Updated chapter 9! Hope you enjoy!
OsCorp's lobby is a mess – innocent bystanders cower behind whatever cover they can find, be it the reception desk, an overturned vending machines, or the company's logo. Blocking the only exit, two dozen armed security guards take potshots at a blur of a red and blue figure, which in turn seems to be frantically trying to find a way around them. Hundreds of dark, red splotches cover the place, but Kara's fairly certain that they aren't blood.
Why Peter isn't trying to escape through the roof, she can't imagine.
Kara touches down, planting herself in the crossfire. "Stop! All of you!" –she barks out.
The vigilante pauses, and she finally gets to admire his new look; where Spider-Man's first attempt at a costume was little more than a customized jogging outfit, the Stark-made suit is a veritable work of art. The new costume is skin-tight, but thick enough that Peter's features are obscured. Royal blue makes up the waist, back, and leg areas, while the chest, arms, feet, and head are a bright scarlet, adorned with a spider web-like design in black. Buried under his waist is a utility belt, only evidenced by the various containers protruding through the fabric. In the center of his chest sits a black spider logo, and his mask sports a pair of huge, almost cartoonish white eyes, framed in black, which seem to dynamically change size, mirroring the wearer's expression underneath.
She's snapped out of her reverie by the guards, who not only don't stop shooting, but actually focus fire on her.
Kara knows for a fact that she's bulletproof – her parents were never made aware, but during her early monthly check-ins with S.H.I.E.L.D., she was subjected to an increasingly perilous variety of tests, ostensibly as part of her Indexation. Most of the experiments were fairly benign, and obviously designed for Enhanced humans – she kind of broke most of those, especially the ones designed to measure superhuman strength. When it came to putting her durability to the test, and seeing that their tests were a bit too mundane for her...well, Fury just picked up a gun and shot her in the face. The round simply bounced off of her forehead, completely harmless.
In any case, her experience serves for her to immediately realize that OsCorp's men aren't using real bullets. Bullets, she can feel – they have enough kinetic energy that her nervous system can pick them up, on the level of, perhaps, a particularly tough mote of dust hitting her skin. Whatever she's getting hit with is much, much weaker – she can only tell she's getting hit by the squelching sounds the projectiles are making, all over her suit. She looks down, and is mostly unsurprised to find the same red splotches she noticed scattered all around her.
Paint, she thinks. I'm getting shot with paint.
Of course, the substance isn't just paint; very quickly, it begins to harden, and in seconds, it becomes a thick, rock-like mineral formation. Kara is covered in it – which might've been a problem, if she wasn't, of course, herself. She simply flexes her muscles, and the immobilizing agent is shattered into dust.
"Now that's just wasteful." –she says, dusting herself off. She smirks at their gob-smacked expressions. "If you guys are quite done, we'll just be leaving now."
She walks forward, Parker shyly following. The guards stare at them, but one by one, they lower their weapons. Once outside, Spider-Man tries to web-zip away, only for the line of webbing to be grabbed by her, and used to haul him up to the top of a nearby building.
Once down, Peter seems to shrink. "I, uh...I can explain?"
"Well, the shoot-out certainly wasn't part of the plan, so go right ahead."
Parker hesitates. "I...the data got moved. It makes sense – it must've been a huge mistake in the first place, that Gwen was able to just...stumble onto it. I tried to root around for it, which was a mistake, because it triggered the alarms and locked down the floor I was at."
Supergirl crosses her arms. "And then?"
"Well, I have a hot date with New York's criminal underworld, so I couldn't exactly stay." –he jokes. "So, I forced the blast doors open and ran for the hills. I tried to go out through the ceiling, but Gwen warned me away – they were expecting me, up there."
She nods. "So you didn't get anything."
"I got shot." –he says, showing her a small patch of red stuff on the back of his left thigh. "Information-wise...no. Sorry."
Kara sighs. "It's ok. I talked to Lena, and she says she'll look into it."
Peter tilts his head. "'Lena', huh? You two close?"
She rolls her eyes. "It's not like that. Not anymore. But yeah, we were...friends, in college."
He hums. "Are you sure we can trust her? For all we know, she's in the know."
"Honestly? I'm not sure. Back then, I wouldn't have hesitated to say yes, but...well, things, didn't end well between us, to say the least." –she admits. "She seems genuine about it, for what it's worth."
Parker shrugs. "I guess we just wait, then."
Kara nods. "I'll talk to the others. See what they have to say. In the meantime, keep your guard up, and make sure Gwen's safe; whoever's behind this now knows for sure you both exist, and are onto them."
"Guess it's a good thing I have a new suit, huh?" –he says, preening a bit.
"It is a really good look on you." –she admits.
"It's perfect, Kara! It's got everything! I don't have to worry about getting shot or stabbed anymore, and this hidden belt thing means my web fluid cartridges won't fall out of my pockets again! I almost couldn't afford the ingredients for it anymore..." –he gushes, and for a second, Kara remembers just how damn young he is. "Oh, oh, and the mask! The eyes are so responsive! I can filter as much light as I need to, now! I bet my headaches will be gone, soon."
Kara's stomach falls. She's torn; on the one hand, she already likes this kid – even when he was just Peter Parker to her, she'd always appreciated his kindness and humor, a desperately needed reprieve in the everyday cut-throat environment of the Daily Bugle. She knows he's had a rough life, but his attitude certainly doesn't match his dark past. And he's already done so much; in just a few short months, he's grown into a skilled, willful crime-fighter, all on his own. Kara was born powerful – both in privilege and, once she landed on Earth, in physical prowess – but Peter's well on his way to achieving greatness, entirely on his own merits. She's got half a mind to give up her spot on the team for him to take.
On the other hand, however, he's still just a kid. Fifteen years old, and already getting shot at on a nightly basis. Five years back, the biggest worry in her mind was trying not to break her pen every time she walked past Riley the quarterback, not a potentially disastrous conspiracy to create super soldiers.
"It's not me you should be thanking." –she manages to get a word in. "Stark's been keeping an eye on you for a while, clearly."
He laughs nervously. "Yeah, I can tell...everything about this suit is what I'd done if I, y'know, weren't broke. It's just...he's Iron Man, Kara! I can't just swing by and say hello!"
She rolls her eyes. "Why not? That's basically how I got the job. Honestly, I'm pretty sure Thor got in the same way, and he's a god."
"That's the thing, though...how do I even compare? I saw what you guys did. The worst I could do was take out a couple of the alien sled thingies. You were out there, sucker punching space whales."
Kara scowls. "Peter, if we were truly as great as you think we are, you would never have needed to intervene. None of us are perfect, least of all me. Sure, I have all this power – nothing can hurt me, not that I know of, but I still couldn't save everyone around me. People still got hurt, even died, when I was supposed to protect them." –she says, then pokes his chest. "Captain Rogers is right; we need people who are willing to give their all in the defense of those who can't protect themselves. Whatever you became when that spider bit you, 'superfluous' is not it."
Parker seems to straighten up a bit, but his hands still fidget. "Gosh...I, uh, know you can't see it, but my face kinda matches the color of my mask right now."
She offers a smile. "You deserve the praise, and much more. You really should swing by the Tower sometime; if nothing else, Tony can fill you in on the specs of your new suit."
He wrings his hands. "Well...how about a deal?"
Kara cocks her head. "What do you mean?"
"I, uh...Aunt May has been working the graveyard shift at the shelter lately, so I've had time to patrol the city almost every night – she gave me a pretty strict midnight curfew for hero stuff, y'know? I'd...love to have some company, if you're up for it." –he says, rubbing the back of his head. "Not tonight, though. I gotta catch up with Gwen."
"Oh? And what would this patrol be like?"
He shrugs. "Just a couple laps around the city, basically. Keeping the peace, y'know? Usually takes me about two hours each. If we're really lucky, we might run into one of the other vigilantes."
Kara's eyebrow rises. "Just how many of you are there?"
"That I've met? A good half dozen. Heard of a lot more, but I don't actually know if they, y'know, exist."
The Kryptonian hums. "I might just take you up on that. Will you be going to the Bugle tomorrow, too? We could meet on the roof and go from there."
He facepalms. "Oh my god, that's where you figured me out, isn't it?"
"Yup. Followed you all the way to OsCorp."
"I really need to take a class on being sneaky. I'm lucky it was you this time."
"'This time'? Who else knows about your powers?"
Parker sighs. "Well, I told my Aunt. And you've met Gwen – we've been friends forever, so the one time I talked to her as Spider-Man, she instantly recognized my voice."
"Oof. That's unfortunate."
"Tell me about it."
"Kind of to be expected, though."
He throws his hands up. "She was gonna get mugged!"
Kara laughs. "Hey, no judgement here. I jumped out of the Bugle in full view of absolutely everyone. Nearly gave Jameson a heart attack."
Peter snorts. "I know I'm not supposed to say something like this as an aspiring hero, but I'm kinda sorry it didn't stick."
"He is kind of the worst." –she says, chagrined. "Alright, Spidey, get out of here. Say hi to Gwen for me. Meet you tomorrow at sunset?"
The young hero winks at her, back-flipping off of the building. Soon enough, a red and blue blur swings towards Queens. Kara smiles at the sight – but can't help the worry that follows as she flies off, thinking of New York's youngest vigilante.
As always, thank you for your attention! Make sure to comment or message me if you have any questions about this story. Look me up on Twitter as Darthkvzn or Tumblr as darthkvznblogs if you'd like - and on Ko-fi, as Darthkvzn, if you like what I do and have a buck to spare.
Until next time!