Spider-Man Beyond

Eight-Armed and Ready

It's been a few days since the incident with Mr. Freeze, and that night was still embedded in Nick's mind. Whenever things like this happen, he would take the time he had to occupy himself with whatever he could think of, which is what he was doing right now.

Nick sat along a work bench in the Bat-cave looking through a microscope, sparks flying as poked a tiny device with some tools. After wiping a few beads of sweat off his forehead, he took a tweezer and used it to pick up the device he was working on, which looked like one of his spider-tracers, only this one was blue instead of the usual red.

"A little late for a school project?" Bruce said as he walked up behind him.

"Just a little idea I had in mind." Nick said as he held out the tiny device to Bruce, which he took to inspect. "This is the same model as my spider tracers, but instead I reformatted it to generate a small EMP to whatever it attaches itself to."

"Impressive. Probably could incorporate this into a baterang." Bruce said as he handed the device back to Nick. "Is it tested yet?"

"Not yet, but, knowing my luck, I'm sure that a field test will just present itself to me." Nick said as he placed the device back on the table.

Bruce stared at Nick for a moment, before finally speaking. "You still think about that night with Freeze."

Nick paused at that, but knew there was no point in hiding something like that from the world's greatest detective. "Every time I think about that night, I think about that day my parents died. Thinking about if there was something more I could have done. Maybe things would have turned out differently if I just tried hard enough. If I had just taken the initiative."

Bruce looked at him with his usual stoic face, but if one looked close they could see that his eyes had a look of understanding. Nick's mind was going through what he has went through countless times during his long career as Batman, the feeling of wanting to do more. Sometimes that desire for a different outcome can be suffocating, and it may consume you. He may not be that good at expressing himself, but he doesn't want Nick to go through what he went through, it's not healthy.

"When we dive into the dark waters, sometimes it's difficult to swim back up, and we then eventually drown." Bruce enigmatically said.

Nick stared at the old hero for a moment before speaking up. "You know, you saying spooky stuff like that, can be scarier than any horror movie."

"The point I'm trying to make, is that when we do this job you can't always focus on what might have been, or else you'll never be able to handle what happens next." Bruce advised. "You're here now, and the threats you face next will be coming, so you've got to pay attention to that, rather on the threats from the past."

Nick thought about those words, and Bruce was right. He's got to stop letting what happened to Victor plague his mind. He can't change what happened to him, so he's got to get ready for whatever happens next.

"Yeah...I think I get what you're saying." Nick said as he got up and gathered his things to leave, but not before giving Bruce a thankful look. "Thanks, Bruce. You know, you're pretty good at that."

"Yeah...right." Bruce said with a smirk as he walked up and sat down at the Bat computer and Nick walked out.

Bruce typed away at the Bat computer and displayed an image Electro, then Vulture, and then Inque. A third image of Powers popped up and a bracket appeared connecting the villains picture to the corrupt CEO. Bruce typed again, and this time an image of Rhino pops up, but this one didn't have a line connected to Powers, but another image of the Dogs of War logo appeared right by the large villain. Bruce's eyes narrowed as his mind thought long and hard about what all this means.