?" Katana said with a calm expression
Peter was about to answer when Grfiter beat him to the punch "We chuck his ass into the Phantom Zone and shut the door, boom end of story"
"Love how you make it sound throwing a guy that's beaten both Superman and Wonder Woman will be so easy" Steve deadpanned
"Hey, we know he's going to turn on us so we're ready for it and we'll have him outnumbered and doped up on Super pills, why wouldn't we win?" the deadly mercenary said with a chuckle
"…Hard to argue against that" the former lover of Diana said with a sigh
"Is the First Born aware of his role in this operation?" Jay asked
"Yeah, he also knows that if he tries anything, he'll be getting a one-way trip to the Phantom Zone" Peter said with a shrug before the holographic images switched off
"What's our extraction looking like if things go to shit?" Rose inquired
"Same as last time, Zatanna and if she can't help out, I've been able to convince Fate to pull us back" Peter said
"Will his helmet let him?" the daughter of Deathstroke asked with a frown
"It should, after all I helped the guy save his masters in the past, that's gotta count for something…right?"
…
Several hours later Peter found himself sitting in his room with his mask held in his hands with his thoughts on the upcoming war that was days away now. He was so deep in thought with what might happen and what could happen that he almost didn't notice Zatanna standing in front of him, calling his name
"What?" Peter said as he glanced up at the woman surprise
Zatanna frowned at Peter "I said are you alright?"
"Oh, uh yeah I'm good" Peter said with a nod as he dropped his mask on the bed and ran a hand through his hair "Just thinking is all. About stuff, you know"
"No, I don't know" Zatanna said with a shake of her head as she sat next to Peter "Mainly because you aren't talking to anyone"
"What makes you say that?" Peter asked with a frown "I just ended a two-hour long phone call with Ben and MJ and had a rather pleasant if somewhat tense lunch with Kaine and Rose earlier"
"Yes, but what I mean is you're not talking about what's bothering you" Zatanna stated with a pointed look "You're doing that damn bottling things up shit you used to do when we dated"
Peter held her gaze for a moment before he sighed "Can't really keep anything from you, can I?"
"Nope…" Zatanna said with a small smirk before it fell "Peter… look I know that I'm not Diana, and I'm not trying to come between you two-"
"Never said you were-"
"But you need to see that your marriage is pretty much over at this point" Zatanna said as she stood up and began to pace before him, her heels clicking against the stone floor "I mean even if she does awaken from her coma, what makes you think she'll even want anything to do with you after she finds out you more or less handed her best friend off to the Green Lanterns to lock up who knows where along with half the Justice League with the help of her twisted half brother?"
"Well once I mention he's imprisoned Cassie in the Phantom Zone and gave me super cancer after redirecting a nuclear blast from Captain Atom right at me, which easily could have killed me mind you, I'm confident her faith in Superman will drop… like a lot. Plus, finding out he's working with Sinestro of all people is sure to help" Peter said
"And if it doesn't?" Zatanna asked with a frown
"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it" Peter said evasively
Zatanna frowned at that before deciding to let the subject drop… for now
The two sat there in tense silence before Peter spoke "So what brings you down here aside from telling me something that Kaine, Felicia and even to some extent Bruce are telling me?"
"I was going to ask if you're up for another ritual to help even out your Tantric and Chaos reserves before heading out in a few days" the mistress of magic said
"Yeah, might as well. Don't need to go through another episode in the middle of rescuing the Titans" Peter said as he stood up and followed the woman to the chamber they first used when he came back from the Ultimates's less than stellar mission to retrieve the Kryptonite "Last thing I need is Cassie to see me like that..."
…
Several days later…
Peter thought that Superman well and truly couldn't fall any lower then he already has, but he was thoroughly proven wrong after arriving at Oracle's communications HUB for some last-minute intel on Superman's fortress for the raid tomorrow when the man of steel's face showed up on one of her monitors that showed the message was being broadcasted live around the world
"People of Earth. A war is coming tomorrow" Superman said to the camera as he sat at a table with Sinestro at his side "We did not start this war. We did not invite this war. But our world will soon be attacked by agents working for powerful intergalactic beings. These self-proclaimed 'Guardians of the Universe' seek to undo everything we've achieved"
The screen than began to show clips and images of the Justice League 'bringing peace' around the world the past several months. The overthrow of both dictators and democratically elected governments. The eradication of both terrorist cells and freedom fighters and legions of the Regime's troops marching through different capital cities and other locations around the world
"The rogue nations we've toppled. The wars we've ended. The private forces we've established as super-powered peace keepers across the globe. All of it will be for nothing if these Guardians and their Green Lantern Corps succeed. Everything we've fought for will be lost. Yes we have powerful allies-" Superman nodded towards Sinestro who still had that damn smirk on his face "-But I urge every single person on earth to join us in opposing these Alien invaders"
"You've gotta be fuckin kidding me" Peter said with wide eyes
"Fight for your world. Do not let these Aliens take your way of life from you- from your families. Get out on the streets and fight for your future" Superman finished
"That mother fuckin asshole" Peter hissed with narrowed eyes towards the now blank screen
"Did he just…" Barbara said with wide eyes
"Yep, Superman just told the world to go out there and act as a bunch of damn human shields" Black Canary said as she appeared holding her child in her arms as she stared blankly at the screen Superman was just on
"And what's worse is that there will be people who will" Peter said with a shake of his head "Christ the Green Lanterns will be hard pressed to fight both the Yellow Lanterns and the Regime with a bunch of damn civilians standing around like idiots!"
"So what do we do, it's not like we can call of the attack" Black Canary began only to be interrupted by a beeping sound to erupt from Oracle's monitor "What's that?"
The three leaned in to see what it was that Barbara received and felt their eyes widened. Peter was the one that spoke "Is that…?"
"Yeah…" Barbara said with a nod as she leaned in for a closer look and began t grin "There codes for the Watchtower communications system. I think out mystery friend on the inside just gave us the means to know the Justice League's movements before they make them"
"Finally, a break" Peter said before Zatannan appeared behind the three, four if you include the sleeping baby
The powerful mage glanced at the them with a somber expression "It's time"
Peter nodded before glancing at Dinah who was staring down sadly at her child while Barbara placed a hand on her friend's arm "Dinah, you don't have to so this. Ollie doesn't need avenging"
Dinah didn't respond as she stared at her son who suddenly awoke and gave his mother a curious expression before grinning "GIB?"
Dinah smiled at this as tears began to fall from her eyes "If I don't fight and we lose, what world would I be leaving for him?"
She than glanced towards Barbara with a serious expression "I'm going to take down Superman. I'm going to make sure Conner has a future"
"Are you sure?" Peter asked
The blonde turned towards him and nodded "I'm sure"
Peter nodded at this before glancing towards Zatanna "Zee, take us to the tower of Fate, gotta busy day tomorrow and not a lot of time to prepare for it"
Zatanna nodded before she muttered a quick spell that transported her, Dinah and Peter to the tower and have them appear before a slightly startled Catwoman and Jason
"Gah, dude warn us when you're going to just pop in out of nowhere!" the former Robin said with annoyance as he holstered his side arm
"Sorry, next time I'll be sure to send you both a voice mail and a text to let you know when and where exactly I'm going to have Zee teleport us" Peter said with a roll of his eyes before glancing towards Selina "Where's-"
"AAAAAAGGGHHHH!" Bruce's pained yell suddenly echoed from down the hall
"There" the cat thief said with a snort as she gestured for them to follow her to where Batman with the aid of Alfred and Clair was having a cybernetic device attached to his back to help his spine heal
"I bet your just enjoying this" Peter snickered towards Selina who shrugged
"Maybe a little…" she said as they entered the room to see Bruce clad in his Bat suit sans the cape panting heavily
Alfred shook his head at his former ward "This will only aid in your rehabilitation Master Bruce. You're not leaving here. You still need to strengthen your spine and be aware of how fragile it is"
"Don't worry Alfred. We all know how sensible Bruce is when it comes to looking after himself. He'd never do anything stubborn and stupid that could lead to injury" Selina said sarcastically
"Why do I feel like Bruce isn't the only one she's talking about?" Peter said with a frown
Jason shrugged "Beats me"
Bruce finally pushed himself up into a sitting position and glanced at Selina "I didn't want Superman to hurt you Selina. How long are you going to hold that against me?"
"Hold what? The fact that instead of accepting my help you decided to drug me and knocked me unconscious?" Selina said with an annoyed glare
"There are so many things wrong with that statement" Clair said as she shook her head while packing her equipment
Bruce grunted as he made his way towards the handle bars that he's been using in his physical therapy. He growled in pain as he took several steps forward before speaking "They'll be here tomorrow"
"Yes" Dinah said as she stroked Conner's cheek with her finger
"Always wanted to have a team up with the Green Lanterns, just wished it was under better circumstances" Jason said as he tossed his helmet back and forth in his hands
Bruce nodded at this before glancing towards Zatanna "Are you sure there's nothing you can do?"
"Of course…" Zatanna said with a sigh "I could use magic to help you to walk. But if something happened to me, if I lost focus or something else broke the spell… you'd find yourself suddenly bat-floored"
"Soooo… shut up and heal like the rest of the ninety nine percent do Bruce. Lots of time, anger and more pain killers that medically advised" Peter said as he leaned against the wall "I mean it's your spine that was broken, not some femur or shoulder plate. This kind of injury takes time to heal, superhuman healing factor or not. Also, doesn't help it was Superman that did you in like this"
Bruce than stared at Peter "We're out of time"
Selina then helped him to the bed where he sat down slowly before switching on his commlink "Oracle. I'd like to talk to them. All of them"
"Opening channel" the red head responded
Bruce was silent for a moment before he let out a small exhale and began "The war is coming. The Green Lanterns will be here tomorrow. I'm sorry… I'm sorry it has to come to this"
It was then that Peter pushed himself off the wall and began to make his way down the hall and out of the room all the while Bruce's voice echoed through his commlink "I'm sorry any of you need to fight in this war but you all know your roles. This may be our only chance to being down Superman"
Peter entered his room and steadily approached a large metal container that housed something he's been working on the past two months in preparation for the attack on Superman's fortress tomorrow. He kneeled down and opened the crate to reveal red, blue and black armored plating. He stared at the armor before his gaze settled on a small little container barley the size of his finder with a familiar black goo in it
"He has shown that he no longer values life and the murderous Sinestro Corps will be beside him"
Peter held in a sigh as he cracked open the container and let the black ooze begin to pile out and attach itself to his arm and begin to rapidly cover his body in a familiar black suit while he began to apply the armor over it
"I'm sorry that some of you won't be coming home tomorrow. And I'm sorry to ask you to say your goodbyes"
…
"To family…"
"Good luck out their sweetie" Mary Jane whispered a she hugged Ben who was clad in his Scarlet Spider suit sans the mask
"Thanks babe…" Ben said as he buried his face in her hair and held her close before kneeling down and giving his daughters a kiss "Keep your mommy safe for me okay?"
…
"To friends…"
"So first rounds on me if we pull this off" Grifter joked as he slapped in a fresh clip for his side arms before grabbing an high powered assault rifle
"I'll hold you to that" Rose said with a giggle as she leaned in and gave the man a small kiss on the cheek "Sides, best way to earn my dad's approval is to buy me drinks"
"Good to know" Grifter said as he glanced at Kaine who had just slipped on his mask "What about you, you drink?"
"Not really… but after this, yeah I think I'll have a few" Kaine said
"Good, cause I know this really great place in Pairs…"
…
"To partners…"
Eddie stared down at the white substance that was anti-Venom and chuckled "Ready for one last raid?"
"…Yes" a feminine voice responded lowly before it encompassed Brock, leaving nothing but Ant-Venom
"Heh, good" the white Symbiote chuckled before looking to see several of Gordon's men being led by Aron Cash approach him "Your boys ready?"
"Locked and loaded big man" Cash said as he shouldered his rifle
…
"To Children…"
Barbara glanced up at her father who looked too tired to be here "Dad...I-"
"It's okay Barbra… it's okay" Jim said as he hugged his daughter and rubbed her back soothingly "You did your best… that's all I can ever ask"
…
"To Husbands…"
"Promise me you'll be careful out there?" Joan Williams said as she hugged her husband
"I will, but give my life style, can't say I'll be able to keep it entirely" Jay Garrick said as he held his wife for close to thirty years close
"Heh, you know when I found out that you were still being the Flash, I was this close to taking that hat of yours and chucking it in the garbage chute" Joan said as tears began to fall down her face
"Why didn't you?" Jay asked with a sad chuckle
"Because you would have fished it out, cleaned it and gave me some heartwarming speech about why you need to still be doing this" Joan laughed
"Well I can be pretty convincing" Jay said with a nod as he pulled back from his wife and cupped her face and placed his forehead against hers "Out of all of my years with both the Justice League and the Justice Society, I can safely say that being with you was the greatest time of my life…"
"Charmer…" Joan smiled sadly
"Always…" Jay responded before planting a small kiss on her lips
…
"And wives…"
Peer paused in placing on the armored chest piece as he caught sight of a small picture of him and Diana resting on the table by his bed. He slowly lifted it up and stared at the two of them attending some auction that was showing off a wide variety of ancient Greek and Roman artifacts. It was there that Peer took the plunge and asked her to marry him…
He flipped the picture around and read what Diana scribbled on the back the day it was taken
'Out of all of the things I've seen since coming to Man's world… you're the most Amazing
Love, soon to be Diana Parker'
"And of all of the things I've seen since becoming Spider-man… you're the most wonderful" Peter said quietly before placing the image down and reached for the armored gauntlets and placed them before reaching for the last bit of his armored suit, the belt and slid it on.
He then glanced down at his helmet as his face was finally covered by the symbiote before reaching down and placing it on with a click and started up his suit's systems and ran a quick diagnostic
"Tomorrow the tyranny of Superman will be ended by all of you. And I'm sorry that I can't fight alongside you"
"Nice armor…" the voice of Felecia spoke up behind Peter, causing him to turn to see the cat thief leaning against the doorway with a grin "Ready to go kick some ass?"
Peter nodded "Yeah, just need to get a few things before we head out"
"Already covered" she said as she tossed him his super pills before kicking off the wall "Come on, Zee's waiting for us"
Peter nodded as he followed her, pocketing the pills in a special compartment on his belt. The duo silently walked down the halls before entering the room that Peter was in just moments earlier in time to see Zatanna, holding Conner close to her, teleport Alfred, Jason, Cassandra, Dinah and Selina away to the Batcave
"Zee…" Peter nodded towards the woman who smiled sadly at him
"Nice suit…"
"Thanks" Peter said with a nod before glancing at Bruce "Off to Oracle's?"
"Yes…" Bruce said as he stood up with a groan
"They don't know you're going there do they?" Felicia asked with a quirked brow
"They think he's staying here" Zatanna said as she adjusted her hold on Conner
"Is that so?" the cat thief said with a frown towards the caped crusader
"They think what I needed them to think. Oracle and Peter have agreed to not say anything" Bruce said
"I have, since when?" Peter asked with a frown. Seriously he doesn't remember agreeing to anything like that
"Since now" Bruce said as he finally stood up "I don't care how broken I am. I will make sure that Superman goes down!"
"Your funeral for when Clair, Alfred and Selina finds out" Peter said with a shrug before glancing towards Zatanna "The rest of the team's in position outside of New York. We're taking one of Bruce's larger planes to get the rest of the way, send me to them"
Zatanna nodded before she spoke in a low tone "Tropelet ot Wen Kroy!"
For a moment, Peter's vision went white before they found themselves standing on a platform before a large aircraft with Cash, Grifter, Rose and the First-Born piling in as the engines began to activate
Peter was about to head to it when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to see it was Kaine
"How you holding up?"
"Fine" Peter said with a careful nod before looking around for Jay and Eddie "Where's the rest"
"Eddie's already onboard and Jay will be here in a sec-"
FWOOOSH
"Now" Jay said with a grin towards the younger man before tipping his hat off to Peter "Nice to see you with only two arms and less hair again"
Peter grunted at that before nodding towards the aircraft "Let's go, we gotta a team of superpowered teenagers to rescue and an intergalactic war to fight"
"Remember when all we had to really worry about was crime bosses and some random supervillain?" Kaine asked sarcastically
"Yeah… simpler times" Peter nodded in agreement as he, Jay and Kaine approached the aircraft that was ready to take off all the time, unaware of Ares silently watching him from the shadows
The war god grinned darkly as he watched the aircraft take off before rocketing north towards Superman's fortress "Heh, if only you knew what was coming little spider…"
He then teleported ahead of the team, eager to get a front row seat of the carnage that was about to unfold all the while wishing Diana could see what was about to unfold…
"Then again, the events to follow might very well break the poor girl and drive her to depths that even I can't begin to phantom" Ares chuckled as he glanced down at the Fortress of Solitude
…
And done
Next chapter, the war begins with the Green Lanterns arrival and Peter's team attacks the Fortress of Solitude!