Anything in Italic means the character is thinking. Anything in bold…
Back in black
Unaware of the help Batman was providing, Spider-man fought Osborn on his own glider, giving all he had. Every punch he threw seemed to do very little and the Goblin did not show any signs of tiring.
He seems even tougher than before…
Under the two fighters, pedestrians were watching the fight, either fleeing in fear or trying to take pictures. Peter could not stop thinking about the last time they fought, every second that passed made him more tired.
He was so distracted by his memories he did not dodge a punch that sent him off the glider and into a building's wall. With a maniacal laugh, the Goblin threw a bomb that Peter barely dodged, destroying the wall and slightly burning him.
Damn…He was fast before, but not that fast.
"What's wrong Spider-man? No longer capable of defending anyone?" Osborn yelled while laughing.
It is at this moment that something in Peter's mind talked.
"Let us help, we can beat him…"
He needed a second to understand, but when he understood, he almost fainted, it had returned. It's not possible…How?!
He did not have time to finish his questioning that he felt the glider smash into him and then the feeling of going through a brick wall. He was stunned for a few moments and it's only now that he felt the slashes on his sides, made by the glider's blades. He only vaguely heard the Goblin get off his glider and calmly walk to him.
"I did not think it would be that easy, you became weaker than before hahaha!"
"He cannot kill us, let us help, we will not make the same mistake again."
Peter could not believe it and he could not accept it. He slowly stood up and looked at Osborn.
"I did not believe you followed me here, but I'll never let you win, you won't hurt anyone again." And with these words he resumed the fight, despite his wounds.
With Batman…
In the Batwing, Bruce watched as he saw Spider-man getting smashed through a wall, luckily the building seemed to have been evacuated, or just simply unused, so he could finally act. He quickly flew over the building and ejected himself, letting the vehicle on auto-pilot.
I hope I'm not too late, he seemed in bad shape before I lost sight of him.
He quickly glided off the building and then smashed through a window using his grapple. When he stopped after a quick roll he immediately started to hear the fight below, he had a few floors to go down. He jumped down the staircase and used his cape to slow his fall, using his detective vision to see the two combatants. To his horror, Peter seemed to be losing, visibly suffering from blood loss.
When he arrived at the right floor he quickly ran at them and dropkicked the man in green on the back at the same moment the latter kicked Spider-man away. The Goblin fell forward, surprised by the attack.
"What!?" The Goblin yelled as he turned around.
Now that Batman saw him face to face, he could see the similarities with the Joker, except the fact that this one was far more dangerous up close.
"So finally I meet the Batman in person, not much to look at I must say."
Batman stayed silent, analyzing his opponent while looking at Spider-man, battered and weak several meters back.
I can't count on him for now, I have to do this myself, at least until he recovers.
Bruce knew he had no chance in a direct fight, so when the Goblin threw a punch, he just dodged and at the same time threw a smoke pellet on the ground. The madman blindly attacked everywhere and even threw a pumpkin bomb, unaware that Batman was merely above him. After a few seconds he laughed and threw a bomb toward Spider-man, forcing Batman to throw a batarang at the bomb to deflect it.
He felt himself being grabbed from below and smashed on the ground, making every bone in his body shake. Stopping the bomb blew his cover.
"The Bat-family is finished, so are you." The Goblin said while grinning.
With Spider-man…
He could barely see around him, all he could do was hear Batman fight his enemy, he doubted that Bruce could defeat Osborn without his help. He could barely open his eyes under his mask. He could only mumble weakly while thinking that he failed.
"Uh….not good…."
"We can save him, together."
Now Peter knew he had no choice, anyway he could get rid of it if it went wrong. Suddenly he felt a weird feeling, almost like something was crawling over him.
Back with Batman and the Goblin
Even after he managed to get out of his grip, Batman had problems dealing with someone who could fight Peter but had armor. He was giving all he had, it was obvious that the Goblin did not know any form of hand-to-hand combat, but his strength and speed made up for it.
The fight was intense and Bruce was forced to give everything he had, gadget and physical effort. Just as he was about to throw a punch he heard a low rumbling sound behind the madman. Unfortunately the split-second of distraction was enough for the Goblin to land a kick that sent him on the ground and cracked his armor. He got up quickly and looked at his opponent who lowly laughed before picking a pumpkin bomb and preparing to throw it.
Bruce braced himself for the attack but suddenly the Goblin was thrown to the side, dropping his bomb which fell on the ground before being covered by thick webbing, almost neutering the explosion but making a dust cloud.
The Goblin stood up quickly and, with a yell of rage, turned to where the blow came and was surprised to see the form of Spider-man in the small dust cloud, standing.
"Still breathing I see…I'll correct that, weakling."
The Goblin ran at his enemy and, laughing, threw a punch at the silhouette…which Spider-man blocked effortlessly with one hand. Even Osborn was petrified as the dust cloud dissipated.
Spider-man was wearing a completely black suit without any webbing pattern, his white lenses the only thing that did not change. A giant white spider symbol now covering almost his entire chest and reached in his back.
Osborn tried to release his hand but the spider-themed hero merely squeezed harder and spoke in a menacing tone.
"This ends now."
Batman had trouble believing what he saw, the second he saw the new suit he knew what happened and even if Peter had told him about the power increase he was surprised by Peter's new strength. But it's his voice that worried him.
The Goblin was no fool, he knew something happened and that he could not handle both heroes at the same time now, but before he could even think about leaving, he received a punch that cracked his chest plate and sent him on the ground several meters back.
He stared for a few moments at his cracked and bent chest plate and looked at Spider-Man, slowly walking towards him with his fists clenched.
Bruce saw this and recognized the determination and coldness the web-slinger gave off…The aura a killer often had. He had to do something, no matter how evil this man was.
"Spider-Man, stop." He said, which stopped the web-slinger in his track, almost as if he was realizing what he was about to do. This gave the Goblin enough time to whip out and throw a small bomb at Peter, grinning.
Alerted by his spider-sense, the black-suited hero merely sidestepped…and then threw a web at the bomb to send it back where it came from, wiping the grin off Osborn's face and widening Batman's eyes before the explosion sent the Goblin through a wall and falling down the remaining floors. Spider-man seemed stunned for a moment before jumping after his enemy.
Bruce stood there for a moment and then turned on his communicator.
"Alfred, did you collect her?"
"Yes sir, it was a good idea indeed to have Lucius implement a remote control function from the cave. She is safe but worried."
Batman thought about the situation for a second then continued.
"The creature that Peter talked about, it's back, it saved Peter's life but I just saw him throw back a bomb at the Green Goblin." He heard the gasp at the other end.
"What are you planning?"
"I will wait for a while, but call Lucius and tell him to finish the new project, I need a functioning device as soon as possible." He then closed the communication and went after Spider-man.
With Spider-man…
When he caught up with an unconscious Osborn, on the first floor, what he saw almost made him step back. His helmet was damaged with parts of his face exposed, the damage he did to his chest plate had been enough so that various debris that fell on him after his brutal landing pierced the armor, slightly drawing blood.
If it wasn't for his resilience, I would have killed him…Then again, I knew he would survive it.
Peter looked at his downed opponent and then at his hands, the black suit making bad memories resurface. He knew that without it he would most likely be dead, and Batman would surely be next, then Barbara. That thought alone made him want to continue hitting his enemy, but he knew that it was not right, not matter how good it would feel. He shortly heard Batman landing behind him and turned back to see his stern look.
"I'm sorry alright? I regretted it the second I did it." He knew he had to get back on his good side if he did not want to be alone on this.
"We will discuss this later, first we will hand him over." Batman said, dismissing the events for now.
"On it, I'll drop him off at the station." With those words he hoisted the battered Goblin on his shoulder and went to the nearest exit so he could swing away, leaving Bruce to his thought before he left too.
Later…
Just as he was getting near the police station, a purple vortex appeared in front of him and he had no time to turn.
"God damnit…"
He looked at Madam Web who looked at him with a stern but proud look.
"Here is the delivery, now you can bring me…" Peter choked, he just realized that his mission was almost complete, the Goblin was defeated. All that was left was finding and disposing of the serum, and he knew that without the Goblin it would be quick.
"I see from your lack of speech that you discovered your mission was coming to an end. Don't worry, I understand, go and help, but be quick, your world needs you." With these words the Goblin and Madam Web vanished and Peter found himself on a roof overlooking the Gotham River.
He sighed but soon turned towards where he knew the mansion was and began swinging slowly, taking his time to see the place and catch a criminal or two on the way. The symbiote did not seem to alter him too much, the thugs he caught on the way were not more harmed than usual, and he started to think that this time may be different.
After all, the symbiote is weak now and it knows I could reject it…Maybe it'll stay under control this time. This could help indeed.
After a while he landed on a roof, the sun slowly setting in the horizon. He thought about the last time he talked to Barbara and the way it almost ended, again because of him…
"Do not blame yourself…Osborn did it and he was punished for it. Now you have us, no longer will our enemies hurt the innocents…"
Peter slightly widened his eyes after he heard the voice but still agreed to some degree, he was now stronger and his almost effortless victory over the Goblin proved it. He looked at his arms for a second, feeling the newfound strength invigorating. He would be bullied no more.
With Batman…
He arrived in the cave, Barbara waiting for him with a worried look. He merely towered over her and gave her a stern look before speaking.
"He is fine, I lost his signal for a few moments but it came back. Worry about yourself."
"I am fine and it's not just him I'm worried about, you just fought a superhuman who defeated Spider-man before you stepped in. Are YOU alright?"
"…I am fine, like I said, worry about yourself. Prepare yourself for the encounter with your father." He turned and went to the computer the moment he finished his sentence, leaving her no time to respond.
"How is the device Alfred?"
"It will be ready soon sir, if I may ask, do you plan on Peter knowing the existence of this?"
"Not yet, not until I know for sure if the situation is out of control."
He was about to continue but Barbara cut them off.
"Am I not permitted an explanation about what happened?! Alfred told me the basics but you saw more."
Batman raised himself then turned around, as he was about to speak they heard the other hero swing in the cave and land near them.
"Whoa, the coldness of that waterfall makes me cringe, don't you have a heater or something?" he jokingly asked before noticing the look on everybody's face.
"Ok I know that pun was bad but there is no need to look at me like…" he did not have time to finish before Batman cut him off.
"Bring Barbara back to her father, I have work to do."
"Aw come on…I just swung all the way to here…"
"I have work to do. Go."
Spider-man lightly sighed before picking up Barbara and leaving the cave. Batman noticed that when he saw Peter throwing webs, he no longer used two fingers to press his web-shooters, he just made a fist and the webbing seemed to just shoot from the back of his hand.
I have more pressing matters to attend…I must learn more before I act.
He approached the computer and started to analyze blueprints of the device he was making: a powerful sonic-wave emitter, strong enough to make a human being move from the force. He knew that forcefully separating a parasite from its host could be dangerous for the host, but he had to be ready for everything. If Spider-man, in normal circumstances, could lift several tons, he had no intention of knowing the extent of his powers with that creature if he went out of control.
Alfred approached the computer and looked at Batman with worry in his eyes.
"Sir, while I am worried of the possible consequences, I do hope we will not have to use that."
"So do I, but I need to be prepared in case this creature tries to take control. I have confidence, but if you had seen the anger he displayed during that fight… I believe that he could have killed the Goblin, he almost did."
"I trust your judgment, at least he is fine now…" Alfred started before being interrupted.
"That is also strange, before he used the black suit, he was gravely wounded…That creature healed in seconds what could have been mortal injuries. I do not want to see another hero change sides."
Meanwhile…
Peter swung toward the station, enjoying the new speed and ease as he held Barbara with one arm. He felt wonderful, even if he knew that it was the symbiote that made him feel this way.
"We are grateful that you are not rejecting us…"
Peter was slightly startled for a moment and almost forgot to throw another web. He focused and realized for the first time that the suit was actually submitting…Maybe this would be different than last time.
In his arm, Barbara was thinking the opposite, she could barely accept the idea that a living creature was currently being worn as a suit.
"Spider-man, are you sure that during the day you should appear…like that?"
Peter was a bit startled and Barbara could have sworn that for a moment one of the lenses on his mask actually raised itself while the other shrunk a little, which would have been hysterical if not for the fact that said lenses were part of a living being. It took a few moments for Peter to answer.
"You're right, but you'll be in for a surprise once we reach the GCPD." His tone made Barbara question his seriousness.
"More seriously though, what is this thing exactly?" She knew that the answer to that question may not be something she would like.
"Well…to make it short it is alive" Peter said in-between swings "And it feeds off me, but it gives me new powers and enhances those I already have." That last bit had Barbara worried but she pressed on.
"Ok…now could you tell me what exactly happened in that building?" If she didn't have all that training, she would have yelped as Peter almost missed a swing. She then felt more than saw the doubt get into him.
"You remember what I said about the person the Goblin killed? Well he intended to do the exact same to you. I could not let that happen again…" He hesitated for a second before continuing. "He seemed stronger than before and a moment of distraction was enough for him to wound me, stabbed me in the sides with the glider." She slightly gasped.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah yeah I'm fine let me finish." Barbara was surprised by his tone but let it slide.
"Batman arrived to help and I was too weak to continue fighting. It was then that I heard the symbiote calling to me." He made a small pause and she saw his "eyes" narrow a little. "I had no choice but to accept it, without it I have no doubt that he would have hunted all of you down…"
Barbara was about to answer when suddenly Spider-man jumped from his web and landed on a roof close to the station. He let her go and then stood in front of her.
"Now for the surprise I was talking about." He said with an amused tone before his suit started to shift and, before Barbara stunned sight, suddenly changed colors and shape to look like his original suit, the only reason Barbara could see the difference was because she could see that light seemed to reflect more on this suit than the original.
"Neat huh?" Peter asked before realizing that the look on Barbara's face was not one of awe and more one of worry.
"You don't feel any different? If that thing lives off of you, what happens if it gets hurt?"
He had to pause for a second before answering.
"Well, it hurts me as well in this case, but the chances of getting hurt with it are slim for me." Spider-man said.
Barbara was a little bewildered by his sudden overconfidence but since he said it she assumed it had to be true to some extent.
"In any case, I wanted to say sorry for leaving earlier you…It's my fault they took you away. I shouldn't have left…" Peter started before being interrupted.
"Don't you dare." Barbara said with her voice raised. "No one expects you to be everywhere at once…and I don't blame you for leaving like this. I can't ask Spider-man to abandon the city to watch over me." She added with a small smile.
Peter smiled behind his mask, relieved and slightly flustered. He merely picked her up and lowered her to a nearby alley so that it would look a little more normal. He turned around and prepared to throw a web but stopped.
"I must warn you, when we get rid of that serum completely, I am leaving."
"What?" Barbara said after a second.
"I was…sent here to help with this. After the serum is gone I will return home."
She was saddened by the news but not surprised, it made sense. She reacted swiftly when she saw him throwing a web and starting to jump. She still had some questions.
"Wait!"
He stopped mid-jump and turned back on another web, hanging upside-down in front of her.
"How did you find me?" She could almost feel his awkwardness at her question and it was admittedly funny.
"I kinda-sorta infiltrated the Penguin's lounge to talk to him and interrogated a few goons, including those who took you in the first place, to learn about you, that's when I knew it was Penguin who had you. When the signal from the tracer led me to you, I basically went through the place to find you."
"Impressive, not many strangers can talk to Oswald himself without consequences."
"Well what can I say, I have natural charm and I knew he hated Bruce."
She raised a brow at that, she did not know he was good at that sort of interrogation, he was not really discreet after all.
"I did not stop my patrols though, when I had nothing to go on I continued helping people. Even though I would be lying if I said it wasn't eating me from the inside. I also recovered a picture of you and your dad in your house, your dad has it." He knew he was rambling but he felt like he had to speak up, not knowing that the symbiote was partly responsible for his sudden forwardness.
"You went in my house?"
"Yeah…I found it on fire and I found the picture after getting your father out and searching for you in the flaming house."
Barbara was not aware that it was Peter that got her father out of the house, she thought firefighters had arrived. It surprised her, but not as much as his next words.
"Also, I want to say something about what you said to me before. I never abandon my responsibilities as Spider-man, if you had any idea the number of classes I missed or the number of dates I had to leave because something happened nearby." He only realized the way he worded it after he said it and his "eyes" grew slightly bigger for a moment.
Both were staring at each other, not really knowing what to say. The symbiote being the only thing that prevented Peter from fainting from the amount of time he spent upside-down. Barbara spoke first, a wave of conflicting emotions controlling her.
"I did not know you were so determined last time we spoke. I guess I was used to seeing other heroes being loose with their duties. And if we are saying things that would be lies…It was would be a lie to say that I was saying the whole truth the last time we spoke." She tensed and prepared for his reaction, after all he may not be ready to forgive what happened.
Peter had absolutely frozen in place, only his spider-sense prevented him from releasing the webbing and fall on his face. He felt some sort of small shock in his body that got him back to reality. What came out of his mouth was a mumbling mess that only amused Barbara.
"Well…it is…huh…nice to…huh…know that you…" He was silenced by her putting a hand on his mouth.
She was happy he was not resentful, but she had to make sure of something.
"When you leave, is there a chance you could come back sometime?"
"I…I will be honest, I don't know."
She said nothing for a few moments then slightly nodded before speaking.
"Then I guess it would be foolish not to admit it. It's better to accept it, especially if it will not affect our responsibilities." Peter said absolutely nothing as she slowly lifted his mask just over his mouth, the symbiote following her movement to give the illusion of normal cloth. It took several seconds before he started properly responding to the kiss which lasted several seconds before the need for air made Barbara stop.
"Wow…" was the only response Peter could muster as she lowered his "mask" back. Just as he was about to continue they heard sirens in the distance.
"We'll talk about this later alright?" She whispered.
He nodded before throwing another web and swinging away towards the sounds.
After a few seconds of staring at the direction he left, Barbara crossed the street and went to the GCPD. When her father answered she could not utter a word before he pulled her in his arms in relief.
"Welcome back Barb." He said before releasing her after a while.
"Hi dad." She answered, smiling.
"I would thank god, but I was informed recently and I think that the ones I should be thanking are elsewhere saving people."
She smiled lightly and followed him inside the building.
"From what I saw earlier, it would seem you changed your mind."
She blushed a little in embarrassment, not because of what she did, but because she was so caught up in the moment she never knew they were being watched.
"Don't worry, I won't tell and I don't judge, I must say that for once I approve of your choice even if he is quite unique."
"Yeah, he is…" Was the only thing she could respond to that.
Author's note:
It's been SO LONG! I never forgot about this story but life caught up with me and every time I had time to write more, either something came up or writer's block crushed me. I said in an earlier chapter that I was not giving up on the story and I stick to my word. Updates may be scarce but I'll never give up a story.
