Morning
Bruce
I realised you don’t want me as Robin anymore, so I decided to return to Crime Alley. You can tell the news guys I’m a criminal or whatever, I’ve heard worst. I’m sorry I couldn’t do what you wanted me to do. I won’t tell anybody about you, your secrets safe with me.
Jason
Alfred and Bruce went through the letter together.
“I’m surprised he managed to bypass the security systems,” Alfred said. “Though you did mention he stole a tyre from the Batmobile so I’m not surprised.”
“That means I have to strengthen security around here,” Bruce said.
“Are you not going to look for the boy?” Alfred asked as Bruce stormed off.
“No,” Bruce said. “Doing so would be burdensome and slow me down.”
As Alfred saw his Master return to his work as if Jason had never existed, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of disappointment and what his Master had become.
…
It was during breakfast that Aunt May decided to drop the biggest bombshell Peter heard.
“I’m seeing someone,” Aunt May said.
Peter stared at her in confusion and when realisation set in, he’s mouth dropped wide open. A mix of anger and a bunch of confusing feelings swirled through his mind.
“I… what?”
“It’s not something serious,” Aunt May said with a smile. “Or at least I thought it wouldn’t be. But he’s so kind, Peter and so sweet. I’d like you to meet him.”
“But… but,” Peter wanted to say Uncle Ben, he wanted to say a lot of things. “What about Uncle Ben? What about…?”
“I’m sorry to drop this on you so suddenly,” Aunt May said.
“You should be!” Peter snapped and then calmed himself. “Look I’m sorry. I just…”
“It’s okay, Peter,” Aunt May said, seeming calm despite the bombshell she had just dropped. “I just thought it’d be better I told you now so we can talk all about it when I get home.”
Peter sighed. “I… okay. It’s just…”
“It’s okay, Peter,” Aunt May said. “Just because I met someone new doesn’t mean I loved Ben any less. It’s just…”
“We’ll talk about this later, please,” Peter said. “I need some time.”
“I understand, Peter,” Aunt May said. “Take all the time you need.”
“I’ll need a lot of time,” Peter said, the words coming out a lot harsher than he intended. “Believe me.”
…
In his letter to the board, Curt Connors made it clear that he wanted the board to cut of all the funding of his project. He made his intention to resign even clearer.
He gave the envelope to the board’s secretary who said they’d send it as soon as possible. Not even an hour before he had sent the letter through, he got a call from Sawyer.
“Connors, what the fuck are you doing?” Sawyer said. “Do you know what the hell is going to happen to you? The Master Planner is going to hear about this, I'm telling you now..."
Curt hung up. Curt was bombarded with calls and when those didn’t go through, text messages but he ignored all of them. Instead, he called Martha.
“Hey,” Curt said. “Would it be possible for me to see Billy today?”
“Sure,” Martha said. “There’s nothing going on. What about work?”
“I’m done with all of that.”
Martha seemed like she wanted to say something but before she could, Curt hung up. He gave one last look at the stump that was once a hand, clutching it as the bad memories started to swell through his head.
He let it pass through his head, all the good, all the bad. And then…
He let go.
It was finally time to let go.
…
Gotham High was bustling with activity this morning. Peter met Barbara by the parking lot. He walked by her side as Barbara started going on about the case.
“I researched the samples,” Barbara explained. “I got a weird mix of human DNA and bat DNA.”
Peter nodded. His thoughts were preoccupied with the bombshell May had dropped on him this morning.
“But sure enough, despite the intermingling of DNA the closest match I could find was James Santini,” Barbara said. “We found him Pete.”
Barbara had such a huge grin on her face, she turned to see that Peter didn’t share it.
“What’s wrong?”
Peter’s focus returned to the conversation. “Sorry. You were saying we found James? That’s great.”
Barbara could see that Peter didn’t feel what he said.
“Yeah, but you don’t seem great,” Barbara said. “What’s wrong?”
“Aunt May is seeing someone.”
“I… wow.”
“Yeah I know,” Peter said. “And I don’t know how to feel about it. On one hand, she deserves to be happy but on the other…”
“Uncle Ben.”
“Yeah,” Peter said. “Does that mean she didn’t love him? I mean she moved on so easily, how can she move on so easily?”
“I can’t speak for Aunt May,” Barbara said. “But just because she’s seeing someone else doesn’t mean she didn’t love your Uncle.”
“Well, it sure as hell feels like she didn’t!” Peter snapped. And then he sighed. “Look I’m sorry. I think I just need time to process all of this. It’s so… so confusing. You were saying something about James’s DNA?”
“Yeah,” Barbara said. “He has some bat DNA in him. That’s what’s causing all these changes.”
“Bat DNA?” Peter said, raising an eyebrow. “That doesn’t make sense. I mean, Dr. Connors and I were researching DNA integration. There’s no way some scammers could pull something like that off.”
“Unless we’re not dealing with some scammers,” Barbara said. “Has Dr. Connors’s research ever been stolen?”
“Not that I know off,” Peter said. “There’s barely any security but with how WayneTech works if someone did try and steal it, we’d know of it by now. The only people who could’ve done something like this are me or…”
Peter felt a cold pit in his stomach.
“You’re thinking of what I’m thinking.”
“No,” Peter said. “There’s no way Dr. Connors would do something like this. I… I’ve worked with him. He’s a good man… I…”
Barbara placed a reassuring hand on Peter’s shoulder.
“This is just not my day, is it?” Peter said with a self-depreciating chuckle.
“On the plus side, at least you don’t have to go up these stairs with a wheelchair,” Barbara said.
Peter noticed they’d finally reached the staircase. “Do you need any…?”
“No,” Barbara said. “My dad lodged a complaint. I don’t think the school’s going to ignore one from the police commissioner.”
Barbara dragged her wheelchair up the stairs. Suddenly, Peter could feel eyes burning into them. Everybody was starting to look. He hated that look of pity, they all looked at Barbara like she was some kind of alien rather than a person when they wouldn’t have bothered if she wasn’t on the wheelchair.
Peter was just about ready to tell them off, but Barbara grabbed his hand.
“Stop.”
“But…”
Barbara sighed. “Yelling at them won’t make things easier.”
“What will?”
Barbara was about to say a freaking ramp but that would be further from the truth. The truth was…
“I… don’t know,” Barbara said, trying to hide her shaking hands from Peter. “I don’t know.
…
Change occurs subtly, slowly. You can never truly trace when change begins to start but you can usually see where it ends. It occurs so slowly that we’re usually prepared for it.
But sometimes change occurs out of nowhere and we’re not equipped to deal with it and the only response we have is to accept it or lash out.
In an unassuming Wednesday morning, Gotham City found itself a victim to the latter type of change.
Flashing on the TV screens all over Gotham was a man wearing a pair of black goggles, the red light on his computer screen reflected in the lenses looking like fire. His voice echoed in all the radios. He didn’t have to do anything to know the newspapers would be talking about him later this afternoon.
The Master Planner was everywhere.
“Good morning, people of Gotham City,” the Master Planner said. “It’s been a while. It seems I stirred quiet a bit of discourse during my last announcement. The truth can be quiet a bitter pill to swallow. It seems Bruce Wayne hasn’t responded to these allegations, how very unfortunate. I expected better of him and I’m sure I speak for all of Gotham when I say that.”
The Master Planner paused. All around Gotham, the police and desperate radio announcers spurred into action trying their best to cut the broadcast, but whatever it is the Master Planner was doing all their attempts were failing.
“We talked about the truth, how Thomas and Martha Wayne embezzled funds from Gotham’s premiere crime boss,” the Master Planner said. “But did you know the media caught wind of that?”
All over the TV screens, a picture flashed of a man with long black hair. “Edward Elliot was a fine journalist, eager to expose the corruption of Gotham City. Unfortunately, the Waynes and Falcone caught wind of that and…”
A news article of Edward Elliot alleging that he had committed suicide flashed on the screen.
“They covered it up,” the Master Planner said. “Soon, articles, news reports and pictures the Wayne Family will not want you to see will be plastered on every possible website, every forum.”
And soon enough, dozens of articles flashed onto the screen. Scandals, stories, media reports the Waynes didn’t want the world to see. Reports that were as old as Gotham itself.
“Before I leave,” the Master Planner said. “Did you know Wayne Inc have majority shares in many of the news outlets in Gotham, in Metropolis, in America? They even have shares on the social media websites you use every day.”
The Master Planner chuckled. “The truth is a very fickle thing indeed. Good afternoon, people of Gotham. See you next time.”
Screens all around Gotham flashed to black, coming back to life with news reports of the situation that happened. Meanwhile, all the people who got this news through the radios were only left with static.
…
Afternoon
“Lucius I want everything that bastard posted removed,” Bruce growled into his phone. “Whatever you can find I want it erased.”
“Mr. Wayne I strongly…”
“Now Lucius!” Bruce snapped, he hung up his phone.
“Master Wayne, please calm down and look at the facts,” Alfred said.
“What did I say, Alfred?” Bruce said. “I don’t want to hear anything from you.”
“You’re acting like a child,” Alfred said. “Averring your eyes from the truth because you don’t want to hear it.”
“Not now,” Bruce said. “Computer trace that radio signal, tell me where it’s coming from.”
“Confirmed.”
Bruce’s heavy footsteps echoed through the walkways, the metal almost deforming under his feet.
“Master Wayne you need to breath,” Alfred said. “You’ve been acting too much on emotion. It’s clouding your judgement.”
“Signal found,” the Batcomputer droned.
The Batcomputer screen flashed into a map of Gotham Sewers, a red dot pulsing in the middle of the twisting labyrinth.
“Master Bruce,” Alfred said firmly.
“Freeze that location and send it to the GPS in the Batmobile,” Bruce said, ignoring him. “Send a message to Peter, tell him I’ll need him tonight.”
“Any specific message?” asked the Batcomputer.
“Tell him it’s urgent.”
“You’re going to drag Master Parker into this?” Alfred asked. “Do you have any idea what you’re throwing yourself into that you want to drag that boy into it?”
Bruce made his way into the gym he installed in the Batcave and started pounding against the punching bag, his movements still deliberate but lacking the efficiency he usually put behind them. It was the equivalent of a train puffing out hot smoke.
“Look at yourself Master Bruce,” Alfred said. “You’re becoming the very thing you despise…”
“Alfred please just leave me alone,” Bruce grumbled.
“A bully, a coward,” Alfred said. “And I for one won’t stand for this behaviour. Face your problems head on lest they overwhelm you and you lose yourself.”
…
Today, Peter was surprisingly early. The irony of him resigning and Peter coming into work was not lost on Curt. What was even more ironic was that Wayne Corp was in disarray thanks to the latest report by the Master Planner.
“Sorry I’m late,” Peter said, shuffling to the side and placing his school bag in the corner of the lab. “I just…”
“No, you’re surprisingly early,” Curt said. “It’s kind of funny, all things considered.”
“I tendered my resignation,” Curt said. “We’re shutting down this project.”
At that, Peter suddenly perked up. “What? You can’t…”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Don’t worry,” Curt said. “Despite your tardiness, I’ve put in a good word for you. You’ll be reassigned to Warren or someone else…”
“No,” Peter said. “It’s not that. I believed in what we were doing here. My girlfriend, she…”
“Peter I understand,” Curt said. “I understand that you believe in what we were doing here but you’ve got to understand, I didn’t.”
The confusion was written all over Peter’s face. “W-What?” he croaked.
“I did what I did because I was selfish,” Curt said. “There was a piece missing and I thought my arm was that missing piece. I did whatever I could to get it back, horrible things. But it wasn’t my arm.”
Curt sighed. “It was just me. I was the problem. I figure it’s time to bury this whole project in the sand and move on with my life. I understand that this project meant a lot to you but I don’t think I have it in me to continue.”
Curt could see the turmoil in Peter’s face. It went through five different expressions before settling on one. Peter sighed. “Fine if this is what you think is best.”
Curt smiled. “I’m glad you understand, Peter.”
“The boss man won’t mind if I get off early,” Peter said. “With what’s happening around…”
“Yeah,” Curt said. “I only left the lab open because of you.”
Peter left. Curt started stowing away all the equipment that he had in a huge duffle bag he brought. Soon, the lab was almost empty barring the equipment that was handed over and funded by Wayne Inc. The formula was scrawled on the whiteboard, plain for everybody to see.
Curt was about to start wiping it away before something shot through his mind. Just because he moved on, didn’t mean he didn’t have to stop working on it. Sure, funding would be tough but that didn’t mean Curt couldn’t attempt to regain his arm. Curt shuffled through for a piece of paper and started copying down what was on the board. When he was sure he got it down to a T, Curt scrubbed the formula out of the board, the only proof of its existence in the duffle bag he carried home.
…
“You’re home early,” Aunt May said.
“Work finished early,” Peter said. “You see what’s been happening on the news with the Waynes? Also, I’ve been transferred to a new department.”
“What?” Aunt May asked, surprised. “Why?”
“Mr. Connors apparently doesn’t want to continue with the project anymore,” Peter said. “Says he’s been doing it ‘for the wrong reasons’. Whatever that means. Either way that means I’ll be starting afresh in a new department starting tomorrow.”
“Do you want to talk?” Aunt May asked. “Grab a cup of tea and vent out your frustrations?”
Peter smiled. He’d love nothing more than to do that but…
“I’m sorry, May,” Peter said, dashing into his room. “I have work to do. Barbara and I promised to get some studying done tonight. Might be all-nighter.”
“Hope it’s not that kind of all-nighter.”
Peter was as red as his suit. “May,” Peter exclaimed.
Aunt May walked into Peter’s room, leaning on his doorframe. “I was really hoping we’d be able to talk. About work and about the man I’m seeing.”
At that, Peter’s body stiffened.
Aunt May sensing the tension in the room was about to say something but Peter interrupted her.
“I get I’m acting a little immature about it…”
Aunt May raised her hands up. “No, no you’re not…”
“I am,” Peter said. “It just it’s not been that long since Ben died and…”
“Peter I wouldn’t be so sure of this if he wasn’t good for me,” Aunt May said. “Good for us.”
“It’s just I need time,” Peter said, almost pleading. “Please May, just give me some time.”
May sighed. “I understand Peter, I’m sorry. Sorry for pushing this on you.”
“I uh,” Peter said. “I need to go.”
May cleared the way for Peter to leave.
“It’s just, Peter,” May said. “If there’s one thing this city taught me, Ben taught me. Time is a privilege. Especially in a city like this.”
Peter didn’t know how to respond to that. Was she pressuring him? Was she giving him advice? With a dry throat, Peter left the apartment and headed to the usual spot where he’d be picked up by Alfred and dropped off at Wayne Manor.
…
The sleek doors of the Batcave opened and Barbara and Peter rolled into the central dock where Bruce awaited. Barbara and Peter had to use one of the entrances located around the city in order to avoid the paparazzi. They walked in smelling like sewage.
“Peter, make sure you’re prepared,” Bruce said. “Make sure you have enough web fluid and your web shooters are in top condition. This is going to be a dangerous mission.”
“Oh gee, I’m great,” Peter said. “Thanks for asking.”
“Can’t believe I have to go through sewage again, tonight,” Peter grumbled.
“Bruce,” Barbara said gently. She rolled her wheelchair over to him but Bruce stormed away.
“Barbara you’ll be in charge of navigations,” Bruce said. “I’ve uploaded any and all maps of the Gotham Sewer System I could find to the Batcomputer. When we get in, the signal to the Batcomputer will be scrambled. You’ll be our eyes and ears.”
“Where’s Jason?” Peter asked. “Is he coming with us?”
“Jason quit,” Bruce said curtly.
Peter took a moment to register that. “Quit? You can quit being a Robin?”
“Bruce,” Barbara said. “Talk to us. What’s going with you? You’ve been pushing us all away lately.”
“You act like that’s something new,” Peter said.
“Peter,” Barbara said with what felt like a dagger in her voice. A dagger that pointed at him.
“Why did Jason leave?” Barbara asked.
“If it’ll help you focus on the mission,” Bruce said. “He left because he wanted to. Good riddance, I say. Could barely even follow basic instructions.”
“Bruce,” Barbara interjected. “Are you hearing yourself? This is exactly why Dick left. Jason is a boy, not a soldier. What the hell is going on in your head?”
“I think that’s good for Jason,” Peter said. “If I spent even an hour with Bruce, I’d go insane.”
“Peter,” Barbara said. “You’re not helping.”
“No, you’re not seeing the big picture,” Peter said. “Bruce is an adult. He made his choice, whether its good for him or not is his problem, not ours.”
“Bruce is my friend,” Barbara said, pulling up his wheelchair and blocking Peter’s path. “He’s family.”
“Well excuse me for not feeling the same way for someone who kidnapped, tortured and manipulated me,” Peter snapped. And then he sighed. “Look I’m sorry, I don’t want to fight. Just let’s forget about it.”
“You’re ungrateful.”
Peter almost choked. “Ungrateful? Barbara did you even…?”
“Enough fighting,” Bruce growled. “I was tired of the bickering when Dick was around and I’m tired of it now. Focus on your mission, we’ll deal with this later.”
“Fine,” Peter said, throwing his hands up in the air and crossing them. “I’ll be in the manor, getting some air. Leave you two to brood in silence.”
Peter left the cave to the Wayne library (one of the few rooms in the manor to not have windows) only to be greeted by Alfred at the door to the cave holding a tray with three steaming cups of tea.
“Oh, sorry Alfred.”
“Oh no problem,” Alfred said. “Just thought I’d bring some drinks.”
“I’ll take some tea, thanks.” Peter grabbed a glass and slumped on one of the sofas. It was surprisingly comfortable. Alfred sat across him, putting the tray on a table.
“I take it what happened in the cave didn’t go well,” Alfred said.
Peter scoffed. “Understatement of the century. Barbara called me ungrateful. Can you believe that? Like sorry I’m not grateful for being tortured and kidnapped and having my close friends be used as watchdogs.”
“Something else is eating you up,” Alfred said. “You usually don’t get this worked up.”
Peter was surprised. “Are you a mutant? Are there some mind reading powers of yours I don’t know about?”
“Professional secret.”
“There is some home drama,” Peter said. “But you know, after being Spider-Man for a year I’ve learned to keep some work-life balance. Badly. But I’ve learned.”
“Just like you, Master Bruce and Barbara have some frustrations of their own.”
“Bruce is always frustrated,” Peter said. “But I know Barbara’s keeping something from me. But she’s just not telling me and that…”
“Frustrates you?”
Peter sagged. “It does.”
“Give Barbara some space,” Alfred said. “She’ll come around. As for Master Bruce…”
Peter was surprised, that was the first time he heard anything remotely sounding like exasperation in Alfred’s voice.
“He’ll have to beaten over the head repeatedly before anything gets through that head of his.”
Peter laughed so hard tears started falling down his eyes. Alfred chuckled alongside him. It was a nice moment.
“What really happened to Jason?” Peter said, placing his empty teacup on the tray. “Bruce told me he left.”
“He left,” Alfred said. “Tendered his resignation this morning.”
“I feel as if that’s good for him but…”
Alfred sighed. “Jason is a good boy, but his goodness is buried underneath a lot of anger. His father was one of Two-Face’s goons and his mother died of an overdose. His childhood is best described as tumultuous. He needs guidance not this life of violence and Master Bruce in his current state can’t provide any of that.”
Peter sighed. “Let’s hope it’s for the best.”
Alfred nodded. “We can only hope.”
Suddenly, Peter’s phone rang. “That’s my cue.”
Peter dialled a number on the phone in the centre of the library. One of the shelves shifted, revealing a pole that led to the bottomless caverns.
“I’ve always liked this pole.” Peter smiled. He grabbed the pole.
“Master Parker,” Alfred said suddenly. Peter looked up. “Just be careful. Master Bruce wasn’t in his right mind when it came to this mission.”
Peter shrugged. He hung on the pole. “I’ll be fine. It’s just beating up some crazy.”
“See you Alfreeeeddddd,” Peter said, sliding into the dark depths. Alfred’s name echoing through the tunnels.
Alfred straightened the glass on the tray. He noticed that the tea he had prepared for Miss Gordon and Master Bruce had gone cold.
…
“So, how’s school been Billy?” Curt asked, setting a glass of his favourite orange juice on the table in front of him. Billy was curled up on the sofa watching a cartoon Curt was unfamiliar with. He remembered all of Billy’s favourite shows and this one with buff black haired men turning blonde wasn’t what Curt remembered.
“It’s been fine,” Billy said unenthusiastically. “Very boring.”
“School is very boring, yes,” Curt said. “But you should at least be keeping your grades up.”
“I always get straight A’s,” Billy said. “It’s too easy. The teachers have been talking about moving me up a grade.”
Curt smiled, feeling pride glimmer in his body. Like father, like son.
“You should take that opportunity,” Curt said. “Finish school as fast as possible. You see, school stifles your potential…”
“But I don’t want to finish school fast,” Billy protested. “If I do, I won’t see Sunny again.”
There was an impasse between Billy and Curt at that moment. When Curt was Billy’s age, he didn’t have much in terms of friends.
Billy yawned. “Man, this episode is so boring. I’ve seen it a thousand times already.”
“What’s say we have some lunch?” Curt said. “And after that we’ll play some board games?”
“I’ll pass on the board games,” Billy said. “Mum, Sam and I already played some board games last week, I kicked their ass at all of those games.”
“Language,” Curt said, feigning a laugh. “And who’s this Sam person?”
Billy’s eyes lightened up. “Oh, Sam’s the one who got me my shoes. Mum says he’s not her boyfriend, but I see the way she makes googly eyes at him. He’s a very nice guy, I think you’ll like him dad…” When his dad wasn’t responding to him, Billy turned to face him. “Dad?”
Curt stood there in shock. A swirling stew pot of anger, hurt and disgust swirled through the pot of his belly. Boyfriend? How dare she? How fucking dare, she? Just because she was disgusted in his arm, she decides to see another man who can…?
Curt felt an itch in his arm. Felt his whole body tighten.
“Tell me about this Sam,” Curt asked, trying his best not to show the hurt he felt, the utter betrayal he felt.
“Oh, Sam’s great. He works at a gym, sometimes he trains me…” Billy said, his voice silenced by the roar of Curt’s thoughts. And the way Billy talked about him, almost as if he was his own father. Oh, what Curt would do to wrap his arms around this Sam and strangle him. “He buys me gifts and toys…”
Billy continued on about Sam till lunch, after which he was exhausted and decided to take a nap. Curt placed a blanket over him and when he was sure Billy was asleep, he took out the formula from his bag and started work on it.
“Oh, Sam is great,” Curt said, mocking Billy’s voice. “I’ll show him how great he is.” Curt almost crushed a vial. “I’ll show him how great I AM!”
…
Night
The sewers of Gotham could best be described as a crash of old and new. New archways and drainage systems were usually what you were first greeted by. The water was clean (or as clean as sewage water could be) and the smell was there but not as prominent. Batman and Spider-Man still had radio contact with Barbara at this level. This was where sanitation workers were familiar with. But if you decide to take a different turn, follow a route that isn’t mapped or go deeper within the sewers, the old Gotham would show itself to you. Dripping pipes, wooden walkways and planks trying to fix a crumbling surface. The smell was like rotten corpses and there was this hypnotic dripping that threatened to whisk you away somewhere far away, somewhere dirty and terrifying. And for some reason, some unexplainable reason the water down here cast a persistent green glow that painted over the craggy tunnels.
Spider-Man was familiar with the history behind these sewers. He knew of Killer Croc and Solomon Grundy, he knew of the criminals and drug busts the old Green Lantern and Justice Society stopped down here. They were steadily starting to lose connection with Barbara.
Spider-Man crawled above the tunnels, feeling an icky moisture on his gloves. Batman decided to walk down, his (Bat?)Torch darting across the green sludge below.
“You’re… getting closer,” Barbara said. “Losing… connection.”
“Otto’s signal is getting stronger,” Batman said. “Be more cautious.”
“Aye, aye sir,” Spider-Man said, placing a hand over his forehead.
The green water bubbled below. It made an odd sizzling sound.
“Why does it do that?”
“Some parts of the sewer connect to the river,” Batman said. “The river Ace dumps their chemicals in. Whatever you do, do not touch that water.”
Spider-Man rolled his eyes. “Okay, Captain Obvious.”
They walked in silence, the only sound the sizzling of the water.
“By the way,” Spider-Man said. “There’s been something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”
“Make it quick.”
“It’s about funding,” Spider-Man said. “Wayne Inc funds are all over the place…”
“What does this have to do with the mission?”
“I’m just saying,” Spider-Man said. “The Board is confused without you. Fundings being directed to all the wrong places…”
“Lucius will sort it out,” Batman said. “You focus.”
“That’s the thing, Lucius…”
“Focus,” Batman interrupted.
And that was the end of that.
They reached a crossroads where the tunnel split into two different paths: a path that went straight and a path that went right. Spider-Man stopped crawling on the roof and stood at Batman’s side.
“Barbara we’ve reached a split.”
“Pulling… map,” Barbara said, her voice cutting. “Triangulating your location. The signal… scrambled but… right tunnel open area… straight… directly to… river.”
Batman took out two Batarangs and threw one at the straight tunnel and the other to the right. Spider-Man could hear the wind whooshing against the Batarangs.
Batman turned to Spider-Man. “I’ve triangulated the Batarangs to trace the signal to Otto’s lab. The Batarang on the right is giving off a stronger signal.”
Spider-Man shrugged. “What are we waiting for?”
Batman and Spider-Man followed the signal. The dripping of the sewers grew louder, only broken by the crackle of radio static.
“… Careful … tracing… sus… icious… signals.”
Spider-Man’s head started to buzz. “You heard her? The sense is starting to go off.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Batman said. “We don’t have time to waste.”
They went deeper and deeper into the sewers, the darkness within almost swallowing them. Their only solace was the dripping of the water and the beam of Batman’s torch. That was their only company until they were greeted by a green glow. This time it wasn’t the sewage water, but rather green glow sticks propped up by a contraption. Spider-Man started at Batman who returned the grim expression. They followed the lights until they reached a wide-open circular space. Along the curve lay a bunch of computers with different batches of encrypted data burned across the screen. There was what looked like a small recording booth with curtains with a stage light poking out. Speaking of stage lights, four stage lights were spaced across the circular room casting a dim white light. In the centre was a small table stuffed with empty Chinese food and pizza boxes.
“Huh, for a genius Otto sure seems like a mess,” Spider-Man said.
“Be careful,” Batman said. “We don’t know what could be a trap.”
Spider-Man picked up an empty pizza box. “Yeah, like he rigged this pizza box to explode.”
Batman went around the room. “Computer, upload this data to the main database. Tell Barbara to decrypt it.”
Batman plugged something into the main database of Otto’s computer. It was at that moment Spider-Man’s senses went off.
“Someone’s coming.”
Batman and Spider-Man took up a guarded stance. Someone’s humming echoed through the empty cavern, casting a large hunched shadow across their faces. There was what sounded like wheels against a jagged surface, as the shadow grew smaller and smaller until finally…
Otto’s humming stopped. He saw Batman and Spider-Man in their defensive stances and leaned back on his wheelchair. He was pretty well kept for a man who lived in the sewers, with long black hair, a shaven face and sunglasses that looked like goggles across his face.
“Well, there goes tonight’s plans,” he said, letting out an exasperated sigh.
…
“You’re under arrest,” Batman said. “Otto Octavius.”
“I must say I’m kinda surprised to see you here, Batman,” Otto said. “I thought you were against corruption in Gotham what with all the corrupt mayors and cops you arrested but I guess Bruce Wayne can get anybody on his payroll with enough money. Explains the giant tank.”
Otto swerved his wheelchair to face Spider-Man. “But that doesn’t explain you. Why are you working for this guy? You don’t seem to be under someone’s payroll, your tech is too scrappy, too…”
Otto shrugged. “Oh well, money talks.”
Otto turned back to Batman. “Do tell me, what exactly are you going to arrest me for?”
“The police will…”
“The police this and the police that,” Otto sighed. “It’s always the same with you superheroes. Someone changes something, you beat them up and then you throw them in jail or a mental asylum. You just preserve the status quo. Here’s the unfortunate thing, you can’t fight change no matter what you do. You can arrest me for the various other crimes that I committed, but that won’t change what happened. The people in Gotham are angry, the people of Gotham are questioning the foundations of their institutions and arresting me won’t change that.”
“Can you shut up?” Spider-Man said. “Can we just fight already and throw your crazy ass in jail?”
Otto sighed. “Very well. But you’ll find I’m not that easy to take down.”
Spider-Man scoffed. “What are you going to do? Run us over with your wheelchair.”
Spider-Man lunged at Otto.
“Spider-Man wait!” Batman called out.
There was the loud screech of metal. Spider-Man had no time to react a metal claw tossed him aside, knocking him against a spotlight.
Batman lunged, another metal tentacle thrust through the air but Batman dodge it. He couldn’t dodge the third one that knocked him against the wall.
Two tentacles wrapped themselves around Batman and Spider-Man’s throat, letting out a whir as they closed in on them.
“Like I said, you’ll find I’m not that easy to take out.”
Propping himself up on two tentacles, Otto stood taller than the heroes he had in his clutches.
,,,
It was supposed to be a normal night. Martha and Sam would pick up their takeout, go home and watch a movie. The movie would get boring, then they’d take off their clothes, do what they couldn’t with Billy around and fall off to sleep, then they’d pick up Billy from Curt and go shopping.
It was supposed to be a normal night.
What wasn’t normal was when a man in a lab coat stood in front of their fireplace holding a picture frame.
Martha and Sam tensed up. They each took a step back ready to make a break for it.
The man turned around. It was Curt.
“Curt,” Martha said, her voice a little high pitched. “How’d you get in here?”
“You forget this used to be my house too,” Curt said. There was something wrong with his voice, it almost sounded like he was hissing. Martha could barely make out his face from the shadows the fire cast, but it looked pale. “I took the keys… I…”
“Martha is this…” Sam said.
“SHUT UP YOU THIEF!” Curt snapped, pointing a finger at Sam. It was hard to make out in the dark, but his nails looked long, almost like claws. “Everything was fine until you came along… you… you…”
Curt suddenly broke into long, heavy breaths.
“Curt are you okay?” Martha asked, trying her best to disguise the fear in her voice. Curt was everything in the world, but he wasn’t like this.
“I’m fine,” Curt said. “In fact, I’m… I’m perfect…”
Curt removed his lab coat revealing a right arm. The right arm he spent years obsessing over. It was wrapped in a white, almost divine sheen that looked like plastic wrap.
“See I got my arm back,” Curt said, his voice cracking. “We can go back to normal now. We can…”
“Curt,” Martha said firmly. “I’ve told you time and time again, I didn’t leave you because you lost an arm. I left because you were so obsessed with it. It was all you could think about, so much so that you barely talked to Billy or me. I’m glad you fixed it, but we can’t fix our relationship anymore, Curt. It’s over. I moved on.”
“No, no, no,” Curt said. The way he said it made him sound like a baby throwing a tantrum. “You can’t move on! You can’t! I fixed things, you can’t…”
“Look buddy,” Sam said. “Whatever you did to… fix yourself, it looks like it’s making you go through the shitter. Martha and I can take you the hospital but…”
“SHUT UP!” Curt roared. “I didn’t ask you. It’s all your fault. All your fault.”
“Look, Curt,” Martha said. “We need to take you the hospital. There’s something wrong with you. I’m not comfortable with you being here.”
“No, it’s all his fault!” Curt said, his face covered in shadow. He pointed a clawed hand at Sam. “Once I get rid of him… Once I get rid of him…”
Curt paused.
“Once I killed him,” hissed a voice. A voice that didn’t sound like Curt.
“Look I’m going to call the cops,” Sam said. “You can’t just walk…”
Curt lunged at Sam like he was an animal. Martha let out a scream as she heard sounds she wasn’t supposed to. Sam screaming, bones that weren’t supposed to snap, snapping and blood spraying across the clean floors of her house.
Sam screamed in pain and agony. The only thing Martha could make out was his white coat, torn to pieces by large, green limbs. Then his screaming stopped.
Curt turned and Martha felt her legs shake. She wasn’t looking at Curt or even a human. She was looking a… a thing. A thing with large slitted orange eyes and a snakelike tongue. It wasn’t Curt’s face she saw but a monsters, scales and teeth. Lots of teeth.
“Kill her too,” the monster said in a voice that felt as if it was running through her neck. “Kill the cheater.”
It took a moment for Martha Connors to register the words, but when she tried to run. However, that moment was more than enough.
The monster lunged. Martha tried to put up a fight, but the beast was too fast. For a moment, there was screaming, lots of screaming. And then there was silence. Silence and blood.
It was supposed to be a normal night.
To be continued…