-Downtown Gotham City-
It was a surprisingly peaceful night for Gotham, a rarity that most were taking the time to enjoy. However, the peace wouldn't last long. High above the city there was a streak of gold and black, darting through the sky. It came to a halt hovering above an old storage facility. The figure could now be seen.
He wore a black bodysuit, with a gold running from his midchest to his hips. Gold streaks adored his arms and the backs of his hands. On his head he wore a gold helmet with black bug-like eyes and antenna-like protrusions on either side of his head. However what would draw an eye was the large jet pack strapped to his back. Black and gold looked a lot like an insect's rear end.
"Gotham Stop and Store, never would have thought a dump like this would be worth so much." The man said, pointing his arms at the four rows of buildings before unleashing jets of fire. He ensured that every inch was alive with flame, he heard the sirens in the distance, but didn't care. He would be long gone before they got here.
"Gotham will belong to Firefly." He smiled under his helmet before taking off at high speed as the sun began to rise over the flames.
-Slums of Gotham City-
Liam stood on the top of the store doing stretches. He had gotten used to his new super strength and his reflexes. But Jack had told him that he needed to explore and see what other abilities he possessed. He started off by shadow boxing himself, doing what he had seen in more than a few movies that had to do with fighting and his own experiences. Once he had warmed he made sure to look in all directions. When certain no one was looking he got a running start and jumped from the store and landed flat footed on the side of the nearest building.
He took a moment to find his balance, the whole standing on walls thing was taking some getting used to, but he still felt a little more confident as he began to run up the side of the building. Getting to the top he pushed off the edge and flipped forward landing on his feet. To think not that long ago he would have been mad to even try a front flip.
"Though, if I'm going to do the whole crime fighting thing, I need a better way to get around. Wonder if the old man knows how to make one of those grapples Batman had? Can't have him drive me to crimes." Liam muttered to himself staring out at Gotham which in the day time really made for a wonderful view.
He was beginning to relax, trying to think of better ways to get around when his phone rang. Looking down, he saw it was Jack and answered.
"Where are you kid!?" Jack asked as soon as he picked up.
"And good morning to you too, sleep alright?" Liam asked with a smile.
"Not the time for pleasantries kid, seriously where are you?"
"Well if you're at the shop then I'm across the street, and roughly fifty to sixty feet above you."
"Get down here, I want to test those reflexes of yours before you have to get ready for your first day at your new school."
"Oh right, that's today I'm on my way down, give me a few minutes." He said before hanging up, he had forgotten that this would be his first day at Gotham Academy and even now, he felt nervous.
Liam was used to the rough and slightly crazy shadows of the lower to middle class world of Gotham. He had only been acquainted with the upper class by what he saw on the news and the things he heard some people say about them, as well as when he picked the pockets of some of those rich folks. But since he had chosen a new path in life, he had to buckle up and live up to his new responsibilities. He jumped down the side of the building and started crawling down. He'd gotten used to his new sticky powers after a long series of trials. It had become almost second nature when he was doing it.
Liam entered the antique store and spotted Jack sweeping the floor with a broom.
"So, what do you want me to do?" Liam asked.
Almost like lightning, Jack swung the broom at Liam's face.
The ringing in Liam's head gave him a heads up. He moved his head backwards, avoiding the swing. He regained his footing just as Jack went in with another swing with the broom. Liam jumped over the swings, knocking one a vase from the display off its perch.
"Don't let it fall!" Jack called out.
Liam snatched the vase before it reached the ground. He placed the vase back on its perch, before turning to Jack once more.
"What the heck man!" Liam claimed.
"You must get used to this new sensation! Learn to trust this sense, but don't become dependent on it." Jack explained as he thrusted the brood at Liam once more. "So, for this training, you'll dodge all my attacks and prevent anything from falling from the stands."
"This is too much for so early!" Liam said, ducking under the broomstick.
Jack kept on attacking him with jabs, smacks and sweeps. He wasn't going to let Liam out of his sight unless he was ready.
"Yeah, I'm sure the kind of men and women you're fighting will care so much about how tired you are!" Jack said sarcastically, jabbing the broom at Liams face and then twisting it to knock another object off the shelf.
Liam slid under the broom jab. His eyes snapped as he saw a small statue fall from its stand and a crystal ball falling from its stand on the other side of the stand. He reached out with his right hand, catching the statue. He stretched out his left leg, missing the crystal ball by an inch. Liam's eyes snapped wide. He reached out with his left hand, trying to catch the crystal ball. However, something came out from his wrist.
A line of what at first looked like thin white silk shot out. It hit the crystal ball and both stuck to the wall, dangling about a foot off the ground. This development made, both Liam and Jack freeze in surprise.
"What the hell came out of my hand?" Liam asked, looking at his wrist.
"I think that it is a web strand." Jack said, looking at the silk shot on the crystal ball. "I think this is another one of your abilities. Come here a moment, let me see your wrists."
Shrugging, Liam walked over as Jack set the broom down, and took his wrists in his own hands. It didn't take either of them long to notice the change. At the very base, where each wrist met his hands, were large circular white area's. When they each looked closer, they could just see small exit points.
"Interesting, well kid looks like you have more to learn about your powers. I must say I had wondered if you would develop webbing." Jack said off handedly with a small smile on his face.
"Wait, so this is Spider silk?" Liam asked, examining the web on the wall.
"Your own version of it, but yes it appears to be. Guess we should be glad you're shooting it from your wrists, not anywhere else huh?" The older man chuckled.
"That doesn't make me feel much better." Liam snapped, pointing his hands at Jack's feet.
It was an involuntary action, but it triggered the web. It shot out straight at Jack's shoes, sticking him in place.
"In my defense, I didn't mean to do that." Liam said after a pause leaning down to try and pry the webbing off, which it seemed to fight against. He was surprised this stuff was stronger and stickier than it looked.
"Well, I should be able to pry it off given enough…" Liam began looking up at Jack and catching sight of the clock behind him, "Oh shit! Sorry Jack I need to go get changed into my uniform and out the door before I arrive late to my first day!"
Liam ran up to his room, leaving Jack to struggle against the webbing.
"I do hope that this doesn't become a constant running gag." Jack grunted, pulling his shoe out of the webbing.
-Gotham Academy-
Liam had arrived early, and was now staring up at an enormous front building. If he hadn't known better he would have sworn this was a manor not a private school. It went over the surrounding buildings even from behind the large stone gates that surrounded it. He knew that this was just the main building, there was a lot more to see, but he felt very distinctly out of place, even dressed in the proper uniform. It was as though he had stepped into a different world altogether. The people that went to this school had never faced any of the hardships that he or the other children of the slums had gone through. He felt like a spider amongst butterflies, having to climb up while everyone else just flew up.
He was feeling a small bit of resentment for the students around him. A sense that wasn't helped by the boy who's shoulder barged into his backpack, knocking it off his shoulder and causing some of the contents to spill out.
"Watch where you're standing kid." A voice said in a condescending tone. Liam looked up from his bag, to the other boy in question.
The boy was around Liam's age and was around his height. He had fair skin with short brown hair, with a smile that said 'I'm better than you and you better get out of my way'. He wore the academy's uniform like a born right that was given to him. Liam didn't know the guy's name, but he knew that this was the kind of person that he hated.
Normally, Liam would have pushed back the entitled jerk. But he was trying to turn a new leaf. So all he did was pick up his stuff and get back up.
"Sorry, I'm new here." Liam said.
"Wait, you actually intend to start here? I didn't know the Academy started offering hand outs." The other boy responded, getting a laugh from a few of his friends behind him. Liam's patients only stretched so far, and this guy was pretty good at pushing them to the edge.
"Really, Howard? Picking on the new kid right from the start?" another voice asked, causing Liam to turn towards it. "You know that there is a limit to how low you can go. I expected more from the heir of Power Industries."
"Power Industries?" Liam muttered, remembering the weapons that had been auctioned off by his father.
The owner of the more delicate voice was actually a girl. She was around his age and only a few inches shorter than him. She had caramel colored skin with blue eyes, black hair that reached past her shoulders and wore the academy uniform like it was a privilege. She walked like an educated young lady, but had the wit of someone that had been on the streets and taken care of a good chunk of lowlifes.
Liam couldn't help but feel like she was quite fetching.
"Tamara Fox, you know that your father's boss is supposed to be the charitable one? You don't need to stand up for someone who won't last a week." Howard said.
"And I thought that your father was the only snake in your family." Tamara replied, getting a snicker from Liam.
Howard shot a glare at him, but said nothing instead schooling his face into what he clearly thought was a winning smile, but came off more smug than anything else.
"Oh come on Tamara, no need to be that way. Tell you what, I'll back off and then after school today you and I can go get dinner and forget this ever happened." Howard said, offering his hand out to her.
"Thanks for the offer, but I think I would sooner have dinner with Man Bat." Tamara said with a smirk of her own as Liam snorted again and tried to pass it off as cough.
"Got something to say street urchin?" Howard demanded.
"Oh! Urchin, that sounds like it was a big word for you, must be proud." Liam retorted. "I'm pretty sure you don't even know what half of those words mean."
"You get one person to stand up for you out of pity and suddenly you have a backbone huh?"
"I didn't need anyone to stand up for me! I was trying to be polite. You however, have the tenderness of a rattlesnake." Liam replied, giving Howard a glare that used to give him respect back when he lived in the slums. "So, back off."
Howard recoiled at that claim. He then just scoffed at Liam, turning away.
"You are not going to make the week, street rat." Howard said, walking away.
"You're a real cherry bunch aren't you?" Liam asked, glaring at Howards retreating back before running a hand through his hair. He was beginning to think this was going to be more of a headache than he would like.
"I really hope that you won't judge us all by Howard." Tamara said, stepping up so she stood beside him before offering her hand out for him to shake, "I'm Tamara Fox by the way, welcome to Gotham Academy I can show you around if you want?"
"Liam Dupin, thanks for showing me around." Liam said, shaking her hand.
"No problem G.A is a big place it's easy to get lost, since you're new let's start at the office so we can get your schedule and then we'll work from there?" She offered.
"I have no better plan. Lead the way." Liam shrugged.
As Tamara took him through several hallways and a courtyard, showing Liam the different parts of the academy. She took the time to speak of the school's history and the kind of people that had graduated from the school. From diplomats and lawyers to artists of great renown and politicians had made their way through the halls of Gotham Academy. Tamara did her best to make the school sound like one of those that looked for greatness in their students, instead of the money from their parents.
"Wow, that's one hell of an alumni list, makes a guy nervous about coming here." Liam admitted.
"Yes, many do get wobbly legs when they hear the story of the school. But I can assure you that you don't need to feel put off." Tamara explained. "Everyone here is just another student and the faculty do all that they can to help the student body to reach their full potential."
"You sound pretty confident, I mean weren't you nervous coming here?" He asked as he was handed his schedule.
"Yeah, a little bit, but I got over it. You will too just have a little faith in yourself." Tamara said looking over his shoulder at the sheet in his hands and smiling, "If it helps we have the first few classes together, assuming I don't annoy you that is." She chuckled.
"Usually I'm the one that annoys people. But challenge accepted." Liam replied with a cheeky smile. "Lead the way."
"Right this way." Tamara said with a small giggle, leading Liam to their first class of the day.
Tamara led him to their first class of the day, as they entered the class Liam froze in surprise. This classroom was nicer than any room in his old school. The chairs were clean and organized like a large chess board, the books were all clean and in good condition, and the students were all sitting and talking without swears and with their uniforms pressed and proper.
Liam felt a little bit under dressed and under prepared for what was about to happen. His nerves must have shown on his face, because, just as he was starting to question whether or not he had made the right choice yet again, Tamara placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down, you got this. Let's find you a seat, class starts soon." She warned.
Liam scurried over to the seat that was right next to the one that Tamara chose. He didn't want to stand out, so sitting with another student was probably for the best. He opened up his notebook and pulled out his pen. He could already feel like his fingers were turning to wet noodles, and class hadn't even started.
'I can, probably do this.' He thought to himself as the bell rang and class began.
-Gotham Academy End of School-
Liam felt better, not one hundred percent better, but better. The classes were exhausting, but not overly so, though he had been surprised to be given a laptop to help with homework. Which was good, because he now had a small mountain's worth.
"You know, I am starting to think that the real danger here is to my back." Liam chuckled adjusting his backpack up, which now looked about double the size it had been.
"You get used to it, after you get all the school programs in, you'll have way less books to take home." Tamara said matter of factly holding up her own much smaller bag.
"Good to know, thanks for helping me out today Tamara. You don't know how much I appreciate it." Liam said. "If there's anything I can do to pay you back, just say so."
"Okay, how about you meet me at the gate in the morning tomorrow?" She offered.
"That's it?" Liam asked, confused.
"Yeah, that's it. You're pretty fun, and besides if you don't, how will you avoid getting lost again?" She smirked as a car pulled up beside her and opened its door.
"Hey, I would have found my way around without you, eventually." He admitted sheepishly which just drew a giggle from her.
"Oh, I'm sure. Need a ride, we have room." She offered.
"Thanks, but I'm not going too far, besides I don't want to impose. You've done more than enough for me today."
"Okay, if you're sure, but the offer stands, if you ever want to take me up on it. See you tomorrow Dupin try not to throw your back out." she chuckled getting in as the car drove away.
Liam watched it go with a small smile on his face. As it rounded the corner, he turned to head in the opposite direction and saw Howard Powers glaring at him from where he had been about to enter a limo. Liam just smirked, gave him a small sarcastic salute then flipped him off and headed towards the nearest secluded spot. Today, had been fine, but hopefully it was about to get even better.
Once he was sure he was as alone and unwatched as he could be, he sat down his bag and opened the biggest pocket of it. He pulled out a red and dark blue leather jacket, pulling the jacket on he pulled a set of red gloves from the pocket as he buttoned the buttons along the right side. There was a small black spider on his chest and a larger rounder red one on his back. From his other pocket he pulled a red mask with white lenses surrounded by a black border.
Stretching a bit he hid his bag away before leaping high into the air landing on the wall and heading for the roof. He landed and looked around glad the lenses he and Jack had managed to find worked as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. He kept his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary, noticing a few people pointing at the red and blue clad figure they could see on the rooftops. He paid it no mind, the whole point hadn't been stealth after all.
He began to think about earlier today back at Jack's shop and the webs he had shot earlier. He needed to figure out how those worked. After all Spider could swing on their own webs, he was pretty sure he would be able to as he landed on another building and stared across the street at a taller building than at his wrist.
"Okay, so maybe it's a thought thing?" He muttered pointing his arm out at the other building and thinking hard about shooting web, and nothing happened. He tried again with the other hand and still nothing.
"Well that rules that out, maybe it's a muscle or something then?" He pushed each of his fingers to his palm. And then he pushed his middle and ring fingers to his palm. The web shot from his wrist and across the street, catching him off guard enough he immediately let go causing a small web line to hang from the other building.
"Guess that did the trick." Liam said, grabbing hold of the web strand. "Alright, time to test how strong it is and how I can swing it."
Liam walked back slightly, holding tightly onto the strand. He took a deep breath.
"Just like a swing in the park." Liam said to himself.
He took in a deep breath, grabbing hold of the webline with both hands. He pushed himself off with his feet, letting the wind hit his covered face. He let out a loud cheer as he swung through the air. He felt the pull of his body along with the webthread that held him up. Liam's eyes analyzed the world around him, it all felt like a movie. He spotted the street getting closer to him. He started moving his legs, hoping to hit the ground running. But instead, an instinct told him to pull himself upwards. He pulled himself up with his super strength. Liam swung upwards into the clear skies of Gotham, letting out another cheer.
"This is awesome!" Liam called out.
He fired another web strand from his other wrist, hitting another building. He pulled himself in that direction, swinging like a kid on a swing. Only that he was many feet higher than any kid swing. He slowly began to get into the rhythm of swinging with his webs. Liam's spider sense was telling him where to aim his webs. This was something that he'd have to get used to, but Liam was loving the great sense of freedom this gave him.
"I am never gonna get tired of this!" Liam cried out.
Just then he heard an explosion coming not far from where he was swinging. He turned to the side, seeing fire and black smoke coming out from Gotham General Bank. He was so distracted with the scene that he crashed into a building. He pulled himself off of it before swinging towards the bank.
"Gotta work on that." Liam muttered to himself.
Liam swung towards the bank with ease. He now saw why Batman always had a grappling gun in hand to move outside of his other toys. He landed at the front of the bank. He then stopped one of the people coming out from the bank.
"What's going on?" Liam asked.
"There's a mad man burning the bank and everyone that gets in his way!" A woman replied.
"Get to safety, and call the cops. I'm gonna see what I can do to help!" Liam said, walking up the stairs of the bank.
"Who are you?" The woman asked.
Liam thought about it for a moment. He looked at what he was wearing, knowing that there was only one name he could use. His path to redemption would be marked by this nome de guerre.
"I'm Spider-Man." Spider-Man replied, before turning to the bank.
Spider-Man ran inside, spotting the vault of the bank being halfway melted and a man wearing a large yellow jetpack on his back.
"If you wanted to take a loan from the bank you should have made an appointment." Spider-Man said, getting Firefly's attention. "Although I would've worn a different suit. That one screams ``I'm the mascot of an indie rock band."
"Says the guy that looks like he just put his own outfit together!" Firefly snapped. "Who are you anyway, Edgier Robin?"
"I'm Spider-Man! And who might you be?" Spider-Man asked.
"I'm Firefly!" Firefly replied, firing a blast of fire at Spider-Man.
Spider-Man flipped to the side narrowly avoiding the spurt of fire, and fired a webline at Firefly who burnt it away in mid air before rushing the hero. The spider themed hero was surprised by the speed of his opponent, but thanks to his Spider Sense he ducked just in time. He looked up as Firefly turned to fire at him once more. As the pyromaniac fired at Spider-Man, he ran up the walls, avoiding the attacks with his speed and agility. He kept his eyes on Firefly as he began to formulate a plan. Brute strength wasn't going to cut it. He needed to get close without being turned into a spider crisp. Spider-Man's eyes landed on the chandelier on the ceiling. He fired a webstrand at the chandelier, pulling himself towards it, using it as cover.
"What's the matter, bug boy, can't take the heat!?" Firefly taunted.
"With a name like Firefly, do you really have the right to call me bug boy? You do know Firefly's don't actually shoot fire right? At least I'm on theme!"
Firefly actually snorted, before doing something Spider-Man hadn't expected and pelting off the ground straight towards the chandelier. His Spider-Sense went mad, as he jumped to avoid the man who managed to catch him by his foot.
"Whoa there Spider, we're just getting started!" He said before throwing Spider-Man by the foot up into the ceiling. He managed to adjust so instead of hitting the ceiling face first, his back took the brunt of the impact. He gasped for a second before Firefly used his jet pack to slam into him, taking them both up and through the skylight and high into the air. Spider-Man spun in the air, looking for a place to shoot his webs and get a better vantage point. He fired a webstrand at the remains of the bank's roof. He pulled himself back down, but before he could reach it, he was tackled from the side by Firefly.
"Not what you expected for your first supervillain fight, is it kid?" Firefly said as Spider-Man plummeted to the ground.
Spider-Man fired another shot of web, but this time it was shorter than a strand. It was more akin to a web bullet, which landed on Firefly's face.
As Firefly grunted about being blinded by the hero, Spider-Man managed to catch the flagpole.
"Man, that was a lucky shot." Spider-Man groaned, feeling the hits from Firefly. "I gotta get me a large jar for this guy before he fires at me some more."
He refocused his attention on Firefly as he managed to tear the web off his face. He glared down at him, or at least Spider-Man was pretty sure he was glaring, his helmet gave nothing away. Then he began to laugh before speaking,
"I gotta say kid, you're interesting, but I have places to be and people to burn."
"You think I'm going to let you get away!?" Spider-Man demanded preparing to leap up at him until Firefly held one of his wrist mounted flamethrowers at the buildings he hovered beside.
"I don't think you have much of a choice, kid." He said before setting both buildings on fire, by shooting through the windows. Spider-Man could hear screams from within them.
"Good luck kid, you can try to catch me or you can save them, can't do both." He said, giving a slight wave to him before shooting off into the sky leaving a yellow streak behind him as he went.
Growling, Spider-Man glared after him for only a moment before he turned to the buildings and shot a web out, pulling himself forward and crashing through a window next to where the fires had been started.
"Hello! Can anyone hear me!?" He called out into the rapidly spreading smoke and flame making his way deeper into the building. He heard screams, and as his Spider-Sense went off he reacted to a falling burnt beam.
He caught it in time before, throwing it away from him. He then turned to the side, seeing a blocked door. He moved the burning debris with ease, letting out people from inside the room. He led them to the emergency exit before heading out to find more people.
"This way! The exit is open!" Spider-Man called out, trying to find the fire alarm.
He continued to make his way through the floors, as he made it to the next level he heard someone calling out for help. Using his Spider-Sense he avoided the bit of rubble that crumbled beneath and above him. He finally found a small group of people trapped beneath some of the debris.
"Hang on! I'm gonna get you out of here!" He called out, beginning to carefully shift things out of the way. He managed to get in front of them, and one by one helped them out.
"How are we going to get out?" One woman asked, pointing to the door he had come through covered by fire. Thinking quickly he smashed out a window and shot a webline down to the street, and rapidly fired more shots to create some sort of cushion for them
Quickly attaching the other end to the most stable bit of the building he could see, he glanced over to the civilians.
"Use your jackets or shirts to slide down, trust me the lines are stable enough to hold you one at a time! Come on!" He ordered. The five people around him nodded, and one at a time used the web as a zipline until it was just Spider-Man and one remaining person.
"Come on, we can get out of here."
"I...I can't." She admitted looking back at the fire and then out the window and shuddering.
"Sure, you can. The others made it out safe and sound. You can do it too." Spider-Man said gently despite the fire around them.
"I can't I..I'm afraid of heights, okay it's the reason I have an office that doesn't look out over the city!" She declared.
"Okay, look I get the fear of heights they can be scary, but this is our only way out. I know you don't want to burn alive. We need to get out of here to avoid that."
The woman coughed and nodded approaching the edge clutching her suit jacket, "I can do this. I can do this." She muttered approaching the edge before she swayed on the spot,"I can't do this! I'm sorry I can't do this!" She said backing away.
"Alright, then I will get you down from here alright? Just take my hand and close your eyes alright? I promise I've got you." He said, offering his hand out to her. She hesitated for only a second before taking it.
Pulling her against him, and thankful his slight blush couldn't be seen he muttered, "Hold on." Before jumping from the window and into the air. The woman screamed, clutching onto him like a life line as he shot out a webline and carefully as he could from what little experience he had with his webs he brought them down and rolled her, when they stopped with her atop him, but both of them safe.
"You can open your eyes now, we're on solid ground." He said to her.
The woman looked around, sighing in relief that she was now back on solid ground.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The woman muttered as if it was the only thing she knew what to say.
She hugged Spider-Man like he was the only person around.
This was a new sensation for Spider-Man. He had never been at the receiving end of such kindness. He slowly and hesitantly patted her back.
"You're welcome. Just doing my job." Spider-Man replied, before she ended the hug.
"Sorry, I don't even know your name." She said.
"Y-You know who I am." Spider-Man replied. "Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."
"Not to be rude, but I'm going to need you to get up when you're ready alright?" He asked a bit awkwardly as she seemed to realize how they hand landed and scrambled up.
"Sorry about that." She said red in the face as she held out a hand to help him up which he took smiling a little as he saw fire trucks pulling up to the scene. However as he looked around at the rubble and smoke, he couldn't help but feel like he had failed.
If he had just beaten Firefly, as opposed to letting the fight escalet he might not have needed to save any of the people in that building. He let out a slow breath, better he had to be better. So that next time they fought he would win without getting anyone else hurt at least that was the idea. With another sigh he shot out a webline and was just about to take off when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Spider-Man, uh...thank you." One of the women who had managed to zipline down said with a smile.
"Yeah, thanks a ton we would have been roasted alive in there without you." A man said walking up and shaking his hand as the others that had ziplined down and some he had helped escape the lower levels all nodded and gave thanks.
"Well, no need to thank me. I'm glad you're all okay. Take care of yourselves alright? And you, maybe get an office on the ground floor next time alright?" He asked motioning to the woman who laughed and nodded as he swung off into the air.
"Whoa, just when you think Gotham can't get any weirder." A Fireman said watching him swing away.
"Well, at least this one seems to be pretty alright and not another clown." His partner remarked.
"Yeah, fair point, come on we've almost got this thing contained."
-Button's Emporium-
Liam arrived home, a bit later than he had expected to. He had stopped a few smaller crimes, over the course of the day, and picked up his bag, but try as he might he hadn't found any sign of Firefly. He sighed, swinging over to the window of his room and climbing inside. He took his jacket, mask and gloves off, and headed out towards the kitchen area. As he poured himself some juice and kept trying to think of ways to find Firefly Jack came in.
"You made the news kid." He said expecting some excitement, but to his surprise, Liam just looked at him, raised an eyebrow then shrugged.
"Not surprising, everyone has a phone and I tried to do what I could today." He sighed, drinking the rest of his juice as Jack turned on the news showing some footage of a small robbery he had stopped, and then cut away to reporters discussing him.
"So, Gotham City has yet another weirdo in a costume running around, how can this possibly be seen as a good thing?" A man asked with a roll of his eyes.
"That's an open ended question, this one seems to be doing good around the city. With all the dangerous people in our city, I think having a super powered hero running around can only be a help." Vicki Vale added.
"Please this Spider-Man already caused more damage to the bank than if he had just let the police deal with this Firefly, not to mention the people he put in danger!"
"You mean the people that he saved from a pyromaniac, and the building that Firefly set ablaze?" Vicki Vale countered.
"Which he wouldn't have had Spider-Man taken him down instead of letting him get out of the building! We don't need a kid with powers like this running around unchecked!"
"You're not being fully honest he…" Vickin began before she was cut off by Liam shutting the TV off.
"That's not completely wrong though is he? I let that fight spill out of control. It might not have been a long fight, but I probably wouldn't have had to save those people if I had just done better." Liam said, leaning against the counter.
"In what way?" Jack asked, and Liam told him about the short fight, and all that had happened in it.
"Seems to me you went in without a plan, then just tried to punch your way out without thinking things through. Bit you in the ass huh?"
"Sure, rub it in that helps." Liam said sarcastically, setting down his glass, his face grim, "I nearly got a bunch of innocent people killed in a burning building though."
"Then learn from this. Those that constantly win fights rarely change, while those that lose some become better to win some more." Jack explained.
"So, I should let the bad guys use me as a punching bag?" Liam asked, feeling the need to grab an ice bag.
"No. But try to think of a way to break the rhythm of the opponent, instead of just hoping that your punches will suffice. Superman can get away with a few punches because he is overpowered. You will have to struggle and plan out how to turn the fight in your favor." Jack replied.
Liam was left to think about what Jack had said. He was a good scrappy fighter, but not a seasoned martial artist. He needed to use his powers to make the fight even and outthink his opponents. He just needed to find a way to defeat Firefly and any other criminal as they came along.
"Okay, so try to get more creative and less upfront then."
"Precisely kid, not even Superman just punches through everything. A fight is just as much about using your head as it is your hands. Now, eat something, and don't forget any work school gave you." Jack added as almost an afterthought.
"Wait, homework isn't this a little more important?" Liam asked incredulously.
"It might be at times, but unless you have any idea where he went.."
"And I don't." Liam admitted glumly.
"Then for tonight, school work is more important now get to it." He said before heading down to the shop and leaving Liam to head towards his room and set to work.
-Downtown Gotham-
Firefly carefully made his way down and into a mid sized apartment. He set down being sure not to singe his carpet. He didn't want to have to replace that again.
"Stupid bug brat, almost ruined the whole operation." Firefly muttered, removing his helmet to reveal a man with long dirty blonde hair, and beard.
"Wouldn't have had the chance if you had just stayed focused on the job at hand rather than getting greedy. Aren't we paying you enough." A voice asked as a screen along the wall lit up and an annoyed looking man appeared.
"Hey, it doesn't matter, I still got the place lit up. Why do you care if I got a little more off the top?" Firefly asked.
"I care when it almost forces a refund." The other man said, rubbing his eyes.
Firefly merely rolled his eyes at the client's comment. These wannabe gangsters had no idea the risks that came with the job, so why pay him much mind.
"Look, if you don't like the way I do business, then go hire the Joker next time. Assuming that he doesn't kill you first." Firefly said. "You hired me because I'm the best when it comes to destruction and setting things ablaze. Now, pay up."
The man growled under his breath as he reached for the briefcase next to him. He handed it to Firefly who opened it up and saw that all the money was inside.
"Pleasure doing business with you." Firefly said as the man prepared to leave.
However, the man stopped as he remembered something else that came to his mind.
"Ah yes, I almost forgot. An associate of mine would like to offer you a job. He gave me the instructions to give to you." The man said, handing Firefly a letter. "There is a school that isn't very well protected and we just want to show how good some things are on the other side. Good day, Firefly."
Firefly looked at the letter and the instructions. He smiled, thinking that this next score would really let him live the good life.
-Gotham Academy-
Liam was tired as he waited for Tamara to arrive and worked on finishing his laptop set up. His head however wasn't in it. He was still thinking of what had happened the day before and the words that Jack had shared with him. Liam knew that he needed to start using his head in the fights or else, bamble all his future fights to the flip of a coin or accidentally kill his opponent with a punch a little too strong.
"You look to be very down in the dumps."
Liam looked up at the sound of the cocky young voice. He looked around, spotting a young boy wearing the school's uniform. He looked to be no older than 13 with combed black hair and a look of mischief in his eyes. He could only guess that he was from the middle school section of the academy.
"I'm just sorting some things out." Liam replied. "Can I help you?"
"I was going to ask that same thing. Name's Richard Grayson. But my friends call me Dick." Richard introduced, holding out his hand.
"I hope that that nickname isn't for some reason. I'm Liam Dupin, call me Liam." Liam replied, shaking his hand. "I just transferred here, and I'm just… getting used to things. Things are so different and yet I can't help but feel like something is off."
"I get the feeling. But that's always going on. Gotham has that way of making people and places feel darker." Richard said. "But we can only be strengthened by it or destroyed. Just give it some time and you'll find your footing."
Liam felt oddly at ease. Richard's words gave him a bit of clarity in his situation. He needed to move with the punches and make as much good as he could. And if that meant dealing with jerks like Harry or rethinking on the fly with people like Firefly then he'd do it.
"Thanks, Dick. I appreciate it." Liam said. "You are surprisingly insightful for someone that's yet to get into high school."
"What can I say, I have my moments." Richard laughed, walking away, leaving an echo with his laugh.
Liam didn't pay too much mind to the laugh of the young boy. He had his own quirks that were considered odd. But he wasn't going to say anything since his words were helpful.
"Hey Liam." Tamara said, getting his attention. "Are you waiting for someone?"
"Oh, Tamara, sorry, no. I was just clearing my head." Liam replied.
"I see that you've already met Dick Grayson. The golden boy of Gotham Academy." Tamara said. "Don't let his childish looks fool you. He is a sneaky one."
"He did seem to be up to something. But there's no harm done. Wanna walk to class?" Liam asked.
"Sounds like a good idea. They do say that walking with an intelligent fellow will help become better." Tamara said as they walked to their classroom.
"Oh, well then you might have just shot your grade point average in the foot." Liam said sarcastically.
"Doubt it." She shot back as they set off into the halls.
As they walked away, they didn't see Richard Grayson taking a picture of Liam as he walked away. He looked at the picture wondering what was so interesting about him and just what his guardian wanted him to keep his eyes out for.
"Really, Dick. Taking pictures from the corner?"
Richard turned to see a young woman with long red hair and fair skin.
"Relax, Babs. I'm just keeping an eye on the new kid." Richard replied.
"Still. Can't you do it in a way that isn't creepy?" Barbara asked.
"Right, because the commissioner's daughter can't have fun." Richard replied.
"I can have fun, but taking pictures of people without them knowing feels a little stalkerish." She pointed out looking over his shoulder at the picture.
"It's not like that, just curiosity." Richard said carefully tucking his phone into his jacket pocket, "Come on, we need to hurry or we'll be late."
"Smooth subject change there genius. We'll come back to this."
"No we won't." Richard shrugged before setting off at a brisk pace.
On the other side of the hall, Harry Powers glared at the departing backs of Liam and Tamara, he just had to wait, Dupin would drop soon enough. He had to, he simply didn't belong and they all knew it. Dupin wasn't part of their world, he could only be part of it if he took whatever scraps he could find. Harry had already wasted enough time thinking about the charity act of the week, he had places to be.
The rest of the day continued on as normal. Liam and Tamara shared a few classes and had their respective strengths and skills to help them through their time at school. Things were good, and it helped Liam clear his mind and settle on a course against the new challenges of his life. He did get some glares and jokes thrown his way by Harry and his goons, but he paid them no mind.
The bell rang through the halls, signalling that it was lunch time.
Liam made his way to the cafeteria, hoping that there wouldn't be a long line for the food that they were serving. Sadly, there was a long line in front of him.
"Great." Liam muttered, getting in the line for the food.
He waited in line like many other students. He finally arrived at the selection of food, and he found the last chocolate parfait.
"Oh yes." Liam said, grabbing it.
Things were going great for Liam that day. Which is probably why he should have known that it couldn't last even as he snatched up the parfait and took a seat beside Tamara his Spider-Sense went off. He froze, looking around. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, just others talking as they ate.
His gaze swept over the whole room, nothing still, but his Spider-Sense wouldn't calm down.
"Liam, are you okay?" Tamara asked, noticing her friend's odd behavior as he kept looking around.
"Yeah, I'm fine I just need to go get something out of my locker." Liam said, standing up and snatching his bag from beside him.
"You sure you're alright man, you do look a little pale." Richard said, making Liam notice him and a girl with long red hair for the first time. He nodded, not wanting them to get suspicious.
"I'm fine, forgot something is all, I'll be right back." Liam said, making his way to the cafeteria door.
"Well, that was kind a weird, huh Dick?" Barbara began turning only to find Dick had gone seemingly without a trace, and sighed, "I hate it when he does that." She muttered to Tamara who nodded still watching Liams departing back.
Liam burst through the doors of the cafeteria, following his Spider-Sense to find what he wasn't sure. However, he got his answer when he rounded a corner and the fire alarms began to go off.
"Attention, all Gotham Academy students are to evacuate the building. A fire has broken out in the main library. Please evacuate in an orderly fashion." A computerized voice said oddly calm as behind him he could hear the other students in the cafeteria start to yell and head towards the door.
'A fire? In the Library? That doesn't add up.' Liam thought about slipping into a bathroom to avoid anyone seeing as he pulled his Spider-Man gear out from his bag. It had to be connected, and he was going to find out what was really going on.
-Gotham Academy: Library-
Firefly glided around the library firing off blasts in each direction as he flew through the high ceilinged room after melting his way through the roof.
"I never was one for reading!" He called out as the librarians yelled and scrambled to the emergency exits.
"Aw, what's wrong? Don't want to show me around!" He called sarcastically after them as he flew towards and burst through the doors that lead to another wing of the school.
"Remember Lynn's they want the damage done, only a few casualties for effect. Don't go overboard." A voice said from within the comm in his helmet.
"Yeah, yeah don't tell me how to do my job." Firefly muttered, gliding through the halls and shooting off spurts of fire before seeing a retreating few students at the end of the hall.
"Sorry, boys and girls, nothing personal, just business!" He called out flying towards them and holding out his flamethrowers. The teens all screamed, but before he reached them he felt something slam into his side and wend him skidding down an adjacent hallway.
"Get out of here now!" A voice called out to the teens as Firefly looked up and found Spider-Man standing at the other end of the hallway crouched and glaring at him.
"Hey! Bug boy! Nice of you to drop in and join the party! I meant to burn out a few vermin. You would just be icing on the cake."
"Sure I would be, too bad you don't stand a chance, or that might actually be threatening." Spider-Man responded with a shrug.
"Oh, I am going to enjoy roasting you."
"Come and try it then." Spider-Man said while internally looking at Firefly and the area over, he noticed the small tubes that seemed to run from each of Firefly's arms to the jetpack on his back.
'Some kind of fuel source, probably. Maybe it amps the fire he can make naturally? Or maybe it provides him the fuel to make any fire at all. Eitherway, unplugging the source can only help. I just need to keep him in a smaller space away from others. Hopefully once he's out of fuel, he'll be easy to take down.' He thought squaring up as Firefly got to his feet.
Down the hall, Richard Grayson crouched behind a corner eyebrow raised. When Bruce had told him to keep an eye on Liam Dupin, he wasn't sure to what end it had been this hadn't been something he had considered watching Spider-Man and Firefly square off at school.
'Hang back, wait and see if he needs help before you step in.' Dick reminded himself as Bruce's voice seemed to echo in his head as he thought it. "I do hope you don't get roasted, dude. Literally."
Back in the fight Spider-Man was ducking under the fiery blasts. He kept his eyes open for any opening that Firefly could have. With his speed, the spider themed hero was running circles around Firefly as he fired with little care. He fired a web ahead of him, shooting himself forward ahead of where the villain was flying. Before Spider-Man could give the villain time to react, he shot another web and pulled himself forward, landing a strong punch to the villain's chest.
Firefly plummeted to the floor, holding his chest in pain. Before he could get up, Spider-Man fired two webshots at his hands. The arsonist snapped his head as Spider-Man landed on top of him, pinning him to the ground.
"You look a bit on the dumps buddy, maybe you should read a good book. Oh wait, you burnt them!" Spider-Man joked.
"Wanna play it like that, kid?!" Firefly snapped, activating his jetpack. "Let's play!"
Firefly shot himself up from the ground, pulling himself out from the ground.
Spider-Man was knocked off from the arsonist's body. He quickly got back to his feet and fired two weblines at Firefly's arms. His webs clogged the wrist mounted flamethrowers as he pulled the villain back. Spider-Man was now caught in a battle of strengths with Firefly, seeing who would give up first. The hero dug his feet on the ground with all his strength, to the point that he felt that his boots' heels were about to be torn off. But he remained strong as he refused to let the bad guy get away.
Firefly activated his jetpack's thrusters in hopes of getting out of that situation. But he cursed the fact that the kid he was facing was gifted with super strength. He wondered why Batman wasn't taking care of this kid. Firefly didn't want to get caught. He wanted his paycheck for his job. Was that so much to ask?
"Let go of me!" Firefly grunted.
Spider-Man perked up at that. It gave him a slightly cartoonish idea to defeat Firefly. It could blow up in his face but he didn't lose anything by trying.
"Ok." Spider-Man replied, putting off the pyromaniac.
Spider-Man released his grip on his webs, allowing Firefly to skyrocket through the wall behind him at great speed and little control.
Firefly crashed through the wall and fell down skidding to a halt back on the floor. His suit was damaged and his wrist mounted flamethrowers were no longer useful. He slowly rolled to his stomach, groaning in pain. He needed to get out of there before the cops could get to the school and arrest him.
Just then a pair of weblines attached themselves to him and pulled him back.
Spider-Man jumped in, taking advantage of Firefly's confusion. He grabbed hold of the villain's jetpack and tore off the fuel cables using his super strength.
"NO!" Firefly snapped, spinning to punch Spider-Man.
However, Spider-Man caught the punch with ease. He reeled back his left arms, balling his fist before cracking Firefly across the face with his super strength.
"That's how the spider catches the firefly." Spider-Man said. "No, that sounded a bit villainous. Lights out, Firefly! Yeah, that's better."
Firefly was completely knocked out with his mask cracked down the middle.
"I should probably tie him up." Spider-Man muttered, walking towards the downed villain.
Crouching down he ripped the jetpack off of the unconscious man and set it beside him. As he picked up the man he could hear a voice. Looking around he saw nothing nor did his Spider-Sense go off. Then he noticed Firefly's earpiece, and plucked it out before holding it up to his own ear.
"Lynns! Garfield respond damn it!"
"Wait, his first name is Garfiled, like the cat? That's kinda funny actually." Spider-Man admitted.
"What the hell!? Who are you, and what happened to Firefly!?"
"I'm Spider-Man and sorry to tell you, your friend is a bit..indisposed lets say." Spider-Man said wrapping Firefly up in a cocoon of webs as he spoke.
"You little shit! Do you know how much money you just cost us!?" The voice demanded.
"I imagine a pretty penny, but ask me if I care? Spoiler alert the answers no. I would love to know who hired him though. Have a friendly chat."
"Go to hell brat!"
"Maybe one day, but not today. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll meet sometime."
"Listen here you little…" The man began before Spider-Man tossed the comm down the hall, picked up the web cocoon and stuck Firefly to the wall dusting his hands off with a smile on his face. He looked around, before heading into a nearby classroom, grabbing it's extinguisher and putting the small fires out before they got out of hand. Then, after thinking, he smirked to himself, grabbing a pen and a piece of Paper. He wrote out a note sticking it to Firefly, nodding before heading to the nearest window and swinging out.
Once he was gone, Dick emerged from his hiding place. He picked up the discarded comm, he was willing to bet he could back track the person on the other end later. Then he headed down the hallway to where Firely hung and read the note:
This capture was brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
At that Dick couldn't help, but laugh before he too headed out to make sure people thought he hadn't been in here the whole time he was supposed to be outside.
Liam had returned to his friends feeling good.
"Liam are you alright?" Tamara asked.
"Yeah, I'm alright. I-I just got lost amidst the crowd." Liam replied. "Don't tell me you got worried?"
"Well let's just say that I don't want the only other student I like to turn into a human roast." Tamara replied. "Come on, the cops have just taken that guy away, we should head to class."
"Right behind you." Liam said.
Liam felt happy. Something he hadn't felt in what seemed like a lifetime. He'd defeated his first supervillain and was on his way to go through the rest of the school day. He felt at the top of the world as he walked past some students to his next class. He got a few looks from Howard Powers but he felt unfazed by them. Liam sat down with a smile on his face as the class began.
After school ended, Liam suited up once more. However, his suit now felt heavier as though the victory had made it carry more weight. He had to live up to the weight it carried, even if it meant getting exhausted.
Spider-Man swung through the air of Gotham, looking down at any sign of crime on his way home. As he swung through the air, he felt like he was finally in control of his fate and that he had a say in his future. He spotted a purse snatcher running with his stolen loot. He aimed a webshot at him and fired. His webline struck the criminal. He pulled the criminal back, stopping him. Spider-Man webbed the criminal down for the police. He picked up the purse just as the lady owner of it came running.
"Here you go ma'am. Please be more careful." Spider-Man said, giving back the purse.
"Thank you sonny, but who are you?" the old lady asked.
"You know who I am." Spider-Man said, confusing the old lady. "Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"
Spider-Man shot out another webline, pulling himself back into the sky. He swung away, disappearing from sight like a cowboy from an old Western.
However, he wasn't aware that he was being observed from a nearby rooftop by a series of cameras. Perched atop a Gargoyle, Batman and Robin watched the feed, unconscious at their feet was Firefly's former middle man. As Spider-Man swung away, Robin turned to Batman.
"You know when you asked me to keep an eye on him, I gotta admit I wasn't expecting any of this. Still, you can't deny he did alright on his own."
"His methods and fighting are both sloppy. They need improvement." Batman said, hosting the captured criminal over his shoulder.
"Maybe, but still he did fine enough. If we went and talked to him, who knows what he could do?"
"Not yet. He's shown potential nothing more, I want to see how he progresses before I make an offer like that. I told you how I came across him the first time."
"Alright, I get it. I'll continue to keep an eye on him until further notice then?"
"Where possible, yes. Come on, we still need to go pay the Metropolis Academy coach a little visit before it's too late." Batman growled as they shot grapple lines out.
"Still can't believe they hired an arsonist just to make sure our team was off focus. I mean, I've heard 'winning is the only thing that matters' but this is a bit much, isn't it?"
"It is, but I've seen people do far worse for less. Besides, I think there's more to it. Maybe we'll get a few answers from our talk." Batman said before swinging off.
"Oh, poor guy. Hope he doesn't piss himself when we show up." Robin muttered before following his mentor off in the opposite direction of Spider-Man. Gotham City was nothing if not interesting.
A/N: So that's the end of chapter three hope you enjoyed it! We had fun writing this one. See you all next chapter have a good, Morning, Afternoon or Night depending one where you are!