Spiderhead

Part I

"Why Spider-Man?"

Peter's been getting asked that question since pretty much the first time he's ever put on the mask.

"I thought you were supposed to be the World's Greatest Detective," he jabs. "Figure it out."

Batman frowns, an unhappy set to his mouth. "The only spider-like abilities you have is to stick to things and shoot webs—and the webs are artificial. You might as well have been Sticky-Man."

Peter groans. "Actually, all of my powers are spider-themed," he informs. "Proportional strength, speed, senses, and durability of a spider. And my patented Spidey Sense—actually, no one really knows what that is," he admits.

"And did you just happen to get exactly the same numbers as a spider?"

"Dude, my name is Spider-Man. Literally think about what that implies." Peter thinks it might not be a great idea to reveal how he got his powers just yet, but he can hint at it. "I mean that, genetically, I am part spider, part man. That's why I chose the spider-shtick."

Batman is probably in the running for the least expressive person Peter has ever met, but even he can't disguise the small grimace of disgust at that. "Was one of your parents a spider?"

"Something like that," Peter agrees. It's not actually anything like that but hey, at least it throws the bats off for a bit. "I mean, why did you think I was so arachnid-like? I thought you would've figured it out."

Batman looks frankly disturbed at the thought of Peter being born of a human and a spider. Honestly, in his situation, Peter would feel the same. But right now it's just funny. "I assumed you were taking your role seriously."

"Method acting," Peter grins. "But no. Actually, I try to hide my most spidery behaviours," he admits. "It tends to freak people out, and it's not a great look for my average Joe civilian ID."

There's a grudging intrigue in Batman's voice as he points out, "You don't need to hide in costume. People already know you're Spider-Man, why not lean into it?"

Peter tilts his head at him. "I have a few times," he reveals. "A lot of the behaviours come instinctively for me. Like this pose," he settles back into his crouch more, accentuating the unnatural, unhuman-like sense of it. "You'll probably see what I mean when I say creepy tics sooner or later."

He skitters across the floor on all fours, only the pads of his fingers or his toes ever touching the ground, with an inhuman speed to it. Like a spider plucking the strings of its web. He feels more than sees Batman's shoulders tense.

He snorts to himself. If the bat can't handle his crawling, then wait until he finds out about some of his more... unsavoury habits.

-

Peter decides he should ease them all into his spider-like tendencies.

Even if he's not technically half spider, and even though he's never actually tested out how much of his DNA was changed by the bite, he knows a significant part of him is inhuman. The changes went farther than a six pack and better eyesight.

But his short conversation with Batman sticks with him because he's, well, right. There really isn't a reason to hide his traits anymore, not when it's already established that he's spider-themed. And it's not like he's ashamed of them, or freaked out like he was at first when some started to emerge.

Mostly, he just hangs upside down from the ceiling on a thin strand of web, or scurries like a spider from place to place. Doesn't stop his body from naturally contorting in ways that humans aren't meant to be.