Another chapter by BulletstormX and their friend, takign place after the deaths of Ultimate Spider-Man and New 52 Superman, posted with permission. Once again I am mostly after plot ideas by pm and I am not after posting work by someone else. This is the second part of a one time thing.
The news media and the world at large were in a frenzy following the death of Superman, even more so than it was after the death of Spider-man who despite his ties to major superhero groups like the Ultimates and the X-Men was still largely a hero local to New York. Superman was different. In addition to being a founding member and leader of the Justice League, he himself was in a category of his own when it came to influence as a superhero. Of all the heroes in all the world, none of their names held as much weight as that of the Man of Steel. Turns out some things never really change even across multiple universes.
Spider-man's death sent New York into mourning but Superman's death threw the world into chaos. With the threat of an invincible Superman no longer looming over their heads, it wouldn't be long before the supervillains of the world became more bold. And with Spider-man no longer swinging the streets of New York, the Big Apple would slowly rot to the core in the ensuing despair. The world needed someone to fill the power vacuum left by Superman. New York needed a Spider-man to lift their spirits up once more.
Clark and Peter were not this world's Superman and Spider-man. Nobody could truly replace them no matter how hard they tried anyways. But hopefully this earth could still make due with a couple of interdimensional vagabonds for their heroes. Though this universe may not be their home, it has become the home of their children. And in the end, there was nothing in the entire multiverse than the lives of their children. They would defend this new world as if it were their own in the original Superman and Spider-man's place.
The two displaced superheroes came to a consensus over breakfast with their family at the neighbour's house. Although, calling them their neighbours might've been stretching it a bit. Their old home was already in a secluded spot before out of necessity, so their "neighbour" was several miles away from them. It would've been hard to maintain both their secrecy and their superhero activities in a suburban neighbourhood after all. People probably would've noticed all the streaks of black that regularly darted across the skies whenever a major disaster happened in the world sooner or later.
Still, Diana and Peter regularly passed the owners of their quasi-neighbour's house plenty of times before during trips to the city. They were a nice couple, and workaholic enough to spend most of their time at work instead of at home. It made discussing potentially sensitive topics around the house much easier for the two superhero families.
Peter set plates of perfectly flipped pancakes on the table for everyone, all drenched in a generous amount of maple syrup and topped with a block of salty butter. It was the perfect breakfast to start the day with, but the air around them felt heavy with tension. The same thing was in everybody's mind but none of them wanted to be the first person to say it for fear that acknowledging the elephant in the world would cause it to keel over and die. Their lives have already gone through so much change. It was just their horrible luck that they had to go through another massive crisis in their lives right as they were getting used to the way things were.
As usual, the first person to say what needed to be said was Lois. She may not have any powers, but there were some things that only she was able to do between the four of them.
Nov 4"So, what do we do now?" She asked. "The world's reeling from the loss of their hero. New York especially is mourning for both Superman and Spider-man. Everybody's wondering who's going to take their place. Considering that you've all been exposed to the public eye at some time or another, I can guess who they're going to look to first."
"They're not wrong to be afraid," Clark said grimly. "There are some threats out there that really are jobs for Superman. Problems that no one else could hope to deal with."
"Like Darkseid?" Jon asked. It was an innocent question born out of genuine curiosity. A simple inquiry to a question he already knew the answer of but wanted to reaffirm. And yet for those who knew the true danger Darkseid presented for any universe, the mere mention of his name in an innocent offhand question was enough to lower the temperature in the room.
"You're absolutely right," Peter said, trying to lighten the mood. "This world is gonna need a Superman to keep kicking Darkseid's pantless butt back into Apokolips."
Diana let out a soft chuckle, though there was no real humour in it. "And New York is going to need someone to keep Spider-man's old villains in check too." Her expression darkened when she realised the full implications of a New York without a Spider-man. "New York has one of the worst crime rates in the world both regular and super. It's right up there with Gotham when it comes to dangerous cities full of men with darkness in their hearts."
"Though to be fair, at least New York has better food," Peter joked in an attempt to fend off their collective descent into dread for a little while longer.
"And heroes!" Annie added.
A sad smile spread across Diana's face. "Yes, Annie. It does. But unfortunately the greatest of those heroes is no longer there."
"Not if I can help it." Peter set down his fork and looked at Clark and Lois. He and Diana had already talked about what they were going to discuss with Clark and Lois before. Peter doubted their position would change no matter what their friends said, but they deserved to put a word or two in before he decided on how to move forward with his family. "Diana and I have been thinking about moving away. To New York. They're going to need another Spider-man."
Clark grimaced and Lois let out a small sigh but neither of them looked surprised. Jon averted his gaze from Annie, instead deciding to stare in silence at the floor as their parents sorted things out.
"Are you sure?" Lois asked. There was no judgement in her tone. Just subdued concern for her friends.
"I could just keep giving you rides to New York whenever you need to get there, Peter," Clark offered.
"Thanks for the offer, but I think you should reserve playing piggyback for Jon from now on. Besides," Peter leaned back in his chair and took a swig off his glass of orange juice. "I miss the big city. Don't get me wrong, the vast barren countryside and faint ambient smell of horse droppings is charming and all, but I'd much rather be surrounded by tall buildings I can actually swing off of."
Sad smiles marked Lois and Clark's faces.
"We'll miss having you and your family around, you know," Clark said. "
Even the jokes?" Diana asked.
Lois snickered. "Well, maybe not that."
"I kinda like them..." Jon muttered softly under his breath.
"Well..." Peter turned his eyes to Jon, who was still fixated on the floor like he was trying to x-ray vision his way to the earth's core. "I know a couple of people who'll really miss each other."
Annie flushed red and squirmed in her seat. Everybody noticed, but for her sake pretended not to. Jon was undoubtedly her best friend, but their parents were placing bets on how much longer it's take for them to become more than that. Peter was losing fifty bucks if it was after highschool.
"We can still meet up during the weekends," Lois insisted. "New York isn't all that far from the new neighborhood Clark and I have been eying to move into anyways. About an hour's drive at most or a minute or two with Clark carrying us. I'll make sure to bring Jon to visit on the weekends."
Diana let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Lois."
"It's alright, Diana. But again," He expression grew serious once more and she turned to Peter. Peter, are you sure about this? Neither of you nor Diana owe this world anything. You could continue to live a hidden, peaceful life with your family if you want to. Unlike Clark you didn't get your face exposed and your counterpart here was young enough that you shouldn't be recognisable as him if you grow a beard."
"Or put on a pair of glasses?" Peter quipped.
"I mean, it helps," Clark insisted.
Lois rolled her eyes, though she had to admit that the glasses probably fooled her for much longer than it should've before she discovered Clark's secret.
"Well, yes, a pair of glasses could probably help with your civilian disguise too. But you haven't answered my question yet. Are you sure about this? You've been Spider-man for almost all your life. The way I see it, being in this world seems like a prime opportunity for you to hang up the mask and try to live the normal life fate took from you. Do you really want to take up that mantle again? To bear the responsibility that comes with the Spider-man name?"
Nov 4Peter wanted to crack another joke, but none came to mind. Spider-man the superhero might have been a bit of a clown, but the weight and influence carried by his name was no laughing matter.
"It's not a matter of if I want to or not," Peter said solemnly. "It's something I just have to do."
"Why?" Lois asked with real bewilderment in her voice.
Peter couldn't help but smile at her out of character innocence. Lois was smart. Much smarter than she gave herself credit for. But there were some things that she could never understand. Things that only people like her husband, him, and his wife could. As a reporter, she was willing to risk her life to get a story she thought the world needed to hear. To her, doing what she does must've felt like a deliberate choice on her part. If she wasn't doing it, someone else would. Probably nowhere near half as good, but there were untold amounts of people out there that could be trained with the same mentality to do the exact same things she was doing.
The same couldn't be said when it came to superheroes. Not just any was born with the powers Clark or Diana was and not everyone was lucky or unlucky enough to have superpowers dumped on their head like Peter did. People like them had to live with fantastic powers normal people could only dream of every day knowing full well what they could be using it for. So when they saw the world crumbling around them at the hands of similarly gifted people abusing their powers, villains who only people like them could stop, the choice between sitting back to do nothing and standing up to fight for what's right became no choice at all. It became an obligation.
"Because..." Peter tried to find the words to convey the millions of reasons running through his head explaining why he needed to go back to being Spider-man to Lois without taking up an entire hour. In the end, he settled for the words that he'd lived his life by. "...With great power comes great responsibility."
Lois' shoulders slumped in resignation. "You keep saying that but I still can't understand what the heck it's supposed to mean."
"I do," Superman said in solemn understanding.
Diana didn't say anything. She just took Peter's hands in hers and that told him all he needed to know. No matter what the future held for him, he wouldn't be facing it alone.
"I respect your decision," Lois said. "I don't understand it. But I respect it. I hope you the best, Peter. I hope you don't mind if I still call you up every now and then for a photography job."
"Working for the great Author X?" Peter shrugged. "What kind of wannabe photojournalist would say no to that? I'd be honoured to keep snapping photos of crooks for you."
"Glad to hear it." Lois smiled, then turned her attention to Diana. "What about you, Diana? This universe's Wonderwoman seems alive and well but having another amazon fighting for man's slowly decaying world couldn't hurt."
"Yeah, about that. I'm most likely going to have to talk to her to set the record straight sooner or later," Diana admitted. "It might be better to rip the bandaid off as quickly as possible so there aren't any misunderstandings. The last thing I need is for my counterpart to think I'm a clone or skrull spy or whatever other shapeshifter exists in this universe."
"That's probably for the best." Clark nodded in approval. "But how do you intend to even get in contact with her in the first place?"
"I'll figure something out. I may not be Batman, but I know myself well enough to track down my own counterpart here." She slid her fingers in between the gaps in Peter's and held his hand tight in her grip which would've been extremely uncomfortable for anyone without his superstrength. "But before I do that I gotta help Peter and Annie move into New York. We've been browsing some real estate websites and I think we got a few good options for a new home."
"Uh, hey, no offence, but how'd you two even manage to save up enough for property in New York?" Clark asked.
A mischievous smirk spread across Peter's face. Lois' appetite inexplicably increased and she was suddenly very invested in demolishing her breakfast.
"Loaded Miss Lane here pays me more than you'd think for my photos, Clark."
"Most of it is royalties for the pictures," Lois mumbled through a mouthful of maple syrup drenched pancakes.
Clark furrowed his brow but decided that it was for the best if he didn't know.
Nov 4The big day came about a week after their conversation. Clark helped the couple pack all their stuff, which took all of ten minutes considering that they had to ditch all their stuff in the old house in a hurry. The most expensive item they had with them was Peter's camera, and even then Clark was pretty sure that he got it from some sort of sale. They loaded all their stuff into the old black SUV Diana bought at the used car dealership and drove off for New York. Clark had offered to give them both a ride but Lois gave him an earful about needing to lay low the moment the offer left his lips. In the end he settled for just waving Peter, Diana, and Annie off as they drove above and beyond the hills of the countryside for greener pastures ironically away from pastures of any sort.
Once they arrived at their new apartment in upstate New York, Peter set down a single box filled with his belongings in the living room and considered his work done for the day. The only thing he bothered to take out was his radio. An archaic piece of machinery from a bygone era, really. Nobody really listens to the radio anymore outside of cars when there are plenty of online podcasts and streaming services to listen to. But one of the few people who still used radios just so happened to be police officers, and Peter just so happened to know the exact frequency he had to tune the radio to to listen to their calls.
New York being New York, he heard frantic shouting erupt from the radio the moment he tuned the radio to police frequency.
"Robbery in progress at the Stanley Bank of America in 199 Lee Street. Shots fired. I repeat, shots fired! Requesting immediate backup."
Peter turned to look at Diana, who nodded in understanding. And although she knew that a bank robbery was nothing to be happy about, she couldn't help but smile when she saw Peter reach into his meager box of belongings with a smile on his face. He brought out his new Spider-man suit, designed with help from Clark and his advanced tech at the secret fortress.
It was noticeably different from the custom of the late native Spider-man and from every custom Peter had ever worn before, but the red and blue colours, spider web patterns, and wide slanted eyes made it immediately recognisable as a friendly neighbourhood Spider-man. The design was more streamlined and the colours slightly paler than the costume the native Spider-man wore. The thin knee-high boots had been replaced with more sturdy sneaker-bottoms and hard white bits of armoured plating made up the much larger than usual spider logo that now covered up most of the chest area. It might stop a bullet or two, though it seemed unlikely for Peter to get hit in the first place with his ridiculous reflexes.
But the changes to the costume wasn't just a practical matter. Spider-man was a beloved hero in New York. But for most people, they knew him more as Spider-man the hero than Peter Parker the student. Wearing the exact same costume everybody knew him by would've been in poor taste. Almost like parading around in his dead skin. Peter wasn't their Spider-man and he had no intention of pretending to be. But with this new costume he could pay respect to the original Spider-man while still keeping his legacy alive. A new costume for a new Spider-man to protect New York City.
"They're going to get way more than the backup they asked for," Diana said when she saw him in full costume. Though she couldn't see it, she knew that Peter was smiling back at her from behind his mask.
Annie poked her head out from the top of a box of books that all belonged to her. She really did take after her father.
"Go get em' dad," she said with no small amount of pride visible on her youthful face. "I'll help mom unpack. Those bad guys aren't going to kick their own butts!"
Peter chuckled under his breath. "Now how can I say no to a face like that?" He opened the apartment window and sat on the ledge, his head dangling off of over fifty storeys without fear. "I'll give them a couple of punches in your honour."
He leaned back off the window until he fell. The familiar sensation of the wind currents gushing across his entire body filled him a nostalgic dose of adrenaline. His brand new web shooters shot up two strands of thick webbing onto a building's ledge seconds before his head would've made impact with the hard sidewalk and he slingshotted himself up into the air. Pedestrians below stared up at him in utter disbelief. And for the first time since the death of their hero, a spark of hope ignited in the city.
