The Spectacular Spider-man

by choejhulkp9

One happenstance trip to Central City in December changed the life of one individual in a way he never imagined. You wake up one day and all of a sudden, your body changed, you gain super powers and you find yourself wondering if it was an accident or maybe it was meant to happen. Who knows but all I know is with great responsibility comes...a lot of weird crap.

13. The Canaries

Hello everyone, here is Chapter 13 of the Spectacular Spider-man. Will has returned to Star city in time to be the photographer for the fashion show staring Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Thea, hosted at Verdant. And bonus is that Oliver is back and alive so that's good news. But that's about it on the good news. The bad news is that with Oliver coming back some tensions start to flare up as the team has to deal with the return of Vertigo. Enjoy!

The Spectacular Spider-man: The Canaries

February 2015-Star City

The train from Central City arrived and pulled into the station at Star City right on time. The passengers of the train disembarked one by one with Will being one of them. He had his backpack, a small duffle bag in one hand while the other was carrying a large, heavy-duty metal suitcase. The duffle bag had his Spider-man suit and some clothes while the suitcase was all his new Spider-man gear. The newly made Spider-bots, additional web gadgets, some more web fluid, and a spare Spider-man suit incase one got too badly damaged. The STAR labs upgrade done to his suit and gear was great but since STAR labs was in Central City the distance was kind of an issue. So, they made him a spare suit incase something happened to his current suit. Will hoped that with Felicity at Palmer Tech that she might be able to steal some tech so he wouldn't be as reliant on STAR labs. At the very least he wouldn't have to go to Central City or have STAR labs send him stuff on a regular basis.

He walked through the train station and made his way to the exit which is where he saw his mother waiting by her car. He smiled and walked over where she gave him a big hug and kiss on the head like he was returning from a year abroad when he was only gone for a couple of days.

"I take it I've been missed?" Will joked.

"You have and it's good to have you home." May said, holding up a copy of the Star City Gazette and the front-page story had a stilled photo of the Flash and Spider-man fighting against Hydro-man when he went giant-sized. "I take it that your trip to Central City wasn't as peaceful as you hoped it would be."

"No, it wasn't. Things got weird, even for me." He told her as they walked to the car. He explained what happened on the drive back home. His mom had lunch ready so the two ate and talked which was nice since the two were busy. May with work and Will with school and working at Palmer Tech with Dr. Connors so these little moments were nice. And Will was able to leave some of his Spider-man gear in his room as a backup. He'd also leave some in his dorm room and at the Arrowcave when he had a chance to drop by. And a part of him was wondering how things were going with the others now that Oliver was back. He kept up with reports and the news while he was in Central City and there had been several reports and sightings of the Arrow, so the city knew he was back, but everyone was still very much pro-Spider-man. Ha!

After lunch and catching up with his mom, she dropped him off at his campus where he dropped off his Spider-man gear in his dorm room before heading out to see his professors about his missed assignments. It was still within the first half of the second semester of the year so he didn't have a lot he would need to catch up on. He walked into the science building and made his way to Dr. Connors lab and office. Since he worked with Dr. Connors at Palmer Tech as his assistant he knew his class schedule and he didn't have another class for an hour.

"Dr. Connors?" Will knocked on the door to his office and called out.

"Come in." Will opened the door and saw Dr. Connors working at his desk. "Hey, Will. Good to see you again. How was Emily's swim meet in Central City?"

"Great. She broke a new regional record and clinched SCU's woman's 200 meter for the finals in March. I took great pictures and the sights weren't that bad either although the Big Belly Burger here in Star City is way better." Will joked.

"Good to know." Dr. Connors handed Will the work that he missed. "Just a few days of work you missed but I'm sure you can catch up. I'll see you at Palmer Tech tomorrow."

"Definitely. Oh and Dr. Connors, I'm not sure if you know but the charity fashion Show for Aria's design class is tomorrow night at the Verdant Night Club. Some nice finger foods and a show for charity so if you and your family want to stop by then that'd be appreciated." He told him.

"I'll talk to Martha and we'll see." Dr. Connors answered and Will left. When he was gone, Dr. Connors brought up his records and grades from last semester and began doing some investigating. Will comment about Alison DiLaurentis suddenly acing the final sparked his curiosity on the subject. At first he thought that Alison just pulled out a miracle after a lot of studying and hard work only to hear that Alison wasn't exactly someone who dedicated time to studying. And he knew Will well enough that he wouldn't lie or bad mouth a student like that if it wasn't true. That led him to investigating some other students similar to Alison who managed miracles on their finals despite their history of poor grades. Something felt off and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

After Will got the last of the schoolwork he missed when he was in Central City, he went to get a coffee from the campus Starbucks and then he would go to the library to get a start on the work he missed. Considering his schedule, he needed to get in all the free time to catch up on his school work as he could. He was gone from STAR City for several days and ended up making headlining news in Central City with his fight against the giant Hydro-man so he needed to start doing some patrols out in the city now that he was back. Plus, he still needed to find another lead on Hammerhead and his Maggia along with Prowler and whoever he was working for before they started a gang war. And he also needed to talk to Laurel about her vigilante activities and then catch up with Oliver and Team Arrow to see if he missed anything although considering the drama he saw when he left he was gonna put that off for the last minute. And all of this was on top of maintaining his college grades and working at Palmer Tech with Dr. Connors.

Things were easier last year.

A few hours later…

Will walked out of the library feeling a little mentally drained but with a smile on his face as he managed to finish about 90% of the assignments he missed during his trip to Central City. The remaining 10% he'd finish tomorrow during lunch. With that taken care of, he was on his way to the arts building because Aria had texted him to go there. Partially to see him but also partially because her design class needed some help putting some things into a shuttle bus to take to Verdant for the fashion show tomorrow.

He arrived at the storage room to see the design students who had their designs being showcased at the show tomorrow sorting through things in the storage closet and placing what they needed onto Dollies or carts to make the moving process to the shuttle bus easier. He saw Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Maya sorting through the garment bags containing the two outfits they would each be wearing tomorrow.

"Oh, Will. Good you're here. Quickly…" Aria came over and placed two heavy garment bags into his arms. "…take these to the van outside."

"Nice to see you too." Will remarked as Emily came over and placed her two garment bags onto Aria's.

"Glad you came. Saves us a trip." Emily quipped as Spencer then added hers on.

"It's good to see you too." Spencer added before the girls looked at Maya who hadn't placed her garment bags in Will's arms.

"Go ahead." Will relented and she smiled before placing hers on top.

"Thanks." Maya said as Will adjusted his arms so nothing slipped through his arms. Despite being just garment bags with clothes they were deceptively heavy.

"Oh, and don't forget these. These are Thea's." Aria placed two more onto his large pile. "Hurry and put those on the bus and then come back because there's more stuff we need you to carry. And it's good to see you safe and sound."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and Will shook his head as he waddled away, being extra careful that nothing dropped or got messed up. If it dead, it would be his head. After moving more stuff into the bus, they were taken to Verdant where everything would be offloaded and kept there for the show tomorrow night. Will had several boxes in his arms that he carried into Verdant where he saw Thea coordinating her employees and some contractors on the small runway being put together along with the rows of chairs. Thea jotted down some things on a clipboard when she saw people arrive.

"Hey, Thea. Where do you want this stuff?" Will asked her.

"Depends on what's in the boxes." Thea told him.

"The bottom box is the programs and the other four currently weighing down my arms is all the makeup and spare items for the dressing rooms." He answered.

"Ah, ok. So, there's a area in the back that will be the dressing and makeup area for everyone so you can put the four boxes there and then you can come back with the box of programs." Thea told him. He nodded and proceeded to walk away as Aria walked over with two garment bags. "You can follow Will to drop off your outfits."

"Thanks, but these are for you. Figured you'd want a sneak peak at what you'll be wearing tomorrow night." Aria handed them to Thea and she took a sneak peek.

"Wow." Thea muttered.

"I know. You are gonna make a lot of heads turn tomorrow night." Aria promised as the two were giddy with excitement. Spencer, Emily, and Maya came over so they could talk before the professor of the Design class came in. She introduced herself to Thea and thanked her again for letting them use Verdant for the show. Thea gave them a quick run-down of everything. They had the programs, drinks, catering, seating, Verdant's DJ would be providing music for the event and Thea also managed to get a small blurb about the event in the newspaper. It was for good charity so that was a plus.

Will walked into the back room of the club that was acting as their makeshift dressing room and placed down the four boxes when he saw Roy walk in with some more chairs and curtains to make makeshift dressing stalls. "I take it you got roped into this fashion show help too?" Roy asked.

"My girlfriend is a student of the class so I was always gonna end up helping." Will joked as he put the boxed down. "Good to see you, Roy. How's everything been since I was gone?"

"Not bad. Oliver's back but things have been…" Roy was trying to find the right word when Will stopped him.

"I get it. I know there's a lot of stuff I'm probably unfamiliar with or completely out of sync compared to the rest of your team but I think it's probably better if I stay out of the loop." He suggested.

"Smart idea." Roy told him. "How was Central City?"

"Other than fighting three metahumans and getting the snot kicked out of me? It was all right." He admitted. "Did Felicity manage to get anywhere in finding Prowler or whoever he's working for?"

"No, sorry. He's been MIA for a while and she hasn't found out who the knew player in the Glades is. And no word on Hammerhead but despite the setbacks he's encountered he's been gathering strength and resources for a counter attack." Roy answered.

"I was afraid of that. With Tombstone gone and Brick in jail, Hammerhead's bound to try and make a play for the city against whoever Prowler is working for. And I've heard stories of how bad things were here when the Maggia had control so if does make a comeback then he's gonna bleed this city dry. I need to find him." Will declared.

"Will, hurry up! We've got more boxes for you to carry!" He heard Spencer shouted.

"After I do that." Will groaned and walked back with the box of programs.

"Poor guy…" Roy muttered as he got back to work.

Later that evening…

After doing all the heavy lifting and helping set up at Verdant for the fashion show tomorrow night, Will stuck around a little longer as the professor has the design class go through a quick run through. They didn't get changed or anything but they just played out how everything would go so everyone knew what to do when. Most of the 32 students in the design class last semester who submitted their designs would be modeling them and for those that wouldn't, couldn't make it, or submitted extra designs had Emily, Spencer, Thea, and Maya.

After things finished up at Verdant, Will and the girls plus Thea got sushi for dinner at Toro's before they called it a night and got on a bus back to SCU. After the girls went back to their dorm and he gave Aria a kiss goodnight, Will suited up and headed out into the city for a nightly patrol. But he wasn't the only one.

A non-descript black SUV was parked in isolate alley in the Glades with a license plate that was out of state. The reason for that was it belonged to a weapon's trafficker who came to STAR City for a deal. He was waiting along with his driver/bodyguard when a black sedan pulled up. The driver got out followed by his armed associate who had a briefcase. He handed it over and the weapon trafficker opened it to see that the money inside was the agreed upon amount.

The bodyguard opened up the trunk of the SUV to show several crates and the trafficker opened one to show them an AR-15 assault rifle. "All new with the serial numbers filed off along with ammo."

"Excellent." The buyer said as his associate walked over to take a crate.

[supersonic ear-piercing sound]

The four criminals covered their ears and slumped down in pain as a very distinct supersonic sound came out of nowhere and was powerful enough that it shattered all the nearby glass windows at once. It was so loud that they had to cover their ears to save their hearing and get any kind of protection they could but it wasn't enough. While the four men were doubled-over or sprawled out on the ground covered in broken glass, a blonde woman in a black outfit jumped down from the nearby fire escape and landed in a crouch. Said woman was Laurel Lance wearing her vigilante gear and wielding her tactical tonfa. The sonic sound came from the sonic device in her hand currently lit up bright blue.

Laurel rushed over and kicked one of the men in the face, quickly knocking him out just as her sonic device powered down. The driver of the weapon's car stood up only for Laurel to hit him across the face with her tonfa, knee him in the groin and then the gut before elbowing him in the back of the head. The buyer of the guns stood up and was hit across the face with the tonfa while his friend hastily pulled out his pistol. Laurel just hit him in the hand so he dropped his gun and kicked it away before punching him across the face. He staggered a bit but recovered and threw out a punch that Laurel blocked and parried before hitting him with a gut punch and then punching him again across the face. She grunted as the man tackled her into the car and tried to choke her out but she reached up and managed to grab ahold of his thumb. With a hard tug and twist she jerked his wrist back and broke his thumb. He cried out in pain as Laurel punched him across the face, kneed him in the groan and then took him to the ground with a hip throw before stomping on his head.

The buyer was the only one still conscious. He hastily grabbed a pistol off the ground and stood up, aiming it at Laurel when a strand of webbing snagged the gun, his leg and pulled him into the air. Laurel turned to see the buyer hanging upside down by webbing with his arms tied to his side. That's when she saw Spider-man drop down, hanging upside down via a web.

"I had him." Laurel told him, her voice being hidden with the voice modulator hidden in the collar of her suit.

"I know but I needed to get the workout in. I've been gone for a bit." He remarked before dropping down and walking over to the open trunk of the SUV and to see the crates of assault rifles. "Oh, that looks like a lot of serious charges coming your way buddy. Who were you buying these for?"

"Screw you, bug." The buyer cursed him and then spat on the ground.

"Spider's aren't bugs, we're arachnids." Spider-man remarked, elbowing the guy in the stomach almost haphazardly so the guy starting swinging. "Still, I don't think you were just buying these guns because you've got an itchy trigger finger so you're clearly working for someone. Just saying who is gonna make this a lot easier for you."

"I'm working for your mother when she's not too busy—MFFT—" The man was cut off by some webbing covering his mouth so all they could hear were muffles.

"Seriously, so rude." Spider-man pointed out as he began pushing the guy back and forth like he was on a swing. "I mean, I'm gone for a few days and it's like the manners in this city got worse. Unbelievable but I do need to know who you were trying to get the guns for so if you won't say something I think I know a way you can tell me."

The man just glared at Spider-man in response. So, Spider-man looked over at Laurel. "Black Canary, any chance you like Pinatas?"

The guy went wide-eyed and started to struggle while Laurel saw where Will was going with this. "I love Pinatas."

"Well excellent because I've got one with some candy inside that we need. You don't need a blindfold on this one since it's just the two of us." Spider-man grabbed the man and walked back a bit, pulling him with him. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are." Laurel held up her tonfa like a baseball bat, causing the man to squirm and panic.

"Feliz cumpleaños." Spider-man pushed the guy forward and Laurel whacked him in the stomach. The man screamed in pain which were muffled due to the webbing over his mouth. "Nice hit, excellent form but it looks like this pinata is gonna need a little more whacking."

"And I've got nothing but time." Laurel said as she kicked the guy in the stomach so he swung back but when he came back she hit him with her tonfa but this time in the groin. The guy screamed like a little girl and Spider-man winced.

"Oh, nicely done. It looks like the pinata is about ready to break open. One more time!" Spider-man pushed the guy into Laurel and she hit him in the groin once more. The guy groaned and shook around violently, desperately trying to get free. He swung back so Spider-man held him in place and ripped the webbing from his mouth. "Feel like talking now?"

"I'm gonna kill you!"

"Pinata's still not cracked yet. Let's keep going!" Spider-man pulled him back and was ready to push.

"WAIT! WAIT!" The guy shouted in desperation and managed to do so just in time before he was pushed. "No more!"

"Then start talking. Who were you buying the guns for?" Spider-man asked him.

"Ha…Hammerhead. I was getting the guns for Hammerhead." He muttered in between gasps for air and groaning in pain.

"Why does Hammerhead want the guns?" Laurel questioned.

"He's shoring up his resources and getting ready for war. He wants to show this city that he's making a comeback." The man answered.

"Good to know." Will then knocked him out with a punch to the face. He webbed up the other three criminals and made an anonymous call to SCPD before looking at Laurel. "Let's get out of here."

She nodded and they left. The SCPD arrived soon after and took the four men and the crates of guns into custody. Will swung through the city with Laurel holding onto him. He also had an arm around her as he shot another web and swung them up onto the roof of a building.

"You ok?" Will asked her.

"I'm fine. Just so you know I had that handled." Laurel shut off her voice modulator since it was just them.

"You handled yourself well but if that guy got a shot off then things could have ended differently. It's partially why I was waiting to come in only if I needed to." He pointed out.

"How did you find me anyway?" Laurel wondered so he took out a spider tracer from his belt.

"Had a little help tracking you down." He answered and Laurel began looking around for it. "Does your dad know you're out here as the Black Canary?"

"Probably but I've been keeping a low profile. Mainly just thugs and stopping some of the leftovers of Brick's reign of terror. If you're going to give me a lecture about how I'm in over my head, I shouldn't be doing this, or I'm not like you and Oliver then don't." Laurel told him.

"Ok." He replied and his quick response earned him a look of confusion. "There is a part of me that thinks maybe you being the Black Canary is more than a little dangerous and that I'm better off webbing you up but you broke out last time and something tells me you'll keep trying to go out even if I try to stop you. So, with that being the case I'm better suited with my time helping you and making sure you stay alive."

He walked over to a nearby radiator where he had a bag hidden. "That wasn't the response I was expecting." She admitted.

"If you expected me to get all brooding and lecture you then I have a feeling that's more Oliver's department given his sour disposition. He's the brooding vigilante who thinks he always knows best whereas I'm the fun loving and quippy superhero so I'm a little different. And given the fact that you are way old—" Will stopped himself there to avoid finishing the word and incurring the wrath of mention Laurel's age. That and the stink eye she shot him was a good indicator to stop there. "I mean, given the fact that I'm still in college it'd feel weird for me to give you a lecture on being in over your head. When I first started this I imagine my mom would have said the same thing so instead I'll be more supportive."

"Thanks, Will. For not telling me how bad I'm doing." Laurel said to him.

"Well, I'm sure there have been people trying to do this kind of thing and have done worse. You at the very least have some combat training but if you're really serious about being the Black Canary then at the very least Spider-man can help you and make sure you don't get killed." He walked over with a bag and began sorting through some things. "I got some stuff here that should help. First things first. Here."

He took out a slim looking vest and handed it to her. "What is this?" Laurel asked him.

"That is a polymer Kelvar weave vest I got at STAR labs. When I went there and had my team up with the Flash, I got to work with his team there. They gave me my first upgrade so I figured that you should get one too. Granted, I don't know your measurements so I'll have to do some introductions if you want to get your real super suit. In the meantime, that vest will provide some added protection. Twice as durable as regular Kelvar and a third the weight so it shouldn't hamper you. My suit's made of the same stuff so that'll help." He explained and Laurel nodded. She looked it over and placed it against her body to see if it would fit and it would. After that he took out a silver metal bracelet with a spider symbol on it. "And this is something you should keep on you. The small barb on the bottom by the wrist is for self-defense. Press the barb against someone and it'll release a 2,000 volt shock that'll stun them. Press the spider emblem and it acts as a GPS signal in case something comes up. I've given these to my friends and my mom in case something happens but luckily so far nothing. And you can make use of some of my web grenades too. They're pretty handy. Also, could I get one of those sonic bombs?"

Laurel took one from her belt and handed it to him. "What do you want it for?"

"Just to check it out. I'm a scientist so I'm interested. Who knows? Maybe after some time with this thing I can make it better. Oh, sorry. Here." He handed her the bag. "There's also some web grenades in there that you should keep on you. They help in sticky situations."

"Thanks, Will." Laurel took the bag. "For everything."

"Don't mention it. Besides, if something happened to you out here I imagine your dad would probably kill me." Will pointed out and Laurel agreed with that. "I was hoping to drop you off at home tonight so Laurel Lance could get a head start on something."

"If it's about what that guy said then I agree. This city already had to go through Brick so it doesn't need to deal with Hammerhead." Laurel admitted that and using her ADA resources on this would help. "Why is Hammerhead escalating things?"

"If I had to guess I imagine it has to do with the Prowler. Clearly whatever he was doing pissed someone off so either A) Hammerhead's got all the money and power to mount a Maggia resurgence or B) whoever Prowler was working for pissed him off and just started a war." He said, looking out at the city that was soon to be a powder keg.

Just another night in Star city.

Line Break xxxxx

After a night on patrol which had him stop several muggings, some attempted break-ins, and a few accidents the word had spread that Spider-man was back. It was the front page of the Star City Gazette. He got some sleep and then dealt with his classes before heading to Palmer Tech to work with Dr. Connors. Their latest RNA Strand had shown the best results so far in their cancer trials with a 100% remission status but only an 85% in completely curing the cancer. A little more tweaking and they could get it to 100%. Dr. Palmer was happy with the progress as was the board who were already beginning the process for early human trials. Rumor has it that word from the FDA for their Genetic Recombinator research was nearly finished getting the ok to proceed so they were getting ready. Will did his dutiful job as Dr. Connors assistant in making sure that everything was right and that they triple checked, quadruple checked and then checked their work for a fifth time but he couldn't help but feel that maybe this was being pushed too soon. He would have brought it up to Dr. Connors but he seemed to have a lot on his mind lately so he didn't want to push it.

That was only further solidified when he saw Dr. Connors clean up his station and grab his briefcase. "All right. That'll be all for today. Good work, Will. We'll pick it up again tomorrow."

"Sure thing. Dr. Connors? Is everything ok?" Will asked him.

"Yeah, why?" Dr. Connors wondered.

"You just…you seem like you have a lot on your mind today. Is everything ok?"

Dr. Connors smiled, seeing how worried Will was. "I'm fine, Will. Just some stuff at the university but I promise you I'm fine. And to show you that I am fine, Martha and I will be at the charity fashion show tonight at Verdant to show our support and donate a little. I'll see you tonight."

"See you then, Dr. Connors." Will bid him farewell and felt a little more at ease. He continued working a little bit when he heard the door open and in walked Felicity. "Hey, Felicity."

"Just wanted to pop in and see how you were doing. Haven't seen you since you got back." She said, walking over and giving him a quick hug. "So, I take it that things in Central City were fun?"

"Fun? Yes. Painful? Also, yes." He corrected her. "You can add three new meta-humans to my rogue's gallery. I'm just glad they're staying in Central City."

"Yeah, I don't think a giant Hydro-man would be good for us here." Felicity pointed out.

"No, it wouldn't and I have the bruises to remember. How's everything been since I was out of town? Roy gave me a general update so I'm guessing things are back to normal with an added layer of awkward over whatever is going on with a dude called Ray al Gull." He stated.

"It's actually Ra's Al Ghul and he's—" Felicity stopped when he saw Will hold up his hand.

"I think it's better for me that I stay out of whatever Oliver has going on." Will suggested.

"Good idea." Felicity admitted. "I came down to talk about Hammerhead and the Maggia. Laurel called me this morning and said you two stopped a weapon's buy for him last night."

"Yeah. Hammerhead's gearing up for war. There were eight crates of weapons with plenty of ammo so he's building up power. Still no luck on Prowler?" He wondered and Felicity shook her head no.

"He's been laying low. I've even tried tracking down the painting he stole but so far nothing. We haven't confirmed it but rumor in the Glades is that Prowler is working for someone new so it's definitely not Hammerhead or the Maggia." Felicity stated.

"Which means whoever Prowler is working for is using him to build up power for their own takeover of the city only they pissed off Hammerhead and the Maggia to do it. Now we've got a possible gang war brewing." Will let out a slight sigh and shook his head in disbelief before letting out a small chuckle. "Just another day in Star city."

"I'll keep pursuing some leads. The buyer last night was Alonso Carbone, a suspected Maggia middleman so I'll look into his known associates, credentials, and digital footprint to see if I can get a better picture of his interactions with Hammerhead and the rest of the Maggia. It may not be a lot but it'll give us something." Felicity suggested.

"Thanks, Felicity." He smiled and she left the lab so he could get back to work.

At the SCPD station, Captain Quentin Lance was doing some paperwork in his office when there was a knock on the door and in walked Laurel with some files tucked under her arm. "Hey, dad. Here. These are the files on Carbone. Known associates, financial records, and everything. No obvious ties to Hammerhead though but plenty of connections to some suspected people in the Maggia. Enough to give us a good idea on who we should be on the lookout for."

"You got a lot of that information pretty fast. I wonder why?" The sarcasm in Captain Lance's voice wasn't so subtle. "Laurel, I thought that with Brick in jail that you wouldn't be going out there anymore."

"I never said that." Laurel pointed out and her father just sighed in disbelief.

"I'm serious, Laurel. When this city was on the brink of falling apart and Will needed all the help he could get I was willing to look the other way but now—"

"But now we've got another possible situation that could be all hands on deck and Will is gonna need all the help he can." Laurel told her dad. "Look, dad I get that you're looking out for me and don't want me to do this but I remember the stories you told me about the Maggia back when you were first starting out as a detective."

"Which is exactly why I don't want you out there." Captain Lance pleaded with her.

"But it's why I have to help. Fighting to protect our city is something I'm proud to do both as ADA and as the Black Canary." Laurel told him.

"Black Canary?" Lance was confused.

"Will called me that last night and I guess we're sticking with it." She explained.

"Does he think you're in over your head?" Lance wondered.

"He does but he saved himself the lecture and decided to spend that time looking out for me." She moved her jacket sleeve up a bit to show him the silver bracelet with the spider emblem on her wrist. "He gave me this. A GPS tracker and a mini-taser if I need it along with getting me a Kelvar vest for my suit. He said if I'm going to be going out there then he would look after me and make sure I'm ready."

"I don't know if I should thank him for looking out for you or arrest him for encouraging you." Lance remarked.

"He's not encouraging me, dad. He's looking out for me. A part of him agrees with you but also understands the kind of person I am so he's going to help me and make sure I'm safe." Laurel assured him.

"His line of work isn't exactly a safe one though." Lance pointed out.

"I know dad but I'm not stopping this." Laurel swore and Lance could see that she really was determined to see this through. And if there was one thing he knew about Laurel it was that when she was so focused on something it was near impossible to stop her. He was pulled out of his thought when her phone buzzed with a text so she checked. "It's from Will."

"Does he have anything on Hammerhead?" Lance wondered.

"No, it's for me. He's saying to bring some workout clothes and go to his school. Says we're having a sparring session." She told him. "That'll be fun."

Lance had a feeling that fun wouldn't be the word she would use.

An hour later…

SCU Campus

Laurel landed on a training mat face first and groaned in pain before pushing herself onto her back. She was dressed in sneakers, leggings, and a workout top with her hair tied up into a ponytail with her tonfa on the floor next to her. A hand came down in front of her so she reached up and was pulled back to her feet. It belong to Will who was wearing some shorts and an athletic tank top. The two were in one of the small dance studios in the athletic building since they needed privacy. Things would look weird if Will and Laurel were sparring in the middle of the gym given Will's social standing to be a science nerd and Laurel was the ADA and not enrolled at the university. The small dance studios weren't as populated, private, and given the time none of the dance clubs or programs had any slots assigned so they could spar without anyone watching. Will just put some mats down to make it safer.

"Nice blocking but you weren't paying attention to my feet which ended in a leg sweep that knocked you onto your face." He pointed out. "Controlling the ground and knocking someone down first will give you the edge."

"Since when did you become an combat expert?" Laurel questioned.

"I'm not but after spending nearly 9 months fighting goons, criminals, thugs, and supervillains I've definitely picked up a thing or two to know what I'm talking about. Granted that's mostly super powers talking but even before I took up the boxing lessons with Ted I've had to make things up as I go and I've got real world experience. Getting someone on the ground gives you the perfect chance to land the knock out blow. You used it last night to good effect so remember that." Will told her. "You still training with Ted?"

"Every day. Either in the morning or at night depending on my schedule." Laurel stated.

"Then we can add these lessons on top of that. Every little bit helps and the more we can add to your arsenal then the better off you are. If you really want to keep doing this as the Black Canary then fine but more training is part of the deal." He told her. "Now, let's go again."

Laurel nodded as she picked up her tonfa and held her hands up before throwing out several quick jabs and straight punches that Will blocked or dodged. Laurel had some skill but she needed a lot more training.

Several hours later…

Verdant

Thea's club was filling up with family and guests for the charity fashion show being put on by SCU's Fashion and design department. People were talking and enjoying some food or drinks with the staff and caterers explicitly told to serve alcohol to the guests who had red wristbands on. They were the people of legal drinking age and not college students who would try to convince a server they were 21. Will got dressed up in some nice shoes, navy blue trousers, a blue button-up and sports jacket with his old film camera slung around his neck. He offered to take photos of the event for the professor and of the outfits being shown during the show. There were other photographers as well incase any of his photos didn't come out well and even a reporter for the event. An SCU design and fashion class hosting a charity fashion show with the proceeds going to the local shelters and clothing charity groups to get clothing, foods, and essentials to the people in the city who needed the help. It made for a good public interest story. And the event was also able to attract some recruiting agents for various design and fashion groups so there was some newly added nervousness but in a good way.

He saw his mom talking with Captain Lance. She had promised to come to support Aria and the girls but to also donate to charity and Captain Lance was there as her date. And he would also donate some money as well. He saw some of the professors from the University from the Fashion and Design department but there were other professors that were friendly to the department and willing to donate to a good cause. Dr. Connors and his wife were among the crowd talking to some of the professors along with some of the parents who were here to see the work of their children with their own eyes. Will snapped a few photos of the guests and club for the event which is when he spotted Felicity over in the corner talking to Laurel. Both were wearing their work clothes so they must have just come from work and either didn't know there was an event going on and entered to blend in or they did know what was going on and decided to donate to help. It was a tossup. He also saw Spencer's parents but her sister and Ian weren't there which was good. Spencer didn't need the headache.

Will snapped a few more photos when he sensed someone walk up beside him. "Here to donate to charity? Does a broke billionaire have a lot to donate?" Will asked Oliver. He asked as kind of a joke but also was curious.

"I'm not exactly broke. When a billionaire goes broke we still have a few millions dollars in the bank." Oliver pointed out.

"Oh…that makes sense and answers some questions with how you afford to do what you do with no company. I figured even Felicity wouldn't be able to front you what you need." Will pointed out when he noticed Oliver was dressed rather casually with just jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. "You're kind of under dressed."

"I'm not gonna stay for the whole thing. I just wanted to see if Thea's all right." Oliver told him.

"I saw her about five minutes ago. She was making sure that the caterers were all set before she went to the changing area to get ready." Will informed him. Oliver nodded and watched as Will continued to take photos. That's when Will noticed he was looking at him. "Anything else I can help you with?"

"I just wanted to thank you for looking out for the city while I was gone." Oliver said and Will nodded.

"No problem. It's my job too." He replied. "But it did get a little complicated."

"I remember. Who's Prowler?" Oliver wondered.

"Not sure yet but definitely someone who got the same tech Shocker, Ox, and Ricochet did and he's putting gasoline onto a possible powder keg in the city. Laurel's working up some legal leads for me to follow but I'll handle it." Will assured him. "Besides, it seems like you got your own thing to worry about with whatever's going on since you got back."

"Will, I'm not sure what you know but I'd prefer—"

"I know, I know, you're prefer to handle it by yourself and by all means, go ahead. Somethings tells me that whatever business you've got to deal with is something I should stay out of." Will figured. "But if you should need any help then just ask."

"Thanks." Oliver replied before he walked away. He saw Roy working the event since he worked at Verdant but the event wouldn't last more than two hours so he'd be done by the time Oliver went out on patrol.

At 7pm, the last of the guests and visitors had checked in and enjoyed the small catering offerings and drinks before they began to take their seats. Will opened up his camera and put in some fresh film before taking his spot by the stage with some of the other photographers as the professor for the class walked onto the stage with a microphone. "Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the Starling City University's charity fashion show brought to you by the Design and Fashion department. I'd like to thank you all for being here tonight. Professors and Friends of the department, friends and family of the student designers, and all our guests for being here tonight. And I know that all of your donations will help a lot of people who need it." She said and everyone gave a small applause. "My students have been working tirelessly on their designs to show you to tonight. I hope you are as proud and amazed of their hard work as I am. And without further ado, let's begin!"

Verdant's DJ began playing music and the lights dimmed down while the lights pointed at the stage lit up. The first two people to come out were female students modeling some summer clothing they had designed and made. Everyone clapped and those that knew them cheered while photographers took photos. Will crouched and snapped several photos, flashing back to when he used to take photos all the time with his camera. It was like riding a bike and he had gotten back into the groove. The students walked in from the sides where the curtains for the dressing areas were set up and walked down the stage which was set up with a long pathway with rows of chairs on either side like the professional shows have. Once they reached the end they did a pose or showed off their design before walking back and the next two students or their models came in.

Aria and Thea came out wearing some summer styled clothing. Aria had on a red bikini but on top was a nice white dress with a matching hat and jewelry while Thea was wearing a more 70s inspired beach wear and dress covering with a headband. May cheered for Aria while Felicity and Laurel cheered for Thea. Both were smiling as they walked down the stage. Will snapped several photos of them as they walked down and Aria sent a flirtatious wink at him as she walked by. The two then walked back down the stage just as Emily and Spencer walked out. Emily was wearing a purple dress over a matching swimsuit while Spencer had on a red romper over her swimsuit but with the addition of a white jacket and white shorts and matching hat. Both were wearing sunglasses and walked down the walkway like they owned it. Will snapped photos of them both and they waved at him as they walked by before walking back. Maya came out with one of the female students wearing heels and cheetah-like print romper over her swimsuit. She waved at Will and at May as she walked down before heading back.

More students and their models showed off their outfits as the show continued on. Spencer and Aria then walked out in their retro-style outfits her class had to design. Emily, Thea, and Maya would be wearing similarly designed outfits and they didn't look that bad. Aria was definitely able to turn the retro-looks into something much better. The girls even did their hair up to get the volume but it worked. Will snapped photos like a fashion photographer at a professional runway. He was sure that once he got these photos developed they'd be great. Spencer gave him a wink and Aria blew him a kiss when they walked by and on the walk back Aria and Spencer looked at one another, knowing that they killed it. Aria gave Spencer and playful pat on the butt as they walked backstage just as Emily and Maya walked out together. The girlfriend duo killed it and had the biggest smiles on their faces. Thea then came out in her outfit looking beautiful and fierce in her corset-styled romper outfit. Roy definitely had his mouth hanging open while Felicity and Laurel cheered her on. Will even saw Oliver off in the corner and had a smile on his face. He could tell that Thea looked happy.

The remaining models continued on and soon enough the show was over. The professor came out and thanked everyone for coming and how proud she was of everyone coming out for support. Will snapped a few more photos as the DJ turned down the fashion show music for a more relaxed tune and the guests began to leave one after the other or stuck around to enjoy the catering before leaving. Will put his lens cap on his camera and walked over to May and Captain Lance.

"That was a fun event." May stated.

"Compared to my usual nights it was better. Some food and donating to a good charity." Lance added.

"It was fun. Now I know what a fashion photographer feels like but I think I'm more comfortable in science." Will quipped.

"I don't know. You looked like you were in your element during the show." May told him. "Maybe you can take up freelance photography as a hobby."

"On top of my already busy schedule? Even I don't have that kind of time but if someone ever needs top qualities photos I won't say no to getting some work in." He admitted when he heard some footsteps from behind and someone jumped onto his back. He immediately recognized who it was by the distinct smell of the perfume and their small stature. "You looked beautiful out there. I hope you're keeping that summer outfit."

"Definitely." Aria kissed him on the cheek before she dropped down and he pulled her close and kissed her as Emily, Spencer, and Maya walked over.

"It was a great show. All of you were so beautiful." May told them and they thanked her.

"While I'm not thinking of becoming a model it was kind of fun." Emily admitted.

"And you looked amazing." Maya said as the two shared a quick kiss.

"Easy there you two." Spencer told them.

"Now, I don't know about the rest of you but after all the work you girls have put into the show I think some Big Belly Burger to celebrate is in order." Will said and everyone liked that idea. "My treat."

"In that case I'm ordering all the milkshakes." Spencer stated as they walked out of the club and went to celebrate. Afterward, Will and the girls went back to campus while May and Captain Lance left to do whatever it is they were going to do. After spending a little more time with the girls, Will put on his suit and headed out on patrol.

It was night in Star City which meant that some idiots or criminals were doing something illegal. But it also meant that they might get their asses kicked by the Arrow and Arsenal or Spider-man. After the fashion show at Verdant, Big Belly Burger with everyone and then heading back to the SCU campus with the girls he put on his suit and went out to do a patrol. But he wouldn't be alone as he would have Laurel with him. If she was going to go out then he would go with her and make sure she didn't get herself killed but also make sure she got the experience she needed.

Oliver and Roy went out into the city for a patrol in their suits and were currently racing across rooftops to chase a fleeing drug dealer. He was a serious pusher and would likely go away for life if caught so he ran. He jumped a gap and managed to land on a fire escape before pulling himself over the edge and racing down. Arsenal jumped off the roof and landed on the fire escape while Arrow fired a grappling arrow and rappelled down. The drug dealer jumped down the stairs and made it to the ground where he quickly ran through a parking lot. He ran to the fence when a web line shot across the ground and tripped him. He hit the ground hard but pushed up only for the Black Canary to come from the side and knee him across the face. He pulled out a gun but she knocked it out of his hands with her tonfa, grabbed his arms, kneed him in the groin, and then threw him to the ground over her hip and knocked him out with a tonfa hit to the jaw.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Oliver shouted at her.

"Your job, apparently." Laurel replied as Spider-man lowered himself upside down via a web.

"I think she's doing pretty well." He quipped.

"Come here." Oliver pulled her over so the two could talk while Spider-man webbed up the drug dealer. Arsenal then walked over to Spider-man.

"Glad to see Jolly Green's still his usual mean self." Spider-man remarked.

"Yup." Roy replied.

"I thought I told you that I didn't want you out here." Oliver told her.

"And I told you that it wasn't your call to make." Laurel reminded him.

"Just think for a second what it would do to your father if something happened to you. What you're doing is selfish." Oliver warned her.

"Fighting for your city isn't selfish. It's what a hero would do." Laurel said.

"You're not a hero." Oliver stated.

"Maybe it's better I am doing this is Will. We'll try to stay out of your way." Laurel remarked as she walked over to Spider-man.

"All right, let's go." He reached out his hand and Laurel took it before he swung them away.

Oliver and Roy returned to their bunker after their patrol. Felicity was by the computer while Diggle was at one of the smart monitors looking at some data. "How'd it go out there?" Diggle wondered.

"We ran into Laurel." Oliver said as he put his bow onto its display rack. "Diggle, how could you sign off on her doing this?"

"Oliver, you might not know this but she's not exactly lobbying for anyone's permission." Diggle pointed out.

"She's got yours and apparently Will's since the two are working together." Oliver countered.

"Well not at first but she can definitely hold her own out there." Diggle told him.

"And he's training and protecting Laurel out there." Felicity corrected Oliver's assumption.

"How do you know that?" Oliver asked her.

"He told me. He said that if Laurel was gonna go out there as the Black Canary then he would do everything he could to make sure she stayed safe and could handle her own. It's slow going." Felicity said with her gaze not leaving the computer she was working at. That's when she saw someone enter from the alleyway entrance. "And you've got a visitor or as I like to call him your new BFF."

Malcolm Merlyn walked into the bunker and was immediately met with harsh glares despite the fact that Oliver said they needed him. That didn't mean they had to like it. "I'm glad to see that things are still running smoothly around here although your group appears to be one short. I was hoping to see Spider-man here. If only to pay him back for interfering in things last year." Merlyn remarked.

"He's not here. What do you want, Merlyn?" Oliver asked him.

"It's been a week since your return so I thought it past time we spoke." Merlyn told him so Oliver motioned him to continue. "Nanda Parbat is remote, but I wouldn't delude yourself into thinking that Ra's Al Ghul wouldn't have the means to keep in touch with things that happen in the rest of the world. While the Arrow's popularity has waned thanks to the admittedly impressive work of a certain Arachnid, your nightly exploits have made news and your return has been noted. It won't be long before he knows that you're alive."

"Your point, Malcolm?" Oliver wondered.

"We can't simply wait for Ra's to mobilize his forces. It's time to bring Thea into the fold." Merlyn told him and Oliver groaned.

"She's not ready to know my secret." He stated.

"I disagree. But in any case, if we have to protect Thea and to defeat the League, the three of us need to join forces. But I don't see how we can do that if she is still to believe that her brother is a reformed playboy and failed businessman." Merlyn pointed out before he left.

"Oliver, I told you before. If Thea finds out you've been lying to her all this time, you will lose her…forever." Diggle warner him.

Oliver was caught between a rock and a hard place but with the threat of Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Assassins, he didn't have a lot of options. Whatever he did would have consequences but would he rather keep Thea in the dark and make it harder to protect her or would he tell her secret so they could work together and risk losing her?

Elsewhere in the city, a lead from Yuri led Spider-man and Black Canary to disrupting a money pick-up for Hammerhead and his men. It was six guys dressed in the typical mafia style suits or clothing that was close enough in two cars, heading to one of the Maggia fronts for a money pick up. They drove into the back alley and when they stopped a man walked out of the building's back door and handed them a briefcase of cash. After checking to make sure it was all there the man went back inside while the man with the cash walked back to the car only for a strand of webbing to hit his back and yank him into the air.

"Shit, it's Spider-man!" The driver shouted and stepped on the gas but the car wouldn't move and neither would the one behind it. He stomped on the accelerator and heard the engine roar but the car wouldn't move and the reason for that was because the tires had been encased in webbing so they weren't moving at all.

That's when a supersonic sound shattered the windows to the cars and forced everyone to cover their ears in pain. Several strands of webbing shot into the broken car windows and yanked out the five Maggia men from their vehicles and dropped them unceremoniously onto the ground. One of them managed to quickly get to his feet and pulled out a pistol only for Spider-man to fly forward at him. He landed on his shoulders and sent him flying with a flying head-scissor takedown that sent him into a wall before a glob of impact webbing kept him there. He spun into a leg sweep, knocking two Maggia men down before moving into a touchdown raiz scoop and into a corkscrew spin split kick and hit both Maggia guys in the face. They hit the ground hard as Spider-man then jumped onto one guy's stomach and punched him across the face.

The last two Maggia men in the second car raised their pistols at Spider-man only for him to 360 dive roll to the side so they missed their shots before he fired two webs at their guns and yanked them away. Black Canary then came from the side and hit one of the guys in the back of the leg, staggering him before elbowing him across the jaw. She then hit the other guy in the face with her club, kicked him in the gut and then did a leg sweep to knock him to the ground. She turned and managed to block a punch from the guy she elbowed but got punched in the gut. She staggered but quickly recovered and parried his next punch to hit him in the solar plexus with end of her tonfa which knocked the wind out of him. She grabbed his wrist and twisted, breaking it before throwing him over her hip and hitting him in the back of his neck with her tonfa, knocking him out. She saw the other Maggia enforcer get up and pull out a knife. She held her tonfa up and assumed her boxing stance as the guy swiped and slashed but she stayed out of his reach and waited for the right moment. He made a lunge with his knife which she sidestepped and hit his hand with her tonfa. He recoiled in pain allowing her to hit him across the jaw, kick him in the groin and then swept out his legs from under him and finished him off with one final tonfa jab to the face.

Laurel took several deep breaths to calm down and catch her breathing when she heard some thwips from behind. She turned and saw Spider-man tying up the Maggia and leaving the briefcase filled with money webbed to the roof of the car. "Nicely done. You're getting better." Will told her as he webbed the two guys Laurel just took down. "See, our training sessions are doing you good."

"Ok, ok, you can stop with the I was right all along speech." Laurel told him.

"Oh, it's no fun if I can't use it." Will quipped. "But seriously, you're getting better. And to be fair I have an unfair advantage with my powers and the Arrow's had five years at this so you're kind of thrust into the major leagues, pardon the sport's pun. But you're doing good. You have any ideas on adding to your arsenal with something ranged."

"What do you mean?" Laurel asked as she saw Will pull the two goons she beat down over. He hung them into the air before covering them completely in webbing so they didn't hear their conversation.

"I mean, Oliver and Roy have their bows, Diggle's got his gun and I've got my webs. While good old fashioned fists and a tonfa is fine but adding something ranged to your arsenal couldn't hurt." Will suggested so Laurel took out a web bomb from her belt. "Those are mine and while I'm more than happy to let you use them you need something that screams Black Canary. And your sonic bombs are fine but something else could be useful. Throwing knives, maybe?"

"We'll workshop that later." Laurel said. "Thanks again for everything, Will."

"Don't mention it." He held out his hand. "Come on, let's go."

She grabbed his hand and held on as he swung away.

Line Break xxxxx

Will was in his dorm room and in full scientist mode. Laid out on his bed was a disassembled sonic grenade-thing that he got from Laurel. He took it apart so he could see how it was made,how it worked and it was impressive. A small device that was capable of generating a non-lethal but powerful ear-piercing super sonic sound that when Will first heard it could have sworn it sounded like a banshee scream from a horror movie. Whoever made this knew what they were doing as this thing was capable of incapacitating a large group of people and was able to destroy glass like it was nothing. There was even a secondary circuit that could cause the device to overload and explode like a grenade.

Will wasn't that well-versed in acoustics but he knew enough to hopefully make an upgrade to this thing and make it better. But he was also going to loop in Cisco at STAR labs and have him help. He was jotting down some formulas and acoustic calculations when he heard the lock to his door click in walked Aria.

"There you are. I was looking for you." She said as she put her bag down and walked over.

"Here I am. Just getting some work done." He told her. She walked behind him and began massaging his shoulders. "Oh, that's good."

"Oh, my poor hero. You need to relax a bit." She pulled out his chair and sat down on his lap.

"Well, who am I to argue with my beautiful, smart, and talented girlfriend." He admitted and she smiled before leaning in and the two kissed.

"Trying to butter me up?" She teased in between their kissed as he ran his hands down her side and then down her legs. Despite the jeans she was wearing he was able to caress her and she was enjoying.

"Depends. Is it working?" He wondered and her kiss was her answer. She helped him remove his shirt before he did the same to her. One thing led to another and suffice to say that both of them had smiles on their faces when they went to their next class.

At the Star City courthouse, a Federal Marshall was escorting a prisoner out of the building after his trial. The prisoner on trial happened to be Werner Zytle, the criminal and drug dealer who tried to take over the Count's Vertigo trade and called himself Vertigo. The guy was a nutcase and his trial ended with him sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. When the Marshall escorted him out of the courthouse, the media and reporters swarmed him like locusts for a comment or an answer to their questions.

"How many people have your drugs killed?"

"Reaction to sentencing, Mr. Zytle?"

"Any remorse for what you've done?"

Zytle then stopped moving so he could make a statement. "The Roman Governor Porcius Festus maintained that the accused has the right to face their accuser. Now, where is my accuser? I speak, of course, of the Arrow! And Spider-man! Where are you?!"

Laurel pushed her way past the reporters to get to him. "Excuse me, Mr. Zytle has no further comments. ADA Laurel Lance. Take him to the van. Thank you." She said to the Marshall. The Marshall staggered a bit with him feeling lightheaded and strange which is when his vision began to act up. He saw the faces of the journalists and reporters morph into monsters and demons and his adrenaline had heightened to the point where he pulled out his gun.

"Stay back! Stay back!" The Marshall shouted in fear before he began shooting. He shot two reporters with his pistol when Laurel rushed forward. She kicked out his leg, knocked his gun out of his hand and then punched him across the face.

The Marshall was knocked unconscious but thankfully his shooting was over. Laurel looked around and realized that someone was gone. "Where's Zytle?!"

The police soon responded but it was a bad look. Vertigo was now loose and if his past was any indication then a lot of people could die. Will had finished with his last class of the day when he heard the breaking news. Zytle escaped from captivity after a Marshall ended up shooting two people in a crazed state. He headed to his room to get his suit when his phone rang. "Hey, Yuri. I saw the news."

"I can't believe it. Zytle's loose and that Marshall started shooting into the crowd. Thankfully no one was killed but we've got two in critical condition. We've got him in the box but it's clear he was drugged." Yuri told him. "The longer we wait then the longer Zytle has to slip away."

"I'm on it." He assured her as he walked into his dorm room and grabbed the spare backpack that had his suit and left.

After a bus ride he ended up at Verdant and input the code Felicity came him to the alleyway entrance and walked in to the bunker where he saw Diggle, Felicity, and Roy. "Hey, guys. We've got a situation." He told them.

"What's going on?" Diggle asked.

"Zytle just escaped from captivity. Vertigo's on the loose." He told them and they all had a feeling of dread.

"Just when I thought we were done with that guy." Felicity muttered as she began bringing up news footage of the event. They watched as Zytle made a spectacle to the reporters before the Federal Marshall took out his gun and began shooting into the crowd. "Oh my god."

"Pretty convenient. Guy wigs out just as Zytle is being taken out of the courthouse." Roy pointed out.

"It's not convenient. It was planned." Will told them. "Yuri called me. The Marshall was dosed with Vertigo."

"Zytle was in a full set of restraints. How did he even manage to dose a Federal Agent?" Diggle wondered.

"He didn't. One of the reporters did." They heard as Laurel walked in with a bag.

"Nice combination by the way." Will told her and she nodded.

"She's right about the reporter." Felicity showed them security camera footage from the courthouse before Zytle made his grand statement. She isolated the image by the reporter next to the Marshall and they could see a small syringe in his hand.

"Felicity, can you get us a name on him?" Will asked.

"I'm on it." She replied.

"All right, once she gets the name for our reporter he's our lead but Ztyle has to have been planning this for a while. You don't just decide to break out of jail on the day you had your trial." Will pointed out and they agreed. "Felicity, dig into the courthouses computers and database and get everyone who was working the Zytle case and everyone he's had contact with while locked up. Chances are he's been in contact with someone who helped him today."

"Ok." She replied, getting to work.

"Diggle, look into the old files we have on Vertigo especially the ones on his drug operation. Now that he's out he'll likely want to get Vertigo up and running again which means chemicals and a place to synthesize it." Will suggested and Diggle nodded in approval. Will looked around and noticed Oliver wasn't here. "Where's Oliver?"

"He's with Thea. He had to tell her his secret." Roy told her.

"Ah, ok. Well, while he's doing that we'll take the lead on Vertigo until he can join us." Will told them and everyone nodded. Will felt right back into the role of a leader and the others were ok with that. Oliver was busy dealing with some family drama so they could handle things until then. Will, Roy, and Laurel got their gear ready so once Felicity got the reporter's address they were good to go. Thankfully with Felicity being as skilled as she is it didn't take long.

They suited up and headed to the workplace for Anthony Walker, the reporter who dosed the Federal Marshall. It was late so the building was empty but appearances were deceiving. Spider-man was on the roof of a building across the street while Arsenal and Black Canary made their entry through the service entrance. Spider-man was able to monitor their movement into the building via the HUD in his helmet. That's when his HUD scanned the building and he saw Anthony Walker at his desk with a heavy overcoat but he was shaking and sweating like crazy. He was nervous about something. "Arsenal, Black Canary, hold on." Spider-man told them, having them stop near the entrance.

"What's going on?" Arsenal radioed in.

"I don't know. Let me find out." He fired a web and zipped over, reminding him to make a mental note that for his suit's next upgrade would be a better scanning system and possibly x-ray vision. He crawled on the side of the building and neared the window in Walker's office when his spider-sense went off. "You two stay back. Something's not right. I'll handle it."

He opened up the window and jumped in to see Anthony Walker sitting at his desk. Now that he was closer he saw that he was visibly sweating and like something was really wrong. "Anthony Walker. Where is Werner Zytle." He asked him.

"He's not—he's not here." Walker replied but his voice was shaky.

"I know you helped him escape today but I don't think you did that because you wanted to help him. Why?" He asked.

"Zytle, he threatened my wife. Said he could get to her, that he'd kill her. If I didn't do this, then—"

"Do what, Mr. Walker? Let me help you." Spider-man told him as Walker opened up his jacket to show he was wearing an explosive vest. In his hand was the detonator that triggered it.

"Oh god…" Felicity said into her comms as she and Diggle were watching things from the bunker.

"Kill you." Walker said as he stood up. "I'm so sorry."

"Anthony…give me the detonator. I can help you." Spider-man told him.

"He'll kill my wife."

"I can protect her. I've dealt with worse people than Zytle. Give me a chance and I'll make sure you and her stay safe." Spider-man promised. "Please. Now hand me the detonator."

It seemed as though Spider-man's words were getting to him. He has dealt with worse people then Zytle and faced even metahumans who make Zytle seem like a kid throwing a tantrum. But the terrified man couldn't take the risk. "God forgive me."

He pressed the detonator so Spider-man ran to the window and jumped out just as explosive vest went off and destroyed the entire floor. Spider-man caught the tail end of the explosion and was knocked forward a bit but he fired a web and swung around before sticking to the side of the building. "Zytle's going down." Spider-man declared.

Will, Laurel, and Roy returned to the bunker after the explosion. Anthony Walker killed himself in an attempt to kill them which failed so now they needed to wait for another lead. Will called Yuri and told her about Walker's wife so she was going to put her into protective custody with some officers she trusted. Will, Laurel, and Roy walked into the bunker where Felicity and Diggle were waiting for them. Surprisingly, Oliver was back as well and he didn't look happy.

"What happened?" Oliver questioned.

"Zytle escaped custody earlier today and we got a lead on the man who helped him. He strongarmed a reporter into dosing the Federal Marshall with Vertigo so he could escape. Threatened him and his wife." Will said as he removed his mask. "I tried to get him to let me help but clearly he was more scared of Zytle and had an explosive trap waiting for you and me, I'm guessing. I sensed something was off so I had Roy and Laurel stay while I checked things out. Got out before he set off the bomb."

"You should have waited for me." Oliver told him.

"You were dealing with family issues. We had it handled." Will assured him. "It's not like we're dealing with a metahuman or Deathstroke. It's just a crazy drug dealer. Nothing we can't handle without you."

"Clearly that's not the case." Oliver pointed out and his attitude was starting to get on Will's nerves.

"Well, if you went in there you wouldn't be as lucky, Oliver." Will told him and Oliver stared him down.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me." Will shot at him. "I sensed something was wrong so I handled it on my own and the guy was suicidal. If you had gone in you would have threatened him, fired an arrow, and be fried to a crisp in that explosion. I don't know what your problem is but I was hoping your time away would have done something to your ego when clearly that's not the case."

"Excuse me?!" Oliver stepped forward when Diggle got in between them and stopped things from escalating.

"Ok, maybe we should take a break and throttle back?" Diggle suggested.

"No, Diggle. I want to know exactly what is Oliver's problem because clearly I've been doing the exact same thing I've always done but he's still got the giant stick up his ass." Will pointed out.

"My problem is you dragging Laurel into this." Oliver stated.

"Excuse me?" Laurel stepped forward. "Will didn't drag me into anything. I chose this. I chose to put on Sara's jacket to help the people of this city. I've risked my life for this city while you were gone. That should earn me some respect."

"This isn't about respect and it's not about you risking your life. I understand that you miss Sara. And I understand that when you go out there like this all that pain goes away." Oliver said.

"It's the only time it does." Laurel stated.

"And that relief isn't real. It's a drug." Oliver told her.

"If you're implying…"

"You are an addict. And just like with booze and pills, that high that you're chasing every night is endangering your life." Oliver warned her.

"Go to hell, Oliver." Laurel spat at him. "You don't get to play that card with me. Ever. And if there is anyone who is using adrenaline to hide the pain of real feelings and real life, it's you."

Laurel grabbed her bag and walked out in anger. "You're still a charmer, Jolly Green." Will grabbed his mask and bag and followed her when Oliver grabbed his arm.

"If you care about Laurel then you would stop her." Oliver told him only for Will to rip his arm free.

"And if you cared about her then you wouldn't have said that." Will shot back. "I'm not sure what happened to you, Oliver and quite frankly I don't care but clearly whatever happened just reset your hard drive to what it was months ago. Or at least pulled a screw loose if you're working with Malcolm Merlyn."

"You have no idea what's going on." Oliver pointed out.

"I know that since you've been back things have gotten tense around here and clearly I'm not the only one who isn't willing to sit down, shut up, and blindly listen to you just because you get angry. Clearly your old ways of doing things don't work anymore and if you were smart enough to realize why you would see that." Will pointed out.

"He's right, Oliver." Felicity added. "You were gone, Oliver. Dead for weeks and all of us had to go on with our lives which meant not doing things your way."

"Fine! I'm back now." Oliver reminded her.

"That doesn't mean that we can go back! And you do not have the right to come back here and question everyone's choices." Felicity told him. "Will was the one who kept us together when you were dead. If it wasn't for him then everyone here and this city would be in turmoil so you, if anyone, do not get to judge him for what he's doing."

Oliver let all of that sink it and he could see that the others felt the same. Will was proud that Felicity was willing to back him up like that. It meant a lot but he wasn't petty to rub that into his face at the moment. "Clearly, you need to do some thinking, Oliver." Will told him before he grabbed his bag and left.

Oliver eventually made his way up to Verdant and sat at the bar until Diggle walked over. "This seat taken?"

"It's a free country. Apparently." Oliver replied. "The first time we went after Zytle I told you that this was my crusade. Doesn't seem to be the case anymore."

"You're right. It isn't." Diggle agreed.

"Diggle, I get that I was gone for—"

"No, you weren't gone. You were dead. And all of us, including me, we were ready to hang it up for good." Diggle told him.

"Why didn't you?" Oliver questioned.

"Because of Will. He made us realize that we weren't just fighting for you; we were fighting for ourselves, too. We all had a reason to fight for the city. He led us through a dark time but reminded us why we joined up with you in the first place. And yes, that includes Laurel." Diggle explained and Oliver jus sighed.

"She's not a soldier." Oliver reminded him.

"Neither were you."

"That's not the same thing and you know that." Oliver pointed out.

"Well, Will doesn't feel the same and his journey isn't the same as yours but he still chose to fight for the city and he's been doing fine. Laurel's safe with him looking out for her." Diggle said. "What I do know, Oliver, is that you started something. Something strong enough to go on without you. The question is, can you live with what it's become?"

Line Break xxxxx

The next day, Laurel was in her office doing some research on Zytle. If Will was right that he was going to get back into the Vertigo trade then there might be a clue in his file that could help them track him down.

"Knock-knock." She heard and saw her dad at her door.

"Hey."

"You know, half the department is still talking about how you took down that Marshall. Clearly your boxing lessons are paying off." Lance remarked.

"Thanks, but it's more Will. The training we've been doing has helped. And don't worry, I don't go out there without him." Laurel told him and Lance shrugged.

"I guess if he's looking out for you out there then you're probably the safest you can be. Oh, here are the files." Lance handed them to her. "What do you need them for?"

"Zytle. Will said that Zytle had to have planned his break out well in advance and he wouldn't just go on the run. He'll likely try and re-establish his Vertigo trade so his files and known associates might be able to help us find him before he can do that." Laurel explained and Lance sighed.

"Last thing this city needs is Vertigo coming back. I'll talk with Yuri and have her best look into it as well. Let us know if something comes up." He said and Laurel nodded. "Laurel, be careful."

"I will." She promised before going through the cargo manifests for the city. Zytle would need a lot of chemicals to make Vertigo and they weren't chemicals you could buy at a drug store.

Later that night…

Laurel eventually found something in the shipping manifests that matched up to something in Zytle's files. There was a shipment coming in from Zytle's old supplier so if he was making Vertigo then that's what he would need. Laurel told Will and the two headed to the docks to check it out. Spider-man was perched up on a shipping container straddle carrier while Black Canary was hiding among some shipping containers. They both had a good line of sight on the docks and were able see Zytle and his men moving several shipping containers worth of supplies into trucks.

"Wow, that's a lot of chemicals which will become a lot of drugs." Spider-man quipped.

"Are you sure we shouldn't take them here?" Black Canary peaked her head out and saw Zytle by the trucks.

"No, not here. He has too many chances to escape." Spider-man took out a spider-tracer from his belt and inserted it into his web shooters. "We follow him back to wherever he's going and take him and everyone else he has with him. Kill two birds with one stone so to speak."

"That's gonna be a lot of people." She pointed out.

"True so once we have the location we'll have Yuri and the SCPD secure the perimeter to make sure that if any do escape then they get captured. And I'll call Felicity to have Roy and Oliver meet us there." He told her.

"Seriously? After what happened last night?" She asked in disbelief.

"Oliver's got his head up his ass but some backup isn't a bad idea." He aimed his web shooter at the truck and pressed the trigger, launching the spider-tracer. It landed on the top of the truck and its GPS signal was clear. "All right, we're good. Let's go."

Black Canary pulled back as a web line was lowered down to her. She pulled it and held on tight with both hands as she was pulled up into the air. He helped her up to the platform her was on when he noticed something on her back so he picked it up and saw it was a tracer.

"Seriously?" She asked in disbelief.

"At least he knows what we were doing. Hang on." He used his HUD and contacted Felicity. "Hey, Felicity. Tell Jolly green that we're leaving the docks. Vertigo picked up the drugs he needs so we're gonna follow him to where he's cooking the drugs and take him there."

"All right, I'll tell him." She replied.

He hung up and saw the trucks drive away. His spider-tracer signal was coming through clean so they would be able to follow. He looked over at Laurel as he held her close and fired a web. "Maybe we should get you a bike or something you could ride? It'll help with your getting around and I won't have to carry you every time."

"And is there something wrong with carrying me around all the time?" She questioned.

"No. It's good exercise." He said as he jumped and swung them away. She ended up bopping him on the head for that comment.

An hour later…

Zytle and his men ended up at Dagget Pharmaceuticals in order to change the chemicals they took from the docks into new Vertigo. It had the equipment they would need for the process along with scientists to do all the work. Zytle was there himself with a dozen of his men. He had chains attached to the scientists so they couldn't flee and he even beat one scientists to near death for making a small mistake. Zytle wasn't messing around.

"I must once again thank you for letting us use your laboratory this evening. And my sincerest apologies to your colleague here. But mistakes…" Zytle managed to catch a vial of drugs that a scientist accidently dropped. "…will not be tolerated."

One of his henchmen hit the scientist in the stomach while another raised his gun to shoot him when a grapple wire wrapped around his body and pulled him back. A supersonic scream went off forcing Zytle, his men, and the scientists to cover their ears while all the equipment was destroyed. Spider-man swung down and kicked Zytle and two of his men into a wall while the Arrow grappled down and fired three arrows at three of Zytle's men, taking them out. Two raised their guns at the Arrow only for strands of webbing to yank their guns out of their hands before Spider-man leapt forward and dropped kick them both. He did a kip-up back to his feet and did a 360 spinning hook kick that knocked both of them out. Black Canary came from the side and knocked out one of Zytle's men with a blow to the back of the head while the Arrow disarmed another goon and knocked him out with a punch to the face. Spider-man web zipped forward and took out the last of Zytle's men with a flying kick to the face.

Zytle got up and took out a glass vial from his jacket only to get it yanked out by a strand of webbing. "Heads up!" Spider-man flipped forward and took Zytle to the ground with a flying hurricanrana throw. He got up only for Black Canary punch him across the face, kicking out his left leg so he dropped to a knee and then brought her tonfa across his face. He blocked her attack so she then kneed him in the jaw and then kicked him in the chest sending him staggering back.

"And for the big finish!" Spider-man leapt over his head and fired a web at his chest. When he landed he pulled Zytle forward and into Black Canary's roundhouse kick to the face. Spider-man added on a leg sweep so Ztyle was knocked off his feet and hit the floor hard. He finished it off with a leap over Zytle, fired a web at his chest and then pulled so Zytle was thrown into a wall before a glob of impacting webbing stuck him there. "And I give that a ten out of ten."

An arrow destroyed the pool of chains keeping the scientists tied up so they were free to go. They tied up Zytle's men and when the SCPD arrived they had all of them tied up and waiting. Oliver left immediately after because something was going on with Thea and Roy. Will and Laurel stuck around a bit to watch Zytle get taken away and it was a sight to behold.

"Looks like Vertigo is gone again." Laurel said.

"For now. Good job. I think we managed to pull the stick out of Oliver's ass for a bit." Will joked when they heard an explosion in the distance. "What the hell was that?"

"Nothing good." Laurel held onto Will as he swung away. After some swinging he dropped them down onto a street where they saw the Fire Department putting out a car on fire but considering the SCPD were there then it wasn't just a typical fire. He lowered himself down and saw Yuri among the people.

"Spider-man." She walked over to talk to him away from her men.

"Yuri, what's going on?" He asked her.

"The thing we were afraid of. We ran the car's license plate and it belongs to one of Hammerhead's lieutenants." She informed him and he realized what just happened.

"Someone just called out war on Hammerhead." He stated and she nodded. "This city's been a powder keg and someone just lit the match."

"And now we have to deal with it before more people die. We've ourselves a gang war." She said with regret.

Things in Star city would be intense. Someone just started a war with Hammerhead and it was a war he was going to fight.

End of Chapter 13

I hoped you guys liked the chapter. It set up stuff for next chapter but also set up some things going forward. Laurel is getting better training from Will and is better protected. That will all add up with things going forward. And Zytle was dealt with easier considering that Will was there. But now we've got a gang war to deal with next chapter and Hammerhead is gonna make it a deadly one.

Hammerhead and whoever he has been dealing with have gone to war and Star city is caught in the middle. It's up to Will and the others to stop them both before the city tears itself apart. It also doesn't help that Oliver and Thea end up leaving for their own training. Which leaves Will a question. If he's gonna be working with Oliver and now that Thea has been brought into the fold…should he tell her his secret? Until next time.

Updates for October: Crimson Speedster, Omniverse Earth-38, and Mandalorian Maverick will be updated on October 31st. Happy Halloween!

William Alexander Detmer-Age 20/Sophomore at SCU: Birthday, October 8th, 1994

Moniker: The Spectacular Spider-man

Appearance: Tyler Posey

Uniform: Ben Reilly's dark blue and red spider-man suit with the black spider logo and web pattern. Now STAR labs upgraded with new durable fabric and insulation, built-in HUD, and communications systems with various modes of vision. Built-in parachute and web wings and new utility belt.

Casual outfit: sneakers, blue jeans, black or red t-shirt with blue button-up or sweatshirt.

Weapons:

STAR labs upgraded Web Shooters capable of configuring to over 200 different web-shooter combinations and connected to HUD for easy configuration and control. New capacitors to hold and resist an electrical overload.

STAR Labs modified Web Grenades/Bombs, Web Trip Mines, and acid embrittlement bombs

New Spider tracers, mini-camera/recording device, spider-thumb drive.

New Spider-bot. Mini-drove capable of field reconnaissance and interfacing with security systems.

Skills: Genius intellect with 250 IQ, Superhuman strength, Superhuman speed, Superhuman reflexes, Superhuman agility and balance, Super senses, accelerated healing factor, wall-crawling/adhesive stick, Spider-Sense, Night Vision, and telescopic vision, Bio-Electrokinesis/Venom strike-blast

May Detmer: Marisa Tomei

Aria Montgomery: Lucy Hale

Emily Fields: Shay Mitchell

Spencer Hastings: Troian Bellisario

Dr. Curt Connors: Dylan Baker

Yuri Watanabe: Kelly Hu

Disclaimer: I don't own Spider-man, Arrow, or any above-mentioned products. All rights belong to their respective owners, I'm just a big fan.