Chapter 24: Peter's Crazy
"There really is a Batman," Gwen said, looking at the dark figure before them with clear surprise. It was a strange feeling. A character who should only exist in comic books was now standing right in front of her. It created a deep sense of disconnection.
"Thank you for thinking of this way to find me," Bruce said as soon as he arrived. He directed his words solely at Peter Parker, not even glancing at Gwen or Miles.
"Well, you are a Batman fanatic. I figured this would definitely get your attention," Peter Parker said with a casual shrug. He then reached over and shut off the power to the homemade Bat-Signal. With a light leap, he swung over and landed neatly beside Bruce, throwing a familiar arm around the Batman's stiff shoulders.
Seeing Peter jump over, Gwen wasn't about to be left behind. With a graceful flip, she landed softly on Batman's other side.
This left poor Miles. He had only recently gotten his spider-powers. He hadn't fully discovered them all yet and was still scared of even the most basic wall-crawling. While he'd managed to use his web-shooters during the chaotic chase at Okmax, that was different. The wide gap between these two tall buildings looked impossible.
Miles looked over at Gwen, who was already standing there. He patted his cheeks for courage and took several steps back.
"You can do this. You can do this. You can do this!" he whispered to himself. He started his sprint, building up speed, and launched himself from the ledge. His takeoff was good, but as he jumped, his untied shoelace snagged under his other foot. The stumble ruined his momentum completely, sending him into a short, doomed arc over the alley.
Seeing Miles about to fall, Gwen and Peter reacted at the same time, their wrists turning to shoot a web-line. But someone was faster. Bruce's grapple gun fired with a sharp thwip, the line wrapping securely around Miles's arm. Bruce hit the retract trigger, yanking the teenager up onto the rooftop like a fish on a line.
"Thank you," Miles gasped, looking at the stern, expressionless bat-mask. Bruce didn't acknowledge it. He just detached the line and began recoiling his grapple gun.
"If you want to talk," Bruce stated, his voice a gravelly rumble, "I suggest we move now. Someone will be here to investigate very soon." As he spoke, he aimed his grapple gun at a distant gargoyle and fired again. Without waiting for a reply from any Spider-Person, he stepped off the ledge and was pulled into the darkness, his cape billowing behind him.
"Man, his whole vibe is so much darker than ours," Miles couldn't help but complain as Batman vanished. "He couldn't actually be from a comic book, right?"
Peter Parker nodded at Miles. "You know, you're starting to sound a lot like a Spider-Man with that kind of commentary." He then shot a web of his own and swung off after the retreating shadow.
Gwen looked at Miles, hesitated for a second, then simply said, "Keep up." She webbed away, following Peter.
Miles sighed, not knowing how to describe his current feelings. What is my life? All he could do now was muster his courage and try to follow. To his own surprise, he was getting smarter with his web-swinging, managing to keep the others in sight. But what truly shocked him was that the two actual Spider-People, the ones who should be most at home in the city, seemed content to just… follow the Bat.
Bruce was right. Minutes after they left, a team rushed onto the now-empty rooftop. This group wore patches with a stylized eagle emblem. S.H.I.E.L.D. had noticed the unusual signal. Their job was to keep extraordinary events within a controllable range, especially unknowns like a new, unregistered vigilante.
"Looks like we're late," the lead agent said, eyeing the darkened spotlight. He pressed his communicator. "The subject has vacated the area."
"Maintain observation. This might resolve itself in a couple of days," the voice on the other end replied, sounding unconcerned. To S.H.I.E.L.D., this was just another street-level hero. New York was full of them. They didn't have the resources to closely monitor every costumed do-gooder.
"Understood." The team leader directed a subordinate to dismantle the makeshift Bat-Signal. "Bag this. Send it to the lab for analysis. Let's see who built it."
Meanwhile, Bruce had led the trio on a winding route that ended near the neighborhood where May Parker lived. As they approached, Gwen suddenly accelerated, executing a high flip to land directly in front of Bruce, blocking his path. Miles finally understood—the Spider-People could overtake Batman; they were just waiting for him to stop.
"Wait!" Gwen's posture was tense, her eyes locked onto Bruce's white lenses. "Why are you heading here? What do you actually know?" She looked like a bristling cat, and what she was protecting was clearly May Parker's home just down the street.
"Whoa, hey, what's going on?" Peter Parker stepped forward, playing peacemaker. He really didn't want to see a fight between a Spider-Person and Batman. He was confident in Spider-Man's abilities, but facing a Batman—who, in the comics, always had a contingency plan for everything—gave him a little bit of a psychological shadow. Especially since the Batman he knew had a… firm approach.
"Then we'll talk here," Bruce said, unfazed by being stopped. He'd just been looking for a place to talk anyway. He turned his head, his focus shifting from the defensive Gwen back to Peter. "What do you need from me?" This was the guy who'd lit the signal.
"Okay, first," Peter said, holding up a finger, "let's revisit the question from last time. I've thought about my answer." He didn't lead with his request. He wanted to finish that philosophical debate first.
"Hn."
Miles was once again fascinated by Batman's signature, non-committal grunt. What did it even mean?
"We're not criminals," Peter stated, his voice gaining conviction. "Because we always know what path we're choosing. We know our choices have to follow our own sense of justice. At least, I can say I do." His eyes were bright and earnest as he said it.
"So, you came to find me. What do you need?" But the middle-aged Spider-Man did not get the deep discussion he wanted. Batman completely ignored the philosophical answer, cutting straight back to practical matters.
It was driving Peter a little crazy.
(End of Chapter)
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