Chapter Text
His aunt had been shot. Dead. Aunt Kate was dead, someone that was now only a distant memory- and now the only thing currently distracting him from turning in his Trigonometry test. Though, in his defense, the math was easy. Easy enough that he could pretend to be struggling for fifteen minutes while in reality, he was daydreaming. Daydreaming about what? Anything. Everything.
In a fashioned hurry, Damian finishes the rest of his math test just as the bell rings, standing up, and grabbing the rest of his books, hurriedly getting out of the stuffy classroom full of idiots wishing they get just the right amount of questions right to pass with at least a C. They most likely won’t, but that's not his problem, is it?
For the past three months, two weeks, three days, and eighteen hours, he’d been the one, and only Spider-man. Vigilante in New Jersey, that was better than the rest. Batman who? He was better. The best. Well, maybe not the best but he was getting there. Someday he’d be the best.
But how could he possibly survive being Spider-man when he could barely survive Gotham High? Between the Joker, and that girl Maps in his third period, how was he supposed to balance being a hero and being a sixteen-year-old in high school? Did Batman ever have this problem? Did Superman? Red-Hood? Most definitely not.
“Dude, I flunked my chem test, that shit was so hard!” One of his friends, Colin, came to him, shrugging his backpack over his shoulder, and grumbling. Colin had been his friend since before high school, and before his Aunt had died. Colin even knew he was Spider-Man.
“How’d you manage to do that?” Damian scoffed, stuffing his backpack with the rest of his notebooks and zipping it up, slamming his locker closed. Colin wasn’t stupid, nowhere near it. He just never studied for anything, which made him look stupid.
“I dunno, like, I studied dude, it was just actually hard this time,” Colin said.
“But anyways, we should hang out and watch that new flick at the movies- the one with the pool dude and Catman or something? It looked dope-“ Colin stopped abruptly in the hallway. It was more crowded than usual- well, at least instead of about five hundred people pushing past there was about half the school, and they were all crowding the overseen windows in the hallway.
“What's going on?” Damian said, pushing past a few girls who were aiming their obnoxiously large phones at the window; for some reason, he wished he didn’t. Damian’s heart raced as he pushed through the crowd, desperately trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
The creature outside was like nothing he’d encountered before—an amalgamation of reptilian and predatory traits, its scales shimmering with a sickly green hue and its jaws snapping menacingly. It roared a guttural sound that sent chills down Damian’s spine.
“Well, I guess we’re gonna have to catch that flick another time yeah?” Colin said, patting Damian’s shoulder and looking behind him, “You go, I'll cover if anyone tries looking for you.” Damian nodded, slinking back into the small crowd; the second he realized no one was paying attention to him, he bolted.
He darted into the nearest bathroom, locking himself inside a stall. The space was cramped, and he had only moments to change. Damian slammed the bathroom door behind him, locking it with a click that felt almost deafening in the tiny, echoey space. The bathroom was cramped—barely enough room for him to stand comfortably. The harsh fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting a sterile glow that did nothing to alleviate the sweat forming on his brow.
He hurriedly peeled off his school clothes, tossing them into a pile on the floor. His hands shook slightly with adrenaline, and he cursed under his breath, trying to ignore the way the room seemed to close in around him. He pulled out the Spider-Man suit from his backpack, feeling the familiar weight and texture of the sleek fabric.
The suit was a tight, second skin—stretchy and flexible, but snug enough to make him feel trapped if he wasn’t careful. He pulled it from the bag, feeling the cool material against his fingers. The mask was already attached, the eye lenses staring back at him with their reflective surface. He knew that once he was in the suit, it would be like a different world, where his identity was hidden and his purpose was clear.
Damian took a deep breath, shoving his arms into the suit’s sleeves. The material clung to him as he worked it up over his shoulders, feeling the fabric stretch and conform to his body. It wasn’t the most comfortable fit—not as roomy as his regular clothes—but it was part of the deal. He wriggled and adjusted, trying to make sure everything was aligned and secure. He had to make sure the suit was properly fitted; every small movement had to be precise, every piece in its place.
The suit’s design was a mix of red and blue, with black webbing patterns that shimmered subtly in the light. It was a stark contrast to the plain, faded hoodie and jeans he’d been wearing. Pulling on the mask, he felt the familiar press of the fabric against his face, the lenses blinking into view. The mask’s eyes, white with a black outline, obscured his identity, but they also gave him a sense of detachment—a reminder that he was no longer just Damian.
He fumbled with the gloves, making sure they were snug but not too tight. The web-shooters, strapped to his wrists, felt heavy but reassuring. He clicked them on, feeling a slight whir as they engaged. The suit’s fabric clung to his skin, making it hard to move too quickly, but he knew that with practice, the restrictions easily became second nature.
As he zipped up the suit’s front, Damian felt a mixture of relief and anxiety. The suit was on, and he was ready to face whatever awaited him outside. He caught a glimpse of himself in the small, cracked mirror above the sink—a blur of red and blue with the unmistakable Spider-Man logo emblazoned across his chest. The reflection reminded him of the weight of the responsibility he carried.
He took one last deep breath, the tightness of the suit around his chest making each inhale feel more deliberate. The bathroom, once a mundane space, had become a launching point for his alter ego. He clenched his fists, testing the suit’s flexibility, and then pushed open the bathroom door.
The world outside was waiting, and Damian, or rather Spider-Man, had a duty to fulfill… Right after he picked up his clothes, of course. Going back into the small stall, he stuffed his clothes back into his book bag, looking around the stall before shoving his bag in a corner behind the toilet. Was it disgusting? Yes. Did he care? Not.
Poking his head out of the stall- because you could never be too unsuspecting- he made a quick jog over to the small window on the wall in the bathroom. If he remembered right, the window sat right above the school's dumpster that led out onto the street, which would eventually lead him to where the ogre thing was.
Damian pried the window open with a grunt. It wasn’t a big window, but he managed to squeeze through, feeling the rough brick of the school’s exterior against his suit as he climbed out. He landed lightly on the ground below, crouching to absorb the impact before darting toward the street.
The creature outside was still causing chaos, its roars echoing down the street. Damian could see people running in all directions, some stumbling over each other in their panic. The sight was both familiar and terrifying—he had dealt with villains before ( albeit nothing more than the average purse thief..), but this was different.
Damian sprinted down the alley, his heart pounding in rhythm with his footfalls. The web-shooters on his wrists whirred as he fired a line of webbing to swing himself over the roof of the school, gaining ground as he neared the heart of the chaos.
From the rooftop, he had a clear view of the situation. The creature; a scaly beast with talons and a maw that looked like it belonged in an old horror movie, was rampaging through the streets, having moved from the front of the school to the main road— knocking over cars and smashing through storefronts.
He fired another web line, pulling himself closer to the beast. Damian landed on a nearby rooftop, catching his breath and assessing the situation. He could see that the monster was focused on causing as much damage as possible, seemingly unaware or uninterested in its surroundings.
“Alright, Spider-Man,” Damian muttered to himself, shaking his hands. “Let’s get this over with..”