It All Goes to Hell
Peter looked around wildly, his Spidey Sense going fucking nuts. An explosion rocked the house and the Titans lept up, forming a circle around Peter, who sat frozen. There was so much he could do, but right now he was a normal civilian, nothing more and nothing less and god fucking dammit, it driving him crazy already.
“Stay behind us,” Red Robin instructed.
Peter fought the urge to roll his eyes. He wasn’t talking to Tim anymore, he was talking to Red Robin, and there was nothing more that Peter wanted to do than take that useless domino mask off and demand that Tim talk to him. But Peter had a secret identity to keep, so he stayed quiet and did as he was told. Peter’s Spidey Sense screamed at him again, and Peter looked up to see the roof being ripped off by a fifty foot tall woman in a dress. Well shit.
Villains of all shapes and sizes were flying around the scene, fighting with the JL. “The kid is inside!” someone yelled.
Peter felt his stomach drop to the floor as every villain turned to look at him. Glancing around, Peter found himself peering into the cold, calculating eyes of Lex Luthor. Good, Batman had been right. (Was it really good?) Lex was here in person.
Peter had never liked escort missions in video games. It had never occurred to him that maybe the escortee didn’t like them either. And now he was living it.
Peter ducked out of the way of a high-flying villain who swooped in to grab him. Starfire immediately blasted anyone that got close, and she and Nightwing were a blur of color together, working in a way that only came from years of experience together. Cyborg and Changeling were tag-teaming villains, tossing them between each other to get the shit kicked out of them before knocking them back away from Peter. Superboy and Wonder Girl took to the skies, and Peter had to blink light spots from his eyes after having accidentally looked at a bolt of lightning she summoned with her lasso. Steph and Jason were powerhouses, using brawler moves and working together in a way that Peter hadn’t had the pleasure of watching that often. Bart was zipping around the scene with his mentor, taking out people left and right and communicating effortlessly with the Flash.
And what was Red Robin doing? Tim was stuck to Peter’s side like glue, using moves that would impress the Black Widow to decimate anyone that came near. He was powerful, focused, and determined. If Peter wasn’t in Crisis Mode, he would absolutely have been turned on. But he was a bit busy fearing for his life, so what was one to do?
The farmhouse was now all but obliterated, but even so, Tim urged Peter towards a cellar door that had been on the side of the house. Peter obediently climbed in, with Tim directly behind him. “Come on, we’re going to the zeta tube.”
Peter nodded and the two teens broke into a jog, Tim only pausing to close the doors behind them. Smooth metal began to slide into place over the rickety doors, and Peter only had a moment to gape at it before Tim was pulling him to a corner of the room, where a teleporter pad stood. “Where are we going?” Peter asked.
“To the Watchtower,” Batman rumbled from behind the console controlling the teleporter.
Peter blinked, wondering when he had gotten there. Then the words processed, and every single person Peter had ever interacted with on the Watchtower flew through his mind. Peter stepped off the teleporter pad, shaking his head. “Not there. Somewhere more remote.”
“We don’t have time for this,” the Dark Knight growled.
“Come on,” Tim insisted, pulling Peter back towards the teleporter.
“No.” Peter stood his ground, about to say something else when the cellar doors exploded. Everyone’s heads whipped to the figure silhouetted in the light of the afternoon sun, then back to each other.
“Peter, now!” Batman barked.
Peter shook his head again, when another blast caught Batman square in the chest. Tim swore and shoved Peter onto the platform, racing to the console. Right before Tim was able to activate it, Peter’s Spidey Sense screamed at him. Peter leaped over the console and tackled Tim to the ground, just barely avoiding the ray coming from the man descending the stairs. “We have to get you out of here,” Tim mumbled.
Peter was unable to move fast enough this time, and he and Tim were hit point blank. Tim was unconscious, if his heart rate was any indication, and Peter was just about there. Groaning, he managed to pry himself off and crouch protectively in front of the two fallen Bats. Panting, Peter glared at the smug face of Lex Luthor.
“There you are,” the businessman purred. He tutted, shaking his head. “Such a shame, all this work for nothing. Come on, I won’t bite. Believe it or not, I’m not even one of the bad guys. I just want what anyone wants— I just want my family, and you’re the last piece to the puzzle.”
Peter’s eyes flicked between Luthor and the cellar doors frantically. Only one exit, and Luthor was blocking it. Then again, he wasn’t the only one in here. Starfire and Dick were at the entrance, creeping downwards.
“Oh don’t be like that,” Lex cajoled. “I need you alive, little spider .”
Peter’s eyes widened. How many people knew? “Sure doesn’t look like you want me alive.”
“Alive and conscious are two different things, Mr. Parker. Come now, is this really worth it? I promise you, just come with me and all my little Cadre members will follow, leaving those you hold dear alone. It’s a simple choice really, but only one option means they get to live and you get to remain conscious.” Without even looking, Luthor’s arm moved back infinitesimally just as Peter’s Spidey Sense shrieked.
“LOOK OUT!” Peter yelled. Nightwing and Starfire dodged out of the blast with fractions of a second to spare. The two heroes attacked Luthor from both sides, which he easily sidestepped. Kory swerved to avoid hitting Dick when Luthor caught her ankle and spun her around, making her crash into Dick with a cry. Peter instinctively lunged towards his friends to do something, anything. Swooping in like a vulture, Luthor picked up Tim, who was stirring as consciousness started to come back to him. The two’s faces were bathed in the eerie glow of Lex’s other hand, which was alight with energy and being pressed into Tim’s neck.
“As I said,” the bald villain continued, nonplussed, “you come with me willingly, and no one else gets hurt.”
Peter’s breath caught in his throat. Face twisted in disgust, he backed down. “Fine.”
“There’s a good lad.” Lex let go of Tim and grabbed Peter around the neck, forcing him to walk with him up the stairs and out of the cellar with that same energy-infused hand held to Peter’s esophagus.
“No,” Tim croaked. Peter felt something attach to his ankle as he was pulled into the daylight and swallowed, praying Luthor wouldn’t notice. Thankfully, the smarmy man either didn’t notice it or didn’t care.
“We have what we came here for,” Lex announced, his voice booming over the corn turned battle field. The Cadre members converged, using the distraction to get holds on all the heroes and make them watch their work be in vain. Peter took in the scene with nausea growing in his stomach the more he saw. Superman’s face was twisted in anguish as he weakly reached out to Peter, the green glow of the kryptonite rendering him (and Kara and Conner) unable to move. Wonder Woman was unconscious in the clutch of Giganta; Flash and KF were stuck in a pile of glue, unable to get out; Huntress and Black Canary were lying on top of Slenderman and Green Arrow; and Steph, Cass, and Jason were in a pile next to them. With a flash, the villains vanished, and with the gruesome scene etched into Peter’s mind, Luthor pressed a button. And everything disappeared.
“No!” Tim sputtered weakly, dragging himself up the cellar stairs. Peter’s eyes had met his one last time, and then he was gone. Tim was helped to his feet by Nightwing, who had an uncharacteristically grim set to his mouth as he slung Tim’s arm over his shoulder. Turning, Tim watched Bruce accept a hand from Kory. Dick helped Tim limp out of the way so they could come up the stairs and do what they could. Tim pushed away from Dick and sat on the ground, trying to ignore the pain ringing in every fibre of his being. “Help the others,” he rasped.
Dick hesitated before nodding and jogging over to the kryptonite. He tucked it into his utility belt and helped a groaning Superman to his feet. Tim glanced at Batman, who Kory had set down next to him before pulling the speedsters out of their stuck boots and flying them out of the glue. Tim fished around in his utility belt and pulled out the tracker, angling it so Bruce could see.
“Good work,” Bruce croaked, his voice a little fried from the energy blasts as well.
Tim nodded, almost flinching when Batman placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll get him back, son. Him and everyone else.”
“Coordinates indicate he’s in the Arctic,” Tim monotoned, accepting the hand from Conner to help him to his feet. “And if he’s in the Arctic…”
“So is everyone else.”
Tim nodded, glancing at the screen again. Peter’s signal was there, and then it wasn’t. Tim smacked the device against his hand, knowing it was an act of futility. “Shit.”
“What?”
“We lost the signal.”
“We can still find him,” Batman reassured him, which, how strange did that feel? “We were able to pinpoint his location to the Arctic, that’s still good, Red Robin. We’ll get him home.”
Tim chose not to answer.