Ch.6

The two superheroes moved further down the tunnel, still with no end in sight. Spider-Man wasn't sure how long they had been walking, but he was sure that it was miles away from the building they started in.

"So how much longer do you think this goes on for?" Spider-Man whispered.

"I think it should be somewhere up ahead. The lighting looks a little brighter up there," Nightwing said as he pointed ahead.

Making their way forward, they did in fact come to an opening. In this new opening they found that the tunnel gave way to a large circular opening. There were other branches of other tunnels leading in different directions but the main focus was what was at the center of this area. Lights flooded the area, lighting it up much more than the tunnels had been. There were also several stands that all hosted different computers as well as other pieces of technology.

"Shit, looks like someone has a mini base down here," Nightwing commented as he looked around.

Spider-Man walked up to one of the computers, reading what was on the screen. "And it seems whomever is hiding here is still monitoring the event that just happened." He pointed to the screen that showed surveillance cameras outside and inside of the building that they had just come from.

"Hm, which means…" Nightwing turned around, scanning the room carefully. "The one behind it should be right around here."

"Oh you're right about that, Nightwing," a voice laughed.

The two heroes turned to see a man coming from one of the other pathways. He wore dark armor though he had his face shown. He had brown hair that was slicked back as well as a crude sneer that gave off huge 'bad guy' vibes.

Nightwing groaned. "I should have known it was you, Lazarus."

"Hey! I got an alias y'know!"

Nightwing rolled his eyes. "You're not villain enough to be worth it. So to me you're just Luche Lazarus."

"You've encountered him before?" Spider-Man asked.

"Yup. He was one of those Kingsglaive that worked for King Regis, but this guy turned traitor and was arrested when he tried to stage a coup a few years back. Now he likes to show up now and again to cause trouble."

"I am here to prove that our king doesn't give a damn about his people!" Luche shouted. "Piece by piece I will make his kingdom fall and prove that the people are stronger!"

"Geez and he likes to gloat too," Spider-Man muttered.

"You say that now, but I have been working! Gathering my technology to start my description upon the Citadel. What you saw today was just the tip of the iceberg!"

Nightwing sighed as he pulled out one his weapons; his baton. "And you said the same thing last time. Only this time you actually caused a little more damage. Which means I can cause a little more damage to you!"

Jumping forward he was about to strike Luche from above, but he pulled out a pair of small blades and blocked the attack. "Don't think you can defeat me so easily! Not this time!"

Nightwing pushed back and was going to strike again when Luche moved out of the way. When he was the one who tried to move forward, Spider-Man finally snapped from his daze of watching and jumped into the battle. He knocked Luche back against the wall before spinning webs at his wrists.

"What?!" Luche shouted as he tried to pull free from the webbing. "This isn't fair! No one said that you had a little sidekick!"

"He's not a sidekick," Nightwing answered. "Just a friend who's helping out."

Spider-Man's heart swelled a little from those words. He felt a little bit honored that Nightwing called him a friend, and didn't think of him as just a sidekick. Then again, Spider-Man did secretly hope he could be crime fighting partners with Nightwing. It was a bit of a stretch, considering how Nightwing liked to work, but there was always some hope.

"Sidekick. Friend. Whatever. You heroes are all the same!" Luche spat. "Once I finish my plans not even you heroes can-"

Spider-Man shot a blob of webbing to cover Luche's mouth. He muffled something rather angrier, but he wasn't able to make any of his words clear. Spider-Man shook his head. "Sorry, but you were getting a bit too preachy for my liking."

Nightwing laughed. "Hey, not bad. So it'll hold him?"

"Yup, that webbing is ultra tough. Won't be breaking out of it anytime soon," Spider-Man explained.

"Alright good, that gives us time to explore a little more around here," Nightwing said as he started to walk around the room. "Unless Luche you want to give us details of what you were up to."

A grumpy muffled sound gave a pretty strong indication that it was going to be a 'no'.

"We'd gladly take that off your mouth if you're willing to comply," Spider-Man added.

Luche shook his head again.

Nightwing rolled his eyes, going back to looking through the computers. "Have it your way then."

The two of them searched through the area as well as the computers, digging up whatever information they could find. Luche had been behind the explosion at the building, stealing many computers and other pieces of technology from it. All of it was in fact to help build something that was supposedly able to take down the Citadel.

Spider-Man shuddered slightly, knowing that there were still always people out there to harm others in such ways. Furthermore, knowing that Luche wanted to take down the Citadel and King Regis also meant that Noctis was at risk. Though to be fair he always was at some form of risk. Being the prince of an entire kingdom came with that risk.

While there was that worry, Spider-Man knew that he would do whatever he could to protect him. Even if Noctis never knew who was behind the mask, he was willing to do whatever he could. Spider-Man was here to help protect the people and the city, and Noctis was still part of the people.

After all the information had been saved and recorded, police had been called in to compromise the technology and arrested Luche. Seeing that their job was done there, the two superheroes headed out to talk up on top of a building.

"I guess talking on top of buildings is just our thing now," Spider-Man said just after he landed.

"Good job today," Nightwing said. "All the people are safe and Luche is going to be behind bars again."

"You think he'll escape again?"

"Most likely," Nightwing said with a nod. "So if you ever see him, don't hesitate to keep a closer eye on him."

"Gotcha! I can handle that."

"Good. Well, I guess that about covers that," Nightwing said, looking like he was getting ready to leave.

"Wait! Isn't there more crime to check in on? I mean, you know it's still daytime and stuff. Insomnia is pretty huge, but don't you like, do checks around the city?"

"We have scanners that are alarms for that, if anything major happens," Nightiwng shrugged. "I'll be alerted if there is a major event if I'm not nearby. But can't hang around too much today. I do have to get back, you know, for some important stuff."

"Oh, okay," Spider-Man said. If he was honest, he felt a bit disappointed he couldn't hangout with Nightwing after stopping crime. All he had done so far was stop some bad guys, talk, and then they would both leave. If he was honest, he wished there could have been a bit more that they could do.

"Uh, maybe some other time?' he finally said after a moment, trying quickly to think of something to say. "Like we could have a race or something?"

"A… race?" Nightwing asked skeptically.

Spider-Man internally scolded himself for saying something so stupid, but now he had to find a excuse to back it up. "Well, you get around with your magic and I web swing. So why not have a little race sometime to see who is faster? Would be kind of interesting I would think."

Nightwing hummed as he rested a hand on his chin. "Guess you got a point. Alright, next time we meet we can have a little race. Just as long as there isn't any crime to fight."

"Sweet! I'll hold you to it!"

"Sure thing, but just be prepared to lose, Spidey," Nightwing snorted confidently.

"Spidey?"

"What? I thought that was your nickname? It's what your fans call you online," Nightwing replied, his tone growing a bit softer. "Not that I'm looking at your fanbase. Just need to do a check on you. You know security reasons."

"Well, I mean I know people have been saying it, but I never considered actually using it."

"I think it suits you. Fits that quickie attitude you have."

Underneath the mask, Spider-Man knew that he was blushed. He could feel the heat in his cheeks practically burning. "Th-Thanks! I guess if you wanna call me that you could!" A moment later all of that nervousness was replaced by a little temptation to be amusing. "Does this mean I could call you Nighty?"

Nightwing's expression straightened out into a deadpan glare. "No."

"Aw come on! I was just joking!"

"Sure you were."

As much as Spider-Man wanted to continue their silly banter, he finally realized what time it was. It was still technically within school hours and he hadn't checked his phone since leaving to go on this adventure. He probably was already flooded with texts from Noctis wondering if he was okay.

"Well we can figure out a nickname for another day!" Spider-Man said as he moved towards the edge of the building. "But for now I gotta get going. Chat later!"

Spider-Man swung away, not even waiting for a reply from Nightwing. As much as he wanted to stay around, he knew it was best to head on back home. Just in case there was a chance that Noctis tried contacting him or wanted to check on him, he needed to not be half away across the city, standing on a rooftop.

By the time he got back home, after picking his school stuff back up, he headed into his house he sat down on his bed. Once again he had the smell of smoke in his outfit, and it was going to take another series of showers to wash it out of his hair and skin.

"Oof. Totally can't go back to school today anyways. Not when I smell like this," Prompto said before he pulled out his phone to check if Noctis had texted him.

For a moment he saw that there were no texts, making him worry what could have happened to Noctis in all of this time. But just as he was about to text Noctis for himself, a message popped up from him.

FishPrince: Hey dude! You okay?
FishPrince: Sorry I didn't text sooner. After that explosion had to be brought back to Citadel for a lockdown procedure.
FishPrince: Didn't get a chance to message before.

Chocoboy: Yeah I'm good!
Chocoboy: I headed home along with some other students.
Chocoboy: Didn't wanna take a risk either.
Chocoboy: But glad you are okay! I was getting worried!

FishPrince: Same here dude!
FishPrince: Uugh this sucked though.
FishPrince: I was hoping we could hangout afterschool. But now gotta stay back at the Citadel until they say everything is safe.

Part of Prompto wanted to tell Noctis that everything was good. He wanted to say that he knew Luche was arrested and all of his plans were now compromised. But, he knew saying that would give away his biggest secret. He still wanted to protect Noctis, as he was his closest and best friend. Really Noctis was his only friend, and while Prompto did want to protect everyone overall, he couldn't help but have a small urge to protect Noctis first.

Maybe it also had to do with his crush on Noctis. The influence those thoughts gave him tore at him every day. Each and everyday he stayed by Noctis's side, he felt the urge to tell him the truth. Their friendship was rather close and open, so part of him wanted to believe that Noctis would be accepting of the knowledge.

But even with that fantasy of telling Noctis the truth, the nightmare part of it always rolled in. Noctis knowing his secret meant that he would know everytime Prompto ditched him was to run right into danger. Noctis would know how often Prompto would be risking his life. There was a feeling that Noctis probably wouldn't like that aspect too much. Thinking your friend is sick with the flu was one thing, but knowing they are up against gangsters, thugs, and possibly supervillains that could kill him was another.

"I just gotta keep it secret. No matter what," Prompto finally thought to himself, trying to find the resolve he needed. After that he finally got back to texting Noctis, hoping that he hadn't left him waiting for too long.

Chocoboy: Aww well that stinks! :(
Chocoboy: But we can still play video games online yah?

FishPrince: You bet! Some King's Knight and maybe some Assassin's Creed?

Chocoboy: Oh you are on!

In the end, even if Prompto couldn't ever tell Noctis his secret he was still glad to have his friend by his side. When he wasn't dealing with the tiresome days of school or fighting crime, it was really nice to know that Noctis would be there for him. That was probably the thing that he cared about most; knowing that someone cared to be his friend. He only hoped that it could stay like that for the rest of his days.