GREAT POWER

so, they’re best friends. right? they have been for a long time. and best friends do things like gripping each other’s shoulders. yeah? of course. so there is absolutely no reason for him to feel a certain… way about peter’s hand on his shoulder, or the moment his hand rests on his back before he moves on. it’s such a simple motion, there’s literally no reason for harry to be feeling any kind of way.

“wait, have we stepped into the twilight zone? is everything alright?” harry asks, looking away from the microscope to raise an eyebrow at peter. letting out a sigh, he straightens up and pushes the equipment in peter’s direction so he can take a look. “trying to get my head around what my cells look like now, with the - the whole. spider-venom stuff. i can’t really get rid of it if i don’t know what it’s doing to my body to begin with.”

peter flicks harry on the arm with a pretty impressive amount of force, now that harry’s not in any danger of breaking.  he slides across the bench to look into the microscope.  he lets out a low whistle despite himself.  “ damn, you’re freaky as hell, huh ?? ”  peter’s own cells are funky, too, but not exactly the same.  maybe it’s from a discrepancy in the process -- not a random bite, but a deliberate introduction to a whole system.  

Jason honestly startles a little at the laugh, ‘cause, you know, Red Hood doesn’t usually put people in a laughing mood. “Walk up walls? Like you’re – sticky, or whatever?” he asks, voice lifting in curiosity. “Never heard somebody say getting their ass beat was a superpower.”

That bit was familiar, anyway – Bruce had been so strict about identities while he was growing up that Jason had internalized a fair bit of his paranoia. “I mean, with a fit like that, why would you ever wanna take it off?” Jason deadpans, as if he did not spend his youth galavanting around in bright green underwear. “Shame, though. Taco Bell sounds fucking incredible right now.”

“ super sticky  --  i’m basically a thwiping, quipping movie theater floor !! ”  for emphasis ( and to show off a little ), peter bounces a little on his perch, getting a little momentum, before springing back in a quick flip and catching himself on the wall a few feet away.  he straightens up and walks up the wall a few more steps -- “ see ??  ‘does whatever a spider can’ is literally on my resume. ”  though, he supposes most spiders are pretty easily beat, huh ??  well, don’t think about it too hard. 

Interesting that the number of spider people appeared to be multiplying. Combine that with Bruce’s adoption rate, and pretty soon there wouldn’t be enough civilians to save. “So, what, you’re just, like, more flexible? No pincers? No extra eyes under there?”

Bucket? Jason tries valiantly not to let that one ding his pride. “Nah. This comes off, but you gotta buy me dinner first.” Although, if the guy was out here paying for his own webbing, it was entirely possible he couldn’t afford it. “No powers. Oh, wait - I can do Busta Rhymes’ full verse in Look At Me Now without breaking. One power.”

    “ well, i’m glad to here you haven’t been permanently fused with a hunk of plastic.  i’d be worried. ”  peter actually tips his head back and gives a raucous laugh.  “ as far as superpowers go, that’s a pretty badass one.  i can’t pull that off. ”  peter hops up onto the railing easily and crosses his arms over his chest.  

“Ex….cuse me?” Harley wasn’t keen to what the hell the spider dude was talking about. Radioactive…what?

“Ya think you got a leg to stand on…callin me names when yer wearin a discount party store..spider suit?” The audacity of this kid. Truly. 

“It’s called fashion, look it up. That is, if you can see outta that thing. Looks…..itchy if ya ask me. What’s that anyway, polyester?” 

“Confidential just means you do not know and that is bad Mr Spider, you should know everything about anything!” Wade said, knowing that Peter probably knew more than he did, but that minor detail didn’t matter.

“Don’t worry, I brought payment,” Wade smiled as he brought his hands to his hips, and more importantly to the guns hanging off the his hips in their holsters. “I’ll get the soda”

closed starter for @spdrsmn !

“just a minute, okay? i’m nearly done, I just need to..” harry trails off absently as he waves in peter’s direction, hearing him come into the lab. it’s not every day he hands over full access to oscorp labs to people who don’t work here, but - this is peter, and it’s his personal lab, so he doesn’t mind. truth be told he doesn’t mind peter anywhere in oscorp, but - that’s a little different.

he leans over the microscope to take a look at the sample, trying to figure out exactly how his cells are reacting to the spider-venom ingrained in his system. truth be told, he’s all but given up on the idea of finding another cure, but he can’t quite let it go just yet. “are you early or am I late?” he asks, still looking into the microscope.

  peter supposes there are some who’d take offense to the terse wave-off, but the scene actually brings a strange heat to the back of peter’s neck.  it’s nice, as always, to see harry in his element.  he sidles by, clasps harry’s shoulder and gives it a firm squeeze, like harry might be carrying tension.  his palm lingers a second longer between harry’s shoulder blades before peter breezes by.  

It’s interesting to find the precinct in the position of needing an officer to liaise with superheroes and vigilantes and the like, but Apollo doesn’t mind it. Especially with guys like Spider-Man - that guy’s the real deal. He’s doing good work, clearly trying to protect people. That’s something Apollo can get behind. He catches the bag easily, taking a look inside but not bothering to take the burger out just yet. He can save that for later. “That’s alright, the buger is more than enough. Thanks for this.” He says as he waves the bag in Spider-Man’s direction. “Oh you know, keeping busy. Crime doesn’t stop and all that. What’s going on in your neck of the woods, Spidey?”

The address has a smirk curling the corner of his mouth; he’s heard of Spiderman, but with a name like that, Jason hadn’t actually expected him to be.. good. He might’ve thought the guy was Dick, the way he moved. “I just have so many questions,” he starts, tilting his head in mock curiosity. “Are you, like – excreting the web stuff?”

“Batman is a punk ass bitch.” He considers saying ‘I’m the Red Hood’, but it sounds kind of dorky when he’s not holding a gun to someone’s head.

    “ ugh, are you kidding me ??  i wish i excreted the stuff.  it’d be way less expensive. ”  he sighs and gives an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders.  “ i’ve got this friend -- he just got himself a set of spidery powers, and he gets to secrete his own webs.   just isn’t fair.  some guys just end up with all the luck. ”  rich, dreamy, and web-self-sufficient.  peter clears his throat.  

Oh, Peter’s clearly loving every second of this. Maybe a little too much. Harry makes a mental note to get back at him for it later. How, he’s not sure. But he’s going to find a way. He lets out an annoyed sort of harrumph as Peter adjusts his hold, reluctantly keeping his arms around Peter’s neck to make it easier on him. His ankle is basically fine, this is all just unnecessary but - he doesn’t need to draw attention to himself right now. And he doubts Peter’s just going to drop him. So he just holds on as Peter swings away from the scene, doing his best not to think too hard about how it feels to do this.

Because he definitely doesn’t want to accept that it actually feels… fun, swinging through the air so easily, wind blowing through his hair and just - no. No. Leave that thought alone.

“Oh please, I am definitely not stupid enough to name anyone.” Harry points out with an eyeroll, trying to resist the urge to smile. “I know you’d just end up getting me in trouble, and I am not here for that. You’re gonna have to try something else.”

“ listen, you’re the one who brought up damsels; i think i’m well within my rights to ask for some clarification on the matter.  whether or not that gets you into trouble, is really up to how offensive the list is.  that’s all i’m sayin’, harry. ”  peter smiles beneath the mask , and he hopes it hides the smirk well enough to keep him out of any further trouble. 

rather than get carried away enjoying himself, peter only swings them a block and a half away from the scene of the excitement before bringing them to a hopefully smooth stop at the roof of a neon-illuminated building.  after double checking that the coast is clear, peter pulls off his mask and smiles in earnest.  

Jean’s social circle was mostly made up of heroes, and heroes were not the most punctual company, so she made sure to cushion her appointments accordingly. “You’re fine, my next class starts at five. Sit down,” Jean says simply, pushing a still-steaming latte across the table towards Peter. “Your face looks more misshapen than usual. Rough night?”

“I mean I’ve got things to be getting on with.. So.. YES I HAVE TIME. You’re my favourite Spider-Man.. just don’t tell the others. I also prefer you over batman and that ridiculously deep voice.. I mean does that guy have something to prove or what?”

Originally posted by standardgradegifs

“Where were we.. oh yeah, you being late.. So rude and I expect you to buy the potato chips”

predictably, peter rolls his eyes about two seconds in.  deadpool has that effect on everything around him, peter’s fairly certain.  but there’s a slight quirk to his lips, the beginning of a smile, that gives peter away.  maybe he’s not one-hundred percent annoyed, just ninety-two percent.  he shushes wade urgently.  “ hey, ix-nay on the ider-say ??  that’s confidential information. ”

“Hmph. I’m fine.” Harry grumbles quietly, loathing every second of this. Oh, Peter is absolutely going to pay for this later. Harry’s not sure exactly how right now, but he’s sure he’ll think of something. It’s ridiculous really, that Peter thinks he needs to pick him up like this. Harry will be healed soon enough, and a twisted ankle is hardly enough to stop him, but he doesn’t exactly need people knowing he’s a little more durable than they expect your average human to be.

As embarrassing as it is, Peter’s already picked him up and trying to fight or argue with him right now is only going to cause a scene, so Harry just takes his advice and holds onto Peter. And - okay, maybe he’s trying not to think too hard about how close they are, or about the weird-almost-pleasant hum in his chest from his spider-sense bouncing off Peter’s. Nope, not thinking about that at all. “Fine, but make it a short trip. I’m not one of your damsels in distress.”

peter snickers behind his mask and just tightens his grip on harry, ignoring the weird feeling in his chest again, the now-familiar thrum.  he’s met plenty of other spider-people, know what it’s like to feel recognition.  and to feel recognized.  maybe it’s just different because he went so long with this part of his life being entirely roped off from harry.  peter’s going to happily assume that’s exactly what’s happening.  he readjusts his hold on harry so he can use his free hand to thwip out a web and pull them up, up, up into the air and away from the scene below.  

peter barely represses a laugh, if only because he knows how much this situation gets under harry’s skin.  call peter immature, but that just kind of makes the whole thing about a thousand times more entertaining for him.  it’s smart, of course, that harry not let others know he’s more than capable of taking care of himself nowadays.  plus, it means that peter gets to play the hero.