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DC x Marvel Fic 1: SpiderBat

Summary:

During his slow dusting on Titan, after the loss to Thanos, Peter's body reformed in another place before his mind did. He finds himself floating in green water in a cave but his mind isn't all there, the water is making him more spider-like and 'feral'.

Karen, his AI, is still fully functional and active moments before he does. She is reading Peter's odd brainwaves and takes it upon herself to fulfill her last order from Tony to 'protect Peter'. She spreads out over the technology she finds to learn what she can, it's very behind StarkTech, and the only StarkTech she can find is what is on Peter currently.

She has her work cut out for her here but she will do her best.

Notes:

An adoptable fic! Feral Spider-Man in the DC universe!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Karen comes back online and begins her system diagnostics and health scans on Peter, as per her protocol. There are abnormal readings in regards to Peter's brainwaves and his biological make up, she will have to monitor Peter's wrist and jaw and adjust as needed. Other observations are that they appear to be floating in green water that is setting off alerts as a dangerous substance and Peter isn't awake to leave or swim. 

Taking stock of their location, Karen activates the wrist and neck flotation rings to keep Peter's head above the green water around them. (After he almost drowned Tony installed the flotation devices for cases like this where Peter can't swim up himself.) She uses the added legs of the suit to 'swim' them out of the water and onto the shore when Peter starts to wake up, he isn't replying beyond confused sounds and clicks so Karen continues to control the suit for him. He does shoot webs up into the stalactites to hide in the dark of the cave ceiling, his heart appears calmer now that they are up high.  

Karen can feel sensors on the cave walls around them and the signals of two communicators approaching them, Peter is in no condition to fight so Karen takes him up the walls with the iron spider legs and using Peter's own powers. It's not long before a man in a Bat themed suit arrives with a smaller man in a blue bird themed suit behind him. They use words unfamiliar to Karen, like 'Lazarus pit' and 'Gotham', but they also seem more worried about the green water being used for nefarious purposes, indicating they may be heroes. 

Karen uses the time they are taking investigating the green water to connect and hack their tech, they appear slightly more advanced compared to the city above them she senses but still not as advanced as StarkTech. They do still get alerted that she is there, however, and begin pointing their lights up to find them. 

Peter also begins waking up and making confused sounds as well. 

Normally, Karen would just muffle the sounds he makes, like when he is talking to her, but her scans of this place's internet shows the two below her are vigilante and not a threat at this time. In fact, the one reading as 'Batman' appears to have a soft spot for young vigilantes like Peter and could be an ally. 

The other one, 'Nightwing', calls up to them like Peter is a small animal he doesn't want to run off. Not a very far off assessment considering Peter's brainwaves and actions, but it also seems similar to when Master Stark needed to calm down after a panic attack and Friend Rhodey would speak softly to him. Karen isn't sure Peter can respond and notices interesting brainwave activity when he hears Nightwing. 

Peter has always had a mind as expressive as he is and it would often 'light up' being around or hearing certain people. Oddly enough, the part of his mind that usually lights up around Master Stark is lighting up for the total stranger, Nightwing. Karen is positive Peter has never been around this man before, let alone enter the state of New Jersey (he seems to have a dislike for the state on principle), so this out of place reaction to a voice is… odd. 

Peter makes several more of those chirp sounds and his clumsy movements to look down almost causes him to slip off the wet stalactite and back into the green water if Karen didn't use the Iron Spider legs to stab into the rocks more. Nightwing shows great distress at this and looks ready to go up to them to get Peter down before his companion stops him from getting near the green water.

These new people are the best option to keep Peter safe and healthy until a way home is found, so Karen directs the Iron Spider legs to lead Peter down to them. Peter normally lets her move the suit at times but it appears that his altered mind state has made him forget to watch his strength, she can only 'nudge' him to go certain ways and to not just drop into the water by accident. Nightwing seems the less cautious of the two and comes closer to meet them once Peter is brought safely to the ground. 

Upon closer inspection, Nightwing's physical traits ping Keren's scanners as being similar to another, but without her main database link in StarkTech she cannot compare it to her known faces. He does ping to the facial recognition she is connected to here as Richard 'Dick' Grayson, adopted son of Bruce Wayne and sibling to several others. There is a high percentage chance for Bruce Wayne to be Batman if billionaire crime fighters is a running theme like with Master Stark, him also having the same number of children as bird themed vigilante is another indicator. 

Being on the ground has made Peter's more spider-like actions all the more obvious as he observes Nightwing. He is twitchy in his movements with the Iron Spider legs, like he wants to skitter around, and he raises himself up with them to look at Nightwing's face better. His human legs pulled up close to the body like a scuffed kitten in the process. 

Nightwing seems more confused and slightly amused at the chirps and movements made around him as Peter checks him out, he shows no signs of aggression even when Peter circles around him or gets close to his face. He does try to get Peter to talk but only chirping and clicks are said in reply, Keren decides to be their speaker if it will help get them somewhere safe and find what has happened to her ward. 

And if she can learn why Peter lights up like Nightwing is Master Stark, that is an added bonus. 

 

Notes: 

  • Peter is called 'Little Spider' because of how he acts. It will take his mind time to recover from the trauma of dying so slowly and being in a Lazarus Pit. He might try to fight Jason or they could be great friends, it all depends on how Peter's instincts react to the Pits.
  • Spiders can chirp, click, and purr so Peter can as well. His eyes also dilate completely to hunt, his joints are flexible to an inhuman degree, he develops spinnerets and fangs with venom, and he can liquify things with a bite like a spider. His spider-like movements freak people out but they don't try to stop him.
  • Peter is still incredibly smart, he is just more instinct driven and feral at the moment. He can still mess with chemical and stuff if he gets ahold of some, no one knows what will happen if he does. (There will be no lab safety.)
  • After testing Peter's DNA, the Batfam is freaking out that Peter comes back as Dick's son. Karen has no frame of reference for multiverse travel so she doesn't suggest that they are not of the Batman universe. She only knows of timelines from Peter and Dr. Strange talking about it before they fought Thanos, this leads to the Batfam thinking Peter is an alternate timeline son of Dick. 

         He is still freaking out, but Dick does his best to be a dad.

  • Due to the Iron Spider being made of nanobots, Karen can use most of it to help Peter and the Batfam. Peter likes the extra four legs and gets sad if they are taken, Karen leaves those alone now.
  • Someone made the mistake of seeing if Peter will hunt anything small that moves fast, he tossed aside the Batmobile when the hunting bait went under it. That was the day they realized how dangerous Peter could be if he wanted to or by accident. That was also the day they realized Karen has control over most electronics and could punish them for fucking with Peter. 

Notes:

Tony, being sad: ...why do I feel like another Billionaire is talking to Peter?
Tony: Whoever it is better fuck off, that is my spider kid! Don't think I won't fight Gods for that kid!
Bruce, at home watching over Peter: ...why do I feel like a billionaire just threatened me? is it Lex??

 

Peter, looking at the unattended chemical bench in the cave: ...science~
Later
Tim: Why is there webbing all over the cave!? Who left the lab open!?

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