-Gotham High Rise-
The Falcone Family's Penthouse was quiet as the door swung open and a woman swaggered in a smirk on her face. He had short black hair, olive skin and blue eyes, dressed in a suit that cost more money than most people's car's. The confidence in her step was unmistakable as she made her way to the main family office. She was late, but they wouldn't care after all they needed her. Kicking the door open she found the family waiting for her looking mildly annoyed at her entrance.
"Sorry, I'm late ladies and gentlemen, I was wrapping up my latest assignment. Bit trickier than normal." She shrugged.
"Yes, I'm sure you had your hands full, Ms. Coll. But let me remind you, once you enter our family's home you will do what we ask of you." Carmine said.
Elaine Coll didn't look like much except for a beautiful woman. She could pass for a movie star as easily as she could pass for a model or the sweet girl next door. But there was something that made her stand out, at least in the underworld. Elaine Coll was what was sometimes known as an 'apothecary', a cute name that meant an assassin that dealt with lethal poisons. She was the Falcone Family's number one when it came to taking care of a few loose ends in a more discreet manner. She stung quickly and deadly, earning her the nickname Scorpia. She didn't mind the name, although she wasn't one to draw attention to herself she enjoyed getting physical if the situation called for it.
"As long as you pay my fee, I'll make sure to keep loose ends from coming undone." Elaine replied. "Who's death certificate do you want me to sign? That's why you called me here, right?"
Carmine looked to his men and gave them a head nod.
One of Carmine's men pulled up a briefcase. He opened it before Elaine, revealing several stacks of 100 dollar bills. But on top of them there were two pictures.
In the first picture was the face of Commissioner Gordon and in the second one was the face of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne.
"Gordon has been breathing down our necks more, and more. Tonight, Wayne's holding a gala to raise funds for the GCPD, if they get a little too much funding it'll complicate some of our operations and after we lost out on the wrestling gamble's that wouldn't be good." Carmine said from his seat at the head of the table. "Take care of them, and make it look like they had a little too much to drink."
"A pity, I always liked billionaires." Elaine replied, picking both pictures and giving them a good look. "But we all have to buy the farm eventually." She added, taking the briefcase full of money.
"Don't play with your targets, Ms. Coll." Carmine reminded.
"They don't call me Scorpia for nothing, Godfather." Elaine replied before stepping out of the penthouse.
-Button's Emporium-
Liam was stretching in the living room as he pulled on his gloves, he shouldn't be out for very long. The sun would be down in just a few hours. Since his encounter with both Pantha and the Falcone underground wrestling group a few days ago, he had been trying to keep an eye on both them and any news around Gotham City. Which was why he was currently staring at the TV before patrol, as Vicki Vale spoke.
"I'm live on sight at the Gotham City luxure suites, where Billionaire Bruce Wayne is hosting an exclusive gala to help raise money for the GCPD. The famous playboy's recent interest in the law has caught a few off guard, but I'm sure it's appreciated by our men and women in blue, we'll have an exclusive interview with the man himself later tonight." She said, giving an award winning smile as it cut back to the newsroom.
"Huh, a gala? Never really understood the point of those. I mean in a place like Gotham it's practically daring someone to take a shot at you isn't it?" Liam asked, turning to where Jack sat in an armchair.
"Don't forget kid, you can't always look at the gloomy side of life. Sometimes people wanna party like it's the 1920s and let the good times roll. Plus this shows that not everyone in Gotham's elite is a scumbag." Jack replied. "Besides, my man Pennyworth is there. Good to see that he's doing well for himself."
"You know Wayne's butler? Wow. That's crazy." Liam said.
"I have a life outside of this store, you know. Besides, shouldn't you get out there and stop bad things from happening." Jack pointed out.
"Yeah, I should get going. Try not to wait up just in case, but hopefully I won't be needed too much with Batman running around soon. Think I'll head over to the gala myself. Just because it's a police function doesn't mean something won't happen." Liam said, pulling on his mask and opening the window.
"If you get the chance, tell Alfred I'd love to see him around to catch up. It's been a long time." Jack added.
"Yeah, if I can do that without exposing myself I'll see what I can do." Spider-Man said sarcastically as he shot a web and swung off into the city. He wouldn't say it outloud, but the other reason Liam wanted to check up on the Gala was Tamara had said that she and her family would be there. If anything did happen, he wanted to be sure they would be alright as well. Even if it did mean not being able to help her get away from Howard Powers.
It was no secret that Liam, like many members of the Gotham lower branch of society, didn't hold the elites with such warm regards. He more often than naught went out of his way to avoid them if he thought pickpocketing them was too much of a problem to go through. He never liked the fake smiles that they gave off or the way that some didn't even look him in the eye. Of course, he also knew that there were good people born in the lap of luxury but that didn't dissuade him from throwing a few jabs their way. In his mind, there were two examples of good elites and bad elites, Tamara and her family were the good people and Howard and his ilk were the bad ones.
As he swung through the air he shook those thoughts out of his mind. He needed to keep an eye out for anything suspicious even if it was just a simple purse snatcher. He landed on the side of the luxury hotel and stared down at the arriving men and women of Gotham, all dressed to impress, or more likely show off as they entered the gala with more jewels and expensive watches that Liam had ever seen.
'Seriously, no wonder they have bodyguards all the time, practically daring someone to try and rob them.' He thought with a small sigh as another limo pulled up and he was a bit more distracted.
First to step out was Bruce Wayne, looking just as proper and perfect as he did in every photo he'd ever seen. That however was not what drew his eye, it was the next person out of the limo. Tamara looked stunning, dressed in a dark purple dress, with a silver belt bracelet and a pair of earrings and black jacket the only compliments to her look as she stood aside for her family to get out after her.
It was only now occurring to him that he had never really seen her dressed in anything, but their school uniform which had clearly hidden a fair amount about her. Swallowing and shaking himself he watched as along with Wayne they entered the Hotel. As more guests arrived he sighed, if there was any major crime tonight it would probably be here, which meant he was right where he should be.
'Well then let's see if I can get an inside view.' He thought, climbing along the building looking for a vent or some other means of entry. About halfway down though, he found one. Pulling off the vent cover (which he webbed to the side of the building) he slipped inside and began to crawl along the vents looking for the ballroom, and coming out with a view of the kitchen.
He watched the kitchen staff make enough horderves to feed a small army. He was almost feeling guilty about having dinner before coming. He wasn't sure what people in these galas ate but some of those things looked good. Liam's eyes spotted something odd.
One of the waitresses had picked up a tray filled with food, but unlike the others she dropped a couple of drops on two of the shrimps.
'Okay, not usually one to look at what people eat, but that doesn't look like part of that horderve.' Liam thought as he followed after the waitress.
Liam kept himself hidden and out of sight, but kept his eyes on the waitress. He could tell that she wasn't one for idli circulating. Her moves were too precise and had a big reason to go where they were going. He looked ahead from where she was headed and spotted Commissioner Gordon and Bruce Wayne talking. That meant that he was going to have to save the two big birds of the gala. The question that was plaguing Liam's mind was how to do it without causing a panic.
"I must thank you Bruce, this shindig is a big success." Commissioner Gordon said.
"You don't need to thank me Jim. I'm just doing my part to help Gotham's finest. The world is changing so fast that you need all the help you can get." Bruce said.
"I just hope that I won't have to be patrolling the streets of Gotham in a large robotic suit yet." Commissioner Gordon replied, enticing a chuckle out of the two men.
"Garlic shrimp, gentlemen?" asked the waitress.
"Oh those look good." Commissioner Gordon said. "Won't you join me Bruce?"
"I could use a bite." Bruce replied.
Spider-Man was starting to panic a bit, he couldn't just let them eat it. He wasn't sure what was on those, but it probably wasn't spice. He needed proof or people would panic. He then remembered that all he needed was to get those shrimps away from them, and a small webshot will do the trick. He aimed his right hand at the tray, closing one eye to ensure accuracy. Spider-Man shot a webshot at the tray as the two men were about to grab the poisoned food.
The webshot landed on the tray, knocking the tray out of the hands of the waitress.
The two shrimps fell down along with some of the drinks that were on the table which toppled over and spilt all over them. The instant the liquid hit the shrimps they began to dissolve like a pair of Alka Seltzer pills.
The people that witnessed it were shocked at the sight.
"Goodness gracious. What was that?" Commissioner Gordon asked.
"I don't think that was supposed to happen." Bruce said, noticing the waitress walking away slowly.
"Where do you think you're going Ma'am?" A voice asked from behind her as she turned to find Spider-Man upside down hanging from a web and staring at her.
"Oh, I was just going to get more shrimp puff and something to clean up the mess! Yeah." She said trying to slide around him to no avail.
"Really, because to me it looks like you were trying to escape before everyone realises that you just tried to poison two of the most powerful men in Gotham." He said casually avoid a wild swing and snatching a vial from the jacket.
"Case in point." He added holding up the vial for the room to see. "My guess is that this isn't soy sauce or vinaigrette or balsamic vinegar. Here you go Commissioner."
Spider-Man tossed the vial to the Commissioner who caught it with ease and examined it.
"Now as for you miss-" Spider-Man began only to feel his Spider sense going off.
He spun around as the waitress swung a kick at him. He caught her foot spinning her in a small circle before slamming her to the ground, "You know an innocent woman wouldn't try to kick a hero." He said casually webbing her other leg to the ground along with her hands.
"Now, stay put I'm sure one of the many GCPD members would be happy to take you to the police station. Don't worry folks, crisis averted. All thanks to your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." Spider-Man said as Detectives Montoya and Bullock put the cuffs on Ellaine.
"Get outta here kid." Bullock growled as they took her away.
"Sheesh, save a man's boss, and a billionaire and still he gets annoyed. What's a guy gotta do to get a thank you?" He muttered only partly sarcastically as he shot a webline towards the window and made to swing off only for Bruce Wayne to step up.
"Surely, you can stop to share some food and time with us, Mister Spider-Man was it?" He asked, looking down at the hero.
"Oh, Uh no sorry Mister Wayne, but I need to get back out there. You know crime never rests, besides this sort of fancy event isn't really my style." He admitted.
Just then he spots Tamara looking at him with a bright smile. Spider-Man felt a bit proud of himself. He didn't know why or how, but he felt emboldened and ready for anything. He felt like he could stare down the Joker or any of the other crazy people in Arkham without a second thought. He winked at her. It was almost involuntary, but he did it anyway.
"See ya around fair people of Gotham. Spider-Man away!" Spider-Man said, swinging out of the gala.
As the city's newest vigilante left the scene, Commissioner Gordon was the first one to talk.
"Spider-Man away? Well, that's different. Kinda beats the mysterious vanishing acts." Commissioner Gordon muttered as Bruce smiled with an approving nod.
"Did he wink at you?" Lucius Fox asked his daughter.
"Oh, um, I'm not sure. Maybe. It was kinda cool." Tamara said, blushing with a smile.
Eliane was furious as she was loaded into the back of a squad car and driven away. She had failed! She never failed, and not just failure she'd been caught! She hadn't just been caught, she was humiliated in front of everyone present! She simmered clamming her head against the bars between her and the cop in the front seat.
'This is all that little insect's fault! If he had just kept out of it. The little shit!' She thought with a growl. This couldn't be allowed to stand, she would get revenge, but first she needed to get free.
Elaine took off her high heels before pulling in her legs. She kicked the bars between her and the cop, causing him to turn around in shock. She let out another kick, this time hitting the cop. The assassin reached for the wheel causing the squad car to spin, crashing into a fire hydrant. Her head was ringing but she didn't have time to stop. She grabbed hold of the officer reaching just barely to his belt and pulling off the key to her cuff and bringing it back through the bars. She crawled out of the squad car, taking her heels and going into the dark alleys of Gotham. Elaine always preferred to stay out of the superhero limelight, letting freaks like Batman and the Joker tear each other apart. But now it was personal. She was going to call in a few favors and make that wallcrawler choke on his own webs.
She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed the Falcone's they owed her, way too much and they had the means to get her what she needed.
'Just you wait little Spider, we'll see how you stand next time.' She thought smirking as the other end of her call picked up.
-Gotham High Next Morning-
When Liam arrived for school the next day he was surprised. Not because Tamara was waiting by the front gate, that had become their morning routine. No, what surprised him was the small group that surrounded her and appeared to be asking questions. Looking a little further behind her he saw another group gathered around Howard. Confused, he got the idea as he neared Tamara's group.
"People have been saying he's some kind of Spider mutant like Manbat! Is that true!?"
"I heard that he has six eyes and shoots webs from his butt."
"Dude, that's gross. Plus he clearly doesn't have six eyes, his mask only has two eyes."
"Maybe they're close together?"
"I could have sworn he winked at you, are you dating a superhero?" One girl asked as Tamara appeared to be overloaded with questions faster than she could answer. Liam decided to step in.
"Alright, everybody calm down. We have classes to get to, besides she can't even answer you. None of you are shutting up long enough to let her!" He called out carefully, wading through the crowd and pulling Tamara away from the group moving a little faster than needed to stay ahead of them all.
As they passed, he could hear Howard briefly: "Oh yeah, I got to talk to him and everything. Spider-Man and I are pretty much best friends now." He said Liam had to try very hard not to snicker at that as he and Tamara made it into the main building.
"Thanks for the save there." Tamara said, sounding relieved.
"No problem, you looked ready to overload, I thought you would be used to questions. I mean it's not like your family doesn't have to deal with the media." Liam admitted.
"Yeah, but even in Gotham it's not every day a new hero makes an appearance and saves people from being poisoned. People seem pretty interested in him."
"Yeah I heard that, but you didn't really interact with him did you?" He asked, doing his best to sound like he didn't know exactly what had happened.
"No, well I mean not really he might have winked at me I'm not sure it's hard to tell with the mask could just be a trick of the light." She added quickly shaking her head a little.
"Well, can't blame the guy I saw you on the news last night, you looked amazing." Liam admitted going a little red and clearing his throat.
"My my, I didn't expect you to hit on me, Liam." She said a little red, but smiling all the same.
"I wasn't just saying, you'd have to be blind not to notice you is all."
"And now you break my heart, how fiendish." Tamara replied with a mocking tear before she started giggling. "I'm pretty sure that you look good in a dress too, Liam."
"I don't think I could pull off the high heels." Liam replied just as the bell rang. "Time for class apparently. Hey, what happened to the lady that tried to poison your dad's boss?"
"Not sure, I heard that she never made it to the station. Maybe she escaped." Tamara commented.
"Well maybe she'll lay low in case Spider-Man or Batman spot her. But it be pretty stupid to stick around with those two around. She probably scurried to wherever she came from." Liam said as they entered their classroom.
-Falcone Estate-
Deep beneath the Falcone Family home Eliane was led into a large laboratory. The Falcone's had this place made especially for her and a few tech's that she had brought in years ago. Normally, this was where they tested her newest poisons and a few weapons. Today, they would do a bit of both.
"Tell me you have some designs for me?" She demanded, striding into the room and stopping in front of a small man who leaned over a large desk.
"I do actually, and you should be happy. Calling me so late last night to start working on your new project. You know that the very concept of rushing something like this is more than a little risky?" He asked turning his large tablet to face her and show off his design for her baby.
Elaine didn't pay much attention to his warnings. She was running on anger and a desire for vengeance. She looked at the designs of her new toy and smiled. She hated to admit it but the world was now going for more heroes and villains and she would be amongst the deadliest. Elaine observed the designs, loving that she'd live up to the name she'd been given.
"Well then you and your crew get to work, I'm sure you have my measurements on file. I will work on some of the more detailed aspects." She said, smirking as she made her way over to the chemical laboratory.
"Better you than me." The man muttered, sending messages to have specific parts brought to the lab.
-Gotham City: Days Later-
Spider-Man swung through the city, things had actually been mostly peaceful tonight. The sun was setting, meaning that his patrol had a few more hours before he would call it a night and head home. Just then, he heard an alarm go off up ahead. Swinging forward and around a corner, he saw a group of five sprinting away from a Wayne Industries tech shop.
"Just when you think the night's going to be a peaceful one." He muttered, swinging after them, and calling out, "Hey! I know that Bruce Wayne might not be everyone's favorite person, but that tech is actually really helpful for others."
"Oh shit, it's that Spider-Man brat!" One man called out.
"Why does everyone call me that? You don't know how old I am." Spider-Man said, landing in front of the group with his head tilted to the side. Two of the men raised their guns, Spider-Man webbed the barrels yanking them from their hands before hurling them at two more behind them, hitting them in the head and knocking them out. One of the men darted down an alleyway, as the other two now weaponless men attacked.
Spider-Man ducked beneath one man's punch before kicking him in the side. The man hit the wall and was webbed to it. As the other man tried to attack from behind Spider-Man's senses went off. Spider-Man jumped flipping in the air and landing on the man's shoulders, and twisting, flinging the man into the lamppost before webbing him to it along with webbing the two unconscious men on the ground.
He looked up and ran towards the alleyway the other man had gone in. Maybe he could still catch him. As he rounded the corner he was met with a surprising sight. Just a little ways down the alleyway, a them man was caught hanging upside down, unconscious and bound in rope.
"Huh, well that's convenient for me, but…" Spider-Man began before looking up and stopping, because two sets of white eyes were looking down at him. And then they dropped down landing in front of him. Batman and Robin stood before him and suddenly he felt a bit more tense as they stared at him.
Thinking a bit as he looked around, maybe Batman was finally coming to arrest him. He was a smart man, there was no way that he hadn't figured out who Spider-Man was after that night in the warehouse right? If he could slip past them maybe he could swing away fast enough? Still trying to stay calm he stared at them, ready to bolt if he had to.
"Hello." Spider-Man said awkwardly. "Can I help you guys? Thanks for helping me catch this guy, but I'd like it if you came out of the shadows. I feel a bit silly talking to the shadows."
From the shadows came a mocking laughter, putting Spider-Man on edge. He really hoped that it wasn't the Joker.
"Guess you were right boss. He likes the sound of his own voice."
From the shadows came out two well known figures. One was a young man that was barely in his teenage years with messy black hair, a black domino mask, a red vest with a yellow R on his chest, a black cape, a yellow utility belt, black pants, black shoes and black gloves that reached up to his elbows. This was none other than Robin, the Boy Wonder. And the second figure was one that needed no introduction, and it sent a chill down Spider-Man's spine. It was Batman.
"I like to have a conversation. People get tired of the silent treatment." Spider-Man replied.
Despite his nonchalant and mischievous reply, Spider-Man was going over ways of escaping the area. He hadn't committed any crimes, but that didn't mean that Batman wouldn't put him away. It certainly didn't help that their first meeting had to do with him destroying a warehouse much like this one. He felt his hands itch, almost as if his whole body was telling him to web the two costumed vigilantes and make for the hills.
"Yeah, I get, but the boss doesn't like to turn this into a game. But I got to say, nice save the other night." Robin said.
"Thanks, I try and a room full of rich and powerful people seemed like a huge red flag to look out for. Somehow, though I feel like you didn't find me just to compliment me?" Spider-Man said skeptically.
It was so odd the way Batman hadn't spoken and had barely moved since they had shown up. He knew the man could show other emotions, but that appeared to be a rare occurrence.
"You're right, we didn't." Batman said, shaking Spider-Man from his thoughts to look up at the man had he always been so tall or was he still a bit short? Spider-Man wondered.
"So, what are you here for?" He asked, doing his best to swallow without it being noticed.
"Well, that's the thing. See, you've been doing...alright on your own, but you're still making some rookie mistakes." Robin said casually, as Spider-Man noted how odd it felt to be talked down to, by someone he was relatively sure he was older than.
"Exactly, which is why we have a proposition for you. The Justice League has formed a team of sorts, particularly talented young heroes. So they can improve through missions as well as learning teamwork. I have been keeping an eye on you ever since you first showed up."
'Yeah that's not a creepy sentence at all.' Spider-Man thought not wanting to interrupt the Dark Knight.
"I think you would be a good addition to this team." Batman added.
This shook up Spider-Man. He was a bit shocked, but oddly honored to be thought of for that kind of team.
"I-I don't know what to say." Spider-Man replied.
"So the spider finally ran out of words. Guess miracles do happen." Robin joked.
"Hey, I was just offered a position on a special team by Batman. Cut me some slack." Spider-Man remarked before turning back to Batman. "Look, Batman… I don't know what to say. I'm grateful that you haven't thrown me in prison and given me this chance, but I'm still learning. And besides, what would I be doing in this team?"
"As I said, you'd be learning with other young heroes on how to be a hero under designated missions approved by the League." Batman explained.
"I'm guessing that bird boy will be amongst the heroes, to keep an eye on me?" Spider-Man asked.
"What can I say? You seem cool enough to join our little club." Robin replied.
Spider-Man thought about it. He could use the extra help. A hero mentor would be of great help to him. But a part of Spider-Man's mind told him that there had to be a catch. There had to be something in it for Batman and the rest of the League aside from the goodness of their heart. He knew that there were good people that did things from the goodness of their hearts, but more often than naught there were hidden motives. Spider-Man could picture that this team would baby him and the others in some way or control them with a tight leash. It was a gamble for him. Did he trust his old instincts or follow his new ones?
"I'll have to think about it." Spider-Man said, firing a web out of the warehouse before turning back to them.
"Do you have any way I can contact you?" He asked. "Or do I have to ask the commissioner to let me use the Bat signal?"
"When we want to talk, trust us, we'll find you." Batman said.
"Does he ever not sound creepy or threatening?" Spider-Man asked, looking at Robin shrugged smirking.
"It comes and it goes." He admitted, as they both slid back into the shadows and Spider-Man swung off into the air thinking.
That hadn't gone at all the way he had expected it to. The offer wasn't something that he wasn't going to think about. He really did want to do it, the trouble was he didn't want to leave Gotham, not for too long anyway. In addition, the way Robin had described him as making rookie mistakes wasn't wrong. However, it also made him worry that maybe they just wanted him to join just so they could baby him and treat him with kid gloves so he wouldn't get in the way.
'Then again, I could just be overthinking things, but I've been doing fine on my own here.' He thought landing on a lamppost lost in his thoughts until the police radio in the squad car beneath him crackled to life.
"Any unit's in the area report to downtown Gotham, we have a hostage situation in the construction zone near Gotham Plaza. Suspect is believed to be armed and highly volatile. Proceed with caution."
'A hostage situation huh? I'd better go see if I can help with that, can't be too much trouble right?' Spider-Man thought before swinging off after the squad cars.
-Construction Zone-
When he arrived the area had already been ropped off, a few spotlight's were shining up into the building. As Spider-Man stared up into the area they shined on, he froze at who he saw there. Or rather what he saw there, as at first he was convinced he was staring at a giant scorpion then he got a closer look as she stepped into the light.
It was the woman who had tried to poison Bruce Wayne, and Commissioner Gordon. Except apart from her face she was dressed and carrying herself differently. She wore what appeared to be an armored green and black suit; a large lack belt around her waist seemed to contain some sort of glowing liquid. Over the upper half of her face was a black cowl with glowing green eyes that shined like the liquid. Perhaps most eye-catching of all was the large black tail protruding from her back coiling up and over her head just like a scorpion's. She pulled out a megaphone and called down to the cops.
"No one takes a step into this building! One of you set's even a toe in here and my boys start shooting hostages! You want them freed, I want Spider-Man! Not the Bat, we aren't going anywhere until the bug comes to me!" She declared before stepping away from the edge and into a more covered area as Spider-Man bit his lip beneath his mask.
This was bad, to say the least. She wanted to fight him, or at least he was pretty sure that was her intention. However, he didn't know where the thugs and hostages were, nor how many thugs there could be inside. Meaning that even if he did manage to get in and beat her he had no guarantee they would get out alive.
'That also assumes I can beat her, not telling what tricks she has up her sleeves in that armor. I need a plan. How can I get to them, and fight her and all her thugs off?' He thought, trying to think of a way around the situation.
"Well, well look at you moving up in the world, you're very own supervillain." A voice said as Spider-Man spun around just in time to see Batman and Robin land in front of him on the roof.
"Okay, seriously do you guys just glide around in the sky to make dramatic entrances?" Spider-Man asked.
"Nah, it just comes with the territory, you'll find yourself doing it without thinking about giving it a few more months on the job." Robin shrugged as he and Batman joined Spider-Man at the edge of the building.
Batman tapped the side of his cowl and his eyes seemed to glow a bit of a brighter white as he looked the building up and down.
"Fifteen Gunmen, spaced throughout the three floors beneath her. The hostages are in the middle of those three floors." Batman said before turning to the two younger heroes.
"I think you two can take care of the gunmen, I'll deal with Coll." He said getting ready to move before Spider-Man stopped him.
"Hold on, she wants to fight me. I think I should go in and face her. I know you have a lot more experience with this kind of thing, but if she sees you not me, what's stopping her from just having all the hostage's shot before we can get them out? At least if it's me, she gets what she wants, and hopefully is too distracted to notice you both taking out her men." Spider-Man said.
Batman stared at him for a moment. Spider-Man expected him to disagree, but then he gave a slight nod to him.
"Fine, you keep her attention, we'll save the hostage's then help you if you finish her off." He said.
"If I need it, or she hasn't already killed me." Spider-Man pointed out before shooting a web and swinging towards the building and landing on the open area.
"Hey! I heard a crazy bug lady was looking for me!" He called into the shadows.
There was a slight pause, and then she stepped out into the light smirking as her tail coiled over her back.
"Glad you turned up Spider, normally I like to do things quietly. However after how you embarrassed me I thought this would be better with an audience."
"You know through the wrong lens that sounds kinda dirty." Spider-Man said, tilting his head to the side.
"Oh, I am going to enjoy this more than I should." She declared.
"Wow, that just made it like three or four times worse." Spider-Man said before being forced to dodge as her tail suddenly shot forwards trying to impale him. He slid over the tail only to be met with a punch from what could only be described as a claw aiming for his face. He slipped to the side, but her claw managed to get a shallow cut to his shoulder.
He stood readying himself for another attack when the building around him began to spin a bit and he staggered as she began to laugh.
"Aw, what's wrong you don't like my little concoction? I made it especially for you. Slows the reflexes and the senses. Had to up the ingredients a bit, even take some spores from Ivy, but I'd say the effects are worth it. Wouldn't you?" She asked as he shook his head trying to refocus.
"Can't say I'm a fan." He muttered.
"Shame, but maybe a little more will change your mind!" She declared, lunging at him again.
Spider-Man jumped to the side, avoiding the attack of the new supervillain. He liked having his own villain, but he could do without the poison in his system. He got back to his feet just in time to see the razor sharp tail coming for his head. His hands shot up, fighting through the delirium that he was feeling. He barely caught it before the scorpion lady kicked him in the stomach.
"This is definitely not how I hoped to spend the evening." Spider-Man groaned, holding his head.
"Too bad, webslinger. I'm about to make it even worse." She declared, jumping over him.
Batman and Robin snuck through the shadows going after the hostages. They moved in sync, avoiding the sight of the armed men. They looked down to see the hostages in the middle of a circle. There wasn't a word exchanged between them, but a small look from Batman told Robin that something was wrong. The Boy Wonder pulled up his holographic wrist to get a better look. He zoomed in and spotted duct tape on the hands of the armed men. He showed it to Batman before the World's Greatest Detective gave him a couple of signals.
Robin jumped up to move through the shadows, going behind the hostages. He let out a mocking laugh, causing everyone to look around from the armed men to the hostages. Just then Batman dropped from the shadows to where all the hostages were. However, instead of attacking the armed thugs, he attacked one of the hostages.
The hostage had a hidden hand held machine gun. The other hostages pulled out their weapons, but before they could fire, Robin flung his Batarangs at them, forcing them to drop their weapons.
Batman then proceeded to quickly take them down with punches and kicks. In the span of a few minutes, all the disguised hostages were safe and the thugs were taken down.
"Lead the hostages down and out of the building keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Batman directed Robin who nodded, though looked at him skeptically.
"What about you?" He asked.
"I'm going to go see how Spider-Man is holding out, and if he needs help." The Dark Night said heading towards an in construction elevator shaft to grapple up.
-Upper Floor-
Spider-Man was not having a good time, her poison was potent extremely so, even with his Spider-Sense he was only just barely managing to dodge her hits. Being able to see an attack coming didn't help much, given his body was reacting delayed. It was like when the audio stopped matching up to lip movements on a video, except this physically hurt every time he was just a bit off.
"What's the matter, Spider? Having trouble keeping up?" Scorpia taunted as he rolled rather than flipped away from her tail trying to impale him coming up on his feet a few feet away.
Normally, he would have a reply, but the trouble was the area around him was starting to sway. In addition he was blinking rapidly to avoid seeing two or three of her at a time. He shook his head from side to side, 'Focus damn it! I need to take her down and keep her down fast.' He thought.
Looking around he tried to think of a strategy, if he could just neutralize the tail, the biggest danger would be out of the way. Assuming that whatever was pumping through his system didn't drop him first. He shook himself trying to focus more and then he felt warmer, not uncomfortably warm. It was like a warming and strengthening warmth, like a fever after breaking. Spider-Man knew that he could not give up, his heart pumped faster as his hands got tingly.
What the weblinger did not seem to notice was that spark's shot out from his hands, clearing out enough of the poison to help him move.
As Scorpia lunged at Spider-Man to finish him off, his reflexes went back to a better condition than before. He jumped out of the way of her attack, much to her surprise. He kicked her side, landing one of his only hits of the whole fight, but it was enough to send her back. Even weakened, Spider-Man was as strong as a wrecking ball, and with adrenaline pumping through his veins he was able to keep at it.
"Come on, I thought you were going to finish me off?" He taunted, carefully moving himself to a less stable part of the ground as she tried again with her claw-like gauntlets which he dodged, not as easily as he wanted, but still easier than a few moments ago.
"That all you got? To think I was kind of impressed. Guess you just got lucky?" He shrugged, kicking her away and making her growl as she spun to face him.
"You dare mock me again! I'll be sure to pin you to the ground like a bug you are!" Scorpia shouted before jumping high into the air, coiling her tail to shoot it straight at the young hero.
Spider-Man sprung to action. He put his plan into action. He waited until she fired her tail before he fired webshots after webshots, wrapping the dangerous and poisonous tail. Before long he had encased Scorpia's most dangerous weapon into a thick cocoon.
Scorpia gasped as Spider-Man caught her tail.
"You said something about pulling my legs and pinning me like a big, right? Well, how about I pull something of yours!" Spider-Man called out, pulling the tail with all his remaining strength.
Spider-Man's remaining strength was enough, he heard wires being pulled out, metal coming loose as the tail came apart from the rest of her suit. Throwing her off balance he swung the tail like a bat and hit her square in the ribs. She flew backward and slammed into the wall sliding down it to the ground as he webbed her up.
"And this time, stay behind bars." He said as things began to spin around him again, he dropped the tail staggering a few steps from the edge and as he began to fall he felt something grip the front of his jacket, and knew no more as he blacked out.
Spider-Man's head was spinning as he opened his eyes once more. His head beated like if someone had played it like a drum solo. He saw that he was no longer in the makeshift battle arena that Scorpia had challenged him in, but instead it looked like he was inside some sort of cave.
"W-where am I?" Spider-Man asked, getting up from where he laid.
He looked down to see that his jacket had been taken off and his wounds had been treated. He then felt a sting on his arm.
"Ouch!" Spider-Man snapped, looking to the man responsible.
He spotted an elderly man wearing a butler's uniform, injecting something in his arm.
"Please, take it easy young man. The antidote has yet to fully take care of whatever nasty stuff those blades were laced with." The old man said with a British accent.
"Um, thanks. I hope you don't mind me asking but, who are you?" Spider-Man asked cautiously, his Spider-Sense was radio silent, but this was still odd.
"I am a friend of the man who brought you here. I must say working out an antidote with your unique blood was something of a challenge. For a moment or two, we thought we were going to lose you." He said casually.
Spider-Man was trying to put things together though his brain was still a bit sluggish. However, he knew who must have brought him here was not some ordinary citizen.
"Dude! You're alive!" Robin's cheerful voice echoed in the cave, causing Spider-Man to wince at the noise.
"Not so loud man! My head is killing me." Spider-Man snapped, holding his head.
"Sorry. Got to say you really did good out there, you dealt with your first villain and you don't look any worse for wear. Guess things went pretty aster." Robin said.
"Aster?" Spider-Man asked.
"That is Robin's way of saying you did a good job." Batman said as he typed away at his large Bat-computer. "After the fight we brought you here to get treatment."
"Wow, thanks Batman. I owe you big time." Spider-Man said, trying to stand up.
He found that he could, but he wasn't completely steady. It was only then he actually got a look around taking in the large cave which seemed to stretch on a long way in every direction. All around were trophies of Batman's past victories and different suits that he'd used over the years.
"Is that a dinosaur? You actually have a dinosaur in your secret cave? Wow. I'm starting to feel a bit self conscious right now." Spider-Man said.
"Don't. He wouldn't keep this stuff if it had anywhere else to go." Robin shrugged as Spider-Man continued to take in the space Batman finally turned around to face him, those lens covered eyes still feeling like they saw right through him.
"You'll be happy to know that we have called your guardian. He knows you'll be alright, with that said I did want to speak to you before we get you back to Gotham. Earlier, we made you an offer if you still recall?" Batman asked.
"Right, that team of younger heroes right?" Spider-Man asked, receiving a nod.
"We were going to give you a little more time to think, but given tonight's events. We thought you might have already made up your mind." Batman added. "What is your decision?"
Spider-Man let out a slow breath, choosing his words very carefully, "I would be lying if I said that this whole whatever this was, didn't get me to see the benefits of having partners. Without you two I am pretty sure I and some civilians would be dead." He admitted looking up to look Batman in the eyes.
"So, I will join this team at least if no one has a problem with that. I do want to make a few… conditions, I guess is the right word?" He said after a slight pause.
Batman merely looked at Spider-Man as though he was looking into the young man's soul.
"What are your 'conditions'?" Batman asked.
Spider-Man was a little surprised that Batman would agree to hear him out. But then again, he understood that the Caped Crusader wanted to make this his choice.
"First, I want to stay more in Gotham than in the Team. I'm still new at this and I want to focus on learning with other heroes like me, but I don't want to just drop everything and leave the city for some black ops mission. At least not all the time I have a life here too." Spider-Man explained.
"That's understandable. Anything else?" Batman asked.
Spider-Man thought long and hard about what he could ask for his next condition. He didn't want to overstep his boundaries, but he needed to have some control over his life.
"I want to be able to opt out so to speak. If I don't agree with what you or others are asking us to do, I want to have the option to leave. I understand that you're the good guys, but you never know and sometimes things happen." Spider-Man said determined.
Batman stood silent. From what Spider-Man could tell, the gears of the Batman were turning, trying to find a loophole of some kind. Spider-Man couldn't blame him, grey was hard to find sometimes and here he was asking the World's Greatest Detective to look at things in a more grey light. He half expected a hard no, but then after a few moments Batman nodded.
"Fine, that seems fair. I don't think it will happen, but so long it's not mid mission you can opt out of the team." Batman agreed, surprising the young hero, who did his best to hide it as the man offered a hand out to him, which he shook.
"Awesome welcome to the team man. I'm sure the others will be thrilled to meet you." Robin said with a nod.
"We'll give you a time and place to meet us, and then we'll take you to meet the others. For now get in the car, I'll get you back to Gotham." Batman said turning and walking towards the sleek black car waiting on a platform not too far off.
"Wait, are we not still in Gotham?" Spider-Man asked, confused.
"Well, we aren't that far." Robin replied as Spider-Man got his jacket back on.
After what had to be hands down the fastest car ride he had ever been on, Spider-Man found himself back in Gotham, stopping at the top of Wayne Tower before swinging home he stared out at the many gleaming lights. Not too long ago he had just been another citizen of doing what he could to survive. And now he was about to take the deep plunge into a world of capes and tights he never saw himself in. And here he thought that being a teenager was the hard part. Good thing he was a webslinger.
A/N: So ends chapter 5! And now we have a Scorpion, so next time Spider-Man meets the team, so look forward to that thank you for reading! Happy whatever holiday you celebrate if any this time of year. I hope you have a fun one, and we'll see you next time!