New York
August 27, 07:52 EDT
Peter looked on in surprise at the unexpected arrivals, but more than anyone else, his eyes were drawn to the Boy Wonder. With short black hair and a lean, well-toned build, he was shorter than he expected him to be. His uniform consisted of a red vest with three yellow fasteners and a yellow, stylized "R" in a black circle, black leggings, boots, gloves, and a cape that was black on the outside and yellow on the inside. He also wore a black, stylized domino mask that made his eyes appear completely white.
'Holy crap. That's Dick Grayson Robin.' Peter thought, slightly in awe.
Though he had long gotten used to living and experiencing the crazy world he was in, he hadn't really met a hero he knew about from his past life; the nanosecond encounter with the trail left by Flash and TV appearances notwithstanding. Robin was the first one, and being a comic character known by nearly everyone in his past world, including him, he couldn't help but be a little starstruck.
He didn't count Wildcat, Zatara, or Zatanna in that because he didn't know about the former two in his past life, and Zatanna wasn't the Zatanna he vaguely knew about in the comics. Not yet, anyway.
Snapping out of it, he began to take in the rest of the arrivals. Next to Robin was Kid Flash/Wally West. He had spiky red hair and green eyes, a lean yet slightly muscular build, and wore a slightly padded yellow suit with red pants, red gloves, and yellow shoes, featuring a red lightning bolt within a circle on his chest. There was also a pair of red goggles on his forehead.
'Kid Flash, I know of, somewhat; in that I know his name is Wally West and he's supposed to be faster than Barry Allen in the comics. I've seen some of his heroics on the news, and it doesn't seem that way in this world, but maybe he hasn't reached his full potential yet. But there is also the possibility that I may be part of an alternate universe world where everyone is nerfed, which has crossed my mind and is something to keep note of.'
Next to Kid Flash was Aqualad. He had light blond hair, deep brown skin, pale green eyes, and a lean build. He wore a skin-tight, full-body, red and blue swimsuit that exposed his arms and feet. On his arms, Peter could see black, eel-like tattoos, and on his neck, gills.
'Aqualad. He's an Atlantean ... that's about all I know. Well, that and the fact that he uses those metal handles on his back to control water, and he has some form of electrokinesis at least from what I've seen in news footage.'
After Aqualad was the genderbent Martian Manhunter, but with red hair. She wore a short-sleeved white top with a red X, a blue skirt, a knee-length, collared cape, gloves, and ankle boots.
'Female Martian Manhunter. Never seen or heard of her before, in my past life or this one, which means she's likely new-ish to the heroics thing, but I can probably guess her name. Knowing how comics work, her name is probably something along the lines of Martian Womanhunter or Miss Martian. Not the most original, and that's coming from a guy named Spider-Man.'
Last was the copy-paste of Superman, who wore a black T-shirt with the classic S-shield in red with blue jeans and combat boots.
'That's probably Superboy. I think that's what his name was, anyway. Don't know anything about his story, but safe to say he's either Superman's son or a clone. I'm definitely leaning towards the latter, because he looks like a copy-paste of Superman. I don't know how Kryptonian genetics work, but I doubt it leads to copy-pastes. Or it might, who knows. Also, if he is a clone, which, considering the world we live in isn't far-fetched, I need to keep it in mind and be cautious. I don't want a Ben Reilly/Kaine Parker situation.'
Just like seeing the sidekicks during the Fourth of July had evoked a feeling of familiarity, seeing the five of them standing there evoked that feeling again.
'Vaguely remember seeing a poster of them before, but I can't remember for what. Ugh, whatever, doesn't matter. Not like I've watched whatever it is anyway.' thought Peter, racking his brain but coming up with nothing. 'Should probably say something.'
"Uh ... hi?" said Peter, waving a little. "You guys must be the other women."
The five looked at each other in confusion.
"Wait, don't tell me." Peter grasped his chin like The Thinker. "You're the monkey." He pointed at Robin and then pointed at Aqualad. "And you would be, uh, wait, I don't know if I can say it actually. It might be offensive."
The five teens just looked at him for a moment, and Peter could tell they weren't in the best of moods. Bits of dried clay clung to their costumes and faces, and the faint smell of sewer water wafted off them.
Judging by their moods, the clay on them, what Clayface had said, and the fact that he burst out of the sewers, it was clear the five of them had fought Clayface. And it hadn't gone well for them.
Aqualad was the first to step forward, a slight scowl on his face. "What are you talking about?"
"I don't mean to offend. It was that clay guy I took down." Peter pointed at the pile of clay at his feet. "He mentioned something about fighting other people, one who moved like a monkey and one whom he called, which I'm assuming is you, fish gills." Peter leaned forward, covering his mouth with his hand, and talking a little quieter. "And please let me know if that's offensive to Atlanteans because I really don't want to get in trouble."
Aqualad's eyes flicked from Peter to the unconscious mound of clay by his feet. "You took down Clayface?" he asked, frustration and surprise clear in his tone.
"Clayface? So that's his name. I guess Clayface fits pretty well." Peter said, acting as if he had never heard the name before. "Yeah, that was me."
"Are you kidding me? We've been chasing that pile of mud for hours! We couldn't do anything to him, and it took you what, a few minutes max to take him down?!" said Kid Flash.
"Haha! Good one." Peter chuckled, thinking they were joking about having chased Clayface for hours. But when they didn't laugh along and stared at him, he realized they were serious. "Wait, you guys have seriously been chasing this dude for hours? Why didn't you dehydrate him? Or trap him? Or do what I did, which was to use electricity to disrupt the morphic field maintaining his cohesion."
"Electricity?" Robin said, sounding surprised. "Aqualad tried that on him. It had no effect."
"Well, that's because ..."
"We didn't hit the correct frequency." Kid Flash interrupted, looking enlightened. "The guy's made of living clay, which means his structure probably depends on maintaining some kind of morphic field. If that gets shorted out, he collapses. We just needed to hit the correct frequency."
"And we have a winner." said Peter, doing a self-clasping handshake and slightly moving them side to side.
"Okay, but you'd have to be really careful synchronizing the frequency of the discharge with his morphic resonance pattern." Kid Flash said, looking at Peter with inquisitive eyes. "Otherwise, you risk overloading the conductive threshold and causing a total ..."
"... collapse of the cohesive matrix." Peter finished for him, grinning under his mask.
Though both of them wore masks, with Peter's completely covering his face, they exchanged a look that conveyed equal parts impressed and amused.
"Finally, someone who speaks English." Peter said.
"That was English?" muttered the Superman clone.
"Not any English I know." said the Martian, smiling sheepishly.
Aqualad exhaled slowly, his shoulder still tense. "Regardless of how it was done, you succeeded where we failed. That is commendable."
"I almost believe you mean it." Peter said jokingly.
Aqualad's jaw tightened, a flicker of shame crossing his face. He glanced to the side for a moment, but it was just long enough for Peter to realize he'd hit a nerve.
"I-I'm not trying to rub salt on the wound or anything." Peter put his hands up in apology. "Just a joke. Me and my big mouth."
"It's ... fine." Aqualad said stiffly, though the tone of his voice said otherwise.
"Right ... " Peter could tell it wasn't, but he decided to take the out given to him. "So ... you guys going to catch a Broadway show while you're in town?"
"Um, I'm sorry, but who are you?" asked the Martian.
"What?!" Kid Flash shouted, surprise in his tone as he turned to look at her, pointing his thumb back at Peter. "You don't know who that is?!"
"I-I'm sorry. Should I?" the Martian said, an awkward smile on her face.
"Glad that it wasn't just me who didn't know." said the Superman clone, arms crossed.
"Not trying to sound egotistical, but you've never heard of me? Not even in passing? Have you guys been living under a rock or something?"
He was surprised not because he thought he was world famous or anything like that, but because there weren't a whole lot of active superheroes. As people in the hero life, he thought they would at least be aware of another hero who had been active for a year.
The five of them all looked at each other before looking back at Peter. "No."
"Smooth guys. Not suspicious at all." Peter said, realizing there was likely some truth to his question, which meant there might be some truth to his clone theory. "I'll accept that you've never heard of me, but you have to have at least heard the song about me."
"You have a song?" Aqualad asked, a little surprised.
"I mean, I didn't write it or anything, but it's about me. I get name-dropped and everything." Peter rubbed his nose in a show of fake modesty. "It topped the charts. No big deal."
"Yeah, for like a day or two." Kid Flash interjected.
"Unless they've changed the definition of topping the charts last I checked, that still counts." Peter rebutted, and Kid Flash raised his eyebrows in reluctant acceptance.
"Sorry." the Martian gave an apologetic smile.
"Nope." the clone bluntly said, finishing squashing his ego.
"You're really missing out. You know I can sing it for you. A capella, of course, since I don't have anything to play the song out loud. It'll be missing some of the magic, but you'll get the gist of it."
"That is not nece-" Aqualad quickly spoke.
"Nah, it's fine. I'm happy to give you a little snippet." Peter cleared his throat, ready to sing. The five heroes all glanced at each other. "Imagine a sort of folksy acoustic guitar accompaniment." He cleared his throat again. "Dresses like a spider, and he looks like a bug, but we should all just give him one big hug. Look out, hoo, here comes the Spiderman."
The Martian, Kid Flash, and Robin all clapped, mostly out of politeness but also because they were genuinely impressed by his singing voice. Meanwhile, Aqualad and the Superman clone just looked on.
"Thank you, thank you." Peter half-bowed. "Don't forget to tip your waiters."
"You have killer pipes, dude." Kid Flash said. "If the whole Spider-Man thing doesn't work, you have something to fall back on."
"What can I say, I'm more than just a pretty face."
"So you're Spider-Man." said the Superman clone.
"That's me."
"Spider-Man?" said the Superman clone, emphasis on the Man. "But you sound like you're a teenager. How old are you?"
"I'm this many." Peter put his fingers up like a little kid would when asked how old they were. "They say I'm mature for my age."
" ... you talk a lot." muttered the Superman clone, lightly glaring at him. But Peter could see the slightest of smiles tugging at his lips.
"So you're a teenager, huh? Interesting." said Robin with a smile that seemed to hide something.
"Why call yourself Spider-Man then?" asked the Martian.
"Well, not like I could call myself Spider-Boy/Kid/Lad. I mean, come on, what criminal would take me seriously?" Peter said, shrugging.
"Ahem." Kid Flash cleared his throat.
Peter looked at them, remembering that they were called Kid Flash, Aqualad, and, judging by the look he was giving him, Superboy. "Boy, I do talk a lot, don't I?"
The Martian giggled softly, and even Superboy's mouth twitched into a smile.
"Now that I've introduced myself, I think it's your turn. It's only polite." said Peter.
"I am Aqualad, and this is Robin and Kid Flash, though I am guessing you already knew that." said Aqualad, gesturing to the two.
"Who wouldn't? You guys are pretty famous." Peter looked at the other two. "You two, I'm not so sure about, but I have a pretty good guess."
"I a-" The Martian was about to happily answer before being cut off by Kid Flash.
"Wait! Let him guess!"
"Kid." Aqualad said, not amused.
"What? I want him to guess. Let's see how good his good guesses are." Kid Flash said, smiling.
Peter looked at the Martian. "You ... I'm guessing Miss Martian? Martian Girl? Martian Lass? Something like that."
Miss Martian's eyes widened. "Oh, wow! Miss Martian! That's actually right." She smiled, clearly happy Peter had guessed it.
'Comic writers and their names.'
He then looked at the clone. "And you ... Superboy, right?"
" ... yes." Superboy reluctantly assented.
Peter clapped his hands. "And he goes two for two!"
"Ah, lucky guesses." Kid waved his hands in dismissal.
"On the contrary, my speedy friend." Peter said in a British accent while miming putting a tobacco pipe in his mouth. "Miss Martian looks like, well, a Martian and is a girl. Superboy looks like a younger Superman and is wearing a shirt with the iconic Superman S. It's elementary, my dear Watson."
The five silently looked at Peter for a moment.
"So you just put two and two together." Robin broke the silence.
Peter coughed and resumed speaking normally. "Come on. I'm no world's greatest detective, but I feel like I deserve a little more credit than that."
"For what it's worth, I thought it was impressive." said Miss Martian.
"Thank you. It feels nice to be appreciated." Peter nodded at her. "So w-"
"My car!"
The group of six turned to see a man angrily standing by his car, which was missing a door. He turned to look at them, only briefly looking at the others as his eyes locked onto Peter.
The man pointed his finger at Peter. "Did you do this, freak?!"
Peter looked at the car, then down the street at a tree where the aforementioned missing door was lodged in, then back at the man. "What are the chances you'd believe me if I said I found it like that?"
The man's eyes practically popped out of their sockets. "What?! It's a car door lodged in a tree! Are you kidding me?!"
"Hey, that rhymes."
"Oh, he's a funny guy, too! You tearing the door off wasn't enough, now I get jokes!"
"Look, I'm sorry about your car door, but there were exigent circumstances at play." Peter countered.
"What'd you just say to me?!" the man yelled, stepping toward Peter. "Say that to my face!"
"Am I on 'Candid Camera' or something?" Peter looked around for a film crew. "I didn't say anything about you. I said exigent, i.e., it was an emergency."
"Emergency?! What kind of emergency made you yank my car door off its hinges?!"
"I have to be on a show." Peter turned to the left to let the man see the scene of carnage behind him. "Do you not see the overturned armored truck, the broken street, and the giant glob of mud right behind me?"
The man craned his neck around Peter and took in the view before looking back at Peter. "Yeah, I see it! So what?! I can also see that my car door is in the freakin' tree!" He ran his hand through his hair. "That G. Gordon Godfrey was right about you! You're bad news for this city! Ever since you showed up, the city's gone downhill."
Peter groaned and rolled his eyes under his mask. "G. Gordon Godfrey? You actually watch that nut job's videos? Last week, he blamed Superman and Martian Manhunter for an outbreak of lice in a school they helped save. He said they had infected them with 'space lice.'"
"Yeah, so. I believe it." countered the man. "Who knows what kind of diseases and bacteria those guys brought from wherever they're really from? I don't doubt one of them brought back lice."
"Firstly, Martian Manhunter is bald, so how would he have lice?" Peter rebutted before pointing back at Miss Martian and Superboy. "And secondly, you might want to watch what you say since there's a Martian and a Kryptonian right over there."
The man looked over at Miss Martian, who awkwardly smiled and waved, and then at Superboy, who just glared at him with his arms crossed.
"Yeah, right. No way that girl's a Martian, and that kid's a Kryptonian; they'd be famous if they were. They're just playing dress up." The man waved them off, turning back to Peter. "Besides, my beef is not with them, it's with you!"
Peter was going to speak when his spider-sense tingled from behind him. The lump of mud that was Clayface let out a low growl as he began to pull himself back together.
Before any of the five heroes could react, Peter didn't even bother to look; he simply aimed behind him and fired another dose of electricity. Clayface's barely formed face spasmed violently, and the creature collapsed with a wet, heavy plop.
Peter turned to look at Clafyace. "Okay, buddy, back to nap time."
"Whoa." Kid Flash said, surprised.
And he wasn't the only one. Aqualad and Robin both had similar looks on their face. Superboy, on the other hand, looked mildly impressed.
The reaction that was the most interesting to Peter, however, was Miss Martian's. She was looking at him with curiosity and confusion. That's when he remembered that Martian Manhunter was a telepath, which meant Miss Martian likely was one as well. He also recalled that, in the comics, Peter's spider-sense could sometimes be felt by telepaths.
'Kind of bummed that also happens here too, if I'm being honest, but it is what it is.' Peter thought. 'Here's hoping there aren't any enemy telepaths in my future. And that she doesn't say anything to anyone.'
"Good reaction time." Robin's mask narrowed a bit, and Peter could tell he was suspicious.
"Nah, just lucky." Peter waved it off. "It's what always happens in movies; the bad guys go for one final attack. I was expecting it."
"Right." But Peter could still feel the suspicion coming off him. 'Like father, like son.'
"Guess we all need to watch some more movies." Kid Flash muttered to the others.
With Clayface's reanimation dealt with, Peter turned back toward the man.
"So, yeah, your car door is missing because of that guy. Normally, I'd be a lot more sympathetic to your plight, but you're a Godfrey fan, so I feel just a little bad."
Just as the man was about to open his mouth to retort, Peter's spider-sense went off again, but the tingle didn't come from Clayface; it came from the sky.
A sleek black aircraft, making nary a sound, appeared above them, drawing everyone's attention.
"Uh-oh." said Kid Flash.
Peter looked over at the five heroes, and their faces had reverted to the expressions they had when they first stepped out of the aircraft.
'No way.' Peter thought, realizing who the plane belonged to.
The plane descended until it was hovering just above the rooftops. A hatch opened on the underside as an unmistakable figure jumped out. Peter looked up as the sunlight caught the outstretched cape, turning the figure into a bat-shaped silhouette and giving him goosebumps.
"Holy shit."
"Holy shit."
Peter and the man both looked at each other, then back at Batman, who landed on the ground, his cape billowing behind him.
Seeing him on television was one thing; seeing him in person was another entirely. Peter guestimated he stood at 6'4" (193 cm) and was around 230 (104 kg) of pure muscle. Aside from his admittedly impressive physicality, Batman had an aura about him, one that was making the man next to Peter tremble.
Peter felt Batman's eyes on him for a moment as he came down from the plane, likely assessing the situation, but now he was practically boring into him. Though the same could be said for Peter.
"Spider-Man." Batman's deep voice had the authority that came with being a founding member of the Justice League and a veteran crime fighter.
"Oh my god, Batman's talking to you." said the man, gripping Peter's arm.
"Oh my god, Batman's talking to me." Peter said, gripping the man's arm.
Batman's eyes narrowed after hearing Peter's voice. He turned to look at Robin, who had a little bit of a smirk on his face as if taunting Batman.
Peter regained his composure, hard as it was, and let go of the man's arm. He cleared his throat. "Well, as far as first impressions go, that's not my best. Also, not my worst."
Before anyone else could say anything, the man spoke up. "Batman! Sir! Sir Batman! It's an honor to meet you!"
The man approached Batman and stuck his hand out for a handshake. Peter thought Batman would just glare at him until he joined Clayface as a mud-puddle, but he took the man's hand.
"Pleasure."
"Oh my god! I shook Batman's hand!" The man held his hand up like he was holding a treasure. "This horrible day just got a whole lot better! I don't even care about my car door anymore!"
"Hey, buddy, you got a little something on your nose there." Peter wiped his nose.
Batman looked at Peter for a few seconds, then back at the man. "This area isn't safe. You should go. The Justice League will take care of any damage done to your vehicle."
"Yes! See that! Now that's a real hero." The man looked at Peter as he said that. "You still got a long ways to go."
"Can't argue with you there." Peter agreed.
"Thank you, Batman." the man said one final time before walking off, though he still carefully held his hand up in the air to avoid contaminating it.
Now that the man was gone, silence fell over the scene, but it did not last long.
"Alright, all's well that ends well." Peter said, looking at the group and then at Batman. "Now that the cavalry is here, I'll leave the big guy to you. And I promise to pick up the check the next time you throw someone's car door at a villain."
Peter made to leave, but Batman had other plans.
"Wait." he said. "You're a kid."
"I prefer adolescent." Peter turned around. "Doesn't sound like I get the Happy Meals at McDonald's."
Batman looked at Peter for a moment and then turned to Aqualad and the group. "Talk."
Aqualad quickly explained what had happened: how they'd tracked Clayface into the Gotham sewers, how the team was ambushed and picked off one by one, and how Clayface ultimately fled to New York. He finished by describing how they arrived in Manhattan, only to find Clayface already subdued by Peter.
As Aqualad explained what happened, the five had a look of disappointment on their face, but Aqualad's was the worst. It also gave Peter a better idea of the dynamic of the group.
'It's obvious they're some kind of team, but judging by the fact there's been no chatter about it on the forums, they must be a covert one. Also, it looks like Aqualad's the leader, but that might not be the case after today.' Peter thought.
Batman glanced at each of the members before settling on Aqualad. "We'll talk more about this later. Go."
The five, still with their downtrodden looks, looked over at Peter before walking back to the ship they had come down on.
Batman turned to Peter. "We need to talk."
~~
AN
Apologies for the long absence. Hopefully, there'll be a much shorter time until the next chapter.