It was the grand opening of the Thomas and Martha Wayne Hospital and a seven-year-old Bruce Wayne was tired of being shoved around and playing with kids he barely knew, accompanying his dad as he talked about boring contracts and the news with old people. He didn’t understand why opening a hospital was such a big deal and most importantly, why he couldn’t be at home playing Nintendo with Alfred. Young Bruce Wayne was bored and annoyed and he definitely wasn’t going to let his parents rest without knowing that.

“I don’t get it, dad,” Bruce said. “What’s the big deal with hospitals?”

And what was the big deal about being a doctor? Bruce was no stranger to the icky things his father had to deal with.

Through the rear-view mirror Bruce could see that knowing smile on his dad’s face which meant a lecture was incoming.

“Hospitals and by extension Doctors are very important Bruce,” Thomas said. “In their hands they hold countless human lives. In the past, those hospitals weren’t available to the less fortunate.”

“Less fortunate?” Bruce asked.

“People who can’t get medicine as easily as we can,” Thomas said. “With this hospital, now everybody can get medicine easily. That’s why we opened it.”

They drove on, the hospital a tiny speck in their rearview mirror.

“Life is a very important thing, Bruce,” Thomas said. “Doctors go to great lengths to preserve it. With this hospital we can save millions of lives, lives we couldn’t save before without it.”

“Wow,” Bruce said. “You think I can be a doctor someday?”

“I hope you can be a doctor,” Martha said, laughing. “Some days I even pray for it.”

Thomas smiled. “And hey, maybe one day you’ll open, up a hospital of your own. Wouldn’t that be great?”

As they drove back home to the manor, Bruce grinned. Opening a hospital of his own. He liked that idea.

…

The Wayne Memorial Hospital, built during Bruce’s fifth year of being Batman. Built after one too many people fell under the radar. Named after the memory of people who brought so much joy to Bruce, memories that were now tainted.

The Rolls Royce parked in the middle of a mostly empty parking lot. Bruce Wayne solemnly sat in the back; his Butler unable to read his face through the rear-view mirror.

“Drugs,” Bruce said. “The hospital my father built when I was seven to make healthcare affordable to the people of Gotham was being used to push drugs.”

Alfred matched his Master’s silence.

“That’s not it, Alfred,” Bruce said. “All privately owned hospitals in Gotham were used to launder money. Alfred we worked so hard to rid the hospitals of corruption because that was what I felt my parents would’ve wanted but now…”

Bruce let out a defeated sigh. “Gotham, the media used to say that crime was at an all time low when my parents were alive but that was a lie. It was there, my parents just paid to cover it up.”

Bruce stared out of the black tinted windows.

“What is the Master Planner’s next move?” Alfred asked.

“He plans to bomb the hospitals,” Bruce said. “Innocents, they’ve been warned beforehand but…”

“So, what’s your plan of attack?” Alfred asked. “He must have people in the hospital if he has a plan that elaborate.” Bruce was silent, he didn’t meet Alfred’s eyes. “Master Bruce?”

Bruce sighed. “I’m thinking, maybe he should. Nobody’s going to die from what I’ve seen in his manifesto. There’s no point…”

“Master Wayne,” Alfred said. “Think about what you’re saying, you can’t possibly think…”

“Their legacy,” Bruce said. “It should be erased. It’s not the only time my family, the Wayne family has corrupted this city.”

“That may be true,” Alfred said. “But still if you let him destroy the hospitals what alternative do the people have? He claims revolution but doesn’t offer any solutions to the issue. He’s just a terrorist!”

“But…”

“Do you think he’d still do this if your parents let him continue with these experiments?” Alfred asked. “Do you think he’d ‘expose’ this corruption?”

Bruce was silent.

“You worked so hard to clear up the corruption in this city,” Alfred said. “You said so yourself. What do the people have to gain by destroying the hospitals? What do you stand to gain?”

“Change,” Bruce mumbled.

“What?”

“Change,” Bruce said. “For so long I’ve been fighting crime in Gotham, to honour my family, to honour their legacy. Now I find out what I’ve been fighting for is tainted. What I’ve been fighting for is the same thing I’ve been fighting against. And it’s not like what I’ve been doing has been making a difference. I rescue someone from the Penguin only for the Joker to kill them. The longer I stay Batman, the worse Gotham becomes.”

Bruce sighed. “I can’t… I can’t keep doing this. Maybe we should let this be, maybe if Otto finishes what he started things will be different.”

They sat in the car in silence.

“If not for your parent’s legacy,” Alfred said. “Do it for yours.”

“What?” Bruce said. “I already messed it up. I let Falcone…”

“Bruce Wayne let Falcone peddle weapons through his warehouses,” Alfred said. “Both Batman and Bruce Wayne can fix that. Use that brain of yours. The newspapers don’t call you the World’s Greatest Detective for nothing.”

The cogs in Bruce’s head started to spin.

“No,” Bruce said. “I can’t go public yet. Not with my leg.”

“Focus on the hospitals first,” Alfred said.

“But…”

“Thomas and Martha Wayne peddled drugs and laundered money through the hospitals,” Alfred said. “Bruce Wayne can fix that.”

Bruce sighed. “But that would mean…”

“Yes,” Alfred said. “Acknowledging what your parents did.” Alfred sighed. “And regrettably. both of us aren’t in the right headspace to do so.”

…

“I have to go,” Peter said, putting on his mask. “Jason is…”

“I’m coming with, Peter,” Barbara said.

“No, there’s no time,” Peter said. He flicked his wrists to make sure he had enough web fluid to carry him to Crime Alley. Sure enough, he did.

“I said I’m coming with,” Barbara insisted.

“I can’t carry you and your wheelchair,” Peter said.

“I’m going to ignore the second part of your sentence,” Barbara said. “You can carry me, can’t you?”

“But Crime Alley is…”

“Peter,” Barbara said with a smile that fell in heavy contrast to the way her voice trailed out his name.

“Right, okay,” Peter said. “No D word.”

Peter grabbed Barbara as if he were giving her a piggyback ride, her legs were wrapped around his waist and her arms around her neck.

“You’re much heavier than I thought you’d be,” Peter said.

“Shut up,” Barbara said. “Let’s go.”

Peter leapt out the window, swinging across the city while giving his girlfriend a piggyback ride.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

…

Jason stood in front of the open sewer grate, red hoodie, and mask on. He paced back and forth anxiously, hoping that Peter would get here in time, trying to ignore the flashes of memory that invaded his mind as he thought about what had happened with Curt when he turned into that monster.

He was so close, so close to dying. Just one swipe of his claws and Jason would’ve been caput but in those slit shaped eyes he saw a brief flicker of humanity. The monster let out a growl before dashing off, breaking through the apartment window and into the street below.

Jason didn’t have time to recover, to process what just happened. He screwed up, he knew he did but before he made things worse, he’d have to follow Curt or whatever that thing he transformed into was.

And when he finally found the place, he called the one person he knew he could trust, Peter.

Finally, a few minutes after his call Peter appeared, Barbara on his back.

“Hi Barbara,” Jason said, waving his hand.

“Let’s get down to bass tracks,” Peter said. “How do you know about Curt? How did you know we were looking for him?”

“And where is he?” Barbara asked.

Jason put his arms up. “Geez stop with the rapid-fire questions. One at a time, please.”

“Curt’s in the sewers,” Jason said, pointing at the sewer grate. Peter beckoned him forward. “Let’s go.”

“What about your girlfriend?” Jason asked. “She can’t walk can she?”

“Geez, manners,” Barbara said. “I’m coming with you guys.”

“Despite very rational and founded concerns,” Peter said under his breath.

“Shut up,” Barbara said, slapping his head. “Let’s go, we’ll get our answers on the way.”

They dropped into the sewers. Peter turned to him.

“You equipped?” he asked.

Jason rolled up his hoodie, revealing a belt with Batarangs, a Batclaw, some explosive gel, smoke bombs and the trusty grappling hook.

“How did you…” Barbara asked, surprised and mildly amused.

“Bruce has those stashes-slash- safehouses around town,” Jason said. “The one in Crime Alley still had me registered. It was easy to get in, hard to get out.”

They walked through the sewers, the only sounds footsteps splashing across the shallow water below and water dripping from the tangle of pipes above.

“So how do you know about Curt?” Spider-Man asked, Barbara was leaning on his shoulders, going through a map of the sewers on her phone. “And what’s with that getup?”

“How does anybody in Gotham know about Curt Connors,” Jason said. “I read newspapers and heard about it on radio. I know about the murders, as for the getup…”

Jason grinned. “Jealous?”

“You can think that” Spider-Man said. “But why dress up like a clown in the first place?”

Jason sighed. “Guess I’m crazy like you guys. Whenever I see something bad happen well…”

Both Peter and Barbara got exactly what he was talking about. Down to a tee.

“As for how I knew you guys were looking for him, well,” Jason said. “I didn’t. I just called you guys cause…”

Jason didn’t meet his eyes. “I didn’t want to call Bruce.”

Spider-Man and Barbara gave each other a look. Like it or not, Jason was heartbroken after being fired as Robin. He finally had some sense of stability (fickle as it was) after living on the streets for long but that was stripped from him.

“What about the cops, couldn’t you have called her?” Barbara asked. “He is a murderer isn’t he?”

“I…” Jason stopped, looking down at his toes. “It’s not his fault.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Peter said. “He killed them! A kid doesn’t have a mum…”

“Peter,” Barbara said softly. “What do you mean Jason?”

“He… he didn’t seem to remember what happened on that night,” Jason said. “And I… uh… I thought I could help him. I thought…”

“It’s okay,” Barbara said. “I understand how you feel but…”

They stepped into a pathway that split into five separate pathways, each darker and more foreboding than the previous one.

“Where do you think he went?” Spider-Man asked.

“Wanna split up?” Jason asked.

“Nope,” Barbara said. “If you’ve watched a single horror movie, you’d know how much of a bad idea that is.”

“Babs’ right,” Spider-Man said. “Let’s go down one of the creepy tunnels that has a giant lizard monster waiting for us.”

“So now what?” Jason asked. “We can’t just let him go like this.”

“We’re not,” Spider-Man said. “We have to find a way to find him in the sewers and…”

“We have to deal with him,” Barbara said. “Cure him, whatever. He needs to face justice for what he’s done.”

“The question is how?” Jason asked. “How do we find him?”

At that, they were slumped. Spider-Man tapped his feet against the ground. Barbara looked at Jason.

“Don’t look at me,” Jason said. “I’m not a scientist.”

Spider-Man looked up and Barbara’s expression brightened.

“I GOT IT!” they both said at the same time, realisation flashing in both of their eyes.

…

”Mr. Wayne, it’s becoming harder and harder to comprehend your decisions,” Lucius Fox said through a video call. They communicated through a secure line so Bruce could see the view of Gotham from Wayne Inc through the window behind him. “You’re telling me to sign a contract with Red Rose Inc, a shady and might I say known Falcone subsidiary, authorising them to use our warehouses and permitting them to hold some of our shares.”

Bruce’s mouth was covered by his interlocked fingers, he leaned forward. “I needed to…”

“Mr. Wayne,” Lucius said. “I understand that the position of CEO takes second place to your other ventures but this just borders on outright negligence. Wayne Inc has been constantly under fire because of the actions of your family and yet you don’t even show your face. Mr. Wayne this is bordering on madness.”

“I’m working on it…”

“While you’re working on it, people are losing their jobs,” Lucius said. “Ventures you believe in are losing their funding and yet you still refuse to show yourself.”

“It’s my leg, Lucius…”

Lucius’s sigh was clearly frustrated. “Losing that leg means you lost a physical faculty, you still haven’t lost your mental ones unless there’s something I’m missing.”

“Lucius…”

“I’ve wasted enough time here,” Lucius said. “I believe in Wayne Inc, I believe in Bruce Wayne and Batman but your actions are stretching that belief thin. You need to act soon, otherwise you can add me to the list of people you pushed away with your recent actions.”

Lucius hung up, leaving Bruce in the dark of the Batcave alone.

“I take it things didn’t go so well,” Alfred said, placing a cup of tea at Bruce’s side.

“They’re not,” Bruce said. “Falcone’s men are making big changes in Wayne Inc.”

“And you’re letting them.”

“We don’t have a solid plan of attack yet,” Bruce said. “Against Falcone, against the Master Planner. The only thing I can do is defend hospitals that are… complicit.”

Bruce sighed.

“What’s the matter?” Alfred asked.

“I’m just wondering… why?” Bruce asked. “Why? We had enough money; we had enough power and influence. All the conversations I had with my parents, everything they taught me about truth, justice, and compassion…”

Alfred was silent.

“What did they do this for, Alfred?” Bruce asked. “Why did they harm so many people?”

Alfred’s response was silence. A silence that only made the empty hole in Bruce’s heart bigger.

…

“What the hell are we doing in this dingy ass building?” Jason asked as they stepped in front of an old building by the Narrows that had seen better days. “And can I have some of that?”

“The question is what are you going to be doing in this dingy ass building,” Peter said, he was holding a plastic bag with McDonalds that he said nobody was going to touch. “And no, no you can’t.”

“Then what’s it for?” Jason groaned.

Peter looked around, making sure the coast was clear before the door creaked open. A small slit of light cut through the room before being snuffed out by the door closing.

“It’s for him,” Barbara said, emphasising the word him as if she was telling a spooky story.

“Who’s him?”

Jason heard the ruffling of wings.

“James, it’s us,” Peter said, taking out his mask. “We brought a guest, he’s going to be taking care…”

Jason didn’t have time to react as a boy sized bat tackled him across the floor.

“Hey!” Peter yelled. “Knock it off, he’s a friend!”

Jason rolled, Batarangs at the ready. The bat creature hissed at him.

“What the hell is that thing?” Jason shouted.

“One of Curt’s experiments,” Barbara said, rolling her wheelchair in between them. “He won’t hurt you if you don’t hurt him.”

“Doesn’t seem that way,” Jason asked.

“Both of you stand down,” Peter said. “Try to get along.”

“I’ll put my rangs down if he stops hissing at me,” Jason said.

“Batboy stop hissing at him,” Barbara said.

“Ha! you called him Batboy,” Peter said with a smug grin.

“I mean James!”

James stopped hissing, eyeing Jason warily. Jason put his Batarang down.

“I got us some snacks,” Peter said. He put the McDonalds paper back down, giving a burger to Jason, Barbara and himself and giving half a dozen to Batboy who tore it up like a wild animal.

“So, what about tracing Curt brings us here?” Jason asked through a mouthful of his beef burger.

“Two creatures, one cure,” Peter said through a mouthful of his bacon burger.

“Manners!” Barbara said through a mouthful of her chicken burger.

“What do you mean two creatures, one cure?” Jason asked.

“Barbara managed to find some DNA samples of Curt when we were in the sewers,” Peter said. “If we managed to grab those we can come up with a cure.”

“We need to come up with a serum that can isolate the animal elements from the human and…”

“Spare me the science BS,” Jason said. “Just tell me what I’m doing here.”

“Well since you have nothing to do,” Peter said as his phone started to ring. “Gotta take this, it’s my Aunt.”

He left Jason and Barbara alone, mumbling something to his Aunt.

“Like Peter was saying,” Barbara said. “Since you have nothing to do…”

“IT’S TODAY!” Peter exclaimed. “God I gotta get ready!”

Peter turned to Barbara and Jason, putting on his mask and emptying out his web fluid. “See you guys later.”

He leapt onto one of the walkways and leapt out the building.

Barbara sighed. “Since you have nothing to do, you’ll be here. Taking care of Batboy.”

Batboy perked up, Jason’s eyes widened.

“No, you can’t…”

“You’ll be in charge of feeding him,” Barbara interrupted. “And also…” Jason hadn’t seen a grin so evil on anybody’s face, not even the supervillains he fought with Bruce. “You’ll be writing us a report on his behaviour.”

…

Peter was starting to regret the fact that he accepted to see the man Aunt May was seeing. They’d been planning the dinner for days and Peter hadn’t even gotten him a gift. Here he was swinging around town, plastic bag stuffed with chocolates and looking everywhere for some nice cologne. Only Spider-Man had to swing around shops in Gotham buying chocolate and cologne. He frantically swung around town, making sure the box didn’t slip out of the paper bag. People were surprised to see Spider-Man waiting in line to buy a box of chocolate.

After buying the chocolate he got a message from May.

PETER WHERE R U?

U R L8!!!!!!!!

Peter texted a quick I’ll be there in five and started to swing back to his apartment.

At one point the box of chocolates started to slip from the paper bag, Peter had to scramble to make sure it didn’t slip. When he slipped into his apartment, he noticed a piece of web attached to the chocolate. He ripped it out and only when he was knocking the door did, he notice he still had his gloves on.

He ripped his glove off and in that split second, May opened the door. He shoved the glove in his back pocket.

“Oh, Peter’s here,” May said with a smile. When Peter stepped in, she hissed underneath her teeth. “What is up with your hair?”

Peter tried to straighten it up as best he could. He didn’t know why but he started to feel his sense start to tingle. That was strange. He was just meeting May’s new boyfriend. He wasn’t dealing with a super-villain.

“I’ll grab the gifts,” May said. “Otto just wanted to see you before we sat down to eat.”

Otto? What did she mean Otto? Peter breathed in. Could just be somebody who shares that psychopath’s name. No big deal.

Peter felt his heart thud against his chest, his senses were going haywire as he heard what sounded like wheels rolling across the creaky brown surface.

“I forgot to mention,” May said. “Otto here uses a wheelchair.”

Please be a coincidence, Peter prayed. Please. There’s no way this could be…

“Hello Peter,” Otto Octavius said with a warm smile. “It’s a pleasure to finally see you in the flesh. Your Aunt has told me so much about you.”

To be continued…