The Trap
“—sappointed, Lex. Thought you said Mary would be at Fawcett High. There are other things we should be focused on besides your insatiable lust for kidnapping.”
“It is for a good cause, Adam,” Lex said, his voice oozing with the confidence that came from being a businessman for as long as he had.
“You said you needed one of Marvel's children, but Mary is not here.”
Lex’s grin was reminiscent of a snake’s. “No, but you are.”
Lex activated the field around Black Adam, where Lex used a beam to move the trapped villain to his spot with the other villain magic users, who were all banging on their cells and silently shouting at the billionaire. “Thank you, friend. Your contribution will be remembered and honored.”
Spinning around on his heel, Lex looked at his holographic communicator, asking, “Where is Wilson? I still need Etrigan.”
“I’ll contact him, just give me a—” the communicator cut out, and a voice echoed through the walls from behind Lex.
“I’ve been intercepting your signals for months. Tracking them through a dozen different satellites. Gathering information, trying to find out where you were, and who you really are.”
Lex turned to see an identical bald man wearing a bulky green and purple suit. “I’m Lex Luthor.”
“No, you’re not,” the other man snarled. “You’re not me.”
“You’re right,” Lex sneered. “I’m better.”
“You tried to take my place. Why? I need to know who you are, why you’re—” Luthor cut off with a pained groan, falling to the ground and clutching his head.
“Trouble thinking?” Lex asked. “I’d theorize it’s our proximity. Intellect has always been a Luthor’s greatest strength. But my Theta brainwaves are much more advanced than yours. They operate on an anti-frequency and therefore, I would guess, are interfering with your cognitive functions.”
Lex was pacing around the other man, observing him with the same sympathy that a scientist would a lab rat. “Is that a static in your ears? Or an overpowering headache? Tell me, Lex Luthor,” Lex crouched in front of the armored man, lifting his chin with one finger condescendingly, “how does it feel to be stupid?”
Growling, Luthor reared up and fired a cannon at the impostor with a boom. The corner of Lex’s mouth lifted in a sneer as he dematerialized and re-materialized in a different spot, gathering energy at his fingertips into a ball and aiming at Luthor. “See now, Lex, that really was stupid.”
Luthor gnashed his teeth and fired again, making Lex roll his eyes. “Your blasts have no effect on me. Surely you’ve learned that by now.”
“No,” Luthor agreed, “but they have an effect on your computers.”
With a spark, the image inducer fizzled out, leaving a red-haired man in a gold, futuristic set of armor in its place. Luthor stepped back, his face twisted in confusion and disgust. “Who— who are you?”
“I told you, I’m you. Only better.” He raised his hand over Luthor, gathering the energy again to finish him off, only for Luthor to vanish in a flash of light.
Lex adjusted his device, about to go after him. “Don’t,” a voice whispers, the sound seemingly echoing around the room. “We don’t need him, leave him be. Don’t stop until you have The Link in our grasp, then we can destroy him.”
Lex nods, and his teleportation device powers down. “As you wish.”
Lex could feel his mentor beside him as the two stared up at the tower that was built in front of them, reaching into the heavens above. Idle eyes flicked over the various containment rooms where many heroes and villains were pounding at the fields holding them in place, trying to find any weakness. They would find none.
Peter left the school and got into the waiting taxi, directing them to even further out of Gotham’s limits. The taxi driver nodded and pulled away from the curb, perhaps driving a little faster than he should, but Peter chose not to say anything about it. Trying to look as nonplussed as possible, Peter pulled a book out of his backpack and started to read, occasionally glancing up at the passing scenery. They were now off Gotham island, heading west to rural Pennsylvania. They drove for a couple of hours before the taxi slowed to a stop in front of a snowed-over corn field. Peter got out and thanked the man, who drove off.
Pulling a device that looked similarly enough to his phone out of his pocket, Peter walked towards the little red dot on the screen into the middle of the field, reaching out curiously. The image warbled, and nodding to himself, Peter stepped inside. Peter’s Spidey Sense went off and he automatically dropped to the ground, looking up to see an arrow, a mace crackling with electricity, and even a crossbow aimed at him. Green Arrow sighed and put the arrow back into his quiver, turning to the rest of the people. “It’s just the kid, guys.”
Peter stood back up, eyes wide. “Um, hi. Didn’t Martian Manhunter phone ahead?”
“He did, we’re just a little jumpy,” Black Canary explained. She waved at the building behind her. “Batman and the others are waiting for you inside.”
Peter nodded and turned to the building in front of him. Before Peter sat an unassuming medium-sized home, with a single light turned on in the front window. Peter walked up the porch and knocked four short taps, barely getting the fourth one in before the door swung inwards, revealing a smiling Superman, who let him inside. “Good to see you again, son.”
Peter's smile was faint, but present nonetheless. “Good to see you too, sir. Thanks for—” Peter gestured at the house, “—all this.”
“Of course. Let’s just hope Batman is right, yeah?”
Peter nodded and followed Superman into the living room, where Wonder Woman was sitting on the sofa next to Batman, who was sitting next to the Flash. Peter waved at them awkwardly before continuing on into the rest of the house, where he could hear voices. Sure enough, Starfire was sitting at a dining room table, playing cards with Cyborg, Changeling, Superboy, Wonder Girl, and Kid Flash.
Seeing Peter, KF immediately jumped up at the table and clasped Peter’s hand, shaking it rapidly. “Hi, nice to finally meet you! Sorry I couldn’t earlier, Flash needed my help in Central City, you know how it is. I’m Bart, though, I probably shouldn’t have told you that right away, huh? Whatever, I don’t care, and I already know yours, so I guess this makes us even, huh? Where did you get your powers? Can you stick to walls or is it tech that you use in your shoes and gloves? I kinda studied you, hopefully you don’t find that too creepy. What am I saying, you’re dating Tim! If you find surveillance creepy, you’re probably not going to last very long with him. Do you make the webs with your body, or do you use tech for those too? On a scale from normal gym bro to Superman, how strong are you? Why did you decide to go with Spider-Man? That’s a pretty weird name, especially if you’re not trying to freak out the people you’re saving. Or are you trying to scare people? I mean, you are a Gothamite, right? So that would probably be up your alley, huh? Heh, right up your alley, like Crime Alley, get it? Apparently, you know the Bats’ identities. How did you figure that out? Did they just tell you? Cause if they did then I’m mad jealous, dude. It took Tim years to tell us his name! One time we were playing truth and dare and we dared him to take off his mask, and underneath, the guy was wearing another mask. He’s that much of a little shit. And when I say little, I mean little. He’s pretty short, huh?”
All of this was rattled off at a speed Peter could barely keep up with. The onslaught of questions would have undoubtedly continued, if Superboy hadn’t also put down his cards and placed a hand on Bart’s shoulders, pulling away from Peter. “Sorry about him,” Superboy said. “He can be… a lot.”
Peter chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s no problem. I guess I was just surprised to find someone with a worse case of ADHD than me, you know?”
“I’m Superboy.” He held out his hand and Peter took it, almost squeaking at the grip Kon-El was squeezing his hand with. Peter adjusted, attempting to apply equal force, even if he knew he could never really do that thanks to Conner’s alien biology. (Was it alien if he’d still been made on Earth? Peter was unsure.)
Leaning forward, Superboy whispered, “You break my best friend’s heart and I’ll throw you into the fucking sun.”
Peter laughed at that, which apparently surprised the super. “Dude, if I ever do anything like that, I’ll fucking help you.”
Superboy smirked and let go. “Alright. You’re not bad, Parker. I go by Conner.”
Wonder Girl waved from the table, not bothering to get up. “Wonder Girl. Or Cassie, whichever you prefer. My identity isn’t really a secret, so it’s no big deal.”
Peter sighed, anxiously glancing at the main members of the JL in the living room, who thankfully hadn’t heard Bart’s many questions. “Who else knows about me?”
“Just the team, Peter,” Starfire said. “I apologize if I have overstepped. When you told Cyborg, Changeling, Raven, and I, I thought…”
Peter waved her off with a grimace-smile. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. You guys know when the rest of the Bats are going to get here?”
Cyborg shook his head. “I’m sure they’ll be here soon, though. I think they have a zeta tube installed in this place.”
Peter pulled out a chair and sat down as Bart and Conner resumed their positions. “What even is this house?”
“It’s a safe house that was built a while back,” Gar explained. “Any League member can use it when they need to hide out for a bit.”
Peter nodded. “Gotcha.”
“Why is the Cadre after you, Peter?” Starfire asked, laying her hand of cards face-down on the table.
“I think it might be because of the magical energy signature I apparently have around me,” Peter guessed, staring at his hands. “Raven told me about it the last time… the last time I saw her.”
A solemn silence fell on the table as they remembered the captured Titan. Peter cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Beyond that, I’m not really sure.”
Starfire picked her hand back up and placed a card down, making the others groan. She smirked viciously. “Victor, I believe it is your turn.”
Vic played his hand and Peter got back up, mumbling something about needing the bathroom. Peter awkwardly walked by the JL members talking on the couch, trying to not make eye contact. He found the loo and used it, washing his hands and starting to head back towards the Titans.
“Peter,” Wonder Woman called. “A moment of your time.”
Peter turned to find the eyes of several JL members who had apparently crowded into the living room in the time it had taken Peter to pee. Green Arrow, Black Canary, Hawkman, three Green Lanterns (how many GLs were there??), Aquaman, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Huntress, a guy in a trenchcoat with no face (Slenderman???), Red Tornado, Supergirl, Captain Atom, and a weird stretchy guy were now crowded in the living room. All of them were staring at Peter, who was very uncomfortable. The front door opened, thankfully taking the attention off Peter. In walked Nightwing, Red Hood, Spoiler, Black Bat, and Red Robin. Peter waved cheerily at the group. “Hey guys. Welcome to the party.”
The Titans were now hanging on the fringes of the entrance to the living room, listening as well.
“Where’s Robin?” Wonder Woman asked.
“With Superboy,” Superman said. Everyone looked to Conner, then back at Superman. “The other one.”
A collective ‘oh’ echoed around the room, and now they were all staring at Peter again. Peter shifted uneasily from foot to foot. When it was clear that no one was going to say anything, Wonder Woman sighed. “Batman, tell us why we are endangering a child.”
“Hey, I’m 18,” Peter argued, folding his arms. “I’m here because I’m the last person Luthor needs to finish his machine. Apparently. I have been informed of this in no uncertain terms and I know exactly what I signed up for. I’m a target anyways— we might as well use it to set a trap for him.”
“Trust me, we’re not the biggest fan of the plan either,” Red Robin remarked, which, ouch. “If we had another choice, we would take it.”
“Do we know why Peter is on the list?” Black Canary asked.
Trenchcoat Guy inhaled, about to say something. “No,” Green Arrow cut him off with a glare before he could even say anything. “Let Batman explain, then you can tell us what you think is going on as we go back to circling the perimeter.”
“Peter isn’t from this dimension,” Batman said. “He was transported here by magical means, which has apparently left a strong magical signature on Peter. That’s why. He is stronger than he seems.”
“Hey wait a minute,” Flash said. “Isn’t this the kid that Zod held captive a while back?”
Peter sighed, suddenly even more exhausted than before.
“Yes,” Superman said. “Yes he was.”
“Is there anything else we need to know?” Black Canary asked.
“No,” Peter said, like a liar.
The JL members headed back outside, and Peter headed back to the Uno game with the rest of the Titans. “Deal me in?” he asked.
“Done,” Cyborg said. “I was tired of Star winning anyways.”
“It is similar to the game Brogulapor on Tamaran,” Starfire explained. Her pure green eyes got a weird glint in them. “I kicked ass at it.”
Just as Peter sat down, all hell broke loose.