BATGIRL ⇛ Peter Parker

7. MUCH BIGGER THAN US

Peter awkwardly waits for Barbara's reply, cringing when she lets out an annoyed sigh. She doesn't say anything, her silence causing a hurricane of worry to form in the pit of Peter's stomach. What if she is angry at him for even asking?

"You can't work around it?" Barbara asks, taking her bottom lip between her teeth. She was thankful that he couldn't see her eyes otherwise she could have sworn he would have walked out right then and there. It wasn't that Barbara was angry, she was worried that if she gave away her own identity she may be giving away that of allies too. Batman would personally take it upon himself to break his 'no killing' rule just so that he sees to it that's she's more than just dead.

"I've done what I can," Peter replies, "but your cowl has shattered a little just above your left cheekbone. It may have punctured your skin."

Barbara nods. That would explain the pain in her cheek.

"Fine," She says, hanging her head down as she thinks of how angry Bruce would be at her. "But if you tell anyone anything, I will hurt you."

"I won't. Promise."

Barbara fiddles with the neck of her cowl, pulling it off in two seperate movements. Her red hair falls back down her shoulders, her bright eyes moving to meet Peter's as she bites her lip in anticipation.

"I literally have no idea who you are."

She smiles shyly, pulling her glasses out of her utility belt. It was surprising that they hadn't shattered. Barbara decides not to bother with her name. He had 'no idea' who she is anyway.

"Uh," Peter just looks at her for almost a minute, trying his best to figure out if he could recognise her. He couldn't. "Right. This may sting."

He dips the cotton in the alcohol, placing it softly onto the wounds on her cheek. She hisses, her nose scrunching as her hands fly to hold Peter's forearm. Peter cringes, mumbling multiple apologies as he struggled to stay calm.

Peter wasn't used to having beautiful girls in his bedroom, especially when he was clad in his underwear. Naturally, now that Barbara has made her beauty more than clear, Peter couldn't help but grow flustered, his cheeks tinting pink due to the proximity of their faces.

Barbara bites her lip, wincing as Peter remains otherwise silent. She couldn't take her mind off of the bad things that could happen by Spider-Man now in a way knowing Batgirl's identity. She stressed for herself, she stressed for her family and she stressed for her father's job.

"Peter?" She asked, watching as he tidied up the medical supplies. To Barbara, Peter was already someone who she found trustable. It didn't make sense to her-she wasn't one to trust easily. "I'm worried that there may be consequences."

"Why? Because I've seen your face?"

"No," Barbara shakes her head, her hair bouncing around her shoulders at the movement. "That we've walked into something much bigger than us. This is something that Batman needs to deal with."

"Batman?" Peter frowns. "But I thought we were handling this--"

"Handling this? Peter, I haven't even-this is-we-" Barbara is lost for words, her hands moving to wipe over her face in a slow and tiresome movement. "Peter, we walked away too soon."

"What do you mean?"

"I was just walking out of the place," Barbara says, "There was a bomb. I heard it and for some damn reason I didn't realise it was a bomb until-until there was only twenty seconds left. I managed to find a way to contain the explosion but it still brought down the building and the one beside it."

"What?" Peter just looks at her, his face scrunched into a frown and his eyes wide and curious.

"The bomb would have released Scarecrow's latest toxin into the atmosphere-but only in the slightest. Small molecules that when combined with the oxygen in the air would create a minor version of the toxin. A virus that spreads through the air."

"So, he was up to something in there," Peter mumbles, beginning to place the puzzle pieces together in his mind. "People would breath it in. The whole city would run mad."

"Almost," Barbara nods, turning swiftly so that she could face him better. "This much wouldn't have an affect. If someone were to breath in more of the same dose over time it would eventually do its thing. But it would slowly drive this city to chaos."

"You said you were able to contain the explosion?"

"The virus would have spread across the approximately two quarters of the neighborhood," Barbara explains. She watches as Peter nods, soft wisps of his hair falling over his forehead. "But I think there's more to it."

"Yeah?" Peter urges her to continue, his mind racing with thoughts. He was drowning himself in 'what ifs' and he immediately stressed for the worst.

"I don't think that was the only one. He must have bombs planted or being planted around the city," She runs a hand through her thick red hair, her tongue flicking out as she licks her lips. "I also think that there would be more than just those. He would need to add to the amount of toxin in the air and the only way for him to do that would be to repeat the action maybe about a week apart from the last. If he wants to slowly and painfully cause chaos in this city then that is the most likely option."

"We can't let him plant those bombs," Peter tells her, once more dabbing at the scrapes on her cheeks. He winces as she jerks back lightly at the sting. "Do you have any ideas on how to stop him yet?"

"Not exactly. But I do think we should call Batman. If not to get him to deal with this himself then to inform him on the situation," Barbara replies. She watches him as he finishes with the medical kit, tucking it under his shoulder as he stands to put it away. Peter makes quick eye contact with her, opening his drawer and placing the box inside before throwing away whatever needs to be binned.

"Isn't Batman busy enough in Gotham as it is? Who will--"

"As much as he may deny it, Batman doesn't work alone. He has a family and a very few number of friends," Barbara chuckles. "They're very capable of taking care of Gotham for him."

"Wait," Peter's eyes widen as he tries his hardest to fight off his inner nerd. "Do you know who the Bat is?"

"That's irrelevant, Peter," Barbara rolls her eyes, pulling her cape off of her shoulders and stripping off her outer layer of armor. She sighs at the at the touch of fresher air to her lighter covered skin. "Do you have any idea where Scarecrow could hit next?"

"I-uh," Peter walks over to his wardrobe, pulling out a shirt and a pair of sweatpants that he had grown out of. "Not yet."

Barbara just nods, pinching the bridge of her nose as she takes a deep breath in attempt to rid herself of a dull ache in her throat.

"Here. Wear these," Peter gently throws the clothes to Barbara, turning and walking into the bathroom to fix himself up. His shirt is gripped in his hand as he throws her a smile. "By the way, you're staying here tonight. Make yourself comfortable, Aunt May will be home in about an hour. I think she wants to cook tonight."

A U T H O R ' S N O T E

I'm so so sorry for how long this took to me to update! I've been super busy lately and I've just not really been able to post what I had written bc the content was crap.

This chapter sucked too and made no sense, I'm so sorry guys lol

Please comment and vote and leave feedback and all that jazz because I highly appreciate it!

Unedited

~ Hannah