Previous Chapters
Close
Spider-Man/Deadpool: Amending Fences3,601 words
Pink Punishment4,446 words
A Robin and a Dragon2,615 words
AU: Spectacular Meeting4,561 words
The Fastest3,037 words
Friendship?2,900 words

Friendship?

"Ah... This is the life." sighed Peter, slouching on the sofa. "Just kickin' back, relaxing and hanging out with my wife, daughter, my Spider bros and my friends." he said to himself, looking over to his fellow Spiders, who were enjoying a movie playing from Twilight's laptop on a projector screen. He had to admit, he should bring some DVDs at some point.

"Why am I here?"

The wall-crawler sat up, seeing Batman, in full costume, standing there. "Because I thought a trip to Equestria could lighten you up, Bruce." he revealed.

Ben nodded, grabbing some popcorn from the bowl. "Yeah. You could certainly use a vacation."

Eddie grabbed some from the bowl as well, "A shame we can't get television here. But I'll work with this."

Twilight nudged Peter, "What movie was this again? I like the idea of time-travel in the car. Pretty unique idea."

"Yeah, Daddy. We should get one." Mayday added.

"It's called Back to the Future. And yeah at that time, it was alright. But time-travel is more common than this. I say that because Alchemax just has a time-gate to use whenever they want." Miguel and Peter explained, the latter continuing to talk anyway. "I saw this on a hologram in my time and a few other old movies."

"We should show you Star Wars at some point." Peter decided.

"Ooh. That sounds fun!" Mayday cheered.

Batman narrowed the eyes on his cowl, "Well, I didn't want to come here if all we were doing was watching old movies on a projector. I have more important things to do than goof off in Equestria for a movie night with all of you."

"Like what?" Kaine grunted.

The Dark Knight pointed a hoof at Kaine, "...I need to make sure Gotham is protected. If I leave it alone, then something might happen while I'm gone and it'll be because I was here."

Trixie groaned, "Of course that's your excuse."

Ben rolled his eyes, "Nothing's gonna happen, Bats. Plus, isn't it daytime in Gotham? And last I checked, Batman doesn't operate during the day unless needed. And if anything were to happen, we'd pretty much know immediately thanks to Strange and Fate."

Instead of giving a response, Batman simply stormed out of the Treebrary in silence, fed up with the immaturity of the Spiders. Peter shook his head and got up as did Eddie. "We'll be right back, honey." said Peter, he and Eddie following Batman.

"Is Batman alright?" Twilight questioned.

Miguel nodded, "From what Parker told me. Yes."

"If only I had more popcorn." Trixie muttered, "Perhaps Trixie would see this... Eh."

'Of all the...' Batman thought, 'They thought they could waste my time. There are more important matters than watching old movies. I thought--' his thoughts were halted by the jarring intervention of a voice he didn't want to hear.

"Yo, Bats!"

"Not now..." groaned Bruce.

Peter and Eddie managed to catch up with Batman at the outskirts of the town, the former villain speaking first, "Do you want to explain the sudden attitude shift lately?" he asked.

Batman raised a brow, "My attitude shift?" he repeated, "You think that I'm being moody for the fun of it?"

Shrugging, Peter looked at his ally, "I dunno. Seems like it. Ever since the Legion of Doom was defeated, you've been acting more distant lately and don't even want to come here anymore. I mean, why is that, Bats? I thought you liked it here."

Narrowing his eyes, Batman growled, "Unlike you, I have another world to protect. I can't just sit around in Equestria and leave Gotham for even a little bit. I would never forgive myself if something were to happen." the bat hero declared.

Eddie paused, "That's unhealthy. That's kinda why we brought you here, Bats. We thought you could use a nice break."

"I don't need a break. I don't deserve one. The last thing I need is for you to distract me from what I have to do."

Peter spoke up, "Now hold on, you were perfectly alright with us when the Legion attacked. And now suddenly you want to pull the whole loner act again? Are you being serious?" he grunted, raising his head with a disgruntled sigh.

"Don't you dare pull that on me, Parker. When we first met, you were immature, a nuisance, constantly pestering other heroes and especially me. You never took anything seriously. Before you ended up in this world, you were just as much of a loner as I was. I thought being here and having a family would teach you to grow up, yet here you are watching movies and sitting down at home without a care in the world. So what did being here teach you? Absolutely nothing it seems." Batman questioned his ally coldly, a glare seen on Parker's face.

Angered by the Dark Knight, Peter stormed off, marching away from the confrontation. It was then Eddie decided to confront Batman, "Listen, Batman. I don't care how you do things in Gotham. But you have no business claiming that Peter is a terrible hero after all he's done to help you. He was only looking out for you."

"I don't need to be monitored by him and especially you, Brock. Now get out of my way." warned the dark vigilante.

Eddie snarled, "You wouldn't want to see my bad side, now would you?" he wondered. "Cause you're really starting to piss me off with this damn loner mood."

"Do it. Just know I can probably come up with five different countermeasures to your symbiote." Batman bragged.

Brock squinted his eyes and chose not to follow up on his threat, choosing to be the better man. This left Batman to ponder what was said about him, 'I need to be distant. It's for their sakes. The Joker was already here, and Killer Croc nearly wrecked this town had it not been for Robin. It's for the best I stay away from this world before something goes wrong.'

Before he could speak to Fate, a familiar yellow pony came to him, unaware of what happened.

"Peter. What happened with Batman?" Twilight asked.

Peter sat on the sofa and crossed his hooves, "He's having a loner phase again."

"Last I remembered, weren't you like that?" Twilight asked, a hoof being wrapped around her barrel."When you first came to Equestria, I remember you wishing to handle every problem on your own for our protection." she offered a soft smile.

"Oh, I agree with Sparkle on this one, Peter." Trixie agreed, "In fact, you still do that."

Ben nodded, "From the memories we share, there were plenty of moments you isolated yourself from anyone. Heck, for being a loner, Bats has a lot of people to depend on. Maybe you two aren't as different as you think?"

Miguel raised a hoof, "Parker. You have to understand, this is Batman we're talking about. He made being unsocial a semi-goal. According to the records in my time, he refused to work with any of the heroes of our world, he and Castle started a brawl and only worked with us because the Legion of Doom was involved. Other than that, he has little reason to relax in Equestria. You should know I get like that too."

"I'm back." Eddie called out, closing the door behind him.

"Did you speak to Mister Batman?" Mayday asked.

"Tried to, kiddo. He's a tricky hero, I can tell ya that much." he chuckled lightly.

"Why are you here, Sunset?" Batman asked.

Sunset pointed a hoof ahead, "I was on my way to Peter's house, they said they were having a movie marathon and invited me. But I'm surprised to see you here."

Batman turned away, "I was just leaving."

"...Did something happen?"

The Dark Knight shook his head, "No. I just have no business being in this world."

Sunset gave him a confused glance, "And why would that be? You know you're always welcome here Bats. And the heroes of your world."

"It's not that. It's the fact Peter invited me as well. I thought he'd see there are more important things than goofing off. He should be preparing for anytning that could threaten this world."

The unicorn shook her head, "Bats. Peter has worked his flank off to get where he's at right now. He had to adjust being here, his identity was secret from what I was told for a while, and fight off countless threats to this world."

"And it seems he's learned nothing. He's slacking off right now."

"Who cares? He's deserved it! Being a superhero doesn't require work and a costume twenty-four hours, Bats! I thought I could be something better, and I nearly let Green Goblin destroy reality because of it!" she revealed.

Batman gazed at the ground, "And even then. After what I said to him, he'd probably wouldn't want to see me again. I don't blame him. He's better off not knowing me. All of you are better off not knowing me." he whispered.

Sunset smirked, "Batman, if Peter is known for one thing besides responsibility; it's forgiveness. He forgave me, Kaine, Trixie and Eddie Brock for worse than a mere disagreement. And of course he likes to know you, there are moments where he'd bring you up. In fact, of all the heroes from your world mentioned, it's you mentioned the most." she explained.

"Me? I had heard from Twilight and Luna, but... Why? I'm not someone he should look up to."

The yellow unicorn shrugged, "I'm not sure. Perhaps you should talk to Peter." she turned away, "If you excuse me, I'm going to Sugarcube Corner to get a snack. I'll probably see you if you take my advice." she offered, leaving the Dark Knight alone again.

'Should I go... Do I really deserve forgiveness for how I've treated him?'

The sound of knocking prompted Peter to pause the movie. "I'll get it. It's probably Sunset." he hopped off the couch and walked to the front door, wondering who was knocking. He thought it to be Sunset who he had invited.

When he opened it, he saw a darkclad hero, "Oh. Hey, Batman." he mutfered in monotone, unamused by his presence.

"We need to talk. In private."

A sigh escaped Peter's lips, "Fine. Make it quick."

The two decided to discuss matters in Peter's lab. And so, the wall-crawler closed the lab door behind him, taking the entrance of the cellar to arrive. He and Batman stood across from another, standing on their hindlegs, with Peter crossing his hooves and leaning on a wall, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

Batman grunted, "I-I... I'm sorry."

"Hold on-- D-Did you say 'I'm sorry'? I wish I had a camera to record this moment." Peter joked.

The vigilante growled, "Don't ruin this."

"So... Why did you apologize? If anything, I should be sorry." revealed Parker. "I basically pestered you into coming here when you didn't want to. I-I just thought a hero like you deserved a nice little reprieve. Maybe you're right... Maybe I've learned nothing these few years."

Peter..." Batman began to say. He raised his hooves to his cowl and lowered it, revealing his face. "That's not what this is about. The reason I said those things was to get you to make sure I never come here again." he revealed. "You have matured. You're a better hero than the one I met those years ago."

Peter lowered his limbs, "But why? Why wouldn't I want you here? We all appreciate everything you've done in helping. Heck, of course I wouldn't stay mad. I look up to you, Bats."

Bruce shook his head, "I still don't understand that. How could you look up to me? I'm not a role model in the slightest."

"Remember what I told you back when we were fighting Lex for the last time?" Peter questioned, putting a hoof on Bruce's shoulder. "Despite having a traumatic childhood moment, you pushed yourself to help others. You gave up your happiness so others could have it, Bats. You focus too much on crime-fighting. Something I'm sure Alfred agrees with me on. I wanted to help you lighten up, show you that you can have some fun and be a superhero. After all, you're my friend!"

Bruce smiled, "Friend? I think only you, Clark and Dick have ever called me that."

Peter chuckled, "Of course you're my friend. Whenever our worlds crossed, we always had each other's backs."

"Friend..." Batman repeated, "Huh."

"Yeah, honestly you and me are similar in a way. When things get dire we tend to push away the ones who care for us. I'm trying my best in avoiding this. After Gwen died, it took coming to this world to learn that perhaps having friends can help in the end. I just wish you'd understand." he elaborated.

Wayne frowned, "If only I learned that when Jason died..." he whispered. "I was in a dark place then."

"Jason?" Peter asked.

"Yes... My greatest failure. I thought Jason had potential. He was a street-rat, yes, but I wanted to turn his rage into something better. After Dick became Nightwing, he became the new Robin. It was a mistake. He was reckless, rash, violent and arrogant."

"Yeesh. But I thought he quit."

Bruce shook his head, "No... Joker captured him. He beat him with a crowbar... Left him for dead in a warehouse that exploded right as I found him. I cradled his dead body in my arms. For what felt like forever, I was in a dark place and blamed myself. I became more aggressive. I lost myself. It took Tim donning the cowl against my wishes to put me back on track."

Peter looked at his friend in concern, "I-I had no idea, Bats. I'm sorry. I wish I could've helped saved him. I was like that when Gwen died. I nearly killed the Green Goblin after the fact before he accidentally did the deed himself."

"It's fine, Peter. It seems we've both learned something from our failures. It's our failures that make us better, despite the costs. I just wish we could prevent them." Bruce sighed.

Peter nodded, "Me too, Bats. I wish. But how about we head back upstairs and watch a movie and remember what we do have?"

"I-I'd... Like that." Bruce replied. "Thank you, Peter."

"Wow. This is pretty good." Twilight admitted, "I'm so glad we have five more."

"Heh. Yeah, Star Wars is pretty good." Peter said.

Bruce and Miguel looked at one another, "Seen it."

"What? The two of you saw it? Don't spoil it!" Ben huffed.

"I'm from the future. I've seen Episode XX." Miguel boasted.

"Don't say another word." Sunset growled playfully.

Peter raised a hoof, "Hey! We're only up to Episode VII apparentally. We're seeing that tomorrow."

"Yay!" cheered Mayday.

"What do you say, Bats?" Ben nudged. "Wanna join us?"

Bruce nodded, "Sure. I'll probably come tomorrow afternoon."

"Alright." Kaine agreed.

Peter chuckled, "Didn't think you'd be scheduling. Maybe we could invite Logan?"

"Oh sure, and get a repeat of today?" Trixie quipped.

Bruce tuned out the two and pondered, 'Maybe this isn't so bad. I have Robin, Catwoman, Alfred, Oracle and the Justice League. Maybe letting a few more people into my life wouldn't be so bad. But once I get back to Gotham, then I'll focus on Batman priorities.'

Author's Note:

And so, Batman learned the magic of friendship. He's still the same Dark Knight, just slightly more social. And for Peter and Twilight, it's a start.

Next Time: Miguel and Sunset. Unknowingly joined by Peter and some friends in the shadows.

856 views

Previous Chapters