Metropolis wasn't too bad so far.
It had only been a few days, but Peter was already enjoying himself. Well, outside of the project. That was just kind of boring. But the city itself? Well, it was great. Huge, wide-open, so many sights to see... He may have only been here a few days, but he was already liking this place.
The project itself, though... He was a little stuck. He wasn't sure which part of the city to cover. Flash was focused on food places, MJ was doing her project on the theatre side... Whatever the case, he needed to come up with something, and fast.
"Pete?"
Peter quickly sat up on his bed, his eyes quickly bursting open. Blinking rapidly, his gaze soon settled on a girl standing in the doorway. A girl with blonde hair and a red jacket. Gwen Stacy.
"Oh, uh..." Peter cleared his throat. "Gwen. Hi."
Gwen just waved, not stepping in yet. "Um..." She clicked her tongue. "Look, I won't be long. I just... need to talk to you, y'know?"
Peter blinked. "S... Sure."
Gwen gave a small smile. "Thanks." She walked in and sat down next to Peter. He tried to ignore the sensation in his chest as she placed a hand on his. "So..." she murmured. "How's Metropolis for you so far?"
"Uh..." Peter fidgeted with the soft material of his bed. "Good so far. Don't know what to do my project on yet, though."
"Oh, good, good." Gwen blinked. "Not the part about your project, the part about the city."
Peter laughed: a short noise. It was awkward talking with Gwen after not having a major conversation with her in weeks, but nice. For a bit, they sat in silence. That was, until Gwen spoke again.
"Me and Harry aren't together anymore."
Peter blinked. "What?"
Gwen just nodded, her mouth curled into a small frown. "Yeah. Kind of sudden, too. Harry just talked to me and said that he'd prefer just being friends. Didn't give much of a reason, either. Just kind of... decided."
Peter had a feeling he knew the reason. Namely, him and Gwen talking about going to be together just after Harry admitted he was kidnapped by the Goblin. Jeez, he really did need to learn how to read rooms better.
"Well, okay." He placed his hands in his pockets. "So, how is Harry?"
Gwen just sighed. "He's going through it, to put it mildly. I've tried getting him off the Green, but I'm always nervous about him getting back on it. Doubt he's actually going to see the therapists I've been recommending, either."
Peter stood up. "Well, let me try and talk to him. I could help!"
Gwen stood up as well. "Afraid not. Harry really doesn't want you around him. Every time I try to convince him, he just shoots me down." She ran a hand through her hair. "I just want to get him proper help, but nothing's working." She bowed her head and muttered something. Peter didn't pick up on it, though.
"Must be hard." Peter folded his arms. "But, like, have you tried convincing him to tell the truth about..."
Gwen just ran a hand down her face. "I don't know. Can you imagine how he'd react to see the entire town turn on his dad? You know, when he still respects him with his life?"
Peter stood up. "I understand where you're coming from, I suppose."
Gwen twirled her hair with a finger. "Also, Harry didn't make the lie."
Peter blinked. "Huh?"
"It was his mom. She got rid of all the evidence and junk. Harry just went along with it."
To some extent, Peter wanted to be frustrated. But he just couldn't. He could understand where Emily was coming from. Hell, he could understand where Harry was coming from. It seemed like everyone was trapped in their own personal prisons. Pretty awful situation, to say the least.
"Gwen..." He looked down on Gwen, who looked back at him. "I need you to get Harry-"
"Yo, Gwen!"
Peter whipped his head around. Harry was standing in the doorway, smirking. Gwen stood up, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Oh, hey Harry," she said, waving.
Harry pointed outside. "MJ wants you for something."
Gwen's eyes widened. "Oh, really?" She brushed her hair out of her face with her fingers and straightened up. "I'll be there." She ran out quickly, leaving the two alone. Once she was out of Harry's sight, he looked back at Peter, his smirk now a frown.
Peter dusted himself off, staring right at Harry. "Look, Harry. I need to-"
"Shut up."
Peter felt like he had been slapped. "What?"
Harry folded his arms. "I don't want to hear anything you gotta say." He walked up to him. "I heard you and Gwen plotting, you know. After I was kidnapped. But you know what? I turned the other cheek. I forgave you two."
Now it was Peter's eyes to narrow. "Me? Dude, you forgave Gwen. But not me."
Harry snorted. "You know, that's a good point. But maybe I could have if you were there for me before."
Peter groaned. "Harry... Look, I want to help you. I want to be there for you. To make up for any mistakes I made in the past. If you could just-"
"It's too late." Harry harshly shoved him back a bit. "Just... stay out of my way."
Peter just walked back up to him, glaring back and trying to control his temper. "I don't want to abandon you, dude. And please... just get rid of the Green."
Harry's glare didn't get any less intense. If anything, it only grew more hateful. "I know what I'm doing, Peter. And quit sticking your nose-"
"Hey, Puny Parker!"
Oh, thank God, Flash Thompson. Wait, what?! Yikes, Peter knew something was bad when he was thankful for Flash's presence. The man himself barged into his room, shoving past Harry. Harry, blinking a few times, awkwardly walked away, grumbling to himself.
Peter just glared at Flash. "What do you want, dude?"
Flash just reached into his pocket. "I gotta ask you something, Puny."
Peter had no idea what Flash up his sleeve/in his pocket, but he wasn't thrilled to see what it was. "And that is..."
Flash pulled out his phone. "Look!"
Peter stared at the phone. It was a news article from the Daily Planet, depicting him swinging across a building as Spider-Man. Below the image were the words NEW HERO OR NEW THREAT? THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER MAN. All he could say was "Well...".
"He's here!" Flash bellowed. "And, like, it says that he only came when we did! You know - a day ago! I mean, granted, they forgot the hyphen so you can't totally trust these chumps, but..."
Peter shook his head. "Were you going to ask me something?"
Flash snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah! I asked everyone else, but they didn't have an answer." He leaned in, causing Peter to recoil. "You think Spidey follows me online?"
Peter nearly burst out laughing. Why he thought Spidey would have a social media account, he had no idea. Nevertheless, he smirked, deciding to humour Eugene.
"Maybe."
Flash's grin grew even wider. "No way! Spider-Man follows me!" He ran out of the room. "EVERYONE! SPIDER-MAN TOTALLY FOLLOWS ME!"
Peter chuckled to himself. Well, at least he got a bit of a laugh from this whole thing. So what now? There didn't seem to be any crimes happening at the moment... Might as well start his project.
Or rather, find a topic for said project. And what better place to look for a topic than the city itself?
"Why would Lex want to put a hit out on us?"
Babs raised her head up from her ice cream to look at Karen, who had posed the question. "What?" She said through a mouthful of ice cream.
Karen fiddled with her spoon. "Well, just that. I mean..."
Kara just rested her arm on the table. "Again, it's not that complex," she said. "Lex is a psycho and wants us dead. Plain as."
Zee furrowed her brow. "Kara, two things: one, keep your voice down," she whispered to her. "We don't want anyone knowing our identities.
Kara blinked. "We're like, the only people here." Yes, it was a slow day for Sweet Justice. Probably bad for business, but good for them, Babs supposed.
"Whatever. Two..." Zee took a sip from her milkshake. "It's like what Jess said. Lex didn't do anything since you-know-what. But now, he's sent an out-of-town cowboy mercenary guy to kill us. You think he's planning something."
That was a good point. Babs, in her study of criminals respected in the public, knew they didn't try really shady stuff unless they were paranoid or something like that. So, by that logic, Lex was nervous that whatever he was doing, they would stop him. But what could he have been planning. What was he working on?
Well, there was the giant unveiling of a statue in a few days, but that didn't scream 'secret evil plot'. Unless it was secretly a giant robot with a brainwashing laser...
"Hey, wait a second!" Kara's arms were folded. "Can't we just, like, break into LexCorp, find some incriminating evidence and bring it to the cops if we're all thinking Lex is trying to kill us."
Jess looked at her. "Kara, that's trespassing. Last time we tried that, he just painted himself as an innocent victim."
Kara grunted. "But wouldn't we be able to just sneak in and steal some stuff before he notices?"
"Unlikely," Karen piped up. "LexCorp has some of the highest level security available. And that was before it was beefed up after we infiltrated it. The best case scenario would be us being brutally maimed." She shuddered as she shoved some more ice cream into her mouth. Kara sighed in frustration and leaned back into her seat. Diana placed a hand on hers, smiling reassuringly.
"Do not worry, Kara. I am sure Lex Luthor will eventually be forced to pay for his crimes soon enough."
The Kryptonian just snorted. "You were also sure Aiden wouldn't die in Just Before Dusk IV: Death Of The Night."
"Well how was I supposed to know that Caitlyn had been replaced by the shapeshifting Dracula?! Which, by the way, was a poor twist."
"Hey, that was the only good part of that slog!"
Babs just watched as the two started arguing about the movie. She opened up her phone, intending to play some app games to pass the time. However, she had accidentally let a news website open. There, she spotted an image of a man. A man jumping from one tall building to another, wearing red and blue spandex with big white eyes. Instantly, Babs's curiosity was piqued. She clicked on it and read the article of the so called 'Spider Man'. Then she read another about him stopping Bane. Then one about how some JJJ guy dubbed him a menace back in his hometown. She must have gone through seven articles before her attention was directed elsewhere.
"Uh, Babs?"
Babs raised her head to see Jess staring at her. "What are you looking at?" She asked.
"Oh, just about this weird spider superhero."
The rest of the girls turned to her. Even Diana and Kara stopped their 'debate' to lean in. "A spider superhero?" Zee questioned. "That sounds... unsettling."
Babs shook her head. "No, actually!" She showed them all an image of the costumed man fighting a man with weird, tentacle-like appendages coming out of his back, dated for around last Halloween. "Apparently, he can climb walls, possesses super-strength, and can create webs to help him swing around."
Diana seemed to be the most intrigued. "My Hera," she whispered. "He sounds fascinating! But about the webs... How does he make them? Like an actual spider?"
Zee cringed. "Thanks for the mental image, Di."
Diana smiled. "You're welcome," she replied, not noticing Zee facepalming. Kara, meanwhile didn't seem too impressed with this new hero.
"Super-strength? Wall-crawling?" She snorted. "I can name like, ten different heroes that have powers like that."
Karen looked at her. "And the webs?"
Kara just shrugged. "Flight's better, probably. Point is, guy sounds lame."
Babs just continued looking at the photos of this new hero. At least, until Jess leaned over to look as well. "It says here he's in Metropolis."
Zee blinked. "Well, that's certainly... interesting, to say the least." She looked around her. "Think he can be trusted?"
"Why not?" Babs said. "He seems like a good guy, and he apparently did a lot of stuff in New York. Even if there is some guy bashing him like no tomorrow." She smiled. "So, how's about we do some more research... elsewhere?"
The others just looked at her, as if expecting something more. Babs rolled her eyes. "I'm talking about the base because I think more people are going to be coming in like the whoever was stepping in just a few seconds ago."
"Ah."
"Mr. Luthor?"
Lex didn't even bother directing his gaze at Mercy as he marched down the hallway. "What?" He sighed.
He heard the footsteps grow louder as Mercy sped up to him. "Your 2 o'clock meeting, sir. With-."
2 o'clock? Lex looked at his watch. 2:30. He grimaced.
"He's late," Lex spat. When he got called by Mr. Hawthorne, who apparently was going offer him 'a wondrous proposition', he was intrigued to say the least. But evidently he couldn't be bothered to show up. And on such a busy day, Lex honestly felt insulted. "Cancel it. And if he calls, tell him-"
"No, sir." Mercy cleared her throat. "He's been here for thirty minutes. You're late."
Lex stopped dead in his tracks. Blinking rapidly, he looked back up at her. "What?"
Mercy rolled her eyes. "You're the one who's late for the meeting, sir."
Lex felt his face heat up. "Um..." Crap. Shaking his head, he adjusted his tie, continuing to walk down the hallway and to the elevator. "W-well," he mumbled. "I'm sure he'll understand." When he stepped into the elevator, holding out a hand so that Mercy knew not to accompany him, he pressed a button and the doors closed.
Right. Just needed a good enough excuse. One that didn't make him seem unorganised. It wasn't his fault. He was just studying the blood. Mr. Hawthorne would understand. Yeah, yeah he would. He was Lex Luthor. If anything, he'd be honoured to see him. He'd be forgiven.
Soon enough, the doors opened, and Lex stepped out. Sitting at the table was a sharply-dressed man with blonde hair, a small moustache, and a face that seemed almost unnaturally pointed and - for want of a better word - harsh. He was currently cutting himself a piece of the steak on his plate. Christ, even the chef knew he was here before him? Lex had never felt so embarrassed. Well, maybe except for that time when Lena snuck the hair removal into his shampoo and...
Whatever. That wasn't important. Straightening himself up, Lex put on his best smile. "Mr. Hawthorne! Or, may I call you Roman?"
Roman didn't say anything. In fact, judging by how he didn't even look up, his only movement being him bringing a piece of the steak to his mouth, he didn't seem to acknowledge him. Ignoring this, Lex took his own seat.
"So..." He drummed his fingers against the table. "How was the flight here? P-Pretty rocky, right?"
Still no response. Roman's attention was firmly fixed on his meal. Lex's smile faltered. Alright, small talk wasn't working. Just be honest.
"Look," Lex sighed. "I'm sorry about the delay. I was just-"
"Excuse me?"
Lex blinked. "What?"
Roman was now looking at him, one eyebrow cocked and his gaze hard. "Did you just... apologise?"
Lex raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
As suddenly as he spoke, Roman stood up straight, slamming his hands on the desk. "Don't you dare apologise, young man! You have nothing to apologise for!" Smiling, Roman walked over to the other side of the table and stood behind Lex, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I don't suppose your father told you this, but I have quite a good piece of advice for you."
Lex just blankly looked at him. "What?"
Roman's smile only grew wider. "Don't apologise. I never do."
"...Right."
Roman chuckled as he walked away from the table, stopping in front of a giant framed portrait. One of Lex himself. He had commissioned it as soon as the building was finished construction. A rather gorgeous painting, he had to admit. Roman seemed to appreciate it too, judging by how he slowly nodded at it.
Nevertheless, Lex stood up. "Are we going to get to the point?"
Roman didn't look at him. "Hmm?"
Lex groaned. "The 'proposition' you mentioned to me over the phone. Remember?"
Roman, at first, didn't say anything. But after a few seconds, he turned to face Lex. The smile was gone. "Of course. Thanks for reminding me." His eyes darted around. "But... first things first."
Lex tented his fingers together. "What?"
Roman started pacing around. "Keep all of this under wraps. No one can know you spoke to me. No one can know of the business we will do going forward. I cannot be seen. By anyone but you and your closet and most trusted associates. Got it?"
Lex's eyes narrowed. Right, this was getting suspicious. "Why?" He asked, folding his arms.
Roman just spun around to look at him. "Because, as far as the world is concerned... you're speaking to a ghost."
Lex blinked. "A ghost?" Standing up, he folded his arms. "Mr. Hawthorne, are you, perchance, drunk?"
Roman placed his hands behind his back. "Ever hear of Oscorp?"
None of this was making sense to Lex. "Um... Yeah." He had done his research on it only a few minutes ago, only then finding out that its CEO was killed by the 'Chameleon'. But even before that, he was always a little intrigued with their business, especially their Tech-Flight systems being developed.
Roman reached into his pocket, rummaged around, and pulled out a magazine. He lay it onto the desk. "Look at the cover."
Lex obliged, though he didn't really know why. The cover depicted the CEO of Oscorp. It was the first time Lex had seen what he looked like. All his previous research revolved around the company itself. Funny. Something about his face seemed familiar. The longish face, the pointed features, the neatly styled hair. He almost looked like...
It was just then did two and two came together. Lex looked up at the man. "Are you saying..."
Norman Osborn smiled. "We have much to discuss, Lex Luthor."
