So this story will center around a Peter Parker who used to be part of the League of Shadows before being excommunicated by Ra's. After Peter was forced out of the League, he went off to be his own independent free lance assassin for a few years before he 'retired' to a small little house out in the Alaskan wilderness.

Peter's origin here is a mixture of several other comicbook characters on top of his own. He was born to Richard Parker and Mary Parker, the former conducting unetheical expirements on his wife with spider DNA which in turn gave Peter the powers of a spider, not all too different from Jessica Drew's origins and had the added affect of waking something else which will be teased at a bit in this chapter and the next. It's not Venom or even Carnage if your wondering nor is it the All Black Necrosword.

Anyway because of Richard Parker's crimes being committed in a nameless third world country, Peter was sentenced to serve out his father's sentence, like Bane in the comics, in a literal hell hole of a prison in the middle of the dessert, like in the Dark Knight Rises movie, where he met Talia. Two became friends, he helped her escape, he didn't, she went back for him a year or so later and the rest as they say is history. And while with the League, Ra's inspired a variation of Great Power, Great responsibility... With Great Power comes even harder choices.

Or something like that.

As for who Peter will be paired with in this story, it'll be Talia al Ghul, Lady Shiva, Cheshire, Honor Guest (aka Silencer), Katana, Black Widow, Psylocke, X-23, and Silver Sable.

I chose these women because they fit into the nature of this story so don't even bother asking for random women like Jean Grey or Wanda Maximoff. They don't fit with the theme and never will, that a problem, than again, screw off for some other story. I'm not ruining mine and taking away the focus of the story because you think these two need to be in every damn harm story I make.

However, I am willing to add to this story's harem so long as the women make sense. So no Power Girl or Storm or Invisible Woman or Wonder Woman or something. But women like Huntress (Helena Bertinelli specifically) or Fire or Elektra or Lady Deathstryke? Women that use lethal and violent means to get the job done? Yeah, they can be worked in.

And to those that might complain about me making up a new damn story, I got nothing else to do with this quarantine crap and I'm starting to update older stories more frequently to make up for it, so there's the trade off. If it's still a problem well than go somewhere else to read and save the complaints for someone else.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used.

When Peter was younger, he always dreamed of living in some grand big estate with more money than he knew what to do with under the large open sky with a large warm bed, clean cold water, and no fear that the setting sun will be the last light he'll ever see.

A common fantasy that many desired that lived in the conditions that Peter grew up in.

But as the years went on, and Peter left the squalor that was his 'home', his fantasy of a dream home slowly changed as he was exposed more and more to the world. Eventually all Peter ever came to desire for a place to grow old and die in was a roof with four walls, a comfortable bed and maybe with all his limbs still attached to him.

'Well I can safely say that I managed that part well enough' Peter thought as he sat on a small chair on the deck of his patio overlooking the Alaskan wilderness.

Wide open skies, distant snow capped mountains, dense pine forests filled with numerous animals, a nearby river filled with semi clean fresh water that led down to a small town down the ways filled with nice people. It was more than Peter had ever hoped to have and he made sure to treasure every single moment of it.

With a sigh of content, the Thirty-seven year old leaned back in his chair and let the warm light of the setting sun wash over him as he listened the various animal calls, the rustling of the wind through the trees and other plant life on his property and the ever present rush of water from the river. Most days the sound could lull Peter to sleep better than any of the 'nature sounds' that people like to download and listen to. Add the fact that was little to no pollution of any sort this far away from any real major towns or cities, Peter could view the stars for hours, another way to gently lull him to sleep.

"Now all I need is a wife and some kids running around and I'll be set" Peter said with a snort as he stared off into the distance, focusing on nothing in particular.

The one drawback of his home was that he was the only one living in it. No wife, no kids, not even a pet to keep him company. He's thought of trying to change that for a while now but he could never quite find the perfect match. True there was a woman in town that could be a potential girlfriend at the very least but...

"Time for a drink" Peter said as he suddenly sat up and made his way to his patio's sliding door and slipped back into his home.

It wasn't much, just a two story house with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen that shared space with the dining room and a small garage for Peter to tinker around in and a basement for storage. There was a sparse amount of furniture throughout the whole house and no photos or pictures hanging on the walls in any rook throughout the house. Anyone visiting, and there's only two that do on a somewhat regular occurrence, have noted that Peter was a very... lacking, in a lot of areas.

He argued there was no point in living in a lavish house when he was the only one in it but even he knew it sounded weak.

'Speaking of weak...' Peter thought as he entered his kitchen and quickly looked around for a knife before he found one in the sink, along with four days worth of other dishes.

He held the dirtied lade over his arm for a second before he made to plunge it into his wrist before he suddenly found the blade broken on the floor several feet away from him and not a scratch on his wrist. Peter made a 'tsk' sound as he rubbed his wrist, the skin felt cold before it seemed to warm again.

"Nope... not yet" Peter said with a sigh as he looked down at the knife for a moment before he shook his head and headed for the fridge for a drink "Can try again when I'm drunk I guess"

It likely wouldn't work, it never has in the past, but it made him feel better.

Peter opened a near empty fridge with the only items located within being six bottles of tequila and a empty ice tray. With a shrug Peter reached in and grabbed two bottles and made his way back out to his chair before he settled back into the seat and tore the cap off with his hand. With a raised toast to the setting sun, Peter downed the entire bottle in one go, ignoring the taste of the gold colored liquor.

"UGH, how in the heck do people drink this stuff on the regular?" Peter coughed as he finished the bottle before he set it down next to him and reached for the other.

Pretty sunset... pretty red... pretty blood...

The bottle stopped inches from Peter's lips before it was slowly lowered to the ground. A tense silence settled over the patio and even the various insects and birds he heard only a moment ago had grown silent. The sun began to slowly descend behind the mountains, changing the sky from a myriad of reds, pinks, purples and golden yellows to a darker shade of blue until it was broken by the light of a rising moon off in the distance.

"Well... there goes my good mood" Peter said with a sigh as he reached up to rub his eyes before he felt something wet leaking from them.

Frowning Peter lowered his hands and saw that his fingers were now covered in blood. With a scowl Peter took the glass he was still holding and threw it off into the woods with a growl that seemed to darken the air around him briefly before it 'lightened' a bit and the various insects that were present earlier began to chirp and buzz again in the darkness.

"Yeah... well I didn't want to drink it anyway either" Peter bit out with a snarl before he stood up and approached the railing that surrounded his patio deck.

He looked down for a moment before he leaped over the edge and landed without a sound and proceeded towards the darkened woods.

...

The perks of being a light sleep with enhanced senses and living in the middle of nowhere, were that it was easy to tell when something wasn't quite right.

Like how there was the ever faint sound of footfalls downstairs on his patio and how for a brief second after he heard and felt these steps, he could hear the sound of his sliding door being pushed open, allowing him to hear the buzzing of bugs, bats chirping or whatever it is they did to make that squeaking sound, and the sound of the nearby river a few dozen meters away before it was muffled again.

'Well this is just dandy' Peter thought with an annoyed scowl as he woke up and stared at the ceiling in silence.

He moves all the way out into the middle of nowhere and he still manages to suffer from a home invasion!

'Only with my luck' Peter thought wryly as he silently climbed out of his bed and stretched his arms over his head until he heard a faint 'pop' emanate from his back and shoulders.

He than climbed out of bed and quietly slid on a pair of shoes and slid out of his room and towards the stairs. Even as out of practice as Peter was, he was more than capable of making his way down a flight of stairs silently in his onw him in the middle of the night. The key question was whether the person invading his home would be able to detect him.

'Good thing I didn't get a dog' Peter thought as he reached the bottom of the steps without problem and slowly made his way to the doorway that led to the living room and stopped just an inch short of the entryway.

He could hear faint breathing in the next room, no matter how ell trained you are, you could never completely keep their bodies silent. Everyone had to breath at some point, well, if they were human at least. He could also smell a faint aroma of what he thought was strawberries, something he definitely knew wasn't something from his home.

'Well at least this person smells nice. Your gonna break into someone's place, you don't want to come in smelling like some kind of hobo I guess. How considerate of them' Peter thought with a shake of his head before he stepped into the doorway and stared off into the dark room with a frown.

Peter looked around the darkened living room for a moment, seeing if anything was moved or broken, before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair "If you come out now I promise to only break your legs and leave you to walk back to wherever you came from. You don't... I'll think of something. Not sure what cause it's the middle of the night and I just woke up but I'll think of something"

He couldn't quite explain it, but Peter felt the atmosphere change in the room, from a tense foreboding feeling to something more... lighthearted.

He had no idea what it meant but just as Peter was about to start looking for whoever thought they could break into his home and either steal or try and kill him, a woman's voice spoke up from the darkness...

"It's nice to see you haven't changed much Peter"

Peter's entire body froze at the sound of that voice, hundreds of old memories flooding through his mind. He took a step back, his eyes wide as they frantically searched the darkness before he noticed a shape along the wall by his couch. He quickly approached the shadow with far more speed than a human should posses and sized the person by the shoulders. The shadow, the woman, offered no resistance when Peter's hands grabbed her bare shoulders and held her against the wall, her back pressed tightly against it's surface.

"Still as impulsive as ever" the woman said with a smile in her voice.

Peter's eyes narrowed as he stared at the woman's face, even in the dark it was as clear to him as if they were standing outside in the middle of the day with the sun high in the sky.

"Talia..." Peter said after a few moments as he loosened his grip on the exotic beauty.

"Peter..." Talia said with a faint purr in her voice that caused his body to almost shiver, even after all these years "It's good to see you again"

"Yeah... uh, you too... I guess" Peter said as he released Talia's shoulders and stepped back, his eyes darting around for signs of other individuals "Where's your bodyguards? I doubt you came all the way out here alone"

"They are outside" Talia admitted with a slight shrug as she glanced at the slid door she used to enter "Along the tree line. I ordered them not to intrude no matter what happens"

"Well aren't I just special" Peter said sarcastically as he walked over to the door and looked outside towards the tree line to see if he could make out any of Talia's people.

"You look good Peter" Talia said as her eyes raked over Peter's upper torso, marking faint scars from what seemed a lifetime ago.

"You can thank Cain for that. It's more of his work the reason I'm still in good shape than my own personal training regime" Peter said with a snort as he turned back towards Talia and leaned back against the glass paneling and folded his arms across his chest "So, what brings the daughter of the 'Great' Ra's al Ghul all the way to Alaska? Shouldn't you be in Asia or something? Or maybe Gotham? I hear the League has taking a liking to fighting a man dressed as a bat"

If Talia was surprised that Peter has somewhat kept up to date with the League of Shadows movements, she didn't show it as she moved towards a light switch on the wall and flicked it on.

Now that the lights were illuminating the room, Peter could see that Talia was wearing a blood red sleeveless dress that ended about midthigh with the rest of her lean legs being covered in black stockings. Her arms had a pair of gold and ruby encrusted bracelets, one over her wrists and one just under her shoulders that matched a pair of gold and ruby earrings in her ears. The thirty-four year old woman looked like she just came for a party rather than a hike through the woods.

"A bit overdressed aren't you?" Peter asked with a quirked brow as he nodded towards her less than woodland friendly attire "You just come from a party or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I did" Talia admitted with a faint smile "I was at a event hosted by Luthor. He invited me to-"

"Don't wanna know" Peter said with a shake of his head.

"It was business, nothing more" Talia said with a slight frown crossing her features.

"Still don't wanna know" Peter said with a pointed look "Just because I'm somewhat following your father's blunders, most of which are on the news or trending on Instagram, doesn't mean I want to know what you guys are up to now. I'm content with just watching the aftermath on YouTube while I'm waiting for a new video from Screwball to be posted"

Talia made a less than pleased look at this, though Peter didn't know if it was from watching the aftermath of the League's failures or the fact that Peter watched videos posted by a amateurish supervillain that liked to post live videos of herself doing crimes ranging from breaking and entering to her more adult orientated content on her private channels. Nothing like murder but things that may or may not see her in a prison cell for upwards to eighteen months.

"How... tart" she said after a few moments.

"Don't blame me, blame kids with nothing better to record on their phones" Peter said with a snort "Now, is there a reason you came all the way here to see little old me? If you need a plus one, I'm afraid your gonna have to look elsewhere. I left my suit and tie at the cleaners and it wont be ready till Monday"

"As a matter of fact, yes, there is a reason" Talia said as she silently made her way to a chair and sat down and crossed her legs at the knee and rested her hands on her lap "I need your help"

"With what?" Peter asked with a frown "Far as I know I'm still excommunicado by your fathers decree unless you've been sending my emails saying otherwise. If so than I'm gonna have to comb through my spam because I know for a fact nothing's come up in my inbox-"

"My father's dead, Peter"

Peter stopped mid-sentence and stared at Talia with surprise "What?"

"Murdered, by my sister Nyssa al Ghul" Talia said as she leaned back in her seat "In a recent battle with batman, Nyssa appeared and struck down our father sand destroyed his personal Lazarus Pit, and those known to us, before it could be used to try and resurrect him"

Peter stared at Talia with shock as a dark somber silence filled the room. Even the lights seemed to have dimmed a little as the two former friends stared at each other. Finally something seemed to click in Peter and he took a step forward.

"Talia, I-... I'm sorry"

While Peter held no great love for Ra's al Ghul, he still respected the man's beliefs and convictions, even if Peter was against many of them. He also knew that despite his faults, the man was a good father, at least to Talia. When the man had found out what happened to Talia's mother, what really happened to her, he led a strike team back to the Pit that his beloved and child were sentenced to with vengeance on his mind. But by the time that Ra's, with Talia as a sort of guide, the men that had killed Talia's mother had long since died. When Ra's discovered this, and Talia had found out he was still alive by some twisted sort of fate, the man took Peter into the Shadows to help him heal and repay him for his service to his child.

If Peter was honest, he'd rather have been left to die.

"It's... you do not need to apologize to me Peter" Talia said in a low voice as she adverted her gaze from Peter's and stared at an unspecific point on his wall "I know you held no love for him"

"No, I didn't" Peter admitted with a nod as he slowly approached Talia and crouched down in front of her before he rested a gentle hand on Talia's "But he was still your father... and you loved him"

Talia didn't reply but she did take one of her hands and rest it over Peter's while her eyes seemed to water before she blinked the tears gathering away. With a deep inhale she suddenly stood, causing Peter to nearly fall backwards in surprise before he rose to his full height as well.

"With father now dead and having never specified a definitive heir, the League as splintered. Some follow me, some Nyssa, others Cain and a few have simply gone off on their own" Talia revealed as she wrapped her arms around herself and began to pace nervously "The League as you and I knew, as the world knew it for hundreds of years is finished. There's ne restoring it"

"So I'm assuming my help isn't for necessarily helping you rebuild the League so much as making sure your sister and Cain can't make their own" Peter guessed.

"Correct" Talia said with a nod as she stopped and looked at Peter "Deathstroke left before news of my father's demise was confirmed, and Shiva has no love for me. Even if I could find her and my sister hasn't gotten o her yet she will not fight for me"

Peter clicked his tongue at this "What about Ubu?"

"Cain has killed him" Talia bit out in anger, more out of the loss of a valuable ally than a friend.

Ubu's loyalty was to Ra's and Ra's alone and he'll do whatever it took to ensure the man's survival, even if it meant killing his own brood.

"Sportsmaster?" Peter asked as he began to go through a list of prominent assassins that were part of or rather were part of the League of Shadows.

"Works for Luthor and his Cabal called the 'Light' as an enforcer of some sort" Talia answered with a dismissive wave "And even if he wasn't, I want nothing to do with him"

"Bane?"

"Currently fighting in the Civil War that's plagued Bialya. He's sided with the rebels that wish to overthrow Queen Bee"

"Uhhhh, Katana?" Peter asked.

"She's gone on to become... respectable" Talia said with a eye roll "She's part of a team that's managed and run by the Batman"

"Bronze Tiger?"

"He's been roped into Wallers little taskforce and will likely die soon. If not by his hand, than by Waller's own"

"Black Spider?"

Talia sighed at this "Dead. Killed by Waller in the previous incarnation of her little Suicide Squad, forcing her to look for a replacement. Which in turn led her to Bronze Tiger"

"Meryln?"

"In prison, awaiting to be expedited to France for the murder of their ambassador, acts of terrorism, kidnapping, theft, destruction of government property, thefy og military property and a dozen other charges. The Green Arrow is keeping an eye on him to make sure she reaches what will be his new home for the rest of his life" Talia stated with a grim smile.

"What about the Sensei? He was your grandpa right? Or was that just some rumor to explain his age and apparent favoritism by Ra's?" Peter inquired with curiosity.

"He was my father's father and he was killed by Cain not long after my father's death" Talia said as he reached up and rubbed her temples "Nyssa and I... we're the last of our father's blood in any shape or form. If we have a sibling, their unknown to us"

Talia's paused didn't escape Peter's notice but he decided to leave it be. With how old Ra's was, he likely had several other children that Talia and Nyssa are unknown to and vice versa.

"Onyx?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"She's retired" Talia clarified with a huff of annoyance.

"Wait, Assassins can retire from the League?" Peter said with surprise.

"Didn't you?" Talia pointed out with a raised brow as she gestured to the house around them.

"I was kicked out, so that doesn't count" Peter huffed as he thought of a few more names "What about that one woman that used to follow you around? The meta human that could make fields of total silence and was like Jason Bourne but a woman?"

"Honor's here, she's one of my guards outside" keeping watch with Natalia and Cheshire" Talia nodded towards the sliding door "She masked our approach so you wouldn't hear us until I was inside your home"

"Why not continue it when you got inside?" Peter asked with a frown.

Granted Peter would've still felt the subtle vibrations in the floorboards but those were a lot harder to detect compared to the sound of someone's footsteps or breathing.

"I assumed you'd have some contraption to prevent that and didn't wish to start off our reunion on the wrong foot" Talia said.

Peter hummed at this "Should've thought of that before you broke in"

"The door was unlocked" Talia said before she frowned "An odd mistake for you to make. You've never been so careless about security"

"What'd be the point in locking it? If someone wants to get in, they'll get in" Peter answered with a shrug.

Talia's eyes narrowed at this as a considerate look began to grown on her face "I also saw that you haven't set up any sort of measures of defense around your home"

"What you didn't see the pit of spikes or bear traps outside?" Peter said dryly.

"Peter" Talia said as she leaned forward "Even out here, it's dangerous to be so careless about security. A aggressive bear can be just as dangerous as a madman with a knife"

"Good thing I have a backup than" Peter said as he tapped the side of his head and gave Talia a knowing look.

"Even that can be fooled" Talia said with a dark look in her eyes.

"Well, if whoever this make believe person is happens to find me all the way out here, sneak into my house without me knowing and has a gun to my head without triggering my 'spider-sense' than by all means, he's an entitled to take a shot" Peter said with a shrug as he turned to leave "Look, I'm more or less retired and happy about it. If you need someone to kill your sister and Cain, go find someone else that's willing to do it. I washed my hands of the League and those associated with it when they turned their back on me"

"But Peter-" Talia began before Peter turned back to her and cut her off with a hard look.

"I'm not doing it" he repeated in a much harsher tone "End of discussion"

"Not even for me?" Talia asked in a quiet voice.

A inferno of rage seemed to explode within Peter and he found himself reaching out o grab the woman before he caught himself and took a deep breath as he tried to calm his elevated pulse. Talia had taken a step back when Peter started to move towards her, her eyes lit with some surprise at the sudden action before they seemed to steel themselves for whatever was to come. After a few tense moments, Peter felt himself begin to relax as he went through every sort of calming technique he knew before he looked at Talia with a tired look in his eyes.

"Talia, I'm... I'm not really the same person you knew back when I was with the League. And it's been almost a decade since I've retired, if you wanna call it that. I wouldn't be any good to you anyway, enhanced abilities or not" Peter said as he ran a hand over his face "Look, if your desperate for that kind of backup, I know a few guys. I can make some calls in the morning, after you give me a bit more details on what you need exactly, than we'll... I don't know. We're go from there at that point"

Talia was about to argue, tell Peter that he was being selfish and ungrateful, to remind him in all their years they've known one another she's never come to help form help, not for something like this. That he OWED her even if he's paid that price a hundred times already before she saw the look in his eyes more clearly.

It wasn't just exhaustion from being woken up in the middle of the night. This kind of exhaustion ran much deeper, far beyond the superficial needs that a simple night of sleep could fix. She also saw how dull his eyes really were, not as if were going blind, but they lacked the life that used to flow through them like a river. And she could also make out bits of grey in his hair already despite the fact he was only a year older than herself. Whatever Peter had experienced and encountered since he left the League of Shadows, it couldn't have been good, and she was willing to bet it played a part in his early 'retirement'.

No assassin retires in their twenties unless they were dead.

"Very well..." Talia said with a small nod "If you will not aid me directly, I will at the very least, consider the people you think will be a suitable substitute"

Peter nodded at this, relieved that Talia wasn't going to try and pressure him into helping her like he feared she would. Maybe she realized how serious he was about staying out of this. Maybe she knew he'd be a liability and thus didn't want to risk her chances of beating her sister and Cain.

Or maybe she knew how pathetic you've grown and wants nothing to do with it!

"shut up" Peter muttered with a shake of his head, a dull throbbing already beginning to grown.

"I didn't say anything" Talia frowned at the sudden change of behavior.

"Sorry, I was... I was thinking aloud" Peter said as he quickly turned away from Talia and made his way to the stairs "If you want, I have a guest room set up down the hall-"

Peter pointed down a hall that was parallel to the stairs.

"It's not much, but you don't need to sleep outside" Peter said as he began to climb the stairs to his room.

"And my guards, what of them?" Talia asked as she came to a stop at the bottom of the stair case and watched Peter climb back up into the darkness of the second floor.

"Don't care, s'long as they clean up after themselves" Peter responded tiredly before he turned a corner and vanished from Talia's sight.

A second later she heard the sound of a door closing but no tell, tell sound of a lock being used. This caused the frown on Talia's face to grow even more, this complete disregard to his safety was beginning to unsettle Talia. As children in the Hell that was their home, and later with the League, Peter was beyond paranoid about his security. Always locking his doors and windows, always double checking everything and then rechecking it before he was content. He never let his guard down, not even around her, never fully. And yet in the ten minutes that Talia's been in this house, she's been exposed to the very anthesis of her once greatest friend.

A man with complete and total disregard to his own safety it seem.

"Peter... what's happened to you?" Talia said to herself as the cold air of the house seemed to turn just a degree shy of frigid.

The shadows never quite felt so uninviting like they did now.

...

And done.

Next chapter, Morning routine...