Batman/Spider-Man: Secret Weapon [DEFENDERS OF EARTH BOOK III]

The Base in the Arctic

SIX DAYS AFTER THE CLETUS KASADY INCIDENT
Spider-Man stood with his arms folded at the end of the rooftop. Was he late? Did he get the time wrong? He tapped his foot on the ground impatiently. New York looked quite dazzling at sunset, he realised. He began whistling a tune, one which was stuck in his head. What was it?
"There are multiple silos located in the Arctic." Batman told him, causing Spidey to jump a bit. "Any one of them could double as a research base. LexCorp don't have any files on it, nor does Lex Luthor appear to have any knowledge on whatever's going on there- and I double checked."
"And by that, you mean, you broke into his office?" The wall-crawler guessed. Batman walked past him.
"And their information database facility. Luthor wasn't lying after all."
"He wouldn't want to hurt his reputation now, would he?"
"It's far too late for that now."
"My god, was that a joke?" Spidey asked with bewilderment.
"No. Luthor's criminal history has left a black marker on him and his company." He explained. "He's trying all he can to repair it. And yet..."
"People are actually falling for it, thinking he's a trustworthy guy." Spidey finished for him. "So, when are we going to search the Arctic for this silo?"
"Now."
"Oh, nice. Wait, now?" He realised. Batman presses a button on his utility belt, and a new type of aircraft hovered to meet them. It was large- really large. At least twenty feet wide and twelve feet tall.
"Yes. Everything we need is in the Tri-Wing."
"Tri-Wing?" Spidey cocked his head.
"It's a long-distance aircraft, used to transport soldiers and resources long distances. A WayneTech prototype." Batman explained. "I've loaded up two XE suits, one which will fit you."
"Ooh, did you make it a Spidey suit?" Spider-Man asked excitedly. Batman almost rolled his eyes.
"Yes, I did. Now come on- we can't waste any time in looking for them."
"Oh, it must be Christmas. Say no more, bats." Spidey finished, proceeding to the Tri-Wing with Batman.
"With Hugo Strange's recent imprisonment, they're going to ensure that we don't find them- and if we do, they aren't going to let us in without a fight ." Batman told him. Spidey nodded his head.
"So let's give them one."
They both boarded in from the side entrance which was open, and Batman pressed a button on the other side to close the door. It was very spacey- a storage room in the back, seats and what looked like a surveillance computer situated in the middle of the room. In front was the cockpit, which Batman made his way to. He slid into the pilot's seat, and Peter got into the co-pilot's seat. The dashboard was filled with buttons and switches and screens, as well as two joysticks in front of the pilot's seat- obviously used for control. Batman flicked a few of the switches, and then pressed a few buttons overhead on the ceiling, which Spidey had not seen. The aircraft slowly started levitating up.
"Right and left sided wings out." Batman checked aloud. "Middle-back wing mobilised. Flight mode engaged."
And the Tri-Wing sped off into the sky. For its size, it moved remarkably fast, Spider-Man noted. Batman seemed to know what he was thinking.
"Twin jet engines located near the back give it a boost." He explained. "Wing formation and proportion gives it a good streamlined mobility."
"Is there anything else this thing can do?"
"Plenty."
"And how much money did your company invest into these?"
"Too damn much." Batman concluded, steering it further to the left and through a bunch of clouds. He typed in something on the main computer in the middle of the dashboard and selected the 'autopilot' option. He then got up from the seat and moved out of the cockpit. Spider-Man followed.
"The computer will alert me when we're approaching the Arctic. From there we can use the scanner to locate any base using any equipment of use." Batman said, approaching the storage room.
"D'ythink they're expecting us?"
"Perhaps. But even so, I doubt they're just going to abandon their research. They'll try and lay low, not get noticed." He opened the door, and two cylindrical cradles stood in front of them. Encased in the one on the left was a heavily armoured version of Batman's suit, with armour plating on all major parts of the body. The cowl had glowing blue eyes, and the mouth section was protected by both a glass layer and a retractable mechanical guard. Between the armour plating was a strong orange glow.
The second cradle, the one on the left, contained a variant on the Spider-Man suit. It was fully white, except with glowing orange lines replacing the webbing on the suit. The mask continued the design of the rest of the suit too, except the eyes were huge, black shapes, almost triangular. The spider logo on the chest was also glowing orange. The web shooters on the wrists were larger too, but were mostly the normal design. There was a utility belt on this one, too, with what looked like extra web capsules.
"A utility belt?" Spidey questioned.
"Better than running out of fluid." Batman answered. Spidey shrugged, in agreement, perhaps.
"Good point. I can't help but noticing... you get some nice armour, and I get..."
"The fabrics used for your suit are almost as strong as my armour. I use a similar material for my under armour. If it's the temperature you're complaining about, the heat generators on the suit will keep you warm enough, I assure you."
"Huh. Neat. Another WayneTech prototype lying around?" Peter assumed. Batman turned away.
"Let's just say Oscorp are missing some equipment, and leave it at that." He answered. Spidey laughed at this.
"Couldn't have stolen from a nicer company, bats. So, when d'ya think we'll get there?"
Batman walked back to the cockpit and looked at the main monitor. "I estimate around 6-8 hours."
"Ugh." Spidey groaned. "Do you at least have a TV?"
"No."
"A chess set?"
"No."
"A good book to read?"
"You can either go to sleep or wait out the trip." Batman gritted his teeth.
"Yeah, like I'm gonna be patient enough to sit still for another 8 hours." Spidey replied, sitting in a relaxed position in a seat in the surveillance deck, and shut his eyes.