answers to reviewers questions or statements:
lanierm3: I might.
Harbinger of Kaos: This story's ending, when I eventually get to it, won't be a happily ever after. If anything, it'll be that kind of ending where your like 'Oh fuck!'.
War Sage: I suppose I could at some point.
Omni-Creator Kami of Anime: The last X-comic I read was the apparent resurrection of the original Jean Grey, so I'm pretty much lost on what is going on. When Peter get's to Gotham, things are gonna be upped in the horror department.
RubixJr: Enjoy the humor, it'll be few and far in between in the comic chapters.
MCRasengan: That'll be an understatement.
Reverse: Good movie, definitely wont be hiking or camping out in the Nordic countries... ever. People are gonna soon find that having Batman stalk them through the night is a mercy compared to what Peter will do.
Kai: Maybe, maybe not. Being covered in gore might be a bit of a turn off for some women in the harem while others will be jumping Peter and demanding his dick right than and there.
Nomad98: Yeah, Peer finding out about Damian will be... interesting, and kinda sad. Logan won't be playing any real major roles like he shows up to take on Batman or Deadshot, but he'll make an appearance here and there.
DarkDevilKnight: A lot of Ra's students seem to be unaware of their surroundings.
Sem: Who says that the knife broke on Peter's skin? He made to stab himself and next thing he knows the blade's on the ground broken. But regardless, there's a difference between being stabbed with a knife and being hit by a piece of debris sent ricocheting from a bullet that can leave holes the size of a fist in you.
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used.
Super strength could be a curse or a blessing depending on the situation at hand.
In the past, Peter's found it to be a blessing as most people he hit with the intention to kill usually went down after just one strike, thus saving him from being dragged into long drawn out fights that seemed to be all the rage in most action movies and even practiced by a number of 'assassins' now a days. It also opened up numerous possibilities for Peter in his approaches to either covert infiltration or outright devastation on a large scale as he could carry more equipment than your typical human could, within reason of course.
"We're almost there Peter!" Talia yelled into Peter's ear over the roar of rain, wind and thunder after spending the better part of an hour of in silence.
But today, Peter was willing to label his super strength as a curse as it seemed to mean to Talia that he was now a glorified mule that she could ride piggyback on for the last leg of their journey.
"We better be! Your a lot heavier than you look!" Peter responded with a smirk, his words almost drowned out by the crack of thunder overhead as he leaped through the tree tops, his red lenses and spider symbol occasionally illuminated by a flash of lightning.
Talia still seemed to hear him if the sudden flick to the side of his head was anything to go by. Ever since their encounter with Bloodvessel and Breacher, Talia and Peter's pace had only increased until the daughter of the Demon eventually asked Peter to carry her so that they wouldn't be slowed down because of her body's natural limitations in comparison to Peter's enhanced one.
Secretly, Peter just thought that she was tired of walking.
'Can walk for days across a desert and mountain range but gets tired after a few hours hike in the woods. Someone needs to either work on their cardio' Peter thought with a chuckle as he risked traveling among the higher branches of the trees to see if he could possibly spot the airport that Talia left her jet at.
During a series of flashes from multiple bolts of lightning overhead, Peter made out what he thinks was the airstrip that Talia was talking about. It wasn't much, just a few hangers, a couple of smaller buildings for... well for other stuff needed to keep a plane flying he supposed, and possible breakrooms for pilots.
"Set me down when we reach the strip!" Talia yelled over another round of thunder.
"And here I thought you'd have me carry you all the way" Peter snarked as he began to slowly descend towards the ground before landing at the very edge of the tree line.
With a quick adjustment of his grip on Talia, Peter scanned the area for signs of either Cain's assassins or whoever Talia left here to guard her jet while she was visiting him. He saw no one, at least, no one outside, and even over the raging storm Peter couldn't hear anyone else nearby aside from Talia. He waited a few more moments before he slowly lowered himself enough to let Talia off his back.
"Something's not right" he said as he continued to scan the airstrip for signs of life.
"Agreed..." Talia said as she kneeled down seemed to concentrate for a moment.
Peter was about to ask her what she was doing before he suddenly heard movement behind him and he turned, arms raised with his fingers on his web shooter's triggers before Talia threw an arm out in front of him as a sign to stop. Peter's fingers twitched as he watched two women emerge from the darkness and he somewhat relaxed as he recognized the women's red and purple colored hair, even in the darkness.
"Psylocke, Widow" Talia nodded towards two of her elite guard "I trust Massacre and whoever his partner were have been dealt with?"
"His partner was Killbox mistress and yes, they've been dealt with" Widow answered with a small bow.
"Excellent" Talia said with a pleased expression on her face before she nodded towards the private airfield "Psylocke, me and Peter have yet to see anyone here. can you confirm if our people are still here or if Cain and Darrk's men have already taken it"
Psylocke glanced towards the distant buildings and narrowed her eyes as she telepathically scanned the various structures and undoubtedly the plane that Talia was intending to take to leave this place. After a few moments, she shook her head and turned towards the Demon's daughter.
"I sense no one mistress" the telepath revealed "At least, anyone that's alive"
"What do you mean 'no one'?" Talia asked with obvious confusion.
"This place, as far as I can sense, is devoid of any minds aside from our own. I thought it might've been Cheshire and Silencer's doing but I can sense they've yet to arrive for another few minutes at their current speed" Psylocke stated.
"Maybe we're at the wrong airport?" Peter offered.
"No this is the place" Talia said with a bothered expression as she gazed at the seemingly abandoned and empty airfield "And the people I left here wouldn't just up and leave and Darrk had to have know we'd be coming here and sent an advance force to either stall us or at the very least ambush us"
"Maybe their at the wrong airport" Peter said with a snort as he glanced at the darkened hangers and buildings "I'll go give it a look and see what I can find. If I find anything, I'm sure your telepath will let you know"
"Your not going in there alone Peter" Talia said with a scoff as she turned towards Widow and issue a series of orders for the woman before she suddenly felt Peter's presence vanish.
Talia quickly turned to see that Peter was no longer standing there n was he anywhere in sight. Psylocke and Widow looked equally shocked by the sudden disappearance of the man as they only took their eyes off him for a literal second.
'He's good...' Psylocke whispered across the link 'Almost if not on par with the Dark Knight'
'So it would seem' Talia thought with annoyance before she took a deep breath to calm the growing anger in her at Peter's actions' Elizabeth, get me in contact with Honor and Jade. I want to know why in the hell they weren't here already!'
...
Peter wasn't a telepath by any means, he's pretty sure his 'spider-sense' doesn't even really qualify as some sort of psionic based ability, but as Peter silently slipped through the shadows that surrounded the airstrip, he knew the person that's been following him and Talia since their encounter with Bloodvessel and Breacher had followed. He wasn't sure why the man didn't try to make a move against Talia, she only had two of her guard with her, but Peter supposed that the unknown individual saw him as the greater threat and thus should be dealt with first.
'Still... it does worry me that he's seen me in action and he still feels confident enough to try and take me on alone' Peter thought as he neared a particularly large hanger, one better suited to hold some kind of jumbo jet than some small private craft that Talia likely left stored here.
The doors to the hanger were left open slightly, more than enough for Peter to walk through his arms outstretched and still be unable to tough either one. After a quick look around, Peter put his hand on one door and gave it a slight push before turning and doing the same to the other door.
"Hubba, hubba... someone's been working out"
Peter froze at the woman's voice behind him and slowly looked over his shoulder to see Cheshire walking up to him. Even with the mask over her face he knew she was smirking at him.
"Cheshire..." Peter said with a small nod as he turned to face the woman while keeping an eye out for Silencer "What took you so long?"
"Believe it or not, traffic" Cheshire said with a sigh and a shake of her head "Accident on the freeway"
"Your doing?" Peter asked with a frown.
"Drunk driver actually" Cheshire answered with a giggle "Driving a eighteen wheeler with a container of hazardous chemicals onboard. Nasty"
"Sounds like it" Peter agreed as he kept his eyes on Cheshire while said woman passed by him.
"See something you like 'Spidey'?" she asked with a smirk evident in her tone as she stopped to return Peter's masked stare with one of her own.
"Well your not trying to stab me in the back, so I suppose so" Peter said.
"Now why would I do that?" Cheshire said with a overly dramatic gasp.
"In this line of work, you can never be too sure" Peter answered without really answering... at least he thinks he did.
"Strong, smart and experienced?" Cheshire said with a hum as she stepped closer and ran a finger across the red spider emblem on Peter's chest "I hope you plan to stick around for a while... you'll make things fun"
"Give it a week and let me know if your still thinking that" Peter said with a snort before he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head just enough to get a clear view of who it was.
"Cheshire, stop flirting with Peter and get the plane ready for departure" Talia commanded as she, flanked by Silencer and Psylocke approached the two.
"Mistress..." Cheshire said with a small bow and quickly slipped into the hanger with Psylocke and Silencer right behind her.
Peter watched the three go for a moment before he turned towards Talia "Where's Widow?"
"Torching the car that Jade and Honor took to get here" Talia answered as the lights in the hanger began to switch on, revealing Talia's private jet.
"Hope whoever they stole it from has good car... insurance..." Peter trailed off as he took in Talia's jet.
At first he thought it was an old Seven Forty Seven given the size of it but after taking another look at it he realized two things.
One, this plane was larger by several meters in height, length and width and the windows for e cockpit were in a different area on the front of the plane. The second was that the plane wasn't outfitted with the standard turbofan jet engines that most commercial flights utilized. To Peter, the four engines, two under each wing, looked more like some kind of high end rocket engine. And the body of the plane looked more armored, particularly around the cockpit which he supposed made sense and along the spine of the plane's body and towards the back where the tail wings were.
All in all, it looked like it cost as much as a top of the line aircraft carrier.
"This is your jet?" Peter said as he continued to stare at Talia's private jet before he turned to said woman with a raised brow.
"Yes" Talia said with a nod before she frowned "Why?"
Peter stared at the woman for a moment before he turned his gaze back to her jet "Oh nothing, nothing..."
"What is it?" Talia asked.
"It's just I was imaging something... smaller" Peter said as he tried to think of the right word "Much, much, smaller"
"Evidence to the contrary, it's far more practical than what you may have imagined it to be like" Talia said with shrug "Armored plating rated to withstand a modern ballistic missile, assuming that it can even be detected thanks to it's radar absorption paint, next generation fuel cells fitted to-"
"I get it, it's a really tough plane that's surprisingly good at hiding and has a bunch of other fancy stuff attached to it" Peter said with an eye roll "No need to try and pitch it to me like I'm in the market for a giant plane"
"You asked" Talia said with a scoff.
"No I said I thought it'd be smaller than you started to prattle off all the pros to having this thing like your self conscious about having a freakin flying fortress" Peter said with a snort as he eyed the plane "How in the heck are we gonna fly this thing with your pilots possibly, very likely dead?"
"It has an autopilot and even than, Widow can fly it without trouble" Talia said with a shake of her head before she reached down and grabbed her bag before turning to leave "I'll be getting changed in the restroom. Help my guards make sure my plane's cleared of any possible stowaways. I'd rather not discover that Cain's people had infiltrated it when we're sixty thousand feet in the air"
"As you command Princess" Peter said in a sarcastic tone as he watched Talia go before he turned his attention back to the massive plane and shook his head as he headed for the hatch.
It didn't take long to search the plane, which was ridiculous with the sheer amount of luxury it was. The pilots were dead, let with their throats slit in their chairs, and the servants that tended to the plane's upkeep and possibly service were also found to have met their ends under a similar method, their throats parted by way of something very, very sharp.
As Widow arrived and settled in the cockpit, running a series of checks to make sure the plane could operate, let alone fly, Peter found a small blood trail near the hatch and decided to follow it. Silencer and Psylocke were still going through the plane's cargo hold last he checked and Cheshire was standing guard outside the restroom that Talia was still using getting dressed.
'How long does it take to change when your already half naked?' Peter thought as he followed the trail of blood out of the hanger.
The trail didn't go very far, only to a nearby building that Peter assumed were offices of some sort. The door was left open and the moment Peter stepped through the doorway, his nose was hit with the familiar odor of death. Cautiously, Peter entered the building and slowly followed the still small but visible trail of blood to a office that seemed to be the source of the odor.
"Yikes..." Peter said as he stepped into the room and saw it was filled with close to two dozen bodies scattered around the room.
Peter's eyes scanned the various dead men and women, some dressed in similar attire to the ones that attacked Peter's house while others were garbed in suits that looked familiar to the ones that Peter remembered being favored by the League of Shadows.
'Guess I found out where everyone went' Peter thought as he crouched down and examined one of the dead assassins.
The man's head was bent at an unnatural angle and he could see a bit of bone protruding from the throat, it was a small wonder what killed him. Peter grunted as he stood up and searched the other bodies for any signs as to who or what may have killed them. Most of them seemed to have suffered from similar wounds, a broken neck though a few sported slit throats.
'Probably why I didn't see any signs of a fight outside when I was combing through this place' Peter thought as he stood up and placed a hand on his hip while the other rubbed the back of his head 'Most of these guys were taken out quietly...'
And whoever they were had to be good if they were able to sneak up on assassins from the League of Shadows. Either someone with similar training in stealth or capable of moving fast enough to hit everyone before they could even respond either through raw speed or outright teleportation.
'Now who do I know that can use a form of teleportation to possibly kill most of these guys in the span of maybe a minute?' Peter thought with a frown as he tried to think of a name.
He doubted it was someone from either Cain's faction or Talia's since it wouldn't make sense to kill your own people, so that left either Nyssa or even a third party that just happened to stumble across these people and for whatever reason kill them all.
"What I wouldn't give to be clairvoyant right now" Peter said with a shake of his head as he turned to leave and search the other buildings when he heard a distinct 'click' behind him, causing him to freeze as his spider-sense began to tingle slightly.
"Turn around... slowly" the voice said.
Peter's eyes narrowed as he recognized the voice, even after all these years, ad slowly turned to see a man step out from the shadows, dressed in a black body suit with some kind of harness attached to it and fitted with multiple gun holsters, one of which was empty while the gun it was reserved for was aimed at Peter's head.
"Matthew..." Peter said with some surprise in his tone.
Matthew Hagen looked almost the same as he did after all these years with the only signs of age being a few streaks of gray hair in the man's blonde locks.
"Surprised to see me, Peter?" the man asked with a grin as he slowly circled Peter, his gun aiming between the red lenses on Peter's mask.
"A little yeah" Peter said with a nod "I was told you were dead as a doornail"
Matthew threw his head back and laughed at this "You actually though that I'd be dead? ME?!"
"Well considering it was Talia that apparently killed you, yeah, I did" Peter said with a shrug "I mean when you get your throat sit open you tend to usually die. Not always granted but usually the loss of blood will be enough to do you in"
"She didn't cut as deep as she thought, wasn't in her right sate of mind that day" Matthew said with a smirk "And even if she was, she always was easy to fool. You'd think after her upbringing she'd be suspicious of everyone. But the moment I pay her a few compliments and pretend to give a damn about her problems, she ends up being putty in my hands"
"Maybe your just a really good actor" Peter said, his voice while calm, was notably colder now.
Matthew seemed to notice this and his smirk grew bigger as his finger twitched on the trigger "I learned from some of the best. I may not have been the best fighter in the League, I'll admit that, but I was it's best infiltrator and spy"
"You wanna a award? A pat on the shoulder?" Peter asked with a slight tilt of his head "I can give you that. A pat on the shoulder I mean... though you may find yourself short an arm afterwards. How about a hun instead than? I'm told they can be bone crushing if I'm not careful"
"Always something smart to say, nice to see that hasn't changed after all these years" Matthew snarled, his body briefly shaking before he took a deep breath and regained control of himself.
"What can I say, my smart assness is part of my RNA" Peter answered with a chuckle before he snapped his fingers "Ah, I bet you were expecting me to say something cliché like DNA but I figured that RNA doesn't get enough love in these silly little pre-battle banters-"
Matthew interrupted Peter with several shots that forced him to duck and sprint behind a overturned desk. Talia's former lover growled as he shot at the desk several more times as he approached it before stopping to reload.
"Miss me, miss me, not you gotta find me" Peter's voice echoed from seemingly everywhere.
Matthew frowned as he quickly went towards the desk that Peter hid behind and saw that the man was gone. Peter seemed to see this from wherever he was in the room and chuckled.
"Really? Your gonna check he last place you saw me run to even after I said now you gotta find me?"
"You strike me as dumb enough to stay there even after you said it" Matthew hissed as he searched the shadows for signs of Peter "But that's okay, just keep talking you little shit. I'll find you soon enough"
"You'll find a clue before you can find me" Peter responded with another laugh.
Matthew growled as he shot off randomly into several darkened corners.
"Ooh, you almost got me that time" Peter teased from somewhere behind Matthew, causing him to turn and fire off another several rounds "Missed, by a long shot"
Matthew narrowed his eyes in anger as he removed the now empty magazine and was just reaching for another when a line of webbing shot out from the shadows and caught his weapon. The man released his hold on it just as the line went taught and it, along with his gun, was yanked into the shadows.
"Aww, I was hoping you'd keep holding it and follow it" Peter whined before he snickered.
"I know holding on to it was pointless" Matthew said as he slowly began to back up towards the door he came in through before he heard someone move behind him and he turned to see... no one there.
"Say Matt, you mind asking a quick question for me?" Peter asked, his voice sounding like it came from both above and behind Matthew.
"What?" he snapped as he pulled another gun from his harness and gripped it with two hands.
"How were you able to follow me without me seeing you?" Peter asked with genuine curiosity "Hell, how were you able to keep up with me when I was moving through the woods?"
"I have my ways..." Matthew said with a ominous grin "Sorta how I survived getting my throat cut open by that pit dwelling whore-"
Whatever Matthew going to say was cut off by a black clad fist slamming into his face, snapping head to the side and sending him flying across the room. The man's body didn't even get a chance to hit the ground before he felt two hands seize him by the front of his uniform and lift him into the air before slamming him down into the ground with enough force to crack the floor. Matthew let out a chocked gasp before he was raised into the sir again and thrown straight into the ceiling with the same amount of force he was used to strike the ground with.
Peter watched the man fall for a second before he shot his foot out and kicked the man in the back, causing Matthew to be sent flying across the room and into the wall.
"You know Matthew, you should really learn to keep your damn mouth shut" Peter said in a dark tone as he slowly approached the man "Ironic coming from me I know"
Matthew let out a pained laugh as he struggled to get back to his feet, blood leaking from his mouth. He looked up to see Peter approaching him and quickly pulled another pistol from his remaining holster and aimed it at Peter's chest and was just beginning to pull the trigger when something unexpected happen... two metal claws suddenly erupted from the man's face, one of them through his eye.
"Ouch... I think you may have something in your eye there" Peter winced as he watched Matthew's body briefly spasm before it began to slump and the two claws were torn from the man's head, leaving twin bloodied trenches that nearly left his head in three pieces as he collapsed "And a near splitting headache. Might wanna take something for that too"
"What he needs wont be enough to help you when I'm done kicking your ass from here to Anchorage!"
Peter felt himself pale as his quote on quote 'rescuer' stepped out from behind the now dead Matthew and into the light. The person was a woman and Peter felt a chill crawl up his spine as she glared at him with a look that actually set his spider-sense flaring a little.
It was Laura...
"H-Hey Laura..." Peter said in a quiet voice as he stared at the woman with growing unease, he was wondering if Matthew had gotten off easy compared to him.
It also didn't help that she was dressed in her old suit, a black and dark grey version of her father's black and yellow suit when he was.. working. The black mask that framed Laura's face coupled with the red lenses of her cowl made her seem even more frightening in the dark than Peter's own suit did, mainly because her's seemed constructed in a manner to portray she was always angry.
Which might not be all that far from the truth really.
"Don't 'hey Laura' me!" she snapped as she marched over towards Peter, sheathing her claws as she reached out and grabbed Peter by the arm "Do you have any idea what you've put me through for the past day?!"
"Uhh, happy pleasant thoughts and assurance that your my bestest friend in the whole wide world?" Peter said nervously as Laura began to pull him towards the door.
Laura stopped and turned back to glare even harder at Peter if that were possible as she jabbed a finger into his chest, causing him to let out a muttered 'ouch' as he rubbed it.
"If you want to be able to continue walking under your own power for the rest of your life, you'll shut up until we get back!" Laura snarled.
"What's got you in such a bad mood?" Peter asked with a frown "I mean yeah today probably hasn't been the best for us and I can only imagine how bad my house looks with all the dead bodies and stuff but I only killed like one of them-"
"You've been lying to me, that's why I'm pissed at you!" Laura all but yelled, causing Peter to blink in surprise.
"What do you m-"
"I saw what was in your basement you lying fuck shit!" Laura snapped, cutting Peter off and causing his lenses to widen in shock.
"You told me that you were getting better!" Laura hissed with fury as she poked Peter in the chest again "You told me, PROMISED ME, that you were just spacing out! That the nightmares had stopped! You promised me that you were fine! But you know what I saw down in that little fucking crawl space you tried to hide? I saw YEARS worth of mutilated animals down there! Probably dating back all the way to when my dad bought that place for you!"
"...How'd you even find it?" Peter asked in a low voice.
At this point, trying to deny it would only end badly for him and with how angry Laura seemed, Peter had no doubt in his mind that one wrong word will set her off and she very well might follow through with her threat to cripple him. While Peter was faster and stronger than Laura by leaps and bounds, Laura was the far deadlier, more unrelenting fighter. Add the fact she can heal from practically everything short of full body destruction and had claws that could cut through practically everything along with the training she received from her father and brother, Peter doubted he'd be walking away from the fight with everything still attached to himself
"You can thank Darrk for that" Laura said in a bitter tone, even though her eyes were covered, Peter knew that tears were building in them "I came by to see how you were doing, to see if you wanted to come over for dinner when I found him and several of his people ransacking your home. He's the one that found that damned phasing projector of yours in the basement after it 'went off on a timer'! A fucking timer Peter! What if it was the fucking police that were going through your home?"
'Dammit' Peter thought with a wince, he's been meaning to get that fixed but... well he's neve found the time and honestly, he never really though someone would actually notice it.
Sure the smell would be a dead give away, but that was besides the pint in his opinion.
"Peter I brought us out here, away from that fucking mental hospital because you told me that you were getting better. That you didn't need to stay there anymore" Laura said with hurt evident in her voice "Even when my own family told me different and threatened to cut me off for siding with you, I still believed you. But now... now I'm starting to see what a damn idiot I was to believe someone that was once a damned Shadow!"
"Laura your not an idiot, I just didn't want you to-" Peter stared before the woman held a hand up to cut him off.
"And now you want to make yourself worse by jumping headlong back into the shit that did this to you in the first place" Laura hissed in anger.
"Well I wouldn't say I'm jumping head first, more of poking my toe in it and seeing how it is" Peter said.
"Like that's any better!" Laura said with outrage.
"...I thought it'd be" Peter admitted as he avoided Laura's gaze before he felt his arm being grabbed and pulled towards the door "Where are we going?"
"Back home before your 'friend' can drag you off to a war you have no business being a part of" Laura spat out.
Peter stopped and used a bit of his adhesive powers to remain stationary, causing Laura to stumble forward in surprise before she stopped and glared at him with obvious frustration.
"What are you doing Peter?!"
"Laura, I can't just up and leave Talia" Peter said with a sigh.
"Oh, and why's that?" Laura asked as she folded her arms across her chest and gave Peter a glare of annoyance.
"Well for one, I doubt that Cain, one of the leaders of the splinter Shadows factions that wants Talia dead, is just gonna let me walk away after I killed a few of his people in protecting Talia" Peter revealed.
"He'll leave you alone if you stop here and leave HER" Laura put extra emphasis on the last word.
"And if he doesn't?" Peter asked with a frown.
"Than we'll deal with him" Laura said as she made to grab Peter again "But for the time being, he seems more interested in Talia than you, meaning we'll have time to leave and set up somewhere else"
"That's your answer to this?" Peter said with an incredulous expression under his mask "Just pack up and leave and hope he leaves us alone?!"
"It's worked before" Laura said with a glare "After a few weeks of looking for you and finding nothing he'll give up and focus on other things"
"You don't now Cain like I did Laura" Peter said with a hint of dread in his voice "He's not going to leave a loose end like me running around. Especially if said loose end won't take too kindly to him killing Talia"
"She made her bed Peter, now she's going to have to suck it up and lie in it" Laura said with a shake of her head "This isn't your fight anymore. It stopped being yours when that bitch's sperm donor kicked you out of their little clubhouse"
Peter seemed to bristle at this "Talia needs me-"
"No, what she needs is your abilities aimed at whoever she deems an enemy Peter. The fat your loyal to her, even after all these years, is just a nice bonus as far as she's concerned" Laura interrupted.
"Talia isn't like that!" Peter snapped with anger "I know-"
"You used to know her" Laura corrected with a frustrated sigh "But it's been almost twelve years Peter. Whatever person you think she used to be is gone!"
"She's not" Peter growled as he took a step towards Laura "And I'm not going to up and abandon her when she needs me"
"She's going to get you killed" Laura stated with a glare That's the best case scenario"
"Than I'll deal with it" Peter said as he folded his arms across his chest.
Laura stared at Peter for a long moment before she growled "Fine... than I'm coming with you"
Peter's eyes widened at this "What?"
"It's obvious to me that your refusing to see the writing written on the fucking wall in bright ass neon so I'm coming with you to make sure you don't end up dead or worse!" Laura stated.
"That's not going to happen Laura" Peter said with a shake of his head "What's happening between what's left of the League and Talia, it's not your fight"
"It's not your either and yet here you are, running off to join it because the one dragging you back gave you some pitiful sob story about how she was wronged" Laura said.
Peter frowned at this "She didn't give me a pitiful sob story-"
"The moment she steps out of line and tries to force you to do something that we or more accurately 'I' don't agree with, we're done. And you will be coming home with me. Even if I have to carve my way through her and every damn yes man she has with you on my back with your damned arms and legs cut off, understood?" Laura said in a tone that dared him to try and argue.
"...Fine" Peter said with a tired sigh.
Laura nodded at this before she wandered over towards a desk by the wall and reached down for something behind it. Peter quirked a brow as he saw Laura retrieve a duffle bag and throw it at his feet as she walked past him towards the door.
"Carry it" she said without looking back "It's the least you can do for being a asshole"
"Why'd you bring your bag?" Peter asked with confusion.
"Just in case I was too late in getting here I'd have someone pick me up and follow you to wherever it is that bitch was going to take you. But I got here first and dealt with her people and than the others that arrived to presumably do the same" Laura answered in a curt tone "Now pick it up and carry it"
Peter grumbled as he reached down and grabbed Laura's bag and threw it up and over his shoulder before following the scorned woman out of the room just as Talia's jet's engines began to switch on in the distance, he just knew this was gonna be a long, long, flight.
Had Peter stayed just a moment longer or gave Matthew's body another glance, he would've noticed something odd about the now dead assassin...
For a man whose head had been cut apart, there wasn't a single drop of blood visible.
...
And done.
Next chapter, Welcome to Gotham...